The Trip!

pictures are a pain to post with these - so right now it's just words - becuase i'm not very motivated to sit in this truck stop and post pictures - maybe later - words are good too :-)

there are things i keep remembering about the trip - i wrote most of this blog along the route, but here's a story i forgot to include...

we had just drove past our first time zone change. Dad looked down and noticed (sorta) and said "Hummmm, well the pickup changed but my cell phone still hasn't switched over."

"What?" i said, a bit confused. He repeated. I laughed, then explained. No dad, your cell phone changed but the TRUCK - the 1990 GMC truck needs to be manually changed. Here, let me shut off the music and do that. Yeah, your cell phone...that's the one that changed." Haha, he quickly agreed.

I’ll try to keep these stories short, since there are quite a few of them that I’ve gathered the past few days.

We took off Wednesday, Nov. 4th at 5:45 am and reached Kanab, UT around 2:45 that afternoon. It’s nice to arrive late afternoon so the horses are settled in before dark and such.

In Kanab we met (like met for the first time) the family we’d be staying with for the night. Marty and Ann Hepworth and their 3 children ages 11, 9, and 6. They were a very kind and generous family and we had a great time. That night I went with Ann to her church to watch her teach a pie crust baking class. Which meant that the other ladies all brought a pie they’d backed and we ate them while Ann stood in front and talked. It was great! Meanwhile, my dad headed off with Marty to a town council meeting. Marty was just elected to the town board.\

Day 2 we headed to Gallup, NM and met another family. Navajo decendents Lyle, Fawn, and Jessica Benally invited us into their home and we had another wonderful time. Fawn taught my dad and I how to make Navajo Fry Bread which we later used to make Navajo Tacos. Since I’ve made tortillas a couple of times I had a relatively easy time shaping the bread in a beginners fashion. Dad on the other hand, wanted to skip beginners world and tried tossing the bread between his hands like Fawn was (similar to tossing pizza in the air). Soon, his bread was on the ground.

Later that night, Fawn’s mother (who was full Navajo Indian) stopped by. I loved listening to her speak in her native language and she even taught me how to say a few words. After she left, I convinced Fawn to say them again while I recorded on my camera so I could practice them! AND, Lyle even took my laptop and worked on it throughout the night (since it had given me the blue screen of death).

The next morning we woke up to Fawn making blueberry muffins and BLT sandwiches. She sent us out the door with a bag full of muffins and 4 sandwiches! We felt like royalty!

The next day we took off for Amarillo , TX. A couple of driving mishaps happened that day. The first, and only, interstate onramp we took that day…we also missed. Well, maybe we didn’t miss it, Dad just happened to get on the ramp headed the wrong direction! Pulling a trailer negated the option to turn around so we entered the interstate and hoped there was an exit close by. It ended up being aobut a 10 mile detour at 6:30 am.

Later on down the road Dad also had a hard time finding an off ramp for a gas station while in construction, so we took it a little bit fast. And then when we finally arrived in Amarillo we were told to take the frontage road off of the exit to the hotel. Since we thought it was on the south side we took the south frontage road. BUT as we approached the road I told dad that it had a white line, meaning it was a one way road. (Yellow line = 2 way / white line = 1 way) He disagreed at first but was soon being waved at by passer-bys and turned around. Let’s just say, if it wasn’t his birthday and I wanted to drive the rest of the way, I’d fire his services…but I decided against that.

We stayed at “The Big Texan” which is a hotel/restaurant/stables combined so we settled our horses in and headed to the restaurant. They have a famous ’72 ounce steak’. If you eat the entire steak plus 2 sides in 1 hour or less, it’s FREE! There was one on display when we walked in, and both of us decided against trying to eat (and later pay for) the college football size slab of meat. I did find a buffalo burger on the menu that I tried (didn’t honestly taste much different than beef to me). There was also a choice of an appetizer that include a ‘fried tater hull’ or even rattlesnake!

On the beds in our hotel room was a note accompanied by two mints. The note read “Thanks! You’re worth a mint to us!” Ummmmmm, well maybe it’s a Texan thing, but that note accompanied by two peppermints seems a bit more like an insult than a compliment. :-)
I also saw some cool road signs. Some very original thinking from a town that must’ve produced sulfur called itself Sulfurdale. More excited was “Casa Blanca” (even though I’m not really sure I’ve seen the movie) and “Historic Route 66” (which I did see a funny musical of once).

