Flashback to June 24th, 2005- The Home Of Napoleon Dynamite

This has taken time to post due to one of my USB ports giving me trouble and the other being used for Internet access, so I apologize if this seems dated.

On June 24th, 2005, my friend Nate Smith and I ventured to Preston, Idaho for the Napoleon Dynamite festival. Now I hated Napoleon Dynamite and though parts of it were funny, I wasn't big on the flick- but Nate loved the film and I figured it might be fun to see the town. There were scheduled tater tot contests, chances to meet some of the supporting cast, dances, etc, but I think we went on the bad day. The next da, Saturday, was apparently packed with people but honestly, I think the culprit is all poor planning.



The town was littered with signs and banners, but there was nothing really special going on- no one seemed to show up for the bowling match, the memorabillia was the kind of stuff you find at Hot Topic stores and considering this is the home of the film, it was disappointing.



Nate and I- driving in his Scion shortbus- found Napoleon Dynamite Ave and we did consider removing the sign. Now I know that isn't the most ethical or responsible thing... but that sign is the kind of thing they should have sold.





Nate decided to hang off the sign and it should be noted that the entire area smelt like manure. It's a farming town and so that's to be expected, but it really smelt bad. It was funny to see the folks react to Nate & I blasting rap music out of his car and driving down the street. It was all country all day over there and the only other people we saw playing hip hop were sun burned 15 year old boys who went to meet their girlfriends behind the bleachers. Seriously. I think that once everyone turns 18, they leave the town because it is SO small. It consists of a few streets, no real restaurants or entertainment areas and there's no room for growth. I can't imagine what it would be like to live in such a small town. You have to drive for an hr to find the nearest real movie theater. Same time to find a real restaurant- the town had a Burger Kind, Taco Maker, a few gas stations and an Artic Circle, where bugs were crawling over the register.





The people were nice and helped direct us to Napoleon's house, as seen in the film, though the guy at the gas station gave us the worst directions possible- which he admitted to. He said he'd charge us for better directions and I don't think he was joking. His co-worker kept staring at me- I think was one of the only minorities that she's ever seen in her life.





Above are Napoleon's house and the mountains over which Uncle Rico said he could throw a football. Good times. Below is Rico's pervert truck.



We ended the trip by FINALLY finding the Rex Kwon-Do studio and this represented another missed opportunity. Mock classes and demonstrations would have been great for the tourists. It would have really added to the atmosphere. I don't know what the evening dance was like, as Nate intended to get with a farm girl in her barn, but considering we only saw females under 15 or over 40, I don't think NateDawg missed too much.



Overall, great trip because I got to do it with a good friend and the ride allowed for a lot of talk time. It also made me appreciate my own life more, after seeing how people have to live in smaller town and the finite options available to them in every facet of their life.