----->>> In a Home Named Destiny: Idaho

Showing posts with label Idaho. Show all posts

Thursday, January 23, 2014

See ya Later Montana!

My mind is blown every time we are blessed with a gracious host on our travels. Though I love driving and we really do have a lot of fun staying at Wal Mart parking lots and such, we really love a little break. A place to shower, plug in, and unwind.

Our friend from San Diego moved up north and invited us to stay a while. After a summer of only me and Jordan together 24/7 we were excited to be around another person. Plus it gave me a place to stay while Jordan was on his man trip in Wisconsin. We had so much fun exploring little towns, northern beaches and of course the REDWOODS!!! (another blog to come for these... They are more than deserving!) Jordan and I both celebrated our birthdays there and were completely overwhelmed with the kindness of our friends! They even took us out to sushi to celebrate. Most days I feel very undeserving of the kindness from others. I have learned on the road to not only accept it but to pass it on. It's a humbling and beautiful lesson to learn.

So here is a thank you to all of our gracious hosts. Thank you for opening your homes, showers, and extension cords. Thank you for opening your hearts and sharing conversations. Thank you for your gifts and so many countless acts of kindness. We couldn't do what we do without people like you!

Hebgen Lake, Montana

Goodbye Montana, See you next Summer!

Awesome picture that Jordan took!

Thursday, September 5, 2013

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

Monday, June 24, 2013

On the Road to Dreams

We still have a whole state and a half to adventure across before we hit Montana. The drive through Utah is beautiful and the 15-freeway has been Destiny friendly thus far. Even though our 22-re motor shuts off our overdrive over 4000 feet we have been cruising at 50-55 mph. It's a bummer that we don't have more time to explore these new states, we have have to start work in 3 days and have about 700 more miles to go. We bombed it from St. George, Utah up to Salt Lake City early Wednesday morning. I found a Sprouts and did some last minute stocking up. Jordan did some work at a Starbucks for Surgical Fibers and then we ate at Macaroni Grill with our gift cards from Mom and Marty. It was such a nice treat after a long day. Our bellies were full and happy so we decided to push onward even though it was already nine o'clock. We head north to a Walmart in Pocatello, ID. We took turns driving so we wouldn't get sleepy. As we were coming into Idaho I forgot to tell Jordan to get off and get gas at the last gas station for a while (bad co-pilot). Destiny had less than a quarter tank, which is about 3 gallons of gas. The drive was through a mountain pass, it was midnight, it was 29 degrees outside, no cell phone reception, and we forgot to fill up our spare gas tank. To say the least I was panicking and constantly looking at the gas gauge praying for a miracle. Jordan was confident and sure and continued on- promising we would make it and if we didn't that he would get out and walk the miles to the next gas station. We pulled into the gas station as the gas gauge needle went below the red indicator and a gas light we didn't even know we had came on. We took a deep breath, laughed, and thanked God! Guess I gotta check those maps better next time. Needless to say I downloaded an app as soon as we had service that locates and prices all the nearest gas stations.

We pulled into the Walmart parking lot in Idaho around two in the morning. It was dark and we were so anxious to see what Idaho looked like. We were excited to wake up in the morning and find out!

Thursday morning we slept in a little bit and then continued to head north to Rexburg, ID. It would be the last Walmart we could stop at. In West Yellowstone, our new home for the summer, it is a very small town with no large grocery store companies and definitely no Walmarts. So we stocked up on everything we could carry then enjoyed our drive and the very beautiful scenery. It is so much greener here than a California girl could imagine. In my head it is a mix of Lake Arrowhead and Kauai. We don't get the ocean views unfortunately, but we still have the amazing shades of green and the huge trees that remind me of my childhood.

From Rexburg we head farther north. Snow-capped mountains, rolling green hills, wildflowers, and farms filled our windows. We both just smiled, not saying much. This is beauty.... raw, untouched and natural. We loved every second of our drive. Destiny pulled up the last hill into Montana with ease! That in itself was a miracle. We started out our trip at nearly sea level and now we are at 6667 feet. She handled it like a champion. As we pulled into our new town we were both full of smiles and curiosity as to what this summer might hold for us. We drove by our little RV spot, then headed into town to try and get our bearings and meet our new boss. The little trading company is awesome and full of every little trinket you could imagine; Huckleberry jam, wind chimes, shirts, shot glasses, mugs, coon skin hats, replica guns..... the list is endless. We wandered around a little bit and then headed back to the RV spot to get settled in. Jordan fell instantly in love with the field next to our house with pines trees and mountains draping across the background. It is just gorgeous up here.

Friday morning we were woken up by the neighbors and our boss talking outside. She had got a cable man out to get us a DirectTV box! We feel so spoiled, we rarely ever have TV. But she is pulling out all the stops for us. Unfortunately in the madness of it all I hit my head inside of Destiny and sliced it open, so while the cable man was inside I hid in the bathroom trying to get it to stop bleeding. Luckily it wasn't super bad where I needed stitches but I am pretty sure I had some minor concussion. It left a big old bump and I had double vision for a week afterwards. I think the swelling was causing pressure on the part of my brain that is in charge of eye sight. It was quite an adventure trying to navigate a bike and check out the scenery while I am seeing two of everything that is not within 3 feet of my face. Jordan was so great and very patient with me! He wanted to explore so bad but I just wasn't up to it. We are adjusting to new allergens and the elevation.

I am so glad that I packed some of our winter clothes cause man it is cold up here. The first week was in the 50's in the day and the 20's at night with scattered showers. Oh Montana!

Well off to our first week at work, wish us luck!