We headed out around 6:30 the next morning headed for Dallas. I’ll be keeping my horses with a friend south of the big city and then we’ll be visiting my brother, Matt, who lives on the north end. We’ll get in tonight (Saturday) and spend Sunday and Monday in Dallas, taking off EARLY on Tuesday for Pensacola, FL – about a 13 hour drive!

Oh, and we’ve listened to two books on tape. The first, Outliers by Malcom Gladwell, is on my recommended reading list from Parelli about success and how it’s viewed. The second was a novel by John Grisham called “The Last Juror”. Close to the beginning of the story I asked dad if he enjoyed listening to it. He said ‘yeah, but I can already see the end’. I allowed him to listen for another hour or more before I asked for his prediction. He was wrong. :-) But that’s the best way to be when it comes to the endings of books/movies!

Tuesday we left Dallas at 5 am – headed towards our new destination of Montgomery, AL. Our connection in Pensacola, FL called the night before and said that there was a hurricane headed straight for them and that we should ‘find’ another route. Thank goodness for Map Quest! It’s easy to change your driving route, but not quite as simple to find a place to put horses up for a night! But she called again the next morning and said that we were clear to come, it ended up being just a ‘tropical storm’ and wasn’t too bad.

About 4 pm that afternoon we tested our lights and realized both our truck and trailer didn’t have any clearance lights! Still a good 2 and a half hours from our destination, we knew we’d need the lights in order to keep going. We found a local Home Depot right off the next exit and found some information on local trailer sale/repair shops. Dad was able to find a blown fuse in the pickup and buy the correct replacement part. Soon we were on the road again.

When we were talking though the time we had left before it got dark, dad brought up the ‘side’ of the time zone we were on. It was 4:30 and had been getting dark around 5:30 pm. Dad argued that as we drove we got closer to the next time zone, so we will have more light in this time zone. I didn’t agree and asked him to explain farther – and he realized as we drove farther EAST, since the sun sets in the WEST we actually lose time.  “I guess I got it backwards” he said. “Just like my math teachers, I ask and once they start explaining – they figure out that I’m right!” :-) OK, not always.

We got into Pensacola about 7:30 that night, and after a couple showers we were soon asleep in a beautiful Victorian style mansion (at least that’s what I think a beautiful Victorian Mansion would look like!) I met Mirka and David Pitts there and we were so happy to have a place to stop for the night!

Left at 6:30 am on Wednesday for our last day of driving! It was straight forward and simple and almost painless. Got the horses settled in nicely, then made it to our house (yes house) that we’d be living in for the next few days.

took a tour of the ranch with dad - broke a few rules as well. Got dad to the airport - got a bit lost getting home - only a 120 mile detour :(

anwyays, that's all for now :-) Check in 2-5 TOMORROW!!!

Pack Rat meet Johnny Appleseed!

This will be short because a) i have packing and organizing still to do before we leave at 5:30 am tomorrow....did you catch that ...tomorrow! b) i just recently blogged (who came up with that word anyways?! BLOG? makes me think of Blob - which leads me to picture the scary green monster on Ghost Busters.)


Anways...i was packing yesterday...packing today...packing tonight -and actually got to the point of actually putting suitcases in the pickup! I'd been working pretty steadily and was pleased with my progress and thinking that this might not be too stressful of a night.

Dad came out - opened the truck door - threw in 2 magazines - and walked away. Almost as if to say 'well...i'm ready!' 50 hours on the road and he has 2 magazines?! Well, i have DVD's and a car charger and a laptop (if only it was behaving itself!)

This all wouldn't have been nearly as bad if i hadn't found out that his 'luggage' for the trip consists of a 'carry on'. i think this is mainly due to the fact that the airline he's using to fly home charges $25 for each checked bag...so he just has a carry on!



So there's me...with a horse trailer, tack room, pickup bed, tool box and back seat full of stuff - and him with a napsack! :-) Jonney Appleseed meet the Pack Rat!

