Idaho

The first priority for our travel to Idaho was to, obviously, hang out with family. Which we did. But we also had a few other things to accomplish. The plan at the outset was to spend a brief amount of time in Boise and head to the mountains as soon as possible. There are always competing priorities/expectations during these visits and you just have to navigate them the best you can.

After two nights in Boise, we headed north.  

McCall

Our first stop was the campground where the family was already set up and where our base would be for the next few days. One of the first things we needed to do was to visit some properties. We had been in touch with the real estate agent prior to the visit and he had arranged for us to see a few places, each one quite different but all within the general vicinity of the small town of New Meadows. One of the properties was one that we had seen in Dec./Jan. when we were in Idaho for the holidays. After seeing what else was on the market, we were still leaning towards that same place. We didn’t make a decision at this point but, at least for me, it was becoming clearer that this unfinished house on 16 acres was the most in line with what we were looking for. An unfinished house with some land that gives you the opportunity to give it your own identity. But we would wait a bit and give ourselves some time to discuss and reflect before making any decision.

my brother's work in progress

We also took a break and visited my brother’s house in a small town not far away called Council. He’s been refurbishing it for a couple years, heading down a similar path we are looking to head but with different starting point. His house is older and is more about being redone than being done.

beautiful piece of land

There are several hot springs in the area, some of them more developed than others. A couple of them have swimming pools and my brother took us to one that I hadn’t been to before called Starkey Hot Springs. 

Starky Hot Springs

It’s an old place that apparently was frequented by native Americans going back a couple hundred years. As was unfortunately common, the native population blended with, and was eventually pushed out by, early settlers to the area. By the early 1900s, a man named Richard Starkey decided to create a "true health and pleasure resort". And so it has been for over a hundred years.

It was indeed enjoyable and I suppose it contributed to health as well though you certainly couldn’t swim laps in water that was so hot in some places you could make tea with it. But it’s nestled in a beautiful location and the simple, rather rustic setting gives it a particular charm.

at the campground

Back at the campground, more family arrived by the end of the week. It should be noted that this is not really camping but RVing. We pitch a tent but a lot of the family is set up in fancy RVs with microwaves. It’s nice but it’s not really camping. It’s one of the reasons that I wanted to institute a backpack trip and risk getting our fingernails dirty.

Duck Lake

Last year we restarted backpacking. Priya and I have done it as a couple in the past but we hadn’t done it since our daughters arrived on the scene, partially for my own personal interest and partially to expose the girls to something that has been important to me since I was young. The idea last time and this time was to keep it short and simple. We wanted it to be fun and not too arduous such that the girls would retain a desire to do it again in the future. Regardless of whether or not they take this up as a lifelong hobby, it should continue the trend of providing them with some diverse experiences and cherished memories, particularly given the very different, urban environment where they are being raised in East Africa.

My brother-in-law and sister, who were part of the excursion last year, provided some hike options based on our criteria of being short, likely a lake destination, and in the vicinity of the McCall area. I had done some looking online as well and we eventually honed in on a place called Duck Lake. We felt we had a fairly high bar given how well the trip worked out last year, but in the end it met, if not exceeded, the experience from last year. My niece and boyfriend joined in so we were a group of eight – a good size for an outing like this.

The hike itself was slightly longer than last year but it wasn’t grueling. It afforded us the luxury of packing some things that we wouldn’t have for a longer trek. I’ve done some longer trekking where you scrutinize every ounce of weight in the backpack. This was not that.

There were several highlights but one of the things that stayed in my mind was the view of the stars before going to bed. Without the ambient light coming from populated areas, the night sky was stunning.  Obviously you need to stay up late to have this experience given that the area is basically right on the 45^th parallel – the halfway point between the equator and the north pole. I think the last time I saw that many stars, albeit different stars, was the southern hemisphere sky near the Kenya/Tanzania border (near the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Amboseli National Park).

It was also just great to see the girls dive into the backpacking experience. They know the drill and they seem very much at home in the woods. Makes me happy.

