Monday, October 5

Today we’re driving from Craters of the Moon National Monument to the eastern side of Idaho. Never once have I considered visiting Eastern Idaho, but Andi makes a good point — it’s the “Idaho side” of the Grand Teton Mountain Range, so it must be beautiful. We are about to find out for ourselves.

Andi and I decided to hold off on doing school this morning until we were in an area with better internet. It’s a risky decision waiting to do school because Tory and Aden are (understandably) less willing to focus on learning after they’ve lounged around with their iPads all morning. They both promised they would participate when it came time for school today, so we hit the road for a two-hour drive to Rexburg, Idaho.

In Rexburg, we picked up our online order of groceries and then parked in their parking lot so we could do school. I can’t count the number of times we’ve had lunch or accomplished school for the day in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Flat surface, lots of space to put the RV slide out, and some Wal-Mart locations even have free public internet. It was a warm, sunny fall day so we settled in and made ourselves comfortable for a few hours.

Next, we continued on the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway through the small town of Ashton before stopping at Warm River Campground for the night. There are several campgrounds in this area open year-round. During the summer, the campgrounds off RV services and a campground host; in the off-seasons, it’s simply a place to park. I honestly wish more state campgrounds did this! Sure, it’s nice having water or electric hook-ups while camping, but it’s not a necessity. We found a campsite right on the Snake River for $7. It had a fire ring, picnic table and a flat, cement pad to park — perfect!

After we got settled into our campsite, Andi and I unloaded our e-bikes and decided to take the kids for a bike ride along the Warm River Rail-Trail to Upper Mesa Falls located about 8 miles from the campground. Right away, I got a bad feeling about the bike trail. It was warm, sunny fall day and the view of the Snake River running alongside the trail was absolutely breathtaking so everything should have been wonderful, but the trail itself was not in good condition. Loose gravel, lots of potholes, boulders and ruts to navigate and pokey bushes sticking out that scratched our legs as we rode.

To make matters worse, I must be allergic to dust because whenever we go for bike rides on dirt trails my arms always break out into hives. Minutes into this bike ride, I was miserable! Sweet Tory kept saying, “I know you’re doing the best you can, Mom” as she rode along beside me. Andi stopped every other mile or so to say, “Isn’t this gorgeous?” Meanwhile, all I wanted was for the ride to be over. Someone pass me a Benadryl.

Some parts of the trail were better than others, and we finally made it to the 8-mile mark. Here, we planned to hike to see the Upper Mesa Falls — one of the biggest waterfalls in Western USA. Except, the trail didn’t drop us out at Mesa Falls at all. It dropped us out in a big farm field with an ATV trail down the middle. What the? Andi and I concluded that we must have missed a turn-off somewhere.

No way, no how I was riding back on that bike trail. We decided to ride the crushed black-rock ATV trail until we came to a regular road which we’d bike back to the campsite. At this point, none of us were in the mood for hiking anymore. The ATV trail was mostly flat and straight, but did have a few cattle guards we had to navigate our bikes over. At this point, all we could do was laugh. Always an adventure!

We eventually made it back to a paved roadway and followed the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway from the Falls to Warm River Campground. Luckily, there weren’t many cars on the roadway.

Back at camp, Andi made steak salads. We decided to sit outside because it was such a nice fall day and we actually had a picnic table! That’s one downside of dispersed camping — we don’t travel with a table and there isn’t usually one available in the woods. Dinnertime is one of my favorite “small space living” moments because everybody pitches in to help clean-up. Andi put away the grill outside while I washed dishes and Aden dried them. You realize while living in a 24’ RV that you don’t need much to live comfortably — four plates, one sharp knife, a cutting board, and a set of silverware for each person.

Tuesday, October 6

This morning, Andi and I decided to drive to Upper and Lower Mesa Falls to see the waterfalls we missed out on yesterday. After a quick breakfast in the RV, we packed up and drove about 15 minutes north on the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway.

It was 36 degrees outside this morning, but the air will warm up quickly once the sun starts shining. Andi found a parking spot in the Upper Mesa Falls parking lot, then the four of us walked along the boardwalk to see the waterfalls. Unfortunately, the Mesa Falls Visitor Center is closed due to COVID-19. We would have liked to learn more about the landscape and why there’s such big, beautiful waterfalls located in Eastern Idaho. This visit, learning from the interpretive signage along the path would have to suffice.

This boardwalk around Upper Mesa Falls was really neat because it allows visitors to get really, really close to the falls. It’s a fun perspective to be so close to the fast-rushing water.

After seeing the falls, Andi and I decided to take the kids on a short hike near the Visitor’s Center. We found the trailhead for a 2.2 mile out-and-back trail that leads to the Lower Mesa Falls. Already the air temperature had warmed up into the 50’s and it was a gorgeous morning to walk outdoors. We had the entire trail to ourselves — we didn’t see another person.

… but we did see a few animals! About a mile into the trail, I spotted a bull moose grazing in the grass not 20 feet from where we were walking. The moose didn’t seem too concerned with us, so we backed up to give it some space and then stood in the woods to watch it for a while. Later, we noticed a female moose laying in the woods not far from where the male stood.

On the trail, we also saw an American Marten (also known as a Pine Marten) up close. That was cool to see, too! The American Marten looked like a cross between a fox and a house cat. It was very curious about us, too.