Attempt #2 = Success

Ok, this time S, Z and I did it the right way. First thing Monday Sarah went and got a wood chopping permit. Then, Saturday morning we woke up early, got our stuff together and headed out to the same spot we did the weekend before. This are proved to be very successful, because we had about 4 trees down in a little over an hour. Chopped and loaded. We ate a little lunch and then back to work. Zach fell another 3 trees in actually one sitting. It was pretty rad! Nice work team. We weren't without injury though, Sarah managed to smash her fingers a couple times, luckily nothing to bad.

After all of the falling, chopping and stacking was complete we headed home. I was so hoping that ranger would pull us over, just so we could show him we were legal, but to my disappointment we weren't. When we got home Zach had to hurry and pack for his upcoming hunting trip the next day, but he made sure to split the wood in record time. I unloaded the trailer, Zach split and Sarah stacked. This system proved to be very successful, because we were done with about 2 cords of wood in about an hour. Zach rocked it. He reminded me of mighty mouse. It was like he wasn't even fazed by the heavy hitting he was doing with that axe.

For the price of two loads and two trips we got one, but hey... I think it was worth every minute of it. Love ya guys!

Day in the life of Zach Latham and the Hadley Stewart House

Yesterday I spent the morning with Zach (my brother-in-law). He is a hydrologist here in Idaho and he was doing some field work out at Sun Valley Ranch, so he invited me along. I took him up on his offer and off we went. Of course, we brought the doggies along. I gotta tell you it was like dog heaven. Creeks everywhere, ponds, tall grass, little rodents running around. They were lovin' every minute of it. The morning was spent testing underground water levels. There were about 40 white tubes placed in the ground around this property and Zach new where each one was. Although we did spend some time looking for one that was buried under some tall grass. This is a fairly large piece of land. I think he said it was about 3 square miles. Zach was the best tour guide, he knew about everything. We saw many many hawks, a bald eagle, herons, and some ducks. We even saw some duck decoys. Sally thought they were real. She swam out to them grabbing them, then realizing they were fake and letting them go. It was pretty hilarious!

After we were finished with the field work, he took me over to this house that sits on the property. It is called the Hadley Stewart House. Apparently it was built by this err to the Carnation fortune a while back. Sarah actually did a photo shoot in it last summer for Scott USA. This house it crazy! It is the most eccentric house I have ever seen. Definitely meant for parties in the 60s, with an overly large main room and the most outlandish designs. The house has been empty for some time and is only used for things like photo shoots. It was really eerie walking in there. I told Zach I felt like I was walking into a horror movie. The kitchen is a bright pink, there is a bathroom with frog wallpaper, one with (it looked like) aluminum foil for walls, a gigantic rabbit fur ottoman, and really odd fixtures and carpet all over the place.

All in all it was a great day of adventure! Thanks Zach for taking me along.

You can check my blog for more photos of the house and the ranch we were on.

gallery.me.com/eweed/100259

Idaho Fall = Productive

Since I am visiting Sarah and Zach for a bit, I decided I needed to help around the house to earn my keep. They don't mess around. On the first day of the weekend, we finished painting their house and did some repair work on the roof. I wasn't to much help on the roof section with Zach. That was a little out of my league, but I did learn a couple things.

The next day we headed out the the mountains to chop some trees down and make some firewood, the good ole' fashioned way. With the dogs in tow, we managed to find a couple spots. Sarah and Zach have both done this a few times, so they both were sure they had found the perfect tree a couple of times (disagreeing on which tree was better). It is all good though, Sarah and I were laughing how this activity is a good test of ones marriage. It doesn't help that everyone is a chief in this family and we all try to take the lead. I did my best to stand back and just be told what to do, because let's face it I had know idea what I was doing.

After rounding up about a cord of wood, we headed home. By the end of the adventure I was feeling a lot more confident in my axe skills and ability to carry as many pieces of wood as possible. (Mountain girl in the making) One small note... on the way down we got pulled over by the Forest Service because they wanted to check our permit. Well, we didn't have one because the place was closed to get one that day. We didn't really worry much at the time, because it is FREE to get wood from the area we got it from. The Ranger was not having it, he said it was like Hunting without a deer tag, which is ridiculous if the wood is FREE. Anyways, he confiscated our wood. ALL OF IT!! and he gave us a ticket even more ridiculous. So we came home empty handed with absolutely no wood and a fine. What a bummer!! Poor Sarah and Zach couldn't believe that this happened to them, because they are the real mountain peeps. Now, there will be another trip out to the mountains to get more wood and more tests of marriage for S&Z.

Even though the day ended as bad as it did, I had a great time in the woods, playing with the dogs, hanging with the fam and enjoying the fantastic scenery. Next time, we will just make sure we have a permit.

Sarah and Zach's visit

Mom and I were lucky enough to have the Latham's visit this weekend. They drove down for a wedding in Yosemite and stopped by on their way back. We ended up going downtown to the Italian Festival which happened to be very uneventful. Luckily the weather was spectacular, so we sat outside at the Wild River Grill and enjoyed some appetizers and wine. It was great to see the Lathams. I always enjoy it when they come down. Mom cooked up a fantastic meal for dinner, chicken kabobs, steak, spinach, some Idaho potatoes and a gigantic Idaho squash. They headed out this morning back up to Sun Valley. To bad we don't live closer, I love having them around.