Getting into a Rut

Massacre Rocks State Park, ID  

June 10-15, 2021

Campsite #31 at Massacre Rocks State Park

With the newest member of the Peterson clan being a month from being due, we are going to be taking our time exploring Idaho and sticking within striking distance of Salt Lake City.  We had a little practice with this last fall when Maggie was pregnant with Norah!  I’m sure you’ve heard things happen in three’s, so I find myself wondering if we will find ourselves in the type of situation again! 

 

View of Snake River from our campsite

Our next stop in Idaho was for five nights at Massacre Rocks State Park.  Snake River winds right through the park and between the name of the park and the river, I wasn’t certain this was going to be a pleasant stay!  Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong!  For starters, we had an amazing campsite!  If you camp and want to stay here, reserve site 31! It has a beautiful view of the Snake River and is probably the most isolated site we have camped in.  The view from our front porch did not contain a single man-made thing!

Turns out that this park is right on the Oregon Trail.  The visitor center has a wonderful display and is very educational!  The park is littered with huge boulders from an ancient flood (more on that to come) and it was between a pile of these boulders that a section of the Oregon Trail traversed.  At this point, the trail was only wide enough for one wagon to pass through at a time.  Ambush from the Shoshone tribe was greatly feared as the Overlanders drove their wagons through these rocks.  Although there had been attacks in the area, these attacks were greatly exaggerated and not deserving of the term “massacre”.  Regardless, the area became known as Massacre Rocks.  Following on the heels of the Oregon Trail, US Highway 30 widened the rocks, only to be outdone when I-86 was put in.  The face of the rocks, if you are headed west, have been left untouched on the north side of the interstate.  It’s pretty cool to picture the wagon trains passing right where your car is driving.  We certainly have a darn easy life!  

The park has several trails, one of which takes you through a tunnel, under the interstate, to wagon ruts left from the 1840-1860 migration.  It’s about a 5-mile round trip hike, so if you go on a hot day, take plenty of water!  Again, I thought it was super cool to be hiking on the Oregon Trail!

Part of the display at the visitor center.

Oregon Trail wagon ruts

Massacre Rocks with I-86 in background

A popular campsite for the wagon train is just two miles down the road from the state park.  It’s easy for me to say “just two miles down the road”, but you have to keep in mind that the Overlanders typically traveled 4-20 miles in a day.  I’m sure those last two miles of the day were pretty darn difficult.  Once you arrived at the campground, you then had to set up camp, prepare dinner,… and carve your name into a rock (or at least at this campground many did!).  At “Register Rock” you can find names and dates of the ambitious men and women who were seeking a better life.  On a smaller rock about 50 yards from Register Rock there is a carving done by a 7-year-old boy named JJ Hansen.  In 1866 JJ drew both a preacher’s head and an Indian’s head.  Apparently, JJ grew up to be a sculptor and at one point made it back to this point to inspect the work he had done as a child. It’s relieving to know JJ survived the trip, as one in ten people who took this journey did not live to see Oregon.  

Can you find Waldo?

Another trail takes you along the Snake River.  Signs warning of dangerous currents kept us from doing any swimming; however, it certainly did look inviting!  Several of the days here, the temperatures were in the upper 90’s.  A dip in the cool water would have felt refreshing had it been safe.  Anyway, we really enjoyed hiking the trail and climbing the rocks to stunning overlooks of the river!

Snake River

The park was offering a plant walk during the Friday and Saturday of our stay, which we took advantage of!  We opted to go on Friday, hoping for a smaller number of participants.  It turned out we were the only participants!  Tonya (the park ranger who guided us) taught us many interesting plant species, including several edible plants!  It was a good reminder how easy a trip to the grocery store is!

Skunkbush (not edible!)

Another super interesting fact about this area is how the massive canyon walls of the Snake River were formed 14,000 years ago when Lake Bonneville flooded the area.  You can see a giant notch in the side of one of these walls where the current eroded the notch, causing what must have been a pretty impressive waterfall!  When we visit Brandon in Salt Lake City, we often hike on the trails in the mountains behind his home.  These trails are on what was once the shoreline of Lake Bonneville.  Lake Bonneville covered 20,000 square miles, covering most of what is now Utah and portions of Nevada and Idaho.  That must have been some flood when it emptied out!  By the way, all the boulders in the park were carried here from the flood!

The notch in the wall is the site of an ancient waterfall from Lake Bonneville emptying out!

On Sunday, we made a trip into Pocatello for Mass and a few errands.  I’d complain about having to do laundry and buy groceries; however, I’ve been reading a lot about life in the 1840’s and I simply am only thankful for all of the conveniences we have!  Dick found St. Joseph’s, a small, quaint Catholic Church in town that was built in 1897.  The priest was of Hispanic descent and a portion of his homily was on the effects of Covid in Columbia.  In order to pay back the loan for the costs of Covid, the government has imposed a 19% tax on groceries, including staples such as rice and beans.  You know, amid each of our personal struggles, life can seem difficult, maybe even unfair at times.  I think it is important to be reminded from time to time just how very blessed we are to live in this beautiful country!   

