My month in Idaho

My take on Idaho

where I went this month

The only time before this month I'd ever been in Idaho was in July 1977, when my boyfriend and I passed through here on our way to Alaska.  We spent the night somewhere near Coeur d'Alene, and I've taken with me over the years an impression of quiet, of tall beautiful evergreens and of peaceful waters.  I can now say that, if you've only been to Idaho's panhandle (where Coeur d'Alene is), then you've missed most of what Idaho has to offer.  But I can also say that my first impression was undoubtedly correct and still possible to duplicate (if you can get away from all the tourists - and yes, I know I'm a tourist, too).

I now know, what I didn't know then, that the Rocky Mountains and their foothills pass through Idaho on their way north to Canada.  And as with the other states with mountain ranges, Idaho's land is different in the east (rain shadow, weather from the Plains) than in the west (weather from off the Pacific Ocean).  So western Idaho is lush with trees and lakes; eastern Idaho is similar to high plains desert country.

I guess one of the most enduring impressions I have now of Idaho - and also one that I found most surprising - is of waterfalls.  They're all over the state, large and small.  Of course, none of them is as spectacular is the Multnomah Falls in Oregon, for instance, but the sheer quantity was surprising.  

Idaho is made for the outdoors enthusiasts.  Statewide you can find tall mountains, deep canyons, huge forests, wilderness areas, deserts - sometimes all right in the same place.  Those that like to live here in the winter tell me they're partial to winter sports, and the state offers a lot of opportunities for them.  And it's not just above ground that Idaho shows its natural resources: not many other states heat their capitol buildings with geothermal energy (actually, no other states).

And speaking of the outdoors, Idaho's agricultural influence is far stronger than I'd realized.  I saw farmlands everywhere.  I was surprised to see nowhere near as much land devoted to potatoes as I'd expected, but they're growing them somewhere because Idaho produces almost a third of the US potatoes.  Idaho even has a thriving business in seeds of various kinds.

I saw wildlife galore.  When mountain goats hang out on the roadways with their kids without waiting to find a wildlife refuge for it - well, you know there must be a lot of them here.  I saw deer all over (and, sadly, lots of dead deer along the road).  I saw chipmunks (which Dexter loves) and a Bald Eagle (which I love).

Along with the beautiful countryside, I met some very nice people, and everyone I talked to was glad they lived here.  Many were still living where they'd been born, some others had moved out of state and been glad to come back.

But driving in Idaho wasn't so pleasant.  Too many drivers weren't just bad at driving and were more than rude: they were dangerous.  On the other hand, I did get 2 thank yous during this month, and nobody blared at me for not pulling fully off the road when I let them pass, so those were good things.

Idaho has several specialty plates, but this is the one
 I saw on most of the vehicles here.

And it will be a long time before I forget that Idaho Falls was the scene both of an unusual and attractive series of waterfalls and of the place I dislocated my toe.

But as beautiful as Idaho undoubtedly is, and as pleasant as most people were, I'd still just as soon not go back to the state again.  There was just too much visible defiance at a government that wasn't doing anything to be defiant about.  Too much obvious bristling at rights being taken away when nobody was even hinting at doing so.  It just looked to me like too many people here don't realize their trusted sources of information are lying to them and making them angry and fearful of something that doesn't exist.  As the month went on, I found that attitude increasingly threatening to me.  Not that anyone was, of course, but you can be just as dead from being caught in a crossfire as from being the original target.  I didn't feel safe here.  And to me, that's no way to live.