Home to Idaho: Week One

I'm in the midst of a two week trip home to Idaho.  While I'd planned a trip later this summer, it got pushed up a bit due to my Grandmother's passing.  Since I couldn't get a reasonable price on a flight I decided to just drive.


First stop was Las Vegas.  One of my big brothers happened to be in town for a convention, so it made for an easy place to stay Thursday night after I left work mid-afternoon.  I got into town around 8 pm and Kevin and I walked around a bit, had some dinner and caught up on recent happenings in both our lives.  The next day it was on to Idaho.

Saturday was the funeral.  It was wonderful to celebrate the life of my wonderful grandma and feel so close to my family.  Never have I been so grateful for the peace the gospel brings as when my extended family all stood up and sang a a medley of "I am a Child of God" and "Families Can Be Together Forever".  This had been a special request of my grandma and I believe we all felt the spirit of truth in that wonderful message as we sang.



The rest of the week was a fun compilation of playing around at the house with my nieces and nephews, shopping with Mom and various family outings.

On Thursday, I took two of my older nieces and drove down to Pocatello to wander around my alma mater, Idaho State University, and attend a piano concert.  It was fun to spend some time with them and they were a good audience to my reminiscing.


Friday we planned a last minute trip to Mesa Falls and Cave Falls.  I've been there plenty of times as a kid, but seeing those huge waterfalls never gets old.  It really is a beautiful place.

A stop at Warm River to feed the fish completed our outing and the scenic views of good Idaho farmland were a great end to the day.

Saturday I headed up to Yellowstone with "the boys".  A dad, a brother, and three nephews made for a great day in a great place.  We went a lot as a kid, but I've only been a few times as an adult as I've lived farther away, but this trip renewed my desire to see more and more of the park.

One of our favorite finds was a little pool called Black Sand Pool.

At first glance it seems just like many of the other hot pools that are in abundance.  It's perhaps not the most beautiful as far as color schemes go, but if you're willing to wait and listen a bit, it gives a steady lesson in underground thermo dynamics.  The cycle starts with a series of thumps.  Some are louder than others, with many you can even feel in the ground if you're standing still.  Shortly thereafter, those gaseous bubbles begin to make their way to the surface.  For a minute or two, you can see the gases erupt slightly before the pool goes quiet for a short time.

 We all got a kick out of waiting patiently for the next group of thumps and some of the boys even nicknamed it Thumper.  It may not be the most impressive show in Yellowstone, but it's a quiet delight I'm sure many people walk right past on their way to see other things.

We managed to catch a few impressive geysers.  Grand Geyser was a great show that we didn't have to wait too long to see and was so big that pictures just didn't do it justice.  We missed a few we were hoping to see, but managed  to catch Riverside Geyser, which apparently I made infamous in the Henry family as a baby when someone forgot to pack enough clean diapers.  Luckily our wait this time was not quite as eventful and much less smelly.  

We were also able to see some wildlife and a few beautiful cascades.  It really is beautiful to see the natural wonders of the earth.