More Egin Lakes Pictures

Kenny, not interested in going into the water, building a sandcastle.

One of the 7 polliwogs that the kids caught.

Collecting critters!

New pets - for a few more minutes.

Mikey enjoying the pool that Tanner and Katy dug.

Egin Lakes

Today we went to Egin Lakes. The lakes are surrounded by the sand dunes. If you don't think about it too much, you could imagine yourself at a beach - minus the lapping waves, seagulls, crowds, and salty smell. The Cousins and our friends came. All the kids had a great time - even the 18 year old. The two kayaks were well used along with the floating rafts, buckets, shovels, and beach ball.

The kids could kayak everywhere because the lakes never get deeper than about mid - thigh. It is a great place to practice or learn. Other kids built sandcastles with moats. Then they all helped to catch 54 horseshoe crabs and 7 polliwogs. They put them all into one bucket. They wanted to let them swim in the moat around the castle but it didn't work out. At the end, they were released one by one.

What a great place to play - until the water seeps away and the moss grows too thick!

Summer Fun has Begun

Now that baseball is over and our real commitments are finished, we are embarking on summer. We put the pool up, got the filters running, mixed the chemicals correctly, bought the floaties, and enjoyed the current weather. The wind has been blowing non-stop but that makes the temperatures quite tolerable.

Besides that backyard pool, we have enjoyed a few visits to Egin Lakes. Right now the water is perfect. We like to go there to kayak, build sand castles, swim, and run down the dunes, launching ourselves into a deep water hole. FUN, FUN, FUN!! If you go, avoid Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. There are a lot of people riding on the dunes. They make a lot of noise and don't necessarily care for people floating around in kayaks. You can also catch a lot of tadpoles right now. Bring a cup to catch and view.

McKenna went to the sandbar yesterday. The water was really high and it scared me but she thought it was fun. "It was the best when the top water was pulling me one way and he bottom water was dragging me another way. It was trying to pull me apart." She loved it. I could just vision her floating down the river and not being able to reach the bank. I'll try to keep her away from there. Collin tried the canal today. He said it was freezing cold and was covered in baby leeches. GROSS!!!!! We'll try to avoid that place for awhile, too.

The twins went to the waterpark in Rexburg. They had a lot of fun. Thank goodness for the neighbors that provide them with a lot of entertainment.

Baseball anyone?

There are two sports that our little town gets pretty excited about. One is high school football. The stands are always full and the town talk is high. Whether they win or lose the diehards come out and then strategize on what should happen at the next game. You can hear the chatter everywhere. We're just a little place. I often wonder what those games in big "football" states like Texas must be like. Then what do the locals say down at the Co-op afterward?

The other sport is baseball. So many of youth get way into the game. We have great fields for the kids to play on. Our baseball organization had taken a rough looking area and turned the diamonds into an A class facility. Teams from all over East Idaho come to play in tournaments here now. Our season starts the beginning of May. The ball fields are always wet and the players wear hoodies under their uniforms. The month of May in school is murderous. Don't try to teach, unless you can incorporate baseball into it, because all the students have baseball on the brain. Now seven weeks later the season is ending. Today my daughter had a tournament. All season the weather has been freezing cold. Now that tournament has started it was ninety degrees. We played two games starting at 1:00. Everyone is sunburnt and hot. But that is one of the joys of East Idaho. The weather will always keep you hopping. The result of these two games is that we will have at least two more. They won both of them. Their little team, that may have won 2 games all year, just beat two really good teams. I guess their coach has them peaking at the right time.

Why are Sundays always Beautiful?

I often wonder why Sundays are such lovely days. Because we believe that it is a day of rest, we don't go out to play, travel, or shop. We generally sit at home, play games as a family, take a much needed nap, and snack on food all day long. But what a temptation it is when all the rest of the week is stormy and windy and Sunday is magnificent. It is probably just a test of my faith.

Very little wind today. The wind has dried up all the grass and the garden so today we are watering everything. Little plants are beginning to pop through the ground in the garden. The awful weather in May caused me to plant a little late. I'm hoping for a late Fall so everything will have time to produce.

My arms a bit sore today from paddling yesterday. It is worth it. I love kayaking. I don't think I'll do any crazy white-water kayaking. Our local rivers and lakes provide me with the thrill I need.

It's Father's Day and so we'll be having a little family barbeque later today.Lots of crazy children running around. All the dads should enjoy their special day babysitting the kids while the moms do the dishes. That's a silly tradition. If I were a dad, I'd opt for the dishes. Beautiful day for a get together.

Finally Some Summer Activities

Though very windy, we ventured out and did some "normal" summer activities. This morning we took some old bread and went to Warm Springs to feed the fish. Because of all the winter snow and recent rains, the area is beautiful. The sky was perfectly blue with just a few tufts of clouds here and there. (Quite a contrast to what we have had lately.) The foliage and flowers are in near perfect form. The greens are more vibrant this year than I ever remember. Another week and the flowers will all be out. Warm Springs has enormous rainbow trout just waiting below the surface to snatch a piece of floating bread. One of our favorite activities is to buy a handful of fish food (25 cents) and throw it out all at once. The fish go CRAZY.


After the feeding frenzy, we headed off to Mesa Falls. There is more runoff this year and so the waterfalls are spectacular. The water here originates at Big Springs where 250,000,000 gallons of fresh water comes out of the rocks each day. This is joined by other small streams and tributaries to become the Henry's Fork of the Snake River which flows through our town. Once again the greens were magnificent and the flowers just beginning to bloom. Watch out for the mosquitoes - even in the monster winds they were busy. Take along the repellant. No matter what time of year, The Falls (upper and lower) are breathtaking.

Later in the afternoon I went kayaking for the first time this year. The water was fast, uneventful, and COLD! With the wind blowing, we had to paddle hard to go forward. If you stopped paddling it blew you backwards. We did the Chester Dam run. It begins right below the dam and we get out at the Fun Farm Bridge in the Twin Groves area. Without the wind it would have been perfect.

Sunny but Windy

So, today is not cold or rainy. We are excited about that.

Today we are going to go on a bike ride along the greenway in St. Anthony. There are two sides. The north side is better for hiking. The trail follows along the north side of the Henry's Fork of the Snake River. It is beautiful. We always see some kind of wildlife - otters, birds (air and water), chipmunks, squirrels, and the occasional moose. There are stairs that can take you right down to the water's edge. Bring a snack to eat along the way. The river is high so be very careful.

We are taking the trail that follows the south side of the river. It is paved all the way. The hills, twists and turns make it a fast speedway for the bikes. We like to take a snack and a drink and then eat it on the foot bridge out to the river or eat it next to the pond where the benches are. Either way it is fun to ride there. It is only about a mile one way. Even the little guys can make it. Look for the bald eagles in the dead trees and the rock chuck families hiding behind the rocks. You will hear them before you see them.

Spring or Summer?

So far school has been out for one week. It has rained all but one of those days. Good fortune allowed me time to get the garden in so those seeds could enjoy the moisture. Unfortunately, we have had early spring-like temperatures so we haven't even been able to turn off the furnace. some of the old-timers are saying they don't remember a spring so cold and windy.

We were blessed with much snow and the run off has been quite impressive. That means the rivers are high and fast. We haven't been able to enjoy them yet. Tomorrow looks somewhat promising.