More from Wendell, Idaho…

Of course, since I was so close, had to visit Shoshone Falls. And on July 4th no less. I knew it would probably get crowded in the afternoon so I planned to be right at the falls by 10 AM. And it worked out nicely. Not much traffic on the way there on I-84 or as I headed south on US-93, not many people at the falls park when I arrived…

Here’s a local area map: Map of Twin Falls area

Couple miles off of I-84 you cross over this deep gorge as you head south towards Twin Falls. Which just happens to be the Snake River Gorge. Quite the sight. There’s parking on both sides of the highway with access for viewing the gorge from the bridge. Here’s a look just from the edge of the parking lot looking into the gorge. There is a trail to follow for better views and I did walk a bit closer to the gorge but I wanted to get to Shoshone Falls early. So this is as close as I got. Only spent about 10 minutes here. And a glance down to the river. Telephoto of the opposite river bank. OK, back on the road and followed the signs to the falls. And this is the road that drops down into the gorge.You do have to stop at a kiosk and pay a day use fee near the top of the gorge. I think it was $8 for me and the car. About halfway down is this small pond. Kind of indicates a spring as there’s no creek feeding it.Lots of twisty turns and such after leaving the pond but soon enough you’re at the park,  just across the canyon from the falls. Not many cars so I chose arrival time wisely. Then in the below picture is the driveway for RV parking so the road isn’t too bad since RVs can make it down here. Notice how far down from the rim the park is.

Lots of space to park here on July 4th.After parking, follow the trail over to the falls and take a few pictures from one of the overlooks. And a telephoto shot. Didn’t take too long before there were a bunch of people here. It was around 10:30 AM. You can see the man made structures here and there in these pictures. Part of the Idaho power generation system developed back in the 1930’s. Still working.

One of the old power houses. I don’t think there were any salmon that could make it above these falls. (Edit: Nope, they couldn’t. Wikipedia says this was the limit of their migration). But there was still lots of fishing here in the past. Hmm. Quoting Wikipedia, “Sometimes called the “Niagara of the West,” Shoshone Falls is 212 feet (65 m) high—45 feet (14 m) higher than Niagara Falls—and flows over a rim nearly 1,000 feet (300 m) wide.”Turning away from the falls and walking the path down river, got a couple shots of the Snake River gorge. And a telephoto shot. Up above the falls there’s a couple kayak’ers paddling around. This might be from one of those river services from which you can rent a boat. There’s a barrier strung across the river that if necessary, boaters can grab onto and save themselves from going over the falls. Much of the water flow is diverted to irigate the thousands of acres around here. A few hundred years ago, these rocks would have been covered with water even in mid-summer. And a look at the flora in this area. A look at a bit of the park and a plateau in the distance. So many interesting views of the falls. Hard not to take too many pictures. One of the side gorges. There’s a really old trail that goes beyond this platform in this picture down to a lower cement platform…without the modern safety devices like railings. The trail to it is blocked off.After that visit to the falls, drove up near the top of the gorge where there’s another park with lake. Just a mile from the falls. Still not as crowded as I expected it to be, it was around noon. This place is only about 6 miles from downtown Twin Falls so it’s not like it’s remote or anything.  Here’s the lake, wasn’t sure if it’s man made or not. Probably not. After that visit to the falls and the upper lake, drove back to the bridge somewhat west of there. I’ve parked on the south side of the gorge, and I’m on the public trail. Behind me would be that large motel I showed in one of the earlier shots. This bridge is very cool. Look at those tiny boats down there. Mostly kayaks.Tried to get a close up of the construction but it didn’t turn out very good. And some of the plants along the walkway. These shots are from the public walkway long the side of the gorge. No fence or barrier along here. And a look down to the Snake River. There’s a bridge down there that I’ll need to find the road too. Really want to go down into that area to look around.  There’s a fancy golf course down there too. pretty sure it’s going to be expensive, but you never know. Looks as though that bridge is mainly for the golf course.What a view. See what I mean about there not being any barriers? That’s a long way down . And a couple final views of the gorge. I’ll be back for sure.   I plan on taking a boat or raft trip down there but not today. Headed back to the Wendell RV park and lazed around for a few hours. Wasn’t until after dark that I heard the fireworks, and then realized that I’d plumb forgot it was July 4th. Doh! I didn’t know where in Wendell the display was going to be, if any, there wasn’t any fireworks going on at the RV park either, so just stayed home. Heard some fireworks in the distance but didn’t see anything in the sky so figured it was miles away. Too late to head to Twin Falls and try to find a big display so didn’t bother. Oh, well, next year.

Thanks for reading!