Idaho (July 2010)

Written by ceddammit

Here’s something the vast majority of you will have absolutely no interest in: During July 2010, I went to a family reunion. Now, don’t worry, I’m not going to bore you with stories/pictures of my family. I only mention it because four of us did this as a road trip from Longmont, Colorado to Boise, Idaho, with stops at many an interesting place along the way. So, give me a minute to load some extra coal aboard the Way-The-Hell-Back Machine, and then we’ll head out.

Our first stop today is the Snake River Canyon; more specifically, the city of Twin Falls, Idaho. It’s an impressive canyon, with an equally impressive bridge allowing the residents of Twin Falls to get the Hell out of Twin Falls. Take a look at this beast:

Bridge over Snake River Canyon at Twin Falls, Idaho…
…where old shopping carts go to die
These are not the falls the city is named for.
Still not the falls the city is named for.
STILL not the falls the city is named for.
Snake River Canyon at Twin Falls, Idaho
Snake River Canyon at Twin Falls, Idaho (Photographed July 25, 2010)

After admiring the canyon and bridge for a while, we proceeded to drive across the bridge and penetrate further into Idaho until we reached Craters of the Moon National Monument. NOTE: This national monument is not actually located on the moon. I wouldn’t have wanted to drive that far. No, this is a mass of lava formations in central Idaho, where the gravity is 1/6th of normal Earth gravity. Take a look at the people bounding across this lunar landscape…

Cool ropey lava at Craters of the Moon National Monument
Cow pie lava at Craters of the Moon National Monument
Cow pie lava at Craters of the Moon National Monument
Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho (Photographed July 25, 2010)

We spent the next couple of days at the family reunion. I know, you don’t wanna see those pictures. Well, you’re not gonna. Instead, we’ll skip ahead and visit the old mining town of Silver City, Idaho. Compared to most of the old mining towns I’ve seen in remote parts of Colorado, this place is remarkably well preserved. And the road into town was crawling with big, creepy locust-like bugs that made an audible crunch under my car tires. I am not making that up. And now, I present to you…Silver City, Idaho:

Yup, it’s a church.
Still a church.
High Voltage outhouse? Sounds…undesirable.
Silver City’s 1892 schoolhouse
This place was (is?) a hotel.
Ancient fire hydrant still in place
An early prototype of the Way-The-Hell-Back Machine
This ground squirrel…
…is in serious need of a manicure.
Shouldn’t all masonic temples / halls be masonry? What kind of mason builds a temple outta wood?
Another example of the down-only express elevator
First thing to do when you are restoring a building: install a modern roof!
You don’t have to tell me twice.
I SAID, “YOU DON’T HAVE TO TELL ME TWICE”!
An early prototype of the Jetsons’ flying car
Holy falling feces, Batman! It actually exists! The two-story outhouse actually exists!
Another angle on the two-story outhouse
Silver City, Idaho (Photographed July 28, 2010)

The road we used on our way out of Silver City had plenty of interesting roadside relics. These are they:

A view from the road
Here’s one of those crunchy bugs I was talking about earlier.
Dead house near the Side of the Road.
Heading into the dead house
The entire back wall of this house has fallen
Clearly, this was a mafia hit.
Cow pie lava at Craters of the Moon National Monument
The Mystery Machine
Oh, cool! I love SpongeBob-D2
A dead house that I did not go into
Along the road to/from Silver City, Idaho (Photographed July 28, 2010)

The following day, we headed back towards Colorado, but we still had some stops to make along the way. To begin with, we drove up Snake River Canyon back towards Twin Falls. There was some decent scenery down in the canyon. Have a look, will ya?

Despite the desert landscape, water abounds in and around the Snake River.
Countless waterfalls spout forth from seemingly nowhere
Indeed, the waterfalls are countless.
Countless.
Snake River Canyon, west of Twin Falls, Idaho (Photographed July 29, 2010)

After seeing the countless waterfalls (countless) that pour into the Snake River, it was time to see the Snake River itself take a tumble, which it does at Shoshone Falls. This is one of the more impressive falls I’ve seen. Not just for the rocks and the falls themselves, but also for the seemingly ever-present rainbows seen in the mists that are generated by the falls. See for yourself:

Shoshone Falls, Twin Falls, Idaho (Photographed July 29, 2010)

…And we STILL weren’t done with this trip. Still ahead: Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. But I’ve decided to leave those for next week’s post. Happy Independence Day, Americans! Now go blow sumthin’ up!

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