Places Visited:
Idaho: Twin Falls, Shoshone
Falls,
June 4, 2007.
We moved the motorhome about 70-miles west to Hagerman at exit 147 on I-84. We are staying at High Adventure River Tours RV-Park/Store & Dutch Oven Cafe located on the southeast corner of exit 147. It is a nice RV-Park with shade and long pullthrough sites. PPA with tax ran $16 for FHU.
For those of you that are not familiar with PPA (Pass Port America) it is an organization you can join for less than $50 per-year. Campgrounds that belong to PPA offer 1/2 price discounts. That kind of savings can quickly add up. While participating PPA parks generally have some restrictions on dates the PPA offer is valid, or possibly days of the week the discount is valid, or perhaps the number of days that the PPA discount will be honored the discount is genuine. Many times PPA campgrounds are new campgrounds that need help in getting established. Other times PPA campgrounds may be on the outskirts of town instead of in the "prime" location thus they need to provide an incentive for campers to stay with them. Whatever the reason PPA campgrounds generally provide a much cheaper option. PPA is the only campground organization that I think is worth the cost. PPA does not have a gimic. What you see is what you get. Once you join they send you a directory listing all participating campgrounds. The PPA directory is the FIRST directory we check when trying to locate a place to spend the night. You can join PPA by calling 228-452-9972. If you decide to join PPA, it would be nice if you gave them my number "R-0156251" as the PPA member that told you about PPA. In return PPA will give me a years membership free. I will thank you in advance for that kindness. Thank you.
Before arriving in Hagerman we stopped in Twin Falls taking exit 173 then turning south on US 93 for 3-miles to the Snake River.
The bridge over the Snake River Canyon here is a masterful piece of engineering at 1,500 feet in length with the roadway approximately 480 feet above the Snake River.
A visitor center is located on the south west corner of the bridge complete with a large parking lot with plenty of parking for RV's. From the visitor center parking lot you can walk to viewing points on both sides and under this impressive bridge.
From the view point at the bridge looking west; this is what the valley and canyon look like.
Geology in the canyon walls covers many millions of years. One thing is for certain in this area-----everything is covered with a thick layer of lava rock.
Looking east up the canyon you get this view.
Another view looking east from the bridge overlook.
Just north of the bridge on US 93 we passed by this Idaho Historic kiosk. Early travelers on horseback or foot could move from one side of the Snake River to the other side with much more ease that wagon trains. Personally, either side would be miserable to travel on, I don't care if I were on a horse, walking or in a wagon. It would be a miserable journey.
While stopped at the Information Center in Twin Falls it is easy to drop the motorhome in their large parking area for RV's and take your tow car to Shoshone Falls around 4-miles upstream.
This is Shoshone Falls, on the Snake River about 10-miles east of Twin Falls. As you can see very little water is flowing over the falls. The once mighty Snake River has been harassed by numerous dams upstream. The only reason any water is flowing over these falls is because of laws that require a certain volume of water to be released from the dams.
Do you remember when Evil Knievel attempted to jump the Snake River Canyon aboard his rocket powered sky-cycle? At a point where the canyon is nearly 500 feet deep and some 1,700 feet wide at the point where Evil lifted off the ramp. A malfunction caused his parachute to deploy at the same time he lifted off. The "sky-cycle" shot across the canyon with the chute wide open behind. The wind was coming from the north grabbed the chute and brought Evil and the sky-cycle back toward the launch pad, but dropped them into the canyon, settling on the south bank of the river. Evil suffered no major injuries, and he and the sky-cycle were lifted by helicopter out of the canyon. The attempt was seen live on ABC Wide World of Sports and to this day is one of the most watched events in television history.
The event took place somewhere along the high point down there.
These views are looking downstream below the falls as the Snake River continues its journey toward Twin Falls.
This kiosk for Shoshone Falls was in the Visitor Center parking lot back in Twin Falls.
While visiting Shoshone Falls I took this picture of a large lava cliff created long ago by waters from the Snake River. I wonder if this canyon was cut when waters from Ancient Lake Bonneville broke through and scoured the landscape along the Snake River as it made its way to the ocean via the Snake River and Columbia River.
Until next time remember how good life is.
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Mike & Joyce Hendrix
mikehendrix@isp.com