ID – Aug 2024

What else would I put as the featured image for a blog written about Idaho.  Of course it would be a giant potato.  This particular potato greats visitors to the Idaho Potato Museum – a museum dedicated to everything potato.  But, I’ve learned there’s more to Idaho than just the potato.  Read on to find out about this very cool state.

Pocatello, ID

My first ever visit to Idaho starts in the town of Pocatello – about 50 miles south of Idaho Falls.  It’s the 6th most populous city in the state with just over 56,000 residents.  Also known as the “Gate City” as a gateway into Idaho and the Pacific Northwest having had pioneers and gold prospectors passing through along the Oregon Trail – just south of town.

From a Roadside perspective, most of the areas of interest were north in Blackfoot and Idaho Falls.  But, there was this one attraction in Pocatello that was worthy of a visit.  Known as the Museum of Clean, this place was created by Don Aslett – a one time janitor, and now multimillionaire businessman that owns a multinational cleaning business.  He spent $6 million of his own money to create and open this museum.  His mission – to educate each visitor on how to be clean and to want to be clean.  On one floor of this 6 story building were various stations that displayed various cleaning things – washing machines, soap, mops, and the like.  On the third floor, one of the most impressive collection of vacuumes I’ve ever seen!  Reported to be over 6,000 vacuumes, dust busters, and rug beaters, many dating back to the 1800s.  It was most certainly an amazing display of vacuum history.

Next I travelled up to Blackfoot to catch a handful of various Roadside oddities.  First up was this round shaped building that is home to the Hawker Funeral Home.  The building was built in 1921 as a Morm0n Tabernacle.  Later in life, it was transformed into a Civic Auditorium.  After that, it was left empty for many years until a nearby funeral home purchased it in 2002 essentially for its parking lot.  But the old building was so loved by the community, the funeral home moved into it.  Next was a mural that features Ronal Reagan, Superman, the moon landing, and Marilyn Monroe on a building that once was an antique shop.  It is now a flower shop, but thankfully, the mural remains.  Last up was this giant fiberglass woman known as the Uniroyal Gal.  Similar to the Muffler Man, there are many of her throughout the country that were originally built to stand in front of a Uniroyal store with her holding tires.  But this one sits in front of Martha’s Cafe and has been a fixture here for many decades.

Also in Blackfoot is the Idaho Potato Museum.  It’s a good place for this museum to be as Blackfoot is known to be the potato capital of the world whose region has the largest potato industry growing more potatoes than anywhere else on the planet.   On average, a one acre field here yields 11 tons of potatoes each year.  It also happens to have the world’s largest potato with butter and sour cream out in front of the museum.  Inside you’ll find all the standard museum fair – history boards telling the story of how the potato came about, information about farming and cultivation practices, and lots of other history.  You’ll also find the Guinness Book of World Records certified world’s largest potato crisp (at left, bottom left).  Made by a team of P&G food engineers in 1991, this yummy treat measures 25 by 14 inches, and is equivalent to 80 regular Pringle’s.  The museum also had a really cool collection of hand potato mashers (at left, bottom center) including many from the very old days.  The kids play area featured, what else, a Mr Potato Head!  It was a fun museum to explore and learn about everything potatoes.

Next I ventured further north to Idaho Falls, where I’d find a nice collection of interesting Roadside attractions.  First up was this collection of muffler and car part art humanoids (at right, top nand center right) that sit outside of a local auto repair shop.  Next is this bronze statue of a Snake River fur trapper by sculptor Roy Reynolds.  This statue sits in a nice river side park.  Also of interest there in the park, but not listed in Roadside, were these ping-pong tables (at right, bottom left).  There were several of them there at the park along with your more traditional picnic tables, park benches, and the like.  I guess ping pong is a thing in Idaho Falls.  Last up in this series was this stunning mountain waterfall and soaring eagles that adorns the center of a downtown roundabout.  There’s even a nest with baby eagles (eaglets?) within the display.  It was truly a beautiful centerpiece.

