Palisades Reservoir is created by an earth-fill dam on the Snake River in eastern Idaho near the WY border. It was completed in 1957. It’s in a scenic valley with forested hillsides rising from the impounded water to the snowcapped mountains, which form the western background. The reservoir has about 70-miles of shoreline, on the east side, and six access roads are provided. Public use facilities include five campgrounds, vault style restrooms, five picnic areas, and six boat ramps. Fishing, motorized and non-motorized boating, are allowed and are popular activities on the reservoir. Swimming is also permitted. The dam is 270 ft. high and 2,100 ft. across. The water is about 20 feet deep, with the deepest water next to the dam. We drove the entire length of the reservoir.

It was a treat to see water here. The area is parched and showcases the power of water in a landscape primarily defined by its absence. There is a sand parking area on the north end of the bridge. UT St. Hwy. 95 is the route that crosses here and it is usually uncrowded. So it was nice to park and walk out onto the bridge (there is a narrow walking area) and listen to the stillness as the brown Colorado flows quietly under the bridge. It is moving quickly but it is spent from the Cataract Canyon further up stream. It's bright, hot, and dry here and the area shows this, except for the green around at the edges of the water. The bridge is almost a surprise and has a dramatic span.

Our first look at the Snake River, was where it flows out from the Palisades Reservoir. Its 1,078-miles long and begins somewhere in Wyoming south of Yellowstone Lake. It has the deepest gorge in North America, called Hells Canyon. We saw it again at Taco Hole, a kayaker’s drop-in place, and then just past the bend where Ansel Adam’s took his historic photo in 1942.

Driving along it was a pleasure.

The river is swift and cold; swimming anywhere in is not recommended. We are not kayakers, so we let someone else do the river running.

But it was when we took a cruise on it and got down at the water’s level, we really learned about it.