Adventure 260: Hooley Farm/Filer, ID

Come thou Lord, be our guest..

True to the weatherman's prediction, we awoke to nearly four inches of heavy wet snow and a thirty degree temperature. Thankfully, the powerful front had mostly passed leaving just a strong whippet of wind in its wake. We took advantage of the wintery morning to casually go through our routine as we waited for the roads to dry and the morning commute to subside.. Sadly for me, Stumpy thumped me to win all the golden trumpets in Utah, but I'm hopeful the state of Idaho will treat me better. We drove into a twenty mile head wind the entire way to the Hooley farm. A headwind makes for easy driving because it doesn't effect handling at all. It does effect gas mileage, but I'd rather stop at the pump than be blown over sideways into the ditch, which happened to at least one semi-truck on I-80 yesterday. Salt Lake registered one gust at nearly 100 m.p.h. Our decision to hunker down in Brigham City proved to be wise. Loey (Lois Hooley) welcomed us when we arrived at the farm, even though it was an interruption to her steady work load. She even arranged for her sister, Pat and husband Tom, to take us swimming at their brother Lowell's place (This was great because it gave us a chance to spend time enjoying Tom and Pat, too). Lowell, brother to Pat and Loey has an artesian well on his property by the river that pours steaming hot water into a pool. He is a pilot who is off flying about and Tom and Pat take care of his place while he's away. What a joy, blessing, pleasure, good fortune, or whatever cookie you can think of it was to float around in his pool.  Being a hot springs/hot tub lover, I was nearly orgasmic. It was all I could do not to utter Whale whistles. After swimming, we enjoyed a splendid home made dinner (Thanks to Sarah Hooley) of vegetable beef soup, fresh made cheddar cheddar cheese, fresh baked biscuits, home made preserves, strawberry and rhubarb pie (Thanks to sister, Pat). It's always a pleasure to visit the Hooley's (Our fourth time) not just for great food, but also for gracious fellowship. They have welcoming spirits, and it feels good to have their generosity  wash over us. A special treat this time was to share the Hooley's with Michael, who grew up in the Yukon, Claire (His wife) and their four children. They are traveling back to Canada after spending the last nine months in Nothern California. Michael is Loey's sister's son. They added a richness to the evening sort of like gummy bears on an angel food cake already frosted with whip cream. For Judy and me, a stop in Filer always enriches our adventure portfolio. As the day closes, we are once again thankful for traveling mercies, once again grateful to share a moment of life with special people, and once again can say without reservation, "Life is good, especially today".


Our neighbor at the Golden Spike RV, Bobby Smith, getting ready to add a third level to his snowman.

Fric, Frac, and Papa under a cool white blanket.

Go West, young man!

As a native son, I'm always happy to see Idaho.

One of the proud peacocks lording over the Hooley farm.

Archie, living the good life as a farm dog. We should all be so lucky.

Loey showed us her green house. It's quite obvious my bunny is itching and twitching to get her hands in the dirt.

Art shot one of the day: Old but not forgotten.

Art shot two of the day: The river of life.

The hot pool (I'm still drooling).

Probably our best selfie.

Tom, our host, exiting from the pool (He's a fellow hot springs lover).

Sarah's vegetable beef soup, the main course for dinner.

One of Pat's pies; the other was strawberry covered with fresh made whip cream with cream from Sarah's cow, Molly.

Sarah, working her magic.

I must confess to eating more than one of these.

My favorite room in the Hooley home: an enclosed East facing sun porch.

Gary moving hay before dinner.

 A half round of cheddar that Sarah made fresh today.

Art shot three of the day: Warm hearts, warm souls.