Downtown Idaho Falls: This Is Idaho?

A bestowed grant was managed extravagantly by the Idaho mayor a while back; he greenified both banks of the Snake River with a fascinating diversity of statues, topiaries, carved benches, and simply well-groomed botanicals.

There are giant oaks and willows along the water, plus controlled falls interspersed with small dams, with an island that’s become a Japanese friendship garden. That one is so lovely I couldn’t get a single representative photo.

Here’s a shot of some of the dams and falls, with an LDS temple on the horizon.

You know a city has money to burn when they install public pingpong tables.

The Fur Trapper is an beloved icon in Idaho, apparently. I’m afraid to think what that long machete-weapon-thing is he’s holding or what’s dangling from his other hand.

The topiaries are Tracy and my favorites, though. From a distance they look like they’re on the decline, but closeup you can see that the moss growing atop the model is simply thinner in some places to give a bit of fur realism. Groovy, man.

And the amazing variety of funky restaurants and shops! We passed a Thai restaurant, Vietnamese, and Indian all on the same block and wished we’d hit the ramen one. Plus we saw these stores, all in the revitalized historic downtime: Healing Hands Metaphysical Store (manned by the Witchy Woman parked with identifying bumper stickers in the lot), Gameopolis, Shaddow [sic] Domain (Curious Things for Curious People).

Is this really Idaho?

Our campsite is my favorite place, though. It’s almost too bad the truck work is all finished and there’s no reason to hang here any longer.

Onward to Craters of the Moon National Park. After the Tetons I was about done with National Parks, but this one should have few people in it. Let’s find out.

Ukulele Segment

Sometimes I get this song pretty right, sometimes not. This is in between.