Tuesday morning I got the official text (as opposed to a fraudulent text that was also being sent out) from the Alaska Marine Highway System, saying that due to the ongoing union strike by employees of AMHS, all sailings are cancelled until August 7th. Even though the strike began on July 24th, I didn’t hear about it until the 28th, and I was holding out hope that they’d get it resolved in time for my trip. When that wasn’t a possibility, I was hoping to be delayed just a week but there didn’t seem much hope for that either. I spent the last several days mentally preparing for the drive, mapping our route, when last night I got word that the strike ended and ferry service would resume. Yay! We are booked for next Friday’s ferry (August 9) out of Bellingham. In the meantime, we get to play a little longer.

Two years ago when I visited my sister Ruth and her family in McCall, ID, I didn’t get to spend much time but it was enough to see why she loved it so much. Beautiful weather and scenery, lots of entertainment for young kids and old kids, tasty coffee, huckleberry shakes. Now we get to see more of why the area is a sought-after vacation destination. Payette Lake is in the heart of town and there are numerous ocean-like lake beaches all around. With temperatures approaching ninety degrees Fahrenheit, the crisp, clear lake water is a welcome reprieve, especially after taking a little hike. Ponderosa State Park is at the edge of town and also bordering the lake so there is plenty of hiking and swimming there too.

In the evenings on any given night, live music can be heard from various parts of town. Wednesday evening, Ruth took us to Crusty’s Pizza for some delicious pies, a few Stiegl and entertainment by Gleewood, a folk-rock trio from New Mexico. The brilliant baritone voice of the lead singer, Jhett, filled the air and Iris looked at me and said, “I’m going to marry him someday!” Ha! She continued to dance the evening away and when they took a break I told Jhett what Iris said and he gave us a free CD. 🙂 But seriously. His voice is pretty dreamy.

We’ve been enjoying the beauty of Idaho the last couple of days. I don’t know yet if we’ll go galavanting for a couple days before we have to board the ferry or just stay here. Ruth has plans for us today and tomorrow so it wouldn’t be until Monday if we decide to adventure somewhere else. In the meantime, Iris has lost another bottom tooth and one of her top teeth is projecting out at a dangerous angle. I’ll have a toofless little girl pretty soon.

Huckleberry picking