To the West Coast and back

[johnnytravels]

I made my way east to Boise, and stopped in Nampa along the way. While I was walking around the downtown area, I stopped in at an arts and craft shop and talked to the ladies working there, and gave them some of my origami. In addition to selling art supplies, they hold art classes and pottery making there. It turns out that Nampa (adjacent to Boise) did have a bit of artist community, with a nearby college (Boise State University) that brought in more students to the art scene. As I explored further, I found a bunch of neat shops and a pretty cool area to hang out.

Their public library was nice too, it seemed like a very livable community, and I hope to one day re-visit and spend more time there. but for now was headed to the Sawtooth national forest, and passed what I assumed was Boise's main reservoir. Coming from California, which was hard hit by drought, it was nice to see one that wasn't severely depleted.

The scenery was really beautiful, with houses sitting atop an idyllic plateau, that looked like it could be straight out of a painting.

The cave reminded me of one that Paul said he slept in at Yosemite, and seeing the natural rock formation above up close made me wonder why idiots always felt compelled to spray graffiti and deface anything that was interesting or nice to look at.

 

[johnnytravels]

I traveled the back roads of the forest and found a quiet place to park for the night, and fell asleep to the patter of rain on the roof.

In the morning I drove through Idaho City, which did seem like an interesting place. At one time, it was one of the bigger towns in Idaho, and a stopping point for travelers passing through the canyon by wagon on their way west, but now looks like it's seen better days. I think the word ramshackle describes this store on main street. I would have liked to gone in and look around, but it was closed.

I found a nice campground to stay at right next to a creek, and did some hiking nearby, where I spotted a chipmunk hiding in a cluster of branches. He may have been related to the one that hung around camp and tried to get at my food. And Beaver Creek was certainly true to its name, along with some nice views and strange sights.

I'd now like to show off my fire building skills I'd been working on. I had plenty of time, so I'd build a fire chimney out of sticks put some tinder inside and light it up. I also liked the throne someone made of the tree stump next to the fire ring. Between it, my camp chair, a big rock, and the picnic table bench, I had plenty of places to move to avoid the smoke blowing in my face whenever the wind shifted.

 

[johnnytravels]

This was probably one of my favorite spots of the trip, a natural hot springs located next to the river, and a nearby campground. It was a really terrific place to hang out. Hot springs are a product of underground water that got near volcanic vents would get superheated and pushed back to the surface and pump out of the ground, where people would then dam up and create a pool to sit in.

It was so nice, I spent four days there, and hours each day relaxing in the springs. I also enjoyed standing under the waterfalls, which was like taking a hot shower. There were several different pools, some hotter than others, and you were able to see the hills and mountains.

It rained a lot, and when it did, I would just go and climb in one of the pools (if I wasn't already), and didn't mind the rain as I was already wet. One day it rained four different times, of which a thunderstorm blew in while I was in the middle of cooking dinner over the fire. I was impressed with how quickly these storms came (often with just a few minutes notice) and how they would just as quickly blow over. I waited in the car until it passed and hoped that my dinner (a slow cooking rice and bean stew) would finish, and that the rain wouldn't completely put the fire out. I liked that life for me had become that simple, and all you had to be concerned about was the weather, what you were going to eat that day, where to sleep, gather firewood and fill time. I can see the appeal of wanting to go live in a cabin in the woods. This place was a real find, and one I'll definitely visit again in the future.

Further up the road was another campground with hot springs. And one that someone constructed a shed over into a makeshift bath house/sauna. I found out later that Idaho had hot springs everywhere due to its geothermal activity.

 

[johnnytravels]

The scenery around Sawtooth was really beautiful. And now when I see wisps of clouds or fog drifting up from a mountain, I think maybe it could be from a hot springs vent.

I stopped at the Craters of the Moon national monument along the way. It rained the entire time, but felt like the right weather for where I was. I'm glad it was kind of desolate, with few other visitors. I felt like the had the whole place to myself.

The landscape was really eerie, comprised of volcanic rock leftover from lava beds that flowed tens of thousands of years ago. The native american myth was that a long time ago a giant serpent lived in this area, and during a violent lightning storm, wound itself around a mountain for protection, but in doing so squeezed too hard and caused it to erupt. The lava that spewed out then killed the serpent and the resulting landscape was the burnt scales and ashes left over from the event.

Despite the rain, myself and others still went down and checked out the caves and sinkholes. The area has a very fragile ecosystem, that is changing due to human activity and pollution -- which affects the chemical makeup of the volcanic rock and causes it to break down faster, which in turn impacts the plant life growing there. or something like that.

 

[johnnytravels]

I'd like to mention how impressed I was with the different libraries I visited throughout my trip, and how nice they were. They really are a godsend to wandering travelers like myself, who could use a place to stop in, get wifi and access the internet, and recharge devices. Like this one in Idaho Falls (below).

And sometimes the overcast weather even enhanced the scenery. Next stop was Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It's located at the southern entrance of The Grand Tetons National Park and Yellowstone, and it's appeal to tourists definitely shows.

I arrived just in time for Jackson Hole's Annual Chili Cookoff.

Some booths were pretty straightforward, while others were a little more unusual. I liked the theatrics of the hair metal band above. And of course... tourists. Like this bunch that took turns posing with a lamp pole.

 

[johnnytravels]

Next stop, the Grand Tetons.

