City of Rocks National Reserve near Burley, Idaho

Since we're killing a couple of days before heading to the coast where it's raining, we drive south to City of Rocks. These granite pinnacles, arches and windows form visually stunning views.

The park is very popular with climbers and we find several along the Creekside Towers Trail. This is Morning Glory Spire which this young couple is climbing; a 66-year old woman was climbing a formation called Scream Cheese!

These spires, called the Twin Sisters, are interesting because the two formations were actually formed millions of years apart, yet they look so much alike.

We also plan to spend a day at the Bruneau Dunes State Park a bit further west, but honestly we find the lake beach smelly with algae and the sand dusty and dirty. Having visited so many beautiful sand dunes before - the Imperial Sand Dunes in Southern California, Kelso Dunes in Mojave National Preserve, the dunes near Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado - these don't live up to expectations and we move on after having a quick snack.