Keys and Earrings - and the Future of Humanity!

Well there are a couple funny stories from the past few days...enough irony and laughs to be worth writing about at least. Let's start with my mother.

She opens my door the other day to tell me a story...

She had just gotten done with her work out at the club and hit the 'unlock' button on her car keys. Most newer-ish cars have such things but if you're confused here's a picture of what I'm talking about.



so there is an unlock button along with a 'lock' and 'panic' and sometimes a 'trunk unlock or open' one as well. Mom's keys have just the unlock/lock and panic.

Well, she pushed the unlock and nothing happened. So she pushed it again. When she told me this story she didn't elaborate on this part but i can easily imagine her flustered and trying a different angle, pushing it faster, slower, pointed up or down...but that's all imagining (feel free to imagine with me!)

At some point she figured out the unlock button no longer works. "Maybe it has a battery?" she tells me. Well yes mom, i'd imagine it has some sort of power source that makes it work...unless it could tap into the energy in your hand through your skin and...no, a battery makes sense.

But now there is a delima. She can't unlock her car. She considers calling the husband to bring the spare but wanders inside to ask the helpful lady behind the desk (i am sure car trouble advice is in her job discription). Mom asks her what the skinny red button at the top does (i'm guessing she didn't push it yet) "It's a panic button...it won't unlock your car. BUT you could just use it like a key. You know, like, put it in the door."

HAHAHAHAHA -you've gotta be laughing at that! i totally was. I think mom did. I'm guessing the girl behind the counter waited to laugh until mom left.

My siblings and i gave mom a bluetooth handsfree cell phone device. While explaining it to her she became flustered with 'all the technology'. There's 3 buttons - it'll be ok mom :-) i think she is in a very fragile state somewhere in between being confused / stressed with modern technology and forgetting 'olden days' common sense! But as long as she doesn't forget how to tie her runnin shoes i'm sure the rest will work itself out.

sooooo...on to the next thing that recently made me laugh. I got my ears pierced. At 21 i finally sucumbed to the 'pressure' and went for it. There really wasn't much pressure to be honest. Dad asked me how long i had been thinking about doing it, and what brought it about. "Oh, yesterday a friend said i should...that's about it"

before i continue here's an 'in the moment' funny thing. I needed a picture of an earing/ear/piercing...something so i went to Yahoo Images and typed 'single ear piercing'. the first picture was of 4 guys with multiple piercings - this was the second shot (don't worry, this isn't what i did!)



Anyways, i'd forgotten i am allergic to metal. If i wear jeans and/or a belt without having my shirt tucked in i'll get a rash. the pain for fashion legacy lives on! anyways, i forgot that part and am hoping these don't give me a problem that way. It actually hurt a lot more than i thought it would (maybe i have sensitive ear lobes?) No worries, i didn't cry in Walmart...but i can see how a little 10 year old would!

Are you waiting for the funny part? ok, here it comes, first the lady who pierced them says to me...ok, just clean them twice a day with this solution on a roll of cotton...and be sure to turn them as you clean. At that moment, in the store, all i said was ok. When i got home that night and attempted to have a roll of cotton in one hand, and then my other (untrained) hand somehow turning the earring...basically all i got was a shreded cotton roll that was now wrapped around my fake diamond! instead of a sparkley cute earing i had ear fuzz! :-) I now wonder if most girls get this done at 10 yrs old...and do just fine becuase thier mom's do the cleaning for them! I am slightly too proud to ask my mom to clean my earing though...so i probably won't be surprised if it gets infected.

But the fun doesn't end there. I read the box for 'directions' thinking maybe they would give some helpful advice to a newbee...this is what it had to say ...besides the regular directions i just mentioned "thoroughly cleanse hands before touching earrings and ears. Use a cotton swab to apply antiseptic. Protect ears from irritants, shamoo, soap, hairspray, etc." ok, not at first glance no big deal...but really to protect your ears from such things you'd need little ear coverings! I mean, dust and smoke and tons of other things can be included in the 'etc' part of that...so really for six weeks after piercing your ears you should walk around with little 'ear booties'! Now, wouldn't that change your desire/perception of getting your ears pierced! Funny mental image at least :-)

The English Language at it's Best.....(& race results)

I've been meaning to write about a couple funny happenin things but haven't made the time to sit down...an insurance advertisement on the radio was the last straw and I decided I couldn't procrastinate any longer.

