Sun Valley (Niagara Springs State Park)

I had scheduled a couple of Fall vaccinations this morning in Twin Falls. That is the closest larger city that has the major chains, including drugstores. I had scheduled my appointment at CVS several weeks ago and it was confirmed. I received a reminder last week and another one this morning. I arrived at the CVS and digitally checked in. Then I walked up to the counter and saw the sign that said vaccinations were not being provided. Apparently the nurse took the week off, but that information was not provided to the automated scheduling system. As I had driven an hour and a half to get there, and specifically schedule the shots to have Thanksgiving as a recovery day, I was pretty miffed. That said, the one person working at the pharmacy (in a Target) went above and beyond. She called the Walgreens down the street and made me an appointment for both of the vaccines I wanted. Fortunately they were able to accommodate me and I received the shots.

Knowing that the side effects would not kick in for another 12 hours or so, I drove over to Niagara Springs . Shoshone Falls is the main attraction in the area, but it is dry in the Fall. Once you navigate the short, but steep, dirt road down to the park, the springs can be seen immediately off the road. A short path leads to a small viewing platform. The water in Niagara Springs originates from a groundwater within the cliffs themselves . It results from snowmelt and precipitation that seeps into the porous lava planes that separate the Snake River from the Mountains. This water then emerges as a system of springs and waterfalls along the Snake River. Unfortunately, a tree, that is likely green in other seasons, but brown and spindly in the winter, sits right at the bottom of the falls. There is no other vantage point, so I took what I could get.

While I know many of you are celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow, and giving thanks with family and friends, I can’t help but remind all of us that the Native Americans have a very different perspective on what has become an iconic American holiday. I went back to the website of the National Museum of the American Indian that I visited last summer in Washington D.C. for some insight . In one of their teacher guides, they state:

Contemporary celebrations of the Thanksgiving holiday focus on the idea that the "first Thanksgiving" was a friendly gathering of two disparate groups—or even neighbors—who shared a meal and lived harmoniously. In actuality, the assembly of these people had much more to do with political alliances, diplomacy, and an effort at rarely achieved, peaceful coexistence.

I think it is important to remember and acknowledge this truth, especially at the closure of Native American month. Things turned out rather differently for the two groups who shared the first meal that gained the mythology that turned into the American Thanksgiving holiday. I recommend you to another post that asks: How do Native Americans make peace with a national holiday that romanticizes the 1621 encounter between their ancestors and English settlers, and erases the deadly conflicts that followed?

In the meantime, I took the afternoon to take care of some trip planning and personal items. If my previous experience with COVID vaccines holds, I will be down for the count tomorrow, so there will not be much of a blog post.