Day Hiking Around Our McCall, Idaho Cabin

Hi, Everyone! 

Yesterday, I bought a bunch of fall flowers on sale to fill our pots at the cottage. I also have forty daffodil bulbs to plant here after planting forty more at the cabin last weekend. So I have my work cut out for me outside in the gorgeous autumn air disposing of the frost bitten summer flowers and replacing them with the new cold hardy ones. 

Before I pull on my gardening gloves and head outside I wanted to share a quick post about our kids' day hikes earlier this year to a few of the small mountain lakes near our cabin. 

This is our daughter, Jessica, and her husband, Brody. 

And these are their dogs, Oliver, the enormous Labrador Retriever, and Jake, the not-so-enormous West Highland Terrier. All of our dogs are allowed on the sofas at our cabin where the lifestyle is very informal. We cover the sofas with thick blankets that are laundered after each visit, just so they can snuggle up with us on cool mountain evenings. It's one of the best parts of being at the cabin. Although, as you can see, with Oliver and Jake on a sofa together, there's actually no room for us. Anyway, Oliver and Jake are up on the sofa looking out the window with excitement because they just heard someone say the word "walk," and they know they're about to enjoy their favorite cabin pass time - going for a hike in the mountains.

The mountains around McCall are sprinkled liberally with small mountain lakes located within short drives followed by two or three hours of hiking from our cabin which sits on the edge of the Ponderosa State Park peninsula.  

Hiking is one of Jessica's and Brody's favorite things to do, too. They hike almost every weekend, whether they're in Boise or McCall. Oliver and Jake are well trained, so they're allowed off leash during their hikes.

Jake is quite a little trooper and has no trouble keeping up on his short legs. He can hike for miles without tiring. Can you spot him here among the trees and wildflowers? 

  

The wildflowers were incredibly beautiful around McCall this year after a long wet spring. 

These photos were taken on several different day hikes. This is Little Payette Lake.

No one could remember the name of this pretty little lake located next to a dirt road. I'm not sure, but I suspect these trees succumbed a long time ago to a forest fire.

This is Upper Hazard Lake.

I just noticed Oliver is peeking out from behind Jessica in this photo.

And this is the treat that Oliver and Jake have been looking forward to on their hike; cooling off and frolicking together in the lake.

Back at the cabin, after their long hike and swim, they'll be tired out and very content to nap away the rest of the afternoon. In such a small cabin, tired and contented dogs snoozing on the sofa and out from under our feet makes everyone happy.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing a few of Idaho's small mountain lakes today. And now I'm heading outside to plant my daffodil bulbs. Whatever you're plans are today, I hope it's a good one!

A Summer Forest Walk

I'm saying farewell to summer today with walk through the late summer forest in Ponderosa State Park. The park boundary is just a few short blocks from our cabin and a favorite morning destination for Tucker and me.  

Tucker is over twelve years old now and still my constant hiking companion.

He's always the leader!

Ponderosa State Park is on a peninsula that juts out into Payette Lake just outside of McCall, Idaho. I'm awed by the majesty of the park's Ponderosa Pines. According to Wikipedia, they're the second tallest pine trees after Sugar Pines.

Eventually the trail opens out onto our destination, a small cove on the Lake where Tucker has a drink and cools off, chases a few tossed sticks, and then we head back. 

What a lovely last summer walk, and a perfect farewell to the season! 

Our Oregon Coast Spring Vacation

Hello, friends! I'm back from my spring vacation with some photos to share today. 

My husband and I took a road trip to the Oregon coast last week. We love to visit the coast in the spring when it almost seems like we have the whole place to ourselves. We don't let the unpredictable spring weather slow us down and just pack clothing for whatever may come. On this trip we had some of everything, from light rain and wind, to misty fog, to sunshine. 

 We always stay in our favorite beachfront condominium where we can enjoy a warm fire or a home cooked meal while looking out at the beautiful ocean view. 

