On our 2nd day, we chopped off the corner of Oregon and ventured down the Columbia Plateau into Idaho. Following the Snake River valley at the edge of the plateau offered unbelievable scenery and a new time-zone!

We scored the unabridged “Undaunted Courage” book on CD- Lewis & Clark’s detailed journey from Gma & Gpa on our way. Do you think we can get through the 20 cd’s before we get home?

We hit the Oregon Trail interpretive center atop a desert hill near Baker City OR. The hot wind didn’t cool down the 100 degree temperature as we checked out a bunch of real covered wagons. Thank goodness we weren’t traveling at the speed of the wagons (2mph pulled by Oxen).

It was the epitome of stretching our legs as we summitted the blistering sands of Bruneau Sand Dunes in Southern Idaho. It felt & looked a bit like the Sahara desert – 105 degrees, windy, and huge piles of sand (the tallest sand dunes in N. America). It was so hot, the kids may have shrunk a little.

Note: The photo above was not photoshopped!

Finally we wrapped up the day in Twin Falls, Idaho where we visited the Shoshone Falls at sunset.

Road Trip Stats:

• Total Miles Driven: 747 (maybe we should have taken a 747).
• Liters of sand emptied from our boots: 2
• Total wind turbine propellers seen transported on the highway: 3