So I mentioned that we went to a couple of family reunions last week.
The first was my family's annual gathering at a little Forest Service cabin in the Island Park area. It is situated at the old fish hatchery on the Warm River where the Warm Springs come gushing out of the mountain. It's near Mesa Falls.
My parents have rented this little place every year for the last dozen years or so and shared it with my siblings and I and our families. It really is a spectacular place. It's so gorgeous up there. The fishing is amazing. The hiking is great. This year my dad brought his 4-wheeler along and I took it out and followed the nearby ATV trail on a 30-mile round trip through some of the most amazing country in the world. The trail follows the old railroad that went to Yellowstone. We always have a great time. ElKiddo caught his 1st fish on the bridge near the cabin this year. Ok, so Daddy mostly caught it, but that's how 2-year-olds catch their first fish, right? ElBoyo caught his first fish a couple of years ago in the creek that runs past the cabin. That's when being a dad is really great.
We left that reunion a bit early to avoid cleanup. Just kidding, we left early to go to ElGirlo's extended family reunion. This is her Mom's siblings and family. It was held at a big church camp in Garden Valley, ID near Boise. It is a beautiful place. Pam's aunt and a cousin put it together this year and did a great job. We went whitewater rafting down the Payette River. It was a run that Pam and I have done many times back when we lived over that way. It was guided by an old friend of ours. So it was fun to do that. The boys had a blast playing with cousins. They made fast friends, and were so so sad to say goodbye. I, of course, already blogged about the trip home, which was wonderful in spite of my gripes.
The way over was also a great time. We stopped in Twin Falls and saw Shoshone Falls. Very beautiful. There, we changed into our Sunday Best and drove to the new temple for the open house. What a priviledge it was to go through the House of the Lord with my wife and children. We were able to go the the Rexburg Temple open house with the boys back in January. We feel so blessed. I remember my folks taking me to the Boise Temple open house back when I was a boy. The Twin Falls Temple had a mural painted in one of the rooms that depicted Shoshone Falls. The boys thought that was pretty amazing after seeing the real thing.
Anyway, we had a great time. It was so nice to get away for a while.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Of GPS units and snobby towns
So we just got home from two family reunions (more on that later). The latter one was held at a church camp in Garden Valley, Idaho. That’s up along the Payette River in the mountains north of Boise.
We decided since we were already along that area, we would just go home through the Sawtooths. I mentioned this to a family member who insisted that I borrow his spare GPS system. I politely declined, as I haven’t had the best experiences with nav systems in the past. Yet he persisted, telling me that his GPS was state-of-the art, easy to use, etc, etc… Well, since I didn’t want to buy a map, I accepted.
I instructed the GPS system to guide me to Sun Valley. And it did ok. We traveled through some of the most beautiful country in the world. Going over Galena Summit was seriously breathtaking. I hadn’t been through there since I was a kid.
We pulled into Ketchum about 5:30 pm. That’s when all heck broke loose. Side note: Apparently, my grammar check system is correcting me—that’s when all hecks broke loose. Sider note: Apparently, my spell check system is now correcting me—hecks is not a word. Sidest note: Apparently, sider and sidest are also not words. But I digress.
ElBoyo and ElKiddo both adamantly informed me that they were very hungry. ElGirlo would also have informed me that she was hungry if she had been awake.
I thought well, I’ll just grab some fast food and be on my way. I drove all through town looking for a fast food joint. NONE. So I drove through again looking for a family restaurant. NONE. Finally, I woke up ElGirlo and we parked in downtown Ketchum (not to be confused with Ketchup. ElBoyo asked.) We began walking along looking for a place to grab a bite.
Now please understand that Ketchum has at least a hundred restaurants. But holy cow. They were all the same—little bar & grill or bistro-type places where rich people sit outside on the sidewalk or patio in their fedoras sipping lattes under umbrellas while Vespas and Porches buzz up and down the streets.
Ok. So seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more pretentious place. It was like a myriad of Mariel Hemingway wannabes flashing their money. I don’t mean to sound bitter. I have no qualms with money, but that town reaked of it. I’ve never seen so many yuppies in one place in my life. And seriously, no fast food? I was like a force field designed to keep out normal people.
So we finally asked a local kid if he could point us in the direction of a family restaurant. He suggested the Ketchum Bar & Grill. I politely clarified what a family restaurant means. Apparently, EVERY restaurant in that city has a bar!
