The One with Spring Break: Idaho

On Saturday April 21st the plan was to be on the road at 8am. What time did we pull out of the Taylor's driveway?

Yeah. We're punctual. 

Had I known the drive from Provo, UT to Wallace, ID would take 15 HOURS I would have brought stuff to keep myself entertained. Turns out I was the big baby and whined the entire time and Fox was an ANGEL! 

Fox was so great. I was dreading the drive from the beginning, but he was such a good boy - bring on more road trips!

We stopped off at a Budget/U-Haul place to pick up a car trailer. Allie took a couple of fun photos while we were waiting for the tow thing to get hitched up. 

Weeeee!

Then we drove to my Aunt Katy's house to get their BMW for my dad to fix up. 

My dad's tablet kept me entertained for a bit, when it had internet access, and I took a couple pics. 

Naps are a gift from heaven. 

At one of the gas station stops we let Fox run up and down the aisles and he zoomed in on a Buzz Lightyear spinning candy toy. His eyes immediately lit up and he exclaimed, "BUZZY!" How could we say no to that? No pictures of the toy, my bad. 

We reached Rexburg, ID in the afternoon to drop off Allie. She's in the prime of her life, living it up as a Freshman at BYU Idaho. Those were the days! I just love her room and how she's decorated it.

Can I have all your clothes Allie?

AAAAAND your massive amounts of shoes?

The pantry of six college girls. Cheez-its galore and instant noodles.

Allie's apartment is right across the street from the beautiful Rexburg Temple. 

It was sad to say bye to Allie. We had a few fun-filled days!

And then we were off. Driving through the middle of nowhere. For hours. And hours. And hours. Do I sound bitter? I was :) We stopped in Missoula, Montana for dinner at Taco Bell. Chris and I actually fell in love with the town and the scenery and will definitely see if there's an Army base there, or if not, add it to our list of possible places to live when we can choose our own path. Oh, and chalk another two states up to Fox's visited states: Idaho and Montana!

At night we busted out the glowsticks. Then I sung Fox to sleep.

We arrived at our destination - Wallace, ID - at 10pm. After 15 hours of driving. Have I mentioned that yet?

So. Why Wallace? Let me try to explain. I have been to Wallace now three times in my life. The first was in 5th grade when I went with my friend Shaina and her family to Coeur d'Alene and we took a side trip to Wallace to tour through one of the silver mines and go "antiquing". Coincidentally, they were filming the movie Dante's Peak at the time and we were sorely tempted and desperately wanted to be extras in it. 

Alas, it wasn't meant to be, but get this: my mom and I watched Dante's Peak my last night of vacation and there's a character named JANE FOX in the movie! Shut up!

Dante's Peak is Wallace's claim to fame. And somehow I feel a little bit connected to it. 

A few years later my family went on a road trip to Utah and we took the long and scenic route, which led us right through Wallace. Once again I went on a silver mine tour!

My parents saw the houses, fell in love, and seriously considered buying one. But the time wasn't right. Last year, the time was right. They bought a house and have spent several weekends over the past year fixing it up. Not only that, but they also convinced my Uncle John (my dad's brother) to buy a house sight-unseen. I think they should change the name of the town to Taylor. Hopefully one day Chris and I can buy a house there, too. Unless the real estate prices go way up. Which would be good for the town which is sadly crumbling with the poor economy. 

I want to pitch the idea of having the Evans Family Reunion in Wallace for Jay or Andy+Cami's year, or if not then, we'll definitely host it in Wallace in 2015 for our turn. Here is a grand tour of my parent's house:

The picturesque front. 

The street which is full of the nicest people you'll ever meet. 

The main living room, which I think needs a TV, but I didn't win that battle this trip. 

The dining room. 

My mom's birthday plates that will hang in the kitchen. 

The gorgeous remodeled kitchen. 

The backyard and detatched garage. 

The office/hangout/TV watching space with a large couch just for Jay :) 

Downstairs in the creepy basement is a nice wood-paneled room with three beds. I think these should all be bunk beds so it can hold six plus kids. Goodness knows the Evans family is growing! And so is/will the Taylor family!

A pretty piece of stained glass art with the sun shining through it in the stairwell. 

My parent's room. 

Li'l knick-knacks on their dresser.

The hall with framed pictures of old Wallace that I helped my mom print and give to my dad for various birthday/Christmas presents. 

Allie's room. 

Her bedspread quilt is AMAZING! I want to make a scrapbook page based on the pattern and the colors. 