Three Island Crossing State Park, Idaho

 

June 15-20, 2021

 

Well, I officially have a new obsession.  Maybe not to the level of my obsession with my grandchildren, but definitely an obsession!  In my youth, history bored the begeebers out of me.  It was as if my teacher was Charley Brown’s teacher and all I heard was “wah wah who wah wah” and I was soon sound asleep.  Maybe I’ve finally matured to the point where history interests me, who knows.  Anyway, following the path the emigrants took 180 years ago on their route to Oregon fascinates me.  As we hitch our fifth wheel to our truck and travel the road west, we continue to happen upon the Oregon Trail.  The more I read about the journey, the more obsessed I become.  Three Island Crossing State Park was possibly the final straw for my collapse into total fixation.  

 

It was here that the emigrants needed to make the decision of taking the northern route or the southern route into Oregon.  The northern route provided reliable access to water, grass for the livestock, and a shorter distance to their destination.  The northern route also meant you had to cross the Snake River which was a dangerous proposition and the frequent site of drownings.  At Three Island Crossing, if the river was low enough, you could cross from the south bank to the first island, over to the second island, travel along the island to its tip and from there cross over to the north bank of the river.  This final crossing was where the danger came in.  The current was strong and there were deep holes if you didn’t go in the correct spot.  Occasionally, there were Shoshone camped there, as this was a good place to catch salmon.  Many emigrant diaries recount how they would have never made it safely across without the help of these Native Americans. The emigrants would also trade with the Shoshone.  The Shoshone were interested in buttons, needles, knives… The emigrants were interested in those salmon, a fresh change from their diet of bacon and bread.  Helen Carpenter’s diary states “One does like a change and about the only change we have from bread and bacon is to bacon and bread.”  

Eventually, a ferry was built by Gustavus Glenn, thus the town's name of Glenn's Ferry; however, many emigrants still chose to cross the river without the use of the ferry to avoid the ferry charge. This picture was not of Glenn's ferry, but of a yet newer model. 

Three Island Crossing State Park offers an Oregon Trail History Center that is amazing!  After viewing all the center had to see, we took the trail down to where the emigrants completed this dangerous crossing. For years there was an annual reenactment of the crossing.  Apparently, it has been discontinued due to how dangerous it is.

Starting at Three Island Crossing and continuing to Boise there is the Oregon Trail Scenic Byway.  This Byway gives  very detailed driving directions to the known location of the Oregon Trail. In many spots, the trail is on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property, so you can get out and actually hike along the trail.  The trail is nicely marked with either concrete or plastic markers.  Occasionally, ruts are still obviously visible.  Other times, I needed to use my imagination a bit.  I’m sure if you were a professional, you would be more skilled at noticing the details of the trail remnants.  

A typical day on the trail began at 4:00 am, allowing time to round up the cattle, prepare and eat breakfast, and hitch up the oxen.  7:00 am signaled “Wagons Ho”.  Goods were carried in the wagons and everyone walked alongside the wagons.  On a good day, you would travel 18-20 miles.  They would take a “nooning time” allowing both man and beast to eat and rest.  At 1:00, they were back on the road until they found a good campsite, hopefully with ample water and grass.  This was usually around 5:00 pm., when they would set up camp, prepare and eat dinner and get ready to do it all over again the next day.  Can you imagine 5-6 months of this daily routine?  

"Nooning" on the Oregon Trail

When we weren’t following the Oregon Trail, we did find a few other entertaining things to do!  Of course, I had a sewing project to work on.  The window in our front door does not have a window covering on it.  Although, I’m not worried about people seeing in, I do want to keep the sunlight out on these hot summer days, so I’m making n butterfly appliqué window covering.  

 

One evening, the park had an astronomer who set up in the parking lot with his telescope.  He gave us a terrific view of the moon, pointed out several stars, constellations and planets, and had a wealth of knowledge he happily shared with us.  Pretty interesting!  I’m sure everyone else already knows, but it was news to me that the days of the week are named after the sun, our moon and the planets.  “Sun”day, “Moon”day… 

Moon Gazing!

Of course, I’ve picked up a book on the Oregon Trail, so I did spend some time in the hammock enjoying reading about my new obsession when we weren’t out experiencing the trail!  

Three Island Crossing State Park is located at Glenn’s Ferry.  The town offers a cute little bakery, an ice-cream parlor, gas station, grocery store, hardware store, and best of all, Y Knot Winery!  On Friday and Saturday nights, the winery hosts live music, so we found ourselves enjoying the music of Gary Tackett while we sipped on some Y Knot wine.  They also have a fine restaurant, so a night off of cooking was a fun change of pace!

Well, instead of gathering the cattle and hitching up the oxen, we took Frankie for a short walk and hitched up the fifth wheel in preparation for our travel day.  As we drive down the interstate, I find myself constantly gazing out the window, imaging the strength and courage it took to travel this same region not all that long ago.  Well done! 

Up  next: Mountain Home, Idaho!