I've heard it a couple of times and it always makes me chuckle to myself. It starts out by saying
"No one wants to think about everything that could go wrong, but that's our job...we watch the weather and crop prices and...we want to be there to lend a hand, a strong back, or even just a shoulder" ...Farmer's Insurance



I highlighted the last part because although it is their finishing line I think it is hysterical! Think about it! What do they mean by a shoulder...why a shoulder to cry on of course! First of all, thanks alot insurance agency for the 'shoulder' and secondly, who is going to use the shoulder of the insurance man to cry on!!!!! Common - that is hilarious! :-)



Speaking of insurance, dad and I (mostly dad unfortunately) recently bought a new horse trailer. It's a 2007 Trailer T 3 horse bumper pull and we think it will do a marvelous job of getting me to Florida and back safely. The day after we brought it home, Dad called into our insurer to add it. The Vehicle Number is 4JUBL17287N0327... so as he was talking to the lady any time he would come to a letter he would say "a - as in animal" or such thing. a very common practice. What got my attention was the 'as in...' examples he used! started off normal - J as in John. then U..as in United States (funny that he said States as well...) and then B (i don't remember B so it must have been 'boy' or something normal...then L as in Lamb - not too bad - then Dad says "N....PAUSE...very obvious pause...as in...ready....no you're not...but I'll tell you anyways - N as in NAPOLEON! I can almost imagine the gal trying not to laugh out loud (no offense dad :-) Someone my age might have thought of Napoleon because of the recent film "Napoleon Dynamite" - but Dad was thinking of the History Book Europe guy - random at least!

Last funny thing for this blog. Mom went to Hawaii for a week and Dad and I were left here :-( We made it through just fine but Dad did see a mouse at the beginning of the week so we put out some traps. Then, towards the end of the week, I was washing dishes in the sink and i heard...something. As i listened I decided it was coming from - inside the wall! A mouse? well it didn't really 'squeak' more like a very small drill - so i thought 'a loud termite' (OK i can be random too) but Dad/I figured maybe a beetle. When mom got home i pointed the sound out to her as well. It would start, get louder and quieter and then stop, etc. She too said "maybe a beetle".



A couple of days later i heard mom exclaim "Uhhggggg! I found the mouse!" I went to the kitchen to find this small watermelon (or what's left of it) in the sink...stinking the room to high heaven! It was sitting right by the wall and when the gases would leak out of the rotten fruit they would whine and hiss :-) I couldn't smell anything when it had been sitting on the counter and you couldn't see the white spots, but as soon as she moved it, it was obviously rotting!



Speaking of strange noises...these little cuties caught my attention the other day. They were up in the loft of the barn (a feat to get to in itself) and then they were down alongside the wall - in a cubby about 1 1/2 ft deep and about the same long. Anyways, they are too young to make it through the winter healthy so...if you know anyone that wants one they are free!!! (and very very tame considering they'd never seen a human before!)



(i attempted the 3.1 miles in 21 min...got .26 mile down the rode in 96 seconds and realized #1) i was running more like 5.5 min miles instead of 7 and #2) I'm out of shape and #3) 21 minutes is a long time to run fast :-) ...but i might try again...remember if at first you don't succeed...TRY TRY AGAIN!)

The Bet, the Road, and This Morning

I accompanied my mother 3 hours down the road to the Idaho's beautiful state capital city. A couple weekends ago it hosted the 'Idaho Women's Fitness Celebration' which involved a 5K (3.1 mile) race that you could run/walk/stroll. You could register to compete and wear an electronic timing band, or you could just participate for the 'fun' of it if you'd rather.


We met one of my mother's friends the night before and stayed in a Super 8 close to the starting point. At some point during conversation, I asked my mom what her goal finish time was. She said something around 23 min. Her friend was hoping to run under a 25. Jokingly I said, "I bet I could beat you mom". She laughed, her friend laughed, I laughed. It was a joke. At least, it started as a joke.

