Idaho Falls

[Dave_Schuldt]

My brother applied for a job at the Budwiser malt plant. What's the area like? How close to City of Rocks and other cool spots? Any mountain biking? How many and what kind of Mormons? He has a wife and 3 young kids. They both ski and Jammie is an art teacher. He works at the A B brewery in Newark NJ. The cost of living is out of control! They are getting sick of Jersy.

[TREETOAD]

I think it takes about three ordinary mormons to make 1 can of beer depwnding on how hopsy you like it. I don't think that you can get the fundimentalist mormons to ferment.

[mccallboater]

Skiing's great. Targhee very close by, backcountry even closer. Tetons for climbing. Lots of smart people with doctorates running about unsupervised. Geat fly fishing within a hour's drive. The city of R is a few hours away.

[AlpineK]

Idaho Falls. A roommate of mine in college called it Idiot Flats, and he was from there.

 

True you are close to a lot of cool outdoor shit, but you'll be living in a Mormon town. Mormons are in control of what happens there, and they sure know how to put the kybosh on fun.

 

Ever been to Boise at night?

[EWolfe]

Kurt, they're coming from JERSEY.

[genepires]

I lived there for about 9 months back in 85. Agree on the skiing at targee. I was a very low key place way back but it may be mainstream now. Probably much like baker. Never did any backcountry at the pass but I remember seeing tracks around. Wasn't sure what it was about then.

 

City of rocks (one of my fave crags) is very close as everything is quick to drive to in ID. Couple hours at 85mph.

 

I don't remember the mormons as being that obnoxious. There are bars and people kicking it up. It is a hick town. Much like a overgrown version of monroe.

 

Since he has a family already, it will probably be a good time for them. The most functional family unit I ever met was a mormon. They were very good people and if I had to raise a family in a neighborhood (shudder the thought), mormon-ville wouldn't be such a bad idea. There is very little chance of converting when you see how wacko they can be. But hopefully the good traits can rub off.

[crazyjizzy]

I don't remember the mormons as being that obnoxious. There are bars and people kicking it up. It is a hick town. Much like a overgrown version of monroe.

 

Since he has a family already, it will probably be a good time for them. The most functional family unit I ever met was a mormon. They were very good people and if I had to raise a family in a neighborhood (shudder the thought), mormon-ville wouldn't be such a bad idea. There is very little chance of converting when you see how wacko they can be. But hopefully the good traits can rub off.

 

I agree. I used to work alot in Utah, and S.W. Wyoming. The Mormon culture was pervasive in UT, but was not present in Kemmerer Wyoming, probably due to it's "boom" culture. Alot of the pipefitters and boilermakes were from Idaho Falls, and environs.

 

Even in Utah,I never really noticed much pressure to convert or preach, maybe because we were "in the belly of the beast", or because I was fortunate to always be around people who treated choice as a adult decision.

 

The biggest pain in the asses were former "Jack" Mormons who had regained "the way".

 

I would not even think about Mormonism as a factor in deciding where to live. Maybe it is just me, I try to listen to others about there religion, wether it is Jewish, Christian, Muslen, Animist, etc, but I make clear I am in no way going to convert.

[AlpineK]

Just cause you lived in Momoville for a couple months doesn't mean jack.

 

In places like that Mormons are the political establishment. If you're looking for a 50's family lifestyle then go for it. Just remember if you have kids they're going to push hard for conversion. Just as an example, my friend from IF said that your kids can't be in the Boy Scouts without attending Mormon religious meetings; they're an integral part of the scout meetings.

 

If you don't have kids then the main effect is you can expect a dull dull nightlife in town.

[Dechristo]

A great time is always available on the other side of the pass.

