A Week in Autumn

Autumn is my favorite season and this past week it was made even better because my dad came out to visit us from North Carolina. Before he flew out I realized that we have not spent any time together in the fall months since 2002. He has always come to visit in the Summer and we always have visited him in the Spring or Christmastime. We made the most of our short time together, enjoying beautiful scenery, the crisp fall air and the changing colors. We drove and hiked through mountains and canyons, forests and rolling prairie. We indulged in mochas, chai tea and hot chocolate, homemade apple- craisin bread and pumpkin spice cake, and of course fall- hued M&Ms. In the evenings we retreated to warm blankets on the couch and watched most of season 3 of The Walking Dead. It was nice to just have a break from our daily routine. All in all it was a wonderful week celebrating family and the beauty of autumn and we all wished Roland could be a part of it. Here are some pictures of our good times:

 Our first glimpse of snow on the distant mountains

 

My dad taking a stroll at the beach on our way to Riggins

 

 Hiking the Rapid River trail

 

 Matt enjoying some fall colors

 

 My dad hiking through some gorgeous canyon scenery

 

 Whew! We made it to the bridge.

 

All three of us on our last day together

 

Lookout Butte

Yesterday was yet another hot one here in Kamiah so we decided to drive out in the woods and up over 4,000 feet in elevation to Lookout Butte. It is a 60- foot high fire lookout tower, originally built in 1923, while the current one was built in 1962. You can actually rent the "cabin" on top of the tower and spend the night there. I think that would be quite the fun and unique experience, but you really have to make sure you have what you need and hunker down when it gets dark because I wouldn't want to walk down those 60 feet of steep stairs at night (not quite sure what to do when you have to use the outhouse...).

It was a mini adventure for us to find this lookout tower. We have some sort of annoying issue with forest roads- whenever there is a choice to make, we somehow always choose the wrong one. The regular wood signs directing people to the tower were down for some reason. In their place were paper plates with "lookout tower" written in PENCIL! They could not even take the time to scrounge up a Sharpie. One paper plate sign was actually just laying on the ground with a rock on top of it. We never even saw these "signs" until we had already exhausted all other road options and had finally decided to try the correct route on our own. Seriously, whoever was in charge of putting up temporary signs to the lookout should receive some sort of disciplinary action because he did a very poor job and we ended up wasting a lot of time and gas.

The scenery and cooler weather were very nice, but the most exciting part of the day was our wildlife sightings. Even though Idaho is full of wildlife, we see disappointingly few animals besides deer. In places like Denali or Yellowstone, there are wide open spaces perfect for viewing wildlife, but in a heavily forested place like where we live you can pretty much only see animals when they run across the road right in front of your car. Yesterday, as we were driving near the top of the mountain we saw a black bear! This is the first black bear we have seen in the Kamiah area (and we have lived here 4 years).  Then, on the way back down the mountain we saw a bobcat! This is only the second bobcat I've seen in my life (the first one was surprisingly in a Florida state park when I was a kid). It was pretty amazing to see both a black bear and a bobcat in the same day. We unfortunately don't have any pictures of them because we only saw each of them for a few seconds as they darted in front of us. We just have to keep the memory of them etched in our minds.

Here are the pictures we do have from the trip:

 bear paw prints in dried mud (we at least have evidence there are bears in the area, since we don't have a picture of the actual bear we saw)

 

 Two snakes hanging out together

 

 the steep stairs going up to the cabin at the top

 

 the view from the top of the tower

 

 It took us so long to find it that we saw the beginning of sunset from the top of the tower.

 

Lookout Butte Fire Tower

Surviving Summer....without melting

We have not been getting out and exploring as much as I wanted this summer. Every year I have such grand plans of all the things we are going to see and do, but then life somehow always gets in the way. One of the biggest problems this year is the weather. It has been between 95 and 100 degrees ALL SUMMER- and we are NOT heat- loving people. In fact, all of the places we have lived since becoming adults (Alaska; Vermont; McCall, ID) we have chosen for their cool weather. However, life has somehow managed to get us to live in one of the hottest areas in Idaho. The Clearwater River Valley is so hot it is known as Idaho's Banana Belt. Our humidity is low, which makes the heat more comfortable I guess, but it also makes us research forest fire activity before we go anywhere. This even hotter- than- usual summer forces us to only go to places several thousand feet higher in elevation (which is a long drive) or to go out during the last hour before it gets completely dark in order to enjoy more bearable temperatures.

Another situation getting in the way of my outdoor plans is the fact that Matt was been working an awful lot and he actually wants to rest some on his days off (weird, huh?). One of his fellow officers received a powerful punch to the face while working, causing several broken bones in the jaw area. Of course this officer will not be working again for a while. Matt works for a very small police department so whenever one officer is not working, it makes things busier for everybody else. Also, on our weekends chores keep popping up, including fixing our Jeep's window regulator and our slow progression of putting the nursery together.

We do manage to get out once in a while:

Our little polar bear trying to stay cool

 

 

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Psalm 19:1



Mountains, Helicopters & Ground Squirrels

I probably will not have many adoption updates to share for a while since we are just waiting on the next U.S. Embassy orphan investigation. Instead, I will share with you some pictures from our weekend outings over the past month. (Click on the pictures to make them bigger).

   One of our favorite places- only 15 minutes from our house                     

 

 

 a storm looming over our tiny town

 

My little family :)

 

One evening we saw two helicopters carrying what looks to be water buckets. They must have been coming back from a nearby forest fire.

 

 

 a view from Lolo Pass- the border between Idaho & Montana

 

 

 

The Lolo Pass area was a popular spot for the ground squirrels.

 

 

 

                                    

 

 

 

 

 

Heart of the Monster

I mentioned earlier that we have decided to keep things simple and cheap this summer and not do any overnight travelling. This past month I have been intentionally trying to be more aware of the beauty right around me (which really isn't that hard considering where we live). I have spent a lot of time walking the dogs at a park only 5 minutes from my house, called Heart of the Monster. For those of you who don't live in the area, it is nothing creepy like the name may suggest. It is a national historical park that is the legendary birthplace of the Nez Perce Tribe. It is a very pleasant place to walk around just outside of town and it is a good spot for bird- watching and sometimes you can even spot an otter. If you are ever driving across the state on US-12, it is worth a stop to stretch your legs and maybe have a picnic. Below is a summary of what my June looked like:

On a different note, you may have noticed I have added a store on the top of my blog through amazon.com. I have hand- picked all sorts of products, such as adoption and parenting books, children's books and activities, and cooking and baking accessories. I hope you take a few minutes to browse; there's something for everybody. A percentage of every purchase will go toward our adoption expenses. Make sure to check back often as I will be routinely adding new products. Also, if you already have something in mind you want to buy from amazon.com, you can do so by clicking on one of their ads on my blog and I will receive a percentage of that purchase as well. These are just a couple of easy ways to make the most of your online shopping. Thanks!