Huckleberry Hound

My parents came up to visit us this weekend. Since we didn't have any plans set in stone I decided to take them on an adventure; one I go on every summer around this time. An adventure that stains my fingers purple and makes my mouth water; one that they had never been on before.

Huckleberry picking. I'm not sure why I love it so much because it takes a LONG time to pick enough to use in any recipe. But, I love the excuse to escape to the mountains. And I love the taste of them. Before we went my mom asked if we would see Huckleberry Hound. Not likely.

On the way there we kept seeing signs with arrows that said "EIHA." We tried to think of what EIHA could possibly stand for, since we were up in the mountains. East Idaho Hunting Association? East Idaho Horseback Association? Next we saw the sign in the picture above and we thought it was a little odd. Dog and Truck Traffic?

Then we saw literally dozens of hounds. Hounds in pick-up trucks. Hounds tied to tree trunks. Hounds barking up trees. Hounds chasing a scent at full speed. And we saw a sign that said "East Idaho Hound Association Field Trials." It all made sense now. I felt like I was in the middle of Where the Red Fern Grows. So, in a way I guess we did see Huckleberry Hound...or rather Huckleberry Hounds. The whole time we were picking berries we heard dogs howling...but I'd rather have that than bears growling.

Isn't this a beautiful sight? I think so. The huckleberries were above average this year since we had such a wet spring. But it still took a long time to pick them.

And this little girl is obviously a chip off the old block. When given the choice between a Cheerio, veggie puff, or huckleberry she chose the huckleberry ten times out of ten. Her tongue was stained purple and she tried her hardest to eat all of the berries we picked.