We asked if he could recommend anything inexpensive. He gave us a look like we were really weird foreigners, which I have no doubt we are in that town. He directed us to a little bistro on Main Street. We soon found out the restaurant didn’t exist. So we asked another local if he could recommend something. Yes, we were told. Go across the street to the upscale burger bar & grill. They serve burgers and fries for half-price from 4pm to 6pm. One problem. It’s 6 pm. Don’t worry, he tells us, they’ll extend it for you if you tell them I sent you.
At the burger place, I say, “I understand you have a ½-price special.
“Yes. But that’s from 4-6.”
“I see. But it is just after 6, will you extend the special for a few minutes?”
“No.”
“The guy across the street sent me…”
“No.”
“Well, seeing as how I can’t afford $15 burgers, I suppose I’ll go somewhere else.”
“Yeah. Heh, heh… Good luck with that…”
Then I found it. The pizza joint I remember visiting as a years ago. I casual hangout where folks munch on pizza, kick back a few cold ones, and shoot pool. Not exactly family, but it’ll do. At least it’s normal.
Ok, time for another digression. Some of my readers may remember this. Last time I went to this pizza place was about 15 years ago when the band I played in
rolled through town on our way to play the ElkHorn Resort. And when I say “rolled through town,” I mean it literally.
Our beloved leader of the band, a short sixty-plus-year-old white haired gent with a full white beard (known affectionately as Papa Smurf), was driving the bus, a beat-up old jalopy that resembled the Partridge Family-mobile. Well, not surprisingly, the brakes went out on this bus just as we were descending the hill leading to Ketchum. We rolled right through town, ran a few red lights, and came out the other side of town miraculously unscathed. We were able to slow down enough to pull into a campground outside of town a few miles to await repair.
The campground was a little dull, so a friend and I hitch-hiked into town, ended up at the pizza joint and shot pool most of the evening. We hitched back with some hippies who were VERY high. Quite a fun little experience.
Anyway, back to the story. Am I boring you yet?
ElGirlo, the boys, and I walked into the pizza joint, which had now transformed into this posh place cloned from every other uppity-up eatery in town. I was floored. But I was hungry. The boys saddled right up to the bar. I asked the bar tender if there are no fast-food placed in town. Sorry, no. Any family restaurants? Nope. We just want to get back on the road, I tell him. Is there anything to grab and go? Happily, he sells us some pre-made pizza slices to go and charges us an arm and a leg, which by now we were all too happy to pay.
We finally roll out of town after an hour delay in yuppie-ville.
But, here’s the problem.
The GPS unit is wigged out from me driving all over town to find a bite. After turning left and turning right more times than I can count, we headed out of town. The GPS was happy with where we were going apparently, but I got a little nervous as the road narrowed and I noticed we were the only car on it. Before I realized it, the pavement ended and we found ourselves on a narrow winding dirt trail overlooking a 1000-foot straight drop to the canyon below with no hope of turning around. Did I mention how much I love GPS units? State of the art? State of what art? For the record, I don’t need help getting lost. I’m quite capable of that myself.
After finally finding a small space to turn around, I turned the accursed Nav system off, found a map and went happily on my way past the “Unwelcome to Ketchum: Normal People Prohibited” sign.
We decided since we were already along that area, we would just go home through the Sawtooths. I mentioned this to a family member who insisted that I borrow his spare GPS system. I politely declined, as I haven’t had the best experiences with nav systems in the past. Yet he persisted, telling me that his GPS was state-of-the art, easy to use, etc, etc… Well, since I didn’t want to buy a map, I accepted.
I instructed the GPS system to guide me to Sun Valley. And it did ok. We traveled through some of the most beautiful country in the world. Going over Galena Summit was seriously breathtaking. I hadn’t been through there since I was a kid.
We pulled into Ketchum about 5:30 pm. That’s when all heck broke loose. Side note: Apparently, my grammar check system is correcting me—that’s when all hecks broke loose. Sider note: Apparently, my spell check system is now correcting me—hecks is not a word. Sidest note: Apparently, sider and sidest are also not words. But I digress.
ElBoyo and ElKiddo both adamantly informed me that they were very hungry. ElGirlo would also have informed me that she was hungry if she had been awake.
I thought well, I’ll just grab some fast food and be on my way. I drove all through town looking for a fast food joint. NONE. So I drove through again looking for a family restaurant. NONE. Finally, I woke up ElGirlo and we parked in downtown Ketchum (not to be confused with Ketchup. ElBoyo asked.) We began walking along looking for a place to grab a bite.
