We had no idea what to expect when we visited Twin Falls other than that there is an amazing waterfall to see. After setting up camp, we took a short drive into town and we were simply blow away by the scenery. Not as wide and vast as the Grand Canyon, but the Snake river cut a beautiful canyon through this area of Idaho. When crossing the bridge and looking west you can see a stunning view of two golf courses at the bottom of the canyon (private course to the north and public course to the south) split by the spectacular emerald green snake river 500 feet below. We took some time to enjoy the view and walked up and down the path in admiration of the scenery. Each time we visit a special place like this, we are so thankful and appreciative for the paths and hiking trails that were built by the good people many many years before us so we can have the luxury to enjoy and explore these areas in a safe and comfortable way.
One great thing about staying connected with family and friends on social media is that it allows us to get some pointers or learn fun facts about where we are staying in an instant. At Twin Falls we learned that the bridge crossing the river is the only bridge in the country where you can legally base jump without a permit. Also, about a mile east of the bridge is the site where Evel Knievel attempted to jump the Snake River Canyon in a rocket in 1974. The mound of dirt that was built for this stunt is still there and can be seen from the bridge. It is also easily accessed from the path that runs alongside the canyon.
We enjoyed a 6-mile round trip hike on the Eastland/Poleline trailhead that passes the Evel Kneivel jump site and goes all the way down to Shoshone Falls, the main scenic attraction in the area. The hike is easy with mostly flat terrain and fantastic views of the falls all along the way. And of course we hiked up to the top of the Evel Knievel dirt ramp.
While at camp, we met a couple traveling in their 1966 vintage Airstream! It was totally cool to meet some like minded people with an airstream almost identical to ours! David and Lynda are from New Hampshire and on a similar cross-country trip taking 7 months to see all the sights they can before heading back home. It was great swapping stories with them and checking out their setup to compare the similarities and differences between our two Airstreams. It was also nice to learn that they spend a lot of time just winging it with their schedule. This allows them to be a bit more fluid as they can pick up and go as they please, camp on BLM land on a whim and not be tied to a certain place for a set amount of time. The upside is that there is a ton of flexibility when traveling from place to place. The downside is that not all campsites have vacancy or when wanting to stay at one place for a longer period of time they may have to move sites once or twice. We would like to be a bit more spontaneous on this trip but we have a few specific places we need to be throughout so we are not able to be as carefree with our plan. The back half of our trip allows for more flexibility so we may just try winging when we get the chance.
We have had our fair share of dealing with wild weather early on and if you know us, we don’t like the cold. I guess we are spoiled living in the Bay Area and when we set sail in April we figured the weather would be mild as temps increased in the Spring. Boy were we wrong about that. We hit snow in La Pine, lots of rain, thunder and hail in Portland and apparently it can be incredibly windy in Twin Falls (which was also the cause of Evel’s failed attempt to jump the canyon!) We did experience a couple of nice days, but we also got to experience the wind and on the day we left, we once again woke up to snow! We do take it in stride however and look at each challenge we face as character building moments.
This wouldn’t be a Tiny Trailer Trips post without talking about what we did in town! Twin Falls has a bustling downtown with a busy thoroughfare and all the standard retail shops, restaurants, coffee shops etc…. eh, plain, vanilla, boring….. but if you keep traveling through town, you eventually arrive at the historic district where you can find charming streets, unique mom and pop retail shops, an old movie theater and of course cool bars to visit. We didn’t happen on any dive bars but we did play pool and bowled a couple of games at Bowladrome which kinda qualifies. For beers, we did pay a couple of visits to Koto Brewing Co. Loved their street corn dip, Ahi Poke salad and Kandace really liked their Ciders. Milner’s Gate also had good beers but the star of the show was the Idaho Nachos! – Fried Potatoes, melted jack & cheddar cheese, jalapenos, ancho sour cream, house made pico de gallo, chorizo and ground beef. Had to have some form of potato when we were in Idaho! When in Rome right?
Cheers ’til next time!
Please post the video of you guys basejumping off the bridge when you have a moment.
Ha! How about a picture with Kandace hanging her feet off the edge instead 😉