Spring Break Trip to Idaho

 It's the last day of May and I'm still trying to finish blogging about April! (Although come to think of it, I still have a post from last fall I never got up, sigh.) For spring break, which was over Easter, we drove up to Idaho to reunite with some friends that had moved away. We had a leisurely drive up, taking two days to do a 6.5 hour drive, which meant we had time for sightseeing. One stop we really enjoyed was the Hill Aerospace Museum near Ogden, Utah.

We had been there before, but the kids didn't really remember it. And there's so much to see, it's worth multiple visits. Desert Girl was ready to give a speech.

A really nice education specialist helped the kids make helicopters, which they then released over and over from the second-floor deck. (Notice Desert Girl's longer hair--she soon got it cut, which she doesn't really like, but which looks really cute on her.)

We arrived at a huge cabin that fit all five families. It was hard to call it a cabin! Desert Boy was wiped out and took a nap.

Fitting food for a long weekend into the refrigerator took some creative organization skills. Everyone brought eggs, so we had more than enough!

It was so fun to chat--often over food or food preparation.

We also had fun dyeing eggs.

And then on Easter morning the kids had to sit on the stairs and wait to be released.

This was one of my favorites--Desert Girl had to rock climb to get to the egg.


After a group photo,


it was time to eat again. We often ate in shifts.

Then it was time for more fun. We really loved Lava Hot Springs, but I didn't manage to get a single photo there. But we spent a whole day soaking in hot water and then playing at the aquatic center. We also built a zipline in the yard and played on that awhile.

I took the kids to church in Soda Springs later in the day on Easter Sunday, and we enjoyed the geyser that goes off every hour on the hour.

The water is just warm, not hot. It makes some beautiful travertine.

On the way back we explored some of the Oregon Trail and also learned about how the lava flows changed the flow of the Bear River. That was something I hadn't really contemplated, and it was fascinating to think about how a big river had totally changed course and stopped flowing to the ocean because of lava.

Desert Girl is near the Bear River at  some cliffs that were a landmark for the early travelers.

The last evening we went for a rambling walk up on the Idaho mountainside.

We saw lots of deer.

And made our way through a recently burned landscape.

I challenged Desert Boy to a race up the mountain. He was feeling energetic, I wasn't, so I just took photos and gave him a $1 for winning. He was happy about that.

The kids are learning some good life skills, like how to get through barbed wire fence.

These girls would love to spend more time together! It was so nice to visit friends we hadn't seen for many months. Hopefully we can get together again before too long.