The Emigration Part 4 - Crazy Idahoans

Disclaimer- our favorite cousins in Idaho aren't themselves *crazy*, it's more of a Texan's generalization of people west of the Rockies.  

So we arrived at cousins Jeff and Lindsay's house around midnight.  They were waiting for us and had beds prepared for our whole crew.  God Bless them.  

We awoke in the morning to Jeff's delicious crepes, and a reunion of kids who acted like they had never been apart!  We enjoyed a trip to the park, long naps and holding sweet babies Tyler and Lela.

Here's where the crazy creeps in.  

When summer lasts all of two months or so, the weather pictured above becomes acceptable swimming weather and our cousins took us to the splash park.

I believe it was Mia who first used the word "crazy".  

Ali smiled and looked at me with her "Are they serious?" face after attempting to chase cousin Sarah down the water slide.  

Evelyn was all in for about 15 minutes before emerging with muscles contracted by the cold, blue lips and Parkinson's-like shivers.  

But the locals were seemingly unphased by the arctic chill as adorable baby Tyler demonstrated in his swim diaper.  

After our very brief swim, and a ride around the carousel, we converged on a spread of burgers and dogs and root beer freezes!  It was wonderful, although much too short-lived.  We were all looking forward to another night at the cousins when I remembered our pets, Jake and Mouder, bound for a flight to Portland the next morning.  We still had 13 hours left to travel and had to be in Portland the next day to claim our precious cargo!  

So, around 9pm, we loaded up three sleepy girls and tucked them into their carseats for another night-drive to our new home in Portland.  

Stay tuned for the conclusion- Part 5- We Have Arrived!  

The Emigration Part 3 - On The Trail

Call me a nerd, but driving through the vast openness of Wyoming was my favorite part of the trip!  

We turned the wagon due north out of Denver about mid-morning.  (Pioneers on the trail didn't have clocks.)  Ma spent the morning regaling the children with tales of the Sager children, orphaned on the trail when their folks died and then adopted by the company of travelers they were with until they reached Washington and the Whitman Mission.  That of course led to the tale of the Mission and the events that led to the terrible massacre that took place there.  We read some fun facts Grandma had written down for us to share on our journey and discussed why people would choose to leave their homes and travel, mostly on foot, thousands of miles across a dangerous and unknown land for the promise of something they only hoped existed on the other side.  

Boy, I had them hanging on every word!  Even Joe was listening and asking questions!  I'm a pretty big history buff, like my pops, and sharing all this with my family made me so grateful that we didn't fly to Oregon!

And then we arrived in Guernsey, WY and saw for ourselves the still visible Oregon Trail, where wagon wheels had carved deep ruts into the limestone rock.

 

We were deep into this thing now.  (Wink, wink.) The girls were so excited! The weather was beautiful.  We walked the ruts for a while until Pa called us back.  We found the grave marker of Lucindy Rollins, buried on a small knoll overlooking the North Platte and thought about what our same journey must have been like 150 years ago.  Then, it was time to load up and hit the trail.  Alas, we had far to go before making camp again.

I had some serious catching up to do as far as hours behind the wheel were concerned, so Pa took a long nap while I drove the wagon west.  

I loved the landscape.  Green and hilly, mountains off in the distance ahead of us. We passed many landmarks; Register Cliff, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Ice Slough, and Soda Springs.  Ali hounded me for more stories, more information, more explanations and I kept them coming until I ran out knowledge and they fell asleep.  

Devil's Gate was of particular interest to Ali after I told her about three young adventurous girls in their late teens who climbed the cliffs while their company camped below.  One of the young ladies fell from the rocks and died. (True story.) Ali became totally hung up on the details of the tragedy...

We kept on until we reached the Shoshonee Indian Reservation and Ma saw a sign that indicated that Sacajewea's resting spot was nearby. That resulted in an hour's detour while we investigated two Indian burial grounds.  It was a great opportunity to talk a little about respecting Native American culture (or any culture) and being quiet and respectful in a cemetery with the girls.  They enjoyed reading the headstones, which Pa thought was creepy.  He stayed in the car.  

We eventually found the marker, so I regarded the wasted daylight as totally worth it.  (Until I was clutching the side of the wagon as Pa negotiated hair-pin turns down the Grand Tetons in complete darkness.). Sacajewea was the remarkable 16 year-old Indian Guide of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, in case you forgot.  Xoxo

The last part of this leg of the journey took us away from the original trail and up into the mountains.  At dusk.  There was wildlife everywhere.  By this time, I had happily relinquished the reins to Pa after redeeming myself with a 10 hour stretch in the driver's seat.  We passed the Continental Divide at about 10 pm (based on the position of the moon) (wink, wink) and made our way into the safety of our cousin's home in Rexburg, Idaho at about midnight. 

Thumbs cramping.  FYI.  Internet still not hooked up.  

Stay tuned for The Expedition Part 4- Crazy Idahoans.  

Impressions

I interrupt the series of Emigration Updates to share my recent (last night) first meeting with the Andaluz Midwives while it is still fresh in my head.  

Downtown Portland is stressful and confusing.  Pedestrians and bicyclers everywhere.  Tents on the sidewalk.  Mass chaos.  I waited politely for the person in front of me to parallel park and the car behind me darted around me and cut me off.  I stepped out of the parking garage and have never felt more out of place in my cute skirt and cardigan sweater with matching ballet flats.  

Tents.  On the sidewalk.  Downtown.  They are camping.  Seriously.

I was meeting the midwives at a Lebanese restaurant.  It all made me feel out of place and off balance!   But the midwives were friendly and kind and I learned that on Monday I will be seeing clients.  Oh!  I'm overwhelmed and nervous at the moment but I know this is where I'm supposed to be and it's all going to be fine.  

I'll let you know how Monday goes.  

The Emigration Part 2

Denver was F.A.  (That's a shout out to my nephew who used the F word for the first time in a surprisingly complimentary way). 

So we arrived exhausted with breakfast and coffee in hand.  Joe's buddy met up with us at the REI store and we let the kids lose on some play equipment while we had MORE coffee.  The girls were ready to go!  

(Photo by Ali)

Joe referred to his friend Justin as "Uncle Ladi" and soon all the girls were.   

"Uncle Ladi" had reserved the entire day for hanging out and entertaining us, even checking us into a nice hotel downtown with his hotel points.  Such a blessing!  

After buying an over-priced but super cute hat at REI (for myself!), we headed up into the mountains and hiked to St. Mary's Glacier at 10,000ft.  I was a little concerned at first because it was cold, there was snow, and we weren't prepared for hiking in the mountains!  But Uncle Ladi knew what he was doing and the girls had a blast!  Even little Eva made  the 1/4 mile hike to and from on her own two feet (holding our hands, of course).  

Mia claims she could be a "Colorado Girl" because she likes it there so much!  

We were hungry after our hike, so Uncle Ladi took us to Tommyknockers Brewery for burgers (and beer for the adults).  Then we visited Red Rocks Amphitheater but were denied access because of a "Bass Nectar" concert that we didn't have tickets for.  Bass Nectar?  

We spent the afternoon resting in the hotel and then we caught up with Uncle Ladi again at the 16th Street Mall where he treated the girls to their first carriage ride!

Which they obviously loved.  We had dessert before dinner at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Co and enjoyed the street music and performers and nice cool evening.  

We were finally ready for bed and said our goodbyes and thanks to Uncle Ladi and slept for a solid 9 hours!  

Next Post.. The Emigration Part 3- On The Trail.