Day 33: Lehi to Twin Falls ID

Lehi (pop 19,028, elev 4,550) was named for a Mormon saint. The polygamous practices of the Mormons were vigorously prosecuted by the feds in 1870-80 and many went into hiding near here. Legend claims that when federal officers ordered a small boy to take them to a polygamist, he lead them to a chicken house and pointed out a rooster.

We got to Salt Lake City about 10 AM. We saw a sign for the left-hand lane that said "HOV/Toll only." After our Houston experience we shuttered at the word "toll." After seeing another sign that said "2+ or Toll," and seeing no toll booths on the horizon, we gingerly moved over into that lane and got through town with no trouble.

We've been through Salt Lake City a number of times, but never really seen the lake. I had a brochure for Antelope Island State Park, which is on the lake. So we decided to take the turn off and headed out to the Island. By the time we got to the entrance, we had lost all other traffic and were the only car in sight. There was a $9.00 fee at the lonely toll booth and we headed across the causeway over the lake to the island.

The great Salt Lake is called America's Dead Sea. It is all that is left of pre-historic Lake Bonneville, a huge lake that covered 20,000 square miles during the Ice Age. The lake has four rivers flowing into it and no outlet, so the water evaporates and leaves salt and other minerals behind. The current lake is 75 miles long and 28 miles wide. It is so salty that only brine shrimp, brine flies, and several types of algae can survive.
Speaking of brine flies, we got out of the car at a view point and immediately were swarmed by these creatures. They are everywhere. Fortunately they do not bite, but they swarm around you. I found myself using my arm as a windshield wiper walking along. They travel close to the water and the beach. I don't see how anyone would want to swim here, although there is a swimming area. I've placed these creatures into the same category as no-see-ums from Florida.

Antelope Island is home to a herd of 500 - 700 bison who roam freely. The herd started in 1893 when a rancher brought in 12 animals. In 1926 they held the "last great buffalo hunt" on the island and almost wiped out the herd. Fortunately there were enough animals left to re-populate and no more hunts. When the state bought the island, the bison came with it and became one of the largest public herds of buffalo in the country.

The visitor center had an interesting video on the animals. Every October they round them up using helicopters. Modern cowboys? They herd the bison into a coral, check the animals, vaccinate them, and choose animals to sell off. They keep the herd at a stable size so they won't overrun other animals on the island.

As we left the visitor center, we saw about 5 buffalo close to the road. Although we made a lot of noise they didn't seem interested in us at all. I guess we were not as noisy as a helicopter.

We left the island, got back on the Interstate and soon hit Idaho. As we turned onto I-84 we felt we were getting closer to home. When we saw a sign for Shoshone Falls we turned off the freeway. We crossed over the Snake River Canyon and headed up the river about 9 miles. We had come to the falls in 2003 on our return from Kansas, but there was no water. So we wanted to see it with water. And we found it. Shoshone Falls is 212 feet tall and called the Niagara Falls of the West. With water, it was quite impressive.


Twin Falls (pop 34,469, elev 3,745) was only a few miles away and we stopped there for the night.