And Here We Have Idaho!

Going back to Idaho always brings back so many memories--obviously since it was the place of my birth and my state of residence until I was married at 21 years of age.  There is no place better than Idaho in the summer time.  It doesn't get that hot, has no humidity, and the evenings always cool down.  What more could you want?  Well, for one that the winters weren't so harsh.  I just don't think I could ever go back to those winters again, but I love visiting there--especially to see my family and revisit old memories.

 My sister Joyce picked me up at the Salt Lake Airport after I flew from California.  I stayed the night in her beautiful home, then we started for Idaho the next morning.  First stop--Brigham City, Utah, where I was able to see the beautiful Mormon Temple built there. 

 

 Across the street from the temple, is the Brigham City Tabernacle built in 1867-1890.  They have just refurbished it in the last few years.

 Since the doors were open, we decided to go inside.  We were so happy that we did!

 

 We were able to see the beautiful workmanship inside as well as the huge pipe organ there.

 The workmanship the early pioneers did always amazes me.  With crude tools and materials difficult to obtain, they took pride in their work and put the time into making it the best!

 When Joyce told the two volunteer guides there that I played the organ, one of the guides asked if I would like to play it.  So, I certainly took the invitation.

My song choice, "The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning."  It was a thrill to play this grand old pipe organ!
 

After leaving Utah, we started again on our journey and after about 3 1/2 hours, we arrived in our home town of Rexburg, Idaho.  Passing by William F. Rigby Hall, the first men's dormitory on Brigham Young University-Idaho campus, always brings our family great pride, as it is named after our great-great grandfather.  Not only that, it was the dormitory home for George when he left his home in Jacksonville, Florida, to come out to college on a basketball scholarship to a little town that he hardly knew existed and to a state that he only knew was in the West.  Oh, how glad I am that he made that decision because we met on this campus 50 years ago!

We were fortunate to be in Rexburg on the day my sister, Beth, who is a professor at BYU-I, give the devotional address on campus.  She did such a fantastic job, and we were all so proud of her!

Here are the five girls in our family:  Beverly, Beth, Joyce, Laura, and Natalie

Here are the other two "sisters" in our family:  Shelly (married to our brother Jerry); Denise (married to our brother Blair); Beverly, Beth, Joyce, Laura, and Natalie.  I am so grateful for all of these wonderful women in my life who are such great examples to me of being great wives, mothers, and sisters, as well as sisters in the gospel!

Burke and Matthew are two of the three sons of Beth and Ted.  Here they are with my dad in the middle.

The entire group that was there to hear Beth speak at the BYU-I Devotional.

After the devotional, Joyce, Beverly, Natalie, our dad, Jerry, Shelly, and I left for Yellowstone to go to the Playmill Theater there.  This has always been a favorite activity of our family for nearly 50 years since Yellowstone Park is only about 60 miles from our home.

I had to take a picture of Joyce in front of the Playmill sign.  She was one of the actresses in the plays there 46 years ago.  In fact, when George and I were on our honeymoon, we stopped in at the Playmill to see her at that time!

It was so fun to have Jerry and Shelly with us.  They love plays, too!

The entire group of our family who attended the Playmill.  We were so fortunate to see "Les Miserables."  It was absolutely fantastic!  I wondered how they would do such a mammoth production in such a small theater, but they pulled it off masterfully.   Some of the main actors definitely had better voices than the movie version!  We all loved it so much!

That night, we stayed at our family cabin on the North Fork of Henry's Lake.  We have had so many fond family memories while staying here.  Our children used to love to come here when they were young.  This picture is taken coming into the cabin from the back.    

My dad standing by the fire pit which he dug.  He always tells the story of digging into what seemed like solid rock and Beth's son Matt (who was young at the time), would just keep saying, "Keep on digging, Grandpa, Keep on digging!" when my dad would stop for a little breather.  Hah!

Looking out at the beautiful, peaceful river from the porch.

 Here is a such a sweet picture that really warms my heart--when Beverly, Joyce, and my kids were all young and having the best time at the cabin together taken on that same porch.

The dock.  We sometimes had so many kids lined up on here with fishing poles or getting in and out of the water from paddle boats, etc., it is a wonder they all made it out alive!

