Lakeshore Trail Hike

One morning while we were at Priest Lake we decided to try hiking the Lakeshore Trail. Russ and Patty had attempted it a couple times before, but they usually only went a few miles in before turning back. The Lakeshore Trail is a 7.6 mile hike in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, and it is supposed to take about four hours to complete. It follows the shoreline of Priest Lake, one of the most beautiful in the area and it's advertised as an easy hike great for all seasons. 7.6 miles was a bit too long for a round trip journey, so we left one car at the end of the trail and headed back to the trailhead to begin.

It was a gorgeous morning and we started out around 9:30 a.m. The trail was mostly flat as it traveled along the pristine northwestern shoreline of Priest Lake, the prettiest and most remote of northern Idaho’s grand lakes. The weather was warm but lovely in the shade as we trudged along through beautiful mottled sunlight.

The whole trail took us just over three hours to complete. We probably could have done it faster except we had to keep going around streams that had made the path super muddy. Overall though it was just about the perfect distance and we finished tired, happy, and ready to head home for lunch. This is definitely something I'd like to do again the next time we're at Priest Lake. 

Crêpes

This one comes straight from Stew's mom's recipe book. She used to make crêpes for him when he was a kid and it's one of the only special things Stew ever cooks for me. They are seriously amazing, so we decided to make them for everyone at the lake last weekend as a breakfast treat. 

Crêpes 

• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Measure flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Beat with rotary beater until smooth. For each crêpe, lightly butter skillet; heat over medium heat until butter is bubbly. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter onto skillet; immediately rotate pan until batter spreads out thinly. Cook until light brown; turn and brown on the other side. Sprinkle crêpes with sugar and squeeze on fresh lemon juice. Roll up and enjoy.

The ingredients are very simple, but it's the execution that can be difficult. The batter must be a very smooth consistency and your technique has to be perfect to make perfectly round, thin, crispy crepes. Stew uses our large griddle to make two at a time and his favorite topping is sugar and fresh lemon juice which creates the absolute perfect combination of sweet and sour. Yum yum yum! The crêpes were a hit and we ate the entire batch.

Bon appétit!

Shootin'

I have always been terrified of guns, so when Russ suggested that we all go shooting one morning at Priest Lake I was super nervous. But as always I was determined to conquer my fears and try something new, so we headed out into the backwoods of Idaho (where else would we go for this type of activity?) for some shootin'.

The boys had been saving "targets" for a couple days so they had a lot of them to set up on the hill before we were ready to get started. But once that was done we were ready to go. BANG! The first shot almost made me jump out of my skin! Guns are much louder in person than they seem in the movies or on TV. My body was coursing with adrenaline and I immediately backed away several feet, and continued to do so with each shot fired. Guns officially freak me out.

Setting up our targets.

Stew went first.

Then Dad took some shots.

And then Stew switched to the big gun.

I was too scared to try the rifle.

But Stew was an awesome shot.

And so was Russ.

I had to let the men folk shoot quite a few rounds before I was willing to try it myself. Russ gave me a detailed lesson on how to hold and fire a weapon before he loaded the gun and let me try on my own. BAM! It's even louder up close and my ears immediately started to ring. But it wasn't as bad as I thought, and I immediately wanted to try again so I could hit the yellow energy drink can I had my eye on. Unfortunately I emptied the entire clip and didn't manage to make contact. Next time...

I was trying so hard not to shake, I was so nervous.

Got my eye on that yellow can... Sadly I missed.

Patty getting her lesson.

Good form!

She nailed it on the first shot!

Mom gave it a try, too.

Stew taking out the last of our targets at close range.

We would have stayed out longer and probably could have used up all of Russ's ammunition we were having so much fun (Mom and Patty even shot some rounds!) but it was getting on toward lunch and it was bloody hot outside so we decided to head back to the lake. But I can pretty much guarantee that this will probably be a recurring activity on our Priest Lake trips now.

Have you ever shot guns before? What did you think?

Cowboy Caviar

Stew actually brought this home from a recipe exchange at the fire station and it has quickly become one of our absolute favorite things to make and take just about anywhere.  

Cowboy Caviar

(Sorry, I have no idea what the nutritional information is...)

• 1 can shoepeg corn
• 1 can black-eyed peas
• 2-3 avocados, chopped
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 2/3 cup green onion, chopped

Dressing

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin

Combine ingredients in a large bowl, toss and serve with tortilla chips.

Cowboy Caviar is just so fresh and amazing, and the flavors come together so well. Plus avocado and cilantro are two of my absolute favorite things of all time, so I really couldn't go wrong with this recipe. Make sure you use a fairly large bowl otherwise it will be difficult to toss everything together. Serve immediately or chill for just a bit, otherwise the avocado will start to go brown and the ingredients won't stay as crisp. For chips we like the scoops because it means we can eat more Cowboy Caviar with each bite.   

Bon appétit!

4th of July Lakehouse Vacation

With the Fourth of July holiday falling mid-week this year, we weren't quite sure how to celebrate it. But eventually we decided that we should just take an extra couple days off work and head to the Alway Family Lakehouse in Idaho.

Stew and I have been going to Priest Lake together since we first met but it never ceases to amaze me how absolutely beautiful it is up there. The weather was gorgeous and it was the perfect way to spent the holiday. My parents came with us and we spend a glorious five days of swimming, lounging, boating, eating, sleeping, drinking, hiking, and even shooting guns! It was really hard to leave paradise and come back to the real world...

Captain Stew taking us for a boat ride.

Gorgeous views from the house out over the lake.

Enjoying the view from the "treehouse" deck.

Hanging out on the dock waiting for dinner and fireworks.

My parents had a great time... how could they not?!

Gorgeous 4th of July sunset.

Our first 4th of July holiday as a married couple.

Bundled up for an evening boat ride. It wasn't cold but very windy!

It's not a lakehouse vacation without a campfire!

Waiting for the sun to go down and fireworks to start.

Campfire fun.

Mom caught us kissing in the dark on the dock!

The one and only picture I captured of the fireworks.

The best way to paddleboat is as a passenger.

Heaven.

We had gorgeous, hot weather every single day.

Our new floating toy, we named her "Lola."

Our home away from home.

Going swimming!

Stew is like a fish.

Surprising Mom...

It was seriously too hot to stay out of the water for long...

Absolutely amazing skies in the evening.

And beautiful sunsets every night.

Once again, an amazing trip!
Happy Fourth of July from the Always!

This was the first time besides the weekend of wedding craziness that our families had spent a significant period of time together, and it could not have turned out more perfect. If anything the trip was simply too short and we all wanted to stay for basically the rest of the summer. I'm still brainstorming how to make that happen... In any case we go back in just 20 days for the Alway Family Reunion and are obviously counting down the days.

How did you celebrate the Fourth of July this year?