Somewhere along I-84 in Idaho we saw an off-ramp designated as "Old Oregon Trail Road", and we could not resist. Off we go out in the middle of nowhere, and then it dawns on us that this is not a road to the Oregon Trail, it is a road on the original Oregon Trail. From time to time we see cuts in the terrain obviously cut by wagons over 150 years ago, and then we happened upon this old road sign done in the style of the 1920's and 1930's when volunteers would go and place signs directing early auto travelers. If you have a map of Idaho, there really is a town, who knows how much of one, called "Pine", 50 miles off in the direction so indicated. After 20 miles or so, the Old Oregon Trail Road connects with another secondary road which leads back to I-84.
Another hour or so was spent exploring Shoshone Falls near Twin Falls ID. I have been back and forth on this stretch of highway many times, but this was the first time I bothered to see the falls. If you get the chance, I highly recommend you take the time to see Shoshone Falls, and the bridge over the Snake River on Idaho State Route 75. The Snake River canyon is spectacular with steep walls constraining the river forever to its twists and turns cut deeply into solid rock.
Noticing a route marked "scenic" on the AAA map of Utah, we decided to swing through Logan UT on our way to Little America. We found a nice place to eat dinner in Logan, and I must say, the road into the area is one of the most pastoral and downright pretty farming areas I have seen in a long time. As we followed a beautiful canyon out of town, night fell and we resigned ourselves to a long drive through the dark. Somewhere after we crossed into Wyoming, Marilyn pointed out that what she thought was the Milky Way was clearly visible. I pulled off the road and we both enjoyed the most wondrous night-time sky we had ever seen. With no light for miles around, the sky was literally filled with so many stars that it took a minute or two to pick out the most commonly recognized constellations. And yes, the Milky Way traced an arc across the entire sky. Only once before had I seen the Milky Way clearly, and this night was far and away more spectacular than what I had seen before.
Having lost an hour due to crossing a time zone boundary, it was near 11:00 Mountain Time when we rolled into Little America and were lucky enough to obtain a room for the night. Although a bit pricey, the room proved to be the nicest of the trip to date, and I am writing this at the end of Day 12.
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