Merry Christmas!

The Farrer’s 2009 [Christmas Letter]

Clarke continues to direct the Grand Teton Council here in Idaho Falls. Scouting is still going strong thanks to a community that supports the Scouting effort!

Nancy is attending BYU-Idaho to certify in Early Childhood Special Education. Hopefully there’s a job waiting for her as soon as she certifies.

We traveled to San Francisco this summer to attend our nephew Mike Reed’s wedding. It was a lot of fun being with several members of Nancy’s family. However, driving though millions of crickets on the highway on the way back was disgusting!! The noise! The smell! UGH! We also went on a 30 mile canoe trip down the Snake River. We swamped the canoe twice but we had fun and plan to do it again. Our summer vacation was building a patio in our back yard. We had to move 12,000 pounds of rock by hand.

Clarke D., Bethany, and Benjamin (15 months), are living in College Station, Texas, while Clarke finishes up his degree in Recreational Management at Texas A&M. August is his projected graduation month. We are proud of him! Bethany flew up to Idaho Falls with Benjamin in July. It was so good to see them. It’s hard to live apart from them. We’re watching Benjamin grow up on webcam.

Daniel, Sarah, Wyatt (18 months) are living in Rexburg while Dan finishes up his degree in Psychology from BYU-I. He expects to graduate in April. (Hooray!) In January, we’re expecting Bella, our third grandbaby. We’re so excited—but not as much as Sarah is.

Shawn will finish up his mission at the end of March. He’s been serving in a rough part of Newark, New Jersey, and LOVES it. He’s had several baptisms and has grown to love the people he works with and the area/ward that he lives in. Clarke and Nancy both graduated from High School in New Jersey and Connecticut so we’re going to take a stroll down memory lane when we go to pick him up.

Amanda and Derek also live in Rexburg where they both attend BYU-I. They’re busy and happy and are enjoying life. Amanda is working on her Elementary Education degree and Derek is studying Mechanical Engineering.

We love Idaho and the Lord has truly blessed us and our family. Everyone is healthy and happy and firm in their testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Season’s greetings with love and best wishes from,

The Farrer Family

Halloween at the Farrer House

Dad's
Amanda's
Dan's





Darn Kids!

Fish Tales

Fall is always busy at work. I’d rather be busy than bored, but sometimes it gets too crazy. So, when the opportunity presents itself, I try to maintain a small grasp on my sanity by fishing. There is something about the flow of big water and the promise that a trout might strike that calms me. Catching fish is nice too.

A few weeks ago I had to drop off a trailer full of canoes at Camp Little Lemhi, and since the camp is right on the South Fork of the Snake River, I just had to stop and wet a line. I fished in the camp lake for awhile but the trout were not interested. So I went down to the River to give that a try. I had asked around and found that an emergent stone fly pattern was doing well so I bought a few. I tied one on and after only a few casts I had a fish on the line.

After a nice fight I landed this pretty little cutthroat. I took a quick photo and let it go back to grow some more. I fished until it was too dark to see. I got lots of strikes but couldn’t hook any more. When I reeled my line in and went to clip the fly off I found out why. Sometime after I caught the first fish the end of the hook had broken off. That’s taking the barbless hook thing a little too far.
This time of the year we visit each of the council camps for post-camp inspections. I usually don’t have much time to fish on these visits. I got a little fishing in at Island Park but my favorite spot on the lake wasn’t producing. It had been that way all summer. I walked up to the Warm River which flows through the camp and caught one little brookie. It wasn’t even worthy of a photo.

Two weeks later we drove Salmon River High Adventure Base. Early fall is steelhead season on the Snake River and there were lots of fisherman on the river. Just as we arrived I rigged up my rod and line to see if I could catch a trout. I used the same fly that produced on the Snake—but I made sure this one had a tip. I decided I would allow myself only five casts and then get back to business. On my second cast as I was watching the drift of my fly and I saw a flash of silver and, Wham!, the fish hit my fly—and the fight was on. I pulled in a nice cutthroat, took a photo for bragging rights, and just after I snapped the photo the fish flipped off the hook and made its escape.

