Today we decided to do some exploring of the area, so that’s what we did. We’ve travelled through Twin Falls many times in the past but never stopped. This time we did. Cliff and I alerted our Elks Lodge bartender about our plans, and she suggested that we go to Shoshone Falls. It only took a little bit of investigation by Diane to get those directions.

All six of us piled into Terry’s new (2015) suburban and headed south from Jerome, crossing over the bridge spanning the Snake River that trickles serenely through the deep canyon it carved on its way to Kennewick, Washington where it flows gently into the Columbia River on its way to the Pacific Ocean. Whew! That was a mouthful.

Before crossing the canyon, we stopped to investigate a field filled with 3,000 American flags on display next to Highway 93. It’s called the field of healing, honoring those who died in 9-11, and other tragedies our nation has suffered. I spoke with a VFW member who was currently on guard and learned that the field is filled with flags every year at this time. VFW and American Legion members mark out the flag locations and the High School football team places all 3,000 flags. He said it only takes them about an hour to complete it. That would be worth watching.

The Snake River Canyon is quite beautiful. There are lookout points on both ends of the Perrine Bridge that you should take advantage of if you ever pass this way. Our goal this day, as mentioned above, was Shoshone Falls.

The website link above shows the falls when the water is plentiful and flowing fast but this time of year the falls are not nearly as stunning. But the land over which it flows is stunning in its own way. Nestled safely above the waterline in the canyon are a number of homes that make me wonder how loud it must be to live there when the river is at its best. The falls were reduced to a trickle for our visit.

After this it was all downhill as we headed back to the RVs on the other side of the river. Carolann then took Terry back to the hospital emergency room to get some relief for his brutally painful back. That’s a story for another time. Short version is they returned ‘home’ around 8:30. Cliff and I teamed up to drag Terry to their abode and got him situated in a prone position on his bed. He appeared to be comfortable but it was hard to understand him because of the medicine they gave him. Hopefully he’ll be on the mend tomorrow because we have a fairly long drive to Wells, Nevada.

Now, for that long drive … Turns out Highway 93 from Twin Falls south to Wells is all uphill. No one told us that. At the very tippy top we crested over 6700 feet. I blame the rarefied air for causing our engine to overheat and give us fits. On some hills we dropped to 30-40 mph to avoid engine damage.

Finally, we started back down the mountain and made it to a small village with a fuel station where I thought it would be a good idea to add some more water to the radiator. Not thinking, something I do quite often, I opened the cubby hole where the overflow tank lives and twisted the cap off to gain access. Turns out that diesel rigs have pressure caps on their overflow tanks, like a radiator, and when the water’s hot it expands rapidly to escape when the pressure is released.

The cap blew out of my hand as the boiling water ejected, splashing really hot antifreeze all over me as I attempted to escape the fountain. It lasted a long time and pretty much emptied the tank all over Diane’s pickup. I couldn’t believe that no one took a photo of this rare event. It was very exciting.

The main damage to my body was limited to my left hand that received the initial outpouring of super-heated water, so Diane and others stood around me pouring cold water all over the burned areas. It felt really good. Then I slathered my hands and face with aloe gel to keep the skin from falling off. It worked nicely. Nothing fell off. Yet.

Wrapping a wet towel around my hand I resumed our drive to Wells which was about 30 miles away. After making only one wrong turn we finally made it to the Welcome Home RV Park where Diane had previously made reservations. It’s a beautiful little oasis along I-80 West about 15 miles from Wells. We all got parked, Susie cooked supper and all was good with the world. I was even able to get the Dish antenna situated where it connected to the two remaining satellites available and got to see the Ducks and Texas Tech game. My hand hurt a little, but we don’t think it’s going to fall off. It seems to be working just fine as I hammer on my keyboard.

In parting, here’s a shot of Max feeling sorry for me …

Oh, and that place where I mentioned that Cliff and I manhandled Terry into their rig was a lie. All of it. He’s still in pain after the doctor’s visit but he can still navigate pretty good. We think he’s going to make it.

Cheers