We are staying in the Jerome County Fairgrounds only a few miles from Twin Falls. I knew Joani had planned to visit several sights during our stay, but I have to say, I was completely surprised by the Snake River canyon. The entire landscape was flat farmland as far as you could see in every direction to far off mountains in the distance. Then suddenly, you were crossing this giant scar in the landscape. It was a canyon nearly 500 feet deep with a vibrant green river far below.
The Perrine Bridge is 1500 feet long, the longest span bridge in the west, and 486 feet above the river. Would you jump off of it for fun? Not me, but it was fun watching young thrill seekers do it.
The Snake River Canyon was carved out 14,000 years ago by one of the worlds worst floods, the Bonneville Flood. A lake 350 miles long and 150 miles wide breached at Red Rock Pass and 25,000,000 cubic feet of water per second poured out of the lake headed north toward the Snake River.
The flood followed the Snake River west and enlarged the canyon from 6 to 7 times its original size. When the flood passed the Twin Falls area the water was higher than the bridge.
The flood drained 1,128 cubic miles of water. The Great Salt Lake is what is left of the original lake.
"BASE" is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: building, antenna, span, and Earth (cliff). The Perrine Bridge draws many BASE jumpers from around the world. It is the only man-made structure in the USA that is legally jumpable without a permit.
David asked the young men when they planned to jump. "Within the hour" they answered as they worked on packing the chutes. We decided to wait. I can see how they would want them to be just right!
The boys stopped to pet Sam before heading up to the bridge.
There was very little delay between climbing over the rail and jumping. We had trouble catching the action. If we zoomed in for detail, we immediately lost them on the way down. If the camera was set for a wide view we had difficulty seeing where the jumpers were and the entire trip down only lasted about 25 seconds.
Are you looking at the guys on the bridge? Instead, check out the guy falling head first on the lower right.
I wonder what's going through his thoughts at this point.
Two at once, are you kidding? I'd worry the chutes might tangle!
"They must know what they are doing" is not a safe assumption. There are no permits or certifications required. That is part of the appeal - freedom.
They both landed very close to their mark, a small flag several yards from the shore.
At the right time of year, the water can wrap all the way around to the middle of the photo.
If you are from Idaho, Shoshone is pronounced with a long O and a silent E.
We were crossing the bridge to head back to Jerome when David spotted three more BASE jumpers on their way to the middle of the bridge. He quickly pulled into the overlook on the other side. Timing is everything.
BASE jumping is one of the most dangerous recreational activities in the world, with a fatality and injury rate 43 times as high as parachuting from a plane. Thank goodness today's jumpers all landed safely very close to their mark.
Later in the afternoon, we decided to head back to Twin Falls to explore Centennial Park and see if Shoshone Falls looked better in evening light - it really did not change much. But we did enjoy the valley from the river almost as much as we enjoyed the river from the rim above. The bridge made a nice backdrop for photos from Centennial Park making it a very worthwhile visit.
Centennial Park is a short drive from the welcome center into the Snake River valley.
There were a lot of houses along the canyon rim. We found one small open spot where we could get an idea of the view they enjoy from their backyards - wow!
Perrine Coulee Falls was clearly unappreciated in its proximity to Shoshone Falls - very few folks seemed to take notice of it as they passed by. There was no parking at the base other than a wide shoulder and no viewing platform or established trails that we could find. It seemed like anywhere else this would have been considered quite a spectacular attraction in itself.
Perrine Coulee Falls, just off the side of the road, is around 200 feet tall.
As we settled in for the evening a lot of folks were gathering at the fairgrounds grandstands. You know I had to see what was going on. It was a little rodeo action. I can't imagine being able to accurately throw a lasso from a horse at full gallop around the head of a steer running full tilt, but most of them did it in around 20 seconds or less. It's probably a good thing this had no appeal for me because I'm too old to take up a new hobby.
Jerome County Fairgrounds Wednesday Night Roping. Fun and games just a stone's throw from our coach.
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