We're in Idaho!!!!!

July 11- I was of a mind to sleep in today but Bill thought we should get a move on, so we left around 8:30.  We headed north into Idaho and have 2 nights of reservations at the Anderson Camp in Eden, ID.  It’s just 15 miles east of Twin Falls and there is quite a bit to see in the area.  The ride was uneventful, thankfully and the campground was easy to get into and a pull thru spot on the end.  Quite a few trees and 2 rows of vintage campers here for the weekend.

Once we parked I got into my book/pantry cabinets that we hadn’t opened since we left Arkansas and I didn’t think about the darn mice getting in there.  I found a q-tip and they had gotten into my almonds, craisins and cereal.  So I had to clean that all up and added some items to my shopping list!

One of the resident barracks

We checked in around lunch time and had our lunch before heading out for the afternoon.  Our first stop was Minidoka National Historic Site.  It was a Japanese Internment Camp for 3 years during WWII.  Most of the people moved there were from Washington, Oregon and Northern California.

Replica watchtower

  There were 10,000 Japanese Americans brought to Eden, ID by train and then bussed out to the middle of no where to live.  They were actually prisoners and had no choice other than the men could go into the Army.  Almost all of the original buildings are gone but some of the living quarters still stand and the block receiving building where they processed them into the camp.  A replica of the watch tower is there and several maps of how the camp was laid out.  The people had to work within the camp and grow their own foods and built furniture and cabinets and other items.  The plan was for the camp to be able to sustain itself.  There is a Wall of Honor for those who came there and then enlisted in the Army and served.

On the way to Shoshone Ice Cave we passed through Shoshone and I asked Bill if he thought this little café we saw had ice cream so he pulled in a vacant slot right in front.  It was crowded because today was the town’s annual craft fair.  I patiently waited my turn and ordered 2 SMALL chocolate-vanilla swirls.  I could not believe the size of the cones.  I should have taken a picture!  The ice cream sat 6 inches above the cone, the width of the cone to the top.  It was REAL soft serve and we sat in the car and enjoyed every last bite.  It took a while but we mastered the giant cones!

Entrance to the cave

Then we headed on our way to Shoshone Ice Cave.  It was actually a volcano 12,000 years ago and where the volcanic tubes collapsed is where the cave formed.  It has to do with a controlled amount of air going in and out that makes it freeze.  The amount of moisture on the outside, such as rain or snow, has a bearing on the depth of the ice.  It was

15 ft thick ice

currently 15 feet deep in the main part of the cave.  It has a wooden walkway from one side across and around the other side and it was 30 degrees.  Our guide explained the history of the volcano as well as the cave.  It is privately owned and they can only have tours in the summer due to the rise and fall of the water level.  There are only a few lights and it’s not huge by any means but we got to climb down in where the tube collapsed and then go in a tiny door and walkway to the main room of the cave.  There was an exhibit of a 12,000 year old black bear skull and bones that were found during the building of the walkway system.  A current day bear’s skull was shown next to the old one and the size difference is amazing.

Most of the area around there and down near Twin Falls was all lava beds.  You can see the broken lava flows all over.  It is amazing how there could also be so much farming in the area.  There are potatoes, as we are in Idaho, and wheat, corn and sugar beets.  Then there are various grasses they grow to make hay for the cows, which appear to mostly be dairy cows in this area.

It was about 4:30 when we left and I wanted to see if there was a grocery store in Twin Falls and we found a Fred Meyers.  We’ve been to them before and this was such a nice store.  Bill dropped me off while he filled the car up and had it washed as it was so nasty I couldn’t see out my window.  The grocery had some good prices so I stocked up on veggies and fruit.  Things were getting slim in the RV. 

We had a bit of rain in town but not a drop at the RV!  I made brown rice pasta with homemade meatballs and sauce for dinner with an iceberg wedge with blue cheese, bacon and blue cheese dressing.  We had a peach cobbler I froze a couple of weeks ago so we were good to go!

We watched some TV and Bill read while I caught up on email and journaling.