Sightseeing around Twin Falls Area

Monday, June 13, 2016

Idaho greets us with a couple of rain showers though nothing that lasted very long, thank goodness.  Of course, we cannot travel far without running into a number of construction projects along the way, but nothing that delays us.  When you travel in the northern section of the U.S., you find there are only two seasons, winter and construction.

Our plan here is to take in the areas surrounding Twin Falls that we did not see on our last visit some years ago.  Twin Falls is the center of 500,000 acres of prime farmland irrigated by the water of the Snake River.  It is on the edge of the Snake River Canyon which was gorged out some 30,000 years ago by the Great Bonneville Flood. 

We are staying at the Twin Falls County Fairgrounds located in Filer, ID just a short distance to the west of Twin Falls.  It is a fairly large fairground with lots and lots of camp sites both pull through and back in all on grass and some under large tall trees.  We are told to select whatever site we like within a certain area and we find a nice site under the trees.

Weather here today is in the low 80’s and expected to drop to the high 60’s’s in the next few days with warmer temps later in the week.  That’s okay by us as temps in Albuquerque have been in the high 90’s.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Today we take a drive west from the Fairgrounds to the town of Buhl, a small, but very rural community.  The area here is very fertile and very agricultural where barley, alfalfa, sugar beets, barley, corn, and potatoes, to name a few crops, are grown.  It reminds us of the farming we saw in Saskatchewan, Canada when we were there.   Buhl is said to be the rainbow trout capital of the United States as the town is a leader in trout research and production.  Trout are raised and shipped throughout the world. 

After stopping at the Chamber of Commerce (Visitor Center) for some maps (apparently Buhl is not known for putting up many signs to their local attractions), we travel down one back country road to another passing farm after farm wondering all the time if we are on the right roads and will ever get to the Niagara Springs and Crystal Springs Parks.  Along the way, we come across this view from the cliffs.

When we do, we are rewarded with high up cascades of water coming out of the side of the canyon creating beautiful waterfalls emptying into the Snake River far below.  What a beautiful sight.  

We even found this little fellow floating in one of the ponds.

Another attraction in the area is Balanced Rock located 17 miles out of Buhl.  One would never guess there was a rocky area nearby.  After passing through some rocky mountains and dropping down and then up, we arrive at the Salmon Falls Creek Canyon and a unique geological formation known as Balanced Rock.  The rock is over 48 feet tall and weighs 40 tons.  The wind carved rock which looks like a question mark sits atop a pedestal of only 30 by 17 inches.  Hope no one is here when the rock decides to fall.

Looks like a Question Mark

Returning to Buhl, we continue further west high above the Snake River to one of many RV Resorts located next to the river.  The Thousand Springs RV Resort sits next to the river with these views across the way.   These springs are believed to be the reappearance of the Lost River, which vanishes into the lava fields 90 miles away.

Traveling on to the town of Hagerman, we stop to see this little park which has these sculptures honoring the impact that sheep had in this area starting during the Civil War.

An early sheepherders RV

Before returning to our campground, we stop by the local Elks Lodge which sits next to a lovely golf course.  It was a breezy and chilly day to be out golfing but we know those crazy golfers play no matter the weather.  In 2012 we made a visit to this Lodge and found the people just as friendly as before.  A drink and the Tuesday night tacos ended our day, but we will return on Friday for another drink and their steak dinner.


Signing off until the next installment from Twin Falls.