REUNION IN BOISE

. . . it just makes you rave to think that it’s like a trip to another country to get to the southern part of your own state. Ina Dobson, 1934

Hallie had to work in Boise last week, and since Milo lives in Boise, she arranged to stay through the weekend to spend some time with him. Clint agreed to join them from his home in Gooding on Saturday. Tell us that our kids are gathering someplace, and we’ll make every effort to be there, too. So we left Clarkston at 3:50 Friday afternoon (the 17^th) and arrived at our Boise motel at 10:20. Nellie? – of course, she rode along in the back.

It wasn’t an easy trip in 1934 and though it is undoubtedly improved today, it is still a difficult trip. It’s 250 miles that takes us up and over the Camas Prairie of north central Idaho, down into the Salmon River Valley, through a twisty mountain pass, into the farm / ranch country of Payette / Weiser, until finally – for the last 50 miles of the trip, we reach I-84 which swoops across southern Idaho. For whatever reason, traffic was heavy for most of the trip.

Saturday morning we picked Hallie up at her motel and headed to Milo’s. Having gone through a difficult divorce, he’s settling into a new place and routine. We had things to do and we set to doing them – fixing a comfortable bed, tuning the bike, tuning his old car, making his place cozy. We drove to bike shops, marts, and grocery stores – not necessarily in that order, not necessarily all of us at the same time. Mid-morning Clint arrived and the five of us were together through dinner. Then we said good-bye to Clint.

Saturday afternoon grandson Mason joined us for a few hours and he thought Dad’s new place should be cleaned, so Hallie and I joined in. It was fun – not a chore. We saw grandson Gage only briefly that day, but on Sunday both Mason and Gage came to visit. Gage is athletic and active while Mason is more introspective and requires a quieter atmosphere. With four adults on hand, we had it covered. Grandpa Mike and Milo took Gage geocaching while Hallie, Mason, and I played with electronics and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned.

After lunch at McDonald’s, it was time for Mike and me to begin that arduous trek back through the mountains to our own valley, so we said good-bye to Milo, the grandsons, and Hallie. Hallie’s plane wouldn’t leave until 7:30, so she had a couple more hours with Milo until her return to Seattle. KW

[Photo 1: Hallie, Clint, and Nellie.

Photo 2: Mike and Milo

Photo 3: Nellie thinks it should be more about her.

Photo 4: Clint, Kathy, Milo, Mason, Hallie and Mike -- a timed shot. Can you tell?

Photo 5: Hallie and Mason

Photo 6: Mason called Nellie and she immediately crawled onto the sofa to cuddle with him.]