Eastern Idaho

After a successful set of meetings with community leaders in Boise, ID, we set off towards Idaho Falls. We ran along the Oregon Trail, passed through the towns of Fairfield and Carey, and after a few days found ourselves…in space? We had a wonderful afternoon and evening at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve where we met Ranger Lennie, became Junior (or rather Lunar) Rangers, and took in the ‘weird and scenic landscapes’.

We enjoyed a restful night in Arco before visiting EBR-1. In 1951, this nuclear power plant became the first in the world to produce electricity. The facility (decommissioned in 1964) now houses an informative walk-through tour, and we were delighted to learn some historical science in the middle of a 25 mile run.

We reached our first stop light in 200 miles on the outskirts of Idaho Falls. Although we ran into town on Labor Day, we were fortunate to have a conversation with Mayor Rebecca Casper. Mayor Casper described a recent energy summit she organized that aimed to convene leaders from the region to discuss new energy technologies and policies. She also told us about the city’s recently opened Compass school.

The last two days in Idaho were comprised of us running on tight shoulders on Route 26. Farmland eventually gave way to towering trees that provided shade and bird sightings along an uphill climb that followed the Snake River. We crossed into Wyoming on September 4—our third state!