Yes, we survived the family reunion, Lee as well. My father's brother, Uncle Bill, lives in Hayden, Idaho, and it was he who initiated the invitation to us all. We had time to explore while we were there, and we discovered it to be a beautiful area.
Hayden is near Coeur d'Alene, the better known of the two communities. Coeur d'Alene is next to a large lake, and has become known as an artist's community. 40 years ago, Coeur d'Alene had a population of 4000. Today the population exceeds 44,000. The area bustles with activity, and seems to be thriving. There are sculptures scattered throughout the town of various animals, including the whimsical moose with which Lee made friends:
While we were there, a regatta of wooden boats was taking place. We walked out on the pier to see the wooden boats. Many had won prizes for either performance or aesthetics:
Hayden Lake, nearby, was smaller and much quieter, and surrounded by homes:
My uncle, it turns out, has a green thumb and beautiful yard. We spent most of the time on the back porch, looking out over the yard:
The hummingbirds loved the bee balm (the red flowers), and were especially active in the evening. Sorry, no photos of the hummingbirdsn- they were too fast!
I don't have any group photos, but here is one of, from left to right: my sister, Corinne; Uncle Bill; and my Aunt Zelda, from Minneapolis.
A visitor joined the family. It was a frog that could climb walls, about three inches in length:
We left Tuesday and drove to our next adventure, Glacier National Park. After setting up "camp", we took a quick trip into the park and caught our first spectacular view across Lake MacDonald. Wow!
