Waiting in Twin Falls

We were supposed to leave this morning and head south into Nevada, dropping almost straight down through the state, but Mother Nature has decided to teach us a lesson in waiting and being patient.  A Pacific cold front has moved into Nevada and starting right now to affect us in the southern part of Idaho.  Winds gusting to over 50, temperatures dropping down to high 30s tonight, has made us just stay put.  Also, the threat of snow flurries where we were going for today and tonight be has made us rethink about leaving here. That S- word is something we want to avoid at all costs.  Warnings are out for high-profile vehicles to stay off the road due to the high wind.  Not a problem, we will.

Hard to believe there is a canyon below

Where is the falls?  Its that dry/drought here.

What it looks like now - very dry

And this is what it looks like in the spring

Looking up river towards the town of Twin Falls

Yesterday we drove into Twin Falls to take a look at some of the sights that Twin Falls are known for.  First stop was going to Shoshone Falls, the Western Niagara Falls.  Only there was no water coming over the falls, really low water.  In the spring - would that be a sight!  But for now you can be amazed at how deep the Snake River Canyon is.  Impressive.  The Oregon Trail Emigrants did not pass through this particular area, they were more south (near where we are camping) and crossed the Snake River farther west at Glenns' Ferry landing.

Looking back towards Shoshone Falls (right around that last bend)

Perrine Bridge

The Twins of Twin Falls

Walked little along the rim trail, not as far to see where Evil Knievel did his jump in 1974, not successfully - his parachute deployed too early and the gusts of wind got him.  The rocket he used is laying at the base of the canyon on private property so we could not view it.

Bizarre standing under the bridge

Looking west along the Snake River

Jumped into the car and drove a couple miles into town and parked along the Canyon again, this time right near the Perrine Bridge that spans the Snake River.  This is the bridge that base jumpers use to free-fall parachute down.  And it's the only span in the United States that allows jumpers to do this without a permit.  There were no jumpers yesterday - winds too strong - but it is not a sport I would every entertain. They say almost every day where the winds are light you could see a jumper or two dive off.  We have driven across the bridge a couple of times over the course of our travels but did not know about the base jumping.

This is a photo of a jumper off the bridge 

Nope, could not do this.

Pins of where jumpers are from (many from Europe/Asia - from another map)

Walked along the trail, under the bridge and over to the western side and spied a couple of kayaks below.  Looked like a huge golf resort below and when I zoomed in - oh my goodness, the home built into the side of the canyon.  Unbelievable.

2 kayaks below

Look at top right edge - see home?

Yeooww!!

The target for a jumper

Target for jumpers shown in dirt area along river

Tomorrow we will leave, we changed our plans on how we will drop down.  Instead of traveling through Nevada and on through Las Vegas we will drive through Utah, passing through Salt Lake City and head more south through that state.  Will only be staying one night in Fillmore, Utah before we continue on Wednesday to Kanab, Utah which is near the north rim of the Grand Canyon (and Kanab is at the border of Arizona).  Will stay there for a bit to do some sight seeing before heading to Picacho for the winter.