On the Hillside in Arco, Idaho

On our way out to the Craters of the Moon, we drove through a little town called Arco.

Here is a little factoid about Arco from Wikipedia:

Arco was the first community in the world ever to be lit by electricity generated by nuclear power. This occurred on July 17, 1955. The reactor was established in 1949 as the "National Reactor Testing Station" (NRTS)and is now the Idaho National Laboratory.

There really isn't much there, it is a pretty isolated and, like many small towns across America, it looks to be barely hanging on with little prospect of future progress, but something about it really caught my eye!

Up on the steep hills that loom over the town, you can't help but notice that there are dozens of numbers painted in white.

It really made me smile when I got close enough and realized what they were. Each graduating class since 1920 had climbed the hill and put their mark on it.

We even found a sign describing it:

As you can see, I don't think a single class missed out on leaving their 'mark':

Maybe it is the nostalgic side of me, but I just love thinking about all of the generations of people who contributed to that hillside.

I bet it is even better to look at when all that brown turns to green.

;)

Chelle B.