We commenced our Autumn Road Trip on Blue Eyes’ 57th birthday, October 23, 2020. We drove from Portland to Boise, Idaho. We left just after lunchtime and drove straight through with the consolation prize for Blue Eyes being a birthday dinner out at a Boise restaurant, with proper social distancing. The restaurant, walking distance from our hotel on a crisp Fall evening, was lovely, and we only felt a little bit uncomfortable out in the “real world” during the surging coronavirus situation. We promised each other to limit our actual in-restaurant dining during the rest of the trip, however, since The Peacemaker’s 27th birthday was two days later, we broke our promise pretty quickly.
On Saturday, Day 2 of 16, the Peacemaker had chosen two stops for our journey from Boise, Idaho to Salt Lake City, Utah. The first being Glenns Ferry, a very small town in Idaho and a stop on the Oregon Trail, where pioneers made their treacherous Three Island Crossing on the Snake River. There is now a State Park with Oregon Trail History and Education Center at this spot.
It was a bit chilly near the river (actually really chilly as I had to dig through the car to find what I like to call my Pillsbury Dough Girl puffy white coat), so on the way out of town we stopped into a little coffee shop that happened to be attached to the Glenns Ferry Historic Opera Theatre. As we entered the cute (and cozy warm) little coffee shop, we heard the most agonizing sound. I thought the shop owner was playing some horrific music and quickly exited after placing my order. As I ventured out front of the shop, I realized we were next to the theatre and there was a live matinee being performed of Frankenstein (the week before Halloween) and the noise we had heard was the performance. It was so eery and I totally wish I had thought to make a recording of it. I bet it was a good show! Small town theatre can be pretty great.
After warming our chilled bones, we headed to our second stop of the day, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. If you are ever out in this remote location of Northern Utah in the American West, I highly recommend driving through this sanctuary. The Bear River marshes are part of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem. https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Bear_River_Migratory_Bird_Refuge/about.html
The visitor center is currently closed due to Covid, but the 12 mile Auto Tour is open, and amazing. It is a bit of a dichotomous situation, however, as there is hunting allowed (in season) at the “sanctuary.” We were a bit disappointed by this, as along with the gorgeous sunset and the sights and sounds of hundreds of birds, we also heard shots in the distance and saw numerous camouflaged hunting boats on the water, it was still one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. But seriously, who knew there was a Swan hunting season???
A couple hours later we were safely checked in to our Salt Lake City hotel, just in time for a bit of snow! Thank goodness we packed appropriately.
try not to cry on my rainbow 
Those pictures are so beautiful. We too hate hunting, I won’t tell you what Rich calls the hunters, but it involves swapping one letter to a C! It’s one of the things we detest in France, and so many people get killed by them. It all looks so beautiful ❤️❤️
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The whole trip was amazingly beautiful! I wrote a blog post back in 2015 titled ‘Who killed Bambi’s mother,’ which pretty much sums up how I feel about hunting. ❤
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Your photos are beautiful, Kat! A treat!
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Thank you. It’s fun reminiscing!
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Have you ever been to Wallace, Idaho? It’s in the northern part of the state.
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No, I haven’t. Is it worth a visit? It’s rare that I go that far north, except in Washington State, but I am planning a road trip to Canada.
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More than anyplace in America, I felt like I got into a time machine visiting that town. Apparently, in like 1960, the federal government was going to demolish most of the downtown to build Interstate 90. So the town (and state) pulled a fast one and declared the entire downtown a historical landmark. It saved the downtown, but ever since then, it’s hard to go by historic landmark rules, which make changing things almost impossible. It is literally like walking back into 1960 with their architecture, signage, parking, etc. If I was going to move to the northwest, it would be near the top of my list of places to consider.
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Interesting. Sounds like it is worth a visit. No doubt my dad had been there. He was a traveling salesman (of auto parts) in the 60’s & 70’s and his territory was OR, WA, ID. I’ll have to check it out.
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Swan hunting season should not be a real thing. 🦢🦢
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I know! We were all a little sickened!
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My father was a hunter (in rural NYS) with a tremendous sense of ethics. Rabbit, deer, duck, etc. It wasn’t just for sport; he ate wild game and loved it. I have never heard of SWAN season. Eeeek.
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Likewise my family ate what they caught. I have recently gone vegan/pescatarian 80/20 both for health, and because it feels right to me. It’s an adjustment, but feels good.
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I probably should switch to another diet, but right now, making changes is overwhelming for me, and I am the only cook in the house. I could do pescatarian, but I don’t want to have more food / meal conversations with my husband. I cook healthy — two veg and lean protein for dinner. I love salad greens. He complains I make greens too much; it’s just not worth my effort with him on that issue right now.
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My diet is driven by my blood sugars. So far this is working for me, but Blue Eyes actually can’t and doesn’t eat the same way, due to his digestive issues. One of the best decisions for me was giving myself permission to eat the way I need to without worrying about anyone else. It’s not easy though!
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Great pics, as always. Sounds like your road trip went really well. Awesome!!
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It was lovely!!!
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I’m so glad. I’m glad you guys got away and had some great adventures!
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Have you been able to get away?
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My parents are both in their late 70s, early 80s and both have underlying conditions. It’s too risky to do anything out of the ordinary to keep them safe. I get out here and there, but avoid the COVID traps like gyms and restaurants. Looks like our Governor in Michigan is locking us down again on Sunday, so even if I wanted to, that’s a wrap. I’m glad you guys got out though. Your trips looked terrific!
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Likewise our Governor is locking us down, as of tomorrow. I’m glad we got away when we did. We didn’t get or give the virus and have self quarantined since our return. New Mexico was really good at setting and keeping the rules, Utah not so much. I hope there is a vaccine soon. It will be a very quiet Thanksgiving this year.
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Yeah, it’s ramping back up again. Break out the board games, right?
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Right, simple good fun since we’ve already watched everything on Netflix 😉 kidding! We’re not retired and work keeps us pretty busy. I want to get out and do some long walks, but our weather is very dreary. It’s always an adjustment this time of year and I start dreaming of becoming a snowbird. The trees are pretty though. 🙂
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Yeah, we have a movie night and game night here. I’m also an avid gamer, so there’s always someone in the world that wants to join in for a game any hour of the day. I’ve come up with a schedule that keeps me pretty busy. Writing, reading, learning, my spiritual work, chores around the house, and exercise. I figured out real quick that retirement is not a good thing without a plan for continued achievement of goals. It’s nice to finally be able to do what I want to do, rather than what a boss wants me to do.
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Yes, my husband learned he wanted to be his own boss way back in 1996… being fired helped him along with that. It’s much better this way, but my brother and I pull our hair out on the daily trying to reign him in! And yeah, our son is an avid gamer and basically has the opposite schedule as the rest of us. Three of my brothers are also gamers. I have never played an online game with anyone, but I do enjoy my blogger friends, so I can see how it would be enjoyable!
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I play predominantly first-person shooters, like DOOM, Call of Duty, and the like. Gaming is very popular, and there are some gals out there that can kick my butt all over the battlefield. I like playing because it is so engaging, particularly when you’ve got some big battle royals going with 50+ players.
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We all have our loves. For me it’s working out in the garden on a sunny 70 degree day. Not so much working in the garden on a rainy, windy, 45 degree day, but I do need to get out there this weekend and winterize. I’m hoping for sunshine at least!
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I hope you got your sunshine, while you winterized. Have a great week!
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I did, but still quite a bit of yard work to do.
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Awesome! The more the better, right?
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