What a vast country this is with many thousands of acres barely inhabited. We are surrounded by the Centennial Mountains in southeastern Idaho near the Wyoming and Montana borders. This is a land with broad vistas and few inhabitants. Recreation and ranching are the two main occupations. A traffic jam is called a cow jam because of all the cattle grazing on the side of the road and crossing whenever they please.
Many sunbirds (winter residents of the summer heat states like Arizona and Florida) summer here to keep cool. Henry Lake Campground is filled with such people and they and the managers are among the nicest and most friendly people we have met in any campground. They all sing the praises of where they are and want to share the area with newcomers. We understand their pleasure but the downside of being seventy-five to one hundred miles from urban centers with shopping, movies and restaurants is not for us.
What we saw was as lovely as advertised. The Upper (114 feet) and Lower (65 feet) Mesa Falls on the Snake River are the result of volcanic eruptions and erosion.
We saw this bald eagle from the interpretive center.
Johnny Sack was the oldest son of German immigrant’s who came to America in the early 1900s. Johnny worked for Studebaker Wagon Corporation and developed his craftsmanship as a woodworker. He and a brother later moved to the new community of Ashton, ID. They then moved to Island Park intending to be cattle ranchers. After serving in the military, Johnny returned to build furniture and cabins. This is the one he built for himself. The view from the deck is spectacular.
Johnny was barely five feet tall but had talent well beyond his size. In Big Springs, he constructed his own seven-room cabin all with hand tools. He was a master at split bark decoration and fine detail woodwork. His double bed was made of 96 pieces of wood glued and nailed together.
The floor design is called a quilt pattern due to its resemblance to the repetition of rectangles and squares in quilts.
He created this chair, cigar stand and lamps.
The cabin stands next to a functioning water wheel that supplied him with fresh water.
The cabin is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
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