Idaho

Idaho, in general, wasn't our cup of tea. It was hot, and there were a lot of bugs. One of the first things we noticed, too, was that everyone watered their lawns. It was mid-August, and everything was green even though it was 100 degrees outside. People were watering their weeds, sidewalks, and in the RV park we stayed at they kept the sprinklers on all night. 

Coming from Washington, where it rains nine months of the year, this was an odd sight for us. It's really common for communities there to restrict water use, and even in the nicest neighborhoods people don't water their lawns in August, but let them dry up. Maybe it's because we all know there that they'll turn back to green in September, or a community value of conservation, or both. 

In Boise there isn't a lot to do downtown, but we did enjoy the paella at the Basque Market. The highlight of this portion of the trip was catching up with a college friend of mine, and then making good time across the state as we headed to Yellowstone.

After Boise we made it through to Pocatello. I was trying to make reservations as we drove, but wasn't having much luck. When I call a RV place I've learned to ask, "Are there any special instructions for getting into this spot?" and then politely decline if it's anything along the lines of "Just move the garbage cans out of the way and you can park there" or "Go past the mobiles and barn . . ."

After checking the regular options, though, I found that their county fairground had RV spots. Score! It was really nice, at the top of the hill with city views, and everything looks pretty at night. =) Also, it was the last day of the county fair, so we walked over just in time to check out the Aztec dancers. 

Then, a nice kid asked us if we were there to sign up for the greased pole climb. To my surprise, our youngest signed up! Then, his sister signed up, too, and they had a great time taking turns with other kids trying to make it to the top. 

Then we stayed and watched the hypnotist show (2Bros Hypno-Show), which was hilarious. It could have been the long drive and the heat, but we were laughing so hard we cried a little. We fell asleep that night to the sounds of bad karaoke coming from the stage, but still got a good night of sleep before our drive to Montana the next day.