Now please understand that Ketchum has at least a hundred restaurants. But holy cow. They were all the same—little bar & grill or bistro-type places where rich people sit outside on the sidewalk or patio in their fedoras sipping lattes under umbrellas while Vespas and Porches buzz up and down the streets.
Ok. So seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more pretentious place. It was like a myriad of Mariel Hemingway wannabes flashing their money. I don’t mean to sound bitter. I have no qualms with money, but that town reaked of it. I’ve never seen so many yuppies in one place in my life. And seriously, no fast food? I was like a force field designed to keep out normal people.
So we finally asked a local kid if he could point us in the direction of a family restaurant. He suggested the Ketchum Bar & Grill. I politely clarified what a family restaurant means. Apparently, EVERY restaurant in that city has a bar!
We asked if he could recommend anything inexpensive. He gave us a look like we were really weird foreigners, which I have no doubt we are in that town. He directed us to a little bistro on Main Street. We soon found out the restaurant didn’t exist. So we asked another local if he could recommend something. Yes, we were told. Go across the street to the upscale burger bar & grill. They serve burgers and fries for half-price from 4pm to 6pm. One problem. It’s 6 pm. Don’t worry, he tells us, they’ll extend it for you if you tell them I sent you.
At the burger place, I say, “I understand you have a ½-price special.
“Yes. But that’s from 4-6.”
“I see. But it is just after 6, will you extend the special for a few minutes?”
“No.”
“The guy across the street sent me…”
“No.”
“Well, seeing as how I can’t afford $15 burgers, I suppose I’ll go somewhere else.”
“Yeah. Heh, heh… Good luck with that…”
Then I found it. The pizza joint I remember visiting as a years ago. I casual hangout where folks munch on pizza, kick back a few cold ones, and shoot pool. Not exactly family, but it’ll do. At least it’s normal.
Ok, time for another digression. Some of my readers may remember this. Last time I went to this pizza place was about 15 years ago when the band I played in
rolled through town on our way to play the ElkHorn Resort. And when I say “rolled through town,” I mean it literally.
Our beloved leader of the band, a short sixty-plus-year-old white haired gent with a full white beard (known affectionately as Papa Smurf), was driving the bus, a beat-up old jalopy that resembled the Partridge Family-mobile. Well, not surprisingly, the brakes went out on this bus just as we were descending the hill leading to Ketchum. We rolled right through town, ran a few red lights, and came out the other side of town miraculously unscathed. We were able to slow down enough to pull into a campground outside of town a few miles to await repair.
The campground was a little dull, so a friend and I hitch-hiked into town, ended up at the pizza joint and shot pool most of the evening. We hitched back with some hippies who were VERY high. Quite a fun little experience.
Anyway, back to the story. Am I boring you yet?
ElGirlo, the boys, and I walked into the pizza joint, which had now transformed into this posh place cloned from every other uppity-up eatery in town. I was floored. But I was hungry. The boys saddled right up to the bar. I asked the bar tender if there are no fast-food placed in town. Sorry, no. Any family restaurants? Nope. We just want to get back on the road, I tell him. Is there anything to grab and go? Happily, he sells us some pre-made pizza slices to go and charges us an arm and a leg, which by now we were all too happy to pay.
We finally roll out of town after an hour delay in yuppie-ville.
But, here’s the problem.
The GPS unit is wigged out from me driving all over town to find a bite. After turning left and turning right more times than I can count, we headed out of town. The GPS was happy with where we were going apparently, but I got a little nervous as the road narrowed and I noticed we were the only car on it. Before I realized it, the pavement ended and we found ourselves on a narrow winding dirt trail overlooking a 1000-foot straight drop to the canyon below with no hope of turning around. Did I mention how much I love GPS units? State of the art? State of what art? For the record, I don’t need help getting lost. I’m quite capable of that myself.
After finally finding a small space to turn around, I turned the accursed Nav system off, found a map and went happily on my way past the “Unwelcome to Ketchum: Normal People Prohibited” sign.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
A Day Off
FINALLY!!!! I had a day off. It was wonderful. I've been fixing up a really old rubber raft before and after work this last week. This raft is so so so old. My dad bought it I think about 17 or 18 years ago for $200, which was a song then. The guy selling it was retiring it. It was worn out then. My family and I used it and used it on the rivers around here, especially the stretch of the Snake River between Hoback Junction and Alpine, WY, where all the whitewater is.