After we had completed the camp inspection I slipped down to the river to try my luck before we had to head home. On my second cast I felt a strong strike on my line and as soon as I set the hook I could tell I had a big fish on my line. It had been a LONG time since I had hooked a big fish (since leaving Alaska) and this one really gave me a battle. For tippit I was using a length of heavy line that belonged to my Grandfather Frank Farrer. It was much heavier than I normally would have used but I was feeling nostalgic and I probably would have lost the trout if I had been using a lighter tippit. I finally landed the fish and it was another beautiful cutthroat. A quick photo and the fish went back into the river.

Winter is coming on fast and I’m afraid my fishing is over for the year. I’m glad I’ll have the memory of that nice cutthroat to last me until next spring. I have found time to fish twice since then—but that’s not worth discussing.

Farewell to Summer

The kids wanted to take another trip down a river. That sounded good to me. I gave them a few options and we decided to float the South Fork of the Snake River in a raft. That would allow Wyatt to come along and we wouldn’t have to leave anyone behind to babysit. So we borrowed one of the Council’s rafts, paddles, and PFD’s and drove to Swan Valley. We dropped a car at the takeout and put in the river just below the Palisades Reservoir, near Little Lemhi Scout Camp.

It was a beautiful day—perfect for floating the river. Wyatt did NOT like wearing a life jacket but he loves water so much we were afraid he might just jump overboard. He was pretty fussy because he didn’t like being so restrained. (At least that’s what I think—he really didn’t say.)

Derek and I fished off opposite sides of the raft while the others paddled. Periodically I had to interrupt my fishing to steer—a minor inconvenience.
The best part of the float was shortly after we launched when we reached the haystacks—a series of waves that gave us a good rollercoaster ride for about one-hundred feet. The rest of the float was pretty calm. We passed Falls Creek Falls which is always very scenic. Just past the falls the river gave us a full 360-degree spin before we knew what hit us. That was fun too.




Someone once said, a little boating can greatly enhance a fishing trip, but too much boating can ruin a good fishing trip. That was the case for Derek and me. We passed lots of drift boaters fishing and they would all stop to fish in the good holes. We didn’t really have any way of stopping—short of jumping out of the raft—and our crew wasn’t too interested in our attempts at fishing. Every few casts the only person in the raft who thought she could boss me around would ask, “are you going to fish or steer?” Just because we were drifting towards a rock or a tree wasn’t a very good reason to disturb a good cast or drift. I’m sure that’s why I didn’t catch anything. It couldn’t be my lack of skill.

We decided to make it a short trip and took out just above the Swan Valley Bridge. That’s about a ten-mile float. Derek and I fished from shore while the girls drove back up the river road to get the other vehicle. It was a beautiful day, a nice float, a grumpy baby, and great company. The fish can wait for another day.

Blood Sweat & Tears

We FINALLY finished our patio project. We have been working on it literally all summer.

Since there was no way to get a bobcat or other equipment into our backyard we had to load and unload everything by hand and move everything by wheelbarrow. We had to haul out several truckloads of dirt and rocks, haul in a dump truck load of gravel, several trailer loads of sand, and then we had to move in the paving rocks. We had to unload over 10,000 pounds of paving stones. 10,000 POUNDS! Oh my aching back!!!!!

We bought four huge rocks to use as steps. They each weighed about 400 pounds. They were so heavy we had to get our neighbors the Hafens (they have three strapping teenage sons) to help us unload the rocks and move them into the backyard. Talk about blood, sweat, and tears!

Now that the project is complete we think all the work was worth it. But you be the judge . . .

Canoeing Swimming and Having Fun

The Grand Teton Council operates a Scout camp on the South Fork of the Snake River just below Palisades Reservoir in beautiful Swan Valley Idaho. Little Lemhi is a picturesque camp that sits in a small alcove valley on the south side of the river. As part of their program the camp runs a high adventure canoe trip on the South Fork for older Scouts. Since we moved here I have wanted to take the trip so I could understand their program and be able to speak intelligently about it. I also knew it would be a fun day out of the office.

