We followed the Snake River downstream into Idaho, stopping at Twin Falls to view Shoshone Falls. We were in for a surprise, being unaware of the extent to which the river is seasonally drawn down to supply irrigation water to the area’s farms. The above photo says it all.
Upstream view of Shoshone Falls
Downstream view of the Snake River at Shoshone Falls
There was only this pathetic trickle going over the falls, while water-skiers zoomed around on the reservoir upstream of the dam.
We turned south, heading for Nevada. We had dinner in Elko, Nevada, at a modest-looking Chinese restaurant called the Monkey Sun. We entered to find the place completely full of Chinese! Was there a large Chinese community in Elko? Or, was this restaurant so good that it attracted Chinese from elsewhere? What was going on? In halting English, one of the servers said that the Chinese customers were “tourists”. Kathy supposed that they were on a Chinese gambling tour of the state. In any event, the food was superb.
Kathy on the beach at Sugar Pine Point SP, on Lake Tahoe
We camped the next evening at Sugar Pine Point State Park, California, located on the western shore of Lake Tahoe. While driving across Nevada I had told Kathy that I wanted to spend the evening amongst the great trees of the Sierra Nevada, and this State Park filled the bill. Although short on Sugar Pines (as noted in an accompanying photo), the Incense Cedars, looking like smaller versions of the Sequoia, made up for it.
Incense Cedar, at Sugar Pine Point SP, CA
Here is the link to the Flickr set of photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenrichardmiller/sets/72157636332094756/
Our next destination was the San Francisco Bay area, to visit my son Ethan and family and Kathy’s daughter Laina and family, and then on south to Carpinteria State Beach, for the annual Hammerlee family reunion.
Kelp, at Carpinteria State Beach, CA
Here is the link to the Carpinteria Flickr set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenrichardmiller/sets/72157636334909903/
We began our return to New Mexico by heading east to southern Utah. See Part 3, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, of this blog for that account.
