What makes this springs unique is that it is the world's only "captive geyser." In 1937, the city fathers accidentally drilled into this mound of rock, unleashing a 100-foot geyser. Now the geyser is controlled with a valve, that releases the pressure and unleashes the geyser every hour on-the-hour. We realized that we were going to arrive just a few minutes before the 12:00 eruption. In fact, Mark was parking the motor home in the parking lot beside the geyser at 11:58. Denisa jumped out and ran to the viewing platform just as the water started rising from the geyser. You can see the motor home parked and Mark just making it to the edge.
We didn't know how long it would last, but it went into part two of the eruption as the water blew even higher into the sky. Visitors are invited to enjoy the 72-degree water that turns this area into an hourly splash pad. But none of us old retired people brought our swim suits today. Signs around the geyser told us that this warm water was once bottled as carbonated mineral water. It was so delicious that it won "best at fair" at the 1893 World's Fair in Paris.
Since Mark was on the other side of the geyser, he was taking pictures into the sun. In fact, the geyser blew so high it almost touched the sun.
While the motor home was parked, we took a walking tour around the tiny town of Soda Springs, Idaho. We found the "Dinkey Engine." It was used to haul supplies when the local dam was built in 1924. But it was trapped by rising water and left under the lake that formed. That lake was drained in 1976 so the 50-year-old dam could be repaired. That's when they found Dinkey and decided to restore him to his original grandeur.
We have to include one last picture taken at the beginning of the geyser's eruption. From this angle, the color of the golden travertine under the geyser is exactly the same color . . .
as the golden fields of wheat that are being harvested just down the road. We found another "road-side attraction" as we enjoy watching agriculture in action as we travel this country. It's hard to believe that they don't harvest wheat until September in Idaho!
They are also harvesting fruits and vegetables here. When we drove through a little town hosting a farmers' market, Mark slammed on the motor home brakes and got stopped so Denisa could do some shopping at another road-side attraction. We made a haul of goodness with more peas, Colorado peaches, cucumbers, and fresh corn. Denisa was going to buy some of the beautiful tomatoes that were priced at 3 for $1. But then she saw that a whole basket of tomatoes was only $5 and she couldn't resist that bargain. The farmer kept adding extras to her basket, and we ended up with 42 tomatoes. We see lots of fresh salsa in our future!
The next road-side attraction on this moving day was the state sign as we crossed into Utah.
That's because our campground is on the Utah side of this beautiful turquoise blue lake that we drove beside for twenty miles on this moving day. Bear Lake is quite a road-side attraction, with the Idaho/Utah state border right down the middle.
So after a good travel day, we are settled into our camping site at Utah's Bear Lake State Park. We are on the south side of the lake enjoying the first full-hook-ups in eight days. We love the view out our window of the Caribbean blue water that Bear Lake is famous for. After a long day on the road filled with interesting road-side attractions, it's good to be home!
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