Island Park Day 1

We were really excited that Grandpa rented out a bunkhouse in Island Park for us to go wring a few final days out of Summer before school started. Unfortunately, the Pooles and Webbs live too far away to join us, but we had fun with Grandma and Grandpa and the Ferlans.

We skipped Church on Sunday and left after Dad's morning meetings in order to get to Island Park by four o'clock check in time. We were excited that the bunkhouse included enough beds all in the same room for everyone to have their very own bed. It was really big and spacious and gave us the opportunity to cook right in the kitchen. Since we got in late Sunday, by the time we got settled, we only had time for a short drive over to Big Springs. We didn't see many animals, but the area was nice.

The boys loved having all the beds to play around. 

We started the evening with a nice volleyball game.

Dad was very serious! 

Big Springs was a pretty little spot.

We spent most of Monday in Island Park checking out the sights. After breakfast we took the kids fishing at Henry's Lake. We didn't have much luck. In fact, only Abby caught a tiny three inch fish. But we did earn a Junior Ranger badge. We also had a really nice picnic lunch.

Grandpa even tried to help with the fishing.  

Seth loves to fish, but he is not patient.

Mark loves being outside doing anything. 

Dax really wants to be a fisherman.

This was the only fish that was caught. 

We had a fun time by Henry's Lake though.

Everyone earned a Junior Ranger.

After fishing, we headed over to Harriman State Park for a hike. It was a beautiful mile and a half stroll along the river. Along the way, we spotted three moose including a cow and her calf laying in the grass. We watched an osprey and a heron, too. It was a really nice hike. Again, the boys earned a Junior Ranger badge, so they were happy.

We drove to the top of the mountain, but the fires made the overlook very hazy. 

We were so excited to spot this moose across the pond.

Then we saw this moose with her baby a lot closer. 

The Great Blue Heron flew up into a tree shortly after we arrived.

We hoped that the Osprey would dive for a fish, but he just circled overhead. 

We had so much fun spending the day with the Ferlans.

We continued at the road to Upper and Lower Mesa Falls. Both were beautiful, but Upper Mesa Falls was really spectacular. We walked down to the overlook and took a few pictures of the wide river dropping over a hundred feet.

Mesa Falls was stunning. 

We were glad we stopped at this beautiful stop. 

We hurried back for dinner at the bunkhouse and grilled up some hamburgers and hotdogs. Then after dinner we took the kids to the pool. It was pretty busy, but the big kids enjoyed a splash contest, and the little kids liked motorboating around the pool with the adults. It was a really nice day, and we missed having more cousins with us.

Mark, Dax, and Abby raced back and forth across the pool.

Seth practiced his dives!