Say Hey to Heyburn, Idaho

 After three nights in Juniper Campground, we have new batteries and we are rested. We are all re-charged and ready to go! We are on the road to a new campground, with a couple stops on the way today. Our first stop is in Idaho Falls to turn in our old batteries. We had to pay $22 each for a "core fee," and we got that refunded today when we dropped off the four old batteries at the RV store where we bought the new ones. Then we drove another 26 miles down the road to Blackfoot, Idaho, home of the Idaho Potato Museum.

We found this little museum when we were shopping for our next camping spot. They are a Harvest Host, and allow RVs to spend the night in their parking lot. But with temperatures in the 90s, we have determined that we need an electrical hook-up site tonight to run our air-conditioner. So this was just a drive-by stop on this moving day. We stopped by their Potato Station Cafe for lunch, and ordered their potato soup with a potato roll,

potato fries (with chili and cheese), and for dessert . . .

potato ice cream--of course. It's purple because it is flavored with huckleberries--Idaho's state fruit. We feel like we have fulfilled our duty to eat every form of potato in this state known for growing lots of these spuds.

We also see that they grow lots of wheat here. It's time for harvest, but we are seeing some large fields with patches of wheat laying down. We don't remember seeing this, but we think we found the explanation from a google search. This is called "lodging" and it can be caused from storm damage or disease. But the most interesting cause is when the seed head becomes so heavy that the stems bend and the crop falls over. Denisa was raised on a wheat farm, and she had never heard of having a too-heavy seed head. We don't think that happens with dry-land wheat.

We are camping in Heyburn, Idaho, at the Heyburn Riverside RV Park. True to its name, it is an easy walk to the Snake River to watch the sunset.

We love to go to farmers' markets, and we are so glad to see more of them returning to normal this summer. We found that Heyburn has a big market, but it only happens twice a month on every other Thursday evening. Guess what? We just happened to be here on the right Thursday! We had dinner at one of the food booths,

and did some shopping. This was their annual children's entrepreneur market, and several of our purchases were made from the young people of Heyburn.

They have live entertainment at the farmers' market, so we sat under the trees in the park and listened. We can also report that we can two-step in the uneven grass by that tree.

We can also report that the cheese outlet, an interesting store a half block from our campground, has some great bargains. We think we're going to like it here in Heyburn, Idaho. But the real reason for this stop is not for potatoes or farmers' markets. The real reason is the subject for tomorrow's blog.