Idaho Waterfalls and Springs

Boys,

We went on an adventure to Idaho, just me and you. We counted 7 waterfall locations, although lots of the spots had countless waterfalls. We also counted 4 Springs, or a Thousand if we go off the State Park name of Thousand Springs. Our favorite Spring was the hot spring at our Airbnb. We also explored some history and did some Junior Rangers and visited the cute town by our Airbnb. 

First, we went to the Visitor Center in Twin Falls:

then walked across the Perine Bridge. It rumbled and swayed as big trucks passed and you guys laughed at me, but it was scary since I knew how high up we were!:

Hammer, you set up your phone and tried to get a picture of us on the bridge. It was funny to see you running in the second to last frame and then you made it!

After that we checked out the famous #1 on our list-Shoshone Falls. They are really tall and beautiful, but you can't really get too close to them. Also, one side of the Falls were diverted to farms this day:

There's a small lake right by those Falls that we checked out and thought about swimming, in called Dierkes Lake. It could be fun if you had lots of time and especially if you had a kayak:

After that we found #2 Twin Falls, which was not easy to drive to with the construction. It was pretty frustrating and it wasn't even that cool of a waterfall. It's no longer a twin!

#3 on our list is called Perinne Coulee Falls, and they were our favorite. You park right by them and then you can walk behind it!:

You guys explore this little cave on the far side of the waterfall:

By this point it was time to check in to our Airbnb. We stayed in a yurt that overlooked the Snake River:

You were all very happy about the Prime we picked up at Walmart:

Dinner was microwave meals:

TJ took this pic of the flowers by the pool:

We stayed in the pool until the stars came out, hoping to see a ton of stars. The moon was bright and maybe we didn't wait long enough, but it was way past bed time so in we went. We saw the stars, they just weren't plentiful.

The next morning we started off with a hike at Earl Hardy Box Springs, #1 Spring on our list. Wow, what a pretty view:

We were hoping we'd be able to go down into the canyon and then to the springs, so we started out hike along the rim and down into the canyon:

We made it to the bottom and tried to bushwack our way back to the spring, and couldn't make it very far. Then we just quickly climbed back out, which was hard on the legs. Adz hated this hike, and it was worse when we found out that if we had gone the other direction down in the canyon we could have found another waterfall. Oh well. 

Next, we figured out where to park to get to Ritter Island. TJ soaked his feet in the pool by a spring:

It's right by a power plant:

We walked down to see #4 Lemmon Falls, which wasn't a long walk. It was really cool! This is our second favorite waterfall because you could get right to the base and explore up closer to it:

Picnic sandwiches, right by the power plant. Interesting:

You walk across a bridge to get to the island, and can see Lemmon Falls in the background:

The island used to be home to Guernsey cows. We explored the old buildings:

Then we went on a short hike to find #5 Minnie Miller Falls

It was such a beautiful spot. TJ wanted to get in the Spring water, #2 Thousand Springs, and we all decided to join him. It was cold! He's crazy to get all the way in because it was very cold:

The water is crystal clear:

Then it was time to head back to the car and on to the Visitor Center. On the way back Hammer found a giant tumbleweed:

TJ and Adz did two Junior Ranger badges here:

We still had time before dinner so we checked out the Malad Gorge and waterfall (#6):

It's hard to tell from pictures, but it was so deep and cool to see:

On our way back to the yurt, we saw a sign pointing to Niagara Springs, so we detoured. That's Spring #3 and you can't access it because there is a fish hatchery right there, using the water:

The Springs just burst out of the rocks in the volcano rock wall and then make tons of waterfalls. It was worth the detour! Waterfalls #7:

There's our yurt, up on the hill. Can you spot it?

Spring #4, and our favorite. Our own hot spring at 107 degrees. It was so nice:

We watched a movie, had dinner, had showers in the outdoor shower, you played a little on your ipads, and then it was time for bed:

We had a nice relaxed morning and left the yurt a little after 10 am. We made our way to the city of Buhl for ice cream when they first opened at 10:30. It was yummy!:

The town looked pretty sad on this Main Street. Many buildings are vacant, but it was still a pretty cute town:

We were waiting for a museum to open so we checked out a botanical garden. We didn't stay too long, but we did take pictures next to our favorite plants:

Then we got more treats at Walmart, and TJ should have bought this shirt but didn't:

and had lunch at Wendy's:

Then the museum was open! They open later on Saturdays. It was a free anthropology museum on the campus of College of Southern Idaho. We were pretty impressed with their small collection! They had a planetarium with shows that we didn't have time for, a telescope that would be cool to check out in the evening, fossils and rocks, art, and lots of information about natives in the Americas:

Our last stop on the trip was at Minidoka, which is a National Historic Site. You know what that means, another Junior Ranger badge to earn! This is a camp where Japanese Americans were relocated and imprisoned during World War 2. It's pretty sad that our country did that. The Visitor Center is nice. Here is TJ trying to fit all of their belongings into one suitcase:

Some of the bunk houses:

A friendly cat at the Visitor Center:

And then it was about a 3 hour drive home. 

That was a lot of pictures, but we did a lot of things! When I saw that Airbnb I knew we had to stay there. It was perfect for a fun summer trip that wasn't too far away. Thanks for coming along on my Idaho trip and checking so many things off my bucket list. 

Love you!

Mom