Julie's Blog

I recently read a blog on whether it was spring yet in our area by Glenda and Steven McDaniel. I work in Utah and live in Idaho. I was home last weekend and thought I would take a picture of the falls in spring. If you can call it spring because it was cold, windy, and there was a chance of snow. I also thought it would be a good time to add a few pictures, from 2002, of what the falls look like in the winter when, at times, they freeze. Very pretty. Later, in a future blog, I will have to show you pictures of how beautiful Idaho Falls looks in the summer.

I will give you a short history of the falls. Idaho Falls has been called a few other names before settling on Idaho Falls. When the many people were headed to the gold mines around 1863, Matt Taylor went through the area and thought about how it would be a good idea to build a bridge over the Snake River so that people could get to the mining fields and to get supplies to that area. He went on to Montana and came back in the winter of 1865. While the river was frozen he built the first bridge and named it Taylor's bridge. The area became Taylor's crossing and a supply store was built.

While Matt Taylor was in Montana, Harry Ricketts started a ferry services up the river from where Taylor's bridge would be built. It was named the Eagle Rock Ferry because it was near a rock that the Eagles nested in. In 1972, Taylor's crossing was renamed Eagle Rock. By 1880 there were 249 residents of Eagle Rock. The first canals were dug in 1884. With irrigation came agriculture. Idaho agricultural products include wheat, barley, sugar beets, oats, and the ever famous Idaho Potato! In 1891, the town residents renamed the town Idaho Falls after the rapids near the bridge.

In 1901, the first generating plant was built. A dam was created up river and retaining walls were built near the bridge. This was the beginning of the falls.They generate hydro-electric power for the area and for as far away as California.The falls were modified in 1982.  

Meet some of the dinosaurs of Vernal Utah! They are a familiar sight in Vernal. Dinosaur fossils were found near Vernal in 1909. 350 tons of bones were removed at the time, and continue today. Some complete skeletons were found. The area became a National Monument in 1915, where people could view the process of the removal of dinosaur bones. Unfortunately, the monument has been closed for repairs to the building. Replicas of dinosaurs can be viewed at the Utah Field House of Natural History Museum. 

There is great opportunity for employment in vernal due to energy exploration. Great place to live and many choices of homes to choose from. I enjoy selling real estate in this area and would love to show you around.

 Dinosaurs are not only at the Museum they are all over town!

 This dinosaur near the Post Office is decorated for many holidays.

 Some of the dinosaurs hang out at the motels.

 Of course we can't forget the pink dinosaur that welcomes you to Vernal. Come visit anytime!

Vernal is growing community due to influx of energy exploration. If you are looking for a job this is a great place be. If you are looking fun the Vernal area offers, skiing, water skiing, boating, hiking, snowmobiling, four wheeling fossil,and gem hunting.

I enjoy being a Realtor in Vernal, Utah, and I am proud to display some the beautiful scenery of this season.

Since Vernal is Dinosaurland it would not be right not to include at least one of the well known dinosaurs of the area. More Dinosaurs to come in one of my future blogs. 

 Welcome to Vernal!

 These pictures were taken at the Black Knolls

Carol Smith's blog about tulips inspired me to post this picture on an arrangement I made in February 2008. I love flowers, and really enjoyed this arrangement. I added orange roses, and they seems to make all the difference to the arrangement. It is a color combination I would try again. It really brightened up the winter.

Hi

Just joined the group. I live in Idaho Falls, and have a license to sell real estate in Idaho and Utah.  Right now I am using my Utah license to sell real estate in Vernal, Utah. I thought I would share some pictures of Idaho. These were taken in November when we went to cut a tree. They were taken in the Targhee National Forest. This area is beautiful in every season. There is great camping, snowmobiling, hiking, skiing, and of course tree cutting. It is near the Palisades Reservoir were there is boating, fishing, and water skiing.

Here We Have Idaho is the Here We Have Idaho is the title of the state song. 

 Lemon Jello Cake

1 pkg lemon cake mix

1/3 c flour

1 3 oz pkg lemon Jello

1 c water

1/2 c oil

4 eggs

Mix well. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. While hot pour

2 c powdered sugar

1/2 c orange juice

Mix together. Poke holes all over in the cake with a toothpick. Spread topping mixture on top of cake.

The topping seeps down in the holes and give the cake a moist and delicious taste. Great for summer fun and children would love being involved with the toothpick process. 

From Lynne Chilberg 

This weekend we had a booth at the local home and garden show. It was quite a success. We had a drawing for a Wii so we were able to talk to a lot of people that stopped by our booth. Each of the Realtors had different colored drawing slips so we were able to divide up the slips easily and know which people the agent talked to. We had our version of the Plinko game ( The Game of the Century, for  Century 21) for added fun. Everyone got a little prize. We also had candy, coloring designs for children, and flyers on our properties. Has anyone had a similar event and have ideas that could be useful for next time?

Recently another real estate agent and I were looking into buying a rental property. We had concerns about mold asbestos and the possibility of meth contamination. In looking into the costs we could incur I found some interesting information. Living in a home that has meth contamination can lead to the lungs turning into to gel and expelling the lungs over time due to the chemicals such as anhydrous ammonia. It would be worth the cost of a test to be sure the house is not contaminated because some items that may need to be replaced include flooring duct work water heaters appliances, sinks, and toilets. Signs of meth include red stains strong cat urine or ammonia smell rock salt hydrogen peroxide anhydous ammonia blacked out or foiled windows ephedrine and lithium batteries. The house could cost $100000 or more to repair. The house may even have to be torn down and properly disposed of. All work needs to be done by a qualified professional. Some states are making it a law that the seller has to disclose knowledge of meth in the house. What experiences do you have? What legislation do we need to have?