We had our own patio and grassy area, which was great for Tucker. Our hosts greeted us with a big basket of cute dog bowls, towels for wet sandy paws, and even some sheets to cover the bed in case Tucker sneaked up there when we weren't looking. 

The condo is next to Tillamook Mountain at the quiet residential south end of Seaside, and there's a cute pub, a breakfast café and even a little neighborhood market just down the street.

Here's a view of the sun setting from our little patio. Our bedroom shared this view from sliding doors, too, and we kept them open a bit at night to hear the waves breaking on the sand. Our condo complex lends out cruiser bikes to ride along this promenade into Seaside if the mood for crowds strikes. We could sometimes look all the way down the promenade and not see another soul here, though, and it really felt like we had the whole beach to ourselves! 

Tillamook Mountain is included in Ecola State Recreation Area, which is our favorite place to explore when we visit the coast. We especially love hiking through the lush green ancient forests.

Tucker has to be on a six foot leash when we walk here, but on the sandy beaches from the grass to the low tide mark, dogs under voice control are allowed off leash on all state beaches. Oregon is considered one of the dog friendliest of all states for well behaved dogs. 

 There are trees so huge here that we can't see their tops. These trees were here when Lewis and Clark hiked in these forests. Maybe they even stood here and looked up at this very same tree.

The views of the coastline from high up on the trails are stunning, and we stopped often to take photos with our iPhones.

This is a view of Cannon Beach (a charming seaside town with fabulous shopping) and Haystack Rock (a popular tourist attraction) from the Ecola State Park viewpoint. 

   It's hard to get a feeling for how huge Haystack Rock is unless you're standing next to it. 


To give you an idea of how huge it is, this photo of me with Haystack Rock in the background was taken from almost three quarters of a mile away. You can see the tiny people on the beach at its base if you look carefully. There are tide pools full of fascinating sea creatures here and hundreds of seabirds nest atop it.

Cars are allowed to be carefully driven on Oregon State beaches, too. As soon as we arrived, we drove down onto a deserted beach and introduced ten year-old Tucker to the ocean. It was his first time experiencing all the sights, sounds, and scents of the ocean.


I caught his excitement with this iPhone video. (You might want to turn down the volume a bit before clicking on the arrow.)

As you can tell from his big silly grin, he loved it!

We all had such a great time beach combing, hiking, and watching the tides come and go. 

It rained here in Boise almost the whole time we were gone on our vacation, so we came home to lots of pretty spring flowers. When the sun comes out I'll be outside with my camera again. 

Until then, I hope you have a wonderful week!

Let's party at

A Stroll Thru Life
Coastal Charm

An Autumn Walk Through the Boise Front

I love living in The North End. Our cottage, which is located within a National Historic District, is a five minute walk to the charming bustling downtown Boise shops and restaurants in one direction, and a five minute walk in the other direction to the quiet rugged foothills of the Rocky Mountains. I feel like we have the best of both urban and country living here in The North End.

I try to take Tucker for a daily hike in the foothills (called The Boise Front) where dogs are allowed off-leash on many of the trails. Come on along with us today for our autumn walk on the Owls' Roost Trail. 

 It's a beautiful golden day, and I want to try out my new iPhone camera. This is my first smart phone, and I'm loving it.

 Tucker always takes the lead on our hikes, running on ahead to investigate the trail. He never lets me out of his sight, though. He's afraid I'll get lost.

 The Owls' Roost Trail winds in and out of the trees.

 And through the meadows. 

 The trail is named for the owls that have their babies in the nearby cliffs and then teach them to fly and hunt here. 

 In the spring you can see them roosting in the trees and hear them hooting to each other.

 Tucker always stops for his mid-hike drink from this little creek. 

 Then it's back through the trees on the way home.

 This is Tucker's goofy look. I think he's saying, "Thanks! That was a blast!"

Thank you for coming along on our hike. I hope the rest of your day is wonderful!

I'm sharing the Autumn leaves with

Autumn Abounds