Even with the cloud cover, they were truly majestic.

 

[unkamonkey]

I used to be a librarian in school. We had none of the wifi stuff back then but I do get a different feeling when I go to a good book store or library. I see you are still getting pictures of people taking pictures. I have several taken of me while I took a picture of them.

 

[johnnytravels]

I enjoy being in a nice library or book store too. At Yellowstone I took a lot more photos of tourists. I often wait for one to enter the frame when I want take a picture of the background, otherwise there's no challenge. The scenery isn't going anywhere, so I try and get a picture of the background, along with a random tourist, which hopefully turns out more interesting (at least to me). At this point I'm just trying to power through and finish this log before I start up work again. It feels like a mission.

 

[johnnytravels]

There were lots of tourists at Yosemite and Joshua Tree, but they were nothing compared to the tourist scene at Yellowstone. It was a bonanza. I especially tried to get pictures of interesting or matching outfits. And cars and vehicles.

I like old Airstream trailers, there's something about them I like way better than RV's. Maybe it's the retro or nostalgia factor. And I saw a bunch of these Jucy vehicles starting at Yosemite and into Yellowstone, so I finally looked it up on the net, and found out they were rental minivans converted into campers, with a pop up tent and cooking galley accessible from the rear. pretty cool design. But thanks to ad tracking cookies, I'm now flooded with Jucy ads whenever I surf the web.

But once you leave the touristy spots and go on a hike, there are few others around. Tourists, as a general rule, don't hike, so there's plenty of solitude, even in a busy, crowded place like Yellowstone, like this couple seems to be enjoying as they sit and take in the view.

 

[johnnytravels]

It wasn't long before I encountered my first bison, and wasn't the only one. It's kind of surreal seeing one up close. They're so huge and seemingly docile, it's easy to forget that one can really ******** you up.

Near the bison sighting was a trail, and up ahead I saw a pair of hikers, so I tagged along (safety in numbers). The signs say to hike in groups of three or more. So I guess you have only a 1 in 3 chance of getting eaten by a bear. I asked if they had any bear spray on them, which they did, a good thing, as I did not. Before leaving home, I packed a pocket knife, mace and whistle to take with me on hikes (it's not much, but better than nothing), but I always seem to forget. I'm usually well into a hike, when I come across some animal tracks and realize that I left them in the car.

The scenery was nice, and I spotted what I thought was a marmot in a nearby field. The hike circled around to a cliff overlooking the lake, where we came across a pair of Scandinavian hikers who picked a nice spot to have lunch.

As we continued on, we passed a family that stopped to change a diaper, and someone joked that if we did encounter a bear, it'd probably prefer a snack size before eating one of us.

 

[johnnytravels]

There were school groups visiting that day, so the hike down to the falls got pretty crowded, but the view was well worth it. I'd later see them again at another lookout point.

The view was stunning, and the yellow canyon walls is where the park gets its name.

I was joined at an overlook by a pair of Indian couples, so I took pictures of them.

Normally, I can get away with it without being noticed, but this time I was caught. :/

 

[johnnytravels]

Later, I found the perfect spot to watch tourists.

And the actual view itself.

 

[johnnytravels]

The wildlife was pretty domesticated. I'm sure this chipmunk was fed by humans at some point.

The boardwalk gives one the illusion of safety. Like standing on them somehow protects you from the animals on the other side. But this isn't a zoo, and people do get attacked. Btw, animals use the boardwalks too.

This pair really took their lives into their own hands (whether they knew it or not) when they nearly got close enough to touch a bison that wandered onto a trail. Myself and others steered clear, but these guys just marched right up to him, took his picture, and continued on, seemingly unaware of the danger.

They clearly have not seen clips like this one.





I'd later find a nice spot to have lunch on a rock next to the lake, before I was joined by tourists.

 

[johnnytravels]

The springs and pools are really pretty amazing. They come in all different shapes and sizes. Some are cloudy and prismatic, while others are perfectly clear and blue and you can see all the way to the bottom. They do seem very alien and surreal.

You're supposed to stay on the boardwalk, as the bacteria that make up these ecosystems are fragile, but that doesn't stop some tourists from going off to get a closer look. And if you're not careful, a sudden wind gust can carry off your hat, and make it part of the environment.

Back at the village, the elk were everywhere. They even wander onto the streets and stop traffic. This guy looked like he got drunk and passed out on the lawn, but I did enjoy watching him get up and shake himself awake.

Sorry, these are not very good pics, but there was a blue jay perched atop a dead tree, and we even had a couple bear sightings. And with that, after one final view, I was on my way out of Yellowstone.

 

[johnnytravels]

I think my interest in observing tourists is that it all seems so silly and pointless. Sure it's nice to take a few photos for the memories, but I think they're often taken to replace the actual experience itself. Once you take a picture, you can then move on to the next spot, for the next photo, without stopping and really taking in the view. Ari Shaffir discussed it on his podcast once, about being at an Arcade Fire concert and seeing all the people with their phones out filming the event. He was baffled that people would rather stare at their tiny screens and film the band playing, so that they can later watch their crappy recording at home, than put the phone down and really experience the music that's live in front of them. And in the case of pictures of monuments and national parks, again, there's no photo I could take on my camera phone that hasn't already been taken a million times better by a professional, that's available online any time I wanted to see. The recent SI cover of American Pharoah winning the Triple Crown sums it up pretty well.