The Exciting and Miscellaneous

Fall is in full swing. Ahhhh... why can't we have this weather 6 months out of the year?

Eli has been asked to the Halloween dance with a gal he calls Wadd. 

We wanted to get out of town for fall break, but waited last minute to make plans because kids work schedules were up in the air. Paisley was finally able to confirm the weekend off, Eli made plans to join friend Connelly's family to San Francisco, and Adren couldn't get his shifts covered. So the four of us headed up to Twin Falls, ID! I always liked working up there, it is so pretty. I've always wanted to get back up there and explore some more. 

We arrived to our hotel, which was pretty nice. We enjoyed the cozy fire outside after dinner.

The next morning we headed out a ways to see the ice cave. It was just us and another small group gathered in the gift shop waiting for the tour to start. Our guide was a cute little gal that had everything memorized perfectly. She'd guide us a ways on the rocks, pause, and recite the information. She was delightful. Then we were guided down-down-down into the ice cave. Once upon a time the locals were so excited to discover that the ice would stay frozen year-round, the area ruptured with saloons everywhere because they could boast, "Beer WITH ICE" even in July. The USA ice skating team would practice year-round in this cave!

We learned this cave was made from a lava tube. It's when the outside flow of lava cools and hardens while the lava inside keeps flowing, creating a "tube"

At one point the tour stopped and our guide told us the acoustics were fantastic in the part we were standing in. She named 4 different songs we could request her to sing. Someone from the other group chose Rolling in the Deep by Adelle. We all stood around listening to her sing- a very nasal-y rendition. It's a long song!

Zeke had this expression while she sang.

Once out in the bright sunlight, the kids played on some dinosaurs while Jon and I played a little corn hole.

We made some purchases in the gift shop to remember the fun and went on our way!

Our next stop to check out is Craters of the Moon. So much lava rock! I don't think I realized all of the volcano action Idaho had once upon a time.

This crushed black rock shimmered, it was quite pretty!

We walked along the guided path and learned all about the lava that flowed through this land so many years ago.

At some point Zeke and I were separated from Jon and Paisley, as they wanted to check out a lookout. Zeke and I scrambled and explored around together.

Some of this rock reminded us of icing on a cake. You could see all the swirls and peaks.

We headed out to dinner that evening. Jon and I thought it was real nice to just pay for the four of us!

I was most excited to get a good look at Shoshone Falls. They are so beautiful!

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From there we checked out Magic Valley Mall. I barely recognized it, with all the remodeling and changing that goes on over the years. The kids wanted to check out a thrift store, because they just knew it would be great in a small town. They were right! Paisley found all sorts of great things she is thrilled with. And Zeke found his entire Halloween costume and was just as thrilled.

We just had to go see the bridge at sunset! It was so pretty that night!

We could walk out on the rocks a ways and get such a pretty view of the river.

We saw a couple of black cats. Then another. Then realized there was a whole herd of wild cats living in the brush. We wondered what they were living on???

We all agreed this was such a nice getaway! Not too far of a drive, and just fun to explore a small town and see all it has to offer. The drive and city was a little nostalgic for me. I showed the kids the hotel I always stayed at, and I remember driving around after work to check out the sights. I told them funny stories of the people that worked at the mall and experiences I had. It was fun to go back.