Mark's Priest Overnighter

~Mark wrote:

The Saddle Ridge Priests Quorum headed up to Preston, Idaho, for a last hurrah with our advisor, Brother Penrod. Wee packed all the gear up in Brother Hale's truck and began the 3 hour drive. On the way, we stopped at the Pepperidge goldfish making factory, where the delicious little cheesy fish are produced and bought some goldfish and shirts. We then continued up to the Bishop's parents' house, where we set up camp and got all unpacked. After the boring process, we trekked out to the country to the flume. We were going to ride the flume. Now, when you think of a flume, you probably think of the log flume ride at Lagoon. This was sort of like that, expect you sit on your butt and you try not to get clonked on the head by metal bars. It was super fun, and everyone went down at least 5-10 times. We forgot changes of clothes, though, so we rode back in our towels and bare chested to get ready for the next activity.

They made a stop at the Pepperidge farm outlet.

They went on a special tour of Pap Jay's.

The boys were excited for the samples.

Getting ready to float the flume.

When Mom saw this, she was a little worried. Luckily she saw it after the fact.

Mark and his friend, Robbie, in the flume.

Having a great time!

We watched the parade for a little while, and yes we did get some candy they thrown to us. The next activity was the rodeo, in which our Bishop was singing the National Anthem. We rolled up and found our seats at the very top. The land was covered in the golden light of a beautiful sunset. The Bishop sang very well, and then joined us to watch the action. There were exhilarating bronco rides, steer wrestling, and barrel racing. In between, the boys were fascinated with an expert rope handler dude who could pretty much do anything possible with a rope and a whip. He smacked bottle caps off people's heads, cut ribbon down to the inch, and jumped through a rope and did flips all while spinning it like a lasso. After this guy were the bull rides. They didn't do that good, but there were some decent ones. Then the priests proceeded back to the tent for a good nights rest, which did not happen.

Mark at the rodeo.

Heading into the rodeo.

They had a fun time!

The priests joined by Bishop Rich and his son Grant.

You see, they had visited a beef jerky factory earlier owned by their jolly old advisor's grandpa, and bought some extra special Ghost Pepper, Scorpion Pepper, and Carolina Reaper beef jerky. They were tough boys, you see, and knew they would handle it fine. So upon arriving back at the tent, they whipped out the beef jerky packages, one for each, and started going at it. First was the scorpion pepper jerky, which was handled easily by all involved. Next was the Ghost Pepper jerky, which was spicy, needless to say. Next was the big dog, the Carolina Reaper jerky. Let's just say that it was pretty tasty (not). Anyway, for the next 6 hours, Robbie, Mark and Caleb took turns making runs to the bathroom and trying not to die. They groaned in agony and did not sleep, and watched TikToks to take their mind off the pain. Better out than in, they say, but not here. The next morning, they crawled out of the death trap of stench which was the tent, and were ready to start the next day with a devotional.

Mark regretting his decision to participate in the spicy jerky challenge.

Not sleeping due to the pain.

Barely alive by morning.

The next morning we cleaned up camp, and Bishop's parents supplied us with Pepto Bismol. It was surprisingly tasty and helpful for our hurting tummies. Afterward we headed out into some canyon where the Bear River was flowing, and took some tubes and a paddleboard. We hopped into the river and began floating down. There were some sketchy moments but mostly it went smoothly. There was a cliff jumping spot at one point, but only one of us was brave enough to do it in such shallow water. Near the end we hooked up the tubes and made a chain before pulling them off to the side of the river by the truck. It was super fun and a new experience for me. Then we began the long drive back home, where everyone slept basically the whole ride home. It was a super fun trip with just the priests.

The whole gang went tubing.

It was a pretty area for tubing.

Heading home!