Wright Reunion

Last weekend (July 26-29) was the Wright Reunion.  The reunion was officially Saturday at Lava Hot Springs, but we headed up Thursday night to my grandparent's farm in Bennington, Idaho to play, as did my cousin Hailee, my grandparents, and my Uncle Doug.  My great-aunt Winnie Mae and most of her clan were also up there at her cabin across the highway.

The farm has always had a special place in my heart.  I have many fond memories there, playing in the barn and climbing up in the loft, running through the fields, fishing for carp, campfires, my grandpa's wooden fish full of m'n'm's, the old old stove, sink, etc. 

When my grandparents inherited it, they re-painted and redecorated it, which I also love.  I've always loved that my grandpa grew up on a farm plowing fields, working horses, etc.  I've also always loved that my mom grew up with horses and cows, and that she used to some barrel racing.  Some how I feel like it's in my blood and that I'm justified in wearing my cowboy hat and boots.  Visiting the farm brings back all of these same feelings every time, and the nostalgia increases and as we make more memories.  I hope my kids have the chance to visit the farm a lot like I did! 

 

We arrived late Thursday night, and just went straight to bed.  Friday morning we woke up to my grandparents cooking their traditional bacon, sausage, and eggs with toaster waffles.  After breakfast we took off on the 4-wheelers.  Jeff, Shad, and I shared one, and Hailee and Doug took the other.  We headed up a trail called Joe's Gap.  It was pretty rocky and steep in a few places, but once we got past that, it was a much easier ride.  Shad fell asleep between the two of us and slept for a good 30-40 minutes.  

Once up on top we found a couple of Peruvian sheepherders camped out in the woods.  They approached us and we soon realized they only spoke Spanish.  I wondered what their plan was in approaching a bunch of white people in the first place... I'm guessing that wanted water and company?  Anyway, Jeff ended up chatting with them for a good 30 minutes, which I'm sure completely made their day, and Hailee's, since she got to go pet their horses.  Jeff said they were really lonely and bored... and interested in Hailee... Anyway, we headed back down the other side and ended up coming out in Montpelier Canyon.  Rather than head all the way back on the trail we took the highway back.  We stopped by to visit with Winnie Mae's clan before going back to the farm.  

We got a bite to eat and then headed back over to Winnie Mae's.  She is renting her pasture out and there are horses in it right now, so the owners brought over saddles and bridles so they could be ridden.  They were beautiful horses, but they're hooves needed some serious care.  They were so long they were curling back up into their feet, and were kinda bothering the mare.  But we still had fun.  We NEVER turn down an opportunity to ride!  McArthurs had pulled in right before we did so they came out and rode the horses also.  We got to sit and chat with a few of them after riding too.

 

Friday night we built a fire and had hotdogs and smores for dinner.  

That night after we put Shad to bed Jeff and I went out for a night ride on the 4-wheeler.  We wanted to go down to the rail road tracks, and ended up at the train bridge.  We discovered a new road that goes straight to it, so we no longer have to drive/walk along the tracks to get to the bridge!  Doug and Hailee said they'd meet us there, but they were off collecting bones (don't ask...) so we actually never saw them, just heard them in the distance.  We were getting ready to head back to the 4-wheeler when we heard a train whistle coming from the Montpelier direction. 
 
For those who don't know what "going to the train bridge" means, let me try to give you a visual picture. 

This is what the bridge looks like:

 (Yes that's me, circa 2006) 

Both sides of the bridge have a walkway on the left, and are open down to the river on the right.  You are able to climb down on the right and stand on the cross sections like this:

 Us on an almost identical bridge in Boise in 2007 (above) and 2009 (below)

   

You first have to figure out which direction the train is approaching from so you can be on the opposite side of these A-frame crossbeams, so you're protected if anything were to be hanging off the train.  You keep your head back and watch as the train hauls by with the wheels at arms length in front of your face! 

We decided to get down on the bridge and watch is pass when we heard a louder, much closer whistle coming from the opposite direction!  It was only a few seconds later when we saw the light down the bend and had to hurry and switch sides on the bridge!  We got down in time for a very fast and long train.  It was awesome.  The adrenaline of getting down so fast and the anticipation that resulted from not going to a train bridge in 4 years made it that much better.  After it passed we wondered if the other train would come soon now that this train had passed, when we heard a second train coming the same direction as the first!  We hurried and got down again, and watched a second train haul by.  The third train that was coming from Montpelier started coming not too long after the first two had passed.  It started slow since it had been stopped waiting, but got faster with impressive speed.  We got to watch 3 trains in a matter of about 15 minutes!  Definitely a record.  It was awesome.  

Saturday morning after breakfast we headed out for Lava Hot Springs to see everyone.  My grandparents were in charge of this reunion so they rented the pavilion at Majestic Park for a potluck.

  The majority of the rest of the extended family were down the street at the campground where they were staying but they all came up for lunch.

Gretchen and Shad had fun playing with her towel:

After lunch we headed down to the pool.  We took Shad in but he wasn't too excited to be in the water.  It was his nap-time but he wouldn't settle down with us around so we went to play on the platforms and slides while my grandma held him and got him to sleep!  Way to go Grandma!  

Our camera screen broke somehow on Friday so we weren't able to tell that the memory card was full, which meant we weren't able to get a single picture from the hot springs.  But here are a a few I stole off the internet.  Megan and I went off the highest platform together.  It looks so much higher when you're up there! 

That evening we headed back to the farm.  After getting Shad to bed Jeff and I headed over to the Ranch Hand to get something to eat cause one, we were hungry, and two, it's tradition!  

Sunday we went to sacrament in Bennington and then took some pictures of Shad around the farm in his cowboy garb.  (Which I'll post in another post later...)  We waited until the evening to head home so it wasn't hot and Shad would fall asleep.  We worked on getting his energy out by wandering around the yard and eating apples off the tree, until we had too many mosquito bites to stay out any longer...  

 

 

We headed back home and decided to let the GPS guide us the shortest route, which we were surprised to find took us into Wyoming, into Utah, back into Wyoming and through Evanston, before heading back into Utah and through Park City.  (Usually we take I-15 through Utah, going through Logan and around Bear Lake.)  It was a fun and new experience, though much less scenic...  

Thank you Grma & Grpa for a fun-filled nostalgic weekend!