Road trip journal #17: Sunday on a Monday

Summary

• Start: 16:30 (Island Park, ID)
• Finish: 21:30 (Island Park, ID)
• Distance: 55 mi (88 km)
• Mood: lazy

A year later, I am starting to post road trip updates to complete the series. Somehow, it was a lot of work processing the photos and writing these updates, and life got in the way. With a bit more time to prepare, I will also be posting hyperlapsed dashcam footage

Nothing says Idaho brunch like a bison burger and a beer. I guess a Big Mac and a Miller Lite would have been more American, but I’ll let it pass. I’m not from here.

I didn’t want to waste the day just hanging out in the hotel. Mesa Falls, which was on my bucket list, was very close by, so I made myself.

Upper Mesa Falls

The parking lot was basically empty. It’s a short walk to get to the Upper Mesa Falls viewing area.

Once you get there, you are greeted with some nice overgrown volcanic formations and sounds of the waterfall.

The view is better from the air.

Lower Mesa Falls

About 2 miles down the road, Lower Mesa Falls await. I did a flight there as well. The view of the falls from the top of the hill (i.e. parking lot) is not that great. There is a trail that goes from Upper Mesa Falls right next to the lower falls. However, since it was already very late, I didn’t take the two-hour hike. Rather, I flew from the parking lot to the lower falls and took some photos and a panorama.

Mesa Falls Scenic Byway

Next up was driving down Idaho Highway 47, also known as Mesa Falls Scenic Byway.

Of course there were cowboys crossing the street. I don’t know what I was expecting.

The sunset started looking nice.

Ashton

On my loop back to the hotel, I passed through Ashton. No, not the famous actor type. Rather, the small Idaho farm town type.

I stopped by a Laundromat to wash and dry the previous two weeks’ worth of clothes, in preparation for the following two weeks. It was a great opportunity to do this, since I had nothing better to do. The surrounding area was very idyllic, in an industrial sense.

Good night

I slept well knowing that I have the tools to defend myself should the need arise.