Of course, no trip to Idaho would be complete without seeing and checking off a visit to the state’s Peter Toth contribution.  This carving, part of the Trail of the Whispering Giants series, was in wonderful condition, and is surrounded by a beautiful flower garden.  Once again, I sent a few pictures to Peter and commented on how nice this one was being kept up – to which he appreciated and then complained about how poorly the one in Fort Lauderdale was and how he wished they took as great a care as did Idaho.  He also happened to mention that in December, he will be attending the half century redidication of the piece he has in Punta Gorda.  I think that would be fun to attend, so I’m going to try to make it there for that event.  Besides, I’ve not seen that one yet so I can also check that off my list. Next was a visit to a place called Wild West Designs – a store that featured wooden furnishings and artifacts.  Outside, there were a number of cool wooden carvings of various animals and such.  Inside, was an amazing selection of some really beautiful (and expensive) items.  Nice to look at, but too pricey for my taste.

My last, but certainly not least, visit in Idaho Falls was to this gem of a place.  Known as the Collectors’ Corner Museum, it is owned and operated by husband and wife Jim and Nida Gyorfy.  Jim, featured here, was so kind and gracious to give me a narrated private tour of the place.  Married since 1960, Jim and Nida have been lifelong collectors.  Collectors of what?  Well, anything and everything.  In fact, this museum is actually made up of over 130 individual collections.  To say this was an obsession and not a hobby is quite the understatement.  But Jim had always wanted to share his love and passion of collecting, and the knowledge gained therein.  They owned this building that they once ran a Tupperware operation out of, and decided to use it to display their collection when they retired from that business.  A fellow Air Force Veteran, Jim eagerly and happily shared his collections.  From Pez dispensers to spoons, to even a room dedicated to just things about Elvis.  It was a wonderful trip down memory lane as with all the various collections, you are bound to see something that triggers a fond memory of your childhood.  It was an absolute pleasure meeting Jim and his wife (who preferred not to become famous with a picture) and with them, enjoying the fun of collecting.  Thanks Jim for a wonderful visit!

My next day of site seeing would take me over 60 miles to the north west to the town of Arco.  This town of just over 800 residents has the claim to fame as being the first community in the world to be lit by electricity generated solely by nuclear power.  This happened on July 17, 1955, and lasted for about an hour when the town was wired up to the BORAX-III reactor at the National Reactor Testing Station – now known as the Idaho National Laboratory.

I drove there to visit the worlds first nuclear power plant – EBR-1 (Experimental Breeder Reactor-1).  This plant sits within the 900 square mile Idaho National Engineering Laboratory whose mission is to experiment and study nuclear generated power for peacetime commercial use.  EBR-1 was lit up on Dec 20, 1951, and ran until Dec 1963.  It was registered as a National Historic Landmark in 1966 by President LBJ.  Today, it is a tourist area offering folks a safe (presumably) look at the inside of a nuclear power facility.  It was really amazing to see some of what was very early technology (mostly analog) used to manage and run a nuclear facility.  From the control room (at left, top) to the reactor core (at left, center left) to the remote rooms with 3-foot oil separated glass windows where the reactor core or radioactive rods were manipulated (at left, center right), to seeing actual fuel rods (at left, bottom center), it was an amazing tour and a unique opportunity to view a facility few people ever get to see.  Definitely one for the bucket list.  As an added bonus, I was not glowing after the visit!

Just about 15  miles from EBR-1 was Atomic City.  What was once envisioned to be a nearby residential area for the many folks that worked at EBR-1, has turned out to be a sparsely populated mostly ghost town of 44 residents.  I did a drive through and it was kinda sketchy.  It sort of reminded me of Slab City in California with thrown together shacks for homes with lots of junk cars and other stuff lying around in the yard.  It did have what seemed to be a newer like campground, which was likely built to attract visitors.  This one store one bar town also has a race track that reportedly features stock car races in the summer.  Well, I whish the residents well, but I’ll not be camping there!

Twin Falls, ID

My next stop in my Idaho tour takes me to the area round Twin Falls.  I actually stayed in Jerome, a small town just north west of Twin Falls.  Not much to see there, so I spent most of my siteseeing time in the surrounding area.

