There's something about water...

What is it? 2/3 of the earths surface is covered with the stuff? It's in our toilet. It's in our soda. It's in our body. It's everywhere. Yet, why then do we find it so darn fascinating? Probably because, even though it's everywhere, it is beautiful stuff.

Yesterday, I convinced that big bad travelling husband to take us on a joyride, something he's not particularly fond of doing, but agreed to take a day off from golf, I mean work, and cart us around. It was a beautiful expedition as we explored places the husband had never been, places the kids had never been, and places we never knew existed. Idaho does not lack for water (rivers anyway, oddly enough, this is still a desert area), and there is plenty of water features to be found within a short driving distance... I'm talking a little over an hour away!

First up... Big Springs.

This cute little place marks the beginnings of Big Springs river (I guess that's the name of it? I don't really know, now that I think about it. I just know this particular place is called Big Springs). It's a river, none the less. There is no inlet to the river, just springs that run out of the mountain in various places. Back in 1929, a man by the name of Johnny Sacks decided to buy a permit and build a summer home in one of the most beautiful spots he could find, thus there is more to see at Big Springs than just...

Seagulls... (much more amusing if it were ducks in a row)
and fish...
and cute little muscrats... which by the way, have insanely soft fur!
We brought along our old bread to feed to the fish. Most of the fish were hiding under the bridge, probably tired of hearing the seagulls sqwaking all the time. They were obnoxious. It was amusing to throw a piece of bread out and see ten birds come to life and fight over it. Once in awhile, a piece was captured by a fish, or a duck, and even a cute little muscrat came up and would steal the pieces. As it ate, it would float downstream, then swim back as fast as it could to capture another piece. Sadly, this was the only wildlife we saw... and I was hoping for a moose, at the very least!
What would a day be without some Ishee bumcheeks?

Family portrait... I'm thinking of using it in our Christmas cards...

The hike (more like a walk that a hike... does it count as a hike if it's on a paved trail?) from the river bridge to the actual cabin is very short... even Ishee made it without too much grief. This, by the way, is not the actual cabin, it's just cuter...

The actual cabin...
Meet Johnny Sacks, all 4'11" of him. Too bad he was on a pedestal, or the girl might not have felt so short.
We then had a nice little picnic at the little campground by the river. According to my local newspaper, this whole area had been closed due to some feisty bears cohabitating in the area. If it was closed, someone forgot to tell all the visitors and campers! I meant to ask the Forest Service guide tending the cabin what all the ruckus was about, but I plumb forgot. After leaving Big Springs, which was, by the way, the place my husband had never been... we headed south, taking the Mesa Falls Byway. This was the place the kids had never been. We warned the kids that every few years, there is someone who falls into the river and is never seen again, so whatever you do, don't climb over the railing or go off the path. Ishee became terrified and didn't want to get any closer than she had to. She didn't find it all that impressive, especially with all the walking her skinny little legs had to do. Can't you see the terror in her eyes?

Here we have the Upper Mesa Falls. Henry's Fork, looking south into the canyon towards the lower falls.
What would powerful waterfalls be without a powerful water fountain?

This cute little building, now I forgot, I want to say Big Falls Inn? It had the word big in it, I do know that. It was a gift shop slash museum... this is where we were able to see all the animal pelts, including the muscrat, and feel just how soft they really are. The softest by far was the muscrat and the tree squirrel.
I finally found my moose, too...
Then it was off down the street a mile to Lower Mesa Falls. Not nearly as impressive, but I'd still hate to succumb to it's wildness.

Here, unlike anywhere else that day, the wind was blowing like a bat out of hell which is why we all look so ragged and worn! A little old man from California who was up here on an Elderhostel tour asked us if we knew of any other fantastic places to visit in the area (since we are natives and obviously know where all the secret haunts are at) and offered to take our picture after we told him how clueless we were. He told us they'd just come from a place called Cave Falls. Had we been there? Nope. Had I even heard of it? Nope. He gave us directions and off we went.
First, we stopped at Warm River to get rid of the rest of the bread we didn't feed to the fish, muscrat, and seagulls at Big Springs. The fish at Warm River were less impressive, that was for sure. I recall as a kid going up there to feed the fish and seeing what seemed like hundreds of them. We saw, maybe, five fish, and they were out in the middle of the river.
Now driving from Warm Springs to Ashton, just as you come out of the forest and into the lush green acres of farmland, there is a road going off to the East. It is clearly marked with a big sign that says "Cave Falls". In all the times I've driven this road, never once have I noticed it.
What a TREAT this drive was!
These falls are actually part of Yellowstone National Park, but can't be reached (by road) from any other way. They are the widest falls in the park, not the tallest, just the widest. I couldn't even get the whole thing in one picture (the trees weren't helping, either). This river is the Falls River. Around the corner up there is where the Bechler river dumps into it. I do remember some things.
We read a pamphlet that gave us information on "day hikes" you could do to 4-5 other water falls in the area, anywhere from 3-20 miles (since when is a 20 mile hike a day hike?) away. Just don't forget your bear spray, as this area is where they like to hang out and recreate. Good to know if we ever decide to get adventurous and hike to one of the other waterfalls (as if!).
All in all, it was a fantastic day. The kids were SO well behaved. I think that was only because we made the middle child sit in the very backseat so the boy could have more leg room beings he is getting so tall and all, so she and the Ish-meister couldn't sit and bicker the whole way. Notice the rear window.
Now see the rear window? Turns out, that old dude from California failed to mention that 17 mile road to cave falls is only paved for the first 5 miles and the last mile. It's a well maintained dirt road, but it sure did a number on the husbands car! We weren't even sure we were on the right road for awhile!
Sadly, this trip made me wish I was a camper. I truly love the great outdoors and could spend more time enjoying it. Dh loves the outdoors as well... as long as there is golf involved. He did start to get the feel for non-golf related nature and has promised me that we need to do more exploring one of these days. We had to come home and find these rivers on google to see where they originated and dumped into the next one and the next, all eventually leading to what we all know as the Snake River. Water is truly fascinating, one of God's most beautiful masterpieces.

Now my question to you... did you know about Cave Falls?