So I've put this post off long enough I suppose. There were just so many pictures to go through and I've been sick since we got back, so it felt a little overwhelming. I picked a small batch of pictures to share and then at the end, I'll share a link where you can see all of the pictures I took.
So, we started things off two days before the trip actually started. Thursday, Nov 18, we headed out to PDX to pick up a rental van. It was a little annoying that we had to make the drive all the way out to the airport in order to get the best deal, but oh well. The van was AMAZING. I love minivans now. The next day, I dropped off various pets in various places (all pre-arranged, I assure you) and picked up my dad from the train station. We left the following morning at 7:40am (goal was 7am, so we did pretty well) and hopped on I-84, where we would drive for the next 8+ hours. It was smooth going, until we got up to the pass.
Oddly enough, they were only requiring chains for trucks. It took and hour and a half to get over the pass. We stopped for lunch as soon as we were over, where Aiden ate parking lot snow (ICK!) and Nathan promptly vomited the minute we were seated at a restaurant. Poor kid had to be taken out to the van and changed in the cold (it was either let him freeze for a minute or get barf all over the car while I changed him). As soon as he was changed, he was starving and ready to eat. The rest of the drive was fairly uneventful, but the boys were quite excited as soon as they saw the "Welcome to Idaho" sign, and John was quite excited as soon as the speed limit went up to 75 the moment we entered the state.
We stayed the night at my grandma Jean's house in Melba, then got up and ready at 6am the next morning to drive another five hours to Aberdeen, Idaho (If you don't know where it is - and most people don't - it's 20 miles west of Pocatello).
Such a gorgeous morning in Melba! We made a few stops in Boise and I decided that I could handle living in Boise. So beautiful!
We stopped on the way to Aberdeen to look at a bridge that goes over the Snake River Canyon. Everyone walked across, except me. I had a fear of heights induced panic attack (crying, rocking back and forth, shaking, turned into a small asthma attack....not pretty). I apparently have to have one on each trip we take.
As soon as we got into Aberdeen, there was a large family get together waiting for us. Lots and lots of cousins that I'd never met and some people who hadn't seen me since I was 10. I really appreciated the most common comment I received, "Oh, you...haven't grown much". Yes, yes, I know I'm tiny. Thank you.
We stayed with my grandma Darlene and while so many memories of that house came flooding back the moment I walked in, it felt strange. Like I expected my grandpa to walk in at any moment. Like he was supposed to be there. I was processing these feelings when grandma Darlene got out some of my grandpa's things and started going through them with my dad. I had to excuse myself to go cry alone. I finally did cry with Darlene the next day. It was a harder trip than I imagined.
This my grandfather's old Ford that's in their private storage facility.
There's my boys in the bumper seat!
And while the sign says, "Don't Touch!", I'm the granddaughter, so I get to sit in it!
We took a trip out to the cemetery and while the headstone wasn't up yet, it was good to see the spot. I had to keep from thinking about it too much though. Aiden was slightly confused as to why there wasn't glass over the burial spots in order to see the people. I think taking him to BodyWorlds contributed to that confusion!
This is a picture of my grandfather as a baby. We look at it and see Nathan. But we would like to point out that there is no actual blood relation. Apparently all other Inskeeps saw it too, because throughout the family get together, people would point at Nathan and say, "He definitely looks like an Inskeep!". (Not everyone knows or remembers that my dad is actually my stepdad).
Here's me, grandma Darlene, dad, and Nathan.
After one night at grandma Darlene's (where I slept in my grandpa's old bed, which felt very odd to me), we packed up again and headed back to Melba. We were nearly into Boise when my dad got a phone call from my aunt, letting him know that they hadn't gotten the keys to their new house that day as was expected. So there were going to be 12 people crammed into my grandma's 3 bedroom, 1 bath house. It didn't take us long to decide to get a hotel room in Boise for the night instead.
It was the best night of sleep we got the entire trip!
After a very amazing night of sleep, we headed into Melba the next morning to do some sightseeing in Celebration Park. The Indian petroglyphs there date back 12,000 years! It was truly one of the most amazing things I've seen. We all goofed around a little too - away from the 12,000 year old petroglyphs!
Monkeys on a bridge!
Tumbleweed Minthorne.
Petroglyphs! This is Map Rock.
We did end up getting to help my aunt, uncle, and cousins move into their new house and then we all had a very fried dinner at Cook's Two Hole Bar (don't worry - it was family place....even with everyone smoking). We watched a little TV after dinner and discovered that places in Idaho give out shotguns as Black Friday door prizes. Me, John, and my dad all started laughing hysterically as my grandma looked on slightly confused as to what the big deal was.
Since my relatives had finally gotten their long awaited house (seriously, they were supposed to have it over a month ago), we were able to sleep comfortably at my grandma's for our last night. I say last night, but it was more like a nap. We crawled out of bed at 2am, when I discovered that I had come down with a horrid cold (which I'm still in the process of kicking out of my sinuses), and hit the road to head home. We made it back to Portland by 11am, but not until a small woodland flying creature chose death by flying directly into our windshield as we went over the pass, and Aiden vomited all over the minivan 20 minutes away from home. Yes, both boys barfed once, but they are amazing travelers. No complaints or anything - just a little carsickness!
I can't believe we crammed everything we did into such a short trip. But I am so glad I was able to see so many people. I can't say that the trip was the closure I needed for my grandpa's passing, in fact, I think it made it a little worse - just bringing it all to reality. But I'm still happy that we went. We had a great time and the boys are asking when we get to go back to Idaho.
If you'd like to see the full album for our trip, you can check it out
here.
