Deb here. Once again we slept amazingly well. We’d lost an hour yesterday jumping to Mountain Standard Time so maybe that had something to do with it?
We packed up and drove the park 7-mile or so loop. The road was excellent, with several stops that led to paved trails. We stopped at a few pull-offs and hiked a couple of the trails. It’s kind of cool that all of the trails are paved in black, as are the sidewalks, probably because it looks like the lava that’s everywhere. Very bizarre landscape, and particularly strange that wildflowers manage to grow through the hard lava rocks. Beautiful in an unconventional way.
By the time we finished exploring the driving loop it was time for breakfast. We headed up Rt 93 (of course), stopping in the small town of Arco to eat a late breakfast at Pickle’s Place. The diner was hopping but the service and food were good. Arco has the distinction of being the first town in the world to be powered entirely through nuclear power, and it has a few quirky attractions.
From Arco on up Rt 93 the drive was incredible. First up was passing snow covered mountains in all directions, including Mt. Borah, a 12,000+ foot montain that’s Idaho’s highest. The landscape then changed, Rt 93 became the Salmon River Scenic Byway, and we were winding our way along the Salmon River through canyons with spectacular rock faces.
We passed through the charming little town of Salmon and then eventually we started to climb and left the dry mountains and fields for much more green. The terrain started to feel more alpine and the road was beautiful, taking us to the top of Lost Trail Pass. Lots of Lewis and Clark info along the way, since we’re following in their footsteps along this route.
Down the other side of the pass to our destination, Indian Trees USFS Campground. I’d read good reviews about the campground and they were spot on. A paved road through the campground, big sites, campground host, and a half mile walk to Lost Trail Hot Springs. When we pulled into the campground at 3 or so there were lots of empty spots. After settling into #8 we put our suits on and walked to the hot springs.
The hot springs turned out to be a great pool at the perfect temperature ($7/person), and even better we had hot showers (with shampoo) after our time in the pool. Quite a treat after several nights of camping with no showers!
Back to the campground for dinner, plotting our next destinations, reading and bed.
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