This past weekend was a bittersweet journey for us. Mr. Boom has the dearest, sweetest, most fun aunt, who just happens to live in the prettiest place I know. She and her husband built their log home from scratch on five acres at the base of the Tetons many years ago, and their they raised two amazing boys.
Amazing? How about spectacular!
The oldest boy just married a girl he met at helicopter school in Hawaii. She's such a sweetheart, and a babe to boot. They stayed in a cabin that the younger son built this summer. From wood he cut in the forest. And hauled back to the house, and stripped, and hewed out at the ends, and stacked, and chinked, and roofed, and holy heck how did he do that?!
The younger son, having given up his cabin to his older bother and brand spankin' new sister in law, stayed in the tipi he built the year before. And by tipi, I mean a 12 foot tall, 12 foot wide, stone-floored, sewn canvas, antler buttons to attach the canvas to the poles, mansion of a tipi.
The younger son followed the older son to Hawaii, though, and now mom and dad are following. So this weekend was a combination wedding reception and farewell to the Teton Valley party.
Did I get any photos of the tipi, the cabin, the beautiful yard? No. My photos are filled with the faces I love that I won't see again for a very long time. Therefore, I don't have a lot to show you, which kinda sucks.
But you know what? I learned a great deal this weekend. I saw awesomeness in action. I'm not the kind of person to put up with a lot of whining if people aren't willing to make changes. Now, I do whine quite a bit myself, but that's different, right?
So, here's Mr. Boom's aunt and uncle, complaining about the long (and I do mean loooooong) winters. So what do they do? They both quite their good-paying and very secure jobs, sold the house and everything in it, and they're following their sons to Hawaii.
Just. Like. That.
They're not sitting around saying "how could we ever move from this home we built by hand" and "this isn't the economy in which to quit a good job" nor "how will we ever find a place to stay in Hawaii." They're saying "watch out, here we come!"
Cowabunga, dude!
Isn't that cool?
Okay, so here are the few and the ugly. My vacation photos from the Tetons, the worst you'll ever see on the web!
A whole lot of gorgeous nothing near Salmon, Idaho
A house with a great view. I'd love to live here.
A moose on the outskirts of Driggs, Idaho.
A near-full moon lit the world and our tent the last night there.
Early morning view of the Tetons from our pillows in the tent.
A view of the Teton Valley from Horseshoe Canyon Road
An old farmstead up the Horseshoe. I'd like to live here, too.
Amazing light show on these aspen trees, but I couldn't capture it.
After the last fire in the pit, a little light shining up from
the top of the tipi, the son's cabin in the background, all lit by moonlight.
(This shot was taken after midnight w/out flash!)
the top of the tipi, the son's cabin in the background, all lit by moonlight.
(This shot was taken after midnight w/out flash!)
My husband and I were just discussing taking a trip to the Tetons. He wants to see BIG mountains ( I showed him your recent Northern WA post) and fly fish.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, that is awesomeness. We both dream about moving to Hawaii, but the impracticalness of it all is so overwhelming, especially now with the baby. But it doesn't mean it will never happen, you know. Maybe someday all the talk will lead to something else down the road...
The Tetons are really amazing. If you come in from the north, you make a turn in the road and there they are, just staring at you, and every time I wonder where the heck they came from! People tend to flock to the Jackson Hole side (Wyoming just sounds so much cooler than Idaho, I guess) and forget the mountains have another side. If you can, drive up to the Grand Targhee Ski resort and take the ski lift up the mountain. Wow. Just....Wow!!! You can ride up and walk down, very doable with a youngster in a pack or sling.
ReplyDeleteAll the wildflowers were in bloom as we drove up the road this year. So gorgeous.
The North Cascades are more easily accessible, lots of hotel rooms and restaurants to choose from in all the surrounding cities. You could even make it a (very long) day trip from Portland if you just went up the Cascade River and back.
Either trip will leave a long impression, and a slight addiction for (BIG!) mountains.
JD and I went through the Tetons last year while we were on our Sturgis Trip/Debacle. We did see some pretty incredible scenery.
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