[griz]

Anything is better than Jersey. He should get used to looking at ALLOT of this though:

 

 

Idaho Flats seems pretty accurate for that area, for sure. But like everyone has said before Tetons from either the east or west side, Yellowstone, Snake River, Frank Church Wilderness(biggest wilderness in the lower 48),ect. It's a great area to get into whitewater rafting and/ or flyfishing...it doesn't get much better for combining that stuff in the lower 48. It's a big ass state and he should look into the local aviation companies that offer cheap puddle jumper flights that cross the state to check out the great places around McCall for long weekends ect.

 

The town seemed pretty well kept and clean. It just sits in the middle of a huge plain so the scenery is nothing to get excited over.

 

Beats the shit out Jersey any day though.

[Dave_Schuldt]

Thanks guys, keep it coming.

[EWolfe]

You da ho.

[crazyjizzy]

Well, AlpineK:

 

Say what you want about the Mormons, our friend Galen is a Mormon.

 

 

***(edit)***

 

not very open minded of me, huh? But fucking funny (double entendre, huh?)

How about those catholics who would you want behind you?

Edited November 28, 2005 by crazyjz

[Thinker]

my 2 cents:

 

I lived there for 6 months in 1999 or 2000.

 

The INEEL brings in educated professionals from all over the country. The city was only about 50% Mormon when I was there. The mayor was female and non-mormon. Ray Charles played one of his last gigs at the grand opening of IDF's newly remodeled permorming arts center. Brew pubs!! Good food, low crime rate, good air quality.

 

If you're that concerned about the kids, send them to a private school.

 

Tons of close climbing, skiing, biking, and fly fishing.

 

Idaho Alpine Club...google it.

 

I'd definitely rec living in IDF over Blackfoot, which is closer to the hops plant. They might want to consider Pocatello...a bit more of a drive to the plant, but maybe a little more liberal attitude overall given the university there.

 

Search Amazon and other sources for books by Jerry Painter. He's a local newspaper columnist and guidebook author.

 

Here's one link that's not on Amazon.

[sobo]

I'll weigh in before I leave the country...

 

I lived in IF for two years, from 1973 to 1975. I was an 8th and 9th grader then. The Mormons back then were pretty aggressive in trying to convert the rest of us heathens. But we got over it after a while. Mormon dads won't let their prescious little daughters date Catholic boys, so my "early adolescent development" was somewhat delayed in certain areas...

 

Skiing is the bomb at Grand Targhee. Just beyond that, over the pass is Jackson Hole and Yellowstone, if you can afford that touron area. There is a shithole ski area called Kelly Canyon on the Idaho side of the pass that is the closest skiing to IF (30 years ago).

 

There is decent spin-cast fishing along the Snake River a few miles bike ride south of town, and the best fly fishing I have ever experienced (and that was when I was 15 years old - a LONG time ago with lots of data points in between) was north of town a fair piece, along Birch Creek; pan-sized native rainbows - real fighters! The Big Lost and Little Lost Rivers are up that way, too. And you start to get into the Bitteroot Mountains (IIRC) up that way.

 

To the east of town and up in the hills is Willow Creek, also with good fishing, and it makes a great (road) bike ride into the mountains from that side of town.

 

To the west of town about 60 miles is the 'burg of Arco and the INEL site, a nuclear wasteland much like our own Hanford site. It makes for a good, flat, bike ride for a road bike, but there is nothing really close by that would qualify as good mountain biking terrain.

 

The biggest thing I hated about living in IF is that it is really flat, because it sits in the middle of a lava plain formed tens of thousands of years ago. And the place is seriously fucking windy. I think they have probably 3 days/year where the wind doesn't blow. The constant winds make it a real effort to bike anywhere, which at 14 and 15 years old was my only mode of personal transport back then, but I managed to get out and around quite a bit even so.

 

But there are bars (not that I could go in them back then, but I knew they had them), and a pervasive Mormon presence, but it's like any other town out west. If you are looking to get outta Jersey, I should think there would be worse places to settle.

 

Gotta go, the plane bound for China leaves really goddamn early! Asta!