Today we passed the Great Salt Lake. Salt Lake City lake in Utah runs 75 miles north to south and very shallow. It doubled in size over the years. It is considered to be the 4th largest salt lake in the world. There is no fish life but a shrimp lives well in there. In 1845 the first settler was Miles Goodyear. In 1947 Brigham Young came through and was considered a colonist and settled in Salt Lake city.

Later we arrived in Logan, Utah. Some of the mountain men such as Jim Bridger settled here and made their living as trappers.  They mostly trapped beaver pelts.  Interestingly,  they treated the pelts with mercury. This is where the term " mad hatter" was coined.

We also passed by Bear Lake (Caribbean of the Rockies) which is filled with lush greenery. The cut throat trout live in Bear Lake. Shashoni Indians used to gather here to trade goods with other tribes. When the trees turn orange in September it looks like fire is ripping through the field. Bear lake is around 20 miles long and home to many recreational activities. The water was quite blue and there were many lupines surrounding the area. In addition, by the rest stop there was a hummingbird feeder which made for an awesome spot to take pictures.

Bear lake is right near the state line of Utah and Idaho. Idaho is known as the gem state and potato state. It has one of the onky active diamond mines to date. There are few people that come to Idaho. It is difficult to access and also has a small population. 

Idaho has great fisheries and best known for trout. Ernest wrote For whom the Bell Tolls while in Sun Valley Idaho.  The man who was the architect behind Mount Rushmore (Gutsum Borglum) also lived here.

We stopped at the Oregon Trail historical center for an interesting tour. I dont believe many people come through there except for tours such as ours. The Oregon Trail tour was very much a walk through and interactive simulation of why individuals went on the trail in the first place. People basically wanted to get to Oregon due to the free land. However you had to have a wagon, oxen and guns per family member. Men made around three dollars per week therefore it could take years to save up. Many families sold everything but the clothes on their back just to  go. The trip was dangerous.  If you could not carry your weight you were left behind. One out of 6 individuals perished. During the tour, this was signified by the carrying of a white rag.  Another interesting fact was the fact that they did try to keep track of how many miles they traveled.  At first they had a child count the number of rotations but many of the children got too dizzy and broke their legs. They used and purchased anothef instrument that did the counting for them.

Upon leaving the hisotorical center, we traveled through the state of Wyoming. 48 percent of the lands are public lands which is why it is still very much just land. Wyoming had the first national monument,  park and forest. Wyoming is known as the cowboy state known for its land, tourism and mining. It is also known as the equality state because in 1869 women were first allowed to vote and the Congress is also led by all women. It is the leading producer of coal and roughly sixth in the U.S. for natural gas.

Wyoming is very much conservatively run. It is the least populated state and 12 stories is the tallest building which happens to be the boy's dormitory. We had time to peruse around the city of Jackson Hole. It was very small town surrounded by mountains.  A ski resort was also found in the center of Jackson Hole.  Shops lined the streets selling cowboy boots and leather hats. We actually found a music festival taking place in Jackson and it was a very happy and free spirited atmosphere. We enjoyed listening to a group entitled the Revivalists, a music group which originated in New Orleans. This is probably the only time I will go to a music festival surrounded by mountains. Beautiful atmosphere and beautiful scenery. We were fortunate enough to slumber inside a wooden lodge. It was quite comfortable and also very rustic- a perfect nest for those traveling west.