Idaho Falls Greenway - Part 1

On a very beautiful fall day while LCs' brother was visiting with us, we all spent a few hours together wandering the Idaho Falls Greenway.

Idaho Falls in the biggest city in the south east, with a population around 52,000.

We don't don't go to Idaho Falls very often, but after living for so long in a tiny town of 29 people, it always feel like a shock to go to the "big city".

The sheer volume of traffic feels overwhelming, and it always feels as though every thing and every one is moving too fast.

The sheer number of stores, bars, restaurants and gas stations feels a little overwhelming (even to a woman who lived in the capital cities of both Queensland, Australia and Ontario, Canada).

And there is just so much..............noise, businesses, traffic, signs, so much so much.

Thankfully the greenway is not too far into the city and we quickly parked the Tahoe and climbed out, on a very beautiful, warm, and sunny early fall day.

It was a perfect day to wander.................

The dynamic duo.

By the time we walked the greenway Gary had been with us for a few days.

Both brothers were well rested, and both were greatly enjoying their visit with each other.................

Of all the busy, noisy craziness that is Idaho Falls, this place - THIS place - is the most wonderful.

The Idaho Falls Greenway is an extraordinarily beautiful green space that winds its way through the city, and that allows residents and visitors to experience nature right inside the city limits.

It contains all kinds of wonderful.

The Snake River that cuts right through the city, and the man-made falls that roar and drop, creating interesting and unique levels of fast flowing water.

Statues.  Bridges. Walking paths and boardwalks. Grass and trees and endless flowers.  Unique benches.  Squirrels and ducks.  People walking with others, walking with their dogs, roller blading and bike riding, and fishing and duck feeding. 

When my sister Lisa and her husband visited from Australia in May the weather was still alternating between warm and sunny, and cold and damp.

Spring comes late to this part of the world.

There was little growth at that time.  No flowers.  Mostly leafless tress.

But on this day with Gary, it was gorgeous.

The dryness and stillness and endless cloudless skies and endless hot days of summer were gone.

We were moving into fall and then quickly into winter, and THIS weather I love...............

We had parked the Tahoe in a hotel parking lot on the right side of the four lane city street.

After snapping a few pictures we crossed over the bridge.

The plan was to quickly explore the small Asian-inspired park on this side of the street, and then cross over the street and wander the greenway proper.

I doubted that we would walk very far in truth, but it didn't matter.

It was a beautiful day and we were in a beautiful place, and it was all good...................

The first of many unique benches that we would find in our travels.

This one was a serene and simple design, made of large concrete slabs.

Simple, clean lines, beautiful.................

Walking a bridge across the Snake, for the second time in our visit...................

As we reached the major street I realized that Gary had stopped to listen to this street singer, and I waited with him as LC pushed the Walk/Don't Walk button.

As I turned to pay attention to the young man (who was singing for the tossed coins that passers-by threw into his guitar case) I realized that he sounded horrible.

Gary seemed engrossed in the performance though and instead of listening to the singer I turned my attention to Gary. 

Gary had grown up in the same musical family that LC had grown up in.

Had sang on the same TV shows and radio shows, sang in the same churches, and under the same revival tents that LC had sang on and in and under.

The whole family had traveled continuously and sang as a family in all of these venues as the three siblings were growing up.

When they were grown the brothers walked different paths.

LC's path was the military, and then trouble shooting in chemical factories, and then eventually law enforcement.

Garys' path had taken him into professional singing.

Many many years later Gary stood watching this young man for a few minutes before reaching into his wallet and throwing a few dollar bills into the guitar case.

With that we met LC at the intersection, still waiting for the light to turn so we could all cross the busy four lane street.

Around me was a festival feel - food vendors, drink vendors, this singer, a young woman standing holding a sign announcing that she would do anything for $20.

Really?

REALLY??

We had stopped at Walmart before heading to the greenway, and there had been two young homeless people standing at the Stop sign at the edge of the Walmart parking lot.

I had seen a similar sight at the entrance to a grocery store in Blackfoot just a few days before.

Homeless people.  People begging for money.  People promising to do anything for a specific amount of money........................

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Our first view of the falls, taken while crossing one more bridge and heading for the greenway..................

I had stopped in the center of the bridge to snap a couple of pictures, and when I looked up I realized that LC and Kory had continued walking.

Both LC and I had wondered how Kory would fare with so many people, so much noise, so much traffic, so much so much.

At first she constantly looked around her, unsure where to focus with so much activity happening at once.

