Cindy Baker
I never knew Idaho was so beautiful! I just thought it was potato fields. I guess I never realized that it also has mountains and borders Yellowstone National Park. But day 6 of our trip led us to Harriman State Park in Island Park, Idaho where we went on a trail ride and saw four moose in the wild! Harriman State Park was only about 40 minutes from West Yellowstone and is an 11,000 acre working ranch, wildlife refuge and park. It was gifted to the state by the Harriman family of the Union Pacific railroad empire and is full of quiet lakes, rivers, meadows, and abundant wildlife. Before arriving at the barn we stopped to photograph the peaceful Silver Lake, which serves as a bird sanctuary.
I want to give a shout out to Dry Ridge Outfitters www.dryridge.com who took us on an awesome 2-hour horseback ride. The horses were well-trained, good-natured, and sure-footed. The guides were very friendly and knowledgeable. We saw four moose in the woods -two cows, a calf, and a bull. I wasn’t able to get a good picture while my horse was moving, but it was a really cool experience.
After our horse ride we took the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway and stopped at two recreation areas: Upper Mesa Falls and Lower Mesa Falls. This was only about 15 miles from Harriman State Park, so if you are there I recommend taking the time to view these beautiful falls.
Insider Tip: There was a small parking fee at the state park, but save your stub because this fee is also good for Mesa Falls.
According to a brochure put out by the Forest Service, approximately 1.3 million years ago, a huge volcanic eruption created an ash layer hundreds of feet deep. This layer was compressed into rock known as Mesa Falls Tuff. Later eruptions filled the area with basalt lava flows, and the Snake River keeps carving the canyon. The Mesa Falls Tuff is the rock ledge that the falls cascade over. The upper one is 114 feet high, and the lower one is 65 feet high.
Sadly, our Wild West Adventure came to an end on Day 7, when we headed back to the airport to go home. We decided to get up super early in the morning and drive through the Lamar Valley on our way out of the park back to Billings, in hopes of seeing some active wildlife. However, genius here (that would be me) accidentally set her alarm for P.M. instead of A.M. causing us to oversleep. But even with the late start we still saw some animals – no wolves or grizzlies though.
Going back to Billings we went over the mountain pass on the Bear Tooth Highway back to Red Lodge again. If you make this drive all the way over the pass be aware that it takes almost two hours and is super steep. You will also need to make sure you have enough gas and that your brakes work well. The view is breathtaking though!
This was one of the best vacations, and I hope you have enjoyed my daily trip reports. Please let me know your thoughts by commenting below, and be sure to follow me on social media. Below is a short video of Days 6 & 7:
Want to see our entire trip? Here is a video summary of our entire seven day Wild West Adventure:
