The Hazard Chronicles

On Friday, Rachel picked me up from work and from there we continued driving out of town and into the mountains. Just over 6 hours later we pulled into the driveway of my parent's home in Rexburg. Allison had also drivn up from Logan and was already there when we arrived. Since then, we have gotten very little sleep, and we've had plenty of fun.

Saturday started out by loading everyone up in the car and driving to Bear World! For those who are unfamiliar with this place, it opened about 10 years ago (give or take) and advertisies itelf as the "original" Yellowstone experiance, with wild animals (including bears) running around your car as you drive, with no fences or anything to hold them back. To create the illusion they purchased some retired circus bears, got some elk from a farm, and rounded up a few other speces from zoos, refuges, and research facilities. They then turned them all lose in a fenced-in area, put a road going through it, and started charging admission. And they do pretty well for themselves.

I freely admit, I scoffed at the idea when I first heard of it. A lot of people did. A lot of people still do. Every time I drove by it I would shake my head at the poor suckers who were being taken in by such an artificial excuse for reality.

And so it was, with a little reluctance, that I drove through the gates of Bear World yesterday as one of those suckers.

But here's the thing- I actually enjoyed it! Because a bear is a bear, and there is still something thrilling about seeing one of these majestic animals just outside of your car window even if it is totally tame. I see it like a zoo, but better. Zoo animals aren't wild, but we still love to go and see them. And I realized the part that really had been rubbing me the wrong way all these years wasn't the experiance itself at all- rather it was the hyped-up advertising. A more honest anvertisement would read as follows: No, these aren't real wild animals, but hey, you're going to get up close and personal with them and they're still pretty darn cool!

Oh- and the kids loved it. Besides the drive-through animal tour, they also have a petting zoo with goats, deer, chickens, and a really ugly pig, and a small area with carnival rides for the kids to go on. We actually spent more time on these things than the "bear encounter" itself. It was fun. I would consider going back again sometime.

After we got back from Bear World, we packed a picnic lunch and went to Smith Park in Rexurg where they have a caraouel and an amazing splash pad for the kids to play on. We spent a good deal of the afternoon there, then came home and hung out in the back yard while my dad made BBQ.

It was a good day.

Today we have had a pretty laid back morning. We will go to church in a few hours, then have dinner and head home.

One of the nice things about living where we do is that we can go on quick trips like this to see family. That's important to us.

Since I couldn't get pictures up last week, these pictures cover a two week span.


Maren found her voice:

The Park:

Fishing:

 (Jack is so skinny that his pants often fall down if he is running or something. He learns quickly though, and now holds them up when he runs.)

 This is Addy getting in trouble. Rachel was so frusterated that she strapped her to a chair and put her in the bathroom. As you can see by Addy's face, it didn't really phase her. I can tell already that she is going to be our "dicipline" challenge.

 Mowgli

Hiking and Climbing:

 (One of my favorite pictures ever)

Bear World Petting Zoo:

 (Evelyn named this deer "Fluffy")

Jackson and Grandpa have become pretty good friends: