{"id":2382,"date":"2017-07-12T20:13:28","date_gmt":"2017-07-12T20:13:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thewachs.com\/wachsacrossamerica\/?p=2382"},"modified":"2017-07-14T12:26:05","modified_gmt":"2017-07-14T12:26:05","slug":"surprise-at-twin-falls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thewachs.com\/wachsacrossamerica\/2017\/07\/12\/surprise-at-twin-falls\/","title":{"rendered":"Surprise at Twin Falls"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It was 500 miles from Hood River to Twin Falls and that is pretty much our max. \u00a0We stopped once for diesel and lunch and one other very quick restroom stop. \u00a0Our departure time was 7:45am (Pacific time) and arrival time just after 6:00pm (Mountain time). \u00a0And through all of that it was predominately hot and dry desserts. \u00a0I was starting to wonder why Steph had booked us two nights at Twin Falls as these falls must be a joke in this parched and flat landscape. \u00a0We had seen the Snake River a couple of times on our drive and it was definitely big&#8230;.so maybe they have a little bit of water, but still, where could there possibly be a &#8220;falls&#8221; in this flat land. \u00a0Well, we turned off I-84 towards Twin Falls and there, right in front of us, was a gigantic gash in the earth. \u00a0An absolutely spectacular canyon that was a huge surprise after the sort of landscape we&#8217;d been in all day. \u00a0Conveniently for us the fancy Perrine Bridge allowed us to cross to the other side of the canyon to reach our campground. \u00a0Don&#8217;t worry, the bridge is not really bent like the picture below will lead you to believe&#8230;it&#8217;s an artifact of the the way I took the panorama image.<br \/>\n<a title=\"Perrine Bridge\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/136797225@N05\/35891200095\/in\/album-72157683756123661\/\" data-flickr-embed=\"true\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/farm5.staticflickr.com\/4320\/35891200095_5373ea5ed0.jpg\" alt=\"Perrine Bridge\" width=\"500\" height=\"114\" \/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>We got checked in and parked at the Oregon Trails Campground and we all headed over to the game room for some ping pong (or is it table tennis, or ping tennis, or table pong?), foosball and pool. \u00a0It was hot in the game room but the games were free (and very well used) and we had a ton of fun.<\/p>\n<p>The next morning I took the truck to Jack&#8217;s Tire and Oil\u00a0to get an oil change. Hard to believe we&#8217;ve put 5000 miles on during this trip already. \u00a0I was the first one there and they got started on the Beast right away. \u00a0I walked back to the campground\u00a0(shop was just a 5 min walk away!) to help get ready for the day then walked over to pick up the truck when it was done. \u00a0Our first stop of the day was down at the bottom of the canyon at the snake river to paddle some boats!<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ve had a couple opportunities to rent canoes or kayaks or paddle boards but just never have for one reason or another (probably because I&#8217;m too cheap). \u00a0But this time we did it&#8230;we rented kayaks. \u00a0We got 2 tandems and one single for 2 hours. \u00a0We pushed off the shore and started paddling up the river. \u00a0THIS WAS SOOOOOO MUCH FUN!!!! \u00a0It was beautiful. \u00a0It was peaceful. \u00a0We got to rest in the shadow of the bridge\u00a0and we got to watch base jumpers jump off the bridge. \u00a0Yeah, you heard me right&#8230;.base jumpers! \u00a0The Perrine Bridge is the 8th highest bridge in the US (at 486 feet high) and is the only man-made structure in the US where base jumping is allowed 365 days a year without a permit. \u00a0There seemed to be a steady stream of these daredevils jumping then deploying\u00a0their parachute which made\u00a0this cool popping sound when it opened. \u00a0We even saw a set of three jumpers all go at the same time. \u00a0We paddled 2 miles upstream to Pillar Falls and got out of the boats to check it out\u00a0on foot a bit. \u00a0The falls were more like cascades but still really neat. I only wish we&#8217;d had more time to spend here because the rocks and cliffs were a lot of fun to explore\u00a0in this area.<br \/>\n<a title=\"Do we look cool?\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/136797225@N05\/35891196245\/in\/album-72157683756123661\/\" data-flickr-embed=\"true\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/farm5.staticflickr.com\/4263\/35891196245_4612e5351b_n.jpg\" alt=\"Do we look cool?\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" \/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\nBut our 2 hours was ticking so we got back in the boats and headed back. \u00a0The boys each took a turn in the single kayak and although Brielle wanted to, she was too young to be in one by herself according to the rental company. \u00a0We pulled back into the dock just in the nick of time&#8230;.2 full hours and 4 miles on the river. \u00a0Let me say it again&#8230;.THIS WAS SOOOOOO MUCH FUN!!!! \u00a0Take a look at some of our pictures from the morning <a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/s\/aHskZF9Drx\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"flickr_72157683756123661_8612\"><div class=\"slickr-flickr-slideshow landscape medium \"><div class=\"active\"><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4301\/35891204635_d9b4877215.jpg\" title=\"Ready to go\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Ready to go<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4215\/35850508056_ab954fd015.jpg\" title=\"Pro paddler\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Pro paddler<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4208\/35891205985_e5f2593d5c.jpg\" title=\"Cute paddler\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Cute paddler<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4212\/35891202215_c1baa3715a.jpg\" title=\"Dacen and Steph\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Dacen and Steph<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4311\/35503438510_842ec4017d.jpg\" title=\"My motor!\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>My motor!<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4307\/35503437720_69b01fdf2a.jpg\" title=\"Watching a base jumper\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Watching a base jumper<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4218\/35891201525_17ce88ba54.jpg\" title=\"Paddling up the river\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Paddling up the river<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4320\/35891200095_5373ea5ed0.jpg\" title=\"Perrine Bridge\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Perrine Bridge<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4260\/35891204015_248ee93a2b.jpg\" title=\"Checking out the cliffs\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Checking out the cliffs<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4296\/35891199085_34153aa885.jpg\" title=\"Steph and Caden\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Steph and Caden<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4229\/35503436450_ca342e2488.jpg\" title=\"Look at him go\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Look at him go<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4329\/35503434900_c8c000082b.jpg\" title=\"Pillar falls\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Pillar falls<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4278\/35891198035_a0996690f2.jpg\" title=\"Girls out of the boat\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Girls out of the boat<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4230\/35759903831_9ea9232e8a.jpg\" title=\"My favorite people\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>My favorite people<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4263\/35891196245_4612e5351b.jpg\" title=\"Do we look cool?\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Do we look cool?<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4236\/35759903281_11f009e4fa.jpg\" title=\"Meditation\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Meditation<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4320\/35850506216_16ec7dd576.jpg\" title=\"Low rider boat\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Low rider boat<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4212\/35891195255_c63a07d22b.jpg\" title=\"Heading to bridge\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Heading to bridge<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4305\/35850507466_9b036344e8.jpg\" title=\"Coming back down river\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Coming back down river<\/p><\/div><\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\">jQuery(\"#flickr_72157683756123661_8612\").data(\"options\",{\"delay\":3000,\"autoplay\":true,\"transition\":500,\"link\":\"next\",\"target\":\"_self\",\"width\":\"\",\"height\":\"\"});<\/script><div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>After 4 miles of paddling we were hungry. \u00a0So we went back to the rig to get some lunch and check on Sheba. \u00a0It was a quick pit stop and we were back on our way. \u00a0This time further up stream to Shoshone Falls. $3 gets the whole car load in and we scored a parking spot in the shade. \u00a0These falls are amazing!! \u00a0Supposedly higher than Niagara! \u00a0Even though the water level was low the thing looked like a real rager&#8230;.so much water flowing over the cliff\u00a0into the\u00a0magnificent, frothy, whitewater below as rainbows rose up out of the mist. \u00a0We snapped some pictures and then headed to Dierkes Lake as we heard you could swim in it and the HOT weather made a dip in a lake sound refreshing!<\/p>\n<p>This place was much nicer\u00a0than I expected.\u00a0 It\u00a0is THE spot to go swimming in Twin Falls, especially on a hot day like today. \u00a0Its a beautiful lake with rock walls in one area and a nice grassy hillside on the other with plenty of large shade trees where you could take shelter from the blazing sun. \u00a0There were docks and a diving board and life guards. \u00a0It was essentially a natural swimming pool! \u00a0There was a wading area but if you were 14 or under you had to take a swimming test to go into the deep water. \u00a0All three kids passed without issue while I would have had to pass based on my age. \u00a0I told you there was an area of the lake with rock walls. \u00a0Well, the thing to do is to scale these rock walls and then jump off them into the lake! \u00a0What could be more summer time perfection than jumping off a rock into a beautiful lake on a blistering hot day? \u00a0Both boys did it twice&#8230;.it looked very cool!!<br \/>\n<a title=\"Caden cliff jumping\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/136797225@N05\/35850611676\/in\/album-72157686203824655\/\" data-flickr-embed=\"true\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/farm5.staticflickr.com\/4231\/35850611676_789eb3433c_n.jpg\" alt=\"Caden cliff jumping\" width=\"309\" height=\"320\" \/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><a title=\"Dacen cliff jumping\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/136797225@N05\/35850611556\/in\/album-72157686203824655\/\" data-flickr-embed=\"true\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/farm5.staticflickr.com\/4257\/35850611556_6d9c03c15e_n.jpg\" alt=\"Dacen cliff jumping\" width=\"320\" height=\"274\" \/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\nWe bought the kids snowcones to enjoy while they dried off then we went home for dinner and showers and to get a few more games in at the game room. \u00a0With only 2 more nights sleeping in Ava I wanted to make sure I captured some pictures of the kids&#8217; beds so they could remember their sleeping quarters. \u00a0I also listed Ava and the Beast for sale on Craigslist&#8230;I hope we can find an adventurous family to continue traveling with both!