August 2021

Beautiful flowers on our way home from work.

Betti's Garden in Anchorage has been a great source of joy while I wait for Dave to arrive. We have been meeting up together in Anchorage, staying the night then flying to Boise the following morning.

We have these purple stemmed flowers in downtown pots in McCall also.

Back in McCall we started our time off with a hike to Pearl Lake off of Warren Wagon Road.

This is the "hubcap loser" trail, meaning that the drive up the unpaved road is very rough.

The views and wildflowers are incredible and well worth it, even with the smoke and haze.

These late summer gems are one of my favorites!

Another gorgeous bouquet from Dave.

We planted even more flowers at our townhome, having two big pots by the driveway.

And one small one at our entryway.

We had a peaceful paddle up the meanders.

So exciting to have storage for our paddleboards in our garage and the new pump.  It makes going out so much more easy and doable.

We decided to try a new to us and absolutely stunning hike to Anderson Lake.

It is off the Boulder Lake trail and just up the mountainside beyond it.  This one is Boulder Lake that we pass enroute to the mountainside and Anderson Lake beyond that.  We've seen the trailhead sign to Anderson Lake for years and always said "one day" and we're so thrilled we finally hiked it.

Incredible views along the way, including to a sheepherders flock and camp.

Gorgeous Anderson Lake.

On our way back, sweeping views and in the valley below hundreds of tiny frogs.

And later some August hail!

We enjoyed Fireman's Beach on Payette Lake.

Dave set up our new hammock now that we have two.  Here I was enjoying the hammock and Dave and Sean were catching up while taking in the views.

This was a fun find, a floating sandy area in front of the marina with deck chairs.  An absolutely wonderful place for early morning coffee.  We also tried early morning coffee at the beach by the Hotel McCall (Legacy Park), Rotary Park and the campground in Ponderosa State Park.  All in order to enjoy our town and it's beauty before the tourists wake up and take over.  Great idea, Dave!

We drove to Bend, Oregon for my dear friend Stacie Murray's memorial service.  This was a walk by the Deschutes river in downtown.

The Deschutes river from Bend Park in downtown Bend.  Our favorite stop is to get a coffee at The Commons Cafe and then walk around the park taking in the view.

Love all the food truck options, especially during Covid.  This one has the best poutine!

The celebration of Stacie's life was held at a beautiful outdoor park.  This was an especially hard part of the service, saying goodbye by throwing rose petals into the Deschutes river. 

I think of Stacie with love every time I cook or bake something exciting or we think of travel.  She has the most beautiful and caring soul and every thought of her floods my heart with equal parts love and sorrow.  Two friends lost this year; unthinkably bewildering at times.

Our neighbor Lila has an especially magic green thumb!  Our flowers at the condo have never looked better.

We went paddle boarding again!  The time always passes so quickly because it's so relaxing.

Our favorite beach and lunch spot.

This summer we ate every meal outside.  Dave chose the most beautiful patio furniture and the fresh air, flowers and view made it our favorite hang out in the whole home.

Smoke cleared up a bit before we left giving us hope that the fires might be soon contained.

Morning coffee view of the lake from Legacy Park (near the Hotel McCall) and below is the wildflower walk in town on Railroad avenue.

Although it was a smoky summer, it's always an incredible joy to be in McCall for the summer months. There's so much to see and do that we absolutely love, from biking, hiking, paddle boarding, coffee at the lake or in Ponderosa State Park, Charlie's Gardens, hammocks and beach chairs at North Beach or Firemen's point and walking on the paved path to Payette River. We wait for summer in McCall all year long.