Twin Falls to Arco, Idaho 114 miles

Just a short trip on Wednesday. We stopped for fuel and headed northeast on US 93/20/26 to the sparkling metropolis of Arco, Idaho. The road was interesting, if not exciting, going through the Craters of the Moon National Monument. More on that later.

Arco's population is 961 at last count. Probably less by now. We pulled into Mountain View RV Park about 1 pm and settled into site D5.

MVRV is an adequate park. All the sites are large and the utilities perform well. Our site receives good satellite signal and the ATT cell signal is four bars. Staff is a little abrasive, lecturing guests on the necessity of cleaning up after pets and not parking on the grass. Still, it's not bad. A bit overpriced at almost $50 a night, but I guess it's all about location...

Arco has two claims to fame:

Arco is the first city in the United States to be lit by atomic energy! At 1:50 pm on December 20, 1951, Experimental Breeder Reactor 1 at the Idaho National Laboratory about 18 miles southeast of Arco produced enough electricity to power four 200-watt light bulbs. This reactor was built to validate Enrico Fermi's theory that a reactor could produce more fuel than it consumed. In 1955, an adjacent experimental boiling water reactor plant called BORAX-III was connected to external loads and began powering the city of Arco. We expect to tour the now-decommissioned reactor site before we leave Arco.

 Arco's second, and most important, demand for attention is Number Hill.

The graduating class of 1920 from Butte County High School painted the number 20 on the cliffs above town to symbolize their school spirit and memories. Each succeeding class has painted their number on the cliffs since!

Just below the cliffs, in the Arco Science Park, is the sail from the USS Hawkbill. Why, you ask? Well, during the Cold War, all of southeast Idaho was a hotbed of nuclear testing and advancements. No one knew because the studies were classified. Because of it's nuclear history and the fact that the Hawkbill was one of the first nuclear powered submarines, and because it's propulsion system was pioneered in the Idaho desert near Arco, it was deemed appropriate to memorialize the sub at it's decommissioning. The Hawkbill had the unfortunate chronological number 666, earning it the nickname "Devil Boat", but the ominous numeral never affected its many missions. Steaming some 1.5 million miles and successfully completing over 16 deployments to the Pacific and Arctic, the Hawkbill was the sub famously photographed when it's then captain Robert Perry (coincidence?) used the sail as a battering ram to break through three feet of ice!

Next door to the USS Hawkbill is the quaint Lost River Motel. Recently remodeled, it stands as a literal beacon at the east side of town!

Today, Thursday, the Second of July, we took a short 200 mile round trip to Sun Valley, Idaho. We've all heard of this playground for the rich and famous, so we had to check it out. I've got to say: other than seeing more Gucci, Tiffany, and Vera Wang stores in one place than any other on earth, the place is pretty ordinary. Now, don't get me wrong, the ski slopes and golf courses were extraordinary.

And the side of the road flowers were brilliant,

but the rest of it? Upscale, expensive, and arrogant. Ho Hum.

The town of Ketchum, adjacent to Sun Valley, has even more of the glitz and glamour, but also has a nice picnic area near the Big Wood river. We spent a bit of outdoor time with a well-prepared picnic lunch.

Unbeknownst to us, Ernest Hemingway was a frequent visitor to Sun Valley. A memorial to the famous writer sits adjacent to Edgewood Golf Resort.

We bid farewell to Sun Valley, Ketchum, and environs, and photographed a memory:

Only a two hour drive home!