SNAKE RIVER
COURTESY BRODY BARRUS
The Most Beautiful Thing In the Most Beautiful Place BY BRODY BARRUS
E
very bend of the South Fork of the Snake River as it slithers and cuts through eastern Idaho bleeds beauty. Tall luscious cottonwoods tower over the river, providing a home to hundreds of bald eagles. If I’m lucky, I may catch a glimpse of a mature bald eagle diving toward the water like a kamikaze pilot, only to pull up at the last second, grasping onto an unsuspecting trout with its razor-sharp talons. Below the cover of the cottonwoods, whitetail 10 IDAHO magazine
deer and shiras or Yellowstone moose thrive. On occasion, I see them along the banks getting a drink of water or going for an afternoon swim. Throughout the canyon section, the willowy banks abruptly transition to sky-high cliffs. When I gaze upon those cliffs, I sometimes begin to feel almost hypnotized by the thousands of swallows that flutter about like a cloud of mosquitoes. The South Fork is so rich with beauty, it is truly difficult to take it all in at once.
ABOVE: The author displays a male brown trout in spawning season.