On July 31st Nancy and I drove to Camp Little Lemhi to join the canoe trip. I knew they offered a half-day trip and an overnight trip. The half day trip puts in just below the camp and floats about five-miles to the takeout just upstream from the Highway 26 Bridge. The overnight trip puts in below camp and floats about forty-miles to the takeout at Heise. (Locals pronounce it High-C.) I thought we were going on the five-mile float.

There was a Varsity team (14 to 15-year-old Scouts) that had started the overnight float on Thursday night and we were joining them on Friday morning for the rest of their trip. They had paddled from camp to a little island just above where Fall Creek enters the river. The staff named the island Mosquito Island for apparent reasons.

Unlike our Island Park/Yellowstone canoe trek where we bought new high-quality Old Town river canoes for the program, the Little Lemhi trek uses old heavy aluminum lake canoes—the same kind of canoes that are used in Scout camps all over the country. They work very well and are virtually Scout-proof, but using lake canoes on a big river has its disadvantages. They are heavy and therefore more difficult to maneuver. Lake canoes also have a keel that runs the length of the canoe. The keel keeps the canoe running on a straight course through the water—which is a great advantage on lakes and in high winds—but on a river the keel makes it harder to steer and if it catches on a rock the current can flip you like a pancake.

Nancy and I were given a canoe, paddles, and lifejackets and off we went down the river. The first thing we came to was the Fall Creek Falls which are always very scenic. This year the creek was running at full capacity due to the heavy winter snowfall and wet spring.

Soon after the falls we came to the Highway 26 Bridge over the river. The bridge pylons are one of the only true hazards on this part of the river. The South Fork of the Snake River is big deep and wide and flows at a pretty good rate through Swan Valley. If a canoe hits broadside against a bridge pylon the power of the water quickly swamps the canoe and can wrap the canoe around the pylon pinning it and anything (or anyone) in it underwater. The river guides warned the Scouts to be sure they stayed away from the pylons and to run straight through the openings.

After a couple of miles on the river we came to a set of rapids—big riffles really. It was our first true challenge and Nancy and I came through without any problems. We shipped a little water over the bow as we broke through waves but nothing too serious. One of the Scouts’ canoes swamped in the rapids and I was very impressed at how quickly and efficiently the lead river guide came to their rescue and single handedly emptied their canoe of water using the curl technique and got them back on their way. The river’s banks are steep and the water is swift so there are few places to get to shore to empty a swamped canoe. It has to be done on open water.

There were three staff members serving as guides on the trip. There was a lead guide and two guides who were training under her. They were using a point and sweep formation. The lead guide was at the point, leading the group, and no one was to get ahead of her. The second guide was sweeping, in the rear, and no one was to get behind her. The third guide was the stern paddler in a canoe with the weakest Scout paddler in the bow and they stayed in the middle of the pack. This plan worked very well but at times—especially in rapids—the group tended to bunch up too much and I don’t like to be crowded and need room to maneuver in whitewater.

A couple of miles later we came to another set of rapids—larger than the first. We had some confidence from the previous rapids and paddled our way through most of them with little trouble. Near the tail of the rapids we were cut off by one of the Scout’s canoes and another canoe was pushed by the current onto our right side. I was steering hard to the left to avoid a collision—which in rapids will almost certainly cause a capsizing. We got on an angle to the current and I felt the current grab the keel of our canoe and before we could react our canoe swamped and we were swimming in the river.

The water was shockingly cold and we both had a hard time breathing for a minute. The lead guide was quickly to our rescue, emptied our canoe, and steadied it as we climbed back in. With no damage (except our pride and Nancy’s lost sunglasses) we were on our way again.

In the next rapids the leaders of the Varsity team swamped and were rescued by the lead guide—busy girl! We paddled over and I thanked them for swamping to make us feel better. Soon after that we stopped for a snack and bio-break. After another hour of smooth water we stopped for lunch and a rest. The Scouts found a couple of garter snakes and had fun chasing them for awhile. They caught one and the other one escaped unmolested. In typical boy fashion a few of the Scouts wanted to smash the snake with a rock but we convinced them to release it unharmed.

