A Caldera Thanksgiving

Before we moved to Island Park I had my notion of what living in a cabin would be like while preparing for Thanksgiving. Decorating our cabin and shoveling snow while singing “Over the river and through the woods” as Sheri prepared our holiday feast was my vision while contemplating my life in Island Park.

The week leading up to turkey day has turned out to be a little less pastoral than I imagined. My weekend started off helping set up the annual Island Park Historical Society Christmas Party.  Moving tables and chairs, getting vendors settled in and making sure the parking lot was cleared of snow.

Saturday I began preparing a cabin for a family who had recently purchased it and was looking forward to their first Thanksgiving in their new Island Park home. Helping install their dish (TV is a must for Thanksgiving, parades and FOOTBALL) required cutting down a large pine tree, digging a three-foot deep hole and procuring a 14 foot pole to mount the dish. While the installers were finishing up their work, there was water to turn on, heat to turn up and snow to remove.

Next there was a lesson in snow blower repair hosted by Greg Walker who takes great pains to teach me how to not destroy his equipment. Once the repair was completed, I was off to take a few photos of the Christmas party and line up a cover photo. Luckily I ran into Lesli Walker who had just returned from a Lifeflight training session at Harriman State Park. She showed me a few photos of the helicopter and I found one that looked like it would make a great cover. The cover was done.

My next move was to grab some breakfast/lunch/dinner at home and then head over to the Christmas party to help close it down with trailer in tow. There were tables to pick up and return to their owner, as well as several large sacks of garbage that needed to be hauled to the dump.

I then headed back to my cabin to write and submit my weekly column before leaving to meet those new cabin owners and give them a rundown of what to expect.

My pre-Thanksgiving weekend wasn’t at all what I had envisioned. IT WAS BETTER. I had the opportunity to stay busy serving others for whom I truly care. Life in Island Park has given us more than we could have ever hoped for. Both Sheri and I are very thankful! Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

It Came and Went!

It is a shame that Thanksgiving dinner ends so quickly. After so many hours of preparation, it should take longer to consume. The initiation of the feast is reminiscent of the starting gates at horse race; the gates open with the completion of the prayer and the eating begins. Fifteen minutes later, everyone is sitting back in their chair and loosening their belts.

Despite the retailers prematurely selling Christmas decor near back to school and Halloween items, for us Christmas season doesn’t start until after Thanksgiving.

Saturday found me stringing outdoor Christmas lights and making wreaths for our kids. Almost on cue, a winter storm blew in on Sunday and covered the lighted pines with the fresh accent of snow. We added “Duck the Halls” by the Duck Dynasty clan to our Christmas music catalog this year. The album is surprisingly good.

What better place to spend the Christmas season than in Island Park? My dad went to great lengths to decorate a single flocked tree. We are blessed to have a yard full of living examples of what he tried to achieve. It seems almost pointless to bring a real tree indoors when so many surround the cabin.

Christmas in Island Park is like living in a snow globe. The chance of a white Christmas is 100 percent.

Yellowstone Country Safety * NO Politics on Thanksgiving *

Washington has suggested that as we gather our families together for Thanksgiving, we invite them to bring their tax info and explore enrolling in the new health care system. I think we should forget about politicians for the entire weekend and focus on those who are important to us.

Thanksgiving Gratitude

Thanksgiving is dedicated to the appreciation of the blessings that we have enjoyed. Despite the challenges that confront us, life is a wonderful gift. I look forward to spending time with our kids and grandkids. Food, family and a grateful heart are the essence of Thanksgiving.

I am thankful to live in Island Park. I appreciate being nestled in the Yellowstone country’s grandeur. The pine forests make me feel comfortable and secure. I feel as if I am hosting an important visitor when a moose wanders into the yard. Trout rising and eagles circling over the serenity of Henry’s Fork or witnessing the beauty of the earth being blanketed by a heavy, silently falling snow reinforces my gratitude.

The most unexpected blessing of life in Island Park is appreciation and love that I have developed for its residents. Whether visiting the bank, the store, a restaurant, the lumber yard or the dump, I enjoy seeing those who call Island Park home. I am thankful for the kindness that has been shown to us since moving here.  Without the help of others, our adaptation to the environment would have been fraught with many more difficulties. Life has presented me a wonderful group of people to enjoy.

This year we will be hosting Thanksgiving for many of our kids and grandkids for the first time since we moved here. Sheri is preparing the annual dinner with all the intensity of a D-Day invasion. I am completing my list of “honey-do’s” to help make the day special. Life is good!

We all have reasons to be thankful. Looking past the challenges that may have been placed in your path and consider all that you enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving from Mike and Sheri.

May you and yours be blessed in the coming year.