9/16/16

Back to Boise

We left Swan Valley and our friends Bill and Marei this morning and drove back to Boise. We hadn't originally planned to stop in Boise, but Mike left an expensive rain parka and a fleece jacket in the backseat of the rental car when we turned it in. After several hours of gnashing our teeth about what became of it, he remembered the rental car and gave them a call. Sure enough...they had both. As of this writing, his jackets are safely back in his possession. Also, we'll be home tomorrow. Usually we would make a two-day trip from Boise to home, but we couldn't find any open RV spots along the way. When our attempts got closer and closer to home, we decided to just grit our teeth and make a day of it. It'll be nice for Mike to have a day to recuperate before returning to work on Monday.

Backing up to our visit to Swan Valley, it was rather chilly and rainy the day we arrived. It was fairly late in the afternoon, and so we enjoyed a delicious soup that Marei had prepared. It really hit the spot, given the weather. After spending several hours gabbing, we hit the hay.

The next day, Marei and I drove into Thayne, Wyoming, to the quilt shop called "Beyond Bolts" which is located in the corner of an Ace Hardware Store! What a hoot! And it was a good one. I bought some stuff, and so did Marei. I'll tell you more about that in a separate post. 


Mike and Bill (Marei's husband) had a fly fishing float trip planned. It was all catch and release, and it was the first time Mike had been fly fishing in decades. Nevertheless, it was a successful day, and a nice return to the sport for Mike. It was only our first time meeting Bill in person, and we enjoyed him very much. A very nice guy and something of an expert at fly fishing. Mike learned a lot from Bill and their float guides on the South Fork of the Snake River. Also, they had beautiful weather for their trip. Here's Mike with a cutthroat trout he caught.


Mike explained that the fishing is catch and release, except for the rainbow trout, and anglers are encouraged to catch and take them. In fact, the rainbow trout are "chipped" in a lottery fashion. Catch a rainbow, bring in the chip, and some of them are worth up to $1,000! Wouldn't that be a nice catch? The reason for this is that the rainbow trout and the cutthroat trout are breeding into a hybrid fish. Since the only place cutthroat can be found is on the South Fork of the Snake River, Idaho fish and wildlife is invested in keeping the species pure. 

The guys were back late that night, and Marei and I went to her guild meeting. That was kind of fun. I've never been a guest at anyone else's guild...always a "visitor" considering joining. In addition to their usual show and tell, they were having a UFO reveal. A couple of the quilts caught my eye. This one, for example, had some interesting quilting in this flying geese section. 


I like that little fleur de lis in the triangular section. (I'm always interested in how people quilt their flying geese sections.) 

Also, this mini portrait of Ellen Degeneres. The quilter explained that she found a picture of Ellen online and then digitally manipulated it to bring out the color value. Then, she "forced" herself to focus only on value, and this portrait was the end result. Cute, huh? This is similar to the way I do the pet pawtraits, but I'm usually thinking about matching patterns in the fur, rather than solely on value. I like what she came up with here.


It might be fun to make a pawtrait focusing only on value and letting the colors fall where they may. Someday...if I live long enough.

The kitties have done very well this trip, and they've become the best of buddies. Sometimes we think Smitty (who is about twice Sadie's size) is playing too rough, and then we'll reprimand him. Two seconds later, she's the one chasing him around, and so I think she's pretty well able to hold her own against him. Also, Sadie took it upon herself to blaze a new trail across the top of the trailer slide


up above the cabinet over the kitchen sink


and finally scaling Mt. Microwave.


Smitty watches her every move with keen interest.


Although I brought plenty of hand-stitching this trip, I actually accomplished very little. This is about all I did. I'm thinking of adopting the "Bad Hair Days Guaranteed" as my personal motto. It would save a lot of time in the morning.


So we'll get an early start tomorrow and we have a long drive ahead, but it has been a wonderfully relaxing vacation. We've had a great time.

The next time I write will probably be Sunday or Monday, and I'll tell you all about the quilt shop. For now...see you on the other side.

9 comments:

DeeDee said...

I've loved following along on this trip. And how cool to see that Sadie and Smitty are getting along. We are now a three cat household. A couple of weeks ago the rescue where we got our two cats put a call out for some basic supplies so I swung by with my 7 year old to drop some things off. And of course we had to go into the kitten room where we adopted our first two from. And we fell head over heels for a sweet little guy who is orange and white. He's only about 5 months old and he's tiny - maybe 5 pounds. He was the runt of the litter. Our second oldest cat Henry, is huge by comparison - about 14 pounds, all black and medium hair. He's gorgeous. They two of them are best friends, never even had a slight hissing or growling match. We've had the newest cat, Snickerdoodle, for all of 2 and a half weeks and they are together constantly. It warms my heart to hear that your two are getting along. Thanks again for taking us with you on your adventure. So fun to follow along!

piecefulwendy said...

I so enjoy your posts; I learn so many things! I have never heard of fish being chipped -- how is that done? That cutthroat trout is a beauty! I can't wait to read your post on the Beyond Bolts shop -- what a clever name! Wendy at piecefulthoughts@gmail.com

CathieJ said...

This was quite an eventful trip. I hope you enjoyed it despite all the unexpected happenings. You little bit of stitching looks good. Love the cat pics.

QuiltShopGal said...

Sounds like a great time visiting with friends. Hope your final leg of your trip is smooth and you enjoy your day together, at home, before Mike has to go back to work. You also quacked me up with Mt. Microwave.

QuiltShopGal
www.quiltshopgal.com

Summer said...

Nice photos! The cats are so cute ♥

summerdaisycottage.blogspot.com

Lyndsey said...

You really have had a good haul of quilt shops to visit this trip and I love the name of this one. Great to hear Mike rediscovered fly fishing especially as he is retiring in the not too distant future. It's always good to reacquaint yourself with hobbies you used to enjoy. It's a shame we can't keep up with everything over the years but unfortunately it is impossible. Your kitties really seem to have had a good vacation together.

gpc said...

So glad you had a good time! Catching a cut throat trout is very cool! What a beautiful fish. I fly fish from time to time, terribly, and with a dismal track record. I have never caught anything so lovely.

quiltzyx said...

Congrats to Mike on his catch (and release) of the Cutthroat Trout! Sound like it would be a scary fish to me...!!
If you're ever in my neck of SoCal on the second Thursday of the month, I cordially invite you to visit my guild too - TLC Quilters. Glad you got to spend time with Marei & you two had fun. Looking forward to reading about Beyond Bolts, what a fun name!
Yay for Smitty & Sadie's Excellent Adventure on this trip too!

Brown Family said...

One of the oddest places I have found a full service quilt store in ins Ben Franklin Emporium. It was just like an old time Ben Franklin with the soda fountain and lunch counter, but has a nice quilt shop in one room. Sadie is a real dare devil. I think Smitty is looking and learning!