After lunch we got back in the canoes and headed on our way. We had stopped just upstream from a protected area for bald eagle nesting. The area was posted and no stopping was allowed for several miles. We were able to see two bald eagles, one soaring and one perched in a tree, which is always a thrill. We also saw several egrets, herons, and buzzards during the float.

We went several miles without incident. There were a number of small rapids, some sweepers to avoid, and the river branched, divided, and split around islands in several places, but there were no serious rapids or obstacles to cause any problems. In fact, the river was almost boring for the last several miles of the float—until about a mile from our takeout.

The most common obstacles on the river were drift boats and fly-fishermen, and they were everywhere. We did our best to steer clear of them but in some places they were so numerous there was no way to avoid them. At one point we came around a bend just as a guide lost his drift boat. He had pulled up to shore and his client was wading in the river fly-fishing. The guide had beached the boat and was watching and coaching the client. As we watched the boat started to drift downstream and by the time the guide noticed it he had to run hard after it, dive in the water, and swim fast before the river carried it away. It made for an amusing moment.

Close to the end of our trip the river made a large zig-zag curve and there were some big rapids we had to run—the largest of the day. To make things more interesting there were several big jet boats powering upstream just as we were negotiating the rapids downstream. Although non-powered watercraft have the right-of-way over powered craft the operators either didn’t know or care about that little rule. That made some difficult rapids even more challenging.

Nancy and I got though the worst of rapids just fine and as I was feeling the rush of victory and complimenting my paddling partner for a good run the current hit our keel just as both of us were leaning to the left and over we went.

So, we had to be rescued again. My poor wounded pride. My poor wet cold wife. My poor sunglasses I loaned to her and never saw again. I was in the stern so I have no one to blame but myself—the stern-man is the skipper. I’ll have to cut a corner off my canoeing merit badge.

About a mile after our second swim was the Heise takeout and boat ramp. We got everyone off the river, loaded the canoes on the trailer, and Nancy and I squished our way to my car and drove home. We had a wonderful time but what I thought would be a five-mile easy (dry) float ended up being a thirty-mile double wet trip. This was the first—and I was afraid the last—time Nancy had been river canoeing with me.

Just a week later Nancy and I were at Powder Horn and part of that training included a canoe trip down Henry’s Fork of the Snake River. That’s the same trip I took the kids on last fall. Much to my surprise Nancy agreed to brave another river with me. It was a great trip and we blasted through several rapids like pros. We stayed dry this time and Nancy might even go canoeing with me again some time. (But not on the South Fork.)

Powder Horn

Nancy and I have been off “playing” again. (Nancy was playing, I was working.) We attended a BSA training course called Powder Horn offered by the Grand Teton Council at our Island Park Scout Camp. I served on staff and Nancy was a participant, but there wasn’t much difference in what we did.

The purpose of Powder Horn is to train Scout leaders how to organize and plan high adventure activities for older Scouts and Venturers, and to expose the participants to a variety of high adventure programs presented by experts in the field. We learned about primitive living skills, mountaineering, low impact camping, backpacking, fly tying and fly fishing, ecology and plant identification, dutch oven cooking, whitewater river running, scuba diving, sailing, caving, mountain biking, GPS navigation, expedition planning, climbing and rappelling, rifle, pistol, and shotgun shooting, archery, and working with youth.

Here are photos of some of the things we did:

Nancy Crossing Warm Creek






Nancy Trying to Make Fire




Mountain Biking the Warm River Trail (the old narrow guage railroad bed to Yellowstone NP)




Dutch Oven Chef










Modern Mermaid












Look Out--She's Armed and Dangerous!

Road Trip!

