This weekend, I visited a few sites within the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds Of Prey National Conservation Area! I tried to visit Celebration Park but my GPS kept taking me to the same closed road and wouldn't route me around it, so I decided to go rogue and found a few other neat places nearby: Dedication Point and Swan Falls Dam! I started at Dedication Point, which was a lookout over the Snake River flowing through one of the canyons it has carved out over the years. Needles to say, it was FREEZING! The wind was ruthless and I almost lost all feeling in my butt cheeks! Regardless, it was a breathtaking view and even being the "off season" there were still plenty of birds of prey flying around. There was also still a bit of snow on the ground, so I was able to follow all of the ground squirrel tracks where they were running around and heading back into their burrows. (such cute little tiny footprints!!!)
After I had spent a sufficient amount of time there, I hopped back in my car and drove down into the canyon at the Historic Swan Falls Dam! It was not open to tours that day, but I was the only one there so I had free range to explore the surrounding area, uninterrupted. There were tons of ducks swimming around ahead of the spill gates, and I spent some time sitting and watching and listening to the water flow through the open spill gates, which was very relaxing. I was hoping to find some petroglyphs, but I had no such luck in that endeavor, though the hike was still nice. It was SO much warmer down in the canyon than at the top that I was stripping off layers left and right as I hiked. (I definitely see why the indigenous people spent the winter months there!)
I can't wait to explore more of this beautiful state!
How Neat Is That?!
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