Purple ZR-1 Road Trip to Yellowstone and the Pacific Northwest

[QB93Z]

On Monday, after leaving Yellowstone, we drove south and entered Grand Teton National Park. The PurpleZ has gotten very dirty in all the miles we have driven and from the 10-mile construction zone we had to drive through on the Grand Loop Road.




Here is a nice view of the Grand Teton Mountains from the Coulter Bay area:




Another pic of the very beautiful Teton Moutains:




We drove south to the Jenny Lake area to do some hiking. While we were in the parking lot we were treated to a fly-over by the Blue Angles:




We hiked up the mountain to Inspiration Point:





Jim

[QB93Z]

On Tuesday, we arose to a cold morning. There was ice on the PurpleZ:



The hotel desk said it got down to 34 degrees over night. After we got on the road we saw 36:




The morning clouds were hanging on the Teton Mountains:




We drove south through Jackson, WY and went west over the Teton Pass and crossed into Idaho:





to be continued....

[HAWAIIZR-1]

Jim,

Thanks for sharing your journey with your family. You are living the American dream my brother. Have a safe one!

[QB93Z]

We drove through Idaho Falls to Arco, Idaho. We stopped at ERB-1, a National Historic Site at the location of the Worlds first Nuclear reactor that produced usable electrical power.



The site is a remarkably preserved reactor plant with all the parts present except the fuel.






In 1955, the plant was taken critical and generated steam to turn a turbine and light a string of lights. In later days, the reactor supplied power for the site. The ERB-1 was a breeder reactor which means that not only did it generate power, it also used the neutron flux of the fission reaction to create Plutonium 239 from Uranium 238, which could used as reactor fuel or in the construction of nuclear weapons.

On display on the ERB-1 Site is the reactor and turbo fan engine that was design to power a nuclear powered airplane. In the late 1950's, it was hoped that nuclear strategic bombers carrying nuclear weapons would be a part of our nations deterrent force. The planes were never built and the program was cancelled in 1961.



We drove about 20 miles to the actual town of Arco to stop at Pickle's Place, a restaurant from the 1950's that was famous for their Atomic Burger. We had lunch, and then burger was very good.



Across the street from Pickle's Place is the Idaho Science Museum. On display is the submarine sail from the USS Hawkbill SSN-666. The USS Hawkbill was a 637 Class Nuclear Fast Attack Submarine that served proudly and honorably during the Cold War:



I served as Engineer Officer on the Hawkbill's sister ship, the USS L Mendel Rivers SSN-686. It was a very moving experience to see the sail.

to be continued....

[QB93Z]

After visiting Arco, ID, we drove to Craters of the Moon National Monument. It was a twenty minute drive west. The name is confusing because there aren't any craters here. By that, I mean meteorite strikes. In fact, the surreal landscapes are the result of lava flows and nearby volcanic eruption. The entire Snake River Canyon area of Idaho, which is in the lower third of the state, is a series of ancient volcanic activity. There is a stationary magma chamber in the earth's mantle under the North American plate. The plate, which is the earth's crust, is moving west a few inches a year for the last sixty million years. The magma chamber is now under Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. About 2,000 years ago, volcanic activity on the western edge of the magma chamber shaped the landscape of Arco. The lava flows and minor eruptions covered the area with lava, volcanic ash, cinders, and large basalt chunks.





Here is a picture of a large cinder cone:




Some of the lava and cinder areas have been taken over by vegetation and the Park is interesting because the transformation from volcanic wasteland to prairie is clearly evident:




Next we arrived in Twin Falls, Idaho and saw the Perrine Bridge:



Jim

[QB93Z]

On Thursday morning, we returned to the Perrine Bridge to watch the early morning BASE jumpers:













Jim

[QB93Z]

After seeing the BASE Jumpers safely to the ground, we left Twin Falls and drove west in I-84.

We stopped in Mountain Home, ID. We stopped at the Mural Made of 1,000's of Pennies. The creation is on the side wall of Kurley's Bar:




On the way out of town, we stopped at a car wash to spray some of the grime off the Purple Z:



Continuing west, we stopped in Boise, ID and visited Zoo Boise, a nice small city zoo. As with most zoos, the mid-day heat had the animals sleeping in their displays. We did enjoy the butterfly exhibit. I spent quite a while trying to get a photo of a beautiful Blue Morpho butterfly:



We enjoyed watching this stork carefully arrange two eggs before finally sitting on them:




The arid landscape of eastern Idaho is not at all what I expected. The rolling hills have very little vegetation and the only agriculture is on irrigated land:



to be continued....

[QB93Z]

We crossed the border into Oregon:




We stopped for the day in Baker City, Oregon. Baker City is a old-time small western town. We found the town very interesting. The buildings are historic and time capsules of the past. There were several art galleries and stores.




We visited the US Bank where one of the largest gold nuggets ever found was on display:




We stayed at the Geyser Grand Hotel, a beautifully restored posh hotel:






We relaxed in the vintage lounge and celebrated a successful day of traveling:



Jim

[QB93Z]

On Friday morning, we left Baker City, OR and drove northeast to visit Hells Canyon. We followed the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway and drove through Halfway, OR and into Idaho to follow the Snake River to the Hells Canyon Dam.




Hells Canyon is in the Hells Canyon National Forest.





Here I am on the top of the dam with the view below the dam (looking north in the Snake River Canyon):



At it's deepest point, Hells Canyon is deeper than the Grand Canyon. Below the dam, at the end of the canyon road, there is a very nice Visitor Center:



The road into the canyon is in excellent condition and the scenery is striking:




After leaving Hells Canyon we continued on the Byway to Le Grande, OR.

Jim

[HAWAIIZR-1]

Got to envy what you are doing and your experience. I wish you were passing through NorCal so we could meet up!