Friday, November 2, 2012

One of the Most Beautiful Places I've Ever Been

Today (November 2nd) marks the three year anniversary of the day that I loaded up my truck and drove 975 miles to move to a small town by the name of Driggs in southeast Idaho. The town has a population of only a thousand or so people, two fast food places, a couple gas stations, and the nearest bowling alley and indoor movie theater are an hour away. Why on earth then would I want to move there? I moved there for a job (housekeeping at a ski resort in Wyoming), but that was just the means for me to fulfill a bigger purpose and passion of mine: To experience living (for at least an entire winter) in a place that has a real winter climate.

I have a fascination/passion for winter weather. Cold, snow, I love it. Give me freezing temperatures (even subzero), snow-covered landscapes with snow on the ground all winter, snow falling nearly every week (sometimes feet at a time), and I'm a happy man. This may sound crazy. Most people, both those from here in southern California, and those who live elsewhere, hate winter weather. People from all over the country move to places like southern California, with it's "ideal" climate, to get AWAY from winter weather. But that may be a big part of the reason why I love it [winter weather] and gravitate toward it--I've grown up with it. Southern California really does have what most consider an ideal climate; 75 and Sunny is a pretty accurate stereotype for the weather here. I'd say it's arguably the best, most ideal climate in the entire U.S., including Hawaii.

And therein lies the problem for me. I'm used to the same wonderful weather all year long, with little-to-no real cold in the winter, no snow, and hardly any precipitation of any kind. It makes things comfortable for sure, and easy to live in, but for whatever reason, I'm drawn to cold and snow. Many of you may be thinking 'Ok, well you have cold and snow only an hour or two away up in the mountains. That's the beauty of southern California, you're close to everything!' This is true, but the cold isn't as cold as other places, and the snow isn't as frequent (or as light and dry as places like Wyoming). Plus, I don't want to just be able to visit the snow, I want to LIVE IN IT. Really, I do. I find it enjoyable to be outside in bitterly cold temperatures, deal with road closures, put on and take off four layers of clothing, and spend time shoveling my driveway. I may not enjoy these activities while I'm doing them, but beforehand and certainly in retrospect, I do.

This was one of the most, if not the most, beautiful places I've ever been. Located in an alpine valley 6,000+ feet above sea level with a mountain range in the middle (and at least two others nearby), Teton Valley, Idaho (and Wyoming, the county apparently crosses the state line, or just has the same name) is a spectacularly scenic place. Speaking specifically of the Idaho side where the town of Driggs is located, you have wide open flat land all around, but also have mountains very close by in three different directions. There are two national parks (Grand Teton and Yellowstone) within a few hours drive. Snow covers the landscape in the winter, temperatures can be below zero in the morning, and may not reach freezing if it's between December and February (sometimes some really cold air will come in and it won't get out of the single digits all day). The snow is light and dry, which makes it (I assume) easier to move if you have to (e.g., shoveling), and makes it great for winter recreation activities like skiing and snowboarding.

Speaking of which, the recreation opportunities here (all seasons of the year) abound. Focusing specifically on winter, you have skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, ice climbing, ice fishing, and even dog sledding are all available nearby. And the mountains receive up to 500+ inches of snow per year, which I love (that's among the top in the country). Personally, I participated in all of the above activities except snowshoeing, ice fishing, and dog sledding (but I wanted to do all of them).

I could talk to you all day about this beautiful place and my amazing winter recreation experiences there, but the most effective way to communicate it would be through pictures. I have a few on Facebook, but my best ones are not. I'll have to look into changing that.

But before I finish, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the people and the culture of the town and the area. When it comes to people, there aren't many. Like I said, the town of Driggs is about 1,600; the two closest towns, Tetonia and Victor (both in Idaho) are even smaller. Jackson, WY (about an hour to the east) is about 8,000, and Rexburg, ID (about an hour to the west) is about 25,000. It's funny, it just occurred to me that you could combine the populations of all of these towns (plus Wilson, WY, a town on the way from Driggs to Jackson) and it probably wouldn't even be half the population of Burbank (CA), my hometown. But though the populations may be small, and consequently the entertainment be limited (other than outdoor recreation activities, which all are pretty much limited to the daytime), it's still a cool place to live. The people are nice and friendly, and the culture is much like what I assume is the case in small towns in other parts of the country, such as the midwest and the south. This of course excites me, because with my love of country music, I love to think that I lived in a type of town and experienced the type of culture and lifestyle described in country songs. Speaking of country music, they like it and have it there. I heard it playing as background music in stores, found a country station on the radio, and even found a country bar over in Jackson, WY.

All in all, Driggs, ID and the surrounding area is a beautiful and nice place to live. It's a little too slow for me to enjoy at my current age (unless maybe I was married or moved there with a roommate), but in another 10 or 20 years, I could see myself possibly moving there or someplace like it, either to retire or maybe to start a new life. But regardless of whether I ever end up living there again, I definitely want to visit, because the beauty of that place has left an indelible memory in my mind.
.









No comments:

Post a Comment