Home on the Range

Wow, did I get to see some Idaho I had never known was even there.  What an amazing evening at the Lish Ranch, 20 miles up canyon roads from Pocatello, Idaho and into dry farming high country .  Met people who still have the family homestead their grandfather or great grandfather started in late 1800’s.  Good friends of my nephew Karson who worked for Shawn with the guys in the photos. Karole and Ken have become friends too and Ken has worked with Sadie laying tile and working out rooms in the basement for the girls.  What an incredible family and I just wish I had taken a photo of beautiful wife and mother, Sadie.

We have been told any time we want to take the motor home out there and park and hook up-do it.  Yeah!

You ought to double click on some of the scenes so they blow up and you can feel the country.

Living clear out of Pocatello and American Falls, mountains all around and rolling farms.

Karson’s construction boss, much loved by his young builders makes everything using great old pieces.

Smoker!

Views from the farmhouse

Can’t beat Idaho clouds

Can’t you just the the laundry blowing dry!

Sadie said she wanted to keep the old house close to original.

Brother in law Ken with Russ enjoying the hospitality of the hosts.

Fell in love with Shawn and Sadie’s daughters and their young friend-all have only known country living.

Makayla helped prepare the meal and is middle school girl with pop!

Shawn’s special bar b que and I did eat meat!

My wonderful nephew Karson Honas who now has a great but difficult job that uses all his education, and smarts.

Potatoes, first bacon, and keep the grease, slice the red potatoes and pour 7 Up over and cook up over a fire. Go-o-d but fattening.

My favorite cowgirl with spurs got bucked off their horse that she and her mom were riding. Dad took him out for a workout and put mom and daughter back on. A Miss Rodeo America in the making.

Karole

Vehicles parked for the evening. Unless they were neighbors just a mile away they all stayed over except us cause Russ was designated driver.

A real country kitchen of early 1900’s

Gateway to heaven in the old west!

Shadow is now buried next to Izzy in my sister’s horse Pasture

Well, one year and two months after helping Izzy out of her pain, we did the same for Shadow.  It was the hardest decision I have made in some time.  Shadow had the largest non cancer growth anyone has seen.  But that had not been the problem.  Little sweetie that she was, she always had stomach problems and they just got worse this summer.

The year with her without Izzy was a treasure.  She really was the best dog and never made mistakes unless she was ill.  We took her everywhere with us and she was a little trooper.

If you ever have the choice, to have a wonderful vet come to your home, so that you are sitting quietly on the floor with her, petting her and telling her how much you have loved her, I recommend it.  Russ dug the grave and we buried her together.

We miss her tremendously, and the timing was strangely fortunate.  We left the next day for our vacation in the fires of Sun Valley so we were busy with family.  Now we are back at Karole’s while the RV is being fixed up, so we are with her 3 dogs.  But always there is a pain in my heart.  In fact on the day of, I called my friend Gae in Cleveland and had her help me through it, as she was the one with her husband Brian, that took us to Petaluma to get Izzy on breeder’s terms.  Thus we had pups in our kitchen through both of our Schnauzers.  What an experience!

So much love!

Photos never did the girl’s justice.  I just wasn’t good enough to get black eyes and black faces to show their personalities, but these remind me of both dogs.

The girls on their big pillows as we began the Journey of seeing America.

Shadow periodically wanted time on Russ’s lap.

Emerald Coast on the Gulf in Florida.

In Tennessee we go to Ruby Mountain and Shadow loves the smells-she is pretty blind and deaf.

Fires for the Family Reunion at Easley’s just north of Ketchum!

Boy OH Boy do I have a few stories to share.  Kassi’s 21st birthday was last Tuesday. Kay and Todd bought a new trailer, every one of my siblings and other family showed up to camp at Easley Hot Springs.  We had 4 camp sites and Karole and Kenny brought their 2 ATVs. The entertainment was Westin and Reagan-who at 2 years of age  and 6 months old were about all it took.  Scott’s other son, Nik arrived for one day, Karole’s sister in law from Boise the last day, and Karole’s friend, Teri drove from Ellensburg to meet up with us.

Yes, we knew the forest were burning and smoke would be everywhere around us, but what could we do?  When Russ and I arrived, Kay and Todd with Kassi chomping at the bit- wanted us to go into Ketchum (Sun Valley) to eat and celebrate- after all you only turn 21 once.  Todd was a good sport and matched Kassi shot for shot for for the first three, and of course Kassi’s were free.  The Pioneer Inn (please, God, let it survive) was our life long favorite for dining.  But Kassi wanted a bar bar-found 1!  We played pool and drug her back to camp  to meet up with everyone.  Russ and I were designated drivers of course.

