Blackfoot & Potatoes

This is the first vacation in years that I haven't taken the time to write in my "journal" every night.  I was honestly just too exhausted to even think about turning the computer on since we left Flagstaff.  I didn't check the bank accounts, I didn't read the newspaper...and my phone only worked a small portion of the time (and only when we were in West Yellowstone or at Old Faithful).

We arrived in Lehi, Utah about 2am on Wednesday morning...and slept until about 8am.  We threw ourselves together and then headed down for the free breakfast.  After breakfast, Mike and Billy loaded the truck just in time for our 9 o'clock departure.  My parents arrived right on time...and we even got to see my Aunt Mary Ellen and Uncle Eric for quick hugs before we headed north.


Carlys wanted to stop along "fruit way" to pick up some fresh fruit.  We really just wanted to drive as far and fast as we could, but we stopped at a few fruit stands and then had lunch at a place called Maddox in Brigham City.  Mike had a Bison steak, some had fried chicken, Raelynn had a hamburger and I decided I would have my favorite- salmon.  

Well...it used to be my favorite.  I will blame it on pregnancy, but I don't see myself having salmon for some time. After we all ate, we were back on the road...headed towards Blackfoot, Idaho.


We arrived in Blackfoot in the early afternoon.  My dad drove us through an old neighborhood to show us the school that my grandma Joyce went to...and I guess he went there for a short time too.  He also showed us his Uncle Buzz and Aunt Johnnie's old house.  Johnnie's real name was La Vora...not sure how Johnnie became her nickname.

When we were done with the neighborhood stuff, we headed back to a building we passed on the way into town- the Potato Museum.  We didn't go in the museum, but we did stop to take pictures in front of the gigantic potato out front.  I thought it was dang funny.  I called Carol after we left Blackfoot and she said they actually went through the museum when her family was there...and got a huge potato at the end of the tour.  Too funny.

We took our potato pictures and then headed to the cemetery.  I have always wanted to do this with my dad, so I was very happy to cross it off my bucket list.  My dad's biological father, Everett Lyle Rodgers (aka Tuffy), was killed on Iwo Jima in March, 1945.  He was buried in Blackfoot, Idaho...where my dad was born and where my grandma went to live with her parents after Tuffy was killed.

Buzz and Johnnie were also buried in Blackfoot, so we found their headstones too.  It was a fun family history lesson...I hope I can remember all the questions and answers as we rode around Blackfoot.

When we had seen all we wanted to see and asked as many questions as we could come up with, we made our way to West Yellowstone


For those wondering how many times we stopped on our long journey...the answer is eight times.  It wasn't as bad as I thought (okay...it was), but our overnight stay in Flagstaff interrupted our momentum.  I wish I kept track of how many times I had to use a bathroom in Yellowstone, but I didn't think about it until it was too late.  I am thankful the "outhouses" (for the majority) were bug free and clean...as clean as an outhouse can be.