Oregon Trail: Boise Edition

Hello and welcome back to Nomad Dad Life!

Apologies for the delay of this Boise post, but life happened. . .We have been busy exploring the “last frontier.” Our children also caught a bug, so we had some long days and short nights taking care of our sick children. We recently had some guests make the trip north to Alaska to visit as well. There really aren’t enough hours in the day! If you are new to the blog please click here to read past posts.

Today’s post will cover our final stop on our Oregon Trail and getting to our “home” for the next three months. This drive was mostly through the Rocky Mountains, so we had lots of amazing views! We planned to spend four days in Boise before reaching our final destination of Eugene, Oregon. I didn’t take time off work during this week, so I worked almost our whole time in Boise. Unfortunately, that means I don’t have as much to write about because my work isn’t exciting enough to keep you interested! The Boise section will be brief, and we will also talk about our final stretch on our journey to Oregon.

Boise, Idaho

After living in a small town their whole lives, our children are experiencing things they never have before. It’s not always the big moments or new places that stick out. Sometimes it’s the smallest things that have a big impact. One of those small things happened when we got to Boise. We had food delivered to our house for the first time, and it blew our children’s minds that food can just show up at your door ready to eat! No driving to grocery stores and cooking and no having to drive to a restaurant to eat or get takeout. They thought that was the coolest thing ever and wanted us to order more right away!

We didn’t explore the Boise area as much as other stops because I didn’t take time off work. We did, however, take advantage of the great weather and the neighborhood we were staying in. The house was at the end of a dead-end street so it was very quiet. It was also a great place for Arkyn to start riding his bike by himself with his training wheels. Wanting to be just like her big brother, Ayla was right behind him with her ride on airplane!

There was a great playground just down the block. Our children spent many hours on the zipline and the swings at the Terry Day Park. Arkyn was able to ride his bike to the park like the big kids who were there, and he was so proud of that! The park was great for kids of all ages and was a popular place when we were there.

Our first guest author is going to make an appearance on the blog! I had a meeting for work and needed the children out of the house. My wife took them to the Children’s Museum of Idaho. She will be writing about their day there.

Hello! This is Fae!

When we made the decision to travel, we had to make many hard decisions that felt like we were taking so much away from our kids, including their home, family, friends, stability, favorite toys, and so much more. We knew, though, that traveling would also give them so many opportunities and experiences that they would not otherwise have. We approached this knowing that our plan to travel wouldn’t be forever, as we plan to eventually return to our home town to be close to family, friends and have the comfort and stability of a forever home. However, we also knew that our kids wouldn’t completely understand why all of their things needed to be packed up. We made sure to involve them in the packing and thoughtfully packed toys, books, and favorite blankets to bring along that not only would keep them entertained, but also toys that would spark creativity, prosper learning, develop imaginations, plus a few toys that were well loved and couldn’t be left behind. We also had to consider the minimal amount of space that we dedicated specifically for toys.

Although Ayla was too little at the time to understand (9 months when we started downsizing,) Arkyn had lots of questions. We did our best to explain the process in an age appropriate way to help him understand what to expect. Part of helping him understand was talking about and envisioning all the fun places we would get to go.

From the very beginning of making the decision to travel, Chris and I decided that we would put our kids first no matter what. Making sure that they would always have good memories of traveling is definitely a priority for us. One of the ways we ensure that is taking them to lots of fun and interactive places like children’s museums.

Children’s Museum

We’ve been to a variety of Children’s Museums, but the Children’s Museum of Idaho has been by far our favorite–so much so, that I literally had to carry Arkyn out of the museum kicking and screaming because he didn’t want to leave. We were there for over 4 hours and both the kids were hungry and although none of us wanted to leave, it was time. This museum was different than any other children’s museum we have been to, as it had not only indoor exhibits but also outdoor exhibits as well. It was a very warm summer day, so the water exhibits made being outside in the warm humid weather enjoyable for the kids.

There were so many interactive exhibits; it was hard to pick which one to play with first! All the exhibits provided hands-on learning that inspire young minds and stimulate learning. It was not only engaging for kids but also for parents, too. Some of our favorites included a huge pirate ship you could climb and drive, a spaceship simulator that had all the buttons a toddler could dream of, along with matching outfits to wear. The massive train table and the authentic diner where you could bake your own pizza or cook anything you wanted was definitely the ones Arkyn spent the most time. He was taking everyone’s order and making sure to tell the older kids all about how to be the best chef!

Attached to the diner was a market where you could buy all the groceries needed. Ayla had been only walking for a couple months at this point so she loved having a grocery cart to push around. The outdoor exhibits included floating things down a stream, petting the farm animals, and taking a ride in a canoe. These were definitely the favorites of many outside exhibits. It’s been almost 9 months since we were there, but Arkyn still asks frequently when we’ll get to go back!

Eugene, Oregon

We decided to leave Idaho early in the morning (around 1 AM) so the kids would be able to play and check out their new home without having to go to bed right away. We would also be able to unpack and get settled into our place at a decent time of day. At the time we didn’t realize this schedule would become an issue. Turns out in Oregon you can’t pump your own gas. We could only fill up at gas stations that were open for 24 hours since an attendant had to fill up your tank. Most stations were open by 6 AM so it was only one time that took us a little while to find an open gas station.

We used a site similar to Airbnb to find a place to stay. It’s designed for traveling professionals to find a place in Eugene, Oregon. We met with the owner at the condo. She gave us a tour and had welcome gifts waiting for our children. They were so excited to be in their “new new house” as they call it. We had finally made it to our home for the next 3 months. It was nice to unpack our vehicles fully and get settled in!

We had the luxury of having three months in the area. This meant we didn’t have to go out exploring right away. Our next post will start introducing you to the places we visited while in Oregon. Please remember to follow on social media for more updates. Just click on of the links below!

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Links

Boise Children’s Museum: https://www.cmidaho.org/