My grandad had a cabin-back in the day- near by and we used to follow a trail to the wonderful natural hot springs pool.  It still was there with something extra, ashes!.  But we swam and exercised and played with the babies in it.  Kassi survived the birthday and went fishing with Uncle Todd and Kenny, her dad and mom.  They went way into the wilderness on an old old road that went from Sun Valley to Mackey.  You will need a map!  Kay and Todd in waders worked the river, Ken and Kassi sat on the bridge.  When Kay and Todd returned with their 4 trout, Ken and Kassi held up 20 and Kassi had caught the big one.  If you want to know what to do with real trout, call my brother in law Todd.  OMG!!!!  What a great dinner we had that night.

The Beaver Creek fire had started that 2nd day and joined the others.  

So from then on, we were in heavy smoke and ash.  Still we kept in touch with the Forest Service fire crews and they told us we could go over Galena Summit to Red Fish Lake-as they would not call for an evacuation before that evening.  Fearing we might get back to burned out homes, we still went to Red Fish and had a wonderful afternoon.  Russ and I got in a bike ride, the others a boat trip, before the smoke from the other side blew in to us- so we headed back to camp.  Huge plumes of smoke could be seen all the way to Galena Summit and we were in dark smoke into camp.  So of course we went swimming.  Met with firemen who said our campground would probably burn up in the next morning, possible the wonderful ancient pools, buildings and cabins.  We slept expecting to be routed out of bed, but they did not tell us to evacuate until 8:30 AM and we were ready to get out.  In the mean time everything else got out of hand and by the time we got to the RV water and dump in Haily my brother was standing there calling all of us to say-do not stop at Sun Valley for lunch, get the hell down here, they are closing the highway to Galena (now behind us) and evacuating Sun Valley and Ketchum and all the valley towns.

We all got out of the Valley ahead of the bumper to bumper parade behind us.  Meanwhile Scott tells us that the fire on the tops of the mountains on the West Side of Highway 75 was feared to jump the highway which would completely wipe out the towns and spread to the Mackey wilderness area and the White Clouds and so on.

Well as of this moment we have not heard that it has gotten past the highway-but it tried several times and was put out so far.  This fire was 30 miles long !!!  It was jumping from canyon to canyon and burning up multi million dollar homes and ranches.  Did you know that the people who insure Sun Valley and some of the multi million dollar homes and ranches have their own teams of fire fighters that they have sent to to try and save the big resorts, etc ?  New one on me.

Will stop this blog now and send another one soon.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Great Times with Life Long Friends in Gooding and Twin Falls

Click on photos!

Back in the 50’s and 60’s we went with my Grandad and Grandma Greenawalt to Blue Lakes Country Club. Now we are viewing it from a restaurant in Twin Falls.

Perrine Memorial Bridge over Snake River. We saw parachutes with people on them drop off and then climb canyon walls

Jackie and Larry from Gooding-I have known them most of my life.

Russ and Larry let Jackie and I explore the trail that people can now bike and walk along South Rim.

Don and Marijean Simis, close Gooding friends of my mom and dad.

Russ and I have a life of variety while we stay in Idaho.  My sister, Karole, booked us for a weekend to dog sit and weed the garden.  Then my brother called “Kristi you know how much I love you!”   “Yea, what do you want?”

Of course he needed us also to dog sit in Sun Valley.  It all worked out- we played with the two Yorkies and the labradoodle and Shadow enjoyed the space and different tasting dog food.  Then we did the weeding and dead heading and cleaned up to drive from Blackfoot to Sun Valley.  There we had a great rest in the high mountain air with our dogs and drove to Easley Hot Springs to check out where I booked everyone  for camping the week of the 12th.  We have no hook ups, but the Woodriver for Todd to fish and the pools and hot pools for us to swim and the showers at the pool.  Also we will only be 20 minutes north of Ketchum/Sun Valley.  We girls will certainly enjoy that.

Then Wednesday of that week (July 28th-Aug4th) we went down to Gooding and spent several days at our friends “ranch”.

I first met Larry in 4th or 5th grade and a few years later,  Jackie who rode the late bus to school because she lived on a farm.  She and I roomed in college and we have all been friends forever.  Laughed so hard I could not believe it.  In my life time, they have gotten me in more trouble out on the range than I can remember.   I have driven my first car up into the cow camps on roads that did not count as roads, branded and castrated cows, and went out on the winter range on horses to heard other horses back to the ranch.  On that one, the chaps did not fit me and I believe I still have scars on my hiney  from my wool slacks rubbing.  Of course I was the townie and they were Miss Rodeo Idaho and Mr. All around Cowboy. I really love these people and so does Russ.

With all of this we got to spend two evenings with my niece Kassi Mink and see her first house rental.  So cute and so country.  She loves her job in Gooding with a group of doctors.  She is so grown up!!!  I am just so proud of her.