After visiting the Oregon Trail Museum, we decided to drive outside of town 7 miles to see the "Big Hill" that the settlers wrote about in their trail diaries. It was the first BIG obstacle that they had encountered on the trail. They tied their wagons to trees and gently lowered each one down the very steep incline and were thrilled to safely make it into the valley!
The next oddity they discovered was called Beer Creek, Soda Creek and is now called Soda Springs. WHen they arrived they discovered this fizzy water which they added flavorings to and called it soda. The women discovered that the water was great for baking bread and they didn't have to add yeast to make it rise! They said the bread was light and fluffy. In later years the town decided to build a swimming pool in town and started digging.....what they got was a 37 foot geyser with warm water! It erupts every hour on the hour. We drove over to see it. Kids were playing in the runoff, and the town has built a viewing stand around it similar to Yellowstone's Old Faithful - minus the crowds!
On July 4 we drove 25 miles to see the Bear Lake (22 miles long; 8 miles wide with the bluest water I've seen. On our way back to camp, we drove through Paris, Idaho and stopped at the Paris Tabernacle built in 1888. The sign outside indicated "free tours" so we stopped. We met some delightful women who answered our questions about the Mormon tabernacle. The members began quarrying stone and cutting timbers and stockpiled matrials before building in 1884-88. The design was that of Joseph Don Carlos Young, a son of Brigham Young. The Tabernacle is able to seat 1500 members and is used regularly. Construction cost totaled $50,0000. That evening we drove into town to enjoy the fireworks. A great holiday!
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