Memories of the Cabin

The cabin. 

That's all you have to say in Glen's family and everyone knows what you're talking about.  Glen's Grandpa Loughton built this cabin, along with his brother,  in 1973.    It's located in the serene woods of Island Park, Idaho, which in addition to boasting of some of the best fly-fishing in the world, is also close in proximity to Yellowstone National Park. 

Glen's family spent a week here every summer as he grew up and he carries fond memories of fly-fishing and endless games of chess with his Grandpa and exploring the area with his brothers. 

We've been there a few times since we've been married, but only as part of bustling family reunions with several families at a time.  Earlier this year when I mentioned possibly wanting to attend my high school reunion, he immediately concocted the idea of just continuing on the drive after the reunion in Minnesota and going to the cabin.    I wasn't so sure about the long drive,  but it didn't take too long of Glen reminiscing about the cabin before I was on board 100%. 

It was the first time our family had ever been to the cabin without lots of other people there and while we love seeing everyone at family reunions, I do have to say that it was wonderful being our own bosses while we were there.  Waking up when we felt like waking up, cooking what we wanted to cook, and going where we wanted to go each day--it was truly the vacation we'd been craving.  

  After seeing how many hours our family spent in the hammock... just chilling, reading, or even horseplaying, it was easy to see why it's been replaced several times over the years.    It definitely made me want to get a hammock of our own for here at home.  Now if I could just find the right two trees...

 Glen never did win any chess matches against his Grandpa until he was an adult, but he remembers well the patience with which his Grandpa always taught him strategic moves he might have made.  Spencer, Adam, Glen, and Emma played several rounds of chess while we were there, but definitely the "hot" game of our time there was, "Apples to Apples".  There was a whole lot of laughter as we played, especially at the random way with which Spencer seemed to choose his cards.  It must have worked though, because he seemed to have a knack for it. 

We were warned when we arrived to the cabin, to never leave any food or trash outside or the critters (namely racoons, porcupines, skunks, and bears) would get into it.  We remedied the necessity, simply by burning everything we could.  It was a great excuse for campfires and while the bags of trash were reduced to piles of ashes, the kids roasted marshmallows and made themselves s'mores. 

Somehow, though,  it seemed that the campfires were often followed by the necessity for bathing. 

  Another of Glen's fun memories from the cabin had to do with the swings attached high into the lodgepole pines that surround the cabin.  His Grandpa would give them underdogs while yelling, "WAZOWEE!"   Now there's only one swing, but of course the kids wanted Glen to demonstrate the wazowee underdogs over and over and over again.  I tried to do it a few times too, but I was quickly informed that the timing of my "WAZOWEE!"  was all wrong and that only daddy could do it right.   

I didn't mind too much though, since it meant I had more time for this and this...