Twin Falls, Idaho

May 24, 2021

Twin Falls is a city of about 50,000 and serves as the commercial center for southwestern Idaho and northeastern Nevada. The Oregon Trail came through the area but development didn’t begin until the valley was irrigated around 1900. We checked out a city park and had some lunch but our main interest was the Snake River Canyon. The Snake, by the way, supposedly got its name when Europeans misunderstood native sign language for either basket-weaving or swimming salmon. The truth may never be known.

We started at the I.B. Perinne Bridge, a 1500-foot span almost 500 feet above the Snake River. The bridge was built in 1976 is named for the man who spearheaded initial irrigation projects in the area.

A couple of miles from the bridge is the launch ramp where in 1974 daredevil Evel Knievel attempted to jump the Snake River Canyon in a rocket cycle. His parachute deployed early and the jump was unsuccessful. Evel suffered a broken nose.

Our next stop was Shoshone [don’t pronounce the “e”] Falls, named for the Lemhi Shoshone (or Agaidika) people who lived here. The falls are 212 feet tall–taller than Niagara Falls–and 1,000 feet wide.

Dierkes Lake is just upstream from Shoshone Falls. We enjoyed only its dry features but we read that an underwater park is in development for scuba divers.

We had to stop at the falls for which Twin Falls was named. One of the twins was sacrificed for a hydroelectric project. Some of us (well, Jane anyway) think the city should have been renamed.

Our last stop of the day was at an overlook on Highway 50 of the Hansen Bridge. The original bridge was built in 1919 and its replacement in 1966. The deck of the bridge is 400 above the river.