BASEBALL IN IDAHO FALLS

A summer wouldn't be complete without baseball.  The closest baseball to Jackson, Wyoming is in Idaho Falls.  So off we went to see the Idaho Falls Chukars play the Orem (Utah) Owlz, two teams in the Pioneer League, one of minor league baseball's short season leagues which begins play after the major league draft held in early June.  Melaleuca Field was opened in 2007 and has a seating capacity of 3400.  Sam Adams and Summer Sam were both available on tap so the concession stand received an "A" from us.     

After work on Monday we traveled a shortcut dirt road past the Rockefeller Preserve and Teton Village and then across Teton Pass (elevation 8,431 ft.) towards Idaho Falls.  Our Honda Fit struggled to go up the 10% grade.  

Along this two-lane road we found a mother moose and her calf eating by the fence that borders the road through the Preserve.  How often have you seen wildlife on the way to a baseball game?

The Idaho Falls mascot is a Chukar.  What is a Chukar, you ask?  A Chukar is a game bird similar to a pheasant that lives in the Rocky Mountains.

Less than 10 minutes before game time the temperature was 74, the warmest weather we had been in since we arrived in Wyoming.  The large number of fans down along the fence are part of a group outing.  Picnic seating between the thirdbase dugout and the left field bullpen is a nice way for a group to have an outing at a ball park.
  

The visiting team. the Orem Owlz (not a misspelling!), is a Los Angeles Angels minor league team.  The manager is Tom Kotchman, a longtime friend from my days in Pinellas County.  The Owlz, defending Pioneer League Champions, currently have 8 players from Florida on their roster.

The two teams split the 2 games we saw with the Owlz winning the first game 8-3 in front of over 3,300 fans and the Chukars winning the 2nd game by a score of 11-2 on the strength of 18 hits.  The 2 Owlz runs were both the result of solo home runs.  Attendance for the 2nd game was an announced crowd of 1900+.  This picture was taken 5 minutes before the game with a view of the Chukar dugout and towards the clubhouse down the rightfield line. 

I have to believe they count tickets sold because the stadium was a third full at best. 

And the reason the city has its name are these huge falls along the Snake River.  Not very high, but the falls go on for at least a city block.