Xxon wanted to drive to the airport... Jesse was not amused
The girls and I waiting to board our first flight
We started off the trip up at my father-in-law's cabin near Cascade and all of us froze at night. It was a nice change from the 103 we were met with when we got home. The temperatures dropped down to the 60s at night and I'm pretty sure everyone was loving it. They have an awesome zip line in the back yard that we all had a blast playing with.
This is what it looks like around the cabin.
I took over my father-in-laws chair
On the zip line!
You are going to see a pattern here...
On the hunt for a new stick no doubt
I was set! Sunflower seeds and a Monster. Jesse let me splurge on the trip
and treat myself to a few of these drinks.
Yeah he's cooler than me
Our new family photograph
Until we got there with our horde, it was so peaceful and quiet. I told Jesse that I was going to go back there in a few months and just sit on the porch until my book is finished. I just might actually do it. We got to go to the lake and a little creek where the kids and Xxon had a ball playing in the water.
True to form Xxon would go find the biggest stick he could carry and wait for someone to throw it out in the water as far as possible. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get him to come home with me.
After that, we headed to Caldwell and had a big family gathering where I finally got to meet most of Jesse's side of the family. The days were spent hanging out and talking in the yard while all the little ones ran around playing and screaming. It only took three years but I finally feel like I know most of Jesse's side of the family.
Before we headed to Carey we visited Jesse's brother's grave
My father-in-law had me feel his dad's grave; it has an engraven photo on it
Jesse's grandpa is a cowboy to the bone and is one of the funniest people I've ever met in my life. Very few people are blessed to have everything they say come out as funny but, he has the gift. Whether intentional or not he had us all in stitches the entire time we were there.
He saddled up the horses and let everyone take a turn on them. Last time we were there it was February and everything was covered in snow and ice so it really limited what we were able to do. This time we made up for it. Her grandpa took me out on a nice long ride through the mountains and the first thing I noticed was how quiet it was out there. Just the sound of the horses feet and nothing else. It was amazing.
As we walked up the hills I started to notice that I was leaning a little to the right. I thought maybe it was the hill until it got worse. I reached down and felt the horse and realized my saddle was sliding off the side. I called out and said what was going on and the second we stopped it slip a few more inches and I just about fell off the side.
We stopped, had a good laugh at what almost happened and got everything back in place. It's a good thing it happened then because a few minutes later was our descent.
As we walked he said we were going to go down a sort of steep part and asked me if I was up for it to which, of course, I said I was.
He was a little apprehensive and told me that it was ok if I didn't want to. He said that he has taken people with sight down that trail and they've had a rough time. This just encouraged me more.
"I'm not blind because I'm known as a safe and cautious person" I told him.
Laughing we started down the other side of the hill and let me tell you it was a rush! Having no idea what was coming made the whole experience so much more exciting! A few times I thought I was going to go right over that horses head.
Like he said, the worst that will happen is that I'll fall off. The ground will always catch me and it won't let go.
Everything went great and I stayed in the saddle. Jesse and her dad were cruising around on the 4 wheeler and met us on the road at the bottom. They seemed surprised when we told them what we just came down. Apparently he wasn't just yanking my chain.
Jesse misses the ranch like you would never believe. It was so much fun to hear how excited she was about everything and I couldn't help but get sucked into it. Her brother, his wife, the kids, Jesse and I all loaded up in the ranch truck to go out to the pastures and give the kids a good look at the cattle. Xxon wanted to come too so we threw him in the bed of the truck and headed out. I wasn't sure how he would handle 300 cows standing all around him but he hardly even seemed to notice. He just watched them. End of story. He was probably thinking they were the weirdest looking dogs he's ever seen
I trusted my wife to not kill us on a crazy 4-wheeler ride.
Out in the cow field
We drove back to Caldwell on Tuesday since we headed out Wednesday and it's the closest place to the airport. As we drove back Jesse and her dad realized that their schedules didn't match up. She pulled out our flight info and realized that we actually left for home on Thursday and not Wednesday. We were all disappointed that we could have had an extra day on the ranch but it gave the kids a full day to run around and burn some energy before the flight back.
Since we had an extra day Jess and I were able to sneak off on a date and this little guy was our chaperon.
I practically had to drag everyone, dog included, to the airport to get them to come back to civilization. Who would have thought a bunch of cows and a few horses would be so much fun.
Jesse went through all of this with her camera in hand and took some really good pictures. Once she can sit down and do a little editing she will be posting a bunch of them for you all to look at. I'm sure between now and then I'll remember a few more stories so there may be some follow up posts for you all.
Thanks to all the Idaho family for letting us invade for a while. It was an absolute blast and we're looking forward to next time!
Good bye Idaho, until next time!
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