Southern Idaho Day Four

 While the hotel was a disappointment, the rest of the day was not. We drove an hour north on an unbelievably twisty mountain road to Kirkham Hot Springs, a natural hot springs on the bank of the Payette River. We didn't get any pictures that truly captured the beauty of the cascading pools and waterfalls. It was unusually not busy and we enjoyed our little pool and waterfall all to ourselves. It was fantastic! Even the little pools in the parking lot were hot. And there is something magical about standing under a pounding waterfall that is about 102 degrees! 

On the way back we stopped at a pull off at a logging road access. It was a lovely spot for lunch.

The ranger at the local station recommended we stay off the hiking trails to avoid local hunters and instead walk the trail around the airstrip in Idaho City. So we did... 

We headed back to Boise, stopped at Mother Earth Brewing (fantastic beers!) and then met up with Jeremy and Shannon in Nampa for dinner before heading to the rest stop in Ontario, Oregon for the night to sleep before driving home on Friday. It was a quick fun trip and we're already looking forward to going back to see more. :) 

Southern Idaho Day Three

 The theme of Wednesday was flexibility... Thankfully Chris encouraged me to keep the first item on our itinerary but after that we just made it up as we went. :) 

What was the first item: hiking the Black Magic Canyon of Big Wood River. It's a shallow basalt slot canyon that is normally flooded with irrigation/rain/snow melt water for much of the year and it only accessible during the late fall and early winter. Visiting so close to the cutoff date, Chris called the number of the water district to make sure all was good. I'm so glad he did and that we went despite my trepidation. 

It was full of super cool rock formations and a really easy hike!

We were already so far south we decided to take a less direct route and stop by Twin Falls for a look at Shoshone Falls. Unfortunately all the parks and viewpoints on the Snake River were closed because they were treating the water for an invasive clam species found nearby. But the view from the visitors center was still very pretty and it just added one more reason to go back to visit again. 

Rather than eating at some chain in the "big city" we drove a little further southeast to a little brewery in Buhl. Both the food and the beer was delicious and the service was great! We got mac & cheese and an Idaho specialty: finger steaks. They are strips of steak battered and deep fried. YUM!

Next unplanned stop: Balanced Rock. The state park was gorgeous and the rock was pretty cool, too! Chris hiked up so I could take his picture from the road. 

Since we were driving right by Miracle Hot Springs, we stopped and got a private pool for an hour... :) 

After a relaxing soak, we pushed on to Idaho City to our hotel for the night. Turns out we shouldn't have bothered. There were plenty of places to camp nearby. :/  But we did have some of the best BBQ we've ever had while there. :)