Smoke Got in Our Idaho

Wildfires burned around Boise last week, and WWII-era planes buzzed overhead as crews worked to control them from the air. Even though the blazes were nowhere near the city, cool evening temperatures trapped air in the valley so even downtown you couldn't forget the fires.

Miles and Miles of Beaches

In 1899, Oregon's legislature deemed its beaches "forever open as such to the public." Then in the 60's, the state's Supreme Court confirmed un-fence-able even the deep dry-sand areas extending from the high-tide line to the cliffs that hallmark this stretch of coast. Still today, people and dogs can walk for miles along Oregon's beaches, unencumbered by pesky property lines.
K from Austin flew up to join us for five leisurely days of playing in the surf and on the sand. By day we saw sea lions, gray whales, puffins, jellyfish, and even a starfish washed up on the beach. And in the evenings we watched pink sunsets from an oceanfront patio before curling up in front of a fireplace, relishing the coastal August chill and looking forward to the next morning's misty magic.Back to the real world, Moxie & I are back in Boise now for a week before scooting back East for a fall wedding.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up

A 200-gallon vat of lentil chili. An entire city decked out in lentil regalia. A parade and live bands and royalty and even a costumed mascot. All of it honored the homely lentil at the National Lentil Festival in Pullman, Washington, two weeks ago.