Lowell, ID

Tons of wild berries grow in the Idaho mountains.

And we were fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time.

We were even more fortunate to have our friends and experienced berry pickers with us.

During two separate drives into the mountains, we came across some huckleberry bushes and some blackberry bushes that were loaded with  ripe and delicious fruit.

I had never had huckleberries before this summer. Rich and I bought some in Polson, Montana, a week before. They were almost  priced like they were gold: $7.50 per half pound and $12.00 per pound. We splurged and bought a half pound, freezing half and cooking half with our sourdough pancakes the next morning.

They were divine. To me they taste like a cross between a blueberry and a raspberry that’s been placed over a campfire for a few minutes for just the right amount of smoking.

Dean and Lil have picked lots of huckleberries and showed us what to look for. Luckily for us, the bushes we found had lots of berries at waist height. Normally the berries grow in bushes low to the ground so that they are hard to pick.

Now we know why they are so pricey. 🙂

Sophie LOVED them and picked them off one by one, eating them right from the bush. The funny thing was that she could tell the difference between ripe and unripe ones; must have been that unique smell.

Rich, Dean, Lil, Sophie and I all had sourdough pancakes with huckleberries for breakfast the following morning. Yummy~!

On another drive, we ran into some huge blackberry bushes. While these bushes have lots of thorns, the berries are huge compared to the huckleberries. It didn’t take long to fill two bags.

Alas, the only bags we had in the car were Sophie’s poop bags.  🙂 Thankfully, she hadn’t needed them yet…