Idaho 2020 - COVID Edition

We started our trip on a Thursday afternoon and made it to our overnight stop at Emigrant Springs in good time. I'd rented a rustic cabin some time ago and the kids were SO excited about it! Like a yurt, it included a bunk bed and futon and little table and some chairs. Beats a tent any day though!

After unloading, we explored the campground/park a bit. There's an old Community Hall and some buildings and structures like the giant firepit. I can totally imagine this place hosting the National Parks staff or loggers of the 1930s and 40s.

Sign says "Please do not climb on historical structures." 😬 Whoops!

Arrived in Idaho Falls on Friday evening, dropping the Stevenson kids off with Brian and Judi, and the rest of us going on to Dave and Marie's to visit there.

Saturday was the 4th of July. Due to COVID, community festivities were all cancelled, but Aunt Amy had prepared her fun carnival that we got to help with and enjoy. Favorite events: arm wrestling, Nate's face painting skills.

Fishing

Kieran was quite the champion. He really had this guy begging for mercy.

Brennan kindly helped run a booth

The community was pretty upset about the cancelling of their beloved Fireworks show (largest one west of the Mississippi!) so they made up for it with the most aaaaamazing personal shows I've ever seen. At least one other company decided to put on a big show themselves, leaving the location a secret. I don't even know for sure which show was theirs because we had a 360* view of dozens of huge firworks shows as big or bigger than the great one our group was putting on. You don't even get that kind of awesomeness at Disneyland. It was pretty incredible. Thank you Idahoans for your plethora of patriots who see no irony in embracing illegal fireworks. 😂

Sunday baby John Barry Stevenson (Greg and Marissa's) was blessed in the Stevenson home. Nate and Ky and I were able to attend and it was wonderful to see so much family again!

On Monday, Kylea and cousin Maddie were taken on some little rides on the neighbor's horses. They loved it!

Then we visited the mall for a bit of girl shopping. Amy got Marie to try on and purchase things for herself for the first time in about 15 years! So we consider that quite a win!

Meanwhile, Nate and his brother Mike helped their Dad work on the Shop contruction. Much effort and days later, they determined that the job was just too much for their limited experience and decided to hire this part out.

Lots of hanging out and playing with Grandma and Grandpa Winegardner! Maddie and Carden (cousins) got to spend lots of time playing with us too.

Tuckerrrrrrr!

As a blended family, I can agree!

Grandma Winegardner had been busy creating fancy dresses for the 3 granddaughters, so we went out for a quick photo-shoot. Thanks to Amy's sister (and neighbor), we got some cute ones. I still need to upload her takes and pick the good ones.

Also... Mooooo

First time eating at Chick Fil-A, first time visiting Rigby Lake... And I've been living in or visiting this area for NINETEEN years!

Working hard at learning how to swing.

#classicNana

*not pictured: we heard about some Opal mines in Spencer, about an hour from Rigby and thought mining could be fun! Turns out #Rona ruined that too. However, one can purchase a box of rocks to dig for opals from home, so Nate and Dave drove up to Spencer to pick up a box of Opal rocks. Now we just need to find our rock hammer ....

Alas, all good things must come to an end. We headed for home the following Saturday morning. A lunch stop in Twin Falls allowed me to see my roommate Sarah for the first time in like 17 years. She's got such a cute family!

Eventually we got to our stop in John Day, Oregon. I've heard about the Fossil Beds there for years and years and never visited! Sadly, the buildings in the monument (i.e. museum) are closed due to COVID. But we still had a nice visit to the area. The hotel worked out great because we got a 3-bed suite for a super price, and the hotel had an indoor pool which was possibly the favorite part of the entire vacation for these kids. 😂

The last leg of the drive home included stops at Sheep Rock and the Cant Ranch. (The house was closed, but the grounds were open so we wandered around, reading the plaques, walking to the river, and enjoying the property.) We also stopped at The Painted Hills which was pretty neat too. I'm not sure we saw the best of them, but we got the idea anyway. It was hot and the kids were a bit too tired to appreciate it fully. But I think it still made a nice leg-stretch.