Off To Find Dorothy and Toto

Very early this morning my sweetheart and I left for a road trip that has been planned for a long time. At times we weren’t sure if it would really happen. At times it seemed like a dream – now it’s reality!  We’re heading to Kansas.  To find Dorothy and Toto!  Well, maybe not – we’re heading there for my sweetheart’s family reunion.  Tonight we are in Twin Falls, Idaho – a beautiful place along the rim of the Snake River Canyon.  We drove for many hours, just happy to be together and away on an adventure we will never forget.  Driving alongside the Mighty Columbia River through Oregon always brings joy to my heart.  Then through the beauty of Eastern Oregon and mountains that, at times, appeared to be so close it seemed we could reach out and touch them.

So often I wished we could slow down, stop awhile and take photos of everything we saw.  I wanted to share it all with you.  Once in awhile I ventured a photo through the car window. It was exciting to cross the border into Idaho.  As we left Oregon, a sign bid us farewell and hoped we would return soon.  My sweetheart said, ‘We will!’  Then we were in Idaho.

Somewhere between the border and our destination for the night we saw a sign that said:

Miracle Hot Springs
Three miles
Caution:  Alligators

Alligators in Idaho?  Really?  Why would anyone want to pay to bathe in the hot springs?

After dinner this evening we walked part of the Rim Trail along the top of the Snake River Canyon.  To get to Twin Falls from the freeway we had to cross this bridge from the other side of the canyon.  It's just a couple of miles from where we are staying.

We spent awhile on the rim of the canyon, walking, talking, taking photos.  And more photos!  Then we drove down a long, steep road to the bottom of the canyon where we found a beautiful park along the banks of the river.  The bridge captured my attention again.

Then a short drive east and we found Shoshone Falls – a site I had hoped to visit.  A sign at the park entrance told us that the water level was low today.  Hydro-electric dams along the Snake River control the water levels.  I'd love to see this beauty when the water is high!The sun was beginning to set above the western end of the canyon and it was hard to capture the beauty of this spot.  Soon it was time to go – but there was another site I simply had to try to capture.  Just one more!A brief stop before dark to see ‘Twin Falls’, where the city gets it’s name.  Then back to our motel to rest before another long day on the road again tomorrow.  There is so much more I’d like to share but that will have to wait for another day.  It’s an hour later here than at home – we are tired but happy to be here.  Bright and early tomorrow morning we will point our ‘wagon’ eastward once again, put the ‘horses’ in motion and keep going until we get to our next destination.  Next stop is a town that some think consider to be a ‘western’ town. Strange - we have to keep going east to get to The West?   More soon.  From somewhere east of here.  In ‘Western’ America.