She said there was no way. She is conditioned. She runs 3,5,10 miles, and swims down the river and bikes for hours on end, and I...well I don't train. She said there was no way. BUT, she was slightly worried because she refused to bet me anything that I would. She did bet me that I couldn't run it in 21 minutes. That would be three 7 min miles. That would be impossible. Unashamedly confident she put something on the line. If I won, she would pay for my gas to Florida and back (approximately $1,400!) To say the least, she was not worried.

I accepted.

Now the real process of negotiations began. I could register the following morning at the race but I couldn't register as in the competition part so I wouldn't get an electrical timer; which means I would have to keep my own time. I told her I could do that. I know how to push 'start' and 'stop' when i cross the beginning and the end. It is not rocket science. She said no. Obviously she didn't trust me, and I doubt it was my button pushing abilities in question. She figured I would think my way 'around' the rules somehow. Cut a corner somewhere (as if I even knew the race route!) or run backwards or something I have no clue...and honestly neither did she. But she said no. Here she had made a bet, I had accepted, and now she was pulling out. I think I would win if this went to court (let's not forget the eye witness in the hotel room with us!).

The first words out of my mouth in the morning to her were 'I figured out a solution to our dilema'. "Let me wake up first please...did you think about that all night?" Was her not so overly enthusiastic response. We decided I would run when we got home. We live on country roads it will be any easy thing to do. Drop me off three miles out (excuse me - 3.1 - mom made sure to bring that up when it came down to it...somewhere deep down beyond the point of surety that it can't be done...she is afraid :-) )and then you can come out of the house at 21 min. to congratulate me!

"Why are you even going to try?" she asked me. "It's simple Mom. No I haven't trained. No I shouldn't be able to do it. It should be impossible. BUT it's 21 minutes of my life. 21 minutes to TRY! To run as hard and as fast as I can mentally and physically push my out of shape, overweight self. Why not TRY? In fact, it is less than that. If I don't make a mile in 7 minutes then I will be done. It could be just 7 minutes of my life. Let's see - 7 minutes of running for a chance at $1,400? I think over 50% of overweight, under-exercised population in the U.S. would try at an impossible task for that!"

Due to me leaving to California for a few days, and now her flying to Kona, Hawaii for a week, my run has been postponed. "Don't worry" I told her when I left for Cali, "I won't be training. And I'll be on a diet of ice cream and liquor!"

Hummmm, if you are still reading at this point one of two things can be deducted. 1) This is entertain and enjoyable, or at least not quite to the point of being boring OR 2) you are very bored and are willing to read something that is tediously long and boring.

So I went to Cali. One 12 hour drive down, two days hanging with friends, and another 12 hour drive home. 24 hours on the road. It's quite often very interesting to me the 'conversations' you can have with the other motorists.

Like if you are going 77 mph and the guy you're passing is going 76. As you slowly creep past his car do you 1) speed up because it's uncomfortable to be right next to him for 15 seconds or 2) continue at same speed and a)look away / b) look straight ahead / c) smile and wave. Or what about when you are going 76 in the right hand lane, coming up on a semi, and you see someone in the left lane coming faster than you. Unfortunately, if all 3 vehicles remained at the same speed and in the same lanes, you would have to touch your brakes and offset your cruise (terrible inconvenience!). So do you 1) change lanes, speed up and pass the truck 2)slow down and let the other car pass first 3) stay the same speed and change lanes causing the other car to brake (you are going the speed limit after all) or 4) stay at your same speed in your lane until the last possible moment hoping the other guy will speed up? Thousands of possibilities.

Tired and bored I decided to take pictures of people as I passed them.



it's hard to see but the guy in the semi is actually looking down at me. Imagine what he might be thinking. "Is that a camera? Is she taking a picture of me?" Imagine what you would be thinking! I mentioned my lack of self-confidence in my last blog concerning the absent burger joint worker, and here again you will see it. It would've been much easier (although probably a little bit more dangerous) to actually look over at the other car when i took the picture. But not being confident to do that I just held my arm straight out and tried to get the correct angle/timing in order to get the shot. Let's just say that these are the only 2 pictures that were successful. Furthermore, I advise others interested in playing this game to participate in pairs. Having a passenger seat photographer would be incredibly helpful both in photo shooting and in confidence building! I know it is not illegal to take pictures of people (although it would be odd to walk down the sidewalk shooting pics of random ppl) but it might be illegal on an 'inattentive driving' ticket. It was fun none-the-less.

