Before visiting Idaho on our RV roadtrip, neither Em or I had been to Idaho, so we weren’t sure what to expect. One thing we definitely didn’t anticipate is how beautiful the state is! One guy we met joked that locals try to keep that a secret so the whole US population doesn’t move to Idaho ;) Here are our favorite things we experienced in Idaho!
Mesa Falls
Located on the east side of Idaho is Mesa Falls. The rushing water, lush green trees, and big blue sky make the falls feel like something out of a fantasy movie. The falls are separated into the upper and lower falls. The upper falls are the main part, stretching 114 ft tall. The lower falls are 65 ft tall. (Em and I were amazed to hear that people actually kayak down this part of the rushing falls!)
Mesa Falls is a quick and easy hike from the parking lot. It’s actually also not too far from the west entrance of Yellowstone National Park. I am really glad that we decided to stop by and see this amazing waterfall!
Shoshone Falls
Shoshone Falls is named the Niagra Falls of the west, and it’s easy to see why. Just outside the town of Twin Falls, Shoshone Falls is 212 feet tall, 900 feet wide, and this year at its max gushed more than 18,000 cubic feet of waterfall per second. But one of my favorite things about these falls is that because it isn’t a national or state park, I was able to fly our drone right over the falls! Seeing the falls from directly above really made us appreciate the sheer size and power of the falls even more.
While we were there we actually got to see a couple get married overlooking the falls! The pastor saw us with the drone and asked if we would take some footage of the newly married couple and the falls. So not only did we get to fly our drone, but we actually got to be wedding videographers for the day!
(One thing to note about the falls is that there is a power plant right next to the falls that helps regulate the amount of waterflow. Because of this, the waterflow can vary greatly depending on the time of year you visit.) But no matter what time of year it is, Shoshone Falls is an amazing place to visit.
Idaho Potato Museum
I feel like no visit to Idaho would be complete without a visit to the potato museum. This museum was located in a small, cozy building in Blackfoot. Before visiting the museum, pretty much the only thing that Em and I knew about potatoes was that they taste yummy. :) But according to the facts in the potato museum, we learned that the average American eats 124 lbs of potatoes per year!
We also learned that the potato was the first vegetable grown in space, and is grown in 125 countries. After our tour, Em and I sat down in their cafeteria and had a baked potato and fries (because when in Idaho). The museum itself is pretty small and might not be worth going out of the way for, but if you are in the area, the museum is only $4, so stop by and brush up on your potato facts!
Craters of the Moon
On our way from the Potato Museum to Boise, we drove through Craters of the Moon National Monument. This is a massive area of cooled lava fields. The area got its name because it resembles the surface of the moon. (The 2nd group of astronauts to walk on the moon actually visited Craters of the Moon before launching into space).
When we first saw these black mounds of dried lava, we weren’t exactly sure what it was. It really did feel like we took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up on a different planet. Then we started to notice signs and pulled over to inspect the weird, black rock formations. We learned that there are over 25 volcanic cones (but they are small, not like Mount Vesuvius) within a 618 square more area. This area of Idaho is covered by the basalt (cooled lava), which was crazy to think about. Although we may not have fully understood it or how it happened, we were glad to see it, and it is probably the closest we’ll ever get to walking on the moon!
Boise
Boise is a really fun, hip city that has a little bit of everything. We spent a whole day riding our motorcycles around the city, and it was awesome! Our first stop was at the Boise Farmers Market and Capital City Public Market, two markets right in downtown Boise that offers flowers, fruit, food, handcrafted items, and more. The markets are within walking distance of each other, and the one is right beside the Idaho capitol building!
We’ve made it a point to see as many state capitol buildings as we can on our trip, so it was awesome to check Idaho’s off the list. To celebrate, we decided to eat at the Boise Fry Company (although who really needs a reason to eat fries)! What makes this restaurant chain so cool is that fries are the main menu item, and burgers are served on the side! We did buy a burger to split, but the fries alone – with their unique seasonings and dipping sauces – filled us up quickly.