Walking into the cabin, I saw our old baby bed.  We bought this in Glendale, California, when Kevin was about six months old.  That bed lasted through all seven children and here it is today, still serving grandchildren after nearly 45 years!

George and I were so excited to put Kevin into it that we laid him on the mattress while we were still adjusting the height.  Since it was only secured on one side, he rolled right down off the mattress and onto the floor.  We both laughed so hard because it was just like a slippery slide in a children's bounce house.  After his surprise, he loved it!  
Also, notice the brown side rails.  The original rails were green, but after about the third child had slept in it, the rails were coming unglued, so not wanting to get a new bed, I just found a place that would sell just the side rails.  We put them on and yes, seven children and many grandchildren who have used it in the cabin since--it is still great today--and actually the green, retro look is back, so it is really the "in" thing! 

By the way, notice the picture up above.  That was one of my first paintings in my art class in 1979.  I had forgotten that it was even there.  

This is my dad's bedroom at the cabin.  The bed has this beautiful hand-tied quilt which my mother made of scraps of old suits and clothing.  Dad remembers well some of those clothing items.  Above the bed is a stitched picture which I made for my dad and mother while I was pregnant with Kyle.  My thyroid wasn't working well at the time, so basically I just sat on the couch and did a lot of stitching (this is just one of many that I did) and watched Kevin who was only 2 years 8 months and Alison who was only 18 months until Kyle was born.  So many memories at that cabin!

The next day we headed for Yellowstone Park--only about 35 minutes from the cabin.

We visited Yellowstone Park at least once every summer as we were all growing up--sometimes more than once a summer.  I actually got a little tired of it!  But then I took a Geology class at BYU-I (Ricks College at the time) and really learned about the uniqueness of Yellowstone as a wonderful gift of nature.  It really is one of the most fantastic places in the world when you combine all that it has!

From beautiful scenery . . .

to the thermal pools, mud pots, and geysers. 

As one article stated, "Yellowstone is a national treasure."

The hot thermal water from the geysers flow down to the river below.

A must for going through Yellowstone Park is stopping at Old Faithful Inn.

Built during the winter of 1903-04, the Old Faithful Inn is one of the few remaining log hotels in the United States.  The building is a rustic log and wood-frame structure with gigantic proportions: nearly 700 feet in length and seven stories high.

The lobby of the hotel features a 65-foot ceiling, a massive rhyolite fireplace, and railings made of contorted lodgepole pine.  One can  stand in the middle of the lobby and look up at the exposed structure, or climb up a gnarled log staircase to one of the balconies and look up, down, or across. 

Wings were added to the hotel in 1915 and 1927, and today there are 327 rooms available to guests in this National Historic Landmark.

We decided to climb some of the stairs and go out on one of the balconies to wait for Old Faithful Geyser to erupt.

It was nice to be sitting while we waited, but we all agreed that being closer and feeling some of the mist on your face made it much more exciting.  Another thing we all agreed on is that it doesn't go as high as it once did when we were young.  It is certainly a fact that the length between its eruptions has lengthened through the years due to earthquakes and vandalism, but it is always exciting to see and certainly count on that it will perform--certainly deserving of its name of "Old Faithful."

Because of the heat at this time of year, you don't see as many animals, but we were fortunate to see a few elk among some of the other animals we were fortunate enough to see.  This guy was huge!

In the summer of 1988, lightning and human-ignited fires consumed vast stretches of Yellowstone Park.  More than 25,000 firefighters battled these fires.  By the time the first snowfall extinguished the last flames in September, 793,000 of the park's 2,221,800 acres had burned.  One of the largest fires races toward Old Faithful.  Luckily, they were able to stop it before it got to Old Faithful Inn and the area around it.  That would have been absolutely devastating to lose that!

Recovery has been slow and in some places you can still see where the fire burned.

Another favorite stopping place is Yellowstone Lake.  We used to take the family boat loaded with adults and kids packed and go out to an island and camp overnight there.  The kids, as well as adults, loved doing this!

Across the street from Yellowstone Lake is the Lake Hotel built in 1890.  Of all the years we went to Yellowstone, we got to stay here once.  That was truly a treat!  We felt like we were staying at the Waldorf Astoria!

This was actually an antique bus restored at the cost of about $150,000!

The inside of the hotel is just beautiful.  With all the windows, you feel like you are in a palace in the forest.

