Our Mini-Vacation

When I almost won a car back in August, I got free tickets to Bear World as part of a consolation packet, so we decided to combine it with a work trip for Del in Driggs.  He had already been working there for a couple of weeks, so he met us at Bear World, which is about halfway.  Even though it is geared to smaller kids, we had a great time!

 It was fun to drive through the park with bears walking right up to your car for handouts.  Of course, you have to keep your windows rolled up for safety but even with a window separating us they still seemed a little too close at times.

A friend of ours went to Bear World a few years ago and a bear bit his tire!  It probably looked like a big, yummy, chocolate doughnut to the bear, since they throw old Hostess products to the bears from the bear truck to make them come up and beg! Poor bears.  What will they do now that Hostess has filed bankruptcy?

 After the park tour we had some fun on the little kid rides. Really, I made them ride the roller coaster and tree hopper just so I could have a picture.  They aren't very exciting rides if you are older than 6. 

The boys refused to join in the kiddie ride fun.  Party poopers!

 Next, we went on the nature walk tour.  Devin thought their measurements were a few inches off, but regardless, that grizzly bear is huge!

Emma's favorites were the playful little bear cubs.  

You could pet and feed a baby cub if you paid extra, but there was a line of preschoolers waiting for that, so she felt silly about standing with them to wait for a turn.  She didn't feel silly about this, though!

 

  

 We had fun feeding the ducks and the fish. 

  Our favorite animal on the tour was Stiltz, the moose. 

 Apparently, he is shy because they have this sign for him:

We didn't have a hard time spotting him, though.  He stood right next to us on the bridge.  

 

He even let us pet his head, although Del says you should never do that because he could gore you.  In fact, we think he may have been trying to gore us because he got his antlers stuck in the bridge!  Needless to say, Stiltz is not very shy!

 After playing with wild animals for a while we went to the gift shop, where we bought lots of yummy fudge and souveniers.

 Maren and Emma got to pet a real (sort of) bear!  

Del tried to pet a bear, too, but he picked one that wasn't as friendly!

 After our fun at Bear World we headed to Driggs.  The girls had fun taking pictures from the car.  They saw an ice cream truck...

  some nice, new tractors.... 

a leaning barn...

 the Rexburg temple...

 

and Del's van in front of us.

 Finally, we arrived in Driggs!  It's heaven for skiers and outdoorsy people (of which I am neither).  The mountains are beautiful, although this picture through the windshield doesn't do it justice.

 The Cameron's condo is really nice and surrounded by a beautiful little lake and fun places to walk.

They have been remodeling it since they bought it over a year ago. Del was working on bathrooms, tiling floors and showers and building cupboards in the bathrooms.  The floor in one of the bathrooms was the tile that looks like hardwood, and Del put in a pedestal tub with old-fashioned fixtures after we left.

Trissa wanted farm-style open front cabinets in the bathrooms to keep things neat and easy.

Most of the bedrooms are finished but haven't been decorated yet.  I can't wait to see it when it's finished!

 Trissa has great taste and I love the way she designed the open kitchen (done last year, not by Del).  The subway tile, glass-front cabinets, and barnwood accents look great.  

They'll be renting the condo when they're finished to recoup their investment, and we loved being some of the first guests.  After a short stay, we headed back home and left Del behind to work.  A short but sweet mini-vacation!