Tuesday, April 09, 2013

US Hwy 20: Mountain Home, Idaho

As far as I can tell, there are two things of note in the Mountain Home area. One is Mountain Home Air Force Base, a few miles south of town. I drove down to take a look -- it's huge! -- but you can't take any photos. So, this F-111 on display in the town's park will have to serve as proxy.



The other area feature is a few miles farther south, via an empty road across a barren landscape. When you arrive, you wonder -- or at least I wondered -- "What in the world?"



More than 400 feet high, Bruneau Dunes is the tallest single sand dune structure in North America. Surrounding hills act as a sand trap to catch the wind-blown material brought across the desert floor. Prevailing winds blow in opposing directions, keeping the dunes in place. It started forming about 14 thousand years ago, after the "tremendous" Bonneville flood. Now you know!

The park was empty, so Happy and I had the place to ourselves. We wandered around, read every info board -- me the words, her the smells -- and enjoyed a clear, sunny, warm afternoon in the desert. The wind was still pretty strong, but it seems to be settling down and I'm on track to continue east tomorrow morning... Stay tuned!

Click here to see exactly where I am posting this from on Google Maps.

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