More Visitors Come to Town

This morning, on our walk down the Greenway, we saw several animals that had come to town to do business, we guess. Walking through the river, which is very shallow right now, were three deer. They seemed to be playing Follow the Leader. The three were having a delightful time playing until they spotted us. That seemed to scare them (it is early and none of us had done our hair) and they quickly turned around and headed to the opposite shore. We stopped to watch them. They were beautiful!

About two minutes later we looked up to see a bald eagle circling overhead. He swooped in close enough that if we had stopped we probably could have heard his wings flapping. He was huge and majestic. We slowed our walk and watched him until he was out of sight.

Then, about three minutes later, we spotted a black and white tail swishing near some rocks beside the trail. Though that tail was cute as can be, we did not slow to gaze. We moved on as quick as we could whisper shouting to each other, "Go faster! Go faster!" Thank goodness he was busy digging up breakfast.

Visiting Twin Falls

Today we drove to Twin Falls for the open house of the Twin Falls LDS Temple there. It was a long drive but the temple was beautiful and worth the drive. It isn't very big. In fact it is the smallest temple I have ever been in. The halls are very narrow. The Idaho state flower, Syringa, is woven throughout the temple - in the wood, carpet, railings, furniture, windows, and wall coverings.

We laughed at the contrasts between this open house and the Rexburg Temple open house. In TF they used fans to cool the kids putting booties on shoes. In Rexburg they used heaters. In TF we hurried across the grounds to get in the building because it was air conditioned. In Rexburg we hurried across the grounds to get in the building because it was heated. In TF the ushers used umbrellas to block the sun. In Rexburg they used umbrellas to block the snow and wind. But once you go inside, the purpose and spirit of both buildings are exactly the same.

After the temple we went to Shoshone Falls. It has been a long time since I have been there. The two times I remember going there was very little water going over so I didn't find it very impressive. Today the water was roaring. I loved the sound of it. I could have stayed there for a very long time but no one else loves rivers as much as I do and so we had to go.

High Mountain Deserts (or Desserts as seen in the local paper)

I just had to mention the magnificence of where I live. The day may be dry and hot (like 90 degrees) and then during the later evening hours the temperature drops like a rock. It makes for very comfortable sleeping. My kids complain every morning about how cold the house is when they wake up. We like it cold inside.

Even though it is the middle of July, we had a freeze warning for last night. How weird is that? The daytime temperature was near 80 and the night temperature was to drop around 30. Glad I wasn't camping!

Fouth of July Fireworks

In the upper valley of Eastern Idaho the Melaleuca fireworks are big and worth the wait. At least that is what I've been told. I have never camped out along the river banks in Idaho Falls to see them. We have friends that leave about 1:00 in the afternoon to stake their claim and sit until the 10:00 show. UUGGHH! I'm not that patient. I have viewed them from a room at the Shilo Inn. It was a river view room where we were to have a spectacular view of the fireworks. The river was beautiful, but I love rivers. The only way you could see the fireworks was to hang over the balcony, leaning as far as possible, and look up. We tried to help a few of the children do this but they didn't really appreciate our efforts. (Now that I think of it, some years later, it reminds me of Micheal Jackson when he hung his new baby over the railing for the paparazzi to see. It was about the same and had either fallen the result would have been the same.) Anyway, we watched the fireworks on the television in the hotel room.

This year, we didn't buy fireworks for our kids - we are so mean. But decided to venture to Ashton to watch their show. I had heard it mentioned by a couple people but hadn't heard any rave reviews. As we drove, at 9:40 (they began at 10:00), we commented on what we could be in for. We wondered if it would be a community potluck where everyone brought their left overs and shared with all the visitors. Or would it be some kind of sparkler show provided by the area cub scouts? We were going to Ashton after all. Who knew that we were in for a spectacular display?

We pulled a couple blankets up on the grass at the ball field. We could see the launchers and then the show began. It lasted 30 minutes, just like Melaleuca's. We had such a great time. The fireworks were big, beautiful, and breathtaking (at times). We were so close that some "shrapnel" landed on our heads. The best part was when it was all over, we picked up our blankets, walked the 1/2 block to our car, and drove home. No crowd, congestion, or chaos. We were home 20 minutes later. We'll be there next year.

There are so many good things in a small town.

Kayaking

I've been trying to decide why I like kayaking so much. Today as I floated down the river I thought of a few of the reasons. I think the most wonderful part is that I can enjoy nature without leaving any impact on it. I use the power of the water and my own strength to see things that I can't see from the road. I love to explore little inlets and streams off the beaten path of the river.
The next thing I enjoy is being with friends and family. It is a great way to talk to your kids quietly about things they want to talk about and things you want to talk about. It's a good place to listen. We have laughed so hard, sometimes, that we've almost dumped ourselves out. Each kayaking buddy becomes a captive audience member because they can't go anywhere. You're stuck right there - no where to go but downstream.
The last thing I thought of today is that the rivers are beautiful. There are times, like when the magnificent Tetons are framed between the trees and the sky is so blue, that you wish you had your camera to capture the beauty. But then again, sometimes, you think, "Guess you got to be here." It can almost be a "reverent beauty" that takes your breath away, lifts your spirit, and prepares you for the world off the water. I find a sort of rejuventation on the water. I'm so grateful that I can experience it. And even more grateful that I have friends and family to share it with!

Urban Wildlife

One of our favorite parts of the area that we live in is the Henry's Fork of the Snake River. As it leaves town, there is a greenway that many people take advantage of. In the past we have seen raccoons, river otters, wood chucks, squirrels, SNAKES (yuck), chipmunks, herons, swans, geese, ducks, and moose.

Each morning, during the summer, some friends and I walk the greenway for exercise. Morning is the perfect time to do it. Today while walking we glanced up just in time to see a deer meander across the trail directly in front of us. It was spectacular to watch. Then we happened to look to the left and see a couple more ears pop up out of the grass. He looked at us and I'm sure he thought, "Don't see those two legged creatures everyday." We looked at him and thought, "Don't see those four legged creatures everyday." Then we began walking and the deer also started walking. Finally it stopped to let us pass. We couldn't keep walking, though. We had to turn around and watch that beautiful creature make its way to the river. That was a lot of fun. They were both gorgeous.

Yellowstone and Beyond

We traveled to Yellowstone Park today. The Park is the most beautiful I have ever seen it. The wild flowers are in full blossom; the greens are vibrant; and the rivers are rushing at peak capacity. There were fields completely full of gold and white flowers. Traffic was atrocious, however. We waited about 10 minutes just to enter the park. We went to Canyon and Tower and then to Mammoth. We took a bit of an extended tour and drove out the North entrance to Livingston, Bozeman, Big Sky, and then to West Yellowstone and home. It added an additional 3 hours to the drive. UGGHH!!! But, the rivers, mountains and fields were breathtaking.

The highlight of the trip for most of us was the grizzly bear that we saw not far from the road. We have seen a black bear in the park but haven't seen a grizzly since we were very young. What a pleasure that was!!!