In Idaho at our Son's in MTN. Home planning a trip to Boise

[Jeff Nicol]

Hey gang, We made it to Idaho with no issues but a ton of bugs on the grill and the windshield! So now I am making some plans to find some sort of wood to bring back and turn, but we plan to take a 45min drive to Boise while we are here, so just wondering if anyone is close and has an Idea where to find some Western wood! I suppose I could get some sage brush and make a glue up of tiny pieces, but that seems like a lot of work. It is like high desert here with the trees and mountains a ways away. There are some dandy maples in the yards here, and I did see some fresh stumps, so I will try and find the local tree dump or city shops and see if I can snag something, can't hurt to try!

It is going to be in the mid to upper 90's for the week, I hate hot, but I am on vacation, for a week, it is amazing to not worry about things for sure.

Added a couple pictures of me with grandson Connor and Our son Jason and is 7 day old baby boy!

Thanks and anyone close send me a PM or some info on here,

Happy Independence day to all!

Jeff

[Doug W Swanson]

Hey Jeff,
I can't help you with your search for western wood but I'll be on the search when we get to Bozeman, MT later this week. Heck, depending on when you leave Idaho, we might even pass each other on I-90!

Have a safe trip!

[Jeff Nicol]

Doug, We will be leaving on Sat. morning, we went through Bozeman yesterday and it was a busy place! My buddy from the Army went to college there so I called him down in Corpus Christi Texas to say I was in his old stomping grounds, I think I could live in Montana, and that is where I was headed when I met my wife, so she saved me from becomeing the old grizzled mountain man that I had set my sights on!

Have a safe trip, we came across on I-94 through N. Dakota, but may go back on I-90 for a different view,

Take care,

Jeff

[David E Keller]

For those of you who might not know, Conner is the one with more hair in the first photo.:D

Congrats on getting some quality time with the newest Nicol!

[Jeff Fagen]

Congratulations on the new grand boy and good luck on the wood search.

[Michael James]

Way to go grampa! Take it easy and enjoy it all - the work never ends. Whatever was left unfinished will be waiting for you!
Michael

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Congrats Grandpa!

I wish I was home. I would give you some Idaho Walnut.

[charlie knighton]

congratulations on both of your boys, grandpa

[Jim Heikes]

Grandpa Jeff

There's a place 45 miles east of Boise ( Rustic Mill, Urban Hardwood Specialties..... steve@rusticmill.com....... 208-283-6658....enjoy the time with the li'l one.................Jimmy

[Steve Schlumpf]

Jeff - great photos! Looks like you are having fun - it's about time! Hope the rest of your trip is as enjoyable! Good luck finding some Western wood!

[Scott Hackler]

Congrats Grandpa. Hope you have a good time there and a safe trip home.

[Roger Chandler]

Jeff,

Looks like that "turned" out pretty good .........beautiful grandchild and of course a proud grand dad. Nice to be with family....just priceless. Good luck on your wood hunt!

[Baxter Smith]

Sure looks like you are related! Enjoy your time together and good luck finding more wood!

[Jeff Nicol]

Thanks all, it was a long drive but the weather was beautiful with only a 5 minute rain shower in Montana, but today it was 97 and a little breezy but very low humidity. The fireworks are going right now and my wife and the kids walked down to the end of the street to watch, I am in the house with the dogs, we brought our 2 llahsa apso's along and they have a Yorky/Maltese mix that looks like a little Scotty dog, but they are not real fond of the booms and bangs of the fireworks.

Ken, that is to bad you are gone, it would have been a great pleasure to get to meet you! Maybe next time if they are still here next year. Jason is security forces (police) but is getting some retraining into a different job that he will like better and once he finishes he will get new orders to someplace hopefully closer to WI.

Jimmy, That sounds like a place I can get to pretty quickly, I will check it out in a minute, thanks for the link!

The little guy is so precious and I forget how tiny they are, but I can hold him for hours and never get tired of it, and Grandma is just so darn happy for her baby boy to have a darling wife and new son, family is a wonderful thing!

