Back again to the magnificent Snake River, Idaho and literally only minutes away from the wonderful Shoshone Falls. Located at Twin falls he magnificent looking Perrine Bridge spans the canyon, and a little down river I took the opportunity to sit, rest and marvel at the view up river and Snake canyon.
Perrine Bridge
The bridge goes over high above the river at 486 feet (148 metres) and across it is 1500 feet (457 metres). In 1927 it was opened and was at the time the highest bridge in the world. Actually, thinking about it, the bridge above sea level is 3600 feet… higher than the top of the highest mountain in England.
It is now the 8th highest bridge in the USA still. It was a replacement for an older bridge and completed in 1976. It is named after I.B. Perrine who was responsible for the main thrust of irrigation projects in the Magic Valley area in the early 1900s.
It was a perfect spot to take in the calm view up the canyon. I was calm, but the bridge is full of adrenalin pumped people. If you watch for a period you can see the BASE jumpers taking turns at taking off the bridge to the canyon floor. A very popular BASE jumping spot, it is said to be the only place you can jump all year round without a permit.
Dan Schilling used it for his famous record. He based jumped off the bridge 201 times in just under 21 hours, for charity. After each jump he was hoisted back up by a crane to enable more time for jumps.
The Perrine Coulee Falls
From the spot I was sitting, watching the jumpers go one by one, I looked over my shoulder and coming down the side of the canyon was another impressive sight, Perrine Coulee Falls! Totally different kind of falls from the near neighbour Shoshone Falls,
This was a natural unaltered by man falls. A single huge drop that apparently, also differently, gets more water in Summer rather than Winter and Spring. Well totally unaltered may be wrong in that the reason the falls increase in Summer is because of canal irrigation and drainage to the river further away. It does flow all year round so you can’t get to miss it. A 200 foot (60 metres) drop straight down from sunshine above to lush green below.
Of course I wandered over to its base. My word it was high. Yet another spot to sit, wonder and admire. That is becoming quite a theme here by the Snake River.
What a beautiful part of the world. A canyon to admire, waterfalls to sit and look at in awe. After a look around the visitor centre it was time to head back on the trail.
