Total Eclipse of the Sun

Idaho Falls - August 19-21, 2017

I first heard about the 2017 eclipse probably back in 2010ish.  When I heard that it would pass by close to home, then I added it to my calendar with a reminder 1 year in advance to book a hotel.  When the reminder came most of the hotels were already booked, or if they weren't they were super expensive trying to capitalize on the eclipse mania that would sweep the nation.

One Sunday at my parents I was looking for an airbnb and mentioned it to the family when my brother offered to let us join them at Morgan's sister's house, which we gratefully accepted.

This was our first real trip in our Tesla that we purchased in March.  Here we are charging in Pocatello.

We drove up on Saturday morning (the eclipse was on Monday).  On Sunday after church we headed to downtown Idaho Falls.

Checking out the Snake River.

This bench caught my eye as a fitting tribute to the gem state (although all of the good gems had been kifed).

Playing games on the kindle with a crowd.

Dinner.

Lyla and Avery.

The moment we've all been waiting for. 

The moon is slowly passing in front of the sun.

Of course we took a picture with our latex heads.

Totality selfie.

The kids.

We took off on the back roads right after the eclipse.  My car was nearly fully charged and we wanted to avoid I-15.  It turned out that one of the roads was a dirt road, which really sucked the juice from the battery.  We ended up finding a spot in Logan to slow-charge for a bit to give us enough juice to make it home. 

We drove through soda springs just as the geyser was erupting.

This was interesting.  Even in North Salt Lake the eclipse covered 90% of the sun or so.  As you can see from the performance of our solar panels, there was a substantial dip in production as the moon crossed in front of the sun.

Next up: Vietnam and Thailand!

Redwoods - Day 6

Day 6 - San Francisco - August 7, 2017

Our last day.

Started with a hotel breakfast.

Followed by a visit to Pier 39.

Spotting the sea lions.

Helping with a magic show.

Devouring a bread bowl.

Satiating our sweet tooth.

We went on an expedition to find the windiest street in the city.  It turns out that while Lombard Street is the most famous, there is some debate as to whether or not it is actually the windiest. This picture is taken near Vermont Street, which is another candidate for windiest street in the city.

While Alison and I ate at our favorite restaurant, Burma Superstar in Alameda, Lyla and Ada settled for some foot longs.

A brownie before our late flight home.

The 2nd best chocolate chip cookies in San Francisco.  From Tartine Bakery.  Our favorite cookies are actually from b. patisserie.

Sometimes travel requires late nights and early mornings, but they're worth it.

Next up: A quick jaunt to Idaho Falls to check out the eclipse...

Redwoods - Day 5

Day 5 - Eureka, CA to the Bay Area - August 6, 2017

We packed up and checked out of our hotel.  We made our way over to the church in town for sacrament meeting.

We started driving back to the bay area, stopping along the Avenue of the Giants in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park for a short hike. I think this one was the Governor William D. Stephens loop trail.

Lots of clovers.

We had to stop and admire some of the roadside attractions.

This is the McIntyre's driving through the tree in their rental car.  So bold. So brave. So dangerous.

I believe.

We finally made it to our hotel.

Tomorrow we venture into the den of sin, otherwise known as San Francisco (read with sarcasm).

Redwoods - Day 4

Day 4 - Redwoods - August 5, 2017

Today we went on a longer hike in the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.

We parked near the visitor center, and our goal was to hike to Fern Canyon, which was right on the coast.

The sign says that the hike was only 4.2 miles, but my Map my Hike GPS app put our total walking distance at 7 miles.  I don't know who to believe!

Lyla hiked nearly the whole way herself.  Just small bursts of shoulder rides.

The kids were amazing.  They would leap-frog us parents, running from one hiding spot to the next.

On the run.

They had a good 2 hour game of hide and go seek going on.

Snack break.

The girls.

We came around a bend in the trail and were surprised by this elk just hanging out on the trail.

We had to wait for him to mosey across the bridge.  We certainly weren't going to rush things.

After hiking for 4 hour we made it to our destination, Fern Canyon.

This was a small stream bed in a chasm where the walls were just lined with ferns.

It honestly didn't seem real!

We had scheduled a shuttle to take us from Fern Canyon back to the visitor's center where our cars were parked (about a 25 minute drive). I was nervous that we weren't going to make it to the shuttle in time, but everything worked out great.

We stopped by the Big Tree Wayside to take some photos in our family latex collection.

Rachel was an excellent photographer, making sure that we were all posed properly.  We may need to drag her along on all of our adventures.

This little piggy wanted a photoshoot all of her own.

After our long hike, the hot tub was especially inviting!

Tomorrow we go to church and drive back to the Bay Area.