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Published: September 18th 2009
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In the morning as we were leaving Teton Village, the hang gliders were all out floating above the mountain. Several landed at their designated spot in a field near the parking lot. The weather was sunny with a pretty heavy haze on the horizon.
Today we drove further south in Wyoming via a scenic route that lead us into Idaho, down through a small portion of Utah and back into Wyoming again. Route 89 traveled through the Targhee National forest with the snake river running along side the road. The forest rose up very steep slopes each side and the underbrush was deep orange and gold in many places. There were lots of Cottonwoods beginning to turn yellow and clusters of red, orange and gold deciduous trees amongst the green pines. It was gorgeous.!!!
Once through the forest and canyon, the area flattened out at a town named Alpine. There was farmland, ranches, lots of horses. Trees in this valley had not yet turned, I assume because it was warmer 70 degree temps.
Along this route were many small towns with a population of 200 or fewer. One small town named Paris was particularly interesting. Paris is a rural city located
on the western side of the Bear Lake Valley in Bear Lake County, Idaho. Its population was 576 at the 2000 census. The county seat of Bear Lake County, it was settled on September 26, 1863 by pioneer settlers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
They were a group of dedicated Mormons led by Charles C Rich. During early years, pioneers suffered difficulties with the harsh cold climate, however their determination and faith kept them from leaving the area.
Paris has an impressive landmark for a city of its size: the Latter Day Saints Bear Lake Stake Tabernacle, a sandstone church built by the pioneers in 1889. It seats around 2000 people, nearly four times the population of the city.
Bear Lake is a natural freshwater lake on the Utah-Idaho border. It is the second largest natural freshwater lake in Utah and has been called the "Caribbean of the Rockies" for its unique turquoise-blue colour, the result of suspended limestone deposits in the water. Its water properties have led to the evolution of several unique species that live naturally only within the lake. Bear Lake is over 250,000 years old. It was formed by fault subsidence that
continues today, slowly deepening the lake along the eastern side. I took some photos but I don't think that the turquoise water colour really shows too well.
After Bear Lake we turned onto Route 30, passed through a rocky canyon and came out into the desert. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the scenery can change in this part of the US.
At Evanston we turned onto Interstate 80. The terrain was desolate and off on a hill side we saw a windmill farm. The Foote Creek Rim Wind Farm began operations in 1999 and has since grown to include 133 large-scale wind turbines, with a rated capacity of nearly 85 MW. Foote Creek Rim, the first commercial wind farm to go on line in Wyoming, is built on one of the windiest sites in the country. Although it is supposed to be one of the windiest sites, today the blades were barely turning.
Green River, a small town along the interstate was our destination for today will be our stop for the next two nights because it is the gateway to the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area which is partly in Wyoming and partly in Utah.
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