7-9-2025 Twin Falls, ID

Usually, the first night at camp is quiet and uneventful after a (sometimes scary) long drive.  The evening of the 8^th was no exception.  But the 9^th was great fun!  We have known Diane and Jerry for about 25 years, from the Boeing era.  Wonderful people!  We visited their gorgeous home for appies and cocktails yesterday.  Today, we rendezvoused at Centennial Waterfront Park at the bottom of the Snake River Canyon to board a pontoon boat. 

We four:  Jerry, Diane, Lucky Lindy & Rob

Our small boat carried 9 guests and 2 crew.

 

The canyon at this location is 486 feet deep and the drive to the bottom is pretty snaky.  That goes hand in hand with the river.  Yes, the Snake River.  No matter where you go in Idaho, there’s the Snake River, snaking around all over the place.  We took a jet boat on the Snake River in Lewiston and Clarkston a few years back and now, here we are in Twin Falls 400 miles south and once again we’re on the Snake River.  In Idaho, you can’t escape the Snake River.

Speaking of snakes, this is
the road to drive down to
the base of the canyon.

 The canyon was formed over millions of years, naturally, and the different colors of the strata tell geological stories of bygone millennia.  The bridge we drove over from our camp in Jerome to the park in Twin Falls is called The Perrine Memorial Bridge, constructed over a 4-year stretch in the 1970s.  I don’t know why this bridge is here, exactly.  Because, I suppose, if humans see a canyon, they have to get to the other side of it.  Why?  Because it’s there!  We are here and we want to be over there!  The bridge is 486 feet above the river and 3,600 feet above sea level.  If you want to be technical, the canyon is actually deeper than that if you add on the depth of the river.  The bridge is named to honor a fellow named I. B. Perrine (1861-1943), an industrious entrepreneur who is responsible for a vast irrigation system that changed the face of the entire region.

 

I. B. Perrine Memorial Bridge

Base jumper

The goal of the boat trip was to sail upriver to Pillar Falls.  It gets its name from the tall boulders (pillars) around which the falls make their way.  The water feeding the falls comes from the upper…yup… Snake River.  Our ride was smooth and comfortable and our boatmen knew a great deal about the canyon.  From our little pontoon, we witnessed base jumpers jumping from the bridge and flying their chutes to landing sites at the bottom of the canyon.  They can either hike back up with all their gear or they are picked up by boat at one of the landing sites.  By the way, the base jumpers don’t wear a reserve.  If your main doesn’t open, you’re pretty much shit-out-of-luck.  Not my sport.  I like adrenaline rush but I don’t have a death wish.  There were also kayakers and paddleboarders out for a fun afternoon on the water.  It is shallow at some points and at others it runs about 80 feet deep.  If you are not into water activities, there is also a luxurious, superb golf course on the canyon floor (the dry part).  It was a glorious day and so much fun to be with our friends again.

Pillar Falls is behind us.

Pillar Falls

The hydraulics here are fatal.

 

When the trip ended, Diane and Jerry led us up and out of the canyon but stopped along the way so that we could view a falls (If it has a name, I don’t know it.).  It’s a bit of a hike down the rocky path to get a close-up view, experience the rumbling and thunder and actually walk behind the falls.  Of course, I couldn’t resist.  Jerry, being a tough ol’ former Marine, walked behind me to block me from tumbling down or ahead of me to pull me up (and the other way around).  I felt safe with him having my six.  We made it!  Or more aptly, I made it!  There wasn’t a doubt about Jerry.  The falls is really beautiful and also refreshing to catch the spray on this hot day after our climb down. 

Jerry and me behind the falls

I'm sure this falls has a name

Looking at the canyon through
the falls from behind it

 

After that, we had an early dinner at Redhawk, a restaurant up on the rim of the canyon.  There are big red canopies over the deck tables to shield us from the blazing sun.  And what better to go with their marvelous food than a Lonesome Larry the Sockeye Salmon Lager?!  So, today, we cruised the river and saw the falls from the plan view, side view, back view and (from the restaurant) top view.

Redhawk Restaurant as seen
from the river

We four

 

Tomorrow, we are on our way to Eagle, ID on a highway along the…. wait for it…. Snake River.