Massacre Rock State Park

On Monday we drove out to Massacre Rock State Park. Since I had to work on Thursday (our usual hike day) we did this as our combined outing and hike for the week. It is only about 30 minutes from our house and right along the highway heading West by American Falls. We started off at Register Rock. I guess when the pioneers (pioneers for the country, not just church pioneers) were crossing on the Oregon trail, Register Rock was a common camping place. There were many names that were carved into the Rock that were dated in the first half of the 1800s. This was a small little valley that was close to the Snake River that had a ton of huge boulders in it. I guess the boulders got there in what they were saying was the second biggest flood in all time (I am not sure if they are counting Noah's flood or not). A long time ago I guess over half of Utah was all a lake and there was a natural dam here close to Pocatello. When the dam broke for a couple straight months four times the amount of water as the Amazon river flowed through this area emptying out that lake. At register rock we also built a fire and had hot dogs and smores.

Then we went over to the other part of the park where they had a 2 mile trail to look at ruts that were still there from the Oregon Trail. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but still kind of cool to imagine where the pioneers came through. It was a super hot day and the kids didn't enjoy this hike as much. Even though it was paved and clear, Julia was still worried about tics from our last hike. There were a couple tunnels under the freeway that they did enjoy. I think they would have just preferred to stay there and make echos while Rebecca and I looked at the tracks.

Then we went to the small visitor center. There wasn't really much to do in that except read a little information about what it was like traveling on the Oregon trail. It said that in a good day they might make 20 miles. I thought about how we just drove farther than that in 30 minutes and how we can see over 20 miles from our house. I imagine that would be the hardest for me - to start the day and look out in the direction that I am heading and not be able to make it as far as I could see during that day. In the visitor center they had a display for Ezra Meeker! I thought that was really cool. Although most people I am sure have no idea who that is and probably just read the display thinking he was just another traveler, I got really excited since he was the founder of Puyallup (where I grew up). I grew up having school and scout tours of his home every year and celebrating Meeker days as a city.

We then looked at the snake river a little before heading home. The gorge was really pretty. I guess they also say that the river used to be completely filled in with volcanoes before they all erupted. That would explain all the lava rock that we have around here. I just never think about volcanoes being in Idaho though.