There are a number of well-populated cities in southeastern Idaho, but if you want to see the real beauty of this area my advice is going to the mountains and stay away from the cities. After all most travelers live in the city and are just trying to get away from it all.

Unless you are going to go south for the winter you had better like snow. If you like skiing, then you are in a place wherein some areas ski resorts are plentiful. Seems a lot of folks come to this state in the spring, summer, or fall and forget about winter. They also move to Idaho to get away from all the rules and regulations of where they came from and after a short time seem to want to change where they live now to make it just like where they moved from or what they wanted to run away from when the moved here.

If you own your own RV or tent, the mountains are hardly ever crowded to the point of finding a place to pitch your tent or park your RV. However, if you are the type of traveler that has to be in an RV park then you might want to book ahead.

If you love to fish, Idaho has a number of fly fishing or bait fishing areas to die for. If you love to hunt then you can join the number of out-of-state hunters that spend there fall hunting seasons here. That is most noticeable by all the out-of-state license plates we see in the mountains during hunting season. Gold prospecting has not caught on here in southeastern Idaho as much as it has in other areas of the state, but one of the largest gold finds is located here at Cariboo mountain. Gold can be found almost everywhere, not in the amounts that make this area one of the most popular, but it can be found.

I believe the most important piece of equipment you can bring is a good camera. Once you have found your little piece of ground to park on, you will find that as unusual as it may sound you will have a hard time taking a photo with another RV in the background.

It is quite a sight to wake up and find a deer or an elk right out your door or window, not a time for wishing you had brought along a memory maker. Idaho has a lot of wide-open spaces, and they are breathtaking. The air is so clean your lungs will feel like you are on pure oxygen.

August is a good time of the year to pick a few mountain berries for your next pie. If you haven't ever tasted a Huckleberry pie then you are in for a treat. Remember too, that when camping, whatever you bring with you, pack it back out with you.

I like to think Idahoans are pretty laid back and darn friendly, but just as anywhere else there are the exceptions.

Other conveniences here in southeastern Idaho is the location. Salt Lake City, Utah is about 140 miles away. Jackson Hole, Wyoming is about 140 miles away, and a great starting point to travel through Teton and Yellowstone Parks. If you are a movie star buff Sun Valley is about 3 hours away. If you like to gamble, Jackpot, Nevada is about three hours away, or you can drive about 30 miles to the local Indian gaming casino.

Here in southeastern Idaho we may not have the tallest mountains, the best stores, the best operas, the vast amount of advertising to convince travelers to visit this state, but most travelers that experience Idaho and see the natural beauty that has remained almost untouched go away with memories that in most cases bring them back for a second look at what they might have missed the first time around. One last thing to keep in mind that you can see a lot of country here without spending a lot of money. Once you get camped it doesn't take much fuel to view what was given freely by mother nature to us to view for free.