Balanced Rock - near Castleford-Buhl Idaho

I have to give the credit to seeing Balanced Rock to my Mother-in-law Beverly, who mentioned it to Kathy.   She noticed it in her Atlas and suggested we stop by for a visit.  

 It was an easy thirty minute drive from Twin Falls, ID on old Highway 74 which took us first near Castleford and Buhl. The drive was quite pretty and took us through lots of farm land.  We could not believe how many huge dairy farms we noticed along our route.

  We eventually descended into a canyon that was eerily reminiscent of Bryce Canyon in Utah with it's perpendicular rock formations. We drove along the base of the canyon for less than half a minute, stopped by Balanced Rock State Park, then drove back up out of the canyon to see the Balanced Rock right above us to the right.

We actually thought Balanced Rock was located at the Park but that was not the case.  Had we took a little more time to look at the sign to the bottom right of this photo, we would have known we had to continue another half-mile to Balanced Rock.

Balanced Rock Park may be the narrowest park we have ever seen, with a mere sliver of lawn and a small stream squeezed between the towering walls of the canyon. 

The park boasts a picnic shelter, playground equipment, and restrooms with a canyon view that was quite spectacular.

Every state has it's quirky landmarks, and here in Idaho in addition to it's "famous potatoes" it is Balanced Rock. 

At the base of Balanced Rock is a little picnic shelter, a small parking area large enough to hold half dozen cars, and several unimproved trails leading directly up the hill. We decided to climb up to the rock which only took about five minutes. It wasn't until we reached the base of Balanced Rock, that we realized how huge it actually was.

Balanced Rock is absolutely impossible to miss. It is perched on the edge of the Canyon's rim.  It stands 48 feet tall balanced on a stone 19 inches x 39 inches.

I can tell you that this is the closet Kathy gets to the edge of anything.  I think she is telling me she can push the rock off the base.  It's an amazingly geographical anomaly, and one that has you wondering how it has not managed to fall over after some 20,000 years.

Thanks Mom. It was worth the trip!