Island Park: Reunion #3

The third and final reunion of our trip was in Island Park, Idaho, with my family gathering to a large cabin on the Reservoir for 5 nights.

Getting There - Blown Tire


30 minutes into our Highland-to-Island-Park journey we encountered a heavy rainstorm and found our car was suddenly very skittish on the road. We pulled off the freeway and found it more stable at the lower speeds of State Street (HWY89) until we got north of the storm and pulled back on the freeway again.

A few hours later a loud jolt went through the car as we rounded a wide turn and I immediately knew that a tire was flat. As inconvenient as it was to unpack our heavy load to access the spare, it was very convenient that the incident happened just outside of Pocatello, Idaho, where my parents run a tire shop. Allegedly, my older brother J had a flat in almost the exact same spot on the highway the previous year.

Apparently, the weight of all our gear had bowed the independent suspension outward and had rubbed all the tread off the inside edge of our tires to the point that it was showing the steel belts and one of them blew. It was only a matter of time before the other rear tire would have blown as well. I would like to point out that the kids were watching the Pixar DVD movie "Cars" in the back seat when the incident took place, and I consider Lightning McQueen's two blown rear tires at the beginning of that film to be foreshadowing for our incident.

The Cabin


We selected the cabin because its description (5 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms) appeared sufficient to accommodate our group of 22 people, but we were surprised at just how grand it really was.



Given the private dock and an additional waterfront patio, the set-up for waterskiing was ideal, although the steep bank and the absence of any beach meant that it wasn't ideal for little kids. Still, the secenery was excellent and the weather idyllic.

The Food


Each family was assigned a day to lead out on menu planning and food prep, resulting in some really fantastic dinners; however, one of the best meals all week was Gary's Breakfast Event, which featured perfectly-seasoned French Toast made from fresh-sliced baguettes and bacon-scrambled eggs that made me wish I lived nearer to his home in St. George.



The NYC clan did not disappoint with their homemade strawberry icecream, and thanks to Highland's illustrious J-Lynn there were snacks and candy enough to keep us munching every waking hour of the day. With all of that in place, the stage was set for a great finale to the 2011 Summer of Reunions.