Home Is Where The Heart Is

Where is home for you?

For me, it is Coeur d'Alene. No, Denver. No, Coeur d'Alene. No, no, Denver. Yes, Denver. Noooo, Coeur d'Alene! Argh.

I grew up splitting my time between Colorado and Northern Idaho. Literally spending my Summers in Idaho and the rest of the year in Colorado. It made this weird transitory thing in me... When I'm in one place, the other is home. Neither and Both are actually home, yet they both are.

Growing up, I didn't see any of my school friends during the Summer, and then I didn't see my Summer friends for the rest of the year. So, even though I went to the same school with the same group of people from 9th grade to 12th grade, I don't have that same tight-knit relationship that most do. Sometimes I still wonder if I hold the friends I do have a little too loosely because of it...

Part way into my Senior year in High School, I moved to Coeur d'Alene to finish out the year. I stayed for a number of years and made it my 'home'. Until I got in trouble, and needed to move 'home'. To Colorado.

To this day, I have moved back and forth a few times as it seems the other place is always beckoning me...

It was a real treat to drive up to Coeur d'Alene in late Spring and stay for a full month. Who gets to do that?? I got to see friends, family, and all the places I love that fill my soul. After a couple weeks of pondering this dual-home catch 22 of mine, I decided that in the end, I really am fortunate to be able to call two places home, and wouldn't change it for anything.

Here are some pictures from my journey. It's hard to explain, but when I see these landscapes and views, I always feel like I'm going home...

A lake between Boise & McCall... Can't remember the name of it, but it almost doesn't matter because they all look about the same in those parts: STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL

Farmland up ahead! There are a couple hours worth of farmland to drive through, and I LOVE the rolling hills of green shoots with mountains and forests peeking up behind them...

You know you're in REAL farmland when there is a sign of all the names of people that live in the entire VALLEY. Not their address or phone number, just their name. Yep, the Gordon's live here and if you'd like to see em, just ask the next person driving down the road... they could probably point you in the right direction... What really cracks me up is the SAME SIGN is another 25 minutes down the road with the SAME NAMES. There must be one on each side of the Benewah Valley, just in case you missed the first one!

Across the street from the sign... A stunning set of silos and towers working hard for their farmers to make a living.

And then, just out of farmland, you hit the south end of the lake. Wow, it's always breathtaking. I was just in time to get a shot of a boat heading out from harbor...

The rocks along the lakeshore are truly unique to this part of the world.

When I finally hit the city, the first mandatory thing, every time, is to take a tour around the dyke road (yes, it's really called that, but it doesn't mean that) to see the river and pylons, and remember my college days here. This time, I saw THE biggest family of baby geese I've ever seen down there. I had to go get their picture...

Look at all those cute little gosling tookeses!

A parting note...

Although the grass may always SEEM greener, it really rarely ever is. Home is where your heart is, if you let it be there.

Yes, I've just been waiting for a post that I could use these 'grass is greener' pics!

p.s. Special Thanks to Trish, for being my friend every summer since we were about 8, and the rest of the year now that we're all growed up. I heart you.