About 6 or 7 years ago, Mom & Dad decided they were through rafting. The boat was so old and full of holes, they were going to throw it away. But, they offered the boat to us, saying if I can make it sea-worthy, it's ours. We were living in Boise at the time. I put a lot of work into it, patching it up, and so forth. We floated the Payette River, the Boise, and the Snake with it. But, it still leaks in spite of my best efforts.
We haven't had the boat out in a couple of years (too busy, it leaks, etc.) But, I thought I'd like to work on it again this week. I did some research and got the idea that paint-on truck bed liner could help patch up some holes. I tried it and...it worked! YAY!
We decided to float the whitewater stretch for my 1st day off in almost a month. But, due to circumstances beyong my control, we weren't able to go. Intstead, I fixed up an old rowing frame with a little help from my brother and a lot of help from my wife and a super lot of help from my dad. I got some oars for it, and got a little electric trolling motor off ebay. We packed up the kids and my brother and his kids joined us.
We floated down the Snake River from Beaver Dick Park to Menan. It was extremely slow moving water, so we were very glad to have the rowing frame and motor. But, the kids had a great time, and so did we. I had no idea how beautiful that country back in there is! We were the only outfit on the river. We saw several deer, a moose, several bald eagles, several golden eagles, and lots of water fowl. The trip was seriously amazing (with the exception of the swarms of mosquitos). That is probably the most beautiful stretch of river I've ever been on.
By the time we got out (it was about a four hour trip), the boat had lost some air. But I know how to fix it, and I think it will be better than ever soon.
I was rowing when we got to the take-out boat ramp. We almost missed it, so ElGirlo jumped out to pull the boat in. The water was very cold and over her head. Also, the slow-moving Henry's fork had already merged with the fast-moving South fork, so the river was swift. It took Pam by surprise. But then, our two-year-old ElKiddo jumped in after her! He had been begging to get in the water all day. The current started sweeping him downstream. Very scary!!! But, a quick-thinking ElGirlo caught him. I think no one was more shocked than ElKiddo. He didn't expect how cold that water would be. I'm just so glad he's safe! We had already had a close call with my brother's oldest when she was swimming and ended up underneath the boat. Scary.
But, in all, we had a great day.
About 6 or 7 years ago, Mom & Dad decided they were through rafting. The boat was so old and full of holes, they were going to throw it away. But, they offered the boat to us, saying if I can make it sea-worthy, it's ours. We were living in Boise at the time. I put a lot of work into it, patching it up, and so forth. We floated the Payette River, the Boise, and the Snake with it. But, it still leaks in spite of my best efforts.
We haven't had the boat out in a couple of years (too busy, it leaks, etc.) But, I thought I'd like to work on it again this week. I did some research and got the idea that paint-on truck bed liner could help patch up some holes. I tried it and...it worked! YAY!
We decided to float the whitewater stretch for my 1st day off in almost a month. But, due to circumstances beyong my control, we weren't able to go. Intstead, I fixed up an old rowing frame with a little help from my brother and a lot of help from my wife and a super lot of help from my dad. I got some oars for it, and got a little electric trolling motor off ebay. We packed up the kids and my brother and his kids joined us.
We floated down the Snake River from Beaver Dick Park to Menan. It was extremely slow moving water, so we were very glad to have the rowing frame and motor. But, the kids had a great time, and so did we. I had no idea how beautiful that country back in there is! We were the only outfit on the river. We saw several deer, a moose, several bald eagles, several golden eagles, and lots of water fowl. The trip was seriously amazing (with the exception of the swarms of mosquitos). That is probably the most beautiful stretch of river I've ever been on.
By the time we got out (it was about a four hour trip), the boat had lost some air. But I know how to fix it, and I think it will be better than ever soon.
I was rowing when we got to the take-out boat ramp. We almost missed it, so ElGirlo jumped out to pull the boat in. The water was very cold and over her head. Also, the slow-moving Henry's fork had already merged with the fast-moving South fork, so the river was swift. It took Pam by surprise. But then, our two-year-old ElKiddo jumped in after her! He had been begging to get in the water all day. The current started sweeping him downstream. Very scary!!! But, a quick-thinking ElGirlo caught him. I think no one was more shocked than ElKiddo. He didn't expect how cold that water would be. I'm just so glad he's safe! We had already had a close call with my brother's oldest when she was swimming and ended up underneath the boat. Scary.
But, in all, we had a great day.
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