When we came into Hagerman yesterday, it seemed like a nice, tidy town with less than 1000 residents. We wanted to go take a spin around the area to see if anything above average was to be found and were we ever delighted with the results. After spending a few hours scheduling for RV spaces along the course of our future travels, we hopped into the truck and headed north on ID-30. After a short distance, we came to a roadside sign with an arrow which pointed toward Malad Gorge State Park.
After turning toward the park, we traveled about 5 miles through brush mixed with farmland that was infested with gorgeous birds and otter-sized critters that were scurrying along and across the road. We spotted several duck varieties, magpies and red-winged blackbirds which seemed to be everywhere. The otter-sized critters we identified once we got home as what locals call a “rock chuck” but which is more accurately identified as a yellow-bellied marmot. They are cute little cusses but they can’t run very fast due to a waddling gait.
Once we entered the park, we found we were along a massive (Malad) gorge in the lava crust with a pretty substantial river running through it. At the head of the canyon was a big waterfall which was open for business, flowing at a rate the local signs said was 5000 cubic feet per second, otherwise known as “a whole lot of water.” Every few hundred yards along the upper edges of the gorge, smaller but no less spectacular waterfalls were cascading over the edge and down into the enormous broken lava boulders covering the floor of the gorge. Interpretive signs at the park indicate all the water we saw falling into the gorge is from underground springs and very pure. The river water flowing through the bottom of the gorge is almost transparent and viewers on the rim can see the rocks on the bottom of the wide stream.
There are numerous places to pull off the narrow park road and they are located near short trails that lead from the car to spectacular overlooks of this gorge. On one trail, we encountered a very laid-back gopher snake soaking up some rays right in the middle of the path. Down another, we found a beautiful waterfall that looks impressive going over the brink but disappears into the lava rocks at the bottom. There is no visible creek or river leading away from this waterfall. Right along the side of the waterfall, about halfway to the top, we spotted a very vocal hawk who was trying to persuade us to leave his part of the world. He quit squawking as soon as we went out of sight.
Signs we read at the park indicate that water from rain, creeks and rivers all over south central Idaho disappears into lava formations left over from millions of years of flows from shield volcanoes. We finally left the park and headed back toward and then through Hagerman on ID-30 until we reached a spot about 4 miles south of town called “1000 Springs” and they weren’t kidding. Massive flows of water can be seen emanating from the sides of the Snake River Gorge which turn into beautiful waterfalls plopping into the river below. We stood in one parking lot next to the river and could count not less than 50 places where springs were cascading into the river. This place is magnificent.
We finished off the day by driving over to the nearby town of Wendell where we ate dinner at the Farmhouse Restaurant. I can state for a fact that they have really good chicken fried steak but their vegetable (corn) seemed to taste like and have the consistency of butyl rubber. Their potatoes, both hash browns and baked, were great. Peggy got a steak with her baker and she said it was very tasty, too. We got out for about $35, including drinks.
There are about a dozen pix you can see from today’s travels if you click here