Idaho scenes

please enjoy these random photos from a trip I took to Idaho, USA in 2008

fog--Blanchard, Idaho

scene from the road

Huff Lake, Idaho--peat bog

not solid ground!  a floating mat on the edge of Huff Lake.  It is made of sphagnum moss and sedges resting on water. More inland, the mats are thicker and are on top of deep muck soils.  Miniature islands of peat called hummocks grow around the base of trees on the thicker mats.

picnic lunch on a beautiful lake

thimbleberry--Rubus parviflorus

A young hiker introduced us to the luscious thimbleberries.  YUM!  Careful!  Bears like them, too!  Thimbleberries are larger than raspberries and taste like raspberries, but milder and sweeter and softer.  They grow in sunny patches in mixed deciduous forests. The plants are thornless with woody stems that are two to three feet tall.

pearly everlasting--Anaphalis margaritacea

Beautiful flowers abound in the higher elevations!

shoe tree--Nordman, Idaho

I wrote about this shoe tree HERE.  I asked the question, "What is one strange thing you've seen in your travels?"  There are a few links on this blog post.

Alphabe-Thursday is a favorite meme! Come and join in the fun! You will be charmed and perhaps even enlightened! See more entries HERE. This week our letter is "I." 

photos by me ©2008

exploring

"Laughter is an instant vacation!"   ~ Milton Berle

And with that quip, I will attempt to answer the most pressing questions for our etsy bloggers' carnival:  

What is the best vacation you've ever had?

answer:  the one I'm on right now, or the one I just had, or the one I'm about to take.

Of all the places in the world, where would you like to go and why?

answer:  Oh now, don't get me started!  I want to go everywhere!  Why?  I have an explorer's heart.

Let's start at the beginning.  Once, a long (long, long) time ago, I was a small child.  My parents packed up the car and took my brother and me to the sea.  Oh the sea!  to roll in the sand and play in the waves!  pure joy!  I will always love the sea.


Then I grew up and moved West (west of where I grew up, that is) to Indiana.  While on a business trip to Arizona, my husband and I went to the Grand Canyon and points farther west.  The Canyon was glorious in the  April Spring!  Snow was falling from the sky onto our winter coats and then melting part way down the canyon.  It was magical and I was hooked.  A few years later, and every summer thereafter, we packed up the car and took our kids out West.  We camped under the stars, ate sandwiches while standing knee deep in a river, hiked through verdant forests, and EXPLORED!  Oh how I love exploring!  And it's wonderful blessing to share new experiences with my husband and children.

Where will the path take me?  What's around the next bend?   What discoveries will be made?  What delights will be seen?

This is for the etsy bloggers' carnival which will be published by Handmade By Sandi on Monday, March 1.

1st photo--Idaho

2nd photo--Montana
LINKS:
hot fun in the summertime! --memories and photos of childhood at the beach
Summertime...back in the day --memories and photos of childhood summer vacations
photos © 2009

Idaho:SkyWatch Friday

LINKS to past SkyWatch posts by me:

Pagosa Springs Colorado

Glacier Skies Montana

Sunset Over Cupecoy St. Maarten, NA

For more skies, visit this blog,  and do join in!

photo by me © 2008