For everyone who asks "Where do you live?"

Driving to the ski hill the other morning, Brian and I started talking, (we still do talk to eachother crazy isn't it)? On Decemeber 27th we will be residents of North Fork Idaho, for three years! I still can't believe how quickly time has gone, the winters, springs, summers, and of course my favorite fall. I remember the night we got here laying in bed which was frozen from moving in -13 weather, and thinking, what the hell have I done? I had the most god awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. I remember actaully thinking "will my father drive all this way to come pick me up?" I'm pretty sure he would of, but I gave it a couple of days and fell deeply in love with this place called North Fork...


You ask what has North Fork done for this girlie, well I can tell you. Every single day I meet people on different paths of their lives. Whether it's a rafting junkie, just getting off the river for eight days, or a father taking his son hunting for the first time in the hopes of shooting that price winning bull, or that fisherman who comes in just to get warm and tell me his fishing story for the day, or how those steelhead still acting like steelhead stumped him again. I love my everyday life, my job, and my days off.



The peacefullness of escaping "the busy life of North Fork" if you can even call it that. Camping with my dogs, hiking with my groom, sitting around a camp fire playing horse shoes. Those long summer nights, that are so hot all you do is pray for a breeze. I love everyday I look out my window and see the amazing Salmon river, with that amazing fish, that keeps the best of best fisherman coming back.

I have to remind myself seeing a mountain lion, big horn sheep with a full curl, 8 bald eagles sitting in a cottonwood fishing, or a mountain goat, is not normal and truly is special. I'm not religous, but one of my favorite quotes is "God is in the mountains, and every now and again walks along the river banks." I truly believe this is where he would walk. There is something special about North Fork, and if you are lucky enough maybe one day you can come visit me.


Tears well up in my eyes when I think of how I almost walked away from this place. Because of how special it is and how much I love what I do, I had to dedicate an entire blog to it. Below are pics of this amazing place, and how lucky I am. So to answer your question this is where I live!

With a back drop like this how can you not take a picture?

It's true dogs are more relaxed in Idaho!

Early morning snow

The Middle Fork of the Salmon River

FIRE!!!

So our September which is normally pretty slow and easy (which allows us to catch our breath, before October), was not so. The Forest Service in this area, has 10,000 acres saved for a prescribed burn over the next three years, and 2010 was the first year. We were dishing out breakfast and lunches for an average of 21 Firefighters a day, with a surprise dinner as well. In our small Cafe and minimal staff this is not an easy feet. However it does benefit us to a great extent!

The fire reviews are mixed in the local community, for or against it, frankly in the eyes of a business owner it boosts the local economy and I can not complain. We were tired after the fact though, and weekends were anticipated and needed.

The pictures are amazing and frankly take my breath away. After the first "out of control" where they brought a total of 5 helicopters, 2 airplanes, and around 280 Fighters, we were surrounded, running out of everything in the store from Copenhagen to instant mashed potatoes.

I just pray for the next two years they decide to prescribe burn in September again, and keep my usual low month exciting and tiring!

The pictures posted are from the "big burn", there were many smaller burns, of fire lines and back burns before this one, but this is the most exciting. If you drove into North Fork at several different times, it almost looked like they were fighting Godzilla not a fire. See below.

What are you up to, Pam?

Friends, I know, I know I haven't been doing my job when it comes to blogging, but holy hell, I've been busy! This summer has been awesome, we had a great 4th, our 5 year anniversary came and went, we headed to Kellogg, to enjoy a weekend of just the two of us, no "kids" dogs I mean. My mother came in August, with my niece and nephew, holy jeez, they have gotten sooo big, I can't believe I have a 13 year old nephew, that just made me feel old! My brother and his wife finally came to see us! I learned so much about my brother, it was great. I think I have realized how I grew up and my experiences are not what everyone else experienced. However the experiences I experienced have formed me to be the person I am today, and I'm ok with that.

