Whoooo can guess what we saw today?

We have really enjoyed our time in Twin Falls, Idaho, and we appreciated the Twin Falls County Fairgrounds in Filer, Idaho. We are finding that RV spots are going up in price in the last year or two, and it's nice to find a clean and safe campground here at the fairgrounds that is also such a good value. It was interesting to meet several other full-timers staying here as well. We enjoyed the area so much that we extended our stay to a fourth night. That gave us the opportunity to take one more kayak trip on the Snake River.

We were up early (again) to beat the heat. We were putting the kayak on the water before 8:00 a.m., exploring some of the inlets and grassy channels here in the canyon.

We were really surprised when we rounded a bend in the river, and saw a large bird sitting just above the water on a branch. Whooooo can guess what we saw so early this morning right beside the water?

As we floated closer, he turned his head. We could almost hear him talking to himself, "Whoooo are these people? I think if I look away and just ignore them, they'll go away."

After trying to ignore us, he turned his head back to center and gave us one of his eyes-wide-open stares. We thought we heard him say, "Darn! Whoooo do they think they are? It looks like these wanderers are still here."

"I know, I'll just close my eyes and pretend to be asleep. Whoooo wouldn't turn around and just leave if they thought I was sleeping."

"They are still here! Whooooo cares! I'm flying up to a higher branch so they can get one more picture, and then they will surely leave."

And that wise owl was exactly right. We got one more picture from the distant branch, and then headed on down the Snake River. We love the tall canyon walls that surround us. This side looks like a fortress, with that round turret facing us on the water.

We knew that this would be a shorter kayak trip, and all too soon we got to the rocks that would end our journey on the water. So we beached the boat and took a walk.

That allowed us to see the tallest waterfall on this section of the Snake River, whoooo knew?

A combination kayaking/hiking trip is a great idea!

Hiking among those river rocks also gave Denisa a chance to take a picture of this bouquet of yellow blooms.

On the walk back to the kayak, we decided it was silly to try to keep our feet dry. We have on our water shoes, so we went straight through the water.

Whoooo knew it was going to get up to Denisa's knees by the time we got back to the boat?

The sun was just peeking over the waterfall when we were returning to the kayak.

The wind is perfectly still this morning, and we are the only ones on this entire stretch of the river. So the surface of the water was like a mirror, perfectly reflecting the canyon walls.

Then "they" showed up. We saw a ski boat unload at our boat dock, and then they started zipping up and down the river pulling skiers. 

The rest of our time was a bumpy ride that no longer reflected the canyons. We were really glad we got up early! That also gave us time to do some other things today. We stopped in at this viewpoint so we could see another waterfall. This picture also illustrates two different levels of the Snake River. This morning we were kayaking on the water to the right of the falls--much higher in the canyon.

We also had time to go to the Minidoka National Historic Site. This was an internment camp built to house Japanese-Americans during World War II. It was a long drive to get to the visitor center out in the desert in Idaho. We're sure the 13,000 people that were taken from their homes and forced to live here thought it was a long and terrible journey. This is a relatively new national site, with only a few foundations and remnants remaining that remind us of this time.

For some reason, we decided it was a good idea to walk the 1.6-mile loop around those foundations and viewpoints on a sunny afternoon that warmed up to over 90 degrees. The site doesn't have much to photograph, but we learned a lot in the nice visitor center. It was completed about the time everything was shut down for Covid, so this is the first summer it has been open to guests.

From waterfalls, to owls, to national historic sites in the desert--whoooo knows what we will see on any given day of wandering?!?