Day 6 - We didn't sleep in too much, but didn't have to leave the hotel until 8 so we were able to take our time getting ready, packing up and eating breakfast. Today would include a stop at Golden Spike National Historic Park, Preston, ID (Film location for Napoleon Dynamite) and touring Twin Falls, ID.
Golden Spike is a stop that Matt pinpointed in the planning process as a "must" stop for him. While this park is out in the middle of nowhere, it is a place of great significance for America! This location is where the transcontinental railroad met "in the middle". People could now travel cross country in a matter of days, rather than weeks/months.
To commemorate the monumental "meeting", a golden railroad spike was used to nail down the last tie. Hence, the name of the site "Golden Spike".
We arrived at the park a few minutes before 9:00 - which was the time they opened for the day. We weren't planning to stay too long. We planned to look at the indoor exhibits, take a few pictures of the replica locomotives and then head on to Preston. When we showed our National Parks pass, we were welcomed and told that the restrooms, grounds and gift shop/museum were open. Unfortunately (for our plan), the ranger told us that the first locomotive would come out at 10 and the second would be around 10:30. Ugh! We hadn't planned on staying for 2 hours - but the trains are a huge part of the picture and memory that we wanted! We decided to stick around to see the trains. While we waited, we explored the museum (watched an informative movie) and perused the gift shop.
This picture shows a replica of the golden spike used on May 10, 1869. The original Golden Spike is actually housed at Stanford University.
We then went outside and found a spot to wait for the trains to arrive.
Yah! Open Range!!
A few years ago, Matt mentioned that Napoleon Dynamite, a family favorite, was filmed on location in the small Idaho town of Preston. This stop has been on his radar since then, but it is always a bit too much out of our way to make it plausible. This year, we made it work!
We printed up a list of houses/locations used and pinpointed them on our GPS. The first stop we came across was Summer's house. This is the house where Pedro left a cake that he had baked - his way of asking Summer to the prom. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to bake a cake and leave it on her doorstep!
Next stop was Pop'N Pins Bowling Alley - this is where Uncle Rico and Kip bowled and discussed their future money making endeavors.
Pedro's house - Maddie & Kaitee willingly demonstrated how Pedro wore his hoodie after he shaved his head.
We hit the road again (2.5 hour drive), heading to our hotel to check in and then driving a bit further up the road to Twin Falls to spend the evening. I had found a Texas Roadhouse in Twin Falls so we planned to eat there for dinner. With no lunch (the kids ate the milkshake and Matt ate the tots), we were all pretty hungry and ready for a nice, "sit down inside" meal. Texas Roadhouse is a family favorite and everyone was excited for the special dinner. We were happy that there was no wait when we got there and we had a wonderful waitress with a great personality. We asked if the restaurant was new - it smelled like new lumber. Our waitress told us that it had just opened in March (2 months before)! While we love trying new pizza places for dinners (usually once we get to the hotel) on vacation, we try to stick to places that we know for lunches. We like being creatures of habit when it comes to our food, ha!
Rex's Kwon Do Film Location -
Napoleon & Kip's House - sadly no Tina! How awesome would that have been!
Due to time constraints, we decided to skip a few other sites - Tricia's house, Lamont Reservoir where Kip & Lafawnduh got married, the house where Napoleon had to wait for Uncle Rico to make his sales pitch while he was dressed and ready for prom, the chicken farm. They were all a few miles outside of Preston. We also drove around the grade school to look for the tetherball, but it was (sadly) missing. We had read that it was no longer there, but we wanted to look for ourselves. We also looked for the Thrift Shop where Napoleon scored his prom attire - but we missed it (2x)! Somehow we totally missed looking for the high school - not sure what happened there. We knew that we wouldn't be able to go in to see the colorful lockers, but figured we'd get a picture outside the front steps. We must've totally forgotten?!?
We ended our time in Preston by stopping at Big J's Drive In. The original Big J's Drive In was in Richmond, UT (just a few minutes down the highway). This is the location where Uncle Rico and Kip shared a meal and Kip confided about his online girlfriend, Lafawnduh. The original Drive In was demolished a few years ago and rebuilt as a dine in restaurant. We stopped at the Big J's in Preston and the kids ordered milkshakes and Matt got some tots! It was a great way to end our time in Preston - all in honor of a classic movie!
