We are in Twin Falls, Idaho - part of the Magic Valley.
According to Wikipedia, The name "Magic Valley" is a reference to the construction of Milner and Minidoka Dams and a series of irrigation canal systems (such as the Gooding Milner canal) on the Snake River during the first decade of the 20th century. In a short time these projects "magically" transformed what had been considered a nearly uninhabitable area into some of the most productive farmland in the northwestern U.S. Many cities and towns in the region were founded between 1900 and 1910 as a direct result of these projects.
We headed to the Visitor Center first this morning. It is right by the I. B. Perrine Bridge. The bridge is named for I. B. Perrine, who spearheaded the early 20th century irrigation projects in the Magic Valley region and is largely credited as the main founder of Twin Falls. - Wikipeida
The bridge is legally used by base jumpers. They jump off the bridge, near the middle, and drift to the south side of the Snake River to land.
Since some jumpers were packing their chutes, we stuck around and watched 3 people jump. I didn't get good pictures but it was fun to watch. All three safely landed near the designated landing spot on our side of the river. Sadly the jumps do not always end well. I think they've had 4 deaths already this summer.
About two miles to the right of the bridge, one can see a large pile of dirt. I didn't get a good picture - it is just a pile of dirt in the distance! It is the site where Evil Knievel attempted a motorcycle jump. On September 8, 1974, with much media fanfare, daredevil Evel Knievel tried and failed to leap the mile-wide chasm of the Snake River Canyon on his specially engineered rocket motorcycle. His drogue parachute malfunctioned and opened on take-off. Evel and his contraption floated to the bottom of the canyon, landing on the riverbank directly below his launch ramp (If he'd gone into the river, his safety harness probably would have drowned him).http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2961#sthash.jC00XZVO.dpuf
We drove out to Shoshone Falls, called the "Niagara of the West". The water flow was moderate to low but the falls were beautiful.
Later this afternoon, we visited the Simply Mac store and are making strides in freeing up space on Ray's computer. He uses Lightroom and is running out of room for his photos. We met a clerk at the store last night and he answered a lot of our questions. Today we went back to buy the external hard drive and I think the space problems will improve.
It's been a relaxing, rather quiet day. Tomorrow we will be on the road again.
According to Wikipedia, The name "Magic Valley" is a reference to the construction of Milner and Minidoka Dams and a series of irrigation canal systems (such as the Gooding Milner canal) on the Snake River during the first decade of the 20th century. In a short time these projects "magically" transformed what had been considered a nearly uninhabitable area into some of the most productive farmland in the northwestern U.S. Many cities and towns in the region were founded between 1900 and 1910 as a direct result of these projects.
We headed to the Visitor Center first this morning. It is right by the I. B. Perrine Bridge. The bridge is named for I. B. Perrine, who spearheaded the early 20th century irrigation projects in the Magic Valley region and is largely credited as the main founder of Twin Falls. - Wikipeida
The bridge is legally used by base jumpers. They jump off the bridge, near the middle, and drift to the south side of the Snake River to land.
Since some jumpers were packing their chutes, we stuck around and watched 3 people jump. I didn't get good pictures but it was fun to watch. All three safely landed near the designated landing spot on our side of the river. Sadly the jumps do not always end well. I think they've had 4 deaths already this summer.
About two miles to the right of the bridge, one can see a large pile of dirt. I didn't get a good picture - it is just a pile of dirt in the distance! It is the site where Evil Knievel attempted a motorcycle jump. On September 8, 1974, with much media fanfare, daredevil Evel Knievel tried and failed to leap the mile-wide chasm of the Snake River Canyon on his specially engineered rocket motorcycle. His drogue parachute malfunctioned and opened on take-off. Evel and his contraption floated to the bottom of the canyon, landing on the riverbank directly below his launch ramp (If he'd gone into the river, his safety harness probably would have drowned him).http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2961#sthash.jC00XZVO.dpuf
We drove out to Shoshone Falls, called the "Niagara of the West". The water flow was moderate to low but the falls were beautiful.
Later this afternoon, we visited the Simply Mac store and are making strides in freeing up space on Ray's computer. He uses Lightroom and is running out of room for his photos. We met a clerk at the store last night and he answered a lot of our questions. Today we went back to buy the external hard drive and I think the space problems will improve.
It's been a relaxing, rather quiet day. Tomorrow we will be on the road again.
With as much traveling and sightseeing that you've done, a quiet, relaxing day is just what you need, no doubt, to recharge your batteries. That bridge looks a little too scary for me to travel across, let alone jump from. :-o
ReplyDeleteI have all of my older pictures and stuff on my external hard drive! I might get another one before too long.
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