Fall Catch-Up

Let's see...this fall Sarah...

~o~ Attended the Boise State - Oregon State game and then watched it twice on ABC.



~o~ Put her Wrangler on the market.



~o~ Stayed home while Rick went moose hunting in Alberta, CA, and had a great time...fishing.





~o~ Attended the Financial Planning Association Residency Program in Lake Arrowhead, CA.



~o~ Neglected her Jade tree long enough that weird fungus started growing in it.



~o~ Stayed home while Rick went to Japan. What a place!









~o~ Flew to Kansas for a whirlwind trip that included another Oklahoma State football game,





...a trip to Lake of the Ozarks (Sarah's first in about 10 years, and Rick's first ever.)







...a few days to enjoy the gorgeous fall color in Ark City,



...and a 20-hour road trip to get her new Jeep back to Boise.



~o~ Stayed home while Rick hunted White Tail in northern Idaho.



~o~ Met her sisters in Kansas for Ed & Karen's 15th annual family Christmas party.





~o~ And finished out the fall season in Boise with a little Holiday spirit.

Party in Reno!

Last weekend I went to Reno for a combo SWE (Society of Women Engineers) conference and visit with my sister, Linda, and her family. The conference was good, actually kind of fun. The party at Linda's was fantastic.

First of all, we played golf on Friday afternoon. This was the first time playing with my nephew Sean, ever, and my first time playing with my other nephew, Brian, since I was about 8 or 9 years old. What a blast!



That night, we had some fun with Halloween costumes.



Saturday morning, I had to get up early for the conference. Linda actually delivered breakfast to my room!!!



Saturday night, I tagged along to a dinner party with a bunch of commercial airline pilots. No photos to post though.

Sunday, the sports marathon continued when the whole family came over for a BBQ. We played badminton and ping pong. And we got a great group photo.



I got to see both of my GREAT nephews, Gavin and Ty.





And I got to spend a little extra time with Sean.



A fantastic weekend went way too fast.

Labor Day Weekend in Kansas

I spent Labor Day weekend in Kansas visiting family. It was quite a whirlwind trip.

Saturday we went to the OSU football game and watched them crush what was referred to as a "nobody" team. Washington State is not a "nobody" where I live! But it was fun to see the Cowboys win!





Then on Sunday, my mom and I drove to Topeka for the day to celebrate my Grandma's birthday. My uncle Jim made the best biscuits and gravy I have ever tasted - no kidding. We had four desserts to choose from! Then we went to my aunt Anne's new house, and I finally got to meet Camelot.



Three generations.



Of course, I spent time playing with Susie too.

Home of the Maniacs

Rick and I spent a weekend in Orofono, ID, back in August. Orofino is in Northern Idaho and very close to the location where Rick will hunt White Tail this fall. The other thing about Orofino is it's the home of the Maniacs. Seriously, the Maniacs is the high school mascot - at least it used to be. I heard they changed it a few years ago. At any rate, we were able to get T-shirts at the flower shop, of all places.

We stayed at the Best Western on the Clearwater River in the "Whiskey" suite. A great relaxing weekend for me, and great deer scouting for Rick.

Here is the view from our room.



In some ways, Northern Idaho reminds me of home.





In other ways, not so much.

Merriam Lake

Rick and I did a 2-night backpack trip into Merriam Lake in the Lost River Range, which contains the highest peak in Idaho - Mt. Borah - at 12,668 ft. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borah_Peak

I climbed Borah back in 2003. Grueling. I won't do that again. This is me at the top. What I like to brag about is the fact that I still have those very same pants and boots. They have survived nearly 10 years in Idaho, including crawling across Chickenout Ridge on my way up Borah. I still have the jacket and daypack too.



But that's another story. Back to Merriam...

The drive is quite long, and very rough in the end, from Boise. The hike is about 2 miles and fairly steep - about 1400 ft elevation gain. It is well worth it.

Here is a view of the range from our drive in Friday afternoon.



We woke up to a pretty sunrise on Saturday morning.



Then I did a bit of yoga.



We knew there was a no-name lake nearby, so we set off cross-country to find it.



We found the lake nestled in the barren peaks. Can you find Rick in this photo?



Then, we took some fun photos...



...and built an Inukshuk!





We made it back down to camp just in time to hide in our tent from a pea-size hail storm that made the ground white. When the rain stopped, Rick snapped this unreal shot of the lake.



We went for a walk along the lake after dinner. Here's a look back at our campsite, most easily identified by the red food bag and the yellow flames from our campfire.



The reflections on the lake at dusk were quite amazing.



Merriam Lake is, without a doubt, the most beautiful place I have seen in Idaho - one of the most beautiful places I've seen in the world.