I am back after the holiday weekend with the continuation of my June trip report. Day 5’s plan called for six more counties, so we headed off through the scenery. There is a lot of scenery in Idaho, to be sure.

 

After a very short tour of the tiny town of Fairfield, we pointed the car toward Magic City in Blaine County. I mean, how could I not go see place called Magic City? We arrived there after a periodically jolting drive on a gravel road to find the magic somewhat diminished by the very low level of the Magic Reservoir on the bank of which the “city” perched. Still it was interesting to brave the wind and stroll on the sand and see what we could see.

 

 

Our stop in the next county was the Shoshone Ice Caves, which gave me flashbacks to being a kid. It had been updated around the edges—some of the signs had “Native American” instead of “Indian” on them, for instance—but mostly it felt like a place my mom might have taken me and my brother in the 70s.

 

In the next town we drove through after the caves, we happened on a store called Karen’s Place that sold quilting fabric, and it was open, so obviously we had to stop.

 

In Jerome, we unsuccessfully searched for the Jay Van Hook historical potato cellar that the internet kept assuring was right there when what was right there was a used car lot and a field. Disappointing, because that would be a perfect Idaho tourist stop. We made our way to Twin Falls early enough that we were able to go see Shoshone Falls that evening. Only about half of them were running but it was still an impressive sight.

 

 

We spent longer in Twin Falls in the morning than I planned because it was very picturesque and also good weather for the people who base jump off the bridge, so we walked along the rim of the canyon for a bit then hung out and watched the jumpers do their thing.

 

 

The historical museum in the next county was closed when we got there (I don’t think we ever found one open on the whole trip) so we toured the Walgreens across the street instead. We had lunch somewhere I no longer remember then toured another small town, Rupert, in another county.

 

The Massacre Rocks State Park near American Falls wasn’t popular with locals, so to get my license plate photo, we had to go into town, though we did read all the historical markers and gaze at the rocks and river before we left the park.

 

In the penultimate county of the day, we found an Ace hardware that sold ice cream and had a fancy bathroom, so that was win. Then it was one more stretch of driving to make it to Pocatello, our home for the night. After we checked in to the hotel, we went out for dinner and I had my first experience qualifying for the senior menu (Mr. K did not, as he hasn’t had his birthday yet this year). The speciality of the house was oatmeal pie, so I had that; it was similar to pecan but not so nut-forward.

 

 

Day 5 and 6 photos are here. Yes, there are a lot of them. But I wanted to keep all of Twin Falls in the same entry.