Following my unforgettable time spent in Yellowstone, I moved on to the westernmost part of my trip into Idaho. For me, what stood out about Idaho - other than the surprising difficulties I had with getting phone service during the several hours I spent in the state - were the number of cities I noticed with “Falls” as part of the name.
As it turns out, that number was significantly lower than I had expected. While I was there I would have put that at maybe 10 to a dozen minimum, but there are actually only four cities that have “Falls” in the name - Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, Post Falls, and American Falls.
My drive through Idaho started out near Ashton where I had lunch and then took me southwest to Idaho Falls and then westward to Twin Falls, which was the westernmost point of my trip. I stopped at Twin Falls just long enough to get some photos at Shoshone Falls and then I was back on the road to Salt Lake City and a place to rest for the night.
The other major waterfall in Twin Falls is Perrine Coulee Falls but the city didn’t get its name from the two falls. In fact, there used to be twin waterfalls leading from the Snake River until the creation of the Twin Falls Dam cut the twin falls in half.
Shoshone Falls was the only waterfall I visited in Idaho despite the existence of 63 of them throughout the state. I had originally planned on visiting Mesa Falls outside of Ashton, but I was already running behind on time as I exited Yellowstone that morning and decided that one waterfall destination would be enough for Idaho.
In addition to the waterfalls and knowing that potatoes are a major crop in Idaho, I noticed an unusual number of industrial sprinklers on pretty much every tract of land. Having grown up in Oklahoma and having already driven through numerous rural states on just this trip, you can get the idea as to how many of those sprinkler systems I must have seen for it to register that there were a lot. I’m sure they were needed but I’m glad the water bill isn’t mine to pay.
Idaho wasn’t much but I can now say I’ve been there. And the thing is, I’ve always heard how beautiful Boise is and I didn’t make it that far northwest. Although a mere two hours from Twin Falls, it was the opposite direction and I just couldn’t get it added to the itinerary. Maybe another time.
That said, what did get added were three incredible national parks in a state that was far more mountainous than I had ever known. But first - a stop in Salt Lake City for some much needed rest.
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