A Student's Holiday

A student at Brigham Young University - Idaho stands in awe at a local fireworks display.

Although most college and university students across the nation are out for summer, some students are still in session. With the Fourth of July weekend gone in the distance, students are still buzzing about their holiday fun.

In Rexburg, Idaho students all over Brigham Young University - Idaho fled campus to go have fun with friends and family. Those with family nearby, could not wait to pass up the opportunity to get free food and free laundry at home. "I had been building up on my hamper for weeks." One student admitted. Many students were able to get away fairly easily because of BYU-I's ride board. Natalya Latin, freshman, "Other than using i-Learn for homework, the ride board is the most frequent page I visit on the school's website."

Erin Lingard embraces daughter, Molly, as they cool off inside.

As students left campus for the holiday weekend, plans were set in motion. On the I-15 to Utah, some students waved to one another from recognizing the BYU-I parking sticker. Once at their destination students had some fun in the hot sun, others just could not take the heat.

Rachel Tonks, "... it [was] so hot in Utah! I just wanted to stay cool inside for the weekend." With temperatures in the mid-90's who would want to be outside in the blistering heat? "My brother and his family came up from Missouri. I haven't seen them in a year so it was great seeing them. We just hung out inside and caught up. It was fine considering we had air conditioning.”

Jennifer Chase, Jessica Gainer, and Mya
Gainer have fun trowing rocks into the
river at the base of the waterfall.

A group of locals met in Draper, Utah for a canyoneering adventure at a local waterfall right outside of town. Some brought friends and family along who played at the base while the group hiked to the top of the waterfall. Jennifer Chase stated, “It was too dangerous to repel all of the way down the waterfall.... With record snowfall, it's no wonder why the water level was so high.” Even though the adventure group couldn't do what they planned, they still enjoyed their time playing at the base of the falls.

A group of girls use bottle rockets as
sparklers for a better fireworks show.

"I was so happy I got to go see my sister back in Sandy[, Utah]" Bryant Conners, 19, recounts. "My roommate and I had a lot of fun.... We strapped rockets to toy cars and raced them to see who's car would go the furthest.... Mine went 20 feet, and my roommate's-his blew up."

In some states in the mid-west, fireworks are legal to light-off and are available in many stores like Costco, Wal-mart, and supermarkets. Some supermarkets rent out space in the parking lot for third party sellers to sell their explosives. "We get people coming in buying fireworks by the cart load." Says Sarah, a Costco employee in Utah "Some days we can barely keep them on the floor. People are just really patriotic I suppose."

Karina Jhonson runs from a freshly ignited fireworks display.

As the end of the holiday weekend rolled in at Rexburg; the locals ended it with a blast. Numerous citizens and students alike brought out their stocks of fireworks and set them off throughout the night. Kids held sparklers and bottle rockets and enjoyed the display. If anyone wanted to get close to the action, you just had to keep your eyes in the sky and find a source. One group had a display that would last them for hours. “We got the good stuff,” one local said. “Most of the explosives we have here were purchased at an Indian reservation.... They're not legal to buy here but they sure do make a big bang!”