Day 11 and 12: "Be still and know that I am God..."

In the end, we saw Elk, Deer, Pronghorn, Coyote,Buffalo, and our two favorites, a juvenile Osprey (we watched the nest for two hours and got to observe her flying away from the nest) and as we were leaving the park last night we found the Grizzly Bear... it was awesome to be so close to this magnificent animal... I have to admit there was a little pucker factor!

Day 10: Collectors, Philo, Five Crowns, and Fat Max

Rexburg, Idaho.

This morning, Deb and I travelled about 10 miles to Rigby, Idaho, Birthplace of Television, to visit the Philo T. Farnsworth Museum. Unfortunately, it we arrived at 10:00 and it did not open until 1:00. So we punched up the GPS and "spun the wheel" to see where it would take us.

It took us to the Idaho Museum in Idaho Falls... but guess what? It was closed also (actually, they had just closed an exhibit on the Dead Sea Scrolls and it was being crated and shipped somewhere else).

So... we "spun the wheel" again and travelled to the Collector Corner Museum located at 900 John Adams Parkway, Idaho Falls. I am telling you all the address because if you ever get to Idaho Falls and you don't go see this museum you are crazy!

It is owned by Jim and Nida Gyorfy (sounds like Jorfy) and they are amazing. They have collected ton's of memorabilia and stuff and organized it very neatly into over 95 separate exhibits. And they walk you through the entire place and explain EVERYTHING there is to know about every bit of it! It is great! Everything from Civil War and WWII stuff to Barbie Dolls and Harry Potter. Really, you have to see it.

After about three hours there, we went and got some lunch and then went to the Television Museum.

I really enjoyed this museum because I have followed the history of Philo and Pem Farnsworth for many years... I have read every book that has been written and visit the official website often. So, to finally see the actual artifacts was great for me. The museum is also the Jefferson County Museum. It is set up in a motel that was never finished or opened. A couple bought the motel and gave a room to each city in the county to set up an exhibit. There is a lot of neat stuff in there... some old and some newer but all very interesting.

One of the interesting exhibits was an old beauty salon... I took pictures of this old "perm" machine because it was very scary and I thought Jess would get a kick out of it.

Joy, how would you like to teach in this classroom?

After the museums, we went back to Rexburg to spend the afternoon and evening with Jess and Ty (Ty was now awake after working all night). On the way, we visited the Rexburg Temple site. It is a beautiful temple and will open in February.

Jess and Ty made a great roast beast dinner with all the trimmings and it was delicious. After dinner, Jess and "Fat Max" colored Deb's hair and we played Five Crowns again. I won this time with Ty close behind.

Ty has now gone to work and I am going to get my hair cut.

Tomorrow - Yellowstone Park.

Day 8 and 9: Natures Fury, Cabela's, and Rexburg

Yesterday (Sept 4th) started out as a beautiful morning. Debra went to lunch with Katy and then walked over to Joy's school to help her in her classroom. I went to lunch with Ryan (it was his last day at Convergys... he started his new career today). After lunch, I went to the J Dawg shack to see how Jayson was doing. It had been a very busy morning for the shack... all of a sudden, things started to get strange.

A police car pulled up and parked right in front of the shack and the officer got out and went into the new pizza shop next door. Jayson was not happy because he did not have any customers while the car was in front of the shack.

Simultaneously, the sky got really dark and angry. Soon lightning was striking all around us and the wind started blowing and the rain came down hard. I left and went to Ryan's house to get him and Haylee so we could go to the Cabela store and watch them feed the fish in the giant aquariums (Haylee loves to do this).

While we were in Cabela's the storm intensified to a major storm... 60 to 80 mile an hour winds and major lightning! While I was in the back of the store purchasing some binoculars for our trip, Ryan and Haylee went to the front of the store to get a cart and they watched a lightning bolt hit the cluster of flag poles in the front of the store. Trees blew down and power went out all up and down the Wasatch Valley... A twister touched down in Verde and blew a horse trailer threww the air. It was wild. The lightning and thunder did not let up all night long... it was amazing.

