Destination Idaho
Consistently inconsistent—that’s probably the most accurate way to describe the frequency in which I have posted to my blog this year. The rather sizable gaps aren’t by design; they’re more or less an unfortunate byproduct of life lately. After my last post in late June, I took on a new job with a new company, which was a move I did not have on my bingo card for 2024. I had a few days off between roles, which I had hoped to use to catch up on editing and maybe post some new content. However, I spent most of that time relaxing, clearing my head, and enjoying time with the family. In the end, I think I made the right choice, as my kids are only young once, and at this stage they still think I’m cool – which is something that will not last forever.
Anyway, if you’ve made it this far, thanks for sticking around. Whether you’re here because you enjoy my posts or just randomly stumbled upon this blurb, I appreciate it. But enough about me—let’s get to the real reason for this particular entry. I am not here to ramble about life or grapple with the reality that my kids’ view of me as ‘cool’ is on borrowed time. Instead, I wanted to share a few images and a quick recap of our family trip to Idaho last September for a wedding. It was a quick three-day getaway, but it was a lot of fun, and we definitely want to visit again in the future.
Although both my wife and I were rather confident that the trip, as a whole, was going to be a blast, we entered into the adventure with a little bit of skepticism. The reason being, the trip to Idaho was the first time that either of our two kiddos would experience flying. As we made our way through security to our gate and, eventually, boarded the jet, I could see a mix of excitement and nerves on their faces. I think we all braced ourselves for the possibility of turbulence—literal and otherwise. Thankfully, the kids were too focused on their puzzles and coloring books to care much about the first leg of our trip. Honestly, I was a tad disappointed that neither of them, especially our oldest, seemed impressed with the experience. Maybe it was the early morning departure, or perhaps they’re just too used to my antics in our side-by-side. Either way, the first portion of the trip went off without a hitch, and the flight to Denver was uneventful. To make matters even funnier, at least in my opinion, the kids were more interested in trying out all of the escalators at the Denver airport during our layover. I guess I can’t complain, and if anything, I should have been jealous of their ability to find joy and entertainment in something such as the escalators and moving sidewalks. Once they’d gotten their fill of the airport we made it to our next gate and and hung out before we were ready to board the final leg of our trip to Idaho.
The second flight, much like the first, was uneventful. The kids were still focused on their puzzles, though they would both occasionally look out of the windows to view the changes in landscape and the mountains. After landing in Boise, we grabbed our rental vehicle, which just so happened to be a brand-new Expedition, and set off toward Donnelly. Our destination was Tamarack Resort, roughly two hours to the north, up Highway 55, where we would meet up with Sarah’s side of the family and check in for the weekend. The drive was nothing short of incredible. Once you’re about 20 to 30 minutes outside of Boise and into the mountains, the views become breathtaking. I had to fight the urge to pull over and explore every few miles! There’s just something about winding mountain roads that I’m innately drawn to and could never tire of. My love for winding roads worked in my favor, making the trek fly by and getting us to our destination right around 2 PM—if not a bit earlier.
After arriving, we checked in, got settled, and then went to explore the area around the resort. The weather and scenery during our stay were absolutely fantastic. If I recall correctly, the temperature never exceeded 60 degrees, and there were occasional rain showers. For me, it was a welcome change; we’d left behind the Texas heat and a dry, lifeless landscape suffering from an ongoing drought. In Idaho, though, the foliage was just starting to change, adding a burst of color everywhere you looked, and it actually felt like the beginning of fall. Sarah and I walked, and the kids ran around the resort grounds for a while, which was a lot of fun. It felt great to stretch our legs and lungs after sitting for so long during our travels. After an hour or so, with the kids starting to look a little tired and act a bit feral, we stopped into one of the on-site restaurants to grab some pizza and sample the local beverages. The pizza disappeared quickly—a testament not only to its great taste but also to how primal the kids get when they’re hangry. Afterward, we strolled around the grounds a bit more, stopped by the 7 Devils Tap House, and then made our way back to the lodge to get ready for the evening. The time had come to meet up with the rest of the family for a little get-together to kick off the wedding-related festivities.
