Teton Dam

September 3rd after visiting Mesa Falls we decided to go see the Teton Dam (or a better way to put it the reminants of the dam). Chris had seen the dam, but I had never gone and seen it before so we went to do that since we were out and about in that area. I had drove past the road that leads to the dam many times while working at HD Dunn and Son Angus Ranch in Tetoniam, Idaho. For those that don't know about the Teton Dam, here is a link to a video done by the History Chanel. Their were actual fotage videos, but they are hard to see (that is the second link), and the History Channel explains what went wrong with the dam. I had learned about the dam in my Stream Ecology class and it is an interesting story of events of what not to do.

http://www.history.com/shows/modern-marvels/videos/engineering-disasters-teton-dam#engineering-disasters-teton-dam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEdM6Ys6spA

Here are the photos that I took while we visited of the remnants of the dam. The first is looking down the Teton River.

The second is of the spill gate that malfunctioned when the dam collapsed

Here is what is left of the dam. The right side collapsed, but I learned online that the left side of the dam was taken down to examin after the collapse to help determine what went wrong.

It was certainly something to go and see where the dam was after hearing about the string of events that happened in that time. Many students from at the time Ricks College now BYU-Idaho were sent to help in the clean up efforts. Ricks was not destroyed because of the location on a hill. Now we just need to go to the Teton Dam Flood Museum in Rexburg to learn even more.

Mesa Falls

September 3rd Chris and I took a day trip to go to Mesa Falls. This is another place that people always talk about and we have never gone, so we wanted to make a trip to see the falls. We took the scenic byway and their were many stops along the way with signs and information. Our first stop was Warm River.
At Warm River their were quite a few fish that were making their way up the river, or maybe they just hung out here because people feed them. Here is an action shot of a fish getting some food in the left hand corner. I think he ended up missing the food.
The scenic byway

Lower Mesa Falls. To the right of the falls their is a big rock face, we ended up hiking there after we had seen the upper falls.
Walking up to Upper Mesa Falls
A very good picture of Chris on our walk along the Upper Mesa Falls
Upper Mesa Falls
Upper Mesa Falls, look at the rainbow
View down the river, I loved this view, so beautiful
After seeing the Upper Falls we went to the visitors center and looked around. We then went on a 1 mile hike to the Lower Falls. It was a nice walk, I was a little nervous though because we are in the middle of bear country and their were signs saying that bears have been seen in that area. But we made it and I was relieved when we were back to our car. I don't like bears.
On the way home we had a great view of the Grand Tetons

We had a great time going and seeing the falls and we learned new information about Yellowstone country and how this area has formed. Such beautiful country that we are living in, however it would probably be better if we didn't have bears, wolves, and mountain lions to worry about.

New additions to the family!

August 29th we added two new fish to our family of fish. Their names are Rolly and Polly the balloon bellied mollies (aka for us fat bellied mollies). So our tank has Mr. Clean a peppered cory catfish, Apollo a guppy, Titian a platy, and Rolly and Polly the fat bellied mollies. We are so glad that we have them, they are a joy to watch and each has their own little personalities that gives us a good laugh. Here are some videos of our fish. the first one is of Mr. Clean cleaning. I turned off the video a little early, because at the end when he disappeared I turned off the video and then he popped up at the top of the rock, he is such a funny fish and so CUTE! The other video is of the fish. I tried to take pictures of them to show the markings of Rolly and Polly, they both have cool markings, but it is hard to take pictures of fish. So here they are, enjoy!

Evergreen State Fair

August 25th the last day in Snohomish we went to the Evergreen State Fair. I love going to the fair and showed my beef cattle for many years there along with competing in many other contests as well. This day we had just gone as spectators, which is weird for me, it seems that when I do go to the fair now a days I want to just hang out in the beef barn where I put in many hours of getting up at 5 am to go wash cows and staying in the barn until 10 o'clock at night. Today we had gone to the fair to help with the 4-H livestock judging contests. I had done many of these contests as a 4-Her and FFA member, now I go as a group leader making sure the kids don't talk, marking their cards, and moving them to the next class of livestock. I also judged oral reasons where kids tell me why they placed the class the way they did.

