The First Atomic City

Thursday, July 22

I arrived in Arco yesterday after another long hot walk. It is a somewhat larger town than the last several and as such, has slightly more amenities. It is located at the base of the central Rockies of Idaho and boasts of being the first municipality in the country to be fully powered by atomic energy. That being said, I, myself, arrived on low energy and checked into a motel that had not been my first choice. It had no air-conditioning (which the proprietor had failed to mention) and their so called internet access was unable to be accessed. On the positive - I did my laundry, ate at a restaurant, and talked to a man who had recently moved to Arco. As it was a warm evening we sat outside and discussed a variety of issues. He is originally from Israel and it was nice to hear his perspectives.

Enjoying the town and the recuperation, I decided to stay another day but to check into a motel with air-conditioning and internet service. Therefore, this morning I loaded my cart and wheeled down the main street of Arco.

While passing the local newspaper office a woman bounded out asking about my project. We talked for a while and she then asked if I would come inside for a brief interview which I happily did. After the interview and a couple of photographs I was again on my way. I found a nice motel room but had to wait two hours until it was ready for occupancy. Cool, but what for now? I left my cart at the motel and decided to walk around town.

Passing a sign saying, “Butte County Prosecutor” I had visions of the Old West with the prosecutor and judge running frontier law with their own brand of justice. I wondered what he thought about the Bill of Rights? As a prosecutor, would he support them or see them as hindrances to him doing his job? I decided to step in and find out.

To my surprise and delight, though busy, he gave me 20 minutes of conversation on the topic. It was refreshing to converse a man who was quite knowledgeable of the law. Had he not a tight schedule, we could have talked at length.

Walking out I thought I do believe in miracles.

I had spent 20 minutes with a lawyer and it didn’t cost a dime.