I've confirmed that North Fork is the place I want to be long term. It does something to you, I can't explain it but it just feels right, does that make sense? We have finally found a great cook who completes the Cafe, Jim is awesome, he is the best thing that has happened to us as a business, I just wish he was younger so I could employ him for longer, I'm afraid he's going to leave us to soon.

Brian and I have taken up golfing, again, it's amazing how my husband is so talented at almost everything he does, we've been golfing more this summer than in the last 5 years. I could say I'm getting better, but I would be lying. HAHA, I must admit though I can produce some clutch hits, and surprise everyone, including myself.

Our house plans our done, and sent away to several building companies for quotes, I'm excited I will admit it, but not overly excited, things could change, but if all goes planned, our house should be live-able in a year... My fingers are crossed.

I would post more pics from this great summer but our camera is broke, and we have yet to replace it... maybe for Xmas.

So, that's what's going on in my life. I'm hoping for a busy fall, and a great steel head season. They're coming, more and more everyday, and people are getting antsy. I'm not quite ready for winter, but I'm sure when that time comes around, I will be ready... for some time off.

Some random camping, floating pics, oh yeah and our Lake Powell trip with the parents! All good times!

Meet the real Mrs. Martinez

The real Mrs. Martinez....



25. Only washes her hair every two or three days,

24. Loves, Loves, homemade green chili,

23. Has to have it cold when she sleeps,

22. Loves her dogs, actually wouldn't mind another one,

21. It's too keen on having kids, (Brian's working on it)

20. Always has her toenails painted pink,

19. Drinks more wine than water,

18. Does about 12 loads of laundry a week,

17. Loves to camp,

16. Sleeps and sleeps and sleeps... ok not that much (any more),

15. Has so much hair it takes 30 minutes to blow dry it,

14. Usually always has an ingrown toenail,

13. Loves sushi, it's my drug of choice!! Since moving to N.F. I had to detoxic,

12. Misses her fam-dam-ily in Colorado,

11. Loves Idaho,

10. Loves the sun,

9. Is training to be a river guide,

8. Has skiied since she was three,

7. Has never mowed a lawn,

6. Has a tattoo on my big toe,

5. Was born in South Fork, Co. now lives in North Fork, Id.

4. Is very allergic to cats,

3. Is a Food Network junkie,

2. Loves to cook, hates doing dishes,

1. The real Mrs. Martinez, is a firm believer in "saying what you mean, and mean what you say".

A High School Poem...

Different sides of the world,
Different sides of the walk,
Different sides of life,
Never that far off.

Don't know what to do,
Don't know where to go,
Don't know what it means,
But don't mind giving it a shot

Do you think of me,
Do you lose sleep too,
Do you wonder what if,
I know I do.

It's not easy,
It should be hard,
It's a wonderful thought,
But it's a long shot.

Here I am,
There you are,
Never together,
But always in our thoughts.

*While going through some high school junk I stumbled upon this poem. I don't remember what I wrote it for, but I had to share. I know if meant a lot at the time... But can't remember why. I think I had a boy on the mind.

P.S. I think I married that boy!!

One step closer!!

Brian and I just received the first step of our housing prints, I'm so excited I had to share with all. Like I said before it's not the largest home, but when we are done, it will be ours. One of a kind!!

A house, I don't even know what that means any more, not since SLC, have I had a home to call my own. I know we will get there sooner or later but it's hard to wait...

On another note... Brian and I are sneaking away from North Fork for two weeks, and I'm so excited! I'm trying to make it home to the valley to see my niece get her first communion. Other than that we're heading to Lake Powell with my parents... so excited.

It was starting to look a lot like summer around here, but of course on our days off it rained, so we decided to paint more of our apartment, Brian teases me that I have ADD when it comes to painting. I completely stepped in his paint while I was painting, moving steps and FBing all at the same time, what can I say I don't mind painting, if I could only show up have everything masked and covered for me... It looks 100 times better I will admit that!

The dogs were tired of staying in the house due to the rain so Rocco decided he would step in the paint and run all around while we tried to catch him, it looks like a one legged dog ran all over our house!! All we could do is laugh I've been resolving ever since. It's a good thing we have wood floors, we only have an issue on the couch and the rugs.