While researching our trip, Matt came across an article about the different waterfalls in Twin Falls. I did some further searching - trying to figure out the best way to see these waterfalls. We ended up spending most of our time near the Perrine Coulee Falls. On Google Maps, I found a spot along a walking/bike path that we could view the falls from above. As we parked and walked along the bike path, we came to the overlook and couldn't believe the view! The waterfall was impressive, as was the snaking road and the Perrine Memorial Bridge to the East.
Perinne Memorial Bridge from the base of the Perinne Coulee Waterfall.
We left that area and then traveled across the Perinne Memorial Bridge so we could flip around (heading south) to pull off at an overlook at the bridge. We were able to walk down to the overlook as well as walk across the bridge. Amazing views!! I would've loved to have been there for a sunrise or sunset!
As we are looking down, Matt notices people walking behind the falls (see picture). We immediately knew that we need to figure out how to get down to the base so we could hike behind the falls!
As we walked back to the van, we stopped to admire this tree - it wasn't like anything we'd seen before!
We weren't the only ones walking behind the falls - a handful of other vehicles had pulled off and were walking the trail as well. It was a bit of unsure footing as you climbed over the rocks to get to the trail...and then wet...but very much worth it! We got wet and laughed - enjoying our time.
If you look closely at this picture, you can see how big the waterfall is, compared to how small the people are on the trail.
Matt, Will, Maddie & Alex walked down to the overlook while Kaitee & I walked a little ways out on the bridge. Here is a view from the overlook - you can't see the Perinne Coulee Falls since they are in a crevice beside the switchback, but that was the road we just came from.
Here we all are, admiring the view! We could've spent a lot more time there! However, it was getting late and we had one more stop as well as a half hour drive back to our hotel. Also, did I mention that it was hot? It was 7:00 in the evening in early June (in Idaho!) and it was over 100°! It was HOT!
We had seen lots of pictures of Shoshone Falls and all of those pictures show the falls at full force. They are known as the "Niagara Falls of the West" and standing at 212 feet tall / 900 feet wide, they are actually taller than Niagara Falls! It is one of the largest natural waterfalls in the US.
Our last stop for the day was at Shoshone Falls Park (also in Twin Falls). We arrived (what a beautiful park setting!) and drove down to the Falls overlook parking lot.
Sadly, we weren't expecting to have only a portion of the water cascading over the rocks. We assumed that the water levels were down due to the summer heat/lack of rain, but in actuality, we found out that they utilize a large portion of the water flow for irrigation purposes further up river. It was sad to miss out on the full flow of the waterfalls (we had to have missed it by only a few days!), but I love to hear that they utilize the water to help their land prosper! 
We drove back to the hotel where I was able to do all of our laundry (and only for $2 / load!! - Sweet deal!) Matt ran to fill up with gas and stopped at a Dollar Tree to grab some popcorn for a bedtime snack.
This beautiful shot - from Wikipedia, taken by photographer Frank Schulenburg, shows Shoshone Falls during the Spring months. Maybe some day we will be back in that area and be able to witness this. Wow!
It was a great day - fun stops, lots of laughs as we watched / listened to Napoleon Dynamite on the drive. We ate some great food, saw some amazing scenary and learned about a huge part of American History. A good day!
Favorites - Day 6
Alex - Napoleon Sites and seeing the waterfalls.
Will - Napoleon Sites and eating at Texas Roadhouse.
Kaitee - Watching the girls act out Rex Kwon Do / portraying Pedro and going under the waterfall.
Maddie - Napoleon Sites (laughing), going under the waterfall, and the milkshakes for lunch
Matt - Seeing the trains at the Golden Spike (esp. No. 119 at the RR crossing), Preston (Rex Kwon Do / eating tots) and going under the waterfall (Pretty much the whole day).
Becki - Going under the waterfall, surprising the kids with Texas Roadhouse.
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