April 27th, 2024 - Owyhee Glory Hole

We woke to a beautiful sunny day and so it was road trip time.  We were told that the "Glory Hole" was open at the Owyhee Dam (for only the 5th time in 30 years) so off we went to see it.

The drive took us through the Owyhee Canyon - Breathtaking Views!

There was a hot spring in this area:

Beautiful bird:

Flowers everywhere:

Isn't this just INCREDIBLE!:

Buffalo!:

The river was running high and fast:

The water has totally surrounded this tree:

How about this Ranch?!:

You can rent this on Airbnb - wouldn't that be fun!:

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/41745136?adults=3&children=0&infants=0&location=Parma%2C%20Idaho%2C%20United%20States&search_mode=regular_search&check_in=2024-05-01&check_out=2024-05-06&source_impression_id=p3_1714259171_1NsklCIGBdBA9qx%2F&previous_page_section_name=1001

The road really narrowed until we got to the top of the Owyhee Dam and parked.

The Glory Hole:

WOW!

The ring gate spillway, "glory hole",  is the first of its kind ever built, The glory hole acts like a sink as water drains straight down for 309 to 321 feet. Managers can raise or lower it using differential valves, but when the water gets to the bottom it takes a 90-degree turn and bursts out at the bottom of the dam. The diameter of the hole is 60 feet.  It only operates when Lake Owyhee is above 80 percent.

The Dam:

The Owyhee Dam was the largest dam in the world when construction finished in 1932.  It was used as a prototype to build the much larger Hoover Dam in 1936.   The dam is 417' high, 833' long, 30 wide at the crest and 265' wide at the base.  The reservoir behind the dam is 53 miles long. (Now that is a lot of water.)

It is used for irrigation and power.  More information can be found here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owyhee_Dam

The Owyhee Reservoir:

It was AMAZING.  So glad that we were able to see this event and discover the Owyhee Canyon.

From there, we went to check out Martin's Landing.  We were told that the pelicans may be there.

We only saw one pelican flyover so we checked out the campground - Nice.  That little area is beautiful. It sits on the Snake River.

The boat landing:

Sue's dog, Annie:

We sat there for a while and enjoyed the view.  Next time thru, we are going to meet and camp here.

We headed back and found these cuties:

We finished our day with a great happy hour and great supper (steak on the grill - Yum).

What a wonderful day and so so glad that we were able to spend some time with Sue.

Tomorrow we continue our journey north so stay tuned and enjoy today.