Idaho Falls

Nearly every week for the past month we have had some sort of unexpected expense...it's really starting to get in the way of adventuring!!!! Oh ... Such is life! I guess it is not always a bad thing, because one of those expenses led to running water! Something we have never had (without issues) in the full year that we have had Destiny.

Just as we thought all of it was behind us and we had some extra money for playing and fishing- our computer's hard drive crashed AGAIN! If you remember we bought this new lap top in September 2012 right before we left and in January 2013 it died. We thought it may have been a virus but it turns out we just got a faulty hard drive. So while in Albuquerque we dropped it off at Best Buy and we finally got it back in March when we got back to Fallbrook. Then come late July- BAM another bad hard drive and it's dead! We are seriously reconsidering Dell at this point! It's pretty frustrating, two hard drives in 9 months! I was also pretty bummed because even though we have all of our pictures and documents saved on "the cloud" I did loose a project that I have spent over 25 hours on! Our warranty is up in a couple of days so instead of fishing and playing we have to make a 100 mile journey down to Idaho Falls to the closest Best Buy.

We decided to turn the extra treck into a fun experience. Jordan's grandma was actually born, grew up, met his grandpa, worked, and had her first child in Idaho Falls. So after we dropped off the computer we got a quick bite to eat and did a little research on her. We were able to drive right up to the house that she was born and raised in. We saw her neighborhood where she rode her bike and built forts. Then we were able to find her aunt and uncle's donut shop where she first worked. And the building next to it used to be a print shop where she had done the books. It was also still standing. Jordan was able to send her pictures via text messages. Grandma was able to tell us little stories about each place, how different it looked now and what was the same. She even remembered the prices of the donuts. They were $.05-$.10 each, $1.29 a dozen and $.05 for a cup of coffee. I guess they call her Grandma Brain for a reason, I can't even remember the prices from my first job!

Grandma's House

Church across the street

Donut and Print Shop

The street is much wider Grandma said

The Donut shop now as a bar

Beautiful Sunset 

Since the donut shop had shut down the building became a bar. We went in, talked with the owner's daughter and shared the history over a cold one. We just looked around trying to imagine this place back in the day.... full of warm sweet air, smiles, and maybe a neighbor swinging in to grab his daily dose of caffiene and sugar. It was so cool to see a part of Jordan's family history and where they came from.

After that we drove over to Idaho falls (the actual waterfall) and walked along the little path. The air was hot and humid, the moon was glistening, it was a perfect summer night. Next stop was Walmart to stock up on things and crash for the night. After shopping we got a couple of Redbox movies, turned on the generator and had a little movie night. It was amazing! It has been so long since we have been able to rent a new movie. Right before we started the first movie we did a toast to Destiny! Tonight marks the first night of a fully functional motor home (minus the fridge!). We have running water, the pipes are not leaking, our lights actually work (thanks dad and Lynnette for the new battery), and we can just switch the generator on to watch a movie. It may not seem like a big deal to most of you- but for us, we are living in luxury in this Walmart parking lot! It's a beautiful thing to be able to wash your dishes without using gallons of water and to see what you are doing! Sometimes you just have to celebrate the small things!

Idaho Falls

I think he needs this bench

Love this one

awesome tunnel

In the morning we stocked up on some coffee! We got Jordan a Trenta (32 ounces) of iced coffee and I soon regretted that! Haha, he got so hyper!!! But at least he was making me laugh. We found a random taco truck and grabbed some lunch on a street corner. The one big thing we miss about San Diego is the good Mexican food, so we settled for the next best thing.

Satisfied and full we took off towards the mountains. Idaho Falls was 95 and without any kind of AC we wanted to find some water in the Targhee National Forrest, which is on our way home. We saw a campground on the way down called Riverside, sounds good to me! We headed there hoping to find a day spot and some cool water. As we pulled in the camp host met us at the entrance. I asked how much he charged for day use and he replied, "All I need is a big smile." Easy enough! I flashed those pearly whites and we were off. I love the kindness of strangers. The rest of the day was spent wading in a river, watching eagles and chipmunks, naps with the calm sound of the river, and dinner at sunset on the banks. 

We love this place and the endless possibilities. We love that we haven't been disappointed yet. We love the beauty that is everywhere and the peace in your soul it brings.

Our little friend Jimmy

My little family