We Were All Explorers Once

By Steve Carr

Pedersen Sportsman Park was once a nondescript rocky spit of land surrounded by a river in a high desert plain.

In 1865 the tiny island on the Snake River hosted the spot where explorer and entrepreneur Matt Taylor built a toll bridge across a deep-water channel, at once defining a new center of commerce that would become Idaho Falls.

Originally a toll station, the island quickly added a red light district and became known as Soiled Dove Island. It later harbored a trading post, a zoo, and a fish hatchery. Beyond it, Idaho Falls grew up and stretched far past its tiny birthplace. In time, the island morphed into a city park.

In my early teens, bicycles gave my friends and me our first glimpses of real independence and discovery. Like Matt Taylor, we became explorers.

In the midst of our journeys, adventures often found us. Fast-pitch softball at the Sunken Diamond in Tautphaus Park, minor league pro baseball at Highland Park, and summer matinees at the Paramount Theater were some of our favorite destinations.