Vacay!

M and I took off on a much-needed vacation on August 2 and headed west.  He had been telling me to figure out where we were going to go and what we were going to do, but I didn't think we'd actually get to go.  He's always wanted to see Tom Petty in concert so one day I thought I'd go online and see if he was touring and if he'd be anywhere close to us.  As luck would have it, he was starting a new tour and was going to be in Boise, ID on August 5.  M thought that was doable and a few days later discovered that ZZ Top was going to be in Missoula on August 8.  We got tickets for both of those concerts and started planning the rest of the trip.  I was very excited to go to places I had never been before!

We didn't have a plan for the first night.  M thought it would be nice to stay in Lincoln, but as we drove through all we saw were "No Vacancy" signs.  My guess was there was a wedding or family reunion going on.  No problem, it was early, we'd head to Missoula.  I had never been to Missoula before and M had only been through once or twice so we didn't really know our way around.  We were trying to stay close to the highway we would head out to Idaho on but there was road construction and a detour and we got kind of lost.  When we finally stopped at a motel there were no rooms, and the clerk was sending people to the Days Inn in Lolo so we headed there.  We got the "last room" for $200.  Guess a person can't be spontaneous these days.

From there we headed to McCall, ID.  J had raced there, but I didn't go on that trip and M wanted to see it in the summer.  The scenery through Idaho was beautiful with mountains, trees and rivers.  We stopped in Riggins to get a sandwich and listen to the end of the NASCAR race on the radio.  Dale, Jr. won in Pocono.  What a great day!  As we were sitting in the car listening to the race we were looking across the street at a couple of rafting companies and decided a float down the river would be fun so we ran over as soon as the race was done.  The last float had left about an hour earlier, but the guy said he'd run us down the road to catch the raft since there were only two guests aboard and give us a break on the fee.  Awesome!  It was a pretty calm ride, and I felt bad for the guide who had to paddle his butt off against the wind.  It was a great day to be on the river, tho, and we enjoyed it a lot.

From there we went on to McCall and stayed at the Hotel McCall on Lake Payette.  McCall is not a very big town, but there's a lot of money there.  They have a huge ice arena in the middle of town.  We also think it's the ice cream capital of Idaho since every time we walked down the street someone was eating ice cream.  We finally had to indulge.  We had a stay-and-play package at the hotel which included 18 holes of golf at Jug Mountain Ranch.  It was beautiful but a little challenging for our golf skills.  M was in the sand traps so much he was looking for flip-flops and a Corona!  Still better than a day of work!

Our breakfast view of Lake Payette

The golf course that kicked our butts!

Our next stop was Boise.  We arrived around lunchtime, too early to check into our motel, so walked to have lunch and then walked to the campus of Boise State University.  We found a walking/bike path and followed that along the river.  There were lots of floaters on the river, and we discovered later that you can rent tubes or rafts at a park on one end and float six miles down the river to another park and there's a shuttle that will take you back.  We were disappointed that we didn't know that earlier and didn't have time to take advantage.  We also discovered that the path went right back to our motel.  We checked in, ordered a pizza, freshened up and headed to the Tom Petty concert.....which was awesome!

First up was Steve Winwood.  He had four others in his band and two of them were drummers.  I spent most of my time watching the saxophonist.  He played several different saxophones, sometimes two at a time, sang backup vocals and played keyboard and some percussion instruments from time to time.  He was amazing.

Steve Winwood band--did I mention we had awesome seats?!

M was really pumped for Tom Petty, has been a fan for years, and he did not disappoint.  It was pretty cool to hear a stadium full of people singing "Free Falling".  We really enjoyed it.  It was a beautiful night and we walked back to our motel along the river path.  At one point we were offered "a toke before bed".  A first for me, but we declined.

Tom Petty

The next day took us to Ketchum.  I found it ironic that the only day we had any rainy/cloudy weather was the day we went to Sun Valley.  What I will remember most about Ketchum is the smell.  I'd walk out of the motel and stop and breathe deeply and soak in the smell of the pine trees.  Our motel was on the edge of town across the street from a ski hill.  We walked over to ride the gondola and the man there told us that it had shut down early so they could get ready for the concert that night.  I asked what concert and he told us Chris Isaak.  There were still tickets available so I got online and bought some.  We went to a movie and then grabbed blankets to sit on and two-day old pizza to eat and went back for the concert.  I was more excited about this than M, but he had to admit that it was very entertaining and fun....and I had the best margaritas of the whole trip there!  We felt a bit out of place since there's a lot of money in that town, also, and some of the people around us had quite the elaborate meals for their picnics.  I wanted to see the Sun Valley Resort before we left but that didn't happen.

