Photo by The Joneses Shoshone Falls — a powerful site, and visually stunning waterfall to see. The falls are located just north of Twin Falls, Idaho. — — — SLIDE SHOW: Plenty to see in Idaho — — — E-mail Gisela! Got a comment for Gisela about their trip? Sent her an e-mail, giselaontheroad@yahoo.com — — — View Larger Map
ARCHIVES: You wouldn't believe how beautiful Canada is! Wouldn't change a thing Who knew there was so much to see in South Dakota? Time is flying by — but at least we're having fun! I (heart) Hart Ranch, South Dakota Rallyin' in Goshen, Indiana A special day From friends to work to warmer temps, we're still having fun in Florida Traveling to Texas Finally, we're in Alaska! On the way to Canada Boise sure has changed a lot Escapees Rally in Wyoming Bittersweet trip through the southeast From Boy Scouts to ‘Stars on Ice’ Michigan is full of treasures Arriving in Florida Earning our ears Celebrating Christmas and New Year's in Florida and the Disney Parks Down in the Lowcountry Making our way through Minn., Wisc. and Ill. The holidays in Florida Our time in Lakeland has come to an end Couldn't have had a better time in Omaha! Arriving in Charleston A day with friends from Frederick 'Life is good' in Lakeland, Fla. Leaving Florida, and heading north Our final days in Kentucky Into the Keys Out of Charleston and off to Indiana Dreams come true in Vermont You never know what you'll see or who you'll meet in Alaska Leaving Indiana, but not before taking some of the state's best sites Idaho is full of natural treasures — and moon-like craters, too It's all about the theme parks From prairie country to beautiful views to grand 'ol Yellowstone Thunderstorms, flooding, tornados and a visit with the 'Duke' And so it begins ... Moving days for Greg and his family The gang's all here! Happy to be in Florida again Strawberries, and more strawberries 'The RV Capital of the World' From the beautiful Maine coastline down to southern Connecticut Training for our jobs at Disney World Chillin' out at 'Camp Monaco' Under the weather Back in Florida At long last, back in the area Lots to see in the 'Show Me' state With family and spectacular sights in Hailey, Idaho Look back, look ahead Back in the Lower 48 The cold weather is hitting Florida From Dallas to devastation Back on the road again Leaving Idaho and heading east Beautiful Alaska A memorable visit to Alaska's Kenai Peninsula Watch out for flying dinner rolls

This as far west as we are going. As I am writing this we are getting ready to leave here (Hailey) tomorrow and head east with a final destination Frederick in October. Before we go south (Florida) again for the winter.

I mentioned before that one of the great benefits of our lifestyle is being able to get together with family and friends who live far away from us — well used to, anyway — because now our home is “wherever we park it” and we can schedule our travels to make these special visits.

The last time we were in Idaho was five years ago for Tami’s wedding and before that it was in 1988 for Christmas. So, these past weeks were really wonderful.

Our first family visit was with Mary Ellen, Ralph’s sister, and her husband Allan. They have lived in Twin Falls for many years and enjoy the bird hunting and fishing that is so popular in this area. We also spent some time with Ralph’s niece Mary and her son and two teenage daughters.

It was so nice to get together and catch up on what is happening in everyone’s life, exchange some information on family history and just enjoy being together. Everyone, especially Mary and her daughters, thought our motor-home was "really cool."

Mary Ellen and Allan took us to see the Shoshone Falls north of Twin Falls. They are called “The Niagara Falls of the West” and they are just as fascinating. The falls are about 1,000 feet wide (I think Niagara Falls is wider), but Shoshone Falls' sheer drop is greater than Niagara — at least that's what I read.

The Shoshone Falls are created by the Snake River that flows through a lava-walled canyon and then cascades over a basaltic horseshoe rim. Unfortunately, these falls don’t flow all year round; it is just to hot and dry during the summer months that often by fall there is no water in the Snake River. Last time we were here in October and all we could see were the rocks — it was so much more beautiful this time.

We also went to a trout farm, where rainbow trout are raised to be shipped throughout the world. Sure saw some nice size trout; all I could think of how nice they would look on a big platter!

Other fish being raised there include the freshwater Sturgeon. These are NOT the ones producing the caviar (too bad), but they are a good eating fish and are also shipped all over the world. They look a bit pre-historic and are a very old species. That was interesting to us since we never heard of Sturgeons being raised in freshwater.

Not far from Twin Falls are the Craters of the Moon. This is an 83-square-mile black basaltic field that appears to have a lunar landscape. At least that is what people thought in the moon surface would look like in 1924, long before man walked on the it, when President Calvin Coolidge established the Craters of the Moon National Monument.

The origin is definitely volcanic and we could see where the lava flowed at one time. There are many different ‘cones’ (cinder or spatter) where lava ejected from, as well as a large rim called the “Great Rift” to create this vast and huge area of volcanic rock. It was truly an amazing sight. We climbed through the Indian tunnel, which is just one of the various caves. It was quite an undertaking and I am proud I made it through it.

At first there was a small path going into the cave and I thought — OK I can do that! The path almost disappeared and we had to scramble over a large rock pile and squeeze through tight areas before we reached the end of the cave. It was fun and kind of exciting.

We had heard of the Craters of the Moon before and seen pictures, but we had no idea how incredible the area is. The first time lava flowed was 15,000 years ago and the last eruptions were 2,000 years ago — imagine that!

AND geologists believe that future events are very likely, maybe not even in the too-distant future!