This Old House

Over the past ten to fifteen years since I've gotten into photography and done some traveling...I've become fascinated with different landscapes, textures, and anything else that I think would make for an interesting photograph. Over the years as I've traveled to and from Cascade, Idaho, which is a small town about 1 1/2 hours north of where we live, there's an old house off the highway just south of Cascade. I'm not sure why,butI'vetakenseveral photos of this house and I'm wondering if I have recentlytaken my last shot. This is a very old vacant house out in a field. Ever since I remember seeing the house it has been leaning.We know that someone once lived there because my nephew discovered a stove in the house when posing for a photo. I'm sure there are many stories that exist behind the walls of this old house and I wish I actually knew how old it is. However, with the storms that it has weathered and the winter snow that falls each year it will probably soon give way to mother nature and simply be a part of history that one can only read about in family history. So, I just thought I would share what I have captured over the years. I must admit I will miss looking for this house when it cannot be seen any longer.

McCall Winter Carnival

Every year in McCall, Idaho they have a winter carnival. They have a parade and lots of activities that go on for a week or two. The main attraction there during this time is the ice sculptures that artists from the Northwest create and maintain during the carnival. I remember seeing this a few times growing up in Idaho and have always wanted to see it again. McCall is a small town so you can just walk the main street and see pretty much all of it. So, after ice fishing was finished Woody and I decided to head up toMcCall to see what we could find. The kids were tired at this point and opted to stay with Grandma and Grandpa. Besides, sledding was more fun than riding in a car to go see ice!Anyway, it was just about dark when we got there so we didn't get to see all of them. And since my camera died after a few shots, we couldn't capture them anyway. So here's a few of the sculptures we saw. Even though it was dark, it was nice to be able to spend a little time with my husband walking around in the snow. I think next time we'll have to plan a trip just for McCall so we can see things in the daylight hours and enjoy the rest of the beauty around the area.

Ice Fishing

Since our last visit to Cascade a few months ago, Woody has talked about wanting to go ice fishing. He wanted to gothe weekend of his birthday, however the house that my parents ownthere was going to be rented out. So on a whim, my parents saidthey were going to be going up there last Saturday and asked if we wanted to go. So Woody did some research and last Saturday we took off to Cascade to do some ice fishing. It also helps Ethan complete a scouting badge and in McCall every year at this time they have the Winter Carnival. They have lots of different things going on, but the main attraction are the ice sculptures that artists create and maintain during this time. I remember this as a kid and wanted to try and go see them again.

First was ice fishing. The kids were excited to go check this out and I think they thought their odds of catching some fish was pretty good. Well, let's just say they haven't learned enough about fishing yet! They drilled their holes, tied their fishing lines and literally dropped their lines into the hole. Fortunately it was a fairly nice winter day with little wind, but I'd say the kids were done after about 5 minutes and couldn't figure out why they hadn't caught any fish. The bait was probably frozen after they dropped it into the hole. I don't think I'd be eatin' the bait either. For me, it was a little leap of faith to walk out that far on a frozen lake. I've never walked on water before!