David at the Bering Sea

Photo by Tara Gaultier

Soda Springs

I spent the first 18 years of my life, and on and off there after, living in a small Idaho town called Soda Springs. Now as far as I know, unlike a lot of other town names, there are only two Soda Springs in America: the one I grew up in and a small skiing town near Truckee, California. I went there once, and was surprised two learn that I grew up in the more populated of the Soda Springs.

As the name suggests, Soda has a lot of springs. My friend Matt in a previous comment on my other blog refers to this place as Beer Springs, the original place name and also a lost spring somewhere in the valley. There are several other springs including Steamboat Springs (now underwater), Mammoth Spring, Formation Spring, Octogon Springs, and Lover’s Delight. There was actually a commercial bottling company at a place west of town called “90 percent”. The “Idanha Mineral Water Company” featured the water at a St. Louis World’s Fair as a snake-oil-like cure all.

The most popular, and arguably safest, spring is called Hooper Springs. Below are some photos I took the other day.