Moving on, we now crossed Fisherman's Bridge--however, it is illegal to fish off Fishing Bridge anymore!  What!  I couldn't believe that when I heard that.  There used to be so many fisherman on this bridge you wondered how any fish could make it through with so many lines on both sides of the bridge--and I guess that was just the problem.  Too many people downstream complained that too many fish were being caught and the cut throat trout which spawned near there were becoming too few.   At least, that was one story we heard.

The lodgepole pine have really figured out how to exist in the forest--the branches twist this way and that to just get a little sun.  The patterns you see when you look up are amazing!

At Fishing Bridge, there is a wonderful museum which teaches so much about the wildlife and animals in the area.  I loved the exhibit of the Trumpeter Swan.  There were two Trumpeter Swans that we passed every year as we headed to for our cabin.  We could see them in the exact same area on their nest or on the river, and it was always a highlight to see.  One year, we were devastated when we heard a young man in our area had shot one of them.  He was in big, big trouble with the law as well as all of us who were heartbroken not to see them anymore. 

Pelicans are seen quite often on the rivers and lake.  Notice the little ones who have just hatched:  They are helpless and essentially naked at hatching.   They are basically sat over  continuously for several days until their down grows.

Dad sitting in front of Yellowstone Lake.

We all enjoyed our time there by the Lake.

We were all remembering when our kids were young (but some of the older ones knew how to swim.)  Our dad said he would pay $5 to anyone who could bring in some of the fishing lures that were caught on a log out a little ways.  The water in these mountain lakes is extremely cold and the kids didn't have their swim suits, but some of the definitely took the challenge and went in to get those fishing lures.  My dad never liked to see things wasted that could still be put to good use!

A few times we saw an old buffalo (bison) who had stayed behind from the large wandering herd that had gone ahead.

A few interesting facts about the Yellowstone bison:

• Population estimated at 4,600 in two breeding herds, northern and central.
• Male (bull) weighs up to 2,000 pounds (900 kg), female (cow) weighs up to 1,000 pounds (500 kg).
• May live 12–15 years, a few live as long as 20 years.
• Feed primarily on grasses and sedges.
• Mate in late July through August; give birth to one calf in late April or May.
• Can be aggressive, are agile, and can run up to 35 miles per hour (55 kph).

After the facts above, you can see that they are a wild animal not to be reckoned with.  You have to keep your distance.  Here are a few more in a grassy area.

We now reached the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone--a truly awe-inspiring place!

This picture was taken when we were sitting on the rock bench overlooking the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone:

Joyce, Beverly, Laura
This touches my heart when I am reminded that our mother made all our clothes when we were young--even with six children under ten years of age!

We sat there and discussed for the longest time if we were sitting in the same order as the picture we remembered, and sure enough, we guessed right!  

Joyce, Beverly, Laura

What fun it was to try to re-create what we had done so many years before! 

 And here is one that goes back even farther.  This almost brings tears to my eyes!

I didn't take the shadow off this because it is our sister Natalie's shadow who was taking the picture--she wasn't born until 20 years and one month to the day after me, so obviously she wasn't in that original picture.

So this time, we "threw" her in, plus our dad.

If you look in the picture almost in the middle by the river, you will see a couple of little geyers spraying upward.  They seem to be found almost everywhere!

Oh, how I wish these pictures could have the sound!  We stopped at the look-out where you can get right up next to the Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon.  The sound is almost deafening!

By now, we were at Canyon Village.  Again many memories.  We always used to stop here and have hot open-faced roast beef sandwiches--delicious!  But, now the eating area is just a small area next to a huge gift shop, and we all just got a salad (which really wasn't memorable at all, except that it wasn't that good!)

Definitely not for sale, but inside the gift shop.   Wonderful day--now back to the cabin for the night.

The next day, we traveled to the property that has always been where my dad's family has kept the cattle in the summer time.  We used to have the family reunions here, also.  The land is prime land in some of the most beautiful country in the world.  My dad is always so proud to say that he is an owner here.

From the ranch to a place called Big Springs.  As children, we loved to go see the hundreds of fish in this natural spring water.  This love of seeing and feeding the fish there was certainly passed on to our children.

However, this year we hardly saw a fish in the water.  What a disappointment!  Again, different stories, but not really a definite answer as to where all the fish went.

We finally saw one little old fish there.  We were thrilled!!

