I grew up in a modern-day Little Town on the Prairie. Every evening in each home in this blessed town little half-pints get tucked into bed by both ma and pa after a good scripture story and a warsh behind the ears. Church every Sunday is flanked by roast and potatoes. Horse-drawn wagons though?... No- this town traded those for fleets of minivans years ago. This is Rexburg, Idaho, a town comprised of the Mormoniest bunch of Mormons ever found in one place.

With all the singularity of thought in priorities, routines, and religious exercise, I shouldn't have been surprised the other night when,

upon seeing a sky choked with smoke from a nearby wildfire,

my father-in-law asked if I wanted to go up the hill a half-mile or so to photograph the LDS Temple with the unusual colors in the sky behind it. Off we fled with cameras in hand. As we rounded the corner and the temple came into view we both laughed when we saw this:

The rest of Rexburg also photographing the temple with the unusual sky behind it. Yes, I shouldn't be surprised. This is Rexburg.

And I'm Mary Ingalls Mormon.


My father-in-law, mid-prairie, got some good shots just before a cop showed up and told photographers to get out of the wheat field across the street from the temple. Poor cop. There's not really anything else for him to do in a town like this. To see other shots of the amazing skyline from a savvy next-door neighbor, click here.