When planning a route back to Oregon with auto touring in mind, I decided that we should give Idaho another chance. We traveled through southern Idaho back in October of 2015, and weren’t all that impressed.  I planned three stops in Idaho in our route and let’s just say, they left me wanting to explore more of Idaho! The drive from Dinosaur National Monument through Utah was, of course, beautiful. Almo lies just north of the Utah border, and not far from Nevada. We stayed at the Almo Inn which sits between City of Rocks National Reserve and Cathedral Rock State Park. Surrounded by cow fields and mountains, the Inn had an old west feel that we loved. There were only two other rooms booked while we were there, so it was quiet and peaceful.  I made friends with a cow that enjoyed an ear rub, it took me back to growing up with cattle. To say the town of Almo is small is an understatement. There is a gas station (that ran out of gas while we were there), the hotel, and a few restaurants that are not likely to be open unless it is summer or on a weekend.  We would love to return and camp at City of Rocks, we saw some amazing campsites. City of Rocks is a haven for climbers, but the park was quiet and overall not busy. The California Trail (and later, the Oregon Trail) traverses the park. You can observe names of the emigrants on “register rock”, where they recorded their presence with grease from the axels of their wagons.

 

 

For me, the draw of this monument is not the dinosaur fossils, but the amazing landscape that the park encompasses. This was our first scenic stop on our route from Memphis back to Oregon. Rob’s ankle had been giving him trouble (he had been wearing a boot and on crutches the week prior), so we chose a route that would allow us to do some auto touring at a leisurely pace to break up the days on the road. Dinosaur fit the bill. Jaw dropping landscapes in the middle of nowhere, just my sort of place! We were here on a Saturday, and only crossed paths with a handful of people/vehicles in the Colorado portion of the park. The quarry is the highlight for most visitors and was busier, yet still not crowded. The park lies on the southeast flank of the Uinta Mountains on the border of Utah and Colorado. The park was formed in 1915 following the discovery of dinosaur fossil beds in 1909. The beds were exposed by forces of erosion in rock of the Morrison Formation from the Jurassic Period, formed approximately 150 million years ago.

Charleston, another quintessential southern coastal town steeped in history. It’s well preserved architecture, painted in colorful hues, can be enjoyed walking along palm lined streets. Charleston is famed for it’s southern hospitality, however, after leaving Savannah, it felt lacking. We had planned to visit Asheville, NC on our return home, but those plans changed due to weather and we spent an extra night in Charleston. Charleston is home to five beaches, but after spending close to a year on the Oregon coast, the coastline seemed rather boring with it’s lack of mountains and trees. Perhaps I’m getting a bit spoiled! We stumbled upon a wonderfully overgrown cemetery tucked behind a Unitarian church downtown, a peaceful oasis amidst the hustle and bustle of all the commerce.