Idaho Summer Vacation – Part 1

We met up with Jeremy’s brother Michael and his family at an amazing cabin to hang out, play games, share stories and laughs, eat delicious food, and enjoy being with our loved ones we don’t get to see regularly. Oh, and now we’re all addicted to the tv show Alone.

Cousins in a Cabin

I think we should start a quote board of “According to Jeremy”- all reasonable sounding and not quite easily verified in the woods without internet. Here are a few gems from this trip:

“The plural for moose is meece, like goose and geese.”

“Huckleberry is not a real berry— they made it up and it’s just a mix of a bunch of mountain berries.”

Upper Mesa Falls

We did a super short hike of the Upper Mesa Falls and stopped by the visitors center to learn hands on about some of the native wildlife and then return for ice cream for the kids to cool off. The waterfall

Johnny Sack’s Cabin

Big Springs in Island Park. The craftsmanship of this cabin is incredible- a Taj Mahal for a little mountain man (he was as tall as me!) fitted for electricity years before it ever came to the area, powered by the springs using a water wheel. Even the floors were exquisite. Jer’s grandparents were volunteers here when they lived in the community. The springs are still a healthy ecosystem!

Island Park

This was such an important place for my husband growing up. He spent summers here at his grandparents’ cabin, which his grandfather built and retired to for a time. At age 17, Jer and his brother poured all the foundations for the lamp posts in the community. “See all these lamp posts? I did that!” Grandma Enid planted a garden full of strawberries and made a delicious jam. The train track Grandpa laced through the entire house is still visible from the 2nd story window. “See that room with the balcony? That was Uncle Eric’s room.” In the trees, Jer shared hilarious stories of getting in trouble while painting the outside of the cabin.

The family dog Morky was buried in the pine forest next to the house where the trees have grown from 2ft tall to beyond the roof of the home in the last 20 years. They played in the golf course behind the home and fished for extra golf balls in the pond they’d sell with cousins. Their Dad taught them how to play racquetball at the club house.

River

Kids had their heart set on getting wet, so Jer brought us to the river and led the way. Although it took convincing for some of them, we all ended up in the cool waters with our toes or shoes squishing the soft vegetation below and had so much fun splashing and exploring!

Check out our next adventures with Michael’s family in West Yellowstone here.

Love, Kat