That evening’s get-together was a blast for everyone, especially the kids, who managed to find their third wind and never seemed to run out of energy as they met and mingled with family members they hadn’t seen before. It was great for Sarah and me as well, as we were able to catch up with relatives whom we hadn’t seen in quite some time. Despite staying up past my usual bedtime, the night was filled with entertainment and laughs. It was truly an ideal way to wrap up the first day of our trip, setting the tone for a weekend we knew would be packed with family, fun, and plenty of stories to share.
As fate would have it, and despite staying up late Friday night, both kids were up early the following morning. (Oh, to have that type of energy and ability to function again!) Although it would have been nice to sleep in a little—the bed was incredibly comfortable, and the sound of rain provided a soothing soundtrack—being up early allowed us to explore a bit more before getting ready for the pre-wedding and wedding-related events. With our oldest involved in the ceremony, we knew our time for exploring that day would be a bit limited. We spent the morning and early afternoon at the resort, walking around between showers and encouraging the kids to burn off as much energy as humanly possible before the evening in the hopes they wouldn’t be quite so wild later on. In all honesty, while I like to exaggerate about their rambunctiousness, both boys are truly well-behaved. They’re young, goofy, and full of energy—as they should be—but they really are exceptionally well-mannered.
By the time the official wedding events kicked off, the kids had burned off just enough energy to handle the ceremony like champs. The service took place in a beautiful chapel on the resort grounds, and it was simply awesome. But, as soon as the reception kicked off, the kids transformed—not into wild animals this time, thankfully, but full-fledged party animals. They hit the dance floor with endless energy, as if they’d downed gallons of coffee, and danced for what felt like hours. Eventually, they began to tire, or more so had worn everyone else out, so we said our goodbyes and retreated to the lodge for the night.
The next morning, we were up early again. This time, however, it wasn’t due to the kids, but rather so that we would have a little time to spend with the newly married couple before we had to head back to Boise to start our return trip home. After a quick breakfast and some story telling, we packed up the Expedition and set off to the airport. The drive back was nice, though not nearly as fun as the trip up. The rain had continued, and the roads were incredibly slick. At one point, there was an individual in an older model Superduty that passed us right before a corner, and almost went off the side of a cliff and into the river below. I was definitely white-knuckle driving for a little while after that, and thankfully the rest of the drive went smoothly. We made it to the airport, dropped off the rental, and made it to the gate. The flights home were non-eventful, for the most part, with the exception of some extremely rough turbulence during our approach into Denver. It sucked, but the kids thought it was hysterical and were laughing the entire time. They did not know any better, and I certainly was not going to try to get them to stop. The last thing I wanted was for them to freak out, and not want to ever board an aircraft again. We finally made it home around 10PM Sunday night, scarfed down some food, and went to bed, thus capping off the trip and entering back into the real world.
Looking back, the trip exceeded our expectations, as honestly, we did not really know what to plan for. The kids were rockstars, and traveled so well. The time with family, albeit brief was great, and we made some epic memories. I do not think I’d do anything different, outside of extending the trip, but that just wasn’t in the cards at the time. (Darn work and having adult responsibilities!)
Whelp, that’s a wrap for now. Hope that you enjoyed the recap, which wound up being much longer than I intended, and more or less a full fledged story. Oh well, the mood to write struck, and I wasn’t going to stop. On another note, since I apparently just cannot stop typing, shortly after returning home, maybe a week or two later, Sarah and I had another trip. It was unique though, as it just happened to be our first ever adventure without the kids. It was weird, to say the least, though still enjoyable. I’ll have a recap, maybe shorter or longer than this one, about that trip posted soon. Or so I hope. I don’t have another job change on my radar, but who knows what will happen.
Until next time!
-Tyler
