A belated fact about Boise, they process ALL the french fries for McDonald's in America. Somehow I find that very repulsive. I'm not sure why.
The day started with me off to visit the Craters of the Moon National Monument. I haven't figured out the difference between a National Park and a National Monument. As I was driving there a coyote pranced across the road in front of me just as casual as can be, luckily he was far enough ahead that I didn't need to brake. I think I'm a volcano type girl. As soon as I starting getting into the area and the soil turned black and all the rocks were black and sharp a smile appeared on my face. There are basically two types of lava: one is aiai which is sharp and very broken and the other pahoehoe which is smoother. Craters of the Moon had its last eruption about 2000 years ago. It is really exciting to see comparatively recent lava flows begin to be colonized first by lichens and then plants. Some of the lava has turned red from rust because of its high iron content. I wandered around the monument for an hour or so checking out the different formations created by the different eruptions.
Next I went to Blackfoot to visit the Idaho Potato Museum. It is an adorable little museum. They have the whole history of how potatoes made their way from South America to the rest of the world. Also how the Idaho Russet potato was hybridized. Then they had a promo on how potatoes are grown, graded, double-checked, packed and shipped. Then what happens to the rejects like hash browns or other frozen products. They, of course, had all the old equipment used for planting and harvesting potatoes. They had this photo of Marilyn Monroe in a potato sack.
I decided that the next thing I would do was to spend two days in Yellowstone so I got a hotel at the north entrance of the Park. For some reason because it is me I had to go through west entrance and meander to get to the north entrance. For a while I got depressed because I didn't see so much as a squirrel. Then I turned a corner and there was a crowd of parked cars with people taking pictures of Bison hanging out not ten feet away. It was amazing. They must have all been mothers and juveniles because they were pretty small. Though a man got too close and a Bison got up and snorted angrily and stomped his foot. I took some photos and moved on. Next there was a large male Bison posing for photos. He was standing on a mound and would check to see if you had your camera ready and would hold a pose. Once he heard the click he would move, shake himself, look around. As I kept driving I came across people photographing a herd of Elk. Of course I stopped to take my own photos. They were at a great distance but I saw a doe Elk up close as I was leaving the park. She was just standing at the entrance washing herself.
The hotel is a total rip-off but it isn't anything I didn't expect. It was a great day. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow.
I decided that the next thing I would do was to spend two days in Yellowstone so I got a hotel at the north entrance of the Park. For some reason because it is me I had to go through west entrance and meander to get to the north entrance. For a while I got depressed because I didn't see so much as a squirrel. Then I turned a corner and there was a crowd of parked cars with people taking pictures of Bison hanging out not ten feet away. It was amazing. They must have all been mothers and juveniles because they were pretty small. Though a man got too close and a Bison got up and snorted angrily and stomped his foot. I took some photos and moved on. Next there was a large male Bison posing for photos. He was standing on a mound and would check to see if you had your camera ready and would hold a pose. Once he heard the click he would move, shake himself, look around. As I kept driving I came across people photographing a herd of Elk. Of course I stopped to take my own photos. They were at a great distance but I saw a doe Elk up close as I was leaving the park. She was just standing at the entrance washing herself.
No comments:
Post a Comment