Anyone with a keen knowledge of the history of the American West or, more likely, anyone who has watched American Primeval on Netflix, will know that the pioneer days were a dark time and the the Mormons were somewhat ruthless in the attempt to gain control over Utah ( and which group does not have some darkness in their past).
In the case of the Mormons, this culminated in the Mormon militia disguising themselves as Indians and massacring a wagon train of settlers at Mountain Meadow between 7th and 11th September, 1857 (what is it about American massacres and my birthday??).
Now not far from Orem and potentially “on the way” to my next stop, is somewhere called Mountain Meadows (with an s) which, although it is not the site of the massacre, which was in southern Utah, has a monument commemorating those who died. Now despite (or perhaps because of) the angry reviews on Google raging about this not being the actual site, it seems worth a quick trip. I’m not sure why they would have placed a memorial here … maybe they needed something close o the mothership where they could come for collective hand wringing? Maybe they were just trying to make sure that people visiting the wrong location has something to see?
Whatever the reason, Google was clearly not going to direct me there. Or Angel Maroni has put the blocks on. After a couple of attempts to direct me onto ranches / private driveways, I decide that the the omens are not good.
Still, it was a pleasant drive in the mountains. I will leave the dark deeds of the Mormons in the dark and head on to Idaho.
Now the route takes me through Salt Lake City. As previously mentioned, I am not a fan of driving in and around big American cities. When you get to the point that there are 5 or 6 lanes on each side of the freeway, with constant on and off ramps and no lane control meaning lots of ducking and weaving in a very un-British way, you really need to have you wits about you. Concentration is one thing, but there is always a nagging suspicion at the back of your mind that you may have overlooked some fundamental US rule of the road.
So, when the chaos temporarily opens up a gap and I see a truck pointing directly at me, I have a moment. It is a split second before I realise that the truck is being towed but suffice to say, it is just as well that I had only had one cup of bold coffee this morning, otherwise there might have been an incident.
Now, I have only recently realised that Shoshone Falls is on Snake River and that a few miles away is a site of interest. Those of a certain age will remember the remarkable and crazy Evel Knievel, daredevil extraordinaire. So I am now off to visit the place where he attempted to jump over the Snake River Canyon.
The ramp is still there, so I take a stroll to the top to see what the jump would have looked like. Many thanks also to the kind gentleman who had come prepared and allowed me the use of his props.
I had to laugh that they had blocked the bottom of the ramp. Presumably to stop folk from trying a GTA style jump in their own cars.
Now the road to Shoshone Falls was blocked with roadworks but Google seemed incapable of adjusting and so I made a few circuits before taking matters into my own hands. But it gave me an opportunity to see some more of Twin Falls.
Anf so, by circuitous route to Shoshone Falls. Higher than Niagara by all accounts (or at least by one account on the display material)
I head out for something to eat in the evening. On foot, no less! It seems that US cities are becoming more pedestrian friendly with pavement sidewalks to actually get you somewhere helpful. This is great as sometimes you just want to stretch you legs after a day of driving. Getting from one side of the road to anther can still present some challenges mind you.
On my way, I spot a colony of prairie dogs at the side of the road. They all dive for cover when I approach - except for one brave soul who is presumably on watch duty.
They are not quite so alert on my way back…
