I’m camped on the Brownlee Reservoir, a DNR reservoir along the Snake River. The water level is well below the reach of the boat ramp so it’s deserted and peaceful here. But windy! I’m making breakfast of campsite chilaquiles on the leeward side of my minivan.

I woke with the sunrise, made a quick breakfast, and hit the road re-energized. I decided I will not drive more than two hours at a stretch, and I will stop BEFORE I am exhausted. It’s not a race!, says I to me. I’m going to stick closely to the dreaded interstate in the interest of time, but any scenic route or worthwhile stop I can reach without adding too many miles will be my planned breaks. That and bathrooms.

Brownlee Reservoir

Idaho truck stop has free horse corrals!

I chose a side route off 84 that would rejoin it a bit further down, and would put me at Minidoka National Historic Site in time for lunch. I stretched my legs following a 1.5 mile path through the now empty landscape which was a fenced prison for 9000 Japanese Americans during World War II. A clever root cellar was built of post and beam and covered by hay bales and sod. Barracks followed government plans for the quickest, cheapest build, with thin plank walls sheathed in tar paper. They must have been miserably hot and cold. Prisoners created a community and a life there, forming clubs and baseballs teams, creating schools and churches, even dredging a swimming hole and staffing it with lifeguards.

My next detour lets me skip the traffic of Salt Lake City by going through the lovely college town of Pocatello, down through a “dotted line road,” then connecting to I-80. I couldn’t find any camping spots I liked on this route – they were either remote boondocking or expensive RV parking lots – but I spied Lava Hot Springs and decided to grab a cheap off-season motel room and enjoy the pools. Ahhhhhh.

Tomorrow Wyoming and the Continental Divide!