Once livestock judging was completed Chris and I walked around the fair and seen the many different animals and I also got my required food list fulfilled as well, with a purple cow, scone, carmel apple, and corn on the cob. However we just kept going back to the beef barn to hang out, that is just where I belong. I could really care less about all the other stuff at the fair besides the animals.

While hanging out in the beef barn I was asked if I wanted to do the Over the Hill Contest. My first thought was "do I look over the hill?! I mean yeah I just had my birthday but I am only 24 for crying out loud!" I was thinking that the kids thought I was old now because I am not in 4-H anymore. The Over the Hill Contest when I showed was an obstacle course that the kids put on for the parents to run the cows through the course. Now they have added some new contest and changed the names. The Over the Hill contest is when the parents show the cows in showmanship (judging how well the showman presents the cattle and their knowledge), and the kids judge the parents. So much of the time the parents are telling the kids what to do different in the show ring, now it was time to put the parents to the test and see how well they actually are. I was asked to compete, but I knew that I would smoke the parents in showmanship since that is what I used to do all the time. The contest was open for anyone who was too old to show, and well I am, but I knew they wouldn't have a chance. ;). Chris however had never shown before and wanted to have a go with it. He had seen me show before and he knew some of the basics of showing. He met his heifer Rosa, that he would be showing a minute before going into the ring and I gave him as much of a low down of showing that I could in such a short time. I would have to say that Chris did pretty good for never showing before and also with answering questions that the judges asked. He made me pretty proud, I was just bummed that I left my camera in my car so all I had to take pictures with was my phone. I would have to say that it did pretty good at taking pictures for just being a phone.

Chris is in the red shirt with the Lowline Albino Angus to his right (aka cardboard cow)

He is doing so good!
Won his first blue ribbon! Good job Chris!

So proud of his blue ribbon!
We had a very enjoyable day at the fair and last day in Snohomish. It was so much fun to see everyone and hang out in the beef barn, and most of all watch Chris show Rosa the shorthorn heifer!

Erin and Tony's Wedding

August 20th Chris and I had the opportunity to attend Erin and Tony's Wedding (the main reason for going back to Snohomish). This was a wonderful day, very hot, but wonderful none the less. It was held at French Creek Manor in Snohomish. It was also so wonderful to see friends from high school all together in one place. Here is a picture with Erin the beautiful bride. From back to front and left to right we have: Amy, Katie, Anna, Heather, Chris, Crystal, and of course Erin!

Then here is a big group picture of all the wonderful friends we had to catch up with. Again back to front left to right: Sandy, Justin, Amy, Crystal, Anna, Katie, Chris, and Heather.
It was so wonderful to see everyone and join together in the celebration of two important people as they start their lives together. Many congrats and best wishes!

Day in Spokane, WA

August 17th we left our apartment in Rexburg, Idaho to head back over to Snohomish, Washington. (I know we have but a lot of miles on our car this summer, and we are done traveling until April 2012 when we graduate). While on our way to Snohomish we always stop in Spokane and stay with my aunt and uncle, this way it breaks up the trip and we don't have to do a 12 hour drive in one go. We had also planned to pick up my Grandma who was visiting and bring her back to Snohomish as well. When arriving in Spokane we decided to tour around Spokane and spend time with Grandma, Katie (my cousin), and her little boy Silas who was born in November and that we just met in July.

The start to the day was very relaxing and Grandma, Chris, and I walked around the block and just enjoyed being lazy. We then went to lunch with Katie, Silas, and Aunt Denise. After lunch Katie, Silas, Grandma, Chris, and I walked around the park in downtown Spokane. Here is a picture with Heather, Grandma, Katie, and Silas. Then Chris, Heather, and Grandma

While walking through the park we walked over the Spokane river numerous times. We also went and seen the goat! But this goat is no ordinary goat, he eats garbage! When the worlds fair came to Spokane they built this goat that has a vacuum suction to "eat" the garbage. I had never heard of this said goat, so we made a point to go and see him. Katie even dug through her purse for garbage so we could feed the goat. It was pretty cool!
Why is the goat eating Chris's hat?!Also while in the park we went to see the big red wagon. When I had heard about this I didn't imagine it being this big. The handle bar was a slide and underneath were monkey bars.

