Oh my! I got a lotta pictures for you...

I didn't think I had taken a lot of pictures, but this post will prove that I took plenty...and too many of them are from a moving vehicle, and some that aren't from a moving vehicle didn't turn out any better...AND there were a couple of days where I just didn't take any...'cause everything was looking the same.

Or I was involuntarily napping...

We drove through ranch country and spent our first night in Idaho Falls. The next day we continued south to Pocatello and there weighed our options for going into Utah. A berry farmer from Paradise, UT had come out to our farm a couple years ago, and Randy wanted to go see his operation. My friend, Kelly, had just recently moved to Salt Lake, so I wanted to go there. We looked over this route and that, and our intentions for the rest of our time, and Salt Lake got crossed off the list, (Sorry, Kelly! I so wanted to come see you!) but there was time for Paradise.

Merv and Clara Jane live in this beautiful valley, which doesn't look at all like a place to grow raspberries...but gorgeous country!

 This is on Merv's land looking out to his blueberry field.

The mountains here are so different than ours!

 

...And frankly, so are the raspberries! No posts, no tying...They just grow up like a small jungle and are all picked by hand. Merv has a small processing line where they make jams, syrups and juices of raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, black currants, purple raspberries and various combinations thereof.

These are the purple raspberry plants -- a cross between red raspberries and black raspberries, and probably his number one seller for jams. They marked their products in local stores and farmers' markets -- and all summer they make 8 hour trips to sell in Cody, Wyoming, where they catch tourists on their way to Yellowstone. For them, the money is in the value added product. In our area, perfectly suited for raspberry cultivation, we are into quantity for the commercial market. Completely different business plans, but many similarities in getting the plants to grow! It was fun to see a different way of raspberry farming, and compare.

 

It was time to head north again and we enjoyed winding our way through the small farms and ranches around Paradise and up to Logan. Then we went on to Pocatello for the night.

 

The next day our plan was to try to find the large dairies around Jerome. There have been a number of dairymen from around here that have relocated to this area, so we wanted to see what dairying looked like in Idaho...And of course, we took the back way to get there.

 

Barry & Lynn had talked about beautiful Shoshone Falls, and when I realized that it was not far off our intended route, I made request that we should stop there. As we were looking for the signs directing us there, a canyon dropped open in front of us, and we crossed the beautiful Snake River. I excitedly directed Randy to veer to the right so we could end up here:

There's a golf course down in the canyon, and a park.

 

I.B. Perrine Bridge, built in 1976 (replacing the original 1927 bridge). Named for the man who fostered agriculture in the area.

It's a big 'un!

 

Oh, I enjoyed this view!!

 

We had to backtrack east just a little to get to Shoshone Falls.

 

Shoshone Falls is called the Niagra of the West -- and in the spring it lives up to this nickname. In the fall, not so much! Just a trickle of water, but it is beautiful just the same!

 

 

So lovely! We spent some time soaking in the view, and reading about the Falls...It was warm that afternoon and it was great to stretch our legs with a bit of walk before we headed into Dairy Country.

 

And since Blogger is having more fits than starts with uploading my photos, I will tell you about the rest of the trip tomorrow next time!

(I haven't been too speedy with this travelogue...It's taking longer to tell about it than to drive it!)