Fall/Winter/Spring in Idaho & Reno

 A few other things we got up to besides construction:

Incredibly colorful trees in the Trader Joe's parking lot in Boise on my way back from Alaska November 5.

My friend Grace drove up from Boise for the day November 8th and we hiked by Upper Payette Lake.

At the end of the interpretive trail with Grace.

Beautiful walk by the lake.

Headed back up to work November 17, we took some time to enjoy the river greenbelt with Dave.

Dave posing by the artwork alongside the Boise River in downtown.

Back from work in Alaska on December 3rd, I was surprised to see blossoms at the Boise Rose Garden.

I cooked a lot of favorite and new recipes for the holidays, but shepherds pie is always photogenic!

We made it to the McCall Christmas Tree lighting ceremony.

I put up some Christmas decorations in front of our condo.

There were a lot of beautiful pink sunsets in the fall. This photo has our new library.

A walk down to see the Payette River in town.

We went to our favorite spots in Riggins, Idaho on December 14. This Texas Longhorn is always on our list of sights to see.

Riggins is at a much lower elevation at 1,821 (McCall is at 5,013 feet), so it's always a milder temperature and they have flowers much sooner than we do in McCall.

Enjoying the white sands on the Salmon River.

On my way home from work on December 30th, I had the pleasure of meeting up with our friend Susie Lyons from Antarctica in the Anchorage airport. Always so great to catch up.

A walk on the paved city trail while Dave ran on January 2nd.

A dreamy winter-scape at the lake.

Another walk on the trail with Dave on January 8th.

Brian came to visit and we took him to the Shore Lodge for the views.

The view from Shore Lodge.

Sunset view from the Shore Lodge. Brian liked it a lot.

I was delayed leaving work for 4 very long days due to a storm but made it to Reno January 31st.

Just in time to celebrate Mom's Birthday on 2/1.

I was so happy to see them and so happy I finally made it.

It was a very short trip because I got so delayed at work, but we had heaps of fun. We went out to eat, went for lots of scenic walks and watched movies. Photo above is Dad recycling all of his word search puzzles which is quite a stack!

A walk by the marsh with Dad.

Mom's 76th Birthday.

So awesome to be there with her for the celebration. 

Happy to be with family!

The photo is from the plane and has Mom and Dad's home in it which I marked (middle left of the pic).

Back in McCall, winter was still hanging on.

The ice had melted over the lake but there was still snow in downtown.

One of my favorite snow sculptures is always at Stacey Cakes.

This year's snow sculpture theme was Sharlie the mythical Payette Lake dragon.

Back in McCall February 3rd, we went to see the snow sculptures from Winter Carnival.

This elaborate Sharlie was at the Broken Horn Brewery.

And on February 4th, we sat by river at Heinrich to enjoy the views and sunshine.

Winter sits at Heinrich started for us during Covid with our friends. It's where we gathered regularly and sat and caught up while having a beautiful outdoor view.

The view from Rotary Park.

We went skiing/snowboarding on February 5th. The snow was late to come this year, even at the ski resorts. 

February 5th at Brundage.

We went skiing again on February 6th also.

My Birthday had everything, a Mardi Gras Parade, friends and fireworks.

Julie and Adam came up from Boise and stayed with us for the weekend.

Winter Carnival Fireworks on the Lake.

A beautiful walk by the lake.

February 25th.

Sunny afternoon walk.

An awesome treat to join Emily Hart and her Mom at the womens' show at Alpine Playhouse.

On March 3rd we took an overnight trip to Caldwell Idaho to check out the downtown.

We were glad for the sunshine and time away from snow. The cute clocktower.

Our main reason for the visit was a dinner reservation at Amano's, one of Idaho's James Beard award winning restaurants. We stayed in a hotel nearby and got dressed up for the occasion. This was our 3rd James Beard restaurant (The Girl and the Goat and Cafe Spiaggia in Chicago).

Cocktails at the bar before being seated. So delicious! And they had the best ceviche I've eaten in the US.

Caldwell train station.

The Indian Creek runs through downtown Caldwell and is a tributary to the Boise River.

Back in McCall, winter was full swing at the top of Brundage Ski Resort. March 5th.

Another day of skiing March 6th.

A selfie at the top.

My last day before heading up to work for my March shift, we went to the Hotel McCall for appetizers and margaritas.