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.