Only In Idaho

You know you are in a small town when someone says “oh that’s clear across town” when referring to something that is only 15 minutes away.  Nearly everything in town is within 10 or 15 minutes away in Idaho Falls. 

Recently my company just had a grand opening of the newly built branch in Pocatello.   We had a great turnout,   the corporate executives from Salt Lake said that it was the biggest turnout for a grand opening they have had for any of their 76 branches.  They cooked over 900 hamburgers.  The joke was if you say free food in a small town like Pocatello everyone comes out of the wood work to check things out and get a free meal.

The other big buzz at the grand opening was the news that Carl’s Junior would soon be built next to us.  So much excitement for a fast food chain, which I shouldn’t mock because I remember when we got our first Café Rio in Idaho Falls and how pumped everyone was.  Not to mention The Panda Express and ultimately Chick Filet.  We’ve come a long way with our fast food options in the last 8 years.  I think since we have such freakishly long winter’s people figure least they have places to go eat out.  It’s too bad that no one has thought about building a giant indoor water park or recreation center that would allow family fun all year round.  

Speaking of work, I travel to Pocatello and Logan Utah.  During these drives I pass through several small towns and I sometimes come across the most random things.  For example, the other day I was on my trip to Logan and passed through the small town of Preston Idaho (You know Preston as being the small town where Napoleon Dynamite was filmed).  I was at a stop light when right in front of me in broad daylight a horse crosses the street at the cross walk.  Nobody seemed surprised by this, it’s probably just a typical day in their town, but too me I found myself laughing and busting out my iphone to take a picture. 

On another trip I stopped for gas and was surprised because I had to park in the rear of the gas station so I could enter the convenient store.  I felt all eyes on me as I entered the building.  There must have been 15-20 men inside visiting and having hot chocolate or coffee together.  I jokingly said to one of them, “wow I barely found parking to get in here”, to which the man replied “well our regular coffee shop just went out of business and this is the next closest thing that we have in town.”  I doubt a Starbucks is in the near future, but it was interesting to see these “townies” keeping their morning tradition alive.  

Another random moment occurred when I was on my way home from Pocatello to Idaho Falls.  I was sitting at a stop light when I saw and antique looking truck.  It had an odd shape to it and after looking at it I was not sure but it seemed as if its bed had been converted into some type of make shift sauna.?  Again only in Idaho I guess can these things appear normal.

Last, after talking with Ramona about these weird sightings she told me that she too had seen something unusual.  The other day she was stopped at a stop sign waiting for a young kid on a bike to cross, which he did, slowly, and without pedaling.  It’s seemed really odd to not pedal, and as she passed him (and he had still not pedaled) she noticed the small engine rigged to the back of his bike.  Have we come so far that kids cannot even pedal power their own bikes?