Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018
I had high expectations for today. I
knew where we were going, and I expected those places to be really
interesting and varied. But none of it seemed to work out quite
smoothly this time. It was a very bizarre day. [And, I might add, the title works for today's blog, as well. My phone refuses to send me any photos for today, and Joe's photos were mostly not great either, so until I can transfer a few of mine in here, there are no photos!]
Our first stop was the Minidoka
National Historic Site. This site was one of the interment camps for
Japanese citizens during World War II. Not a lot of physical remnants
are there-- there are some walls from the police building at the site
of the gate, and a couple of other buildings. But there is a
recording we listened to of a man describing his journey from home to
Minidoka, and what it was like for him. There is a fence which is a
replica of the fence which surrounded the encampment, which enclosed
thousands of Japanese. And there are some plaques, including a Wall
of Honor which names the Japanese soldiers who fought in the US Army.
All of this information was in a very
small area next to a very small parking lot. There is apparently a
visitor center, but it’s about a half-mile away on a path. The
signs explaining the path(s) (there are several) were very unclear.
We set out, with water (which they suggested) and sun protection, and
Joe’s walking stick, and instead of turning toward the visitor’s
center, the path turned the opposite way. I realized we had taken the
wrong direction, and that there was something more direct. Yes, it
WAS my fault for not realizing that the brochure had a map in it! But
it was VERY hot and I realized Joe was just not going to make it back
to the parking area, and set out again on the more direct path (the
one we were on was undoubtedly about a mile long.) So we went back to
the RV, and I discovered that my phone had not even managed to take
the photos I thought I had taken on our brief walk.
The fence around Minidoka. The internees fished in the canal. |
Joe encouraged me to use my good
camera, and at least get a few shots that way from the parking area.
While I did that, he realized that there were three trash cans by the
display signs, and lo and behold, they were for RECYCLING!! These
were literally the first recycling containers we have seen on our
entire trip thus far!! So we got all our plastic bottles and cans
out of the RV, and filled up the plastic and can bin (the others were
for trash, and for glass containers.) So at least THAT was a “win”!
But I was disappointed not to see more information about Minidoka.
From a physical point of view, I actually think the landscape is
beautiful. But I think it must have looked like hell on earth to the
Japanese who were forcibly moved there from the Olympic Peninsula in
Washington, where everything is so green and lush and cool. The
brochure tells of all the amazing ways they improved the camp during
the years they were there--they were truly quite heroic. But the
entire situation was certainly a shame on the history of our country.
Hagerman Horse skeleton |
There were two overlooks in the area
administered by the Nation Park Service. One was the Snake River
overlook, which had some more info about the Pliocene Epoch, and a
view across the river of the cliffs which are the actual fossil beds.
In other words, we were nowhere near any fossils except in the
visitors center-- and man, it was SO HOT up there that we didn’t
even take Cassie out of the RV, the pathway to the overlook was too
hot for her paws.
The second overlook was the Oregon
Trail overlook. The other notable thing about this area is that the
road goes right along the old Oregon Trail. So there were information
panels on that as well. But as with the Minidoka site, in order to
actually get to the overlook, it was necessary to hike a quarter of a
mile or more (depending on which overlook you wanted) to get to the
view. I got out of the RV briefly, but Joe was just too tired by that
point. So we did our best to snap photos from the highway as we drove
back down-- the road was so empty that it was not TOO unsafe .
At this point, it was about 3:30. There
are two fish hatcheries right there in Hagerman-- one which is
federally run, and one run by the state of Idaho. We had a magazine
telling us all about the attractions in this part of the state, and
while saying that both were open to visitors, with tours and other
fun things to see, they said the State hatchery closed at 4:30, but
the federal one was open until 6pm. So we decided to go see the
federal fish hatchery.
Well, yet again, we followed the gps,
and it led us to the gate of the Federal Fish Hatchery-- which was
closed. There was no information. There was no sign about “hours.”
There was a push-button phone set up at the gate, but no one answered
it when I tried using it. We checked out a few other, unpaved, roads
in the immediate vicinity, but none of them got us anywhere. Finally
we took the road to the State hatchery, and we THINK it led us to the
federal one, but we are not sure. And in any case, the fish breeding
ponds were all locked up, and the rest seemed to be a series of ponds
with, you guessed it, paths to walk between them. This being
physically impaired business really cuts down on a lot of activities!
And still, it was HOT (did I mention that?) So.... we were ready to
give up for the day.
Which led us to the question, where
were we going to stay? There are three places in Hagerman with RV
parks attached to public hot spring fed pools. I had done a LOT of
research trying to decide which to go to. I’m too tired to relate
all of the details; suffice to say that our first choice did not have
any RV sites free when we got there. So we are at their sister park
across the road. And.... YAY! Finally, something worked out just
right!
After not seeing all of Minidoka, after
being a little disappointed in the Fossil Beds, after not finding the
fish hatchery, after being turned away from our first choice of RV
park, we FINALLY got something good! I was quite concerned because
the RV sites themselves are quite unattractive, and ours seems to
have mud (which none of the others do.) The electric hookup didn’t
work, so we are using the one in the site next to us. The flies were
driving me nuts, and it was so EFFING hot (did I mention that
already?) that do what I could, I could not cool down. And the AC in
the RV was fighting in vain against the heat. And adding insult to
injury, there is not a single bar of telephone service. But tonight,
after Joe made us a wonderful dinner (which we ate outside because
despite the flies and yellow jackets, it was cooler out there), we
went over to the pools.
And all I can say is, I wish the owners
took as much care with the RV park as they did with the pools. The
place is very clean, up-to-date, the showers inside are tiled and the
water is hot. Better yet, the 4 hot spring-fed pools are delicious!
The hottest one was as hot as ours at home, probably about 104-105
degrees, and Joe was so happy soaking in it. I went in all of them--
the biggest was “only” about 95 degrees or so, and the other two
were about 100. But they all felt great, I was able to finally get
physically comfortable, and it was just what we (I) needed to stop
feeling aggravated and relax.
10,000 Springs |
10,000 Springs burst out of the cliffs |
PS: One thing I forgot to mention was when we were driving to the RV parks, we suddenly looked across the river, and saw dozens of springs spilling down the sides of the cliffs opposite us. Despite hearing that the area was called 10,000 Springs, we were quite taken by surprise-- they were SO PRETTY! We spent a little time trying to find a vantage point to see them better, but the best we could do was with my good camera's zoom lens. But just seeing them was a treat.
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