First, a few Roadside novelties to get the tour started.  Further west of me in the town of Wendell, was another in the collection of Muffler Men.  This one was kinda special as it sits in front of Wilson’s RV Park and Parts Store, and features a camping theme of roasting a hotdog on a presumed campfire.  Very cool!  Next up was this statue of Ira Burton Perrine – an early Twin Falls settler and developer, whose vision and dedication led to the growth of this Snake River Canyon area from a desert outpost to a flourishing city, and for whom the one main bridge that crosses the canyon is named for.  Last up was this vintage gas station sign featuring Fearless Farris.  Farris Lind opened his first gas station in Twin Falls in 1936, and eventually grew to having dozens.  His competition labeled him “Stinker” due to his low prices.  It stuck so Farris chose a skunk as a logo, and the rest is history.

What really makes the Twin Falls area so attractive and a huge tourist area is the Snake River Canyon and its many amenities.  For example, beautiful Niagara Springs (at right, top) is best viewed by driving down a 350-foot deep canyon on a narrow, winding, and sometimes washboard dirt road, where 250 cubic feet per second icy blue glacier water flows majestically down a hillside.  Absolutely beautiful!  Also, the up and down  views of the canyon from the Perrine bridge are truly magnificent.  This bridge is 1,500 feet in total length, with a main span of 993 feet across the canyon.  Its deck height of 486 feet, once the tallest in the country, has now been relegated to the 8th highest.  It was built between 1973 and 1976 at a cost of over $10 million.  Pedestrian walkways on either side make for some spectacular views of the canyon, as well as a recreational launch pad for bungee and base jumping.  Ah yea, no thanks!

Upstream to the east from the bridge are a couple of really amazing waterfalls.  First up is Shoshone Falls (at left, top).  This magnificent falls, known as the Niagara of the West, is beautiful.  It is best viewed and fuller in the spring during the early thaw, but was just as beautiful now.  Slightly downstream to the west was a skinny little waterfalls coming out the side of the canyon wall (at left, bottom right).  Then, a couple of miles further upstream to the east is Twin Falls (at left, bottom left).  It was so named for the pair of waterfalls that fell between a large rock formation.  But, in 1935, the right side twin was dammed off for hydropower generation.  So in reality, it should have been renamed Single Falls.  Never the less, it was still a very spectacular falls.

From all the pictures and videos of the canyon, the bridge, and each of the water falls, I stitched them together into this short video production.  I hope you enjoy it!

Some of you older folks like me might have also recognized the name Snake River Canyon as being famous for something else.  It was September 8th, 1974 when famed motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel, strapped into his X-2 Skycycle, and attempted to cross the Snake River Canyon here in Twin Falls.  He wanted to try cross the Grand Canyon, but when he couldn’t get federal government permission to do so, he settled for crossing Snake River.  The mound upon which the scaffolding was built that held the launch rail for the X-2 still remains on the edge of the canyon (at right, top and center right).  Back at the Perrine bridge is a granite memorial commemorating the event.  The view across the canyon from the perspective of the mound can also be seen here (at right, bottom right).  For those two young to have known, or too old to remember this event, you can view a retrospective documentary of the event HERE or a news video of the actual attempt HERE.  Spoiler alert, he didn’t actually make it across.

The last item of interest in the area would take me out some 40 miles to the south west to Buhl, ID.  It was a beautiful almost hour drive out there passing rolling hills, and flat farmland to all of a sudden arriving at these rock formations.  I was heading out there to see a particular freak of nature known as Balanced Rock.  This 40 ton, 55-foot wide, 48 foot tall rock, balances precariously upon a pedestal by a sliver of a rock less than 3 feet by 17 inches wide.  Appropriately named, this naturally wind carved balancing rock formation just sits there atop a larger rock formation, presumably trying very hard not to fall over.  A definite oddity here in the middle of nowhere Idaho.

