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28 Jun 2020

Bend, OR; Kayaking 2020

We had a half day to spend in Bend and did not want to waste it. After considerable research we signed up for a kayak tour with Wanderlust Tours. 
As alway this trip, we were quite concerned (due to Covid) about being with a group. They accommodated us quite well, in that we had our own kayak and we followed their group shuttle in our own vehicle to the lake.
Just the 45 minute ride up to Hosmer Lake would have been a worthwhile, gorgeous side trip. Mount Bachelor and two other mountains were right in our face.
Believe it or not I fell in to the lake. Our terrific guide Katie asked me to turn around and smile for a photo. She said it was the first time she ever saw one of these kayaks capsize.








27 Jun 2020

Boise, ID 2020

Yes we actually passed through Boise, and had a great day.

We have been on the road for about a week and Boise is the first big (pop. 228,000) city we have visited. To do something different, I put together a unique eclectic tour for Allyn featuring many of her interests – prisons, art, Jewishness, and humanitarianism. However, the biggest treat was our evening with our friend from cruising, Cathy Tai. 

Congregation Beth Israel, founded 1895, is the oldest continuous running synagogue west of the Mississippi. 

Moses Alexander, mayor of Boise and governor of Idaho, was an early leader of the congregation.

In 2003 the building was moved from its original location. During the move, documentation was discovered showing that it was partially financed by Marshall Field and Levi Strauss & Co.



 

Freak Alley is said to be the largest outdoor gallery in the Northwest, and has been a Boise institution since 2002. 

 

 

 

 

The Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial is a .81-acre educational park inspired by Anne Frank's faith in humanity. Etched in the stone throughout the Memorial, the quotes are from diverse regions and times.  The words memorialize the universality of the struggle against injustice and oppression. 

 

The Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial in Boise has been named one of only 11 United States sites to receive a sapling from the actual Anne Frank Chestnut Tree in Amsterdam. The sapling is planted in the Memorial.

 


The Old Idaho Penitentiary opened in 1872 to some of the West’s most desperate criminals. They closed 101 years later. They had 500 prison breaks of which 90 were successful. Juviniles were housed here.


 

 

The beautiful rose bushes were always there and tended by the inmates.

 

 

Here we can see the indoor gallows trap door from the viewing room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 









26 Jun 2020

Shoshone Falls, UT

 

Don’t miss Shoshone Falls next time you are in Twin Falls, Idaho.

 

 

Shoshone Falls is one of the largest natural waterfalls in the United States. They are higher than Niagara Falls. 

 

Shoshone Falls is located on the Snake River.

 

 

They were formed about 15,000 years ago by a catastrophic flood that sent about 1,500 times the average annual water down the Snake River in just a few weeks. That is why the canyon is so deep and dramatic.

 

 









24 Jun 2020

The Arches National Park

Today we visited The Arches National Park. It houses the largest density of natural sandstone arches in the world. We took an off road tour in order to see things generally not available. 
The Arches lies atop a salt bed, which is the main cause of the formation of the arches, spires, balanced rocks, sandstone fins, and eroded monoliths in the area. This salt bed is thousands of feet thick in places and was deposited some 300 million years ago when a sea flowed into the region and eventually evaporated.
The short story – arches are formed by corrosion which doesn’t stop and eventally they fall down.
The beauty doesn't stop.
You can guess why they call this rock Nefertiti.
The white top of some of the rocks came from the Pacific Ocean which shows there was a major climate shift millions of year ago.
 
They even have many actual dinasaur tracks in the park.








23 Jun 2020

Capitol Reef National Park and Goblin Valley State Park (UT)

Capitol Reef National Park is all about color. That is because its 100 mile Waterpocket Fold, a wrinkle in the earth, exposes so many geological layers because it is 7,000 feet higher on the west than the east.
It  has created dramatic cliffs, canyons, natural bridges and arches, among the many distinct geological formations.
We had to hike quite a while to see some of the best rock formations.
This is where Butch Cassidy hung out and paid sheep herder kids to gather supplies for his group.
Beside the natural color, we saw 1,000 year old Indian art carved on the rock.
The old wagon must be from the 1800s.
The tree trunk at the entrance seemed picture worthy.
Next we stopped at Valley of the Goblins. Think of an alien planet, right here in the USA. Might be the closest thing to another planet in the USA. It features hundreds of goblins (actually hoodoos) that resulted from an erosion-resistant layer of rock atop relatively softer sandstone.