I remember Mtn. Home being an awesome place for kite flying. I used to buy a Jolly Roger (skull and cross bones) kite and about 4-5 big spools of line. We'd attach about ten feet of rags tied together onto the kite's tail so the wind would't make it fly crazily, then I'd fly that Jolly Roger until it was just a tiny spot in the distance, seemingly hovering right over the town center. We lived in the suburbs near North Elementary. Of course, invariably, the line would break and the kite would go down far in the distance. So my buddies and I would follow the string through neighborhoods, across streets, over houses, through yards, vacant lots, and we'd finally track it to someone's lawn about a mile from home.

I loved flying kites in Mtn. Home. I think I got most of mine from The Merc. Just paper and two thin sticks. Ahhh, simple times.

I do remember seeing a big gathering of people flying box kites, like it was a kite flying club/festival. I never understood how box kites actually flew!

Ah, the windy city, Chicago has nothing on us. When we first moved to Mtn. Home our street (9th by North now East Elementary) wasn't paved, just oiled. The wind blew and with it the dust. It drove my mom crazy, she could never keep anything dusted. I love the wind, it seems to blow all the negative away. Walking in the the wind was one of my favorite things to do.

Yeah, but you couldn't putt too well in the wind. :-)

Do you remember any kite flying festivals or clubs? I swear we drove by a large area where at least a hundred people were flying box kites. It rivaled those hot air balloon gatherings. Very colorful kites.

Btw, our very first day (arrival in Mtn. Home in 1961) was a nasty wind storm/dust storm that was so bad that my mom broke into tears, having just come from a Spokane area lake.

When I went to college at Idaho State, the wind was always blowing. Everyone complained about it. I just thought it was normal after living in Mtn. Hom.