Mountain road trip

Last weekend we drove up into the mountains which are to the north of us. Iain and I were still recovering from a stomach virus and those windy roads were a little tough for us, but we made it and we had fun too.

The first town we came to was Horseshoe Bend. I couldn't believe the size of this stack of logs. Look how tiny I am in comparison! We had to stop and get a picture.


We drove up highway 55, which follows the lovely rushing Payette River for a long time.


The next stop was at Smith's Ferry, which was basically a few houses and a tiny store and restaurant. They had a cool old fire truck parked outside that Iain got to climb around on.




We spent some time taking in the views, throwing rocks in the river and checking out the yellow pine trees. There seems to be debate about whether they are called Tamaracks or Ponderosas.



Then we headed up the road towards McCall, stopping off in Cascade at a diner for lunch. It was so strange to be in an American country diner after living in England. I had biscuits and gravy and Brian had a burger and tater tot fries. There was not a single vegetable to be seen on the menu. Hmm.

Payette Lake in McCall is truly lovely and McCall is a nice town with a compact downtown/high street that you can walk with ease. It would only be improved if there was more of a local population. I get the sense that most of the businesses up there are serving tourists and seasonal guests.

We stopped at a public park on one end of the lake before walking around town. I enjoyed snapping tons of pics while we were up there.



Checking out the dock.


After walking around town, we drove around the lake and found a nice little spot where we could walk through the woods and get onto the beach. Iain had a blast climbing around and I had fun snapping tons of photos.

Beautiful autumn leaves.


Fun with sticks!


The mystery tree. (Upon further investigation, it seems to be a Tamarack.)



Beautiful driftwood.


Beautiful blessings.