Moving the college student to Idaho: a tale for which you might want a comfy chair and some refreshment

To say the past week has been a whirlwind of adventure would be a gross, gross understatement. I've had a fantastic journey from east coast to west and back again, depositing Sweet Mesquite on the campus of BYU Idaho, where she is now thoroughly immersed in her first official day of college. We flew from Boston to Baltimore, and then on to Salt Lake.  Our first stop: BYU Provo and a ride on Yonder's new bike.

We met some of Kristine's family. They're delightful. Their front yard is the Provo temple. That's not a hard view to live with.

After my turn on the bike, we drove north to a shared meal and some camaraderie with our dear dear friends The Parsons.

 They are our most favorite Massachusetts expatriates in Utah.

 We tried to leave and they turned a hug into a Mesquite wrap.

We feel stuffed to the brim with love whenever we get together.

There weren't many hours left in the day by the time we reached my brother's house. We expressed our gratitude, fell into bed, and were rolling out before the sun the next morning to drive across the northern border:

If it were not for our need to reach our destination by a certain hour, I would have stopped at least a dozen times on the drive to take pictures of the amazing things I saw. Including, somewhere many miles off an exit in the remote wilderness of somewhere-in-Idaho, a nice man in overalls with the most facial hair I've ever seen around a mouth with no teeth, who directed us down a dirt road to the nearest gas station so that we could take a much needed break. The morning temps were in the low 30s, so the big crop sprinklers on auto that morning were turning everything they touched into ice. It was quite beautiful, and a little shocking on September 12th. I do harbor a teensy bit of photographic regret. Except there were a few moments where I couldn't help myself. Like proving to my speed limit 65 people at home that we were driving a lot faster than that most of the day:

I did manage to stick my camera out the car window a few times (NOT while driving 80 of course)

After a week of many hours of driving and traveling, I know my family was nervous about the possibility that I might become drowsy behind the wheel. I will tell you that I was honestly so enamored with my surroundings, that I was just too visually stimulated to be sleepy.  For that I am grateful.

Four hours and a few turns later, we found ourselves on South Yellowstone Highway (Yellowstone is just a short drive east of campus) and turning onto the university's main street.

 We checked in, moved in, met roommates, picked up text books, got a college I.D. and explored the campus.

Mesquite's apartment is located about 60 seconds from campus. It was a short walk to everything.  

By dinner time I needed to head south, so we said our good-byes and I left her by the side of her adorable room mate.

 They're in college!

And they're going to ROCK it.