Chris Isaak

From there we made the drive back to Missoula following the Salmon River and over Lost Trail Pass.  We had planned to stop in Hamilton to see an old college friend, but she had an appointment in Missoula so we met her there instead.  I hadn't seen her in 30 years, and it was good to catch up......except that her life in the past few years has not been rosy.  She's been battling cancer, only recently in remission, and has been through a divorce and has been having problems with her son.  She's still smiling and not letting it get her down.  I hope things get better for her.

This was my first time in Missoula.  I have never had any desire to go there and am a bit biased since I lived in Bozeman and went to MSU, but I really wasn't that impressed.  The downtown area was not what I thought it would be, and there were a lot of really strange people there, young transients.  We ate at a great restaurant (recommended by several people), and enjoyed the river walk there also.

We went Jeep shopping while there.  M had seen a Jeep on Craig's List that he wanted to check out so we looked at a couple of others to compare and then test drove that one and ended up buying it.  M has been looking to upgrade ever since we got our first one, but this one seems too nice to be a cow checking rig like the old one.

That took up most of our day and then it was time for the ZZ Top concert.  I have to admit that I was not as excited for this concert.  M made a new friend while standing in line to get in.  He had a 20-acre ranch near Ronan so was very interested in our 20,000-acre farm/ranch.  He and his wife were very friendly, and it was fun to hang out with them.  We got rained on a couple of times--while in the line waiting to get in and during intermission.  First up was Jeff Beck, a rock guitarist.  I told M that I am probably the only person in the world that wanted to fall asleep while listening to Jeff Beck.  He was good, but after two songs I was over it.  ZZ Top was better, but they didn't play that long.  Maybe I was just worn out from vacationing.

Everything went well until the last morning.  I was crabby anyway and then I got charged for the room that I had already paid for.  They charged us for our breakfast the day before for which we had a coupon.  Our breakfast was slow and not very good.  Guess it was time to go home.  When I texted my sister that we had bought a Jeep she asked if we were tired of travelling together and had to buy another vehicle.  I said that wasn't the case, but it may have been good that we were in separate vehicles on the way home the way the day started out.

All in all we really had a wonderful time and got some rest and relaxation....and the boys were home harvesting peas!  Win-win!  So, after 2 states, 8 days, 1900 miles, 5 motels, and 3 concerts we're still smiling at each other :)





Simpler Times

I didn't realize how long it's been since I've blogged.  The guys have just been busy haying--swathing, baling and hauling bales.  R cut for a couple of other people and M baled for a neighbor.  R finally got sick of the swather and went to hauling bales, but I swear M would make bales forever if he could.  I've been telling him that he's not using his time wisely, doing someone else's work when he has so much of his own to do.  He said "that's what got us here", and he's right, but it may be time to concentrate on our own stuff.  He just can't seem to pass up a money-making opportunity.

That brings me to the subject of my post--Simpler Times.  I've been feeling bad for my boys lately (actually for awhile).  Times have changed so much since M and I started out.  We were still farming and ranching but on a much smaller scale.  We had to contend with the same challenges like hail storms and drought and fire, but the costs were not as great and there was less government involvement.  It just seems that now nothing is simple, and we never have enough time.

I think back to when we were first married and M and C played on a softball team with games two nights a week and tournaments in various towns on the weekends.  The relatives used to come over for Sunday dinners and horseshoes.  Now, I can count the days M has taken off for fun in the past four months on one hand--two!  And still we can't get done everything we want to or need to.

The boys seem to have inherited their dad's work gene.  That is not necessarily a bad thing, but they are young and have young families, and they miss out on so much "life" when all they do is work.  We were afraid J's baby wouldn't know him for the first month of her life because she was born during seeding (what were they thinking?).  R's girlfriend doesn't like to be alone, and R, who used to be so social, hasn't been out on a weekend in ages.  It makes me scared and sad for her.  I've been there and done that, and I want more for them.  I remember saying I didn't get married so I could spend all my time alone.  I wasn't alone once I had children, but then I felt like a single parent.  I also remember M telling me what I call the "big lie".  That farming is so great because you can take off when you want.  Except during calving, seeding, spraying, haying, harvest or fall cattle work.  That leaves January and February.  Even he admitted today when he was fearing another hail storm and the neighbor had bales on fire from lightning that we have a lot of bonuses, but we really have to work for them.  Hopefully, our boys won't have to struggle financially like we did at times, and they don't have to live in old trailer houses and run old equipment, but looking back, those times weren't all that bad, actually not bad at all. 

I wonder if it's a sign of old age that I'm feeling nostalgic.  M is feeling his age and desperate for some time off so we're leaving for week.........and no, it's not a good time to be gone.