Epic Summer Trip 2019 (Day 3-4): Prineville Reservoir Rec Area, OR to Boise, ID

Day 3-4  Prineville Reservoir Rec Area (Oregon) to Boise, ID

Day three was a long haul.  It took us about 5 ½ hours to travel to Boise to visit my dear cousin, Lizzie.  Lizzie is my first cousin on my mother’s side (her dad is my Uncle Paul).  The trip was fairly uneventful traveling through rolling hills and wide open desert.  There isn’t much out there, but I love the terrain.  Even though it’s sparse, I love the hot sun, dry heat, and wide open nature of the West.  People hate it or love it.  Some feel too exposed to the barren-ness, while some (like me) love the ability to see for miles and miles in all directions.  It’s so hard in the PAC-NW or eastern coat to gaze upon vast landscapes that demand a picture taking.  The west is simplified in it’s elements which appeals to my minimalist nature.  Enjoy the view and survive with what you can use.

Lizzie has baby-brain (or that’s what we’ll blame it on) for mixing up the dates that we were to arrive in Boise.  She did confirm that it was her fault, so I’m proud of her tenacity to research where the breakdown occurred.  Considering my muddled brain, I took full responsibility either way.  Thank you Lizzie and Clayton for hosting us for 2 nights!!!

Drew with Birdie the bird dog

Boise is an interesting town of 50’s style neighborhoods and an abundance of new construction developments.  Apparently Boise is where all the Californians are migrating too!  Though, we say the same exact thing in Seattle.  It really doesn’t surprise me, though.  California is getting more and more expensive to live.  Is Boise the next Seattle?! 

We camped out in Lizzie’s driveway using the Aliner mainly to minimize our presence.  I’m trying to find the fine balance in etiquette when visiting friends/family for minimizing disruption while taking advantage of hospitality.  The rules, of course, change based on the type of relationship.  It’s such an interesting dynamic which is not universal across regions, states, families, etc.  Does anyone have a rule book for this?  Just kidding, there is probably something on the internet which has already figured this out based on an algorithm.

My Aunt Martha and my Uncle Paul joined us for dinner at Lizzie and Clayton’s house where we enjoyed the nice early summer weather outside.  Paul and Martha are probably my closest relatives outside of my immediate family since I spent a summer in central, Idaho back in 1998.  I got a job with Idaho Fish and Game after graduating from college and would spend weekends with them which entailed a 3 hour commute between Burley, ID and Blackfoot, ID.  That commute continued after getting a job at Sun Valley Resort (in Sun Valley, ID) as a night auditor for the resort. 

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Lizzie and Clayton have two little boys (Lawrence & Simon) and are busy enjoying the blinding/chaotic/cloudy state of young childhood.  I don’t miss that stage where money is always an issue and the stress of figuring out where are we supposed to be at any given moment.  Daycare with 2 incomes – Yippeeeeee!  They are doing a great job and everyone seems pretty grounded. 

Olivia, Drew, and I spent day 4 going to a waterpark in Boise after I did a nice jog in the morning along a canal/irrigation ditch.  It’s going to take a while to get used to higher elevation!  We were lucky enough to be going on a weekday with clouds so the crowds were small and the lines were short.  I love that the kids are becoming more and more independent.  Drew didn’t want to go on some rides so Olivia and I took off while he spent time in the lazy river.  It was good to have father-daughter time as well.  I made sure to talk to almost everyone in line so she could see my interactions with kids her age.  Kids are friendly and have not problems telling you their favorite rides or what to avoid.  It was a fun day and I was especially impressed with Drew’s courage to go down the scariest ride in the park.  He actually faced his fear on his own!  I went down the scary ride first and left him up at the top (he asked me to go first).  I went down and then waited… waited.  He didn’t come down.  I realized that he was getting scared so I decided to hike back to up to see if he was OK.  I get to the top and notice that he’s not there.  Huh, I guess he went down.  Of course, that meant that I had to go down again.  Gulp/Crap.  He ended up going done 2 more times and called it his favorite ride after admitting that he told himself right before the first time, “Drew you need to have courage.  You can do this.”

Paul and Martha came back again for marinaded venison tacos and sweet corn for dinner along with Martha’s cousin-in-law, Steve.  Soooooo delicious!  We enjoyed the rest of the evening with a 3^rd birthday party for Lawrence with homemade birthday cake and presents.  I enjoyed a nice conversation with Lizzie and Martha about the social nature of humans while they washed dishes and I did my best at cleaning up the compost.  All-in-all a great visit with a wonderful family.