We drove through the woods to two different campsites. The first one we nicknamed Mosquito Marsh. We did not even take any photos because it was rough to be outside. It was in a beautiful part of the Targhee Forest, but much to close to a mushy creek bed that served as mosquito breeding grounds. We awoke early and moved out of that spot to one that was on the banks of a swiftly moving creek near the gate of a closed road. It was a bushy, shady campsite.
The nearby creek offered great background noise and there were way fewer mosquitos. We woke up the next morning early enough to head into nearby Ashton, Idaho for the Independence Day fun. We encountered an Idaho traffic jam on the way, but we made it through.
For the 4th of July we arrived in Ashton, Idaho in time to enjoy the Rotary pancake breakfast and watch the parade. We sat on top of the van and enjoyed the small-town participation. 
After the parade had passed we waited, but no cars moved! Finally a person seated on the sidewalk nearby explained that the parade makes a U-turn and comes back by! Fantastic idea for parade participant purposes (always a hassle to be finished on the other end of town while your horse trailer, car, etc. are 4 miles away!) and the local kids get twice as much candy!! So we sat and waited and watched the other side of each of the floats. Sorry readers, we only captured photos of the parade going one direction!
The kid that had been traveling with us left us with more than a heavy heart……… we were also carrying an extra bicycle (gave to a waitress in Wyoming), a folding chair and an old Montgomery Wards tent. We had watched a couple of cute children next to us during the parade as they caught grasshoppers in the weeds, waved at firemen in the parade and grabbed handfuls of candy. So we offered their parents the tent for some backyard summer fun. They accepted graciously and the 6 year old came over to thank us personally as we were leaving. I am sure that old tent will see good times this summer!
The hot springs book proved useful again as we selected a northerly route which offered a couple of hot springs stops. The first one was called Green Canyon Hot Springs. This included a huge, indoor, hot water pool and a small outdoor hot pool. We camped in the grass for the night. Soaked at the pools and enjoyed the farm like surroundings. In the morning we hiked up a nearby mountain and found a cool, old, log cabin. And took a photo of the place from above. Can you find the van in this photo? 
Heading north down the highway included a quick history stop at the Teton Dam Disaster Site. It was not very informative, but this overlook and some Wikipedia info showed us the scary sadness that occurred when the earthen dam failed in the 70’s. Mother Nature is a powerful force! 
Here is our route through this portion of Idaho. 
We will be back in this state next month, so be sure to follow our blogs to learn more. And remember we are on Facebook as – Its’ Not a Slow Car, It’s a Fast House or on Instagram as itsnotaslowcaritsafasthouse See ya there!