After I left Ryan's place, I met Deb for dinner with Jayson, Heidi, Mae and Joy. then we went to Joy's apartment to help her set it up. It is a nice place.

This morning, things had cleared up and things were all wet. It was refreshing though because it seemed to cool down a bit.

We resumed our road trip today at about noon. It was hard to leave our kids and especially our grandaughters! We had a very good time visiting with all of them. Haylee and Mae are growing up so fast... and they are both so smart... it was really fun to see the progress that little Mae made even just while we were there. Thanks to everyone for having us... it was great.

By 3:00 we were in Idaho headed for Rexburg. We arrived at 6:00 p.m. and took Ty and Jess to dinner. After dinner we went up on BYU Idaho campus and walked through the landscaped gardens. It was very peaceful and the weather was very cool and refreshing. It is bringing back some good memories from when Ryan, Brandyn, and Jayson went to school here... I like Rexburg.

Tyler is going to work tonight and tomorrow we are going to go see some of the sights and attractions that are here locally... stay tuned.

We already miss our Utah family but it is great to be here with Ty and Jess... They look good and their apartment is very nice... very them... we love it.

Sorry about the lack of photos today... My camera was in the back of my car at Ryan's hoouse while we were at Cabela's and I did not get any pictures of the storm... can you believe it? I am sure there are lots of good one on the internet though if you go to www.KSL.com

Goodnight from Rexburg!

Day 6 and 7: God, Nature, Alpine Coasters, and Joy's Birthday!

(Just a reminder that you can click on any photo to see a larger version)

Sunday we went to church in the morning. In the evening, we all (Ryan, Teresa, Haylee, Jayson, Heidi, Mae, Joy, Debra and I) went up to Livingstones mountain home to relax and celebrate Joy's 25th Birthday (Sept. 3rd). Katy did not get to go because she had to work and we really missed her.

I marinated rib steaks and chicken and then grilled them up for dinner. Heidi and Jayson made some awesome salads and other trimmings for the dinner and we had a birthday feast to remember.

Before dinner, we lounged around on the ball court next to the cabin and watched grandma Deb and Haylee play on the trampoline. Deb and I thought about sleeping out on the trampoline until a thunder storm rolled through and dropped some much needed showers on the mountain. It smelled so good when the rain hit the Quaken Asp leaves. Deb loved the sound of the wind in the trees. It was a very peaceful place to be.

After dinner, we played "Crown 5", a new card game that Deb's brother taught us a couple of weeks ago when they were in Portland. Debra did not do so good then, but she kicked our trash last night... and Heidi set a new worlds record for high score, I think... low score wins!

After the game, we all went to bed and had a great night sleep... it was so cool, which was a great relief from the hot weather we have been experiencing.

Today, we woke to a beautiful morning and the smell of omelets that Heidi made for everyone. We cleaned the mountain home and headed for Park City, Utah home of the 2002 Olympic ski events.

The highlight of the day was when we rode the Alpine Coaster. Joy was going to ride the Zip Line but everyone said the coaster was better.

The coaster goes clear to the top of the mountain and then you travel at break neck speed over one mile of track until you reach the bottom. You have a brake if you need to use it, but I was the only one, in the end, that had to do so (just a little bit in one corner) because my camera was slamming back and forth in the curves and I thought it was going to get broken. I had every intention of taking pictures on the way down, but there was no way! It was way to fast and way to winding to even think about it.

After the coaster, we ate lunch and hit the outlet mall. Joy and the girls went shopping for stuff and Jayson and I went to the Bose store and drooled.

After Park City, we came back to Springville and ate pizza and watched "Astronaut Farmer". It was a very fun day and a great birthday for Joy.

Tomorrow we are thinking of packing up and continuing on our adventure... next stop Rexburg, Idaho and points between.