A vintage typewriter sits atop Allie's dresser. 

The "blue" room. 

There's a room next to Allie's room where we set up Fox's crib. There are also two bathrooms which need a little TLC, but that's next on the "to do" list so they should be awesome by next year. So with four bedrooms, couches, cribs, air mattresses, and such, I think the entire Evans family could fit in this house quite comfortably for a reunion. And if we need more space, there's always the other Taylor house!

It's up on the hill and has a great view of the entire town along with the freeway that was hoisted over the town so it wouldn't run right through it. But that's another story for another day!

This house has been remodeled pristinely. 

I love all the details like the lights and doorknobs and etching into the cabinets. 

Not only is there ample space for our entire family, there's also tons to do in Wallace! In the summer there's a swimming pool for 50¢/child and 1.00/adult. 

There's a park.

There are a lot of cute stores to explore and restaurants to eat at. 

There are a bunch of stairs to run up and down. What? That could be fun...

There's a new zipline course currently being installed which could be major fun. Coeur d'Alene would make a great day trip, Kellog is about 10 minutes away with a Walmart and everything, and then Missoula, MT would also make a fun day trip. I'm telling you, Wallace is where it's at!

But back to the play-by-play! On Sunday morning, April 22nd, we got up, ate breakfast, and then drove to church at the Wallace branch. 

Back at the house, we unpacked and Fox helped "clean" with a broom and dustpan. 

Shortly thereafter Fox went down for a nap so Chris and I took off to explore this old mining town. 

The post office. 

We were starving so we looked for somewhere to eat. There was a drive-in, but apparently it was closed. Too bad, the menu looked good!

Great sticker on the abandoned drive-in doors:

Vintage milk-shake maker. 

We decided to try out Red Light Garage. 

I love how the inside is decorated! The ceiling is covered in license plates.

Cute bench booths. 

Ties everywhere!

Things for sale like this who-knows-what which I think would make a stellar headboard. 

The eating bar. 

Dante's Peak paraphernalia e'erywhere. 

We got some chicken fingers, fries, and a vanilla milkshake. All so good.

Then we walked around the town. 

Awesome vintage cars!

Coolest alley I've ever seen. 

On a door of one of the shops there was a sign that said "Prom 2012" so we looked inside and saw this:

Funny/random story and more reasons Wallace is meant to be: we were at our Young Women Spaghetti Night fundraiser a few weeks ago and sat next to our friends Ashley and Kris Kuchenmeister - fellow dental students graduating this week and then moving on to Texas. Lucky ducks! They asked what our future plans are after the Army and we said maybe we'd move to the po-dunk town my family is taking over in Idaho. They asked which town, and, thinking they'd never in a million years know what city we were referring to, said "Wallace." Imagine our surprise when Kris's eyes lit up a mile wide and he said he was born and raised there 'til he was 7! What a freakishly small world it is sometimes. He told us things he loved about the town and said to visit Fonk's. We asked the waitress at Red Light Garage where Fonk's is cuz of course we had to go there! So this is for you Kris:

It was closed, but still fun to see!

Later that day our neighbors who were really good friends with the Kuchenmeisters took us to their old house. So this one is also for you Kris:

A lot of the antique stores and shops were closed, but we found one that was open and spent a good chunk of time in there. We saw this Fonk's sign:

In the back there's a scrapbook room and fabric! Score!

I found a really nice set of journaling spot stamps which I'm sure should be like $20 but they were only $5 so I snatched them right up. 

Since we know Toy Story like the back of our hands, we were giddy to see a real Slinky dog toy!

And last but certainly not least, there was the most amazing dollhouse ever! My mom says the store is going under so maybe they'll sell the entire thing to me for cheap :)

I want I want I want!

There's a church on every corner. 

Lots and lots of beautiful pine trees everywhere. 

Back at the house, Fox had just woken from his nap. Perfect timing! We walked down to the park and sat in the swings. 

We chilled on the front porch and enjoyed the perfect weather. 

The next door neighbors have an Australian Shepherd that is Gypsy's twin - it's like they're looking in a mirror!

Sunday night, my dad made chocolate chip cookies, therefore making the kitchen renovation complete. 

Monday morning, April 23rd, we leisurely woke up and then once again made our way to Red Light Garage, this time for breakfast of huckleberry pancakes. 

I dunno what this is, but it makes for a fun photo op!

After my dad mowed the lawn and we cleaned everything up, we packed the car and drove to Washington. That concludes our time in Idaho! I can't wait to go back some day!