Two Leos' Wanderings: Baked Potato Anyone?

As we rolled north from Jackson Hole, our first challenge was crossing Teton Pass. This is the most white-knuckle drive I have encountered so far in our travels. The climb across the pass begins at Wilson, Wyoming at an elevation of around 6,400 feet. The peak is about 10 miles toward Victor, Idaho and 2,000 feet up from Wilson. To get there, most of the drive is a 10% grade.

Until this trip, the steepest grade I have encountered was 7%. The road is good, but on the downhill side construction brought the traffic to a stop and alternated through a one lane section. I was very glad when we reached Victor, Idaho on the western side of the pass. I’ll do my best to avoid this type of mountain crossing in the future.

View from the top of Teton Pass

Before we started full-time RV traveling in 2012, I had lived in the Dallas, Texas area for over 30 years. There is nothing rural about Dallas. When we moved to the D/FW Metroplex in 1981, the population was just over 3 million. By 2012, it had grown to 6.6 million. Even South Fork, which looks like it is a ranch on TV, is actually a house in a subdivision. For years, my commute to work could easily take over an hour in each direction. I always felt that Dallas is a good city to live in, if you want to live in a city.

But for the first 20 years of my life I lived and grew up in the rural Midwest, in Indiana and Illinois. So, when I’m traveling and find myself in farm country I get a comfortable “at home” feeling. That’s what it was like driving from Jackson Hole, Wyoming into Idaho. The large rolling fields of wheat and potatoes reminded me of the field of corn and soy beans in Southern Illinois and Indiana. We stopped roadside several time to step out and soak up the views and smells of farming around us.

Idaho potato field with wheat and Teton Range in the background

This is farm country

Our stay in Idaho has been in Riverside Campground in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, near the town of Island Park. Island Park is an interesting place. It has a population of 286 and claims to have the longest Main Street in America. Main Street is also U. S. Route 20 and the city limits follow the highway. In most areas, the city is only 500 feet wide. But it extends about 33 miles along the highway from north to south. It seems that the business owners along the highway incorporated the city in this way to circumvent Idaho’s liquor laws, which prohibit the sale of liquor outside of city limits.

The campground is along the bank of The Henry’s Fork of the Snake River. I’ve been surprised that has not been full during our stay. While it gets busier on the weekends, during the week it seem to be 80% vacant. I’m not complaining. We have a choice site within about 100 yards of river bank.

About 10 miles downstream from our campsite, the Henry’s Fork lows over two falls, named Upper Mesa Falls and (surprise) Lower Mesa Falls. As I told the nice Park Ranger Lady at the visitors center, these falls are about the prettiest sight I have seen during my travels this summer.

As we are wrapping up our stay in Idaho, we took a day trip to West Yellowstone, which is a small town at the western entrance to Yellowstone National Park. At the edge of town we can across a gathering of mountain men. This Mountain Men Rendezvous turned out to be a gathering of folks engaged in mountain crafts and trapping to sell their products. I’m sure my kids and grand-kids would have enjoyed it. Especially the Indian Chief who will teach you how to throw a tomahawk (which he called a Hawk). He will also pose for a photo for $4 ($5 with smile).