City of Rocks National Reserve

This is a place we had never heard of, located WAY out in the middle of nowhere, near Almo, a little town in southern Idaho. It sounded interesting, so off we went, traveling 25 miles of dirt road to get there. There are lots of unusual rock formations, which make it a rock-climber’s paradise. Although the climber in the picture had a rope, we saw other climbers go hundreds of feet straight up without any ropes or safety gear at all.

The California Trail cuts right through the park. Thousands of wagon trains passed through here on their way to California during the years of the gold rush. Although the ruts are pretty much gone, there is a rock here that is covered with the names of pioneers written in axle grease.