DAY FIVE -- GETTING CLOSE TO PARK

July 31, 1926 (Saturday)
We passed through Rigby, Lorenzo, Thornton, Rexburg, where they had parking in the middle of the street, a nice small town. Next was St. Anthony’s Falls, where we ate lunch and it developed that Irl was feeling pretty bum with summer flu symptoms. We gave him aspirin and got quinine for him and Vance drove. Here, as we were leaving, the wind blew away two of my hardly written sheets of this letter, so it has made the letter jumbled. There was a fine park here – free, with things to amuse the children and right by the river and falls. The cascades were very pretty and there was a monument to the World War men -- a soldier all equipped stepping forward.

Ashton was the next place of interest for then we stocked up for the park. But that was unnecessary for there are places right along where supplies are to be had. The scenery began to be much finer from here on. Robinson River and Warm River joined at Warm River Station.

We camped this night at Pond’s Resort in the Targhee National Forest. Here we had a nice camp to ourselves among the lodge pole pines and had much merriment about bears coming into camp. There was a dance at the Pond place and Lynn and Vance dressed up and went and had a good time. Dad got up to chase something and I got a shock when I poked my head out under the tent and saw him gleaming whitely among the pines. I told the girls I thought I had seen a polar bear. We had a nice broad shallow river handy, too, here, the Buffalo, and Lynn and Vance got a bath though no swim. This p.m. we stopped and sidetracked to see the big falls on the Snake, a truly wonderful sight. Vance took pictures. Dad had grippe so didn’t take the half mile walk down to where we could see it. There was a rustic inn or lodge there, very nice.

From back of photo: "Snake River Falls about 40 miles from the park. We walked down about 1/2 mile from the road to see them. There was a large, handsome log hunting lodge not 40 rods from where we stood. Party from left to right -- myself, Lynn, Bernice, Irl, and Shirley. Photo by Vance, Saturday, July 31, '26. Dad had an attack of bowel trouble from something he ate so didn't walk down." [No! Really!! Something he ate?!!! How could that be?]

NELLIE AND THE LAPTOP

Mike and I have been running into each other frequently here at the computer – the hub of our world, as it were. Since we can’t both sit here at the same time, we bought a laptop in honor of our recent wedding anniversary (33). We picked it up yesterday at Staples. “Donald,” the salesperson, assured us we would have no problem setting up and connecting to the wireless router. Mike set up the router and went for a bike ride, admittedly leaving me to set up the laptop.

Now, I’ve never set up a computer on my own, and it took me hours just to connect with the internet. I refused to call the associate at Staples, opting instead to call Hallie. By the time she could talk to me, I had all the issues resolved but not without weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. (I’m really not without some intuitive ability. I just don’t speak the language – can’t follow the jargon.)

This afternoon when I opened the laptop for another “get acquainted” session, Nellie insisted on going outside. “What’s Nellie doing out there?” Mike asked. “That’s strange; she’s just lying in the tall grass on the hill. It’s like she’s upset about something here in the house and would rather be out there.” Then I remembered her sensitivity to our upsets and frustrations, which she had correctly associated with the laptop. So, I insisted she come back in and observe me at peace with the laptop. I can tell, though, she still thinks it’s the laptop from hell. She might be right.

A REVIEW BY POSTCARD

Postcard, July 31, 1926 (Saturday) – Idaho Falls
Dear Girls and All,
We came from Twin Falls to Idaho Falls yesterday – about 186 miles. Pass through Burley, American Falls, and Pocatello. It was not so hot yesterday, though the country was more or less desert. We are following the Snake mostly. Last night our camp was good – in an auto park, but we had our own fire. Everybody well. Bernice’s cough almost gone. Two punctures to Irl’s tire. Roads are having a lot done to them and are hard on tires. We are still 124 miles from park. Having a good time. Love, Momma

P.S. Am feeling fine.

[You've seen this photo before, but I wanted to share what Ina had written on the back of a duplicate: "Our first camp. Taken in the morning of July 28, '26, at 'Gouge Eye' near Riggins on the Salmon where the Little Salmon runs into it. Note the towels on Irl's car and wash pans on running board. Also the small square black thing against the windshield just under a corner of the top. This was a little old square mirror which Ethel loaned us. Note my grub box seat and the box with the toaster leaning against it is our lunch box and the one by it also rode on the running board and held our extra maps and parcels."]

DAY FOUR

July 30, 1926 (Friday)

We left Twin Falls and passed through Yale, a desert station, where we ate dinner behind the machine shop, rather unpleasant but it saved time, for Irl was having a tube patched. Here Lynn picked up and took along an oldish man who had walked in 8 miles leaving his family and crippled car in the desert road. I think it was this p.m. that Bernice’s old duster was lost off the running board box. We thought sure Dad would see it and pick it up, but later we halted and they came up and Dad said, “Ha! That’s what we passed back there!” He seemed quite pleased to have identified the object and we all laughed at him for not doing what we expected. Well, Bernice didn’t care so much and we were glad she didn’t. We were going through desert country mostly that day, it seemed to me, I mean sage country and our next place of interest was American Falls, which are so choked by a gigantic dam as to be spoiled. The great dam was worth seeing being about ¼ mile long but the town most uninteresting. It had been moved some distance from the former site and the trees were all very young.

