Well, that’s it.  The closing ceremonies are done and the games are over.  What a ride.

We took the short drive down from McCall to Nampa and, after checking into the hotel, headed over to the Family Reception hosted by Clipped Wings.  That was a fun time.  The volunteers there made all the families feel so welcome.  We had a nice buffet meal done Idaho style.  Potatoes (of course) salad, chicken, shredded beef.  It was all good.  Our meal’s entertainment was a square dancing demonstration.  I’ll tell you, I’d step on a few toes if I tried that.  In 3 of the corners, there were photo booths set up where you could get your photo taken in several themes with one of the acrylic globes used for the ceremonies.  You’ll enjoy the photos in the gallery.  One of them we got to dress up and look silly (well, I did anyways) and the other you’ll see is Abigail with a collection of beauty queens.

Then it was off to the ceremonies.  What a good time that was.  There were recap videos, speeches and bands.  There were some local Idaho bands, including one made up of Billings Police Officers.  The final act was one called Crash Cowboy.  I hadn’t heard of them before, but they were pretty good.

The kids did okay in the ceremonies.  Abigail had a brief nap and we had to feed her there.  Jonathan played and danced until he couldn’t go further and passed out on Mommy’s lap first and then when we traded kids, he slept up against me.  (Not easy taking pictures with a kid pressed up against you! LOL)

This morning, it was time to hit the road to Billings.  We did a brief stop at Twin Falls to take some pictures of the Shoshone Gorge in the daylight.  What a sight.  While there, we were witness (I took video) to a pair of base jumpers who jumped from the bridge.  Not for me, but it was cool to watch.  I’ll have some photos online in the next couple of days.  I’m not doing photos tonight.

Otherwise, the drive here was rather uneventful.  We took rte 191 through West Yellowstone.  The roads were fine and we only had a bit of snow.  It was fun watching the GPS reflect our elevation.  As high as 7300ft above sea level at one point!

Tomorrow, off to Fargo!