We just got back from a long weekend trip to Idaho Falls, Idaho to visit my Dad. While there we headed off east to see some sights including the Snake River as it goes through Swan Valley.
The Snake River is a major draw for trout fisherman. Above was a fisherman on a sandbar. You can see his dory anchored nearby. I hope that he had it secured because if that thing gets loose it would be long gone. The Snake is a swift river.
We admired the view for a little bit and moved on.
This past summer son and I went to Idaho Falls to see my Dad. Sister Ellen and her husband Irv and their grandson Mr. Beans drove up from Colorado Springs and so we all met up and had a good time. Above is son Logan and his cousin Mr. Beans in a red archway at the local Zoo in Idaho Falls, Tautphaus Park Zoo.
Here is a little bit better shot.
Oh well, it was kind of a shadowy face kind of sun while we were there.
A couple weeks ago me, son Logan, sister Ellen, her husband Irv, and their grandson Mr. Beans all met up in Idaho Falls to see dad and just kind of get together. We all except for dad decided to go for a walk on Idaho Fall’s greenbelt adjacent to the Snake River. Above, left to right is Logan, Irv, and Mr. Beans.
There’s Ellen sandwiched between Irv and Mr. Beans. The greenbelt has lots of places to sit and rest. We took advantage of most of them.
The Snake River is rather pretty as it goes through the greenbelt.
In addition to the benches there are lots of places for photo ops. We liked this two tone vegetative Elk.
Me and the kid. Do you like my high spf hat? I had a dermatologist take a divot out of my forehead earlier this year. I’m trying to prevent any more of those.
And here are the Falls. They are very pretty and make a pleasing noise as the water goes over them. A fun fact is that not all of the water goes over the the falls. The City of Idaho Falls has had low head electric generators on the river since 1900 and presently the city gets about 30% of its electrical requirements from these generators.
At the top middle of the photograph you can see the Idaho Falls LDS (Mormon) Temple.
I am not Mormon but I think it is a beautiful building well situated.
So, have you taken any family walks along a river lately?
Logan and I spent a long weekend in Idaho Falls, Idaho visiting my Dad. My sister Ellen, and her husband Irv, and their grandson Mr. Beans also showed up. Ellen is quite the runner these days and she convinced us to sign up for a race, the MAD. Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5K. So we rolled out of bed early Saturday morning and made our way over to the starting line.
Mr. Bean’s first experience with a running gel. I’m not sure he liked it.
The race started and took off through the neighborhoods of south Idaho Falls. I had been wondering if the race was a beer run or not but I got my answer when I saw these guys doing the traffic control. They are Mormon missionaries. So no beer I thought, but that is alright, these guys above and the other guys and gals on the route did a great job keeping the runners from getting run over. Notice Logan to the right, keeping his head in the run and not getting distracted like his old man.
We made our way over and irrigation canal.
And by a patriotic Christmas tree, or something. I am not sure what it was.
Here is another missionary and that is Irv waving bye. We were not that close to him. He was headed out of the park to the left and we had to head in.
And then this is where we cheated by a half a klick. I could have sworn that the course markings sent us down this route. See the blue shirts ahead of us? They were fellow runners so we were not cheating. See Logan to the right? He still has half a step on the old man.
We made it out of the park and started running a busy street. Time for a shadow selfie. See who’s shadow is longer than mine?
Here comes Irv. He finished the race and came running back to take my camera to get the finishing pic.
And look who finished ahead of his old man.
And the little (not so little) was gloating about it. Wait till the next race kid! By the way, do you have a ride home?
So, have you run a 4.5K race lately?
Situated on a pretty spot on the Snake River in Idaho Falls, Idaho is the Mormon Church’s Idaho Falls Temple. Next to the Falls it may be the most noticeable feature of the city. It is almost pure white and has a gold statue on top.
Groundbreaking started in 1939 and the Temple dedicated in 1945 and is still in use. It is not open to non-members but they do have a visitor center on the grounds open to everyone. I don’t think they mind visitors checking out the beautiful flowers on the ground.
An interesting feature of most, not all LDS Temples, is the Angel Moroni. Interestingly enough the suggestion to add the statue to Mormon temples came from a non-Mormon sculptor, Cyrus Dallin. Almost everything you ever wanted to know about the Angel Moroni is here. He almost always faces east. I was too lazy to walk around the temple to get a picture of the front of the statue.