Sunday, March 18, 2012

Survival Skills

There was a bit of a mishap on our hike. My husband sometimes likes to hike ahead of me...and of course, as we've discussed, I dawdle.

Here's where the incident begins. My husband is standing on a rock taking my picture. By the time I got down there, he was gone. Or so I thought.

So I figured I was behind, and picked up the pace. Both my husband and I are apparely quiet as mice, as he was still there, I just didn't notice him. And he didn't notice me. And in trying unsuccessfully to find him, I got about half a mile ahead of him.

After discussing with other hikers whether he had been sighted, I decided he just wasn't ahead of me. Or had been eaten by a bear he was antagonizing. Then I saw this lovely rock, and decided to turn around. Surely he had stepped off the trail and I had passed him.
After about an hour without seeing each other, we each walked around a rock outcropping and smack into each other. Phew! All was saved. Tho my husband was having a time of it trying to catch me. I'm quick like lightning. We found a sandy beach beside the river and rested a bit before resuming our return hike.
Tho apparently we won't be changing our separate-hiking habits. ;)
Yay! Our hiking party is back together again!

Hooray for (minor) survival skills!

Flutterbys

I was guilty of dawdling again. As I am wont to do when wandering around out with my camera.  
This fellow sat still for me for quite a while!

Given his stasis, I wish he had had brighter colors!

Tho that red on the inside it nice.

This bright one, not as friendly.

Hiking in the Sun

During our McCall Saturday, my husband and I went off exploring and hiking while the rest of our party went skiing. We would have had to rent gear to go cross-country skiing, and it just seemed like a lot of work. So we worked on getting that shiny truck dirty.

BEARS! At first I thought the sign said "DON'T antagonize bears." Like someone would need to be told that. That's just natural selection there.

My husband hits the trail! We only drove like 25 miles from McCall, which had a couple feet of snow, and BLAM! dang-near 70 degrees and sunburny!

Such glorious scenery!

Its hard to think about stupid stuff when you can't hear anything in your head but the river flowing.

We ended up hiking for about 3 hours. So steep!

On our way out, these deers were playing chicken with the truck. Luckily this time they won.

Cats and Dogs, Living in McCall

Plus Brew came too! And he brought his giant noggin!

Are you going to pet me?

If no, then go away. You bore me.

Zebra, less demanding. With his wonky eyes, he appeared to be staring at me from wherever I was in the room.

You know how every time we drive up Warren Wagon back into town, and we pass that one house, and my husband always says "remember when we saw that bobcat tied to that big rope that one time we drove by here?" And you know how I'm not very trusting and I never believe him? Uhhh....GIANT GATO!
GIIIIIIIIAAAAAANT GAAAATOOOOOO! Doesn't he just look like he wants a big hug? I love his giant kitty paws.

McCall Cabin Redux!

You know my rules. When graciously extended the offer of a lakefront cabin in McCall, the answer is...yes!

The glow off the snow made it hard to shoot, but that's the (snow-covered) lake out those (many) windows!)

Winos? Well, sorta. Saturday blind wine tasting: pinot noirs. :)

And dominos!!

I love me some bones.

You can see the lake beginning to be compromised in its squishy center.

At night it almost looked like water!

SUCH a fun weekend getaway!

FIVE years on IPTV!

Well, you know what bunches of brightly colored, helium-filled balloons means...my adoring fans couldn't last another year without
 me, so off to my annual volunteer stint at public television!
Can you believe its been 5 years? Yeeps! Back in the day they used to offer a significant catering spread. Since the global meltdown, the offering has...uh...been reduced quite a bit.  
Of course I was there with my IPTV buddy! And they went all high-techy on us! Computer monitors! Headsets! Keyboards! Thankfully they still kept us in diet soda.
Here's me lookin' kinda crazy.

Team Bubbly! :)

eThat's us, dead center! See ya next year!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Speaking of the Chicken Ranch...

We have lights in the master bedroom, people!

Cell Phones Are Amazing


My new fave pic of the Chicken Ranch.


View from the Bridge

And then...
We got in NewTruck...
Crossed one last last bridge...
Bid the city adieu...



And headed east!

One Last Stop Before Heading Home!


We had one last stop before we took off east. A trip to the heart of stumptown! There was a lot of chaos, including construction delays...WHAT!?!...
...Residences starting from the $500,000. Spacious too, I'm guessing.
...Dogs just allowed to drive trucks like they own the place.
Hi Kelly's Gallery! (Froelick) (Behind Augen).
...Minor remnants of the 24-Hour Church of Elvis. Dad was allowed to shop once, in exchange for giving the proprietor a ride to law school.
And lastly, our destination! The U.S. Outdoor Store!