We arrived in Island Park, ID and stayed 2 weeks. Island Park is about 15 miles west of the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park. We drove into the park just 2 times because it was so crowded. We enjoyed the scenery and the animals from the roads but, as we have done all summer, we avoided the people.
It was Elk bugling season.
There was one part of the park that was not crowed. Actually, very few people drive there or even know of its existence. It is about 45 miles south of the west entrance and then 20 miles east on back roads, some of them gravel. You enter the park on the extreme southwest corner where you will find the beautiful Cave Falls waterfall, the widest falls in the park.
We did manage to find a secluded spot for lunch next to a geyser. We were glad it did not go off with us being this close. Water from a geyser can be very corrosive. It can etch eyeglasses, camera lenses and windshields.
We found a nice waterfall outside the park near Ashton, ID
There are animals to be found outside the park. This fine fellow was near Island Park.
Near Island Park
Fall was upon us and the temperatures were dropping so it was time for us to follow the birds and migrate south. Our fall started in Montana and will end in Arizona. We will have fall colors for close to 3 months.
Our next stop is in Price Utah. We are here for the entire month of Oct.
Our favorite activity in this part of Utah is finding petroglyphs and pictographs created, for the most part, by the people of the Freemont culture. They inhabited this area from AD 1 to 1300. The petroglyphs can be located next to paved roads, down gravel backcountry roads, 4wheel drive trails and sometimes they are accessible only by hiking. At times the hunt for them is as much fun as finding them.
There are thousands of them but I will only post photos of a small sample. Most of the panels have been given names.
The Rochester Panel
We sat for at least 45 minutes looking at this panel. Every time I looked away and then back to it, I saw something different.
Three photos of the main section of the panel
We found some big rocks. We like big rocks.
As a plus, this area is home to the Juggler. Who is the Juggler? I thought you would never ask.
We will continue our Utah trip on our next post.
