The Best & Worst of Pocatello and Idaho Falls, Idaho

I left home on a whim. I dropped out of college, quit my job, and packed what I could into a green Honda Civic. Around 3:00 AM, I got in my car and started driving. No plan. Just motion.

After some time on the road, I stopped at Econo Lodge in Pocatello, Idaho. I wandered around the town during the day, trying to get a feel for it. Something held me there, though I couldn’t say what. Every morning for a week, I walked down to the front desk and extended my stay. Eventually, I rented a room in a historic apartment building along the railroad and made Pocatello home for a while.

The apartment was a corner unit on the third floor. You walked through an ornate wooden door into a kitchen with 1930s ornamentation and appliances. There was a milk door under the cabinet, tall as an oven, two-thirds as wide. A few weeks in, the lock on my front door broke. I didn’t call the super. I bolted the door and started crawling in and out through the milk door. Neighbors caught me mid-exit more than once. I didn’t explain; I merely smiled and muttered things about John Malkovich.

Beyond the kitchen, the apartment opened into a large square room. A small L-shaped hallway led to the bathroom and a closet. My favorite part was the sleeping nook, a small room built into the rear wall, just big enough for a queen-size bed. French doors separated it from the main room. Bay windows wrapped the space in light. I loved that apartment.

Pocatello was wasted on my youth. At twenty, I couldn’t yet appreciate the town’s rhythm. I worked graveyard shifts at a processing plant, twelve hours a night, seven days a week. I slept through most of the day. Still, I found time for Butterburr’s, The Yellowstone, Fifth Street Bagelry, Gate City Coffee, and Bru House Galilei. All are worth the visit.

Eventually, the night shifts wore me down. I quit my job and drove to Idaho Falls. A nearby town I had heard of but hadn’t seen. I parked near the Greenbelt Trail and wandered the historic downtown. I was there to see the Ink & Blood exhibit at the Museum of Idaho. It traced the history of writing, record keeping, personal libraries, and the evolution of language. I was a young, eager writer then, still believing I might make waves.

After the exhibit, I walked back downtown and stopped at The Villa Coffeehouse on Park Avenue. I fell for the place immediately. Local art covered the walls, and a fireplace near the back wall, surrounded by couches and armchairs, warmed the café in winter. I pictured myself there every morning: writing, reading, and watching snow fall outside the green façade.

I ordered a turkey croissant and a Chai. Melanie, one of the owners, chatted with me in between bites. I scribbled notes on a napkin about the day. I stayed through the afternoon, people-watching. When I left, I thanked everyone and left the napkin on the bar.

A few days later, I returned. Melanie recognized me. She’d found the napkin and saved it, hoping I’d come back. She asked if I would rewrite it and submit it to Idaho Falls Magazine. They published it. I started contributing regularly. I moved into a small duplex east of downtown, on Lee Street. I lived in Idaho Falls for just under a year. Like Pocatello, it was wasted on my youth. It’s a good town for someone rooted, a small business owner, a local with rhythm. For everyone else, it’s a traveler’s town. Not a vacationer’s town. It offers little, but it offers it quietly. If you visit, stay downtown at Destination Inn on Broadway or at a motel with a view of the Snake River. The hotels aren’t great, but the river is. The Snake River RV Park is decent if you’re camping.

In the morning, walk along the River Parkway. Take your time. Cross the bridge into downtown. Stop at The Villa. Take an unfamiliar street back to the river with your coffee. Let the air and the water settle you. Then cross Broadway. There’s a path next to the KeyBank lot. Follow it to the footbridge into the Japanese Friendship Garden. The Museum of Idaho and the Art Museum of Eastern Idaho are nearby. And walk slowly, let the town show itself.

The only reason to get in your car is to visit the zoo at Tautphaus Park. It’s small, but a surprisingly good zoo. Downtown has a handful of restaurants worth your time: SnakeBite, Blue Hashi, and Bee’s Knees Pub. The Teton House in Menan is a short drive and worth it.

Some people talk about Idaho Falls like it’s paradise. It’s not. If paradise is what you’re expecting in Idaho Falls, you’re likely to leave disappointed. It is, however, centrally located. It’s close to Jackson, the Tetons, Island Park, Salt Lake City, Craters of the Moon, Bozeman, and Yellowstone. For some, that’s the appeal. A place to live so you can go elsewhere.

Idaho Falls is best enjoyed over the weekend. Walk the river. Eat well. Visit the museums. Avoid 17th Street. Then move on. The motto of southern Idaho should read: “You are now leaving southern Idaho—and we get it.” It is a way to spend a weekend and notch the experience.