Preston, ID

We did this a while ago, I didn't mean to be so slow posting it but here it is anyway.

At the beginning of April and October, the LDS church holds a general conference. It's two hours in the morning and afternoon, with two hours in between. We like to listen to it on the radio while we drive somewhere, this year we didn't really plan, we just got in the car and drove. We ended up in Preston, ID- which is where the movie Napoleon Dynamite takes place and was filmed.

The first thing we did when we got to town was hit up the DI, where Napoleon got his awesome suit. We couldn't quite find one that good.

Along main street we also saw the Cuttin Curral, and the studio he goes to for Karate.

There were some stores with Napoleon merchandise, we didn't buy anything, but it was fun to look.

We ate lunch at the New York Deli, it was really good sandwiches, right on main street as well.

We also went by the schools and the playground from the movie, and we were going to see Napoleon's house but ran out of time. Here is a map of the places you can see from the movie if you want to go explore as well. 

Bisch's RV Challenege- Free Dinner

Sorry, I did't get this up earlier but this week is Bisch's RV Challenge. Throughout the week there are competitors staying in campers without acess to cell phone or showers and every evening they compete in challeneges. Players get elminated throughout the week and the winner gets a new camper. Each evening they have a free barbeque open to the public during the nightly challenege. We went tonight and the dinner was great (hamburgers, philly cheesesteak, steak bites) and the challenege was super fun to watch. They had to milk goats and then drink the milk.

It's worth going over if you have the time. It's through Friday, 5:30 PM dinner starts and the challenge is at 6 PM. Bisch's is just off of Holmes past the Highway.

Hiking "R" Mountain

Saturday we went with my sister and brother-in-law to climb the mountain with the R on it near Rexburg. We brought the baby because we heard it wasn't too hard of a hike but it was really pretty steep. Once you get to the top you the walk is pretty even and the veiw is amazing. The hike up is about 15 minutes but around the top you can spend lots of time if you wanted to walk around the top.



Directions to the trail head: if you head out of Rexburg on main street and about 8 miles out of town turn left on N 3700 E, the first road that crosses it should be Twin Butte Road, turn right. The parking for the trail will be on your left.

McCowin Park and Ammon City Pool

The other night we went to McCowin Park in Ammon. Heading out of Idaho Falls towards Ammon on 17th Street, turn right on Midway Ave. and the park will be on your left. This park has a lot of playing fields- soccer, baseball, football, tennis. It has a nice playground and a gazebo. It also is the home of Ammon City Pool. The Ammon pool is an small outdoor pool, they have swim lessons there but also have open swim most summer afternoons. It was a fun play to spend some time.

Blackfoot - Potato Museum, Jensen Grove, and A&W

Last Saturday we decided to go down to Blackfoot, Idaho to see the Potato Museum and we ended up doing a lot more than we planned because there were so many fun things to do there.

Our first stop was the Idaho Potato Museum, which is open Monday through Saturday during the summer and Monday through Friday in the winter. It costs $3 for adults. We learned quite a bit about potatoes but there was quite a bit of reading. It would be really fun history for someone that is interested in farming or has a lot of background in the area. If you happen to be from out of state you get free potatoes when you visit.

We then saw a sign for a $1 ice cream cone at the Downtown Bread Company. We stopped and it looked great but was already closed for the day. It closes at 6 on weekdays and 3 on Saturdays.

We missed the turn for Jensen's Grove and happened to pass an A&W, which sounded delicious. Everything looked so good so we had dinner there. We had a cherry limeade, a root beer float, cheeseburger, corn dog bites, and a "Freezerrr". You are probably wondering what a freezerr is, but it's like a milkshake but more icy. It was all good.

At last we made to Jensen's Grove and decided to take a walk around the perimeter of the lake. It was a nice easy walk that lasted about a half hour. Jensen's Grove also have frisbee golf, swimming, play equipment, volleyball nets, and boat docks.

Blackfoot Pride Days and Ririe Days

This weekend you can go North or South for some fun events in different cities.

Blackfoot, Idaho is hosting their annual Pride Days Thursday, July 14 - Saturday, July 16.

