Avoid naysayers, there’s plenty to do here

When my family and I moved to Mountain Home back in 2006 after I received orders to serve at the local Air Force base, the one thing that seemed to annoy me involved the naysayers in this community who repeatedly shouted there was nothing to do in this town. I lost count how many times I saw them spread this message on social media and other online resources.

Granted, these were the same naysayers who refused to do anything to change this perception. Not once did I ever see them show up at city council meetings or take time to participate in the various community events this town celebrates each year.

Instead, these Internet trolls remained locked up to their computer as they used their so-called “keyboard courage” to continue spewing their hateful comments. On a related note, none of these people ever posted their real name to these posts but used fictional names to hide their identity.

Gee, I wonder why…

Having lived here for nearly 19 years, I can honestly say there is plenty to do in Mountain Home and areas across parts of southern Idaho. Typically, I refer to our community as the “gateway to paradise,” meaning we may need to drive a little bit to get to what we enjoy most.

For example, those of us who enjoy the big-city life simply need to drive to Boise where we can take advantage of what’s available there. However, once we get sick and tired of the heavy traffic, noise and other problems in this major city, we simply get back into our vehicles and return here, where we can sit back and relax once again.

In addition, this town holds a number of events to bring this community together. This includes the annual Air Force Appreciation Day parade, which to this day represents the state’s largest parade, as well as various forms of art and entertainment presented by the Mountain Home Arts Council.

Meanwhile, those of us who enjoy the “great outdoors” have a myriad of choices we can take our families. Whenever I meet with someone new to the Mountain Home area, I encourage them to start exploring Idaho by making a trip to the Bruneau Sand Dunes State Park.

In addition to the park’s unique geology, it remains one of the nation’s few “dark sky” areas that allows people an unprecedented view of the nighttime sky. The fact the park now has two observatories to give people an up-close look at the celestial wonders hidden amongst the stars and planets in the sky remains an added bonus.

For those out there who enjoy fishing, they simply need to take their boat down the Grand View Highway to the C.J. Strike Dam boat dock, where they can launch their watercraft onto the reservoir and enjoy the picturesque beauty of this lake. This reservoir represents the connection it has with the Snake River, which winds its way across southern Idaho.

In addition, avid fishermen can drop their lines into the reservoir in hopes of snaring their fair share of bass, catfish, carp, crappie, perch and sturgeon who reside below the water.

From there, I encourage these new residents to make the trek up Highway 20 toward Pine and Featherville. I still remember the day when my daughter and I decided to drive up there as part of a spur-of-the-moment road trip.

Once we started winding our way along the road leading us to these mountain communities, we were simply caught off guard with regards to the majestic beauty of the Anderson Ranch Reservoir as well as the mountains that represented a unique element of the northern half of Elmore County. We took time to park along the reservoir to walk around this area while avoiding the temptation to jump in the water and start swimming.

Another aspect of southern Idaho that makes it unique involves the geological history of this region that left its presence here in ways that tend to catch me a bit off guard. The most significant element of this distant past involves the caldera, or “supervolcano,” that continues to attract visitors to Yellowstone National Park throughout the year.

These people enjoy watching Old Faithful, which continues to spew a stream of water into the air every 92 minutes on average. It’s a predictable element of the park that tends to pique people’s curiosity.

However, the one thing people may not realize is the simple fact this supervolcano actually traces its roots a bit further to the west into Idaho itself. Granted, we’d need to look back in time approximately four to seven million years ago, but the supervolcano at the national park in Wyoming once resided in southern Idaho before it gradually continued toward the east.

The evidence it left behind is something travelers and those living in Mountain Home continue to enjoy. It includes the hot springs located near Featherville and Hagerman in which people step into this naturally heated water and relax.

For me, these hot springs remind me of the four years my family and I spent in northern Japan during my Air Force career. During our time there, we had the opportunity to go to the onsens, or natural hot springs, where we could allow our tired, achy muscles a chance to relax in this naturally heater water.

I would be remiss if I didn’t include the fact that Idaho has a number of parks and other attractions where people can see other signs of Idaho’s unique geological history. We clearly see some of these signs as we drive along the local highways and see all of the basalt, or volcanic rock.

While some of this basalt remains visible in the boulders dotting the local landscape, much of it rose upward along parts of the state in the form of hills that sculpted the land.

Meanwhile, other signs of Idaho’s geological past took the form of hills along the south side of the interstate just west of Mountain Home in the Crater Rings national, natural landmark. Spanning between 2,500 to 3,000 feet in diameter and between 300 to 350 feet in depth, these rings are actually the remnants of volcanic lakes similar to the Kīlauea volcano in Hawaii.

Other signs of Idaho’s unique past take travelers toward the town of Shoshone where they can enjoy two caves spanning hundreds of feet underground. However, the one thing that caught me off guard involves the Black Magic Canyon located north of these caves.

The landscape in this area traces its origins back about 800,000 years ago when lava flowed through this area. However, the land faced a significant change when the Big Wood River carved through this volcanic rock, leaving behind unique sculptures for people to see up close during set times each year.

My words of advice for those new to Mountain Home include the following message: Stop listening to the naysayers, and take time to see firsthand what makes this town and southern Idaho so unique.

– Brian S. Orban