What's Up With The Wheelers: Wheeler Family Reunion, Idaho-style

Wheeler Family Reunion

August 2025

Ashton, Idaho

15 people, and loads of fun! (Would have been even better with 16--we missed you, Brooklyn.)

Thank you to Grandma Susie for organizing and planning such a great itinerary. Our family made reunion planning a bit difficult this year because Annika wasn't supposed to travel farther than four hours from Salt Lake, plus swimming was out. Even with these restrictions, Susie still found a fabulous place and created a fun itinerary that had something for everyone.

To begin, the Idaho Potato Museum in Blackfoot. Make sure that you order your taters two hours in advance so that your bakers have plenty of time to roast before you arrive!

World's largest potato chip!

A letter to Dan Quayle reminding him that there is no "e" on the end of potato.

Everybody loves the potato heads.

And so we left with a new appreciation for our delightful potato ancestry.

Next stop on our journey was ice cream from Reed's Dairy. Yum!

Then we went on a driving tour through Idaho Falls and Rexburg to learn more about the early years of Charles and Susie's courtship. They are coming up on their 50th wedding anniversary!

Okay, so I wish I remembered all of the stories better, but I'm going to post what I recall and then others can add or correct me. When Charles and Susie first came to BYU-Idaho (known as Rick's college at the time), their apartment wasn't ready so they spent a week sleeping in the back of a hatchback in a parking lot close to here. If I recall correctly, it wasn't actually their car. They'd swapped with someone (Uncle Ron?) because the borrowed car had a little more room to stretch out. Susie talked about how the first night they slept with their heads in the sloping rear window thinking that it would be great for seeing the stars, but instead they woke up in the morning dripping with condensation from their own breath.

I do believe their engagement happened by a dumpster very near this spot. Their courtship may have been brief (two weeks) and the proposal unscripted, but their marriage has been lasting and wonderful!

They pointed out the apartment above the Patriot store as one of the places they lived.

They also lived here when Christy was born. Charles and Susie, it was so fun to see some of your early roots and hear all of the great stories. Thanks for sharing!

Next stop--the site of the Teton Dam collapse. It's hard to imagine so much earth being swept away.

Hawaiian haystacks for dinner before enjoying the sunset from our Ashton Airbnb.

Of course, the littles were a little more interested in Minecraft than the scenery. Understandable.

In the morning we could see the Tetons in the distance.

We headed to Harriman State Park in Island Park, Idaho where Annie, Ruby, and Eli all went for a trail ride.

Violet got a short ride too.

Afterward, we all went for a bike ride through the state park. Annika wasn't a fan of the gravel and turned back pretty quickly, but Ruby stuck with it.

Eli, on the other hand, loved it! At fifteen, this kid is all athlete.

Violet was quite content as well.

Biking grandparents--keeps them young!

Out to the bridge and back.

Learning about wilderness preparedness from a park ranger. We paid close attention because the 14 year-old granddaughter of our friends, the Suisses, was missing in the High Uintas at that very moment. We are beyond grateful that she was found and rescued!

After the state park, we headed over to Mesa Falls. So fantastic!

I love the family picture with Eli picking at Annika's ear. I guess turn around is fair play.

Trying again.

Violet's dispensing high fives.

Blondes big and itty bitty, but all beautiful.

Lance, you may not be blonde, but you're good lookin' too. As are you, Peanut Butter.

Bbq chicken, corn on the cob, and fresh watermelon. Doesn't get more summer than that!

Playing around on the property, both outside and in.

Check out the gorgeous sweater that Talia finished crocheting during this trip. I love, love, love it!

The next day it was back on the bikes as we enjoyed the Ashton-Tetonia trail. While I wished my bike had better suspension, it was still lots of fun. We biked from Tetonia toward Ashton because the slope is slightly downhill, but if I had it to do again, I think I would bike the other direction because the views of the Tetons are better.

The rails to trails trestles are always so fun!

Here's Violet getting comfy.

Way to go Ruby! She put a lot of miles on that little bike.

Biking is Jason's happy place.

Grandma Susie, thank you again for helping this happen!

And Austin, thanks for joining us on all these shenanigans. Nothing like some sweat and grime to say welcome to the family!

Lance and Christy had injured backs and Annika didn't feel up to biking so they all walked a segment. Hope they had a good time. Farm country really is beautiful in its own way.

Best of all, there are root beer floats to celebrate the ride.

Trucks and games back at the cabin. Eli, you're the best cousin!

The next day Talia and I got up absurdly early and drove 50 miles into Wyoming so that we could hike the Table Mountain Trail. Talia's friend Clara had hiked it before and told her it was amazing. I was kind of regretting our life choices when the alarm went off at 3:30 am, but it was absolutely worth it.

Talia gets tired of being my model, but I can't get enough of her smile.

God did pretty phenomenal job creating this earth.

Almost to the top of the plateau with marmots as our cheering squad.

As you hit the summit, you can suddenly see all the way over to the other side with amazing views of Grand Teton National Park. This may be one of the most beautiful hikes that I have ever experienced...ever.

Since it was Sunday morning, Talia and I sat down and had a short devotional together. Having passed only one other group on the trail, we essentially had the summit to ourselves. We tried to sing a few hymns, but they all turned out pretty pitchy. I'm just gonna blame the high altitude. Listening to a conference talk worked much better.

Enjoying the flowers on the way down. We had a goal of making it back in time for afternoon sacrament meeting so we jogged for a while through a lovely section of meadow. Things definitely slowed down for the steep and grueling final descent. But hey, we made it safely with only a few bumps and bruises and without needing to use our bear spray. Thanks for the memories, Talia Lily!