As we were driving our motorcycles, we saw this HUGE building and outdoor living space and wondered what it was. The building said “JUMP” on the front which, after walking inside and asking what it was, we found out stood for Jack’s Urban Meeting Space. We learned that a local entrepreneur’s family built it as a community center – definitely the coolest one we’ve ever seen!
Like I mentioned, Boise has a little bit of everything – even an outdoor whitewater park that they created in the river! Boise is a really cool city and we were grateful for the opportunity to visit.
Coeur d’Alene
Coeur d’Alene is the type of town that I would create if I could make the perfect getaway! It is located in the top of Idaho, right in between Washington and Montana and just south of the Canadian border. The area is perfectly picturesque with rolling mountains, dense forest, and calm lake water. Even the town’s french name sounds romantic. And it just so happened that our visit coincided with our 10 year dating anniversary. (To be honest I had totally forgot about this date. I mean there really are only so many dates that a guy can remember, and Em and I don’t usually celebrate the date we started dating, but hey I’ll take credit for being romantic when I can. ;)
Coeur d’Alene has SO much to do,and while we were there we planned to go ziplining, parasailing, jetskiing, dine on a floating restaurant and a dinner cruise, and stay in a premium resort. We even found a small hamburger restaurant called Hudson’s (of course I had to try their burgers to make sure they lived up to their name ;)
Unfortunately, during our stay in Coeur d’Alene there were hundreds of major forest fires in Montana, Washington, Alberta, and British Columbia. During much of our visit, the smoke was so dense that we couldn’t see very far and our jetskiing and zip lining were cancelled. (That just means that we will have to go back someday to see the town without the smoke =) We were very fortunate that there weren’t any major fires in Coeur d’Alene. We talked with one gentleman who had evacuated from his home in Montana and he was telling us that he wasn’t sure if his home was still standing or not. Our prayers go out to all the people who were affected by the fires.
If you are going to visit the perfect getaway town, then it is only right to stay in the best possible resort. So we took a break from the RV for a couple of nights and upgraded to a 17th floor room with a beautiful view of Lake Coeur d’Alene at the Coeur d’Alene Resort. Apart from all of the smoke from the fires, the view was the best view I’ve ever had from any hotel room.
The hotel’s lobby opened right out onto the lake and was just a short walk from a nearby beach. Em and I don’t golf, but after seeing the resort’s golf course we wish that we did. The course was once named America’s Most Beautiful Resort Golf Course by Golf Digest. The 14th hole is the home to the world’s only floating green!
To celebrate our dating anniversary, Em and I headed down from our 17th floor room to the Coeur d’alene Resort Spa for a couple’s massage. We found out that the spa has been ranked Idaho’s best spa for four consecutive years and was named one of the “World’s Most Romantic Spas” by MSNBC.com. So we knew that we were in great hands!
The staff was all very friendly and the accommodations were amazing. I probably could have spent the whole day sitting in the waiting area eating raisins and drinking ice water! Our massage room had a beautiful view of the lake and mountains and they even had cedar scented oils to really make you feel like you were outside in nature.
That night, we took a dinner cruise around Lake Coeur d’alene. We sailed around the lake and got to see the golf course’s famous floating green and some of the giant mansions built on the water. The food was awesome! It was buffet style service with the main courses being either Baked King Salmon or Steamship Round of Beef.
Of course I had to sample both of them (you know, for research purposes =) and I concluded that they were both amazing! Em and I have been on a few dinner cruises that by the time you eat you are ready to leave, but Coeur d’Alene is so beautiful that we enjoyed every minute of the 2 hour cruise.
Just a couple miles from the resort is Cedars Floating Restaurant, and they even have shuttle service there, so we visited that restaurant the following night. Somehow the restaurant figured out how to make 600,000 pounds of concrete encased in styrofoam float. The restaurant is designed as a circle with glass windows lining the walls, so no table has a bad seat. There is also a screened in porch area for those cool summer nights. Everyone, from the hostess, to our server, to the restaurant’s manager, was so nice and treated us like we were their only customers in the restaurant.
