Aug 17, 2012 - Day 115, Back to the USA

Day 115, Friday, August 17, 2012 We went into town and had breakfast at a little café. We now have $20 in Canadian money left plus some change. So that worked out about right. Our RV Park has a lot of wood carving scattered around. Every tree stump is carved into turtles, birds, fish, raccoons, bears, something. I asked someone who does them and he said some guy has an arrangement for free camping if he carves in return. Good deal. Then we squeezed our way out of the RV Park with just the trailer on and me following in the car until we...

Jun 9, 2012 - Time to catch up

Awoke Thursday morning to a rainbow. Delayed leaving camp because Mary "Caterpillar Caregiver" had brought 5 caterpillars with her and one was almost ready to chrysalis. Fascinating to watch. Crossed into Montana and into a rainstorm. Eastern Montana is a big farming area. Stopped on Poplar to visit a Lakota/Nakota Native American Museum. It was closed. After Wolf Point the terrain began to change. Big rolling hills and more ranching than farming. Saw antelope in the fields. Stopped in Shelby, MT for the night. Early stop so we could eat in...

Oct 19, 2011 - Bonners Ferry

Stretching out the riding season I head out for a round of 18 holes which is a code word for a long ride. 9:30am, about 40 degrees so I have the cold weather gear on which means the plug in kind. I'm sure at any high speed today it will be in the 30's with the wind chill. A northern destination so it will be a start from my usual jump-off-site, the Starbucks in Sandpoint, Idaho. As I pull into town my heated gear stops working. Hmmm. First thought is a fuse. I park at the Starbucks and get the warm coffee and then I begin the action of "Zen...

Jul 17, 2011 - NORTH IDAHO

We drove from Chimacum to Moses Lake, Wa. where we stayed the night. Took off next morning and drove to Naples, Id to Blue Lake RV Park, which is a few miles south of Bonners Ferry. A nice small park, $189 for a week.. We took a half day trip into Canada in our CRV. It was a 20 minute hassle getting into Canada and just 5 min back into US! For me, if some said Idaho I would think of potatoes and level country side. Northern Idaho was somewhat of a surprise in that it has a lot of mountains, some of which are still snow capped in what then...

Jul 1, 2011 - Conquering A Fear

Before leaving Kalispell, I had breakfast at Vivian's Fifth Street Cafe - an adorable little place that serves breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea. I love finding local places where the food is so much better than a chain restaurant. Vivian chatted me up for a while but soon it was time for me to hit the road. Tom and I did this drive in 2008 in the motorhome . Before we saw the sign for Kootenai Falls and Suspension Bridge we were passed the parking area and it's near impossible to turn around in an RV - so we kept going . I didn't...

Aug 14, 2010 - Spokane gardens and more

We’ve driven through Spokane a couple of times in the past 10 years but never had the time – or a reason – to stop, so we decided to take advantage of the fact that we were close to have a longer visit. We left Bonners Ferry, continuing along US-2, and set off through the Kootenai River valley – more farmlands ripe for harvest, being harvested, just harvested or cleared for the next planting. The river – and a couple of large lakes -- also provide lots of recreational opportunities, as evidenced by the small towns along the way. Every town...

Aug 9, 2010 - Idaho couch potatoes

After taking leave of our friends in Polson, we drove north to Kalispell, where we turned west onto US-2, which would take us through the heavily-forested areas of western Montana and into Idaho. Our objective was Bonners Ferry, Idaho. I’m not exactly sure that we had a reason for heading there, but we wanted to stay off the interstate and were (sort of) following Jamie Jensen’s “Road Trip USA”. US highway 2 is known as the “Hi-Line”, at least in Montana, or as the “Great Northern”, in honor of the railroad line that used to run through the...

Sep 30, 2009 - Our drive from Montana to Washington

I usually reserve this journal for the things we experience in National Parks. However today we were driving from Kalispee, Montana through Idaho to Ellensgurg, Washington and found several landscapes that we were smitten with and photographed them. I share a couple of them here without noting where they were (other than that they were in Idaho).

Jul 7, 2009 - Bonners Ferry, Idaho

Made reservations at the Blue Lake RV Resort, south of Bonners Ferry, ID, before heading out Sunday. It was an easy 95 mile drive. We are in the middle of nowhere (25 miles from Canada), but it’s pretty! The new owners of the park, James and Heidi, just bought it in Feb. It had not operated as a park for 7 yrs so they’ve spent a lot of time cleaning up the park, upgrading the electrical, and building an office/residence, a bathhouse, and a not-yet-ready laundry and work out facility. This is the most spacious site we’ve had, and quiet,...

May 31, 2009 - Family

Sunday, May 31st (Bonners Ferry–Family) Slept in–yay! Over to Dad’s to join the Dougherty clan and Wayne to visit with everyone and do another load of laundry. Dad doesn’t say much, but enjoys the company. After the laundry was in the dryer, Wayne left to do errands, and we all went out to the refuge to climb up to see Myrtle Falls. En route, we saw two adult geese with lots of little ones crossing the road, a pair of stunning Cinnamon Teals, and, feasting on the lilacs on the parking lot, many large black and white butterflies. It was a...

May 30, 2009 - Graduation

Sat, May 30 (day 20): Bonners Ferry, ID. (Graduation) Picked up my dad and joined the family for breakfast at the Kootenay River Inn, where the rest of the out-of-towners were staying. It has an indoor poor, and my nephew and his kids love the water. There were 14 of us total! Besides my brother and his family (4) , my sister and brother-in-law, our dad, Diane’s mom, my nephew and his family (4), and Bill and me. Nathan (my sister’s oldest son), Christina, his wife, and their children, Piper and Bailey, drove up from Boise, ID, and Diane’s...

May 28, 2009 - Day of Rest

Thursday, May 28th (day 18): Bonners Ferry, ID Today we took a much-needed day off. I know, that sounds funny to say when we’re on vacation. We’ve learned that we need a free day from travel about every three days, and we did four travel days in a row. We began our day of rest by sleeping in, showering, going to the chiropractor (for Bill), and for Wanda to visit with Wayne and Diane a bit while Bill was getting adjusted (they live right up the street from the good doctor, and they all see him, too). After that we drove to my dad’s (a...