<\/p>\n<p>Everything about Twin Falls exceeded my expectations&#8230;the place was full of great surprises! \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/s\/aHsm4prKEP\">Here <\/a>are some pictures from the 2nd half of our day in Twin Falls.<\/p>\n<div id=\"flickr_72157686203824655_2782\"><div class=\"slickr-flickr-slideshow landscape medium \"><div class=\"active\"><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4255\/35891299375_1d32e4ef90.jpg\" title=\"Shoshone Falls\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Shoshone Falls<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4325\/35721983892_5b4dd1836a.jpg\" title=\"I&#039;m &quot;falling&quot; for Steph\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>I'm \"falling\" for Steph<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4287\/35721983312_5191d477dc.jpg\" title=\"Not today!!\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Not today!!<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4213\/35721983102_d4e72c63c0.jpg\" title=\"Fam at the falls\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Fam at the falls<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4288\/35891299125_8d7a3ec4bf.jpg\" title=\"Hand in the air\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Hand in the air<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4310\/35891298975_755a58ea46.jpg\" title=\"Across the lake\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Across the lake<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4284\/35850611996_ba46c7d6dc.jpg\" title=\"Swim test\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Swim test<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4231\/35850611676_789eb3433c.jpg\" title=\"Caden cliff jumping\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Caden cliff jumping<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4257\/35850611556_6d9c03c15e.jpg\" title=\"Dacen cliff jumping\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Dacen cliff jumping<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4308\/35850611366_6de8cd5b44.jpg\" title=\"Twin Fall&#039;s swimmin&#039; hole\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Twin Fall's swimmin' hole<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4213\/35891298505_a8a6f38732.jpg\" title=\"Snowcones\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Snowcones<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4215\/35891298275_49fcc4815d.jpg\" title=\"Wachs at Dierkes Lake\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Wachs at Dierkes Lake<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4326\/35891297975_ac00948724.jpg\" title=\"Princess\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Princess<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4297\/35850611066_747da179be.jpg\" title=\"Anger management\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Anger management<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4283\/35721983792_6decc92fae.jpg\" title=\"Foosball!\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Foosball!<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4311\/35721983742_19ab769c7a.jpg\" title=\"Table Pong\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Table Pong<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4295\/35721983672_b747e0626c.jpg\" title=\"Ping Tennis\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Ping Tennis<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4237\/35721983592_e0b9cc2679.jpg\" title=\"She beat me!\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>She beat me!<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4209\/35850610936_7d6c673cec.jpg\" title=\"Dunce\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Dunce<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4293\/35891299855_64b81ae189.jpg\" title=\"Brielle&#039;s bed\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Brielle's bed<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4258\/35891299735_38c6fbbbea.jpg\" title=\"Caden&#039;s bed\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Caden's bed<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4281\/35891299655_be82118054.jpg\" title=\"Dacen&#039;s bed\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Dacen's bed<\/p><\/div><div><img src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4288\/35891297715_e792a5916b.jpg\" title=\"Site 70\" alt=\"\"  \/><p>Site 70<\/p><\/div><\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\">jQuery(\"#flickr_72157686203824655_2782\").data(\"options\",{\"delay\":3000,\"autoplay\":true,\"transition\":500,\"link\":\"next\",\"target\":\"_self\",\"width\":\"\",\"height\":\"\"});<\/script><div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It was 500 miles from Hood River to Twin Falls and that is pretty much our max. \u00a0We stopped once for diesel and lunch and one other very quick restroom stop. \u00a0Our departure time was 7:45am (Pacific time) and arrival time just after 6:00pm (Mountain time). \u00a0And through all of that it was predominately hot [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[7],"tags":[99,83,100],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewachs.com\/wachsacrossamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewachs.com\/wachsacrossamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewachs.com\/wachsacrossamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewachs.com\/wachsacrossamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewachs.com\/wachsacrossamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2382"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/thewachs.com\/wachsacrossamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2391,"href":"http:\/\/thewachs.com\/wachsacrossamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382\/revisions\/2391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewachs.com\/wachsacrossamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewachs.com\/wachsacrossamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewachs.com\/wachsacrossamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}