The day after Canada Day we made a driving day and didn't really do much other than put on miles and enjoy the scenery. It was nice a nice mile stone to cross the border between Canada and the United States. The border station between Canada's Highway 4 and the United States' I-15 is very interesting in that the border building itself crosses the road and is very large and imposing however on each side there are fields and pastures as far as one can see. It seems that it would not be difficult for one to go around the border guard if they wished. In our case the border guard of course presented nothing more than a minor delay however I did find that I resented their presence. Being as unencumbered with details of reality as I am I would rather not see a border between the US and Canada nor the US and Mexico for that matter. I believe that all people are tied together on earth as humans and we should work together to take care of everybody not just people born within certain geographic regions, to certain families or of a particular skin color. The argument that opening the border between the US and Mexico would lower the standard of living in the United States seems to me to be first an admission of a difference in the quality of life experienced in the two countries and second a statement that our good sense in exiting the womb on US soil makes us more entitled to take things from the world than those that did not share our great judgment in the decision of where to be born. As for the border between Canada and the United States it makes very little sense to me at all in as much as the two countries seem so similar to me.
Back to the United States ...
I had been looking forward to a drop in gas prices but was a bit disappointed to find US gas well over $4 a gallon. Still not as bad as the prices in Canada but far from a full relief.
Much of the reason for our hurry to put on miles was that I wanted to go to Crystal Park near Dillon Montana before we went to Idaho Falls. Crystal Park is a very unique place in that it allows visitors to dig for and keep crystals they find. I had never been to the place but had heard good things about it from both my cousin Mariann and my college friend Cody. We finished the day of driving at the Flying J just outside of Butte Montana. I was a bit frustrated because I hadn't realized that going to the park was almost 80 miles out of route and that with all of the driving of the day it was hard to find ambition for more driving. In the morning I made a call to the visitor's service desk in Dillon and learned a little more about the park and rekindled my interest in going. The family was split in the vote as to whether we should spend half a day at Crystal Park or simply get to Idaho Falls. With Lexie weighing in as a neutral I decided to buy some shovels and screen and plan for half a day at Crystal Park.
We were amazed at the beauty of the mountain meadows on the drive to the park. The park sits at something around 7800 feet so even though it was early July things looked very "springish". As for the park itself I couldn't decide if the park looked like it had been shelled by a B-52 bomber or infested with Cadillac sized gophers. In the areas people were allowed to dig and many people weren't allowed to dig there were large holes all over. A problem in the park is that people with forget what they are doing or rather focus to much on what they are doing and not think about its impacts. There have been deaths in the park caused by people digging directly under trees and then having the trees fall on top of them as the trees loose their roots. Despite several warning signs and instructions not to do so many of the holes were butted directly against trees. I am sure that on hot days the shade of the tree is very attractive. Also as we found once one begins finding crystals it is easy to forget about anything other than finding more crystals.
Tyrell loves rocks and was very excited to get to work.
It was fun looking for the crystals.
Next time I am going to bring a larger shovel.
The mountain meadows were wonderful.
As for physical comfort during our time there it was a bit poor. We had plenty of water but found the weather to be too hot and the bugs to be too hungry. Mosquito bites on a sun burn are not very comfortable. With that said overall I give the place an 'A' rating and am very excited to get another chance to go back.
By buying hot dogs and a gross turkey sandwich from a gas station instead of having food for dinner we were able to make good enough time to pull into Thornton to camp the night of the 3rd. My mom needless to say was very pleased to see us a day earlier than anticipated.
The morning of the Fourth was spent in Wal-Mart getting hair cuts and groceries. After that we went over to Lexie's sister Katie's house for a barbeque and to play games. I had a lot of fun playing Mario Kart and Tennis on my brother-in-law Camron's wii. I didn't have as much fun playing American Idol but I did play in the interest of being a good sport. Unfortunately the saying of "No guts no glory" is not reversible simply having guts doesn't always bring glory.
I really like the Idaho Falls fire works show. Since being married Lexie and I have watched the fireworks in Idaho Falls more than any other place. For some reason I found myself extremely cynical this year. I am sure it had to do with being over tired and also lately I am very sensitive to anything that resembles brain washing. The United States is definitely not what I understood it to be as a kid. I am sure some of the difference in what I thought it was and what it is is simply the difference in the understanding of an Adult and the understanding of a child. I also think some of the difference is due to a misrepresentation of information. I definitely like the United States but it is not the beginning and end of the world as it seem we are taught it is as children. Somehow we develop this idea of ourselves on an island and the rest of the word being out there different and distant. The rest of the world is right here with us and it is on the same island. I don't think it is healthy to work at trying to bring ourselves up in our minds to think that we are more important than the rest of it.
A Rover Red Rover game at Katie's house.
Fireworks at Katie's house.
We camped in our trailer in front of Katie's house so that we would be able to get ready for her son Jared's baptism in the morning. The service was nice and we enjoyed spending more time with Lexie's family. In the evening we returned to Thornton.
We have been living in Thornton for about two weeks now. One of my favorite things about Thornton is I am able to have chickens here. The first week we were here I called on an add in the local classifieds and bought 6 laying hens and 6 pullets. They are Sexlink chickens. I don't think I would have bought Sexlinks as chicks but having owned them I now think I might. The birds seem quite calm and will let the kids hold them and carry them around. When we first got the birds home we found that we hadn't quite repaired the chicken pen as well as we thought we had. There were several breakouts however the birds proved quite easy to catch. I have plans to build a larger portable pen for them but so far they are mostly still just plans.
I think David is a great expression in this photo of the joy of field.
I finally got my chickens!
I have been making great progress on the spelling game I am working on. I still don't have a release date set in my mind but things are looking good for the release date happening this year. I am a bit intimidated by the need to address all of the legal issues I will need to address related to my game but like any challenge I'll face it when I get there and find a way through. I suppose I can't say that about any challenge it seems some challenges I face when I get there and then they crush me, laugh at me and spit on me. I am truly hoping this is the kind of challenge I get to and get over.
My dad works alternate weeks in the oil field driving a water truck. On his week home we cleaned out the area south of the house so that I would be able to have a nicer camp site. It turned out to be a full week of work to get the area cleaned up and get things setup for the trailer. We all very pleased with the result. I can now camp in Thornton indefinitely although when the cold weather comes in I imagine we will be going out.
I keep going back and forth about how long I want to have the kids in public school. I think there are some things it would be nice to have them pick up in public school but I also believe in the value of the education they can get from life on the road. For now it is decided that we will enroll them in public school this fall but from there we don't really know how things will turn out.
I had a lot of fun this last Thursday playing church softball. I didn't have a great game but didn't have a bad one either. I was running hard around the bases and I have been surprised at how long the sore muscles have lasted. I really don't like sore muscles but I do like the feeling of running as fast as I can. I think I am going to work sprints into my work out schedule.
Friday night Lexie and I had the first date we have had in much too long a time. It was very nice to be out as just the two of us. We went to the movie Prince Caspian and then to Frontier Pies for some peanut butter and chocolate pie. We both easily agreed that the kids were not going to watch Prince Caspian in the near future in as much as the movie is loaded with sword play and we are both tired of needing to disarm boys of their sticks after someone gets inadvertently hit in a duel.
Saturday the ward had a breakfast and the kids did a simple parade.
Saturday the ward had a breakfast and the kids did a simple parade.
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