Reunion: Farragut State Park

Spending time with family is time well spent. Luckily for me, I have a family that gets together out in the woods every year for the annual Morley Family Reunion. We come together from all around the northwest, mostly from Spokane and central Washington, but also from as far away as southern California and Colorado. For the past 8 years (I think) we've had our reunion at Farragut State Park in north Idaho on Lake Pend Orielle. It's a great spot in a thick pine forest with plenty of shade and everything we need for 4 days of family fun. 

My nephew Mason

In recent years, our reunion has centered around one epic family event. The annual Buzz Cup Horseshoe Tournament, named after my Uncle Buzz who was a big horseshoe lover, and a great thrower too. Every year my cousin Scott organizes the big event which usually involves 10 or so teams of randomly selected partners in a two-day long double elimination tournament. The winning team is presented The Buzz Cup (which they must bring back the following year) at a ceremony around a bonfire on the last night. It's all stooped in tradition and lots of fun. To ensure a continuing crop of players, we even have a Junior Buzz Cup Tournament, so all the little ones can learn the game of horseshoes, and be ready for the day they're old enough for the big show. This year, I'm proud to say, my girlfriend Sarah won the trophy with my Uncle Shawn, and he was gracious enough to let us bring the cup here to Phoenix, were it will sit proudly on our mantle above the fireplace.

Uncle Ozzy teaching Bianca how to horseshoe.

It's not all about horseshoes though. We play volleyball, hike, bike, explore, and generally just enjoy each others company. Saturday is the big day of the reunion. On Saturday morning we cook a huge breakfast on big cast iron skillets over a wood fire, and Saturday night is a big potluck. After the potluck we move over to a large stone fire-pit left over from World War 2 when Farragut was the largest inland Naval base in the United States, and we have a talent show, the trophy presentations, and talk about any family issues that may have arisen over the course of the reunion. One thing we always discuss is where to have the next year's reunion, but we all love Farragut so much that no one wants to leave.

Bubbles

The consensus was that this year may have been the 50th year of the Morley Family Reunion. I don't know about you, but I think it's pretty awesome that we've been getting together for so long. The reunion has given me so many great memories over the years that I hope it will always be there for the younger generations. Its important that family get together, and its even better when family gets together in the woods. 

Me, relaxing.

Off The Beaten Path

Whether you lose it, or just step off it, sometimes you find yourself off the beaten path.

In this case we lost the trail near the top of the mountain. At first we pressed on navigating with map & compass, but it was just too hard. We postholled in waist deep snow for an hour before we decided to turn back. By the time we found a dry spot to make camp we were totally exhausted. We had to melt snow for water, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't start a fire.

When you see huge trees in the backcountry, sometimes you feel compelled to stand next to them. These are giant Western Red Cedars and my Uncle Steve and I both jumped off the trail to check them out.

Some of you might recognize this picture as the old header to my blog. When you hike on the beach there is no trail, but getting lost is not much of a concern. In this case we were travelling north. As long as we kept the Pacific to our left we knew we were heading in the right direction.

Its a lot easier to travel cross country in the desert because there isn't much blocking your view. On this hike we were almost always within line of sight to our jeep parked just off a dirt road, and when we couldn't see the jeep, we could still see the road.

Backcountry Fishing

 I love fishing, especially in the backcountry, where most of the time you have an entire lake to yourself. I'm the type of guy who appreciates solitude. I would prefer a day of catching pan-fries alone in the backcountry to a packed lake choked full of boats.

Fly-fishing on No Name Lake in Glacier National Park

Steve fishing on Heart Lake (I know I've shared this before, but it's one of my favorites).

In the backcountry most of the fish you catch are pretty small...

... but every once in awhile you land a lunker, and yes we ate this for dinner that night.

Northern Exposures 2

Coeur d' Alene River - Idaho Panhandle National Forest, ID

Selkirks - Near the Pack River

Hole-In-The-Wall -- Olympic National Park, WA

Unknown mountain poking through the clouds - Glacier National Park, MT

Among The Wildflowers 2

I guess this is the month of sequels. Everyone seemed to like the first go-round of Among The Wildflowers. These flowers were all found in Idaho except the Daisies, which I found in Arizona. If you think I've given the wrong name to any of these, please feel free to correct me. Enjoy.

Rocky Mountain Butterweed
 My favorite thing about this shot is that you can see Glidden Lake in the background.

Shrubby Penstemon

I think these are Daisies, yeah?

I couldn't put my finger on this one. I think it may be a knotweed. Any takers?

Trail Days 2

Somewhere along the way my weblog has morphed into a photo-blog. I just have so many cool pictures that I wan't to share. I hope you guys like them as much as I do. This is the sequel to Trail Days. Enjoy.

Jesse & Steve - Seven Devil's Range, Hell's Canyon Wilderness, ID

Sarah - Mount Baldy Wilderness, AZ

Unknown backpacker -  Near the Rapid River, Nez Perce National Forest, ID

Jesse & Steve - Hell's Canyon Wilderness, ID

Water Crossings

Steve crossing Rock Creek near the Canadian Border
 Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

Need a hand?
Goat Creek - Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, WA

South Salmo River
Salmo-Priest Wilderness, Colville National Forest, WA

Reflections

Lakes of the Seven Devils range in west/central Idaho. Photos Taken August 2011.

Gem Lake

Echo Lake

Baldy Lake

Baldy Lake

Solitary Man

I love nature photos, but I love photos of people in nature even more. A person in a picture can tell a story that might not be there otherwise. I can really imagine what they are thinking and feeling...

Luke looking out over Saint Mary Lake - Glacier National Park, MT

Stevie and the low tide - Olympic National Park, WA

Roby at Buttenhook Bay on Lake Pend Orielle - Farragut State Park, ID

Steve at Heart Lake - Great Burn Wilderness, MT
 ( I know I've shared this shot before, but It's one of my favorites and I had to post it again).

Trail Days

Sarah & Jimbo - Mt Baldy Wilderness,  Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest - AZ

Jesse, Luke, & Steve - Glacier National Park, MT

Deb - Nez Perce National Forest, ID

Seven Devils - Hell's Canyon Wilderness, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, ID

Among the Wildflowers

Snapshots of wildflowers found in the Seven Devils range in west central Idaho. Mid August 2011.

Don't know for sure what this flower is. Any Botanists out there want to help?

Rosy Spiraea

Scarlet Gilia

Western Blue Flax

Northern Exposures

I don't always get around to editing all the photos I've taken over the years. Here's a few of my most recent edits. Enjoy.

Descent from Cube Iron Mountain - Lolo National Forest, Montana

Capa Alava sunset - Olympic National Park, Washington

Two Medicine region - Glacier National Park, Montana

Mountain reflection in Upper Stevens Lake - Idaho Panhandle National Forest, Idaho

Final Four

 These are four shots taken of the same mountain in different contexts. In central Idaho near Hell's Canyon there is a Wild and Scenic River called "The Rapid River", The river runs swift and violent and cuts through Ponderosa Pine forests and steep rock canyons in the Nez Perce National Forest and the Hell's Canyon Wilderness.

 One day of a weekend trip we hiked around and explored the beautiful country that the Rapid River flows through. After a long ascent I looked over my shoulder and saw this mountain dominating the skyline.

Naturally, I took tons of photos. It was so beautiful and so commanding and so picturesque. I had a ton to sort through and these were the final four. So I want to know. Which one do you think is the best?