This is a picture before we started the rafting trip.  It was a beautiful day on the river,  I was afraid to bring my camera on the trip, but I will try to get additional pictures.  We saw a mother and baby moose along the river during the trip.

We went to a baseball game this evening.  Our team lost, but we had a good time.  I'll try to get some picture from the game too, but I need to get to sleep.  We will leave for Lagoon Amusement park early in the morning and won't get back until late tomorrow night.  We should have some time to post pictures on Thursday.

On the 29th, we toured Yellowstone National Park.  This picture was taken at Midway Geyser Basin

The students enjoyed shopping near Old Faithful.

I will try to collect pictures from other members of the group.  We have a couple of nice group pictures to add soon.

We have had a busy couple of days.  On July 28th and 29th, we stayed in cabins at Harriman State Park (http://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/parks/harriman) in Island Park, Idaho.  The internet access is very limited in the area, and we were unable to update the blog.  I (Melinda) will try to make some quick updates with more pictures to come. Rachel can add more pictures when she has time.

The first night we had a meal cooked in Dutch ovens.  I hope to find a picture of the Dutch oven cooking to post here soon.  This is a picture of the dining area near the cabins.

After dinner, we roasted marshmallows over the camp fire and made s'mores. A s'more is a roasted marshmallow with a piece of chocolate candy bar sandwiched in between 2 graham crackers.

Today, we had nothing scheduled for the morning, giving us ample opportunity for an individual adventure, just with our students. We went to Yellowstone Bear World after letting our girls sleep in and having brunch.

We were able to go with the Duckwitz family on a guided tour of Bear World, where the tour vehicle would stop at intervals and allow all the passengers to feed the bears and other animals bread and grass pellets from the safety of the large tour truck. 
Top: (left to right) Rachel, Noel, Cathy, Melinda, Nicholas, Peter
Bottom: Atsuko, Chihiro, Riya, Miku, A'maurie, Tristan

Then we toured the petting zoo. Our students enjoyed the 'Kawaii' animals!

It was fun for everyone involved! I'm excited for Harriman and Yellowstone!

Rachel

It's been a very busy second day with our students! We were all excited and happy to be in Idaho.

We got to see the office of Idaho's mayor, Mayor Fuhrman! 

Top row, left to right: A'maurie, Bryna, Riya, Nanako, Miku, and Chihiro.
Bottom: Mina

I'm not sure of the first on the bottom--I don't want to say it's the wrong person.

Then, we walked from the Mayor's office to the police station, just a few blocks away. It gave the delegates a chance to enjoy the unique architecture of downtown Idaho.

At the police office, officers showed us everything from ordinary desks to the fingerprinting lab. Rei even got his fingerprints taken!

From there, we went outside and saw the police officer's different gear, from flashbangs to uniforms. Some of our students were able to try on a police vest and helmet, and some were able to try out wearing handcuffs. Afterward, a woman from Local News Eight interviewed us and wrote an article on the exchange. Here's the link:http://www.localnews8.com/news/japanese-students-visit-idaho-falls-for-sister-city-exchange/-/308662/21199722/-/47lxid/-/index.html

Next are the vertical pictures (they won't stay vertical in the slideshow).

Riya tries on handcuffs!

Some of the Japanese delegates work together to lift a heavy tool at the fire station. Teamwork!

Hiroko tries on a fireman's boots and pants! 

Kensuke gets in on the fun as well!

Alison tries on a fireman's helmet. It takes coordination to keep on!

After that, our students went to Wal-Mart. Everything there was novel to them, even things that might just seem mundane to us. They had a wonderful time and came back with souvenirs for them and their families.

After that, we went to a welcome party at Lilac Circle in Tautphaus Park! It had lots of slack-lining, sports, and human foosball all around! Speeches were given by Luke, Gai and Alison.

Sorry for the small pictures, that happens with our other camera.

Everything was wonderful, and I can't wait for tomorrow!
--Rachel

Well, it's been an exciting day with our students! Here are some of the highlights from my family and our students.

First we met our students at the airport. From left to right, it's me, Riya, and Atsuko. My Japanese is shaky, and they didn't speak English well, but soon we could communicate.

Then, we had dinner at the Sister Cities Friendship garden. I got to know our students better, and they got to know me.

Sharen made a speech from our delegation to the Tokai visitors.

And Mizuki made a speech from the Tokai delegation to us.

Our family went home, and Atsuko, Riya and I cooked pumpkin bread. Yum!

We also played Jenga. They both knew how to play, so it was fun and it broke the language barrier!

And they both played with our dogs until they wanted to go to bed.

This has already been so fun, and it's only the first few hours. I can't wait until the rest of the visit!

--Rachel

Here's the picture of the delegation's sendoff! They look excited and ready to have fun with us in Idaho!

Here's a link to the map that the wonderful Gretchen made for our visit! If you have a hard time finding anything, it's all right here!

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=217767659218459518725.0004e20b08eeaa8aea11d&msa=0&ll=44.716261,-110.494759&spn=0.005047,0.008615

Hi, guys! 

I'm really excited for the visit! All pictures will be posted here, and I'll try and post them on their same days. If I don't, one of the other editors probably will.  It'll help us get a better assortment of pictures for the visit in general, because some people can't be at every single event. We'll try and get group pictures too.