Idaho...The Wild Frontier

My parents have been spending their summers in Riggins, ID for the past five years and we finally made it up there to see what all of the hype was about. Well folks, the frontier doesn't get much wilder than Riggins-population 420. Mom and Dad actually reside just outside of Riggins in an even smaller town.

We loved being there with no cellphone service, rapid rivers all around, plenty of wildlife up close and personal (human and non-human), family from all over the country, this list can go on for days, but I'll let the pictures do the talking typing.

The kids LOVED the plane rides.

Here it is, folks!

Kings and queens of the mountain...

Drivin' up that thar mountain in the back of a pick-up truck.

Behold the majestic view.

Okay, a little story here.

Morel mushrooms are a delicacy that can be found in the mountains all around Riggins.

We went on a morel hunt, had no luck and gave up. We were almost back to our truck when Mom tripped over one! Then we started looking closer and realized we were right in the middle of about 20 of them!! We picked every mushroom we could find. I got so excited, I picked two hands full and then realized that I should let the kids have the joy of picking some. I know, so selfish of me. I was caught up in the thrill of the hunt!! While we were searching, no one was listening to little Afton exclaiming that she found her own baby mushroom. When we finally paid attention to her, we saw that she had found and picked one just her size! It was a classic moment that will be one of those stories we tell for years to come. Luckily, I was able to capture it with Josh's phone camera. Mom cooked them up for breakfast with scrambled eggs and sausage. I don't normally like mushrooms, but these were sooooo good. They tasted smokey and buttery. Mmmmm!!

We saw lots of "deerer" as Afton would say.

Ian and Paw-paw playing dump truck and excavator.

A beautiful mountain meadow...

Free ski lift rides!

The picturesque little resort town of McCall. We LOVED this place.

You could play on the beach with the snow capped mountains in the background.

Mom sold her jam and birds at the McCall farmers market.

The boys learned about bartering.

They traded Mom's jam with other vendors at the market.

A rainbow halo around the sun!

After the first two weeks, more family came and the Holloway Hodown was in full force!

Mom got these t-shirts for all of us, even those who couldn't make it:(

These were all of the cousins in attendance. What a crazy crew! They had so much fun together, and the adults had fun watching.

4th of July celebration on the lake!

It was truly spectacular.

Check out those hot babes!

My Mommy and Daddy! (MISS YOU!)

Playing on the beach before sundown.

Aunt Chani warming up poor soaking wet Ian.

He couldn't resist the water and his parents were ill prepared.

The silhouettes of the "big kids" Ayden, Jack and Grace.

I think that memory will stick with them forever.

Travis driving on an old scary bridge over the Main Salmon River.

Luke holding a gigantic dandelion.

The kids LOVED those.

Mr. Taryn, the Sasquatch hunter.

His prey!

Devon and Travis jamming out in our cabin.

A replica of the mammoth bones found about 1 hour north of Riggins.

It was so cool to imagine these guys tromping around in the plains.

Cool tee pee with deer horns on the seam.

It a had a cool fort inside.

Stacy gives this trip two thumbs up (with her super cool "Mach 1" vintage glasses from Grammy that she had to fight her eldest son for and finally won. But her youngest child has already broken them. Sheesh.)

Those three weeks were so much fun. We loved every minute! I love my family so much.

I cried like a baby when we had to leave. It's really hard being so far from everyone.

We have been home for a month now and finally feel "normal" which will be short lived b/c school starts NEXT WEEK!

Wanna see more? go HERE and HERE for Mom's perspective.

And you're welcome for the 30 minutes of quality internet browsing!