Well I will post some info on what I find, and Michael J. I have a box of stuff for you when I get back home, ran out of time and energy before we left, and it is filled with treasures and surprises!

Thanks again to the big SMC family and all of the fine people who peruse it!

Another year of freedom in the books, heres to a 100 more, Happy birthday America!!!!

Jeff

[Rick Markham]

Congrats Jeff!!! Great looking pics! I hope you find a giant maple burl at the tree dump :)

Don't work too hard while your on vacation ;)

[Doug W Swanson]

Hey Jeff,

Congrats on the grandson. Looks a lot like you!

We go to Bozeman every other year for a family/friend get together. It's a fun town and even thought it's grown a lot over the years, it would be a great place to live. We'll be there on Thursday and I'm really looking forward to it.

We always take I-94 to Billings and then I-90 from there. I-90 is a nice drive if you have the time. If you haven't been to Mt Rushmore lately, they've made some nice additions to the buildings around it. Also, driving around the Black Hills is fun. Very pretty scenery and Sylvan lake is awesome.

One detour you should take on the way home is Beartooth Pass near Red Lodge, MT. It's incredible!

Anyway, enjoy your family and drive safe!

[Rich Aldrich]

Jeff - Congrats on the new grandchild. Sounds like a nice vacation to visit your son and his family. Our favorite vacation was like Doug describes above. The Badlands, Blackhills, Yellow Stone, and whitewater rafting on the Galitin river. The only difference is you have a great excuse to get out there much more often.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Congrats to you Grandpa Jeff. A fine looking grandchild there. Enjoy as it doesn't get any better than that.

[Jeff Nicol]

I had a rough night of sleep, my back was not happy and my right arm kept going numb to the point of nasty pain and swelling in my hand. But with some good coffee and my meds I am back in rare form!

I called the guy that Jimmy H. told me about and he is only 23 miles back east of us, he does some big slabs for tables out of black walnut that he gets from WA, CA, ID, and OR. He said he will be sawing all day today and we made plans to go visit this afternoon. We are going on the Air Force base now to show the flight line to my wife as she has never been on a military base and see some F-15's flying.

Should have a wood report later today, a woodaholic is never far from the addiction!

Have a great day,

Jeff

[Mike Svoma]

Congrats, Grandpa Jeff. Nice looking pair of youngins there. Enjoy your time out there. Have a safe trip back. See you when you get home.

[Brian Brown]

Hey gang, We made it to Idaho with no issues but a ton of bugs on the grill and the windshield! So now I am making some plans to find some sort of wood to bring back and turn, but we plan to take a 45min drive to Boise while we are here, so just wondering if anyone is close and has an Idea where to find some Western wood! I suppose I could get some sage brush and make a glue up of tiny pieces, but that seems like a lot of work. It is like high desert here with the trees and mountains a ways away. There are some dandy maples in the yards here, and I did see some fresh stumps, so I will try and find the local tree dump or city shops and see if I can snag something, can't hurt to try!


Jeff

Jeff,

Bugs on the windshield... Welcome to Idaho! :eek: Western wood, You are a funny guy. That stuff is only available on the west coast. :rolleyes: You are right, sagebrush is mostly what we have here. There is some Aspen, but you can probably get that at home. The same goes for Box Elder. Most of the other wood is ornamental stuff or some fruitwood people are cutting down in their yards. Still, we manage to find more wood than we are capable of turning. There is actually more variety in the area where you are now, than on this side of the state. If you came in from Bozeman, you probably came across the northern part of Idaho. If you go home the same way you won't be very close to me, but if you go on I-90 (I guarantee a different view :eek::eek::eek::eek::D) you'll likely have to pass through Idaho Falls. Feel free to contact me. PM for contact info. Too bad you won't be here on Thursday when our club is meeting. Our demonstrator is Jason Clark from Phoenix. I'm sure it will be a good presentation. Whichever way you choose to go, safe travel, and sorry about the bug innards.