Soon after greeting my parents and settling in, it was off to my chores. I pruned trees, extracted stumps, trimmed vines, swept, cleaned gutters, etc. The weather was rather hot so the plan was to get a relatively early start and then do activities with the family in the afternoon and evening.
One of my favorite things to do is go to a place called Dierkes Lake. A few miles away from my parents’ place is the Snake River canyon, an amazing place filled with loads of things to see and do. Located near the famous Shoshone Falls, the lake is an inexpensive and fun way to spend an afternoon. It’s a bit more organized than it was when I was a kid, but there’s still a roughness to it that makes it far more fun than a public swimming pool.
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| Kiran pondering the jump. |
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| Never grow up. |
We couldn’t resist the temptation to make our way to the rocky bluffs and plunge into the clear water below. One would think that I’ve aged out of this sort of thing but, alas, no. Besides, I needed coax my girls into doing it as well. Kiran doesn’t need much coaxing for this sort of thing. She’s had a penchant for risk since she was born.
After our time in the lake, we decided to have a look at the falls. An impressive year of precipitation has meant that more water than usual was coming over. In the spring, the place is quite spectacular.
Another thing we did near, and in, the canyon was celebrate Priya's birthday. She has the misfortune of having a birthday at what is normally a very busy time of year. Thankfully, with some support from my family, we were able to pull together people to give her a rather nice evening.
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| The twins, not impressed. |
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| Girls hard at work. |
Other than working in the yard, we also found some time for the girls to swim with their cousins and a lot of other things to keep them occupied.
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| Dinner with mom. |
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| Pool time with the cousins. |
Having reached the end of our time in the Magic Valley, we headed back to Boise
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The time in Boise allowed for a break in the manual labor. From working at our house in New Meadows, to working at my parents’ place, it had been almost non-stop since I arrived in Idaho. The focus now would be on spending time with family prior to heading north to go backpacking and build our shed – both of which would involve a fair amount of physical exertion.
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| Short visit to the state capital. |
As sort of a birthday gift for the girls from my sisters, we went to the outdoor Shakespeare theater to watch Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812. People that are in the know about theater are well acquainted with The Great Comet as it is more commonly known. I, unfortunately, do not fit in that category. I love theater whenever I have a chance to go, I just don’t get that many chances. Given that both of our girls have enjoyed participating in some theater, it was great for them to get this chance to go.
The description of the play was intriguing: “an electropop opera based on a scandalous slice of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace”. It’s definitely not Macbeth, but the reviews were good and interesting to explore some newish theater (came out in 2012). As a more modern production, it proved to be easier for the girls to understand. When we watched the Two Gentlemen of Verona in Louisville, I could tell that the old English was a bit of a challenge.
The other big event of the days we were there was a family gathering at my niece’s nice house in the Boise foothills. It ended up being a mix of cousins, my aunt and uncle and a rare gathering of all my nieces and nephews from this side of the family. Really nice to catch up with family I hadn’t seen in years. Precious opportunities that seem to be more and more challenging to make happen.
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