Next I drove through a lot of road construction. There were signs that read 'construction ahead, approaching a 65 mph zone' and then there was '55 mph' and following that there is always 'fines doubled for traffic violations in work areas'. Entering the 55 zone this is what I saw.

Now, orange barrels off the side of the road doesn't seem like construction to me...so I only slowed down to 65. As soon as someone on the same thought pattern as me passed me going 80, I followed. I felt a little bit worried, slightly anxious because technically we were in a work area but...tell the truth, you would've been right there with us!
Sometimes on busy interstates groups of cars will get that 'safety in numbers' mentality and travel at higher speeds than are legal. Once in a while you see this scenario trying to stop that.

it's a bit hard to see but in front of all those cars is a cop...with his lights on haha. If that doesn't say "SLOW DOWN" then...

this was my favorite sign for the trip. Sorry for the poor photo quality

It says 'Pumpernickel Valley'! isn't that on the Princess Bride or something? I swear I've heard it somewhere...

When I turned at Wells, NV and headed up towards Idaho I found myself on a 2 lane highway and all alone. I drove happily at 75 (ish) mph for about half an hour without seeing another car. And then I saw a sign. "Road Construction Ahead." Really? I still have at least 2.5 hours to go, I've been driving for 9 hours already, and I'm in the middle of NO WHERE! Just about the time I had made peace with that sign, I saw the next one "Expect Half Hour Delays." Unfortunately, I was there close to when the last group of cars on my side left. And I sat there for a half hour.

One of the first things i noticed was that it was 36 degrees and 6 o'clock at night. I still haven't come to peace with that. Next i took a picture of the beautiful mountains. The mountain range that surrounds my little Idahoan valley...the majestic peaks that were...covered with snow. Once again, not really ok.

then i took a closer look at the back of the semi that was parked in front of me. I'm open for comments on this one? Any ideas?


in case you're having trouble reading that it says "technical animal fat not for human consumption shipped under permit number A-601 INEDIBLE. Again, not quite sure what to think of that! :-)

Lastly, this is the scene I woke up to this morning.





Beautiful right? I think my Grandpa said it best this morning.
"It's not even pretty when it comes like this this early."
Amen Grandpa. Amen!

On the Homefront!

Recently I left the 'golden' hills (golden is the optimistic way to say dead, burnt grass) of northern California and returned to my small, hometown of Rupert, ID. In the past few days I've managed to almost get caught up on my sleep deprivation and catch up with a few friends. I've also been reminded of just what our little hometown is like.

For example, the other day I turned onto a country road headed home, and I noticed that about 1/4 mile down the road there was a train on the tracks. Next thing i noticed was a car coming towards me. I soon deducted that because the train wasn't moving and the engine wasn't in site, this car had been waiting long enough and the driver decided to turn around and drive 2 miles out of their way to get around the train. I thought I'd go sit for a minute waiting on the train...give it a chance to at least start moving before I turned around. Not being in a huge hurry helped my patient attitude. I next noticed a small white pickup that was waiting at the tracks. Obviously this driver was more patient than the last. But there was a problem. As I got closer, and could see inside the cab, I found that there was NO DRIVER!

Now there are alot of things that are common in small towns that aren't so common elsewhere...but an empty truck at train tracks isn't one of them. I thought to myself "maybe he got out to help with the train" (as it was completely stopped on the tracks). Not realistically thinking he would have, but realistic options are slim at this point anyways!

I continued to look around and soon found the driver. There was a house on the other side of the road that had a wooden fence around it. conveniently located on the outside of the fence was an old bale of straw. It was late enough in the day that the fence cast a shadow on the older gentleman sitting there. He was reading a book.

