IDAHO IN A NUTSHELL

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haha!

Sad, but true. 
Though it does make summer-time all the sweeter.

SUMMER PARADISE

I cannot even express the joy of being home all day.

Quiet. Calm. With lots of time to do...whatever the heck I want.

For example, I can't remember the last time I made myself a beautiful lunch, sat down, and ate it. Without the phone ringing, cafeteria duty to be to, kids needing to make-up work, lessons to plan, materials to gather, papers to grade, messes to clean, copies to make, e-mails to answer, and band aids to apply.

I can arrange flowers from my yard and be at home to enjoy them.

I can spend all morning weeding and seeding and enjoying the sunshine.

I can get started arranging past blog entries into a printed book.
{Something I've wanted to do for a long time. And what a great family journal/scrapbook to have!}

I can even sit at my window and watch that tree go from this...

to this...in less than twenty-four hours.

The best thing is that I have the time to take pointless pictures of weeds and daydream on a piece of land that Andrew and I own as of 8am this morning.

That's right. Breaking ground this afternoon.

Boo-ya, baby! It's gonna be a great summer.

SPRING BREAK IN THE TETONS

Driving through miles of potato fields, and were it not for fences, there would be no way to tell where earth ended and sky began. Everything around us was white, white, white.

The falling, blowing snow made driving slightly difficult on this lonely highway.

We soon came across a little car that had slid off the road and gotten stuck in a snowbank. Its occupants were attempting to dig themselves out with snowboards. 

We pulled them out only to realize their car was too damaged from the accident to drive. We left them in the hands of a tow truck. 

See the sign peeking out of the top of the pile? I thought this might give you an idea how much snow there was once we reached the mountains. 

After an hour drive, we reached the Grand Targhee Ski Resort in...er...Wydaho, U.S.A.

Being the first day of my spring break, Andrew got work off for some half-price snowboarding. 

I ask, what could be better than combining snowboarding with half-price? I know not. 

We enjoyed thirty inches worth of new powder...on deserted slopes. People must have assumed the snow would be lousy this late in the season. 
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Boy, were they wrong. 

Most snowboarders lead with their left foot. We discovered I should be leading with my right, and changed my bindings accordingly. A a result, my progress was exponential! I keep dreaming about going back as soon as humanly possible. 

We came across some folks who preferred an alternative way of enjoying the snowfall. 

This gal, moments after taking the picture, rolled around in a fresh snow-pile before jumping back in the pool. 

Driving home at the end of the day, we came across others who weren't deterred by the spring storm. 

Spud farmers, up to their ankles in mud, prepare for the fast-approaching planting season. 

As we descended back into Rexburg, I couldn't help think of those celebrating a wild spring break on beaches in Florida. And here I was, perfectly content to enjoy the effects of a snowstorm on spud fields with my love, from the middle seat of a Dodge pick-up...ha!

WEEKEND

We had house guests this weekend that included these crazy cats.

On Saturday, we took Andrew's brothers snowboarding to Grand Targhee. 

Hi, Ryan!

Sunny when we arrived, but blizzarding by the time we hit the slopes. Perfect, powdery snow all afternoon!

 I love that the guys are having no problem going slow.

But I shouldn't make fun too badly. This picture was taken from inside the tree well I crashed into and couldn't get out of. I was trying to improve my toe-side skills at the time. 

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I'm getting better...really! I'm just not there yet. 

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Let me just add: it isn't polite to applaud and jeer sarcastically from the ski lift when someone below you tumbles head over feet down the mountain. 

{Luckily, the snow was soft.} 

Favorite snowboarding experience yet! Better than Kelly Canyon by a million miles...and even beat fancy  Sun Valley. If you're in Idaho itchin' for the slopes...definitely go for Targhee. 

SUN VALLEY SLOPES

We left the Inn that first morning to beautiful, sunny skies.

The mountains were already covered with skiers, the fresh powder billowing up like smoke.

We took a shuttle to the lifts and began our ascent in large, enclosed gondolas. This place made the Kelly Canyon slopes we are used to, look like a total dump.

We were so high in the air, and the view became so incredible...

That we were slightly giddy.

So much fun.

And it only got better as we got higher.

More shots from our ride up the mountain...

The price of the lift ticket was worth it just for the views.

Amazing designs on the mountain made by downhill skiers.

After a second, slightly colder lift ride, we reached the summit at 8,680 feet.

I can't even describe how frigid it was up there.

And I'm from Rexburg.

And the view from up there was slightly unnerving. I had to make it down this mountain on a thin board of wood and plastic?

The lodge at the top provided food and fire. 

How they got the building materials up there to construct it in the first place, I'll never know.

Have I mentioned how beautiful and fancy it all was?

We payed $16 for two slices of pizza that were pulled straight from a flaming brick oven. Then eaten on china dishes.

Yes, it was the best pizza I've ever consumed.

Then we boarded the afternoon away until I was more exhausted than I have ever been in my entire life.

{I'm in love with this photo, by the way!}

Well, that's the end of the pictures for now. The rest of this day was only spent lying on the hotel bed in a near-comatose state. We hurt everywhere. 

IDAHO SAFARI

December. Lonely Idaho highway. Raging blizzard. 

One unforgettable sight.

We are on our way to Sun Valley when we notice a small herd of antelope grazing on one side of the road. With no cars coming in either direction, we skid the truck to a stop to enjoy them.

{This wasn't the unforgettable sight. I haven't gotten to that part yet.}

As we sit there, we seem to gradually take in the fact that this is a lot more than a happy, little gathering of antelope. They are scattered, camouflaged by whirling snow, as far as the eye can see!

We do a lot of ooohing and ahhing and pointing...{but I still haven't reached the truly unforgettable part. Just hold on to your hats a second; I'll get there!}

After a few minutes, Andrew, glancing at the rear view mirror, announces that a semi truck is coming and we had better move on. Turning in my seat to locate the semi heading in our direction, something else catches my eye instead, and all I can do is gasp.

{This is the really incredible part, by the way. In case you were wonderin'.}

Over the white plains, on the other side of the road, swarm more antelope, thicker and more numerous than I ever would have expected to see in real life. Running full speed ahead, they snake behind us and course across the highway in a solid, steady stream. Think Discovery Channel. Planet Earth. African Serengeti. PBS special.

I'm talking hundreds and hundreds and hundreds!

And hundreds.

{I looked it up, and it is not uncommon for the wintering herds in this area to reach 1,000 strong.}

Snow-packed roads make it near impossible for the semi truck to stop in time....its front bumper sliding within a couple feet of the stampede. It is an intense couple of seconds.

Antelope are North America's fastest running land animal, and it still takes a long time before they all reach the other side. What a view that trucker must have! I watch with my mouth hanging open for some time, before I come to my senses and realize three key things:

Number one. My name is Rachel Ashmore.
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Number two. There is a camera sitting in my lap.
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Number three. I am an obsessive-compulsive picture taker, who literally dreams of photo capturing opportunities such as this.


By the time my camera is frantically pointing in the right direction, all I have to show for it is an unfocused trickle of the last antelope scampering away.

Bah, Humbug.

And of course, Andrew's only regret is that he doesn't have his hunting rifle...


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