But the best part of the restaurant was the amazing food! We started the night off with a House Smoked Trout Appetizer. For our main meal, Em and I ordered a sirloin steak and Alaskan Crab legs.
It has been quite a long time since we had such amazing surf and turf (even just writing about it now is making me hungry). To top off the night, we ended with an ice cream & peanut butter brownie. If we ever make it back to Coeur d’Alene (maybe for our 50th dating anniversary ;) I will definitely make sure to eat at Cedars Floating Restaurant again.
To end our amazing time in Coeur d’Alene, we went parasailing! Em and I have been parasailing three times now and we have loved it every time. It is one of the best ways to get to really see and experience an area. If you are planning a trip to Coeur d’Alene and have never been parasailing, or if you have gone several times before, I would definitely recommend parasailing on Lake Coeur d’Alene. The area is so pretty and peaceful that you’ll quickly forget about the height and just enjoy the views!
(Unfortunately the smoke was just starting to come in when we went, but we still had an awesome time!) Em and I went with Coeur d’Alene Parasailing and had a blast! The owner and captain of the boat has been running parasailing for over 14 years and is even a medic, so you know that you are in the best of hands! Toward the end, they did an awesome job of letting us skim our feet across the water without getting us completely soaked. It is such a cool and freeing feeling flying high above the water and seeing such amazing views.
Although we did our best, there are still so many things that we wish we saw in Idaho. Some of the things at the top of our list are Sun Valley, the Sawtooth National Forest, Hells Canyon, and Sandpoint. We had planned to go to a few of these areas but some RV troubles and the smoke from the forest fires changed our plans a bit. However, Idaho was so beautiful that we might just have to stop by again!
So that concluded our amazing time in Idaho and list of our favorite things to do in Idaho! But before I end the post, I wanted to share about something that has been a game-changer for us in the RV.
weBoost Drive 4G-X RV
One thing we installed in our RV while in Idaho that we were SO thankful for is a weBoost Drive 4G-X RV Signal Booster. While going through Idaho, there were some areas that we would have completely lost cell service without this.
We use cellular data for everything – directions, searching what to see & do and where to sleep at night, and to be able to call someone in case of an emergency. A case in point is when we were Utah and got a flat tire. We were in a remote area and for most of our driving were without cell service, but fortunately when we had our flat tire we had service and were able to call a place to come change our tire. After that incident, we knew we had to find something that could help boost our 4G cell service. So after looking around the internet, we found the weBoost Drive 4G-X RV.
I was honestly a little skeptical about how hard it would be to install. However, the company did an amazing job of making the process as simple as possible. They even went as far as separating the different parts and labeling the different boxes as different steps. And I could tell right away that the people who designed this product understood RVers and their lifestyle. It was as easy as attaching the outside antenna to the RV’s ladder, running a cord into the RV, and plugging the inside booster into an outlet. The scariest part of the whole installation was drilling a hole into the side of our RV. I know, I know, I spend most of our trip trying to keep things from making holes in our RV and now I am drilling one intentionally! But it was actually super easy. The installation kit came with a perfect size drill bit and a water-tight cover to put over the hole. (It was actually a little unnerving just how easy it was to drill through the RV wall =) But I drilled a small pilot hole and made sure I stayed away from any wires and piping and had no issues running the wires from the roof into the hole. (Another note: You can run the cords through the fridge’s vent or slider’s gasket so that you don’t have to drill a hole at all, but I decided to drill the hole so I could put the booster right next to an outlet I wanted it to be in the RV.)
And I can say it definitely works! The directions say that the booster amplifies the signal up to 32 times. We have been in some areas where we have gone from no service at all to getting high-speed 4G! The results can vary from place to place, but it has consistently helped increase our service, which might just mean the difference of being stranded or being able to call for help. And another big added bonus of this model of WeBoost is that it can work while you are driving down the road. So Em can use it to look up directions to our next location without me having to pull over! For any full-time RVer or for people who travel to more remote locations without service, the weBoost Drive 4G-X RV is definitely worth looking into.
