OK- we have to admit we love the Mountain View RV Park in Arco, ID. They have a wonderful park, with reasonable prices for spacious grassy sites, electric, sewer and water, free breakfast for up to 2 of the campers (coffee, eggs, and large, fluffy pancakes, clean bathrooms, laundry and private showers and each site has a grill and picnic table. Many of the sites are shaded and they have both 30 and 50 amp service. Our site had large trees on both sides so we always had the early morning sun when the weather was cool and shade in the outside area in the afternoons when the temperature is up. We have relaxed and found multiple things to see here. We toured EBR-1, Experimental Breeder Reactor 1, the first reactor to produce electricity from atomic power. It is located within the land of the Idaho National Laboratory on US 20/26.
There was much to see and we learned quite a bit about early atomic energy use, safety and also projects that were on the books, including atomic powered aircraft. Believe it or not, this is a test stand for an atomic jet engine, and the engine is only about 10 feet of it, the rest was built to prevent the engine from running off across the desert.We took several scenic drives and enjoyed the wonderful scenery- including a drive over Trail Creek and the pass on a one lane dirt road to Sun Valley Ski area. We seem to like those narrow, high, unprotected roads to some place different. These are the things you miss with city to city travel by air- few people see any of the things in between, especially if the in between area isn't serviced by a big airline.
Did you know that Idaho has a National monument that is unlike any in the continental US - Crater of the Moons National Monument. this area is more like the volcano area of Hawaii than any other- with lava, cinder cones, small volcanoes, etc. They have a small dispersed camping campground- that means no electricity or water, just a campground. There are multiple hiking trails, lava funnel caves to explore and a desert beauty to enjoy- we were back twice. We rode through early on, enjoyed the loop and discovered that we definitely didn't want to try to camp at that campground so stayed in Arco. It was definitely the right decision for us.We are ready to leave this area now- after spending 5 wonderful days exploring many of the available sites.
Arco is on the direct route between Yellowstone and Boise and if you are ever n the area, you should stop and see what is available. It is amazing what you will find by just taking the time to stop and look around. Tomorrow we are off to Farewell Bend State Park, OR on the Idaho/Oregon state line just north of Ontario, OR (west of Bosie, ID) on the Snake river. We hope to experience some of the history around the Oregon Trail but won't be there long since we are moving on to Sisters, OR for the 4th and that was the first focus of this trip- the Sisters Quilt Show. So- we are moving ever forward- more to follow.