We had a very enjoyable day walking around Spokane. We also went to the carousel where Silas had his first ride. He was a little nervous of the horse that was chasing him. We also had some very nummy ice cream. It was nice to walk around the park and see different things, but most important spending that time with family that you don't see all that often anymore.

Jared & Amanda's Wedding

August 11th we had the opportunity to attend our friend's wedding. This was an absolutely wonderful event! I had worked with Jared while interning at HD Dunn & Son Angus Ranch in Tetonia, Idaho, so we all became good friends. They were married in the Idaho Falls Temple and we were invited. This was our first sealing (marriage) in the temple that we attended and it was fun to see good friends be sealed for time and all eternity. To learn more about temples and why they are important you can visit http://mormon.org/ and watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x_-TQivCx8&feature=BFa&list=SP4E784EC0770935C0&lf=list_related.

Here we are with them at the reception. They had a background of a barbwire fence, trees, and sagebrush, it was pretty cool! They even had a fan to make the trees rustle.

After the sealing at the temple we headed over to the church where we had a dinner together with close family and friends before the actual reception started. Ten minutes before the reception a kid ended up pulling the fire alarm and the fire department showed up. We were actually surprised at the slow response time. Jared and Amanda got a picture in front of the fire truck just to add to the many memories made that day. It was quite an eventful day with first Jared's truck not starting the day before the wedding after him and Chris spent all last Saturday cleaning it up, then in the bustle of the fire alarm they locked the keys in the car, but it was a wonderful day and many memories were made.

We had a wonderful time and congratulations and best wishes in the many years to come. They are such a wonderful couple and we are glad that we have such great friends to visit and have fun with!

Hiking R Mountain

August 10th we spent the day hiking R Mountain. We decided to do this because it is just something people do in Rexburg, and we haven't hiked R Mountain in our time of being here in Rexburg, and it was coming down to we have to hike it now or it is not going to happen because the snow will be coming and it will be freezing before we know it. (Not looking forward to that one bit, but at least it is our last winter here in Rexburg that we know of).
Here is a picture of R Mountain (Menan Butte) at the beginning of the trail. From looking online it didn't seem like the hike was too bad, but once we got started we realized how extremely steep it was.

Along the trail we saw many different critters. At the beginning of the trail and in the morning we saw a lot of these lizards. They would take off running when we got close, so it scared me at first until I got used to them running past us really fast.

Another critter that we saw on the trail was one that wasn't so inviting. While walking along I heard a very distinct rattle. I had never heard it before and before I heard this sound I sometimes thought I was hearing it when the grasshoppers would make their buzzing sound, but it is a very distinct sound, I know that for a fact now. We had run into a rattlesnake! This was the first time either one of us had run into one. When I heard the rattle I FROZE, seen where it was and how it was starting to rise up and took off down the trail. Once we were away from the rattlesnake it stopped rattling and we waited for it to go further into the sagebrush. I then thought it would be cool to get a picture so Chris got a picture while it was slithering away. The rest of the hike I was paranoid with the grasshoppers jumping around. Every little movement I seen or every sound made I would jump. I have been in areas with rattlesnakes but have never seen one before so I was on guard the entire hike looking for them.

After our steep hike up the side of the butte we finally made it to the top!

We had a great view and hike around the crater in the middle. This view is one of my favorites because it has the Grand Tetons in the background. I love the Tetons after living in the Teton Valley while I interned at HD Dunn & Son Angus Ranch in Tetonia, Idaho before we were married.
Chris with a west view of the sagebrush
The crater; we hiked all the way around it.This was after we had hiked around the crater and getting ready to head back down
While on the way down we had another encounter with a rattlesnake. We were walking right along and all of a sudden a snake came out of the sagebrush in front of us and was slithering across the trail. He must of thought that we weren't a threat to him because he didn't rattle or anything, just went on his merry little way. I had to tell Chris to stop because he wasn't paying attention to the ground (like I was because I was paranoid we would run into another one).

