My Plans Don't Always Work Perfectly

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 

So we left and drove to the town of Hagerman, about 45 minutes further west. This is the site of the Hagerman Fossil Beds, a National Monument. The fossil beds contain a great variety, quantity, and quality of fossils, most notably of the Hagerman Horse, the earliest true equine (meaning he had a single hoof.) Smithsonian scientists uncovered 120 horse skulls and 20 complete skeletons here, one of which is in the very small visitor’s center in downtown Hagerman. There were a number of other fossils displayed, of other animals (giant sloth, giant otter, mastodon, mammoth) and plants. But again, it was quite a tiny place! We had lunch by the town park, and then we drove out to the National Monument itself, which is along the banks of the Snake River (the Snake River is EVERYWHERE in Idaho!!) The site is quite near the town, but we did manage to take one turn (on the map it looked like the correct road) and end up at a bridge which was closed (this is what will happen when you ignore a sign that says “road closed”, when it appears to still be open!) No big deal, we found the correct way, passing fields full of “melon gravel” as we traveled. These are large rocks which were dropped (like pebbles or gravel) by retreating glaciers.

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

So we came back, Joe is reading, I did the dishes, the dog is half asleep, and the AC cooled the place down enough in our absence that I think we’ll be able to sleep comfortably. Joe says he had a wonderful day today and thought it was perfect (he considers all our detours and changes of plans to be “adventures” and is quite happy no matter what we do), but I always get a little bothered when my careful plans and research don’t entirely pan out. But hopefully, tomorrow will be a more successful day--I don’t have anything specific planned other than our final destination-- Lava Hot Springs, yet another hot spring experience! It was great in 2011, and I have hopes that it will not disappoint us this time.

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.