Mesa Falls & Big Springs

This past Wednesday and Thursday we took a couple of short day trips. Someone in the RV park had suggested we take a drive to see Mesa Falls and Big Springs, both in Idaho, just a few miles away. So, away we went!

Wednesday we went to Mesa Falls. You have to pay to get in, however, since it is a National Forest, the lady at the gate looked at our Senior Citizens National Park Pass and said that worked there, also.

The falls were beautiful, but the mosquitoes were vicious. If you go, BE SURE to take some repellant!

Located at Mesa Falls is Big Falls Inn which has an interesting history and has been declared a National Historic Place.

The falls were fabulous! It’s really too bad that you, the reader, cannot hear the thundering water or smell the mist in the air. We visited the Upper Falls first.

Next we went to the Lower Falls. They were lovely also, however, the view was from quite a distance.

On Thursday we went to Big Springs. It was a beautiful area, but it wasn’t what we expected.

My husband grew up in and we lived many years in Thayer, MO, which is on the Missouri/Arkansas state line basically in the center of Missouri. Just across the state line is Mammoth Springs State Park. If you Google it, you will see some beautiful pictures of the water bubbling up out of the spring. You can also read about it on Wikipedia (you will NOT the amount of water that gushes out of the spring hourly!). This was the torrent springs we were used to, so we were a little let down when we saw this spring.

However, this spring has its own unique beauty wrapped up in the surrounding serenity that causes the visitor to take pause, relax, and enjoy.

Around the spring were these small white birds with tiny webbed feet. Zoom in and you’ll see the webbed feet. They swam in the spring just like ducks. I wish I knew what kind of birds they are.

Beside the spring was a log cabin and small water wheel built by German immigrant, Johnny Sack, in the early 1930s. It was very interesting to learn about this man’s life and the cabin he built with his own hands.