Toni's Tribute to All Countries, But Mostly America

 Six temples in four days. Whew! Was such a treat, and I was quite amazed at how different each temple was. Hadn’t anticipated enjoying this week nearly as much as I actually did. Today was first the Twin Falls Temple, a newish and stunningly beautiful edifice both inside and out, then on to … … the Meridian Idaho temple, as gorgeous as any we’ve ever attended. Oh my, it’s difficult to drag ourselves away from these bastions of peace and beauty where we are so deeply spiritually replenished.   The Idaho Falls creation room contained a massive, richly colored and breathtaking mural on all four walls of the nearby Shoshone Falls on the Snake River which I’d never seen before, so we made a quick detour there and added yet another potential kayak trip to our overflowing bucket list.   We’ve boondocked the last three nights in the desert or along river ways, wherever we could legally find a piece of flat lonely ground. It’s so cool to be out in the wilds under the big starry s...

When I was a young girl growing up, it was a different world in so many ways. The idea of retiring from a career or from a lifetime of work (as opposed to working until you died as has been the historic norm) was a newish concept. Those fortunate enough to retire with some small amount of savings and with enough health and strength left for travel were few. I clearly remember knowing some LDS folks whose retirement dream was to visit all of the then 12 temples in the world. All twelve. Now there are 282 operating or announced temples around the globe. Kasper and I have visited 58; we still have a long way to go to snag them all. Todays visit through southern Idaho took us first to the Idaho Falls Temple… …and secondly to the Pocatello Temple. Idaho Falls surprised us. Constructed in 1945, it’s one of those twelve large original designs. Renovated in 2017, the old architecture survived and moved us through 5 rooms as the session progressed, each room hand painted with stunning scenes. T...

 Well, it’ll be 6 temples in 4 days this week as we skirt across southern Idaho from east to west. We aren’t duplicating temples; if we’ve attended them in the past, we won’t revisit them on this trip. So we’ll skip Boise but will hit all the rest in the Spud state. Today was the Rexburg Temple. Was another beautiful temple, of course; serene, peacefully quiet, and spiritually rejuvenating. Outside, Rexburg is a lovely little farming/college community set amidst a vast swath of grain and potato fields.  We’re back in the west with its wide-open spaces, fat cattle grazing happily everywhere, and lots of BLM land to bivouac on.                     Or a generous Cabela’s parking lot!

I’ve long known there’s a place called Star Valley which is rumored to be highly scenic. Well, we finally made it there. And the rumors are all true. Verdant agricultural country with rolling green hills backed by forested mountains, Star Valley was as lovely as billed and reminded Kasper of his years ranching in similar environs. The temple was absolutely stunning. Upon entering the front doors, one encounters a magnificent stained glass rendition of the Savior back-lit to accentuate its multiple rich colors. Salvaged from destruction when a Presbyterian church was razed, this piece of stained glass art literally took my breath away. The rest of the interior of this small but newer temple was likewise stunning; rich and soothing paint, carpet and furniture tones, finely crafted wood work, impressive glitzy chandeliers, and another masterful stained glass piece in the celestial room completed the pleasing esthetic appeal. And then there are the people volunteering there… It’s always su...