Idaho

Big news of the day: DEA joins the Micheal Jackson death investigation.

Oh yeah, here is some other apparently less important news: 467,000 jobs were cut in June. The jobless rate now stands at 9.5%. US Marines are involved in a brand new offensive in Afganistan. North Korea test fired 4 short range missiles. The State of California is broke and will issue IOU's in place of money.

Sometimes I must wonder where we are as a country. I know that this is nothing new. Our media tends to focus on topics that it can ride for weeks rather than what is important. The powers that be in the media like to tell us that they only print what we want to read about or see more of. The scary thing to me is that is probably true.

We have all seen the results of the radio station that did the on air survey last November. The DJ's called C-stores and other various establishments and gave the workers a quick quiz. A huge majority of the respondants who were voting for candidate Obama had no clue about basic geography or who was in charge of our country or their state. Truly scary.

Any of us who watch TV ( I do not), know what type of programing is currently available to us. I once tried out for Jeopardy. I studied for weeks to get ready for the trials. The questions were tough and rigourous. Watch the same show now. It is beyond the dumbing down of America. The questions are much simpler in nature than they used to be. I have read that even Alex Trebek is frustrated. Beyond Jeopardy, we have shows that are basically degenerate. Everything has to keep moving quickly in the show because or the viewers will become bored. There is no thinking allowed. Everything must be spoon fed to us in order to keep us watching. Is this who we are or who the media wants us to be?

I truly believe that we a nation are getting dumber. Instead of the 3R's, kids are taught that if they do not recycle a can, they are a criminal. Instead of learning the Presidents in order, kids are taught about how to use a condom and have safe sex.

It is no wonder that everyone seems to be concerned with Michael Jackson. All of the other news of the day requires thinking. As a country, we seem to be doing less of that.

If you’re planning on celebrating the 4th of July in the Boise area this year, you really ought to get out to see some of the Firework shows happening across the valley. Of course you can’t see them all, but I’ve compiled a list of times and places where you can not only see the fireworks displays, but take part in some family fun activities as well.

Boise Fireworks Show

Again this year, the Boise 4th of July Fireworks Show will be held in Ann Morrison Park at dusk following some activities taking place throughout the day.

Parking in the area can be a bit rough, so, if you don’t want to hoof it far, get there early and plan on leaving late after the crowds clear out.

Meridian Fireworks Show

The City of Meridian will be having a 4th of July Celebration at Storey Park in Meridian starting at 1:00pm. There will be live music all day, a climbing wall and inflatables for the kids.

At 9:00pm, there will be a “Safe and Sane” fireworks show for the kids then, there will be a larger professional fireworks show launching at Meridian Speedway.

Nampa Fireworks Show

Even with an overall higher property tax rate in Nampa, they can’t seem to put together a fireworks show for its community and a recent phone call to the city of Nampa led me to the God and Country Festival which is actually tonight at the Idaho Center in Nampa.

The fireworks show happens on July 1st following an evening of live music and celebration honoring the U.S. Military. For more information, visit their site.

McCall Fireworks Show

If you are going to be in Vally County this weekend, you’ll be able to catch a McCall Fireworks show at dusk on the 4th of July.

The McCall Chamber of Commerce is also sponsoring a number of events in Downtown McCall. For more information visit their site.

Do you know of any other Fireworks Shows in the Boise area?

Post a comment and let us know!

Read this from the source! 4th Of July: Fireworks Shows In Boise

A magical Garden Valley Idaho Evening Sky.

There are few words that need to be written to accompany the set of pictures in this blog. I got to experiance one of the magical Garden Valley, Idaho sunsets from a home I have listed for sale the other night. My Sellers invited me to a magnificent dinner of fresh salmon cooked on a cedar plank. It was served over a bed of fresh greens and papaya. As wonderful as the dinner was....... it was topped by the view from this magical cabin and the gorgeous Garden Valley Evening sky!

Dawn
Associate Broker. E-Pro
Garden Valley Real Estate as 43 Degrees North Real Estate
Dawn@GardenValleyRealEstate.info
www.GardenValleyRealEstate.info
(208) 861-0734

We took our 11 month old son on his first camping trip this past weekend, something I've been looking forward to since he was born last summer. Green Bay is one of my favorite spots in the area. Its just a 20 minute drive from Sandpoint, just a few miles past Garfield Bay. There are some great campsites off the beach, with incredible views of the Green Monarchs across Lake Pend Oreille. The well known Mineral Point trails start here, offering some of the best hiking and mountain biking in the region.

We met up with several other couples with young kids, and ended up connecting with other friends that happened to be camping next to us.

Friday afternoon the guys and I reserved our camp sites (Green Bay is completely free, first come for sites). We ended up with way more space than we needed, so it was nice to spread out. A few of us went mountain biking which is always a blast on these trails which literally start from the campground and wind up and down along the Lake.

Friday evening was spent enjoying a great sunset, hanging out around the fire and cooking some fantastic dinner (almost anything tastes great when you are outside somehow). My wife rigged a great high-chair for Trace, setting him up on top of our cooler to eat, which he loved. All the kids stayed up well past their normal bedtimes, but we actually got our little guy to sleep about as good as he does at home. We bought the big tent and set up his pac-n-play next to us, which worked great.

Saturday was probably the warmest and nicest day of the year, and we spent all of it just hanging out and playing on the beach. One of our friends brought paddle boats which were perfect for the little kids. Another brought his canoe, which I took out for an hour paddle to Garfield Bay and back. ANother buddy had his ski boat and took turns pulling everyone on the ski and wakeboard. A rarety at this big part of the Lake, the winds completely died down and we had glassy water in front of Green Bay.

The coolest part of this weekend was seeing how much fun my son had living outdoors for a couple days. Green Bay is a stone beach (most of which are too big to swallow fortunately). So Trace and all the kids had endless entertainment just tossing the stones around. Believe it or not - noone got hurt! We put Trace in his raft and pushed him around in the Lake, which he also loved. Basically our kid had a grin on his face for two days straight. What more can a Dad ask for!

For more photos of Green Bay and Mineral Point, visit www.SandpointResortRealty.com and view the photo links from the Sandpoint section. Or email Rick@SandpointResortRealty.com and I'll forward you links.

At some point in our lives, we all have a moment that makes us take a good long look at things. While there may be many names for that kind of a moment, none of them matter. The actual moment and what follows that moment are what matter. Sometimes, the moment may be more like an hour or a week, but just the fact that it occured is more important than how long it lasted.

My moment hit me this week. What led up to my moment was very simple. I was at the library and picked up a book. I read the book over a few days and my life will be forever changed in many ways. While doing some further reading up on the players in the book, I watched a video that changed me even further.

As a conservative I am in awe of what I read and saw. My life is forever changed and I have decided to make a stand for our country and conservative values beyond what I have done so far in my life. My days of building houses and investing in real estate are numbered. I am moving in a new direction.

For anyone who is interested, the book I read was "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell. A very good read.

Go to www.copthetruth.com and on the left side go to Sunday Best-Hope for America and then scroll down to the video in the middle of the page. Watch it. It is long but it will touch you.