Boise, ID

My final exploratory venture takes me to the capital city of Idaho – Boise.  This bustling metropolis of over 235,000 residents is the most populous city in Idaho.  Being that I’m not much of a fan of big cities, I actually stayed in Meridian – a small town west of Boise, and took day trips into town to fulfill my tourist needs.  But before heading into downtown, I wanted to check out a place I’ve had on my must see list for a while.  It’s the Big Idaho Potato Hotel!  Located literally in the middle of nowhere some 35 miles south east of Boise,  this two guest, one bedroom tuber hotel can be yours for a measly $300 per night.  I checked online and this place is booked up solid thru the end of Sep.  And if that wasn’t enough, you also get to meet and interact with Dolly – the local pet cow.  Sure enough, even though she was lounging far away, as soon as I called her, she came a running.  Less likely that she was happy to see me, but more so that she hoped I would give her a scoop of the cow candy that was in a container nearby.  So I obliged and scooped out some of the grains and other goodies and put it in her feed bowl.  She chowed down while we got to know one another for a bit, and when she realized I wasn’t giving her any more food, she quickly returned to her lounging area.  What a spoiled cow!  Anyway, the 28-foot long, 12-feet wide potato was built in 2012 to celebrate the Idaho Potato Commission’s 75th anniversary.  It was mounted on a trailer, and hauled around to different venues.  Though it was originally intended to last about a year, it became a fan favorite and actually did 7 years of travel all around the country when it became worn and was replaced with a newly built model.  This retired one was purchased by Kristie Wolfe, a former member of the truck team that took it around, and who also happened to be a tiny house builder and Airbnb entrepreneur.  She had it moved to this farmland property she owned, remodeled the insiden to make it habitable, and listed it for public reservations.  Pretty cool place!  If you are curious to see pictures of the inside, you can view them HERE.

Downtown Boise had lots of interesting places to visit – in fact too many for me only having overall two tourist days in which to explore.  But I made the best of it and tried to see as much as I could.  First up were a number of Roadsde areas of interest including this giant eyeball.  This is a fairly recent addition to Roadside and in fact, there was no picture available with the entry.  So, I made it a point to get to this one so that I could take, then submit a few pics to Roadside.  Sitting almost 6 feet across and made of steel, this Oct 2023 entry was made by Kendall Vader and sits outside of a tatto shop.  A sign at the bottom also claims this to be the largest eyeball in Idaho.  Nearby atop a sign for a local restaurant, the iconic Maytag Washer Woman slaves over a washtub doing laundry.  This location was once a laundry which certainly makes much more sense than a restaurant.  But, she’s apparently been around for a very long time, so efforts are made to keep her going.  In fact, it is reported that her dress and appearance changes with the season.

Several other Roadside goodies can be found in downtown Boise.  First up, they say your home is your castle.  Nothing could be truer for home owner Tim Barber who had this private castle home built over a two year period, and moved in sometime in July 2011.  There’s even a gargoyle that stands watch over the front door.  According to Zillow, the home had been on the market between Dec 2016 until it was removed in May 2018, with asking prices between $3.1M to $2.7M.  Alas, it would appear the market for a castle in that price range is kinda slim.  Next up was a giant statue of Abe Lincoln sitting on a bench, with room for others for a perfect photo op.  This giant sized statue was fashioned using a laser scan of a 1911 sitting Lincoln sculpture that resides in Newark, NJ.  Next up, in a small fenced in area next to an elementary school is a Moon Tree.  A pine tree that was grown from a seed that journeyed to the moon aboard Apollo 14 in 1971.  It was astronaut Stuart Rosa that brought hundreds of tree seeds with him, that were later germinated, studied, and in many cases, gifted to various organizations.  I recall visiting and seeing another moon tree in my past travels.  Last up, about 35 miles east of Boise is this natural landscape wonder known as Lizard Butte.  Nothing more than a butte with what appears to be a lizard laying on top getting some sun.  Pretty cool!

A couple miles east of downtown Boise is the Old Idaho State Penitentiary.  It was an operating prison from 1872 thru 1973.  Today, it is a historic site and a source of adventure for tourists like me.  It saw more than 13,000 inmates during its 101 year run, with an average population of just over 600 at any one time.  Serious riots happened in 1952, 1971, and 1973 over poor living conditions.  Finally, in Dec of 1973, the current population of 416 inmates were relocated to the new facility south of town, and this penitentiary was closed.  The prison had the standard fair accommodations – double stacked cells with toilet, sink, and bunks for up to four inmates.  The play yard was similar to what you see in the movies, and the collection wall of confiscated shanks and other weapons showed the ingenuity demonstrated by the prison population.  There was a bench outside along one of the walkways that I thought was placed there for us visitors – that was until I noticed the interesting sign above it stating “Bench for Guards Only”.  Wow!

