9/19/21 - We said goodby to our great friends Mark & Janet Gardner today dropping them off at the Boise Airport. It was a great 5 weeks with them traveling over 5,000 miles through Montana, Washington State, Oregon and Idaho. Many National Parks and miles and miles of hiking including hiking up to a glacier at 7,000 feet.

Wendy and are heading home but did make a couple of side trips along the way. Minidoka Relocation Camp was first up where in 1942 10,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned during WWII. The area is still a pretty remote area of Idaho outside of the Boise area. Unbelievable to think today that this happen. The Japanese Americans were given 6 days to sell their homes and business and assemble at fairgrounds to be processed. At first they were housed in stables previously used for horses. Once the concentration camp was ready they were shipped via rail and buses from the Pacific coast. A few buildings still remain.

Many volunteered to fight in the war even though the US had treated them so badly. The plaque below honors those who did volunteer and joined the Army.

Guard Tower

Barracks which housed as many as 50 people (6 to 7 families of 4 to 6)

We headed over to Idaho Falls to visit with our daughter-n-law - Jess's parents. Just around the corner from their house is the Snake River - Shoshone Falls. It is taller then Niagara Falls and reportedly quite impressive in the Spring. Today just a trickle due to the drought and the power plant diverting water for power generation.

Snake River

The trip across into Utah is the high desert at 5,200 feet. Interesting clouds, I thought and seemingly so low to the ground. In Maryland we just don't have sights like this.

One state closer to home!