Idaho Falls

There were several items we needed to stock up on and with the cold weather, we made use of the off-day to go to Sam's Club in Idaho Falls. We wanted to get an early start, but it turned out we didn't leave until 10 AM. It meant going over Josie's favorite pass - the Teton Pass - but it cuts about 20 to 30 miles off the trip going that way. We stopped at the summit once again to get shots of the sign and the beautiful valley below:

The town just on the other side of the pass as you enter Idaho is Victor. We spotted these wild Poppy's:

We also stopped at the mini mart in Victor to buy a couple lottery tickets that are not available in Wyoming. It was a leisurely drive and we arrived in Idaho Falls at around noon. Our first stop was at the Walmart where we each got a haircut. We made it to Sam's Club - following a stop at the DQ in town for a treat - at around 2 PM. It's a good thing we don't shop here very often as the budget couldn't take this kind of hit on a regular basis. We stocked up on meats, fish, toiletries and other goods that are always less money at the warehouse stores. It was certainly worth the trip.

On the way home, we spotted a huge herd of bison in a field that we stopped to photograph:

We couldn't tell if this was a wild herd or part of a bison ranch where they are raised for market. It was not a normal (in the National Parks) location in Eastern Idaho, but probably could have traveled from the parks.

Closer to Wyoming, we saw these five horses - all of which had foals:

It is the first time we have seen a 100% birth rate within a small group of horses.

Of course, the weather is going to improve now that we have go back to work today. For the last two weeks we have had lousy weather on our days off. It was 35 outside again this morning, but the forecast is for climbing temperatures for the next few days. It is still a paradise here, no matter what the temperature is...