The Magic Valley

Once we’d had our fun in the mountains, it was time to head down, travel to my parent’s house and slowly begin thinking about what we needed to do before heading back to Nairobi. The drive to Kimberly is fairly long (about four hours), but it’s generally quite easy, at least compared to driving in Kenya. The roads are wider and better maintained. Drivers are more predictable (and better skilled). I quite enjoy it but it does require a certain amount of preparation for those passengers who seem to enjoy it less.

Snake River canyon - quite impressive actually

We settled into my parent’s house which is quite comfortable and peaceful. For me it’s one of the most relaxing places I know. Though our vacations in the US are generally not relaxing by nature, this is an exception.

One activity that we attended was the local fair in the town of Jerome, the place of my birth. We’ve done this a few times and for some reason it’s always been a hit with my family. This year we started by taking in the local parade. This is a pure slice of Americana (and about half the people are Latino). I suppose we enjoy it at least partially because it’s somewhat exotic to us. It’s hard to explain to people but, speaking for myself, after nearly a quarter of a century living outside of my native country, I almost look at American culture as an outsider does. As such it’s easier to romanticize certain things (likewise it’s easier to be annoyed by certain things).

The parade consisted of a couple of marching bands, cheerleaders, floats, large farm machinery, vintage cars, etc. There was a float of the local football team wearing their jerseys. Ah yes, America still does this exact same thing forty years after I did it and seventy years after my dad did it. These guys tried their best to look tough, failing just as we did.

What we didn’t have back in the day were escaramuzas, charros and mariachis. This influence in the parade is not huge compared to all the other entries but I found it particularly fascinating. A charro is a Mexican cowboy (escaramuza is the female version) and they showed off their interesting riding style (a sort of dance in place as the horse gradually turns). I had to look it up but the style is rooted in the concept of needing to navigate the horse in tight spaces within large groups of cattle. Today, however, the riders practice in an arena and there are rarely cows involved. The saddle is a throwback to the those used when roping and herding cattle and are often quite heavy with large pommels. They are now decorated with silver and are generally quite colorful.

Another observation was how much stuff the parade participants tossed and/handed out. It was insane. I remember a few sweets being tossed to us when I was a kid but our girls hauled in several pounds of candy, plastic balls, a frisbee, several toothbrushes, floss, bags, water bottles, yogurt and so forth. Early in the parade children were elbowing each other to grab every little piece candy that hit the pavement but by the end kids barely bothered to pick them up.

 The next day we went to the fair. We started by visiting the various animal pens: goats, rabbits, sheep, cows, horses, pigs, etc. It was interesting describing to the girls that the animals were cared for by children, some of them their own age (4H). That they have competitions to see who does the best job of raising and grooming these animals and than you show them in a ring as a part of the competition. For children raised in East Africa, it’s a rather strange concept. In Swahili the word for animal and meat are the same. Tells you a bit about how animals are perceived.

Before going to the rodeo, we first needed to eat something. We stopped at the food stands and would need to choose from the many unhealthy options available. For those that say most of America’s obesity problem is genetic or glandular, they need to visit a county fair. That’s not to say there aren’t tasty options. There are. In fact the smells coming from the various food stands are almost intoxicating. But I think some of the farm animals had healthier diets.

The rodeo was great fun as usual. The summer evening was warm and the sunset was beautiful. It’s just a fun atmosphere in general. 

Idaho sunset

 Soon we would be heading back to Boise and running our final errands. After a month of travel, we were ready to head home to our routines. Great trip but it was time.

Indiana-Kentucky

The next stop on our trip was to southern Indiana/northern Kentucky. This was a different visit to see family than in years past. The most significant change was that this was our first trip as a family since the passing of my father-in-law. The implications of that fueled much of what we did over the course of the visit. While it didn’t necessarily result in a heavy atmosphere, it was certainly something that was a sort of backdrop to activities and conversation.

bridge walk in Louisville

Though the weather was the usual July hot and muggy when we arrived, it soon cooled and it ended up being one of the more comfortable trips we have spent in southern Indiana.

cool shot of Kiran at the front of the Kentucky Science Center

One of the first areas of attention was assisting my mother-in-law to settle into her new house. A while back I advocated for them to consider leaving the house out in the country (off a long, windy, sometimes precarious road) and move to town. The desire was multi-fold and seems somewhat obvious to an outsider. They needed to be closer to health care. I was increasingly concerned about their safety with the amount of time they spent going back and forth on that windy road, particularly during the winter. Socially they were more cut off from their church and other friendships. It was also simply inconvenient to be so far away from basic amenities such as groceries, the pharmacy, the YMCA, etc.

