Farnsworth TV & Pioneer Museum, Rigby, Idaho

Do you know where the "Birthplace of Television" is? It's about 100 miles south of West Yellowstone, Montana in Rigby, Idaho.

It is here that we found the Farnsworth TV & Pioneer Museum, housed in the old Bond Motel building.

Philo Farnsworth came up with the idea for an all-electronic television while he was working in his potato field. He envisioned lines, similar to those in a planted field, which together formed an image.

This is an original tube Farnsworth used in his invention.

As an alumni of Rigby High School, he presented his original television tubes to the school in 1956.

The museum has a pretty large collection of items that can be viewed through a glass window.

Since there can be a lot of snow in this area, this collection of skis might come in handy.

The Pioneer Museum portion of the museum is run by the Jefferson County Historical Society. Each city in the county is given a room in which to create a display however it sees fit to.

This bathtub is the 1910 model. It was used by the Drakes in Cedron, Idaho. The bathhouse had a stream of water that ran under the tub into a creek and then drained into the pasture.

This looks like a great way to get a perm or an electrocution.

Which typewriter did you learn on? We learned on the IBM Selectric, the one on the right-hand side of the bottom row.

A local resident square dance caller donated this state of the art sound system to the museum.

The museum has quite a collection of wild animals with big teeth.

The Jefferson County Historical Society is able to lease this building for annual rent of $1.

Returning to West Yellowstone...

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To be continued...

Tautphaus Park Zoo, Idaho Falls, ID End of Summer

Today we introduced Candice to the Tautphaus Park Zoo in Idaho Falls. This was our second trip to the zoo using our annual membership which will allow us entrance to up to 100 zoos nationwide.

This is a Prevost's Squirrel, also known as an Asian Tri-Colored Squirrel, not to be confused with a Prevost Motorhome.

This little guy was enjoying the sunshine...

while this one watched from the other cage.

One of these things is doing its own thing...but it DOES belong...born August 16th, this "ugly duckling" will gradually turn pink from all the pink food it will eat. Cotton candy, pink lemonade, Franken Berry Cereal...

Do you know what this is? It is a Patagonian Cavy, also known as a Patagonian Hare. They are the 4th largest rodent behind the capybaras, beaver and porcupine. Because they can be very social with humans, the Patagonian Cavy can be a great pet.

Candice puts her coin in the wishing well, and properly keeps her wish to herself.

The King of the Jungle was posing for pictures today.

This mother serval recently gave birth to two babies. The babies were chasing each other while the mother lazed around. The serval has the longest legs of any cat relative to their body size.

The Tautphaus Park Zoo closes from October to March each year due to the harsh winter weather.

For more pictures, click here .

To be continued...

Sandy and Dennis come for a visit

Today we had a visit from our friends, Sandy and Dennis, who were headed up to Glacier National Park. We took them a couple places off the beaten path of most visitors to the area...Big Springs and Mesa Falls in Island Park, Idaho.

The Falls were still flowing.

Right before moving from Denver three years ago, we met Sandy and Dennis at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds where they were camphosts for the summer. Then they joined us in Florida in the fall of 2008 and worked Epcot's Food and Wine Festival.

Standing in front of Mesa Falls' Upper Falls.

Picture of the lower falls. We all had a great time catching up.

For more pictures, click here .

To be continued...

Grand Teton National Park & Jackson, Wyoming

Our destination today was Grand Teton National Park and Jackson, Wyoming.

We drove through Yellowstone heading south through the park. On the way, we captured the steam coming off the geysers on a cool morning.

About 11 miles from the south entrance to Yellowstone, one will find Lewis Falls.

Grand Teton National Park is about 20 miles south of Yellowstone.

Enjoy some views of the Grand Tetons.

This is not a Grand Teton. It is a moose.

This is an arch made of antlers in the town park of Jackson.

This is a fence made with logs and skis.

On our way back, we took Teton Pass which travels through Driggs, Idaho. Driggs' Spud Drive-In Theatre was featured as one of the top 50 American roadside attractions by Time Magazine. Read about the drive-in here .

A bison in a precarious spot...

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To be continued...

Breakfast at Nadene's and Visiting Johnny Sack Cabin

Our friend, Nadene, invited us over for breakfast near Henry's Lake. Nice view!!!

Fluffy wants to know what we are doing in her house.

Breakfast is served and it was good!!!

We walked down to the lake to look at all the wildflowers.

A view of Henry's Lake.

The trees out here almost come alive and talk to you.

Wild flowers are everywhere.

After breakfast, Nadene went to work. We and Candice headed over to the Johnny Sack cabin, since Candice has lived here four years and never been. This time the cabin was open for tours.

This cooked breakfast awhile ago.

This is the upstairs bedroom. For more history on the cabin, click here .

For more pictures, click here .

To be continued...