I want to send a special thanks to my lovely sister-in-law who has agreed to draw our plans and help us out immensely!!! Thanks Billi!

Happy Birthday!

I have to send a happy birthday shout out to my husband. He turned 26 yesterday. He's full of life and makes me smile every single day.

I had thought about having a big bash for him but I determined that's not my husband... So instead we had his brother's family over for some burgers, cowboy beans, potato salad and home cut and cooked fries. Followed by cheese cake. He enjoyed it dearly. Husbands are easy fill their bellies and they're satisfied.

He received a new pair of Carhartt jeans from me, and a nicely packaged card from my parents, thanks mom and dad!

Below are my favorite pics of him.

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Favorite all time pic he and his dad!

This pic cracks me up, it's our honeymoon, the server at a restaurant we went to told me "you have a young looking boyfriend" (we were ordering adult beverages, she was looking at his license), I corrected her and said "he's my husband". I didn't think it was that bad, but she walked away and made someone else wait on us.

Doing what he loves MTBing...

That's Rally and Brian going for a walk.

What I miss... What I love...

Many, Many people ask me how as a women can I live in North Fork. I always answer the question with a plain answer. Today I decided that I would truly answer this question. See North Fork is a "man land". This is what I love about North Fork, but also what I miss about living in a city.

What I love...
1. Peace fullness, Brian and I can go for a hike or MTBing and not see a single person, just the 4 of us (I'm including the dogs)
2. The money I save, we have been able to purchase things we wouldn't have dreamed in the city.
3. Sunsets while camping...
4. The people, the people are so down to earth true here, it makes me smile.
5. Simplicity of everything... life is simple here, good friends, good memories, means good times.
6. The scenery, anywhere you go around here, there's something to see, and something to look out.
7. Jest being outside, I used to hate the bad air in SLC, the only bad air we have here, is wood stoves burning on a cold winter night.
8. Everyday is new. In the city I was a machine, pre programmed for the day. Here I wake up and do something different every day.
9. No rush hour, the closest thing to a rush hour, is everyone pulling into the parking lot at the same time.
10. I've discovered what a strong person I am, this place is a "man's world", and only truly tough amazing women live and survive here. That is something to be proud of.

What I miss...

1. Heading a the store at midnight, for a late night cookie making.
2. Going to see a movie on Sunday just cause it's too hot out.
3. A housekeeper
4. Good Sushi!
5.Dressing up for work... jeans and a t shirt get old sometimes.
6.Nightly strolls around the neighborhood
7. A good library
8. Jamba Juice
9. Good coffee
10. My old kitchen, I'll have a new one soon!

Valentines Present

So, a couple of posts ago I mentioned the Valentines Day present Brian gave me... usually I don't receive a present for V Day from my husband, he's against the "Hallmark Holiday". I don't mind I know he loves me everyday. But this Feb. 14th he surprised me with a homemade present. A pair of earrings made out of swivels, fishing line and a corkie, (a glow in the dark corkie).

All I could was laugh, take out the earrings I was wearing and put these in. They are now my fishing earrings. They must bring good luck considering the first day I wore them fishing, I caught my first steelie. However I'm still not "hooked" on steelhead fishing.

This is how we do it... In Idaho!

So, some of you may not know, Idaho is known for our hunting and fishing... This is how WE DO IT!!!

This wolf was shot less than a mile away from their house, they're good friends of ours. He weighed 127#, 6 1/2' long, stood 36", he's the biggest wolf shot this season. She is the first women to shoot a wolf in Idaho. Chica chica, ya ya!

My first official steelie, I hooked it but I didn't cook it.

Brian's largest, it was about 30".

This mountain lion was shot after she killed an elk.

