Ghost Town

Walking through the ghost town located in Bannack State Park is a hauntingly beautiful experience. Homes sit relatively untouched with the exception of some rooms with water damage or peeling wallpaper. It is like stepping through a portal and finding yourself in 1840, but with Sperrys and sun screen lathered limbs. 

The trip from Idaho Falls to Bannack is a little over two hours, but it’s a journey well-worth the time. Earlier this year, I made the trip with a friend and our dogs. It was a hot summer day, with plenty of sun slapping our backs. Despite the overabundance of sunshine, there was a hint of eeriness as we walked around the town, freely exploring homes that were abandoned by 1950 when the gold rush was well over.

The experience was a reminder that the things we think are permanent now, might not last forever. Though the people who built Bannack probably suspected the gold rush would eventually end, it’s doubtful they thought their town would be empty today. 

The same can probably be said of previous downtown business owners or new families building homes in Idaho Falls during that same time period. Who would have guessed that the Rogers building would play host to Harris Publishing and not a hotel or a hair salon? The truth is that whether we like it or not the world is constantly shifting. 

This has become especially true during COVID-19. If you’d told the “Past Me”of 2019 that I would be working from home at times, conducting the majority of interviews over the phone and making startling adjustments to my editorial plans I would have looked at you like you were crazy. 

Though our lives are quickly shifting as we learn to deal with the dangers COVID-19 presents, we are nowhere near upending our lives to the extent of becoming a ghost town like Bannack. Thoughts like this give me comfort when the world seems especially topsy turvy. 

Even more comforting is the presence of hard-working citizens in our community dedicating their time and resources to keeping locals and small businesses afloat during unexpected economic turbulence. In this issue you’ll find information about all sorts of selfless servants, including medical professionals, government workers and more. There are heroes all around us. Unlike Bannack, Idaho Falls is bursting with life and I for one can’t wait to see what the future brings for us. 

Click here to read more of the September issue of Idaho Falls Magazine.