Nancy and I just got back from a 1,800 mile road trip to California for Nancy’s nephew’s (Michael Reed) wedding. On Thursday we drove ~12 hours to Sacramento, CA. We checked into our hotel and then went to visit with the Lopez family. (Nancy’s sister Anne and her family.) The next morning we drove about an hour to Novato where the wedding was going to take place at the Inn Marin on Highway 101. Nancy’s nephews Ryan (14) and Joey (10) Lopez rode with us and we had fun visiting with them. Ryan reminds us a lot of our son Shawn—very funny and handsome. They have a similar look—very Davis/Scottish. After we checked into our hotel we took Ryan and Joey to Muir Beach on the ocean north of the bay. As soon as we arrived the boys decided they wanted to climb the mountain south of the beach—and off they went. Nancy said, “I’m sitting here on the beach” and she did. So I followed the boys up the mountain. Since we live at 5,000 feet above sea level I figured I could keep up with the little California punks just fine. And I did keep up with them—every time they stopped and waited for me. I huffed and puffed my way up the mountain (it was really just a large steep hill) while they ran circles around me. We finally reached the top and I thought we should sit and enjoy the view and the wind blowing off the ocean (while I caught my breath). Ryan said, “I’m running all the way down!” and Joey said, “Me too!” and off they went. I finally caught up to them down on the beach and we chased crabs and played on the beach. Ryan started chasing Joey with a crab and Joey tripped and fell in the water and his clothes got soaked. He wasn’t very happy but I got it all on video and it was pretty funny. We drove back up to Novato for the rehearsal dinner and an evening of visiting with family and wedding guests. Mike and Donna actually got married a year ago by a justice of the peace so this was a show wedding. Everyone (except the Davis Clan) was drinking pretty heavily but no one got fall down drunk or too loud and obnoxious. On Saturday morning we went into San Francisco for a few hours. I drove with Nancy, her sister Bunny, and her parents Ron and Margaret Davis in our car. Margaret had never been to San Francisco. We went to the Japanese Tea Garden, Lombard Street, Pier 39, and Fisherman's Warf. We saw several street performers and we watched the sea lions for awhile. We had lunch at Fisherman's Grotto and then we had to drive back up to Novato to get ready for the wedding. The wedding was nice. About two dozen people were there. It was an outdoor wedding under a big magnolia tree in a park area behind the Inn. Donna's family is Scottish as well so the music was performed by a bagpiper in full Scottish garb. The ceremony was very simple and it was conducted by a female minister. Joey was the ring bearer and there was a cute little flower girl from Donna’s family as well. After the wedding ceremony the drinking started up again and went until dinner started. At dinner there was champagne for toasts and wine with the meal—we drank water (in case you were worried). We were there talking and dancing until bedtime. The next day we drove Ryan and Joey back to Sacramento and stayed there for about an hour visiting with Anne, Jesus, Ron, and Margaret. Then we drove to South Lake Tahoe and stopped there for dinner and a walk along the beach. It's a beautiful area. We drove the back roads through Carson City Nevada, Reno, and then on to Winnemucca where we spent the night. Before we left town we stopped for gas at a Maverik station in Winnemucca and got a heck of a deal. As I started to pump the gas I noticed the pump price was $.65 per gallon. I knew that couldn’t be right. I checked the other side of the pump and it showed $.67 per gallon. I walked over to the next pump and it showed $2.65 and that matched the price on the station’s sign. After I filled up the tank (12 gallons for $8.00) I went in and told the store manager about the $.65 price and offered to pay her the correct price. She said, “It’s your lucky day. I set the price on the pump wrong.” I was also buying a liter bottle of soda for the road and when I handed it to her to ring up she said, “That will be $10.” The next morning we drove the back roads again north though Nevada up to Idaho. While driving between Wild Horse Reservoir and Duck Valley (we saw no horses or ducks) we came across hordes of Mormon crickets crossing the road. At first there were just a few, then a lot, . . . then millions of them. They were all over the road and it was stained a reddish brown with their squashed bodies. We could hear them pop as our tires rolled over them. The smell was noxious and the tires and car got covered with cricket slime. It was pretty gross! Nancy was driving and she was freaking out as we drove through the worst of the swarms. We entered Idaho in the southwest corner at Duck Valley and then drove the back roads northeast across the state through Mountain Home, Camas Valley, past Craters of the Moon National Monument, and into Arco. We had dinner at the Pickle Place in Arco, a quaint little small-town cafe. Then east across the Arco desert, past Idaho National Laboratory (INL nuclear test facilities) and back to Idaho Falls. Except for the crickets (and parts of northern Nevada) it was a beautiful drive.