But thankfully she quickly settled in, and quickly adjusted to the so much so much.

She was doing great...............

Looking back at Gary who had also stopped on the bridge to snap pictures.................

I looked at the leaves of a tree close to the end of the bridge and inwardly smiled.

Fall.

Summer was gone.

Finally.

It was fall and it was beautiful.................

It had been such a grey day the last time I came here with my sister Lisa and my brother-in-law Mick.

This day was gorgeous.

The sky was beautiful.  The water was beautiful.  The trees were changing color and the flowers were still blooming, and as soon as we hit the greenway I started snapping pictures like a woman possessed..................

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower................Albert Camus

Pass #1 - Antelope

Over the past 9 1/2 years I have only seen LC's older brother a handful of times.

The first time was in Tennessee, the second in Alaska, the third was in Wyoming, and the last and most recent time was here in Idaho.

A reflection of how often we moved for a few years.

Gary visited us for 9 days just recently, and I know that LC (who is close to Gary) was very happy to see him.

He arrived late on a Tuesday night, and used the first day or so to recover from his trip, which had first taken him to Oregon to visit other family members before he headed to our small town in SE Idaho.

The weather had been cloudy and very cool for a few days before his visit, but happily he brought warm weather with him.

While he was here we took some long day trips, so that we could show him the area where we now live.

On this day - a day that was sunny and surprisingly warm - to drive up and over Antelope Pass............

Antelope is located in the Big Lost River Valley, 50 miles or so from where we live.

Both men wanted to see a truck in the area, and we used the truck-inspection as an excuse to continue further into the mountains and to wander up and over the pass.............

While the guys looked the truck over, I walked with Kory.

It was a perfect fall day.  Sunny.  Warm.  No longer the dry, oppressive heat that had burdened our summer (as it always does).

The owner of the truck was a ranch hand, and as he showed LC and Gary his truck I looked around me, trying to get the lay of the land.

Large barns, extensive fencing to contain farm animals (although none were visible in the immediate area).

The home was..............amazing.

A humble log home that looked as though it had been in this place since at least the early part of the last century.

So many years, that I imagined it to be one of the earliest homes in this very isolated place.

There were a few homes on this dirt road, but in truth we were more than 30 minutes drive from any kind of real civilization.

A fast moving creek ran alongside the property.

The water ran deep and fast even this late in what had been a very dry summer, and I was completely enamored with the entire spectacle around me.

The isolation.  The mountains.  The hardwood trees that were in the early stages of changing color.  The creek and the working farm across the road from the house and the wonderful log home.

What a very cool place......................

Looking back the way we had come.

Working farm to the left of the tree line and home across the road to the right.

I should have taken pictures of the home, but with the ranch hand right there I thought best not to look as though I was invading privacy....................

I had no idea how long the guys would be so I didn't wander far and I power snapped pictures, enjoying the silence and beauty of this place..................

After 15 minutes Kory and I found ourselves back near where we had left LC and Gary, and I was surprised to see both the guys already loaded in the Suburban.

Kory and I quickly followed suit, and as we drove back down the winding dirt road LC told me what I already knew.

The guy had lied about every important aspect associated with the vehicle.

In short, it was a piece of junk.

Gary had toyed with the idea of buying a vehicle while in Idaho to replace an aging vehicle he owned in Minnesota, but he was beginning to learn what LC and I already knew.   That people lied and they lied often, and that it was a very time consuming deal to purchase a decent used vehicle for a decent price.

I hoped in that moment (as we slowly wound our way further into the mountains) that that was the end of vehicle hunting.

Thankfully that turned out to be the case....................

20 minutes after leaving the lying ranch hand, we pulled the Suburban into a large section of grass and trees along the side of the road, so Kory could again wander and so all three humans could pee, before entering the Challis National Forest.

CNF is similar in nature to the Shoshone National Forest over in Park County WY,.

 Portions of it seem to be everywhere in the region.

In both cases, as you travel the region, you find yourself constantly weaving in and out of the forest and (also in both cases) the terrain changes around almost every bend in the road.................

One of a number of beaver dams we passed on our way to the base of Antelope Pass..................

The back side of Antelope Pass is a heart pounding drive.

A few miles of non-stop climbing.  Extremely steep.  Tight switchbacks.  Steep drop-offs on the left side and sometimes both sides.  Sections that are very rocky (and that cause your front wheels to jump if you hit them too fast).  Sections where there are minor washouts along the edge of the drop off.

