Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin

Headed north from Henry's Lake and had all country roads to reach Three Forks, MT.  This town is part of Lewis and Clarke's expedition to discover the west and I read somewhere in town that it was where Sacagawea recognized and was reunited with her brother during the negotiations with the natives in the area for food and horses.

Three Forks is named for the three rivers that converge just northeast of the town to form the Missouri River.  They are the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin Rivers, named by Lewis and Clark after two presidents and a treasury secretary.  From Three Forks the Missouri River flows north and after traveling 2,565 miles reaches the Mississippi River.  The Missouri River is the longest single river in North American and drains about 1/6 of the North American Continent.

"Go Get Chu One"

After hanging in out in Victor, ID area, the whole group relocated together that weekend and headed up closer to the west side of Yellowstone NP at Henry's Lake State Park in Idaho.  Very pretty park with a lake and mountain view.

Large Marge and The Hairy Toe

We made the short drive across the pass from Palisades to Victor, ID and arrived to our campground. We had planned to be in the National Forest that week so we could have more of a "camping" experience for Jon and Steph.  We changed plans at the last minute and not sure if it was a good decision or not, but either way it worked fine.
We ended up at Teton Valley Campground in Victor and about a 20 minute drive to Jackson Hole, WY and Grand Teton National Park.
The day we arrived was Luna's b-day, so after setting up camp we took her into Jackson Hole to a movie.  She picked Inside Out and it was a good choice.  Pretty cute movie.  We toured the town a little and grabbed some groceries.
Jon, Steph, Bryce and Taylor arrived late that night and sleeping children were carried into the camper.
We took it easy that first day.  Sang Happy Birthday to Luna and did a little hike.

More Tiny Towns

I could probably write this blog entry with one sentence because we are in Palisades, ID and our campground is the only thing here :)  Just joking, but close.  Not sure of the population here, but I'm thinking it's in the teens.  The gas station here is the hardware store and the grocery store. :)



We drove up from Bear Lake with a dip back into Wyoming and returned to Idaho.  Country roads and small towns were again the theme of this drive.  Those are my favorite kind.

Cave, Lake, and Crepes

So the plan was to avoid extreme seasons.......snow and intense heat.  We should have researched a little more thoroughly because the intense heat won't let up.  We have done all kinds of research and reading about why it's colder at higher altitude when it seems it would be warmer cause you're closer to the sun and why is the sun so intense and ready to burn your skin at such high altitude.  This weather has inspired all kinds of learning opportunities :)

So from the beautiful luxury of Mountain Valley Resort we headed north through Utah and even dipped into Wyoming briefly and back into Utah up to Bear Lake.  It's amazing how much of this country is land as far as the eye can see with the occasional house, farm or trailer.  We have seen so many signs similar to "Welcome to _______.  Population 121"  And so many times we have said "who is living here?"  I want to knock on their door and hear their story.  Not just because it's a microscopic town without a grocery store, but because some of the towns look abandoned.  Like a scene out of The Walking Dead.

So as we arrived to the Bear Lake area, things started looking more lively.  There was a cute little town called Garden City on the southwest side of the lake and several boat rental places as we drove up the west side of the lake.

Garden City down in the distance and Bear Lake from top of a nearby mountain.

The water was beautiful.  Almost reminded me of the Gulf of Mexico on a clear, calm day.  I had just seen what the Great Salt Lake had in store, so when the lady at the campground told me the most fun thing to do in town was swim in the lake, I was skeptical.