Score!

So... have any of you heard of the ridiculously thrifty quatri-annual (did I just make up a word?) event known as the REI garage sale?  Behold:

All this for $120!  That's a sleeping bag, pair of Chaco sandals, pair of Keen waterproof hiking shoes, a headlamp, and a new daypack.  Surprisingly, the most expensive (originally) item of the bunch was the pair of Keens, at $115.  Overall, by not buying new, I saved $200.  Pretty good in my book.  And now I'm almost set for next season.  All I need is a cookset, a backpacking burner, and maybe a tent. 

Even though I brought my tent along on two trips this year, I didn't set it up once because the other people I was camping with brought theirs.  And you're asking me, "well then why did you bring your tent along if you were going to use theirs?!"  Well... there's this little thing called group planning that my group is not good at.  We'd rather swing it, and when everybody brings a variety of things, we usually have everything covered.

Twice.

Its Officially Official!

Spirit of Boise

I'll be posting more pictures and giving you all an update on "what I did on summer vacation" soon, but first I want to show you the Glowing Balloons of Boise (tm).  My friend Taryn and I developed that highly technical moniker. 

Actually, Boise used to have a big community party every year called the River Festival.  When the orgnnizers of the festival went bankrupt, the party went down the tubes.  Er... the river.  Several years passed, during which various groups would try to revive it, but sadly nothing else has gained popularity like the River Festival.  Part of the Festival involved launching hot air balloons, and the balloon masters (is that what they're called?) would spend several days launching in the morning, completing courses for points, and then making the balloons available to the public in the evening.  This event has continued every September, under the name Spirit of Boise.

Briefly inflating some of the shaped balloons as the sun sets.

Mmm... we love us some Dutch Bros!  And it had the shortest food line.  Sorry for taking your picture, lady in the bottom right corner!

Go Broncos!

The lineup.

Here, There, and Everywhere!

Hi!  Hey... it's been a while.  Want to know where I've been?  Well, how about Chicago, Yellowstone, California, Stanley, McCall, and downtown Boise!  Yes, I had a very fun summer. :-)

First things first...  (broadway voice) Chi-CAaa-go!  It's where we saw lots of these...

And lots of this...

And who could forget seeing lots of this...

How cute is that?!  Sadly the little guy waited until Auntie was gone to start walking, but that doesn't mean we didn't do lots of practice while I was there!

More pictures to come!