In short, during both times LC and I have gone uphill on the back side of Antelope I've held my breath. chosen not to look down on occasion, not taken any pictures and asked LC not to lose climbing momentum by stopping to look out over the world or take beautiful pictures.

Just get me safely to the top please.................

When we finally reached the top (and after breathing again) the first thing I saw were cows sitting at the very peak of the pass, right beside the sign marker announcing that we had made it.

Now that we had made it to the top all I wanted to do was get out of the Suburban and wander this beautiful place.

Climbing out of our beast of a vehicle I opened the back door, unhooked Korys' leash and moved out of the way so she could jump down to the ground.

My action was a huge deal, both for us and for our pup.

It was the first time that we had ever been in the mountains and trusted her enough to set her free.

Our pup was finally growing up.

She had learned to listen.

She had learned some impulse control (to the extent that she could now consistently watch a rabbit run across the road and not run after it if we told her no).  

There was no way that would have happened or could have happened last year.

 Last year she HAD to chase and no amount of calling from us would pull her back.

After a summer of proving herself, LC and I had decided that we now trusted her enough (while still in the wide open) to release her from the bondage of her leash.

I watched Kory jump down from the Suburban and then watched her for a few moments as she eagerly roamed in the freedom of the mountains.....................

There has been snow in the higher peaks throughout the region for at least the past month...................

We had disturbed their quiet place, and as we three humans and one pup wandered, the cows clamored to their feet, turned and quickly disappeared over a rise.......................

LC's brother Gary...................

I have watched LC a number of times over the years as he has inspected vehicles.

This Suburban?  

It had been on Craigslist for a week or so by the time we found it.

The guy was asking $600 for it, and with that asking price we almost didn't go to see it.

How good could be a vehicle be for $600??

As LC looked the Suburban over, and as I wandered with Kory, I knew that he was really interested in it.

The guy who was selling it was moving to Dallas in only a few days and could not take it with him.

An hour went by.  

Another hour went by.

LC looked under the hood, underneath the vehicle, under the hood again, and underneath it again.

He took it for a test drive.

By the end of two hours the price had dropped to $400.

143,000 miles.

With a full tank of gas.

As he drove the Suburban home and as I followed him in the Tahoe, I watched as LC easily hit 70 mph on the interstate.

Within a few months we had put another $600 into it (including used 10 ply tires), so we now had $1000 invested in the Suburban.

Over the past year the Suburban has taken us to Challis without issue, but aside from that one trip it has evolved into being mostly a BLM vehicle.

A sturdy and tough and butt-ugly beast of a vehicle to wander off road.

But this trip was the very first time we had ever totally stressed it.

Kory loved the Suburban because both back windows rolled all the way down, and with the back seats down she could easily wander from one side of the vehicle to the other and stick her head completely out of the window.

After watching it effortlessly climb the back side of Antelope Pass - and a year or so after we had bought it - I was finally and completely a convert.

It may have been a butt-ugly beast, but it was one helluva butt-ugly beast.

It was a keeper...................

An empty Forest Service building located 30 minutes from the top, on the way back down the pass..............

By the time we reached this creek smack in the middle of nowhere, we were all out of water.

On the spur of the moment LC pulled the Suburban over to the side of the gravel road we had been following for almost an hour and we all climbed out and headed down to the water.

Kory was LOVING this trip and loving her new found freedom, and we three were having a really great trip.

As I looked around me again I lifted my camera to snap a picture and heard a familiar beep.

Looking at the camera screen I groaned inwardly.

My camera chip was full.

Damn!  I had more pictures to take!

Scrolling back through my most recent pictures I quickly deleted a few of high desert mountains, which freed up space to take pictures of the water.

I took these few.

I could have taken another 50 before we finally made it back to the highway, but it was what it was...................

Mountains seem to answer an increasing imaginative need in the West. More and more people are discovering a desire for them, and a powerful solace in them. At bottom, mountains, like all wildernesses, challenge our complacent conviction - so easy to lapse into - that the world has been made for humans by humans. Most of us exist for most of the time in worlds which are humanly arranged, themed and controlled. One forgets that there are environments which do not respond to the flick of a switch or the twist of a dial, and which have their own rhythms and orders of existence. Mountains correct this amnesia. By speaking of greater forces than we can possibly invoke, and by confronting us with greater spans of time than we can possibly envisage, mountains refute our excessive trust in the man-made. They pose profound questions about our durability and the importance of our schemes. They induce, I suppose, a modesty in us................Robert Macfarlane