Pocatello was our next point and is quite a place. Here Dad and I got tinted glasses. It is quite a place, but we were not interested. We passed Fort Hall where the Indian training school was located and met a good many prosperous-looking Indians. Blackfoot doesn’t look much like it did when we passed through it years ago, but the country was pretty and roads good though we got another flat tire. We passed through Firth and Shelley, then into Idaho Falls, which is a nice big town and we were in a public camp at 25 cents. There seemed to be hundreds of cars there, but we got off to ourselves where there was no table, and a girl came over and told us we could have theirs as they were through, but it was a doubtful comfort for it was too high and small. After we were in bed a car rolled in and the people just cranked and the woman said all she wanted was to go to sleep and didn’t care if she never woke up again. The man said she’d better jump over the falls and get out of her misery. In the a.m., we found 3 cars had pulled in close to us and the rough man had to hold up a quilt while his wife dressed. [To be continued . . . ]

OF GEOCACHES, RAIN, AND DOGS

We awoke to a chilly (54) and unsettled-looking spring day. We took our time packing and loading the Dakota. Mike checked on our trees, all of which are evidently enjoying this spell of cool, wet weather. We left the farm about 9:30 and came back Hwy 95 so that we could stop at Winchester State Park and pick up a few geocaches. The first one was easy -- right at a parking area -- but from there we hiked a mile on a trail to an interesting spot where a huge granite boulder is located. The dogs so enjoyed the outing. If we walked two miles, Nellie must have run five. It began to rain as we hiked back to the pick-up. The last geocache was on the other side of the lake. By the time we parked it was raining in earnest, so Mike hiked the .3 miles to that site by himself while the rest of us waited. (He wore the rain poncho he traded out of a geocache.)

We took Duke to his house. He seemed pleased to be home, we thought. His master will arrive tonight. Coming on to our house, I was surprised to see my beans and zucchini are up and our gardens blooming. [Somehow this photo just doesn't do it justice.]

When we travel with Duke and Nellie, we don't have room for two kennels. As a rule, Duke rides in his kennel and Nellie rides along on a blanket or pillow, though she also prefers to be confined. When Mike opened the pick-up for them after our hike, Nellie hopped into the kennel and refused to get out, so Mike let her ride there and Duke rode on the blanket. Here's a photo taken this afternoon of one very tired Nellie.

MEDDLING

“Are you meddling?” asked Mike, as he came upon me once again pouring over the contents of Ina’s old trunk. “Yes,” I said, “and there’s no one left to care.” It’s so pleasant to spend time there in that “east dormer” (over the front porch) – just a wide place at the end of the hall where the old trunk sits along with a bookcase and Grandma’s old overstuffed rocking chair.

Grandma Ina’s old trunk held her important treasures – souvenirs of her childhood and youth, her high school diploma, old letters, photos and portraits, etc. Sometimes on a rainy day, she would let her children look through it as long as they were careful and quiet. My dad never spoke of it much but eventually he moved it from this house to the attic of the Orofino house where we found it after his passing. When we cleaned out the Orofino house, I became the keeper of the trunk at my house in Lewiston. Finally it came full circle back to the homestead at Gilbert.

For a long time I tried to keep everything just as Grandma Ina had had it – these photos in this box, these letters here, more photos over here. I was losing my mind trying to keep everything separated and knew the trunk as well as all her other little stashes (and my dad’s) would now have to be combined into one or I would never be able to make sense of it. “It’s all mine now,” I would tell myself, not with any sense of selfishness (I hope) but because it all had to be organized. For example, today I found another set of photos pertaining to the Yellowstone tour of 1926 – duplicates of those I’m already working with but useful because more carefully identified.

It started raining Saturday night and we’ve had intermittent showers since then. In fact, it poured about 6:00 this morning, so the day’s activities started slowly for us. It was 45 when we got up and in the low 60s mid-afternoon. Mike finally mowed the lawn. I finally finished the laundry. I baked cookies to put some heat in the house – at least, that’s what I said. Yesterday was also chilly and I sat at my sewing machine putting a decorative hem on a receiving blanket for New Baby Warnock as I watched the storms move in and out over Little Canyon. I find it fascinating to watch the clouds. I took a number of photos to share before I realized you are probably enjoying your own cloud formations. KW

IMPORTANT DON'TS -- 1926

As we prepare to enter Yellowstone National Park 1926, let’s review the IMPORTANT DON’TS:

DON’T leave your camp fire burning.
DON’T throw away pipe ashes, cigar or cigarette stumps without completely extinguishing the sparks.
DON’T build fire in tree mould or near logs or brush.
DON’T build larger fires than necessary.
DON’T leave your camp uncleaned.
DON’T deface anything in the park with your name or initials.
DON’T cut any green timber.
DON’T collect specimens of any kind.
DON’T feed the bears.
DON’T drive on the wrong side of the road.
DON’T run by STOP signs.
DON’T disregard the Red Flag SLOW-UP marker.
DON’T fail to keep to the RIGHT on all turns.
DON’T fail to signal on blind turns.
DON’T park your car on a turn.
DON’T speed.

“The above DON’TS are intended to lighten the burden of the Rangers in keeping the park and traffic through the park in harmony. The Rangers are well informed on the park and on park customs and if called upon for information can render valuable assistance to the traveler.” [From Haynes Guide, The Complete Handbook – Yellowstone National Park, 1926]

I had to chuckle over the "DON'TS" just because over the years we've become so much more succinct in our expression of the rules: Douse your campfire; crush all smokes dead out; no bonfires; clean your camp before leaving; etc. However, "DON'T feed the bears" remains "DON'T feed the bears" to this day. Keep that one in mind. You'll need it later.