The Brucato's Western Loop!: Out from under the rain!

Monday – Zion National Park to Idaho Falls, ID

Hello! And it has FINALLY stopped raining! (We really do love rain, but after flash floods yesterday in Zion, we were ready for a little break…which came this afternoon, as we approached Salt Lake City!)

Up this morning somewhere around 5-ish (normal time for us) and down for breakfast at 7 a.m. The buffet breakfast was included with our room rate, and it was really second to none! More fruit than you could shake a stick at, and hot food – eggs, oatmeal, sausage, bacon – as well as an omelet station where they would make whatever your heart desired! The hard rain had let up somewhat, but we read in the local paper in the lobby as we checked out, that many of the slot canyons in Zion had experienced flash floods from the day before! In fact, they received over an inch in less than three hours yesterday afternoon; we were surprised it wasn’t more! (As we headed back through the park, we could see some folks camping out in very tiny tents – expect that they had the worst of it yesterday; I greatly preferred our nice and warm hotel room!)

We decided to avoid the freeway as long as possible, and headed back through the park going east. Had a lovely leisurely study of a big horn sheep – with photos as proof! Back to Mt. Carmel Junction, and then headed north. We were able to spend the entire morning on surface streets, paralleling the freeway, on the other side of the mountains. We very much enjoyed the many small towns through which we passed; very refreshing!

We stopped for lunch at the Arby’s in Nephi, and then started our serious driving north, toward Idaho. Up past Provo and then Salt Lake City (known as the “Mother Ship” by our friends Brenda and Chris!). We finally got some sunshine as we headed into Idaho, which was a refreshing change! Through Pocatello and finally to our stop for the night, Idaho Falls.

Found the Hilton Garden Inn, which is right on the banks of the Snake River. We have a lovely room on the top floor, with a great balcony with comfortable chairs overlooking the river. SO nice to be able to turn off the a/c and open the patio door; stunning view! Brought all our stuff inside, and settled in, then time to make a selection of a place for dinner!

Decided to try D’Railed, which rates as the #1 place in Idaho Falls. It’s in an interesting location, right off the railroad tracks, and in the midst of a construction zone. Managed to find it, and to be honest, we weren’t sure from the outside if this would really be the right place! Decided to try it, though, and wow, are we happy we did! There was only one other group dining at the time we got there – somewhere around 5:30 p.m. We entered a very small room, with eclectic furnishing and the aroma of incense, and found seats in a corner near the front door.

We started by splitting an order of crab stuffed mushrooms. It took a while to arrive, but when they did – they were GREAT! This was followed up by dinner salads of assorted greens, onions, and tomatoes with blue cheese dressing – YUM! Then came our mains – we both ordered their grilled flat iron steaks, which came with a nice pepper-corn crust. Robert had a ramekin of macaroni and cheese (which was great!) and I had a ramekin of mashed potatoes with scallions topped by cheese and bacon – WOW! In our position near the door, we became unofficial greeters, and ended up having a great conversation with Jim and Georgette, some former Southern Californians who have made Idaho Falls their home; very interesting couple!

Following dinner, we stopped by the Snake River and a lovely waterfront park that runs through the old historic downtown area. Then, I decided that I needed a Dairy Queen, and on our second attempt, found one so that I could have a vanilla cone dipped in chocolate – what an extravagance! Very enjoyable, and made for a lovely ending to a great day!