Bear Lake - St. Charles, Idaho

Wednesday, June 23rd we left Ft. Bridger, Wyoming, took Hwy 89 off of I-80 northwest through a little sliver of Utah to southeast Idaho. We climbed over Boundary Hills at 7100 feet elevation and dropped down (within about 3 miles) to 6000 feet and the south end of Bear Lake.

The southern end of Bear Lake is in Utah and the northern end in Idaho. Hwy 30 came in at the southern end of the lake became Hwy 89, and skirted around the west side. About half way up the west side of the lake we came into Idaho, then at the north end of the lake we went across to the east side and down to Bear Lake State Park.







Today, Thursday, we toured Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge which is just north of Bear Lake. Saw lots of “good” birds! Here’s just a few.















Today we also went to Minnetonka Cave in the Cache National Forest. We knew it was up in the mountains, but didn’t realize what a scenic drive it was going to be. We started at around 5800 feet elevation, went up a canyon, into the National Forest, and climbed up & up to 7500 feet. Absolutely beautiful country and awesome views back down the canyon and over the valley below.





Tomorrow it's a little farther west on the Oregon Trail!