WE OPEN BEAR LAKE FARMHOUSE

Dear Family,

With all the activity, we found time to go to St. Charles, ID to open the house on Bear Lake.  Doug brought Spence, Izzy and Tom Tom.  Mom and I drove up with them on a Thursday night. We loaded up the trailer with an ATV, chain saws, battery chargers, food for an army and headed up I80.  We got a late start and arrived about 1 AM.

Roy drove over from Colorado and brought Adam.  He came over in his new BMW rental and traveled well over the speed limit as must German vehicles do.  We arrived about the same time and met him at the farm.
We got in, turned on the furnace, finally got the water pump to work, started a fires in the stove and went to bed thoroughly pooped.  We woke up to a  rainy day.  I have never seen it rain there in the 12 years we have owned the property.  I brought the grill and griddle outside and cooked a mammoth Bear Lake Breakfast and it was fun.  It continued to rain all day so we could not do much outdoors.  Luckily all the equipment started right up.

Roy had trouble sleeping because he hears some live action in the wall making a noise all night long.  He took off a panel on the wall upstairs and found a birds nest with three little birds making a fuss.  Those darn Barn swallows found a way to peck their way into the wall and set up house.  The kids removed the nest and transplanted it in a tree.  Doug and Roy sealed up the hole.  Otherwise the house was vermin free.

When the weather cleared we cut the grass and noticed that there were cows in the immediate field behind and next to the house.  There were about fifty or more Angus cows in what is normally the hay field.  This disrupted our choosing lane towards the lake and we could not shoot off the back porch.

Three year old Izzy managed to step in a fresh "Cow Pie" and Doug took care of that.  The kids could not play in the field behind the house because of the bulls and cows that were right up to the fence..

It is early Spring time there and the apple tree at the side of the house is in bloom.  Saturday, the weather cleared and we found a great shooting range in Montpelier and had a blast there literally.  Roy brought some of his gourmet long distance rifles; we sighted in several rifles and the kids shot their 22's.

We did not get the boat out as it was chilly.  We need to go back again and spend more time there. I love it up there; it is as if the rest of the world with all the hassles is totally irrelevant to life in St. Charles.  Mom was cleaning constantly and the place really looks good and everything works!  The triumph of opening Bear Lake.  We headed back Saturday night so we could go to church here and Roy made it back safely.

See you all soon.  Discussion abut the reunion is heating up and we look forward to that.  We visit Rob and Jeff soon for another eye treatment.


Love, Mom and Dad