March 2019

January 2013

The new year had special meaning for us as a Russell family. As a part of our Christmas celebration we traveled to beautiful Costa Rica. Dawn and I traveled with Julia, Holly and Jon to Phoenix where we met Robyn, Wayne, Kesler and Indy. Once we arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica we stayed at the Holiday Express motel for the evening. The next day we drove in two cars to Uvita along the western coast.

Robyn had rented a house in the mountains for all of us to stay. After resting up we were not long before we reached the beaches at Dominical. The boys surfed and the girls spent time on the beach and in the waves. For the next two days we spent touring and scheduled three excisions.

The first excursion on our third day in the beautiful country was a boat tour from Ballena State Park. From the boat we snorkeled the whale tale reef. This was Dawn’s first time in the ocean snorkeling. We saw many fish and I filmed the fish with the new GoPro camera. It was a long swim back to the boat. While resting up we looked for whales and dolphins at sea. It was not until we returned to the caves south of the park did we see dolphins. Two large bottle nosed dolphins swam next to the boat.

The next day we left early for Baru Hacienda to zip line with the family. This was Julia’s first time on a zip line. Our guide was so helpful and encouraging. She did it without hesitation. After eight zip lines we were ready to get on with the next excursion. While we were waiting for our trek to the zip line we walked through a butterfly garden. Also, our guide pointed out many animals on our way to the zip line stands. We say anteaters, sloths, monkeys and many insects.

After the zip line experience we had to drive for 2 hours to Sierpe to boat the mangroves. Jon and Holly went to Ballena to dive while we cruised the river with a guide. This was an exceptional tour. We saw so much flora and fauna. While navigating through the water hyacinth we came on a giant crocodile. There were others as well as American alligators along the shores of the river. The birds were remarkable. There were parakeets, scarlet McCaws, herons, egrets and many others. There were an abundance of iguanas and we even saw a green boa constrictor. But the highlight was the while faced capuchin monkey with a new born on her back. How exciting to see her come right up to the boat. It was here we saw our first Howler monkeys. We had heard them each morning near our mountain home.

The food was excellent, the people treated us with respect and courtesy. The weather was perfect and the landscape beautiful. It was a great trip. However, there were a couple of incidents worth mentioning. First, I contacted a colony of Trombiculida , known as “chiggers”. From my feet to my upper body, they caused extreme itch. No one else was affected. Also, I was seriously ill from a sore throat and fever but it lasted only two days. Dawn began to cough and so did Wayne and Jon. The rest seemed to escape the virus. Once we got home we have many in our area who are experiencing sever flu symptoms.

Our return to Idaho Falls, Idaho began as we boarded the Express Shuttle with temperatures below zero. There was little heat in the shuttle and hours of freezing conditions caught up to Dawn and she became ill. Her cough lasted weeks. Fortunately, I was unaffected and neither was Julia. She did remarkably well the entire trip.

Our trip to Lava Hot Springs (-5 degrees)

The water felt soooo goood!

It is time to get out sweetie!!

The remainder of January was spent indoors since the outside temperature was below zero every evening and in single digits during the day. We finally were so cold, Dawn and I left for Lava Hot Springs to get into the heated pools. The temperature remained cold (-5 degrees) outside but the water was very warm. Then we visited Gordon and Paul Anderson in Newton, Utah and it was even colder in Cache Valley. We managed to do a cross country ski during the day. On our way to Midway, Utah the air quality was so bad we could hardly see the mountains.

The real reason for our trip was to get into “hot water”. So I scheduled a “update” scuba dive in the only warm water in the entire western states. The Homestead Crater is the perfect place to scuba in the winter. This volcanic pool lies under a dome of lava. The pool is 96 degrees and 65 feet deep. My instructor, Eddie, was terrific and I felt comfortable with the skills I had to check off to get updated certification. Now I dive in the Caribbean after completing this dive. I have not been on scuba since 1996 when I left the Army and duty site at TAMC Hawaii.

On our way back home we stayed with Josh and Danielle. They were busy doing home storage. She is canning meat and vegetables in her new glass jars. We had fun with the kids before leaving for home the next morning. It is worth mentioning the drive home. That morning we traveled through a freezing rain and ice covered roads. The drive was harrowing as we traveled at a snail’s pace. There were cars off the road and trucks passing us within inches. We finally got clear of the terrifying conditions at the top of Malad pass.

Lastly, we stopped to visit with Bill and Marsha Peterson Schmitt. I had not seen they since before Linda had passed away. She is my second cousin and an avid genealogist. I have an interest in working on the Peterson family history. Rosanne Boardman has recently returned from a visit to Sweden. She spent time with our Swedish family members. How about a trip to Sweden to meet our living relatives? I am thinking seriously about it. Dawn also has many Swedish relatives still living in the home lands.

The sunset from our house in Costa Rica