Summer Fun....

 After blackberry pancakes yesterday - blackberry peach crisp today, more backyard delights.

 Ready for dessert.

 Blackberry-peach crisp with vanilla ice cream

 Daddy-Daughter Story Time

 Costumes & dramatic play are common in this house.

 Fried eggs on toast

 Grayson, er - I mean Iron Man!

 BINGO!

 Such a happy baby girl!

Good times at the Salzman home....  Hope you're enjoying summer as well!

Backyard Blackberry Bounty

Above, Greta sports her very first pony tails!  And while she enjoys perusing a book before breakfast, her big brothers were outside, bright & early, picking blackberries in our backyard.

 Below, my trusty blackberry-picking staff return with their bounty.

 Clean & rinse....

 Mix up pancake batter...drop blackberries onto pancakes...

 Voila!  Fresh, homemade, blackberry pancakes!

 This breakfast was a hit!  A delicious, messy, happy HIT!

 Happy tummies, happy smiles all around!

Final Day of Mini-Vacation in the Sawtooths

Another (better) version of this picture from our day hike.

 After another great breakfast at Smiley Creek Lodge, we checked out and drove back toward Redfish Lake for some beach time.  We made one quick stop at the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery on our way, before heading to the lake.  How amazing are Salmon?!  Wow.

 After a little walk along the beach, we went back to the Jeep and suited up for some swimming and snorkeling.  We took some snacks and drinks, along with our snorkeling gear, down to a quiet little beach.  These photos were taken when we first arrived, before we got ready to swim.  When we returned, there were white caps and some chilly winds blowing, so we took our time getting in the cold water...but eventually we ventured in and took a little dip in that crystal clear -- seriously! -- super clean and refreshing water.  

Such an absolutely beautiful place!

 Can't say it enough - I love it here!

 Another lovely day!  We enjoyed several hours at Redfish Lake, soaking up the sunshine and fresh air, along with the remaining quiet time of our little getaway for two.  Mid-afternoon we wrapped up our trip by making some final purchases in the gift shop for the kids, Mom & Dad, and even found a nice hat for Gary and a pretty t-shirt on sale for me.  Little reminders of this rejuvenating trip together.

These photos and memories will provide my "happy place" during the non-vacation days and dreary winter  months ahead, and I'll look forward to the next time we can get back to this incredibly beautiful place....  

On a side note, the end of July will mark the 18th anniversary from when I moved out here to Idaho from my (also lovely) home state of Minnesota.  It's hard to believe it's been 18 years -- I sure do love Idaho and am so grateful God led me here to this amazing & adventurous place.

Relaxing Evening after Day Hike in the Sawtooths

 Maybe it's because we've both hit our 40's now, but after our 10 mile hike, we weren't as eager to go snorkeling, swimming, and kayaking as we imagined we might be.  So instead, we cooled our feet in the clear water of Redfish Lake, relaxed and enjoyed the view of the Sawtooth Mountains, and leisurely perused the gift shop outside the Lodge, looking for thank you gifts for Mom & Dad and also some little souvenirs for the kiddos.

Then we drove into Stanley and returned to our favorite, Sawtooth Luce's for some dinner.  We found a fine, furry friend on the patio.  This golden retriever was so sweet - Codgy is his name, and he belongs to our server, Abby.  Such a big friendly dog with such a puny little stuffed toy.  ☺  We enjoyed his company.

 We split a small pizza - pesto sauce, artichoke hearts, red onions, mushrooms, and Italian sausage.  Delicious!

 After dinner, we did a little bit of exploring along the river and saw some pretty wildflowers and more of the amazing scenery so abundant in this area.

Before driving back to our tepee, we stopped and treated ourselves to some dessert - huckleberry ice cream cones ~ yum!  A tasty way to wrap up a very full and extraordinary day in the mountains.  ♥

Day Hike to Hell Roaring Lake

The local tip we got from the guys working at Smiley Creek Lodge didn't disappoint.  We set out here at the trailhead for a five mile hike into Hell Roaring Lake.

 

The steepest parts of the trail were right at the start and toward the end of the trail, just before reaching the lake.  And these steeper climbs were nothing as strenuous as the hike we pursued a couple years ago.  This was a relatively level hike, a very gradual climb. 

 Shortly into the hike, the weather was already heating up and a quick head dunk in the river was too tempting to resist.

 This felt so refreshing...it was a hot day.

 We stopped about half way in for a light lunch/snack of summer sausage, cheese & crackers, apples, granola bars, and plenty of water.

 These maps show our route.

 We made it!  A fellow hiker took this photo for us.

 A little celebratory "hikers' champagne!"  Refreshing.

Gary waving from a rock in the water.

That's me, looking up at the "Finger of Fate."

 What a beautiful place and a gorgeous day!

Tried to brighten up our shadowed faces, but now we look a little orange.  Don't worry; we did wear sunscreen.  ☺

 We serendipitously stumbled upon this little pond just off the trail.  It had a lot of frogs and tadpoles in it, which made us miss Gordy and Grayson.  They would love it here!

Frog, calmly floating in the pond.

Almost back to the Jeep.  We were tired and ready for some refreshments.

We enjoyed cold iced tea and chilled blueberries from our cooler when we reached the Jeep. 

This is what my pedometer showed when we returned from our hike.

What a great day and a rewarding hike!