All in all we had a great hike and we can now say that we have hiked R Mountain and seen some rattlesnakes, however I hope that was the first and only time seeing rattlesnakes, but who knows where our adventures will lead us. At least it is better than running into a bear! And at least rattlesnakes give you a warning, we both like that about them.

2 Year Anniversary

Our 2 year anniversary was July 31st. We had moved into our apartment on July 30th, so our apartment was a disaster. We celebrated our anniversary August 1st by going down to Idaho Falls to get away from our apartment and take a break from unpacking. We started by having chinese for dinner in downtown Idaho Falls and then walked around the green belt. It was a very enjoyable walk and felt good to be back in Idaho. Here is a picture of the river with the Idaho Falls Temple in the background.

After our walk we checked into our hotel: Destinations Inn. A friend of mine had recommended it and we had a lot of fun. It is a bed and breakfast with themed rooms. A perfect way to get away from our moving madness and enter into another world to relax.

Upon our arrival we had cheesecake and sparkling cider waiting for us. I also thought that this sign was really cool that was placed on our bed.

We stayed in the Congo room that had a water fountain, big bubbly tub (which I was really excited about), and breakfast that they brought to us the next day. The room was really cool! Highly recommend this place and they have quite a selection of different rooms you can stay in. It is a great way to enter a different world but is local (well for some of you guys).

We had a wonderful time and it was great to get away from our apartment for a bit and just relax. Can't believe that 2 years have past, they have flown by so fast!

CA 101: Stockton, CA - Snohomish, WA

Wow this blog is really outdated, but better late than never! Since I last posted, a lot of events have occurred. Here are some pictures of our trip up CA 101 from Stockton, California to Snohomish, Washington. We started our trip by leaving July 8th after Chris got off work. It was a very joyous event leaving Stockton and not looking back. It was nice for a time, and the people that we stayed with were wonderful, however I would never want to live in Stockton, and was glad that we left when we did. It seemed that the crime rate increased quite a bit after we left.

So once the car was all packed up in 100 degree weather we hit the road. We went up 1-5 cutting onto Highway 20 to go past Clearlake and get on CA 101. We spent that night in Willits. The next day we continued our journey on 101 and went through the Avenue of the Giants. This was really cool to see! We had seen the Giant Sequoias earlier, but to be able to see the Coastal Redwoods as well was really cool. It just blows your mind how magnificent those giants are. The Coastal Redwoods are not as wide as the Giant Sequoias, however they are taller. Here are some pictures going through the grove of the redwoods.

Here is a comparison picture with our car
We then continued on to CA 101 and eventually came to the beach. Not sure what beach this is, but it is somewhere along the way. We also stopped at Eureka, CA and had BBQ for lunch where Chris had eaten many times while on his mission. We were able to drive around town for a bit and he showed me some important places before continuing on our journey.

One side of the road we had the beach, and the other side we had a lagoon

Along the way we also saw a heard of elk

Another beach area on CA 101

We continued on CA 101 until Crescent City before cutting onto 199 and then onto I-5. We spent the second night of the trip in Roseburg, Oregon and then from there continuing until we arrived in Snohomish, WA on July 10th. It was a great trip and we had a lot of fun seeing the different little towns along the way. We also noticed that a lot of crazy people live in Northern Cali. On our trip we seen so many random little places in the middle of the woods that had weird things in the yard (like unusual statues, and a TON of colors), it actually made me not want to stop... it was really weird!

Then July 11-14th Chris took off for Ferndale, WA to train an intern there. I stayed with my parents and was able to help my dad with different work projects. Chris then came back for a few days before heading off to Minnesota July 17-21st for an intern conference at Cargill headquarters. He had a lot of fun and had a great recommendation. We find out sometime this month (September) whether Chris is hired after graduation (April), and who knows where we will end up then. We then left July 28th to head back to good old Rexburg and get things moved into our apartment and settled in before school starts.