Idaho Falls, Idaho By Sarah Lovelace
A timber bridge built at Taylor’s Crossing across the Snake River became the site of the town called Idaho Falls in 1865. When the railroad made Idaho Falls a regular train stop, Mormon settlers began moving into town and quickly industrialized the area. The town's centerpiece, shown here, is the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple, a testament to the Mormon (oops... I mean LDS) influence on the area.
When we roll into town on in early August we may want to make our first stop in the Cultural District so we can jump right into the museums and art galleries, and get a look at the beautiful falls off of Snake River.
This area has several gorgeous hikes and walks that sound just phenomenal, and since we will have just been at Yellowstone, and will next be going to Wasatch-Cache National forest, an appropriate stop in town might just have to be through the Caribou-Targhee National Forest (created by President Roosevelt in 1907) to keep the nature theme going strong. We may also find the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve (at right), an interesting site to compare to our nature experience as this site is “a vast ocean of lava flows,” and sounds right up our alley.
One thing that I don’t think we could miss while here is the Idaho Potato Museum, which has everything we could ever want to know about this famously delicious state product. Here are some of the other things we might get into while we’re in town.
-Tautphaus Park Zoo (at left)
-Museum of Idaho
-Idaho Falls Cultural District
-Idaho Falls Farmer's Market
-Nearby Grand Teton National Park
(From top) Photo by SheltieBoy courtesy Flickr.com; photo courtesy nps.gov; photo by cyclewidow courtesy Flickr.com