There were a few special finds in this prison that were kind of unique.  First of all, there was the Gallows.  From the Witness Room (at right, center left), a large window looks into another room having a trap door floor and a lever (at right, top), and a large hook above from which the rope and noose would be attached.  Condemned prisoners would stand on the trap door, hands and feet bound, head hooded and a noose around their neck, while the executioner pulled the lever sending them down to their death falling to the room underneath (at right, bottom right).  Of the ten executions performed in the prison, four were done here (the other six having been done in a prior location).  Then there’s Dennis – a kitten that was found in the prison barn by an inmate in 1952, that despite rules otherwise, the guards allowed them to keep.  The cat roamed the yard and interacted and bonded with the inmates for the next 16 years.  When he passed in his sleep in 1968, the inmates held an honor funeral and fashioned him with a headstone (at right, bottom left and center).  Dennis is the only “inmate” to have been buried within the prison grounds.  Last up in my prison tour, and one that was quite the surprise, was to find out that the Idaho Merci Train is housed here in what was once a Shirt Factory Building, now the Event Space.  I honestly just stumbled on this as there was little to no advertising about it being here.  I’ve seen one other Merci Train back when I was touring around Manchester, NH, and wrote about it in that edition of the blog (HERE).  While chatting with a worker who was in the building, she shared with me a listing of the locations of all the Merci Trains.  So, now I’ve got yet another thing to look for in my travels.  What fun!

Downtown Boise was your typical large city with tall building and busy streets.  But it also had a nice vibe about it too – especially in the area around Main and Idaho streets.  Lots of restaurants with outdoor seating, shops of all kinds, and a very walkable.  One of the attractions in this downtown section was known as Freak Alley Gallery.  An alleyway between Bannock and W Idaho streets, just east of N 9th street, is this amazing transformation of an otherwise boring urban alley into a whimsical artscape.  All of the works of art are done by spray-can artists, and regularly change.  There’s even a mural event held each year in early August that I would imagain freshens up the area, and keeps the artwork ever new.  It was a fun afternoon walking through this area and seeing all the amazing works of art made on these building canvases.  Some very talented people indeed!

Last up on my tour of the Boise area was a visit to a place called Cleo’s Ferry Museum.  Just over 20 miles south west in the town of Melba is this amazing treasure.  This outdoor nature walk through a property along the Snake River features bronzes, signs with philosophical sayings related to life and faith, hundreds of birdhouses, ceramic lawn decorations, giant fiberglass African safari animals, many gardens, and pretty much anything you can think of.  Even a small flock of live peacocks roam around the grounds welcoming visitors from all over.  This several acre complex lies within the remnants of an 1860s ferry service buildings.  These grounds were purchased by Dr. Samuel “Pappy” Swayne and his wife Cleo.  Pappy passed in 1976, and Cleo decided to open the property as an art-filled nature trail and began filling the pathway with all sorts of unique art.  At the end of the trail is a large bronze sculpture area featuring lots of children at play, swinging, playing baseball, riding bikes, and such.  The place is designed to promote a reflective and inspirational journey along its pathways.  And that it does!

Final Thoughts

Well, my first venture into exploring Idaho is complete.  Well, at least the southern portion of the state.  I’m told there is much more to see in the norther area, so I’ll be adding that to my itinerary for next year’s trip as I venture further north and west on my way to explore Washington state.  But this year’s trip taught me that there’s much more to Idaho than just potatoes.  Beautiful mountain ranges, stunning canyons, and interesting places to explore offer plenty of things to experience here in the state.  I’ve now landed in my first stop in Nevada, and will spend the next several weeks exploring all there is to see here in this state.  I also look forward to once again catching up with my brother Gerry to take on the sights and sounds of Las Vegas. Should definitely be a fun time.  Till next time, be well and safe travels.

I only show a sampling of my adventure pictures here in the blog, and do so mostly in collage format for brevity and ease of reading. If you want to view an album containing individual full fidelity and hi-res images of all my travel pictures related to this specific blog, click the image below. Enjoy!