This is known as the headwaters of the Henry's Fork of the Snake River.  It is one of the 40 largest natural springs in the world--it has pure, clear water.  The constant temperature is 52 degrees--very cold!  At the other side of the springs is a cabin known as the Johnny Sack cabin.  All of these years I have noticed it there, but I've never gone to it, so this year I got to go for my very first time!

In 1929, Johnny Sack made his way west after his family emigrated from Germany when he was only six years old.  He leased a small tract of land from the U.S. Forest Service for $4.15 per year and began building his log cabin at Big Springs.  He even built this little water-wheel structure at the edge of the springs to harness the power of the springs and create electricity. 

The cabin took approximately three years to complete, as Johnny worked primarily with hand tools.  His unique craftsmanship included not only the cabin itself, but all the items inside.  It is truly unique and now is on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Handcarved image of himself and his dog.

Notice what his hat racks are made of.

Johnny was only 4 ft. 11 inches tall.  He was the only resident at Big Springs in the winter and would rely on cross country skis and snow shoes to travel many miles each week to pick up his mail and visit with friends at Mack's Inn or Pond's Lodge.  Here he is with his beloved dog.

Natalie is showing the exact height of Johnny.

This picture shows just how high the snow can get in the winter time here.

A double bed was made of ninety-six wood pieces which Johnny nailed and glued together.

He didn't want the mortar to show in between the logs, so he cut strips of pine and glued them over the mortar making an absolutely beautiful effect.

Claiming "a woman would just put rugs on my varnished floors and draperies over my picture windows," Johnny never married.

He even made a very fancy "out house," but it was quite a climb up there from the cabin.  In the dead of winter, I don't know how that was possible, but evidently he accomplished it.  It is locked up now, and the poor tour guides in the home have to go to restrooms a few miles away because there is no restroom other than this locked one here.

Our final spot on the tour was visiting Upper Mesa Falls which is located on the Henry's Fork of the Snake River near Ashton, Idaho.  You start by taking a beautiful little hike down a path to see the falls.

When you finally get down to the water, it is really spectacular to see--especially to feel the rush of the waterfall there!

This entire area was formed from a giant volcano thousands of years ago.  The canyon walls tell of the story of the "volcanic drama that created this outstanding landscape."

The vertical cliffs on this side of the gorge were forged from scalding and glowing lava flowing down the canyon from a volcano that erupted 15 miles northwest of here about 25,000 years ago.  The column-like structures formed as the lava cooled and cracked.  Freezing and thawing water continues to cause the columns to break off, stockpiling rubble at the base of the cliff. 

On the far side of the canyon you can see rhyolite tuff produced when molten granite erupted so explosively that the magma was blown into dust-sized fragments.  The resulting ash cloud billowed thousands of feet high before it settled and solidified into rhyolite tuff.  (The white looking stone.)

This overlook is where you can stand over the falls that are just pounding right beside you!

Really a sight to see and feel!

A log cabin/visitor center contains a wonderful museum inside.

In addition to learning many facts about the area, it contains many animals that are common here.

Even Thomas Edison was interested in harnessing the tremendous power of these water falls, but it never happened leaving them just as nature put them there for all to see and enjoy.  (Not that I'm against power plants--just not here!  Hah!)

In the back room are pelts of every kind of animal where you must try to guess what they are.  There is a cheat sheet on the wall, but it truly is interesting to see and feel these beautiful pelts.

1.  Coyote, 2.  Wolf, and 3.  Fox.  (I used the cheat sheet!)

20.  Porcupine (probably the easiest one to tell)!

In addition, there are many skulls for one to see and learn more about the animals.

Can you believe the size of this little hummingbird nest?

An absolutely wonderful working museum which is so interactive for all to learn from. 

After going through the museum, we all sat out on the front porch to enjoy the beautiful mountain view.

Dad especially enjoyed the comfy chair there on the porch.

Another end of a perfect day.  It really made Joyce, Beverly, Natalie, and I happy to be able to share these few days in the mountains, in Yellowstone, and at the cabin with each other as well as with our dad.  At 91 years of age, he has so many fond memories of all of us growing up participating in these same activities.  We were so fortunate to be able to take him to these places that he loves and to be with him there.

Next up:  Back to Rexburg for some organizing of our Family Reunion