Great Grandma Berg took us to Idaho and she was our tour guide. We got to see her old school, friends and relatives, and heard a million fun stories. We stayed with Jim and Darlene (Della's niece) first, then we stayed at "The Old Homestead" which was Della's dad's house when he was a kid growing up. We had so much fun. I highly recommend having a road trip with someone to their own hometown. She knows everything about that place and has so many stories to share.
We stopped to see all the gravestones of the relatives, and cleaned them up a bit.
We headed to Grandma's old elementary school and heard a story of her making a run for it so she wouldn't have to drink cod liver oil after recess.
We stopped at Glenette's house to visit with her and see all the renovations her grandson and his wife had made to the basement. It looked really good. The kids mostly appreciated all the animals. There is only one camel now, but he is a sweet thing and comes when he's called and likes to be loved on.
On to Jim and Darlene's picturesque house. It's so lovely. Everyone came over and Darlene made us all a feast.
In the morning, we loved watching the hummingbirds, and helped feed the steer.
Then up to the top of the mountains to see where the plane went down that Grandma's brothers stole the machine gun from. Oh the stories!
We went to another cemetery with Jim and Darlene and I found this gem. Polygamy maybe? No relation to us, so I don't know the story.
The kids were loving their rural life in Idaho.
Then to see Almo school, where Della's parents went to school too. Their pictures were in a glass case in the school.
The school is now a restaurant and we ate there while the kids enjoyed what was left of the library.
Here we are at the Old Homestead, which was Della's dad's childhood home, which is now in the Ward family. Della had never been inside, but they rent it out now as a little inn. Marion Ward, the owner, came and talked with Della about their shared memories.
We went to Durfee Hot Springs and everyone except for me enjoyed each of the three pools. I forgot my swimming suit. The Durfee family is also related to us in some way.
Back at the Old Homestead, we had everyone over for a front yard picnic. It was so fun to see everyone and eat together again. They're good at that there. There is always a party.
Dressed up for Sunday church, posing in front of the sign for the homestead.
Our last adventure on the trip was to see Theordore Brackenbury's marker in the City of Rocks. It's located in the preserve part of the park, and we had to get special permission to go back there. He died back there and the marker is where they found him, he had frozen to death in a blizzard. Idaho life was really tough! It was Della's uncle.
Randy is such a prankster, he was constantly teasing with the kids, and us. So funny.
Goodbyes for all, it was a fun time for everyone, and we loved having our own personal tour guide. Here's a video too of the trip.
