People We Meet Along the Way
McCall, Idaho is a small town up by Payette Lake, a two and a half hour drive north of Boise. You pass through towns like Horseshoe Bend as you rise from the high desert into forested mountains, with the Payette River alongside. We were recommended to get an early start due to tourists and construction, but we hung out in the backyard with our hosts Gia and Davin, instead. Gia fed us chocolate muffins, and we all talked while the dogs Braddock and Kyrie (short for Valkyrie) played. There were chickens, too, a visitor from Jacksonville, and Gia and Davin’s teenage daughter, eventually.
Gia and Davin are vets. Gia served in the Air Force, and Davin was a salvage diver in the Navy, serving twenty-four years. They're heavily involved in Mission 43, an organization that provides servicemen, women, and military spouses opportunities to succeed in Idaho after the military.
We talk about everything under the sun, then finally hit the road around noon. What's the hurry, anyway?
Old cars catch my attention in Cascade. I pull over and walk back down the road to Huskey’s, where I briefly meet Steve, the son, and ask for permission to photograph. He said sure, then Larry, the dad, shows up. He's 87 years old, been running this shop for sixty plus years. His other son, Scott, is at home today, preparing for their yearly fish fry. Larry shows me photos of his Willys coupe at the races in 1965. The ‘72 Impala doing a burnout from a dead stop. Both cars are still on the lot, surrounded by weeds, glory days a distant memory.
Larry shows me a short box FJ Cruiser they’re restoring. He's survived multiple bouts of cancer and is down to one kidney. Multiple ex-wives, too, one of whom he’s still good friends with. He's taking care of her, says she's in bad shape. He’s down at the shop every day. Doesn't want to stay home and watch TV.
We arrive in McCall at about four o’clock. There's still close to six hours of daylight left. I catch a short nap, then dinner and a sunset cruise. Two hours on Payette Lake, recommended by a local photographer I befriended on Facebook the day before.
Jerry, the captain, prefers not to be photographed, but he gives me a history lesson. His ex-wife remarried about three minutes after the divorce. Those basalt hills on top of granite are unusual. You don't normally see basalt on top of granite. It takes three or four jobs to survive in McCall. He and his brother share an airplane and fly into the back country when they're able, which isn't too often, unfortunately. He loves thunder and lightning, like his mom. They'd get on the phone during a storm and compare notes. It snows eighteen feet in the winter.
Penny and I are up top with most of the guests. The majority are here for a thirty year reunion. They're holding up real good. Clifton and Sue join us at the outset. Sue’s part of the reunion, Clifton is her plus one. She's a school teacher. Laughs when I ask if she's always lived in Idaho. No, she grew up in Monterey and has also lived in China and Vietnam. I tell her about my expat teacher in Hanoi. She loves Vietnam. Everybody loves Vietnam.
Clifton is a coach for cabinet makers. He's got a really cool copper bracelet. I'm still amazed and impressed that there are coaches for cabinet makers. This one will require a follow up.
At the end of the cruise, the reunion attendees gather for a group shot. I return to the Idaho to participate. Some assume I'm the official photographer. I say nothing to dissuade them. I'm pretty much the official photographer of everything.
I show up and dive right in.