Kinaya getting wet at the Science Center

There was obviously a flip-side to this. The house was remarkably functional and could accommodate visitors (ex. us) well. The grandkids were less than a hundred meters away. It was quiet and just a peaceful place to be. There were obviously trade-offs but as time went by, the rationale for remaining was diminishing and it eventually became just a matter of time before the move would happen.  

the beautiful male cardinal

It wasn’t easy, both practically and emotionally. Even though I have known for a long time that this was the right thing to do, I have a developed nostalgic side to me. I was sad to see the old place go. Early in our visit, we stopped by the house to pick up some final things. Looking around the now-empty rooms I thought back at all the memories we accumulated during our semi-annual visits. I should say that over the years, with all of change built into my life, I dwindle less on things like this than I used to. I suppose I felt a sort of sweet sadness, the kind that comes from acknowledging both loss and a sense of delight looking back. Soon we were back in the car, looking forward.

catching a AAA baseball game in Louisville

We had visited the unfinished house over the Christmas holidays. We knew generally how it was going to look. So there were no big surprises to see it completely done. It’s nice and I think a good fit for what Priya’s mom needs. Given that it was a new house in an area that had not been residential before, I was eyeing some of the growth that was lining the backyard. It was overgrown and had reduced the space by about a quarter. One morning, with temperatures in the upper nineties Fahrenheit (and with the blessing of my mother-in-law), I tore into the overgrown limbs and brush with reckless abandon. I had a general idea of what needed to be done when I started and it more or less went as planned – except for the poison ivy. It’s true that I’m not too bright sometimes. Since I was very young I have had a habit of tearing into things without fully thinking them through. This impulsiveness has resulted in several broken bones. I’m sure there’s a positive side to this quality but I’m still sorting out what it is. In this case, I did not have proper coverage of my legs and feet. Sure enough, a couple days later the area below my knees was covered in itchy welts and blisters.

Louisville Slugger Field at sunset

Needless to say it was more than uncomfortable for a couple weeks. But the end result was quite satisfying, I have to say. It will need maintenance to keep the growth back away from the house but it will likely be much easier going forward.

happened to catch a home run in the making

One of the key events of the trip was a weekend at a large cabin in the hills not too far aware from the old house. I’d never been to this area and I was surprised how quickly one can transition from farmland to a thick forest. The cabin is perched on a hill overlooking a small lake. The air remained thick and hot, unlike the thinner, cool air that I’m used to in forested areas. But you felt as though you were more remote than you really were.

cabin with a view

The house was able to accommodate the dozen members or so of the southern Indiana family. Some of the rooms had AC. There was a game area in the basement complete with a nice pool table. It was without a doubt the warmest lake I’d ever swum in. It was like bath water. I’m not sure that it was very cooling but it did make it easy to get in and out.

time for reflection

Other than pulling the family together, one of the main reasons for the weekend was to remember Priya’s dad. To avoid making it an overly sad event, we did some fun activities as a means to lighten the atmosphere. There were, and still are, sad moments but that’s expected and appropriate given the tremendous impact he had on the people around him.

even some time for a horseback ride - very fun

After a very pleasant weekend, it was back to the flatland (and to internet access). We would spend the next week and a half hanging out with family, running errands, doing more things around the house and going into Louisville. I’ve grown to enjoy Louisville and each time we visit I discover something new. It would be a livable city if it weren’t for the insanely hot weather and lack of real mountains...

Soon we would be wrapping up the visit. Always shorter than we would like but far longer than what most people have on their vacations, particularly since we would still have another two weeks in Idaho. So we can’t complain.