July is always our favorite month in McCall: the most colorful, radiant and fun! We try to pack in as much as we possibly can, which the long days help with.
The locals fireworks show put on by the owners of the Shore Lodge.
Two of our orchids blossomed again this July, with our third flowering in November.
Wildflowers on the very vertical and unmarked trail up to Lake Rock Lake.
This was only our second time to this lake and first time in the spring. We flew the drone for more photos of the surroundings.
Glacier Lilly on the hike.
Dave hiking on this storybook trail.
Wild Rose blossom on our hike to Goose Creek Falls from Last Chance Campground.
View from the bridge at Goose Creek Falls.
Selfie at Goose Creek Falls.
Dave bought the most colorful flowers for us this summer!
Clustered Bellflower in McCall.
View from Buck Lake Trailhead area past New Meadows.
We never located the trailhead to Buck Lake, but did hike around and get this fabulous view.
My vegan 11 layer dip in a crockpot was a hit at the Super Bowl Party in the winter, so I made it again for a friend get-together at Delta's house.
The incredible views on the hike up to Snowslide Lake help ease the intense vertical nature of it.
Shooting Stars at Snowslide Lake. We flew the drone here too for better pics and videos of the area.
We began land shopping in July by looking at Lot 6 in the Moon View Estates.
We rode our bikes out to see it because it's right off the rail trail. We ended up buying it in September because we fell in love with the 360 degree views and were impressed by the water rights, power, septic, phone line and driveway that come with the land. And of course the proximity to town.
Relaxing at the Lake Fork Mercantile midway on our bike ride, still smiling at the views from Lot 6.
Indian Paintbrush & Phlox on our hike to Cloochman Saddle and Squaw Point.
Incredible views the whole way! We planned to take Tibor here in late October because he loves similar expansive views, but got a huge snowstorm when they arrived, so we had to change our hikes around. Next time though!
A selfie with Josephine Lake.
Up at Squaw Point, the grand views stretch to a pond and Josephine Lake in the background. Roger hiked to Josephine Lake this September from a different trail.
Dave and the view.
Another unnamed lake seen from Squaw Point.
Phlox along the trail.
One morning walk around the campground in Ponderosa State Park, this guy posed for a few photos.
We helped our friends Sean (in this pic), Frazier and Emily on July 4th at their Cafe 634. Dave and Sean poured draft beer, Frazier cooked & plated, Emily delivered food and I ran the cash register. It was fun and they had live music outside!
After the Cafe closed, we walked down to the lake for the July 4th fireworks.
They were spectacular!
The Bear Grass blossomed right on schedule!
I hiked up a ways on Twentymile trail with Delta and her Mom-in-Law.
These were all over on both sides of the trail!
They are about waist high, so they're quite a sight to walk past.
The old pet food store was bought by a clothing seller who had the side painted beautifully!
July is also perfect water levels for paddle boarding on the meanders north of Payette Lake.
We went out a couple times during the dinner hours and had the whole place to ourselves!
A great place to nap after peanut butter & berry sandwiches.
We visited Charlie's Gardens often this summer also.
I love the huge poppies!
And never tire of seeing what's in blossom and what's changed in a week or so.
We saw a trail across the road from the Garden last year and hiked along it for a while. On this visit we hiked to the end of the trail and found this gorgeous, huge pond there!
Homemade vegan ramen with sambal oelek.
Beautiful evening hike along the lake.
Dave's Birthday was a fun day of two adventures. First was a morning paddle.
And cake with coffee.
Followed by a hike on the Victor Creek Trail to Diamond Ridge Pass. Lots of wildflowers!
Phlox along the trail.
A magenta Indian Paintbrush (I've only ever seen red ones before).
Incredible views on the ridge.
The Birthday guy and view.
This trail was also like one in a storybook!
I went up to work, but Dave got to visit with Adam and Julie in Boise before driving to McCall.
And got to mountain-bike with our friend Jenny.
And had our friend Tonya from Atlanta visit along with Allen. I was thrilled that he got to see friends and loved getting these pics.
When I got home, we hiked up to Brush Lake with Tonya, Allen and Allen's brother Bo from Boise. It was a scenic hike, even though the last part to the trail is cross country not on a trail and takes a bit to find.
Begonias loving the sunshine. They're in one of two planters that Dave built alongside our driveway.
Flowers in the other planter. It was a great year with the natural deer deterrent spray.
Another sunset walk along the lake.
A hot, vertical but beautiful hike up to Box Lake off of Warren Wagon road.
Incredible variety of wildflowers along the trail.
Our herb garden with pink Petunias.
Huckleberry season started in late July.
Another gorgeous flower bouquet. This one was for the condo for our guests.
The Lily Marsh hike in Ponderosa State Park.
Cafe 634 hosted another live band on July 27th, and we gladly helped our friends again.
Another gorgeous day for a paddle.
Such a treat, every single time, and it's very relaxing too!
Lupines along the hiking trail to Rapid & Vics Lakes.
Dave and Lupines. This hike is past Boulder Lake.
Photo at Vic's Lake. We flew our drone here too to see over the ridges.
Ferns along the hike, near Boulder Lake. And below a dinner of baked cauliflower, potato pancakes and avocado toast.
July is always the best part of summer, offering perfect weather and clear skies, long days in which to do a lot outdoors and tons of wildflowers. We certainly made the most of it this year, and I was blessed to have three weeks of it off (same with June & August). Love you!
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