January 17, 2017

           The Kent and Tammy Beardall family did some traveling around during the holidays to spend it with their out-of-the-home children. Along for the ride were Heather, Ty and Nicole. They spent time in Grand Junction, CO with Michelle and Gary Wall and their little ones, then to Spanish Fork, UT, to be with Shawn and Callie Beardall and their foursome. Their son Kyle joined them in Spanish Fork, ready for uncle craziness with the nieces and nephews in Shawn's family.

          Our grandson, Sam McKague, attending BYU/I, didn't go home to Washington for Christmas due to his college employment. Grandparents, Bob and Claudia Erickson, were happy to have him join us and the Jody Janke family for a couple of days.

           Richard and Vickie Free enjoyed having family back in their empty-nest home. Jacob and RaNette Free and their children, Denym and Zennedy, drove over from Pinedale, WY, to spend several days. They were joined by Heidi and Brendan Brown who live in Logan.

          Larry and Lillian Hansen were able to gather some of their family around them for a country Christmas. This was the first one since the Hansen's purchased the old Martin Christensen home close to the head of Bear Creek.

          A barn of long standing collapsed under the weight of the snow on the farm of Mike and Mary Ann Jepsen. Beneath the debris was their tractor and a truck. During the dark night they heard and felt an explosive force, however a quick check showed nothing amiss nearby. The morning hours revealed the source of the vibration of the past night, and the problems that go with the discovery.

          There are lots of plans for sleigh-riding parties and sessions of ice skating on the Longhust rink, if only the weather will cooperate. So far we are amassing piles of soggy snow, which is replenished with gallons of rain. Vehicles are getting stuck in their own driveways and the weight of the snow makes shoveling a mammoth task, literally a backbreaking activity.

          Many Mink Creek residents have been without phone service for nearly a week. This applies for those with land lines, cell phone service is always iffy in our little valley. It might appear that the whole place has gone to Hawaii for a winter break but that isn't the case. We are just waiting patiently, and impatiently, to get things up and running again.

           We have had several contests of man against the weather lately. Trying to clean off the heavy, deep snow from roofs has proved to be a dangerous job. Four of our residents have fallen or slipped while attempting to clear roofs of either homes or out buildings. So far only one has ended up in the hospital as a result, but there has been plenty of solid bruising. Jeff Olson has been in Eastern Idaho Med Center for the last week. We are hoping to have him a little closer to home in just a day or so.

           Another storm is expected to arrive later this week. Our old-timers are saying, “Remember the winter of '49? Well...” I am sure there will be some memories that go with this one of 017.