Day 7
It has almost been a week since we left Texas to head West. Texas is still underwater while we are enjoying the sunshine in Idaho. Our day started around 10:00 when we left our hotel to grab a Starbucks breakfast. We again headed west towards Boise. The itinerary for today included seeing different sights along the Oregon Trail.
The first stop on our journey was the Malad Gorge If you don't know about this location, you would drive right over it. As you drive along I-84 the interstate is above the amazing falls. We paid our $7 entrance fees and headed along the loop road. There are 6 stops along the road. The first takes you to a trail that leads to the pedestrian bridge. Here are some photos from Malad Gorge.
On our way out of the Malad Gorge, we stopped to ask the friendly lady at the entrance if she had a map of the Idaho State Parks. We found out that our pass will get us in to all the state parks for the day. She gave us a map of the Thousand Springs State Parks and told us what we could see at each stop. Well, it was only 11:30 and our last stop of the day didn't close until 4 so we headed to the next stop. When we arrived at Ritter Island, we were greeted by a friendly gentleman. It turns out that his wife was the lady at Malad Gorge! Here are a few photos of the waterfalls you can see at Ritter Island.
After our short walk around Ritter Island the next stop was Box Canyon Spring. We were advised to do the 3/4 mile hike to the waterfall. We parked the car and headed out to hike a little. We got to the area where you go into the canyon and decided it was too steep and rocky. We did walk about a mile around the rim and enjoyed the sun and outdoors. During the walk, we could see the Snake River. All these parks are along the Snake River. Here is Box Canyon.
We had one more stop in the Thousand Springs area, Niagara Springs. We drove down into the canyon and were really close to the Snake River. To get into Niagara Springs you will drive down a dirt road for a couple of miles.
By the time we left Niagara Springs it was around 2:15. We drove back towards I84 and needed restrooms and some lunch. We at at the Subway in Wendell. Around 2:40 we left and drove to Three Island Crossing State Park. In the park they have an Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. Inside, they show a short movie about crossing the Three Island Crossing during the Oregon Trail. They also have some exhibits where you can learn about life on the Oregon Trail. We snapped a few pictures and then we were off!
From Glenns Ferry, we hopped back on I84 towards Boise. It was about an hour and 10 minute drive. We made it to our hotel by about 5:30. We checked in, unloaded all of our stuff, and settle in. It was still early so we mapped out a short walk. We found Freak Alley which has a lot of murals on the walls of an alley. Here are a few pictures:
After walking around for an hour or so we decided to do a picnic dinner in our hotel room and watched the women's gymnastic olympic trials.
It was another fantastic day exploring Idaho.
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