A hierarchy of daredevils

Hello Everyone, I'm on the road again, driving northwest across the western states. I stopped by Twin Falls, Idaho yesterday for some provisions and got to see some people jump off a bridge. That's not a euphemism for anything, the dudes literally did leap off a huge bridge. So big and so high, in fact, is this span, that it a favourite of BASE jumpers. These are people who jump off tall structures and parachute down, because, you know, planes can be a real hassle I guess? Anyway, there was a group of them packing their chutes in the grass next to the visitor center whose wifi I was using to download more podcasts. It was getting on in the day, so I didn't get to see them all leap, but it was cool to see the one go. Now, you might think that is some crazy daredevilry. And you'd be right. But that's not even the craziest thing that happens at this spot. You see, that bridge spans the Snake River Canyon at a narrow point. This made it the ideal spot for a guy who wanted to jump across. That guy? Evil Knievel. Yep, just a short distance up from the bridge is the spot where the most famous daredevil of them all tried to drive a rocket sled over the canyon. Tried being the operative word there. He failed miserably. The canyon might narrow at that point, but that's a relative term. It's still a mile across, and when you are there staring at it, you realize how big a mile can be. Sure, we can send rockets to the moon, but I'm pretty sure Mr. Knivel didn't have NASA working for him. I wrote recently about riding a double black diamond trail in Park City. It wasn't that sketchy, but you needed to be on your toes. I felt pretty good about myself that I could ride a trail like that without much issue, but in crossing a bridge yesterday, I realized that there is a hierarchy of daredevils. And I'm about as far from the top as that canyon is wide. Wes 

Photos 

The first is of the bridge itself. The next is of the plaque commemorating daredevilry. The last two are of my campsite for the night, near the Swan Falls dam.