Cabin Fever

It's that time of year again, and it always seems to sneak up on me. Yes I'm talking about cabin fever. I don't know how to explain it except it's like a weird depression. You're angry, bored, lazy but don't want to be any of these things. Brian and I have realized it happens to us both and try not to dwell on the point, we both know sooner than later we will be hiking, camping and trout fishing (the kind of fishing I prefer) very soon. We try on our weekends to do something to get us and the dogs out of the house, snow shoeing (not enough snow), steel head fishing (I can't lie I'm not a fan of it), going for drives (how far and long do we have to go to see something I haven't seen already a million times), and for hikes (since there isn't enough snow), and skiing occasionally (we decided not to buy passes this year, I'm glad now since there isn't any snow), or heading to Missoula (we grocery shop there about every 3 weeks) but all in all we end up doing the same thing nothing. So I'm the type of person who tries to get out with other people who are experiencing the same effect. It's very hard to get my anti-social husband to agree, and get excited about such events.

Just recently one of our friends had her birthday, and for her birthday present she wanted to go down river to the MT Saddle (pretty easy present, since we're on the subjects of gifts I'll have to inform you what my husband gave me for Valentines Day). What is the MT Saddle? Well it's a bar, it has one table, and a bar with about 6 stools. Mr. Mike Tibbits, owns and operates this bar and let me tell you he comes directly out of the old West. Great guy down to earth and just looking for a good time. We called him to let him know we were coming, (he closes down in the winter and "opens" when someone gives him a call). Now Brian and I agreed to go on this down river trip the night of our annual Super Bowel party. I can speak for myself when I say I was completely sober when I agreed, my husband on the other hand... Well we as a couple agreed to this outing on Thursday the 11th. I was excited to get out of the house... Well let me tell you, how much I heard about why we shouldn't go and what a waste of time it was going to be... I on the other hand just kept shaking my head and asking him to give it a chance. We left about 11:00 am that morning to head down, it's about a 2 hour drive, plus we were doing some wolf hunting along the way. We arrive at Tibbits place about 12:30 pm and see he's already been there started a fire and got the place warm. We arrived and I immediately saw the smile on Tibs face he was excited for us to be there. We opened the afternoon with a round of cold Coors light cans, started chatting. He has one of my favorite places, the "john" sits on a cliff over- looking the river, amazing view. We sit a shoot the shit for a while and enjoy ourselves immensely. Jen and Dan have to be back in North Fork by 5:00 to get the kid off the school bus so Brian and I get to stay for just a bit longer to talk to Tibs on a more personal level.

I have realized something while living here most of my "close friends" are twice my age. What is that saying, I haven't fully figured it out yet, but I also have to say the friends I have made, watch out for me more than any other friends I've had, and that's a great feeling!

So in the end my husband enjoyed himself greatly, we a had a great day just getting away, and were ready for work the next day. I won't lie though I'm ready for spring!!

Future goals...

Brian and I have come to the time in our life where we want more... more space, more toys, more guests, just more. So we have future goals that are starting to surface. The first and for most is a house, we have come to terms with the fact the apartment above the Cafe just isn't cutting it. So we have decided to build (I say we, really meaning Brian). Our future house will be behind North Fork, since this,we do know will be our future. A small house, with ability to add on, (if needed).

Sometimes I feel like people think poorly of us because we are two people who have goals, and aspirations for our marriage and our future. Since our new nephew entered this world, the children question for us has sky rocketed. I thought the opposite, that people would be content with him, I was wrong. People want to see us with children, how do I express the fact that my goals in life do not match their goals in life? Brian and I do speak about kids, and what we would do if one surprised us, but right now our goals, do not include 1, 2 or 3 children. However some people view this as Brian and me being "non-family" oriented. This is too incorrect. I love family, I love our families, I'm just happy with the size of my family right now. But I believe in being prepared and wanting more. If that more is one more dog or perhaps and baby, I won't know until I know,but right now it's neither. However we are getting to the age where maybe just maybe things might happen and we want to be ready, and really I want a kitchen I can cook in and a bathroom where I can't reach the sink to spit out toothpaste and turn on the shower all while sitting on the toilet.

Nothing big just a home... I was going to post the pics of the rough draft but it won't let me, so I guess I have to keep you in suspense.