On The Road Again to Utah and Idaho - Uh Oh, a Blowout, Ugh!

After finally saying goodbye to Rock Springs and Wyoming and getting our tires re-balanced on the truck and trailer we drove west on I-80 into Utah. 

  

We drove to a Harvest Host golf course in Trementon, UT to spend the night.

  

 

There was plenty of room in their parking lot so we got set up for the night.  

  

The golf course just happened to be next to the local rodeo arena and there was an event in progress so we had to walk over and check it out.  

 

Lucky for us there was a roping event so we sat in the stands and watched.  This time there were more people watching with us but the stands were mostly empty so we could distance ourselves.

Modern Cowgirl on her Cell Phone

I walked around the outside perimeter of the arena and found these young boys practicing their roping skills on goats.  Instead of riding on a horse they just ran after the goats.  There were two adults timing them and keeping score.

Well that was an unexpected treat!

The next day we got back on the road and headed north to Idaho.  About 30 minutes in to our drive Al noticed something and pulled over to the side of the road.  Uh oh, we had a blow out to one of our brand new tires on the trailer!

 

 

We were not in a great place on the side of the road with the flat tire being on the driver's side and closest to vehicles driving by so we called our Roadside Assistance for help. A guy came from the town we just left and replaced our tire with our full size spare.

 

We were back on the move within an hour of placing the call for service.  This was our second time using FMCA's Roadside Assistance and we were very happy with the service again.  Remember the last time we had to be towed 100 miles to Ft. Stockton, TX when we had a broken leaf spring on the old trailer at Big Bend National Park last November.   

Then it was a first for both of us as we entered the state of Idaho.

We reached out to some friends, Brad and Pam, from California that we used to hike and water-ski with who now live in Idaho and we made plans to visit them.  They invited us to stay in their driveway in Hailey, Idaho.  They live in a beautiful home set among a lot of trees.   

We did have some smoke from the fires in the north west and California that were affecting the air in southern Idaho.

View from the street

View from their front door

Pam and the kids cooked us a delicious dinner and we got caught up.  The next day the kids had school work and sports so Brad & Pam took us to Craters of the Moon National Monument.

Craters of the Moon is a vast ocean of lava flows with scattered islands of cinder cones and sagebrush.

We drove on Loop road and stopped at various sites to get out and look around and do short hikes.

Al, Nancy, Brad, and Pam

We walked up this cinder cone named Inferno Cone.

Due to COVID-19, the Rangers now have to set up tables outside to help visitors.  I was able to get another Junior Ranger badge during our visit to this park.  I need to start keeping count of how many we completed since we hit the road two years ago. 

 

On the way back to their house we stopped off at the cemetery where Ernest Hemingway is buried.  It was interesting to see the items that people leave on his grave.  

We also got a driving tour of the cute town of Ketchum and Sun Valley.  They showed us some nice boondocking sites nearby too.  We enjoyed our time with Brad & Pam and their kids, Emily and Dave.  It was great seeing them again and talking with the kids.  They're so smart and dedicated to their studies.

Our plans were to continue northwest through Idaho with a stop in Boise before driving into Oregon and Washington states but the wildfires and smoke in the Pacific Northwest were so bad that we changed plans and headed east. 

Before we got too far we needed to buy a new tire to replace our spare.  The Goodyear Endurance trailer tires are in demand so it was difficult to find a shop that had them in stock but we found one near Rapid City, Idaho. 

The white rim is the spare

I expected the tire blow out to be something faulty with the tire or the installation of the tire on our rim but ends up we had a puncture in the brand new tire we purchased in Rock Springs so we had to pay for the new tire. 

Now that we have a spare tire again we continued on to the Elks Lodge in Rapid City, Idaho. 

 

Our new, new tire on the rim on the back axle (right).

We just happen to be at the lodge on a day that they were hosting a Red Cross Blood Drive so we each donated a pint!  The blood drive coordinator was so friendly and curious about our lifestyle.

Another day we went in to town to see the falls.

 

 

Idaho Falls with Idaho Temple (LDS Church)

We had a nice walk along the Riverwalk which took us on a loop so we were able to walk on both sides of the river.  It was a beautiful day for a walk so we enjoyed it.  At many places along the Riverwalk there were unique benches. 

 

Bicycle Bench

Bears Benches

Wolf Benches

After the Riverwalk we headed in to the charming town.  There were not many people out as it was a weekday and COVID-19 so it looked like a movie set. 

 

 

There was a small Japanese garden along the Riverwalk too.

 

After all that walking it was time for some ice cream.  We drove to the edge of town to Reed's Dairy where the cow farm was right next to the dairy store.  There were hundreds of cows!

 Some cow facts: 

• She turns water and feed into milk. 
• She drinks 30 gallons of water a day.
• She eats 63 pounds of feed a day.
• Then Bossie goes to work, turning the water and food into milk for you.
• She produces about 10 gallons of milk per day, or around 86 pounds.  That is around 26,230 pounds per milking year or 3,050 gallons.
  

This ice cream cone was definitely smaller then the ones we got in Farson, Wyoming.  To be fair, I did eat some while I was checking out the cows.

This was our route so far after leaving Rock Springs, Wyoming.  It feels so good to be mobile again!

It's been a crazy year causing so many changes to our plans but we're fortunate to be able to pivot and move in a different direction or just sit in one place if needed.  

Since we scrapped our plans for a visit to the Pacific Northwest this year, we decided to head to one of my happy places, Grand Tetons National Park in Wyoming.