We had plans of camping this weekend, but the weather did not cooperate at all. We opted for a day trip instead. Yesterday we went on our family adventure, and we had a blast!
We began by traveling north on US HWY 89. We stopped for lunch at the 'Wolf Den', a local roadside tourist stop, located just outside of Etna. They have a pretty good burger, along with the 'gimmicks', to get the tourist to stop! They have some buffalo for the kids to see, along with some old west style props.
The only time we had a handle on the kids is when we locked them up in the paddy wagon.
They have several teepee's equipped with picnic tables inside, so you can enjoy your meal inside one if you wish.
After enjoying our lunch we proceeded north to Alpine, and then into Idaho to Swan Valley. There we stopped at another roadside attraction. In Swan Valley there is a gas station, that also sells "World Famous Square Ice Cream".
The place is truly amazing to me. It is out in the middle of 'nowhere'. Idaho Falls is 50 miles away, Star Valley 40 miles, Victor is 30 miles, and yet the place is always packed with people. They are there just to buy an ice cream cone, that is square! If you click on the picture and enlarge it you can get an idea of the kind of business this place does. The sign at the top and right shows the sales they had last year. Memorial weekend they sold 11,462 ice cream cones. On the Forth of July - 18,761. And Labor day - 10,332. That is some kind of sales for a gas store along the highway - a long way form anywhere!
Enjoying our cones! Notice the color of my cone? It is licorice flavored! The kids all got cotton candy flavored cones, and Angela tried 'Moose Tracks'.
From Swan Valley we drove over Teton Pass and into Jackson Hole. There we visited the National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center. The place was a huge hit with the kids. These geese were camping on the roof with their new babies!
There were several boardwalks along the river to view waterfowl from. Many of the ducks and geese had newly hatched chicks.
While in Jackson we also visited the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. This bear was on display there. He had been quilled by a porcupine and then having his left eye blinded by the quills he ran into a highway and was struck by a passing vehicle. Talk about a bad day!
We had a blast on our "mini vacation". A family day well spent.
Photos taken: May 24, 2008. Picture of us eating our cones in front of Rainey Creek taken by: Ruby
Okay, that day sounds like a complete and utter blast! And I love moose tracks ice cream. So I have got to make this same journey. My husband is free to roam about the country in August (he had a kidney transplant in April.) I think we'll take a drive, although we won't be starting in Star Valley, but I want to see both these places you've blogged about. That must be some killer ice cream!
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