Part 9: Twin Falls, ID

20170823

The Trip

The Photos

The photos below are what we saw.

The following morning, we pulled into the parts store next  door to get some gadgets.  The facility name was "Xtreme RV" so it seemed appropriate to take a photo of my extreme RV next to their sign.  When we finished at the store, we headed to see the falls.

The Snake River Canyon presented a major obstacle to travel in the area.  We had to traverse the canyon to get from the RV park to Twin Falls.  Crossing the  bridge allowed a view of the canyon.  The bridge is one of the few places where you can cross the river.

The sign tells the story.



The Snake River Canyon is a deep gorge with no easy way down to the river.



The bridge is an important lifeline for the area and was undergoing maintenance and restoration when we crossed it.  Note the worker on the catwalk on the left side of the bridge.

We followed the river west to the actual falls on the Snake River where we encountered this BLM wildland fire rig parked at the falls.

At the falls there was a road that allowed descent into the Snake River Canyon.  During the descent we could see springs that emerged from the local aquifer into the river's gorge creating nice waterfalls.

Like many falls on the Snake River, there is a dam and power plant to serve the locals.  Above is the lake upstream of the dam.

From the bottom we could see the overlook point on the south side of the river.  Note the interesting erosion patterns on the rock in the foreground.

This is the main falls.  When we were on-site, we were told that the lake is holding water back to insure supply during the fall and winter.  Note the large house in the background of the photo above.

Above is a multi-shot panorama of Twin Falls.  During the spring the falls on the right are huge.

The powerhouse for the dam.

Kathleen sporting a new thermal bandana with the falls in the background.

The cap-rock in the area is volcanic basalt which produces vertical cliff walls.

We traveled into the city of Twin Falls and went to the overlook for another bridge.

Looking upstream provided a good idea of the scope of the depth and width of the canyon.

There was a trail underneath the bridge that allowed a view of the bridge supports.

Upstream from the bridge there was another spring emerging from the cliff walls.  The falls are visible in the center of the photo above.

Volcanic flows have covered the region many, many times in the geologic past.  The cliff walls show at least 6 episodes which are manifested as layers in the walls.

This portion of the cliff wall shows a tortured history. Left-center of the photo above shows a riverine sandstone layer next to twisted conglomerates covered by basalt.

In the parking lot, Thor gets the "once-over" from amazed tourists.

Look, there is a jumper!  We had heard that base jumping was allowed off the bridge.  Sure enough, there a set of guys with parachutes getting ready to jump.

This fellow doesn't even have a helmet.

His buddy joined him from the opposite side of the bridge.

Both jumpers appeared to be in good control as they descended.

The descent was quite rapid with the whole thing lasting only 2-3 minutes.



Another jumper launches from the center of the bridge.



At least this fellow is wearing a helmet.



I wondered if this guy was going to hit the bridge supports.



The jumper looped around and pointed upriver.

Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2017, all rights reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.