Famous Potatoes

The land either side of the road is less populated as we drive north into Idaho. It's getting visibly colder too. Undulating fields covered in thick snow go off into the distance. The only area uncovered by snow is the road we're travelling on.
I know nothing about Idaho other than what it declares on it's car state plates, either 'Famous Potatoes' or the very descriptive 'Scenic'. Neither sound as exciting as Utah's 'Ski Utah!' or New Hampshire's 'Live Free or Die!' plates. Idaho is scenic I'll give it that.


We're here to visit Craters of the Moon National Park. Another volcanic landscape of hardened black lava and domed peaks. Pretty much all of it is still closed when we get there though, due to the snow. Still, driving through the white landscape that occasionally breaks for the streaks of black volcanic rock is a sight in itself.
Towns are few and far between here and when we do pass through a couple they're essentially outposts and little else. One of the towns has a great name though, Atomic. This is the first place in the US, maybe the world I'm not sure, to be totally reliant on atomic energy. This reminded me of being back in Vegas and reading an information sign placed on Fremont Street. It told of the atomic testing that took place in the desert in the 1950's. The mushroom cloud from these bombs could be seen a hundred miles away and had the knock on effect of smashing the glass of some downtown casinos. Now and again we come across posters in Utah, Nevada and Arizona asking for people who'd been around at the time within a 500 mile radius if they'd suffered any ill effects from the tests. It's a bit scary when you're own government is testing bombs out in the desert and isn't quite sure of the adverse effects yet. They even let people watch the explosions from 7 miles away at viewing areas, in which protective goggles had to be worn. Radiation must've surely got to these people too.


Back in the National Park we chat to the ranger and he tells us that it may be worth climbing the largest crater and snowboarding down it. As this is free and is located just behind the visitors centre we can't pass it up. Boots on, boards out and up we go. A tough climb in sometimes waist high snow gets me 3 quarters of the way up before it's impossibly steep. The hard work gives me great views of the surrounding peaks.


The snow is thick and nice and soft to fall on your face in, as I do often. After climbing up and boarding down a fair few times I'm completely knackered and we drive off away from the sunset to Idaho Falls.
This town sounds better than what it is, the falls in the name are man-made and unimpressively short. It's not totally dire though, half decent half grim. Although Idaho is probably worth more time we've one of the best ski towns in America to visit in the nearby state of Wyoming.