Monday, 21 May to Heyburn, Idaho

We’re back on the road today so up and at it and all set for an 8.45am start.  It’s sunny and 18C, although it was cool overnight, forecast mentioned only 13C.

As we headed north I tried unsuccessfully to get a meaningful photo of the Great Salt Lake, the largest lake between the Great Lakes and the Pacific Ocean and the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere (20,000 square miles).  It hosts ten islands within its shores, one of which is Antelope Island, which has a campground and is separated from the mainland by a causeway. The salinity of the water averages about 12%, much saltier than the ocean. The lake is only 33 feet deep!  If we ever come back here I would like to spend much more time, there is such a lot to see.

We drove through a range of different landscapes, northern Utah is very green and agriculture is key.  Sheep were prominent and I saw the first lambs of the season, and I reckon get double points because I saw adorable twin black lambs!!

Missed the pic of the black lambs, you will just have to believe me!

We passed through deer migration corridors and several road signs warned to keep a watch out. It was a lovely drive, we were only the road for a couple of hours and there are absolutely no rattles or squeaks in the motorhome!!  The squeak fairy did an amazing job!

These corridors probably spanned 20 miles

Then we crossed the state line into Utah, got the welcome to photo and the last mile marker (0) in one - getting good at at these state line photos!

Sign looks like it has been shot full of holes but its mostly stickers!

We stopped at Walmart in Idaho for a short list of necessities, of which wine was at the top - you can’t buy wine at supermarkets in Utah, but we also needed some cleaning stuff as our stores had a hammering over the last couple of days.

Then we checked into Heyburn Riverside RV Park, which is an awesome park, partially funded by Idaho Parks and Recreation and I guess us, the campers, although it wasn’t expensive and offered discounts for seniors and Good Sam members.  We have a FHU pull-thu site with concrete patio, a grill and the grounds are beautiful.  I went for a walk through the Arboretum which was huge and extremely well labelled, there were trees from all over the world.

The Park borders the Snake River, which originates in Wyoming and arcs across southern Idaho before turning north along the Idaho-Oregon border and is a major source of irrigation water for potatoes, sugar beets and other crops.  Once upon a time the Snake River basin produced about half of all spring chinook salmon, more than two million wild salmon and steelhead but today these species are either extinct or threatened with extinction because of the dams downstream on the lower Snake.

Snake River - jetty not very busy today

The camp filled up during the afternoon and evening, with a mix of camping vehicles from truck campers, travel trailers, airstreams, fifth wheel and motorhomes.  Glad we booked in advance!

Watching the News, yesterday on a hiking trail near Salt Lake City a couple of mountain bikers were attacked by a Cougar, one was fatally mauled.  Maybe we shouldn’t have been so blasé last year when we came across cougar prints on the walking trail of the park we were staying at - yikes!

It got a bit cooler outside in the late afternoon as the sun was filtered by some high cloud but it produced a beautiful sunset a few hours later.