I didn't bother to stop to see if the train would start to move. I wondered to myself whether or not the man's truck was running still or not, but didn't bother to stop mine to listen...I simply turned around when I reached his truck and headed back the other way. As I did, the kind gentleman sent a wave my way. I smiled and waved back. "Have a great day" I thought to myself. I also wished I could stop and take his picture but #1) I didn't have my camera and #2) I thought taking it with my cell phone would come off as an intrusive and obnoxious teenager with 'all that new technology stuff'. He looked content and peaceful, sitting there waiting for the train, so I drove on. Only in a small town.

Here's another funny thing I ran into. This is called a straw maze. It's made up of 1 ton straw bales stacked 2 high and on the inside is a confusing path of twists and turns to get lost in. There are also 'corn mazes' around here; corn that is fully grown is taller than a 6'5" man so farmers 'cut' a maze into their fields and charge people who want to go though it. Anyways, I thought it was funny that they found it necessary to post these signs. Reminds me a bit of the woman who sued McDonald's because her cup of coffee burned her mouth!

And I'm sure they wouldn't want any body trespassing while they aren't there, but it's a public attraction and the fact that this sign appeared every 20 feet sort of hurt the 'welcoming' feel :-)

The number 1 funny thing happening at home so far? I've been cooking myself breakfast in the morning. Usually I saute green and white onions with a green bell pepper, and top that with a garden picked diced tomato and some cottage cheese. The other morning mom and dad where in the kitchen with me and mom made the comment "yeah, it sure hasn't smelled the same since Sarah got home" (referring to the poignant smell the simmering onion/pepper mixture was giving off). Confused dad half-said something like "what do you mean" and before mom could answer he figured it out and commented "oh, smells like cooking!" HAHA Quickly mom corrected and pointed to the onions...but it was just too late...Isn't that priceless? :-)

Lastly, there is a burger joint in town called Al's Frost Top. It's only blocks away from the elementary school I attended and I remember taking one or two 'field trips' to go get a shake or hamburger there. It's not very big or fancy, and I can't remember it every being very busy either. Coming back to town I half-heatedly wondered if it was even in business anymore. (It helps that it is the ONLY 'restaurant' in the 'one stop-light' town of Paul, ID.) Sure enough, they were open. I went in for a 'memory making meal'. There was no one at the counter. There was no bell to ring. I heard voices in the back somewhere. Waited. Waited. And almost as I was thinking about how best to make some attention grabbing noise (somehow feeling uncomfortable/impolite about needing to do that...i was thinking "drop something...clear your throat/cough...open the door...heck Sarah why can't you just say HELLO!!! Anybody working today!") anyways, just about the time my patience was about to outweigh my lack of self-confidence, a teenager peaked around the corner. She had been talking to the other employee. She looked slightly annoyed that I had interrupted their conversation. I tried to not allow that to hurt my already wavering self-esteem. My first thought was along the lines of 'shouldn't you be at school' (as it was 2 pm).

Continuing on in this already long, short story, I ordered a hamburger and curly fries. I then remembered seeing that 'lettuce' is an extra 35 cents...but she had already taken my $6.66 and given me change when I decided to request lettuce (shouldn't it come with a hamburger anyways!) Fortunately and graciously, she didn't charge me. As I waited for my meal, I also remembered that they served 'fry sauce' here. If you are un-educated about fry sauce don't feel naive as it is an accompaniment that is found in only a few towns in Southern Idaho and Northern Utah. On a very basic level, it is a perfect mixture of Ketchup and Mayonnaise. (I know what you are thinking you un-educated prejudge mentalists! Don't' knock it till you try it! And then still don't knock it cuz you probably mixed it wrong!) Anyways, those are the basic ingredients but you can add to that all sorts of spices and unnatural ingredients with 'oxide' and 'mono' in their titles. For a while, McDonald's and Wendy's and Burger King (Utah/Idaho based) all had fry sauce packets!

Back on track...when she handed me my bag of food I gave her 35 cents and asked for some fry sauce. She took my change and said "have a nice day". Bewildered I again mentioned something about "fry sauce?" "Oh", she said "I thought that was for the lettuce cuz I didn't charge you. There's already fry sauce in there."

Already fry sauce in there. As if i felt guilty about getting free lettuce and would feel like I needed to pay for that? But I was too happy with my fry sauce to worry about my lost money...

Oh to the days when fry sauce came with fries!