We finally entered a different state, we’d been in NV for so long, almost 2 months, and most of that for repairs. Although we’ve visited Idaho before it was very briefly to Pocatello and Idaho Falls in the south east. This time we’re entering from the south into Twin Falls.

The campground we were looking for was first come first served and right on the edge of town, and if a site was available and it was reasonably priced we’d stay put until the Memorial Day holiday was over. Last year we found ourselves struggling to find a spot in Butte, Montana until some very kind but wild boondockers let us squeeze in with them.

Not only did the campground have available sites it was beautiful and definitely worthy of a long stay, someone laid out the green carpet for us as well. It was amazing how green the vegetation appeared compared the brown desert we’d been in for so long. Behind the canopy is the raging salmon river which runs throughout the park.

There are 2 sections of this park separated by a bridge, the camping area and the regular city park. In both sections the landscape gardeners were constantly mowing and taking care of the upkeep.

We definitely chose a good time to visit considering spring had just sprung here and the trees and plants were in full bloom plus one resident we met told us it wouldn’t stay this beautiful for more than a couple of weeks as spring is short in these parts and with increased heat everything would be turning brown.
This tree was so beautiful, turns out it’s a chain tree

Twin Falls was turning out to be a good location for us, so much color and all the waterfalls

 

This little guy was not alone  he had quite a few friends and family members. He’s a ground squirrel or gopher and they all ran around the park enjoying the vegetation.

This is the public side of the park which has an 18 hole frisbee golf course supposedly the toughest course around.

There was a downtown Twin Falls which was still struggling to make a comeback and it did have an Indian restaurant, which was a bit disappointing, overall not much going on. All the activity was around the falls and bridge.

Shoshone Falls is a waterfall on the Snake River and called the Niagara of the a West. It’s 212’ in height, higher than Niagara but visibility to get a prospective is limited, none of those blue men in boats here.

At the beginning of the 20th century the Snake River was diverted for irrigation to the Magic Valley, where we were headed next. It’s a magnificent waterfall and we were lucky to catch it at full flow before the water diminished in summer to supply the agricultural areas further north.

We thought there would be more significance to Dierkes Lake as it lies above the falls and is only a mile away. Turns out it’s just a swimming hole and BBQ spot.

The Lake is popular destination for local scuba divers. Its waters feature sunken rowboats, a swimming triangle, a metal shark cutout and a hidden treasure chest. The plan is add an old crop duster and create an underwater scuba diving park.

Driving around one day we happened upon the site where Evil Knievel attempted to jump the Snake River canyon in a steam powered sky cycle. Below was his “take-off “ ramp where he hit  300mph, but unfortunately he failed to make it across.

The I B Perrine Bridge is a 4 lane truss arch spanning the Snake River Canyon and was named after Ira Burton Perrine who was credited as the founder of Twin Falls and various other towns in the area.

There are water falls all over the place here along the Snake River Canyon

 

 

BASE jumping from the I.B. Perrine Bridge which spans a canyon 486 feet (148 meters) above the Snake River in Twin Falls, Idaho. It’s a popular destination for BASE jumpers and is the only man-made structure in the United States where people can BASE jump year-round without a permit. Every time we went over the bridge people were preparing to jump. Once they reach the bottom it’s not an easy feat climbing back up. You’d better have placed your rock climbing gear at the bottom in preparation for the accent.

in 2006, Dan Schilling jumped off the bridge 201 times in 21 hours to raise money for charity, but he was hoisted to the top of the bridge by crane after every jump.

We passed this fast food Korean place so many times we eventually had to go in and try it, even Wendy next door was encouraging us. It turned out to be pretty good, and it is a chain.

Potato fields are abundant here, all the fields are brown, but apparently they do sprout above the ground and produce a white flower before they are dug up.

After extending our stay at Rock Creek Park to the maximum of 2 weeks to allow for the parts to arrive for the lower bin, we still had another 2 week wait for the dealer to fit us in. A 30 day wait for an appointment for repairs is pretty standard. We had learned to order the parts needed directly from Newmar before our appointment or we’d have another 2 week wait for the dealer to order and receive the parts.

Our rear air conditioner is starting to make noise which a bit worrying but with the appointment coming up we decided to wait and see. We remembered seeing a sign back at the dealership in Vegas which read “6 month back order for toilets and air conditioners”. (Fingers crossed, its beginning to get really hot)

Slowly does it on the way to Boise for the repairs, still 2 weeks to go and we exceeded our days at the county park, so we stopped at the local County Fairgrounds where they had inexpensive parking.

It turned out that they had the local 4H competitors training on the Friday of our stay.

Such beautiful animals and all were being bathed and brushed, then walked around to practice leadership skills

They were unloading the pigs. Boy are they pretty big!

 

These lambs were so well behaved and were groomed to perfection

Looking forward to seeing more 4H activities as we move up the State.  Really enjoying Idaho so far.