Starting Point: Boise, ID
Ending Point: Rexburg, ID
Distance Traveled: 343 Miles
Another early morning start and I was off on the highway toward Bruneau Dunes State Park. I had high expectations for the sand dunes, possibly since I’ve had frequent exposure to the beautiful Manhattan Beach Sand Dunes, and I was also traveling about 45 minutes extra to visit the sand dunes.
The Dunes were nice and were adjacent to a lake and campground, however I was expecting a much larger dune area and more scenic dune formations. However, the dunes greatly contrasted the mostly dull farmlands of the Snake River Plateau.
After a couple more hours of driving, I arrived at Craters of the Moon National Park. The landscape on the Snake River Plateau suddenly became dark brown/dark black with vegetation scattered among the volcanic rocks. It was evident that the brown/black rocks were the result of volcanic geologic processes which led to this area of many square miles to be completely covered with extrusive igneous rocks.
Continuing across the Snake River Plateau, the ground slowly started becoming darker and eventually a very dark brown/black color. I was slowly making my way toward Craters of the Moon State Park. As I arrived at the Craters of the Moon Visitor Center the weather was gloomy and dark, adding to the unique landscape setting that reminds someone of what other planets would look like. The geologic formations are mostly relatively low-density volcanic rocks deposited over many square miles by volcanic hot spots, volcanic plumes, and other releases of lava from below the crust. The rocks were sharp, low-density, and very lightweight. After completing a few short nature trails, I was forced to skip over my planned two-mile hike because of the heavy rain.
Back on the road toward Idaho Falls, the highway was coated with loose gravel, but was still drivable at a high-speed. After a rock chipped my windshield I quickly understood why the speed limit was reduced so greatly. Roads in which 50 MPH speeds can be comfortably maintained which also contain loose gravel are most dangerous, because the small rocks will just be shot back toward the following cars. During this 5-10 minute span, my windshield received at least five very minor chips. After seeking out a windshield repair kit from several auto parts stores, I stopped by A-1 Windshield replacement in Rexburg, ID and was told that the chips were just surface chips and were nothing to worry about, thankfully.
I need to be sure not to underestimate the dangers of long drives. Distracted driving is extremely dangerous and I have been too distracted so far in the drive. I need to make more of an effort to alway pay attention to the road ahead. Checking email, Facebook, text messages, dictating into email/omnifocus, is very reckless and I should refrain from doing such things in the future. Also, I need to always wear my seatbelt. There is no excuse besides laziness to not wearing a seatbelt, and I’m much smarter than to not wear a seat belt.
The city I’m spending the night in, Rexburg, ID is a major Mormon City. The AirBNB hosts (Jay and Sandra) are a sweet, older Mormon Couple who are very religious. They have a very clean, simply furnished home with stereotypical “white grandparent coziness” cute touches such as laced window curtains, decorated cushions on the dining room chairs, and picture frames with cute/cheesy quotes about friends/family/love.
During the afternoon/evening in Rexburg, I was fortunate to eat at two unique, tasty restaurants/cafes. The first, Great Harvest Bread Company is a national chain which bakes unique/tasty that breads that are incredibly delicious. I tried a few samples and they were all amazing.
Later on at night, I tried Pizza Pie Cafe (PizzaPieCafe.co), a pizza/pasta/salad buffet for under $10. Their speciality is definitely their tasty pizza which comes in varieties such as Chicken Alfredo Pizza, Potato Pizza, Oreo Pizza, and Cookie Dough Pizza. All of the pizza, salad, and pastas were delicious even when they are given the necessary leeway that all buffets deserve.
After eagerly searching for coffee the entire afternoon (and wanting it even more badly because it was out of reach), I finally found a cafe through Yelp called “Cocoa Bean.” I felt relieved and excited to have found the only establishment in Rexburg, ID that serves coffee. Unfortunately, when I showed up to the cafe, they only served sugar. Apparently, “taking care of your body that’s a gift from God” allows consuming a 1000-calorie sugar beverage, but prohibits consuming a black coffee or tea. What a joke, and this made me understand how illogical Jewish Dietary laws are. Whatever, I guess if people believe they’re being better people by living in a certain way, then the peace of mind and meaningfulness they experience by keeping those laws are beneficial in a way, albeit not in the way they mean them to be.
After being teased by the presence of coffee several times this afternoon, I finally just went to McDonalds and bought a small coffee for $1. I finally got what I wanted, but think I might have been served a decaf because I’m feeling sort of tired and drowsy :-/
