So in all of our planning, we weren't sure how to handle getting to Idaho Falls for the eclipse. Should we leave early Monday morning and risk getting stuck in traffic? Should we leave Sunday evening and camp? We had brought everything we needed to camp, but I knew we wouldn't sleep well so I wasn't totally on board with that idea. But I also hated the thought of being stuck in traffic for hours and hours and missing the eclipse. Danny was keeping in contact with Larry to see how things were looking on their end, and we kept postponing making a decision. We're fluid like that sometimes. :)
In the meantime, it was Sunday so we knew we'd be going to church. At least we always know that, right?! We didn't have church until 11:00 however, and that allowed us to enjoy a slow morning at the cabin. The kids helped Great Grandma with some laundry, and Joey just made cute all morning. I spent all morning stressing about how we were going to have time in the day to do everything we needed to, and yet still have any time to REST! Then we found out that due to the predicted influx of people in Island Park for the eclipse, the ward had cancelled the last two blocks and was only doing Sacrament Meeting. It was a miracle! We enjoyed Sacrament Meeting in the A-frame building, which was neat because one of Danny's ancestors helped to build it and it was where we enjoyed our first Sacrament Meeting as husband and wife on our honeymoon. The kids thought it was so cool!
After church (blessedly) we had a couple of hours to just chill out. Grandma Candy started a rousing game of botchi, and Johnny and Sophie played in the garage. Apparently Johnny things botchi is "way too stressful" for him. :) We had a family dinner planned with Uncle Russ, Aunt Janet, and Michael later that afternoon. When they came by, Michael brought his telescope and solar lens so we could all get a look at the sun. It was incredible...I could see sun spots! We enjoyed some good food (spaghetti and meatballs with a fresh apple crips from Aunt Janet) and some good conversation. It was the perfect Sunday afternoon, and just what we needed after two busy days in the park.
As the day progressed, we knew we had to make some decisions about our eclipse plans. Danny made a call to Larry, and he said that the traffic was starting to get heavy in Idaho Falls. So we made the decision to go ahead and camp that night...but instead of trying to go home to Utah after the eclipse Monday morning we would return to the cabin for one more night. This relieved so much stress!! We didn't have to pack everything and clean the cabin before we left for Idaho Falls, and we would be able to enjoy another relaxing evening at the cabin instead of sitting in traffic trying to get back to Utah. With our plan in place, we loaded our overnight bags and made our way to Larry and Karen's house in Idaho Falls.
We got there with just enough time to set up camp before it was fully dark...and to be honest we did a certain amount of work in the dark. :) But everyone pitched in, even Larry and Karen, and we got our not-so-little camp set up in their back yard. I have to say something about Larry and Karen. They are about as good a people as you could ever know on this earth. When we realized that their house was directly over the totality line, Danny called Larry up (assuming they would have already had tons of people ask) and asked if we could watch the eclipse from their house. Larry said of course, and offered to let us camp if we wanted to. When we descended on their home, they opened up not only their yard but their home to us...even though their house had recently had the ceilings collapse in two of the rooms. Including their bedroom! So they were sleeping in the front room, and still let us invade their home. We just love the Rounds. Karen even made a huckleberry cheesecake for us, and we all enjoyed some dessert and a little conversation before heading to bed.
We had no idea what to expect that night, especially with Joey never having camped before. But we knew from the get-go that it was going to be an adventure!
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