The Idaho Potato Museum will be doing tours each day of the event, and there will be an open house at the Historical Museum at 190 N Shilling on Friday and Saturday. Friday there is also free swimming at the Blackfoot Pool and free Bouncy Houses at Jensen's Grove.

Events on Saturday are mostly all at Jensen's Grove in Blackfoot. The best schedule we could find listed the events as following:

8am	Triathlon
8:30-9am	Sprint Boat Races
8-10am	Free Breakfast
9am	3-on-3 Basketball
9-11am	Sidewalk Chalk Art Tournament
9am-4pm	Car and Bike Show
10am-3pm	Helmets and Safety Demo
10:30am	Plane Fly-by
11am	Snowmachine Races
12-4pm	Free Potato Feed
1-4pm	Motorcycle Rodeo
4pm	Sprint Boat Demo

Ririe is hold its third annual Ririe Days this year on Saturday, July 16th. You can sign up for some of the events online at the Ririe Days Festival website.

7:00am	Kelly Canyon Run
8:00am	Family Bike Ride
8:30am	Flag Ceremony
9:00am	Golf Scramble
9:00am	Car Show
9:00am	Family Breakfast
11:00am	Craft Fair
11:00am	Food Vendors
11:00am	Archery Shootout
11:00am	Dutch-Oven Cook-Off
11:00am	Carnival Games
11:00am	Plane Fly-by and Bag Pipes
1:30pm	Fire Dept. Hose Down
1:45pm	Big-Boy Tricycle Races
4:00pm	Adult Pitching Machine Tournament

It sounds like the two events will be somewhat similar, so you may just want to go to the closest one to where you live. Unsure as to which we are going to yet, but we hope you enjoy your time!

Motor Vu and Sky Vu Drive Ins

Friday Night we went to see Cars 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean 4 at the Motor Vu. They say that the movies start around 9:45 but it was after 10 when ours started. Both the Sky Vu and the Motor Vu cost $7 for adults and $1 for kids (5-9). You can call 522-3111 for what movies are showing at both.

There is also a drive-in theater in Rexburg - the Teton Vu. It costs $6.50 for adults and $1 for kids (5-11). It is run by the same people who own the Rexburg Paramount - the cheap theater.

We had a good time but have a few recommendations. If you have a small car like us you may want to get there around 9 when they open so you can get a spot that won't be behind a bigger car. They play the sound over the radio and a few cars had to be jumped after, so be careful with running your battery down. You can bring your own portable radio which worked well for us.

Frisbee Golf- Freeman Park

On Saturday we decided to go play Frisbee Golf at Freeman Park. Freeman Park is off Science Center Driver across from the ISU campus. The disc golf course has 18 holes, we only played a few of them. You can rent official disc golf frisbees at Play It Again Sports (behind the EITC campus) but we just took the frisbees that we had around our house. You may want to be familiar with the map of the course and bring something to keep score with but we had a great afternoon playing. Have fun!

Lincoln Park

Saturday we went over to Lincoln Park, which is on Lincoln Road between Woodruff and 25th (Hitt), to play some tennis. This park is small but it has two tennis courts, two baseball diamonds, a shelter, bathrooms, and swings. We were surprised to find that there was nobody there so we were able to have the whole tennis courts to oursleves. If you want a good place to play on the tennis courts or baseball fields this is a good place.

Feeding the Ducks and a Walk by the River

*Now I'm sure that this is not encouraged but I didn't see I sign that said it was not allowed.*


Down by the river downtown (on the west side - closest to the highway) there are a whole bunch of ducks and geese you can feed. We took some bread down and walked along the river front. Even if you aren't there to feed there is a paved walkaway all along the river front that is a beautiful, easy walk.

Sunnyside Park

Saturday afternoon we popped over to explore a new park. Well, new for us. This park is on Sunnyside Road behind EIRMC. Sunnyside Park has a playground, a couple shelters, bathrooms, and a giant parking lot. They also have a lot of play fields, they have tennis courts, soccer fields, and baseball diamonds. There is a lot of room to play there so I hope to go play there some more this summer.