Aug 24, 2012 - Newport, WA

We did a bit of exploring today. We drove to Newport, WA to check out the Pioneer Park Campground. It is located right on the Pend Oreille River and is part of the Idaho Panhandle Scenic Rivers Byway. We stopped in Newport and picked up some sandwiches at Subway for a picnic and just enjoyed the beautiful ride along the Pend Oreille River. We also visited Oldtown, Idaho and a few other tiny towns along the Idaho/Washington border. I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Aug 20, 2011 - Still Waiting

Old American Kampground Saturday, August 20, 10 AM PDT Newport WA I’m still in Newport awaiting delivery of a new front passenger side jack and a hydraulic leveling controller. The parts are expected to come in the last week of August, but, based on previous experience, I’m not counting on it. Over the last two weeks, Rascal and I have amused ourselves meeting other RVers with dogs or cats and going on two scenic drives. I also made a big shopping trip into Spokane, 40 miles south of here. I visited Petsmart, Best Buy, REI, Costco and a few...

Aug 7, 2011 - Stuck Waiting for Parts Again

Old American Kampground Sunday, August 7, 9 am PDT Newport WA Trouble, I’ve got trouble with the RV. On August 1, when I got ready to move to Newport, the passenger- side front leveling jack would not retract all the way. I broke two 8’ by 2” wooden pry bars trying to lift the jack shaft up without success. It left only about 5 or 6 inches of clearance under the coach. But even more upsetting, it meant that the warning claxon that the jacks weren’t up was sounding for the entire drive. An 80 decibel alarm bonking away the entire 200 mile...

Jul 29, 2011 - Old Growth Cedars

Priest Lake is about a 50 mile drive with the last 14 miles on rough gravel. We could only drive 10-20 miles an hour on the last part. We hiked about 3 miles and got to see a waterfall and some big old growth cedar groves. It was a fairly easy hike and we had a chance to really take our time and enjoy it. The old growth cedars are huge. Not as big as the redwoods, but magnificent none the less. The growth rings date them as being 800 to 2000 years old. President Roosevelt set aside this area to keep it from being logged. They had a big fire...

Jul 28, 2011 - Most Beautiful City in USA

We spent the day at Sandpoint seeing the sights. There are approximately 7,000 people living there. They have a lake along the edge of town and a winter ski area located a little way from town. They have a very nice beach a block from downtown. We were surprised at how busy it was. Thinking about it, we realized how little summer with warm days they have so they make the most of those nice days. They have a marina where you can pay for a boat ride around the lake. The downtown is the typical tourist place with a whole lot of things we...

Jul 27, 2011 - Thousand Trails or KOA??

We arrived at the campground yesterday about 11:30 and were a little confused. We are staying at a Thousand Trails campground, but almost everything says KOA. After checking in and asking about it, it looks like Thousand Trails took half of their campground and turned it into a KOA - less spaces for their members, but more cash money for them. It is first come first serve so after driving through and looking at all the sites, we settle on one we can fit in. We don’t have any neighbors yet and we are in a wooded site with a new gravel pad....

Aug 14, 2010 - Newport, WA

As we headed for home….thankful NOT to have been in the tornado, and worried that Liz might have trouble driving over 2000 miles with a husband that could need hospitalization, we decided to stop near Spokane at a place called Little Diamond Lake. If needed, Iram could catch a plane to anywhere Liz might have trouble. The park was quiet, but very nice, and we were serenaded by a pack of coyotes each evening at sunset. We hiked and rested, and called Liz each night to get a progress report.

Aug 3, 2010 - TTN Little Diamond, Newport, WA

Though the drive is mostly on freeway (I-90) it’s a beautiful drive from Missoula to Newport, WA, once we got to Post Falls, ID we turned north on hwy 41. We found this park to be nice and tucked far away in heavy treed forest from freeway noises. This park is 5 miles south of Newport WA near, but not “at” Diamond Lake. We fed lots of birds out our back window, red-breasted nuthatches, black capped chickadees, red breasted grosbeaks, gray jay and the occasional yellow warbler. We’ve never been in this area before and were quickly impressed...

Sep 9, 2009 - Newport, Washington

9/9 – 9/13 It was only a short 15 mile drive on US2 to Newport, Washington for the Newport Music Festival. We parked our house on the festival grounds and were joined by our friends David and Dianne. Also parked at the festival were a number of members of our RV club (Escapees). Some of these couples winter at Rover’s Roost in Casa Grande where we have a lot. Joanne and Chad joined us for a couple days worth of the entertainment. It was a small festival so the bluegrass bands were mostly local, with a few that were pretty good.

Jun 8, 2009 - Little Diamond RV Resort

We really enjoyed our short stay at the Little Diamond RV Resort. This was a Thousand Trails resort in Newport, Washington. It had it's own lake, a large family clubhouse with billiards, ping pong, foosball, a piano, a pool and indoor spa. There was also an Adult lodge, and best of all the campsites were in the ponderosa and lodgepole pines. We went for a walk around the lake and enjoyed seeing three families of Canada geese, each with several baby goslings, a deer, and a huge fat beaver. We had a deer just out our back window and a wild...

Jun 6, 2009 - Circle Moon Theatre, Newport, Washington

“25 Years & Still Kicking” was the name of the show we saw at The Circle Moon Theatre celebrating their 25th anniversary. It was presented by the Northwoods Performing Arts group off Highway 2 and Highway 211 near Diamond Lake, Washington. All the cast members belong to the local community and provide their talents on a voluntary basis. Talent consists of vocals, musicians, comedy, and a little acting as well. The director is Mark Caldwell who also sings, plays the guitar, and participated in a few comedy routines. It was his inspiration...

Jun 2, 2009 - The Fisherman!

Steve is finally proving his worth as a fisherman. This resort has a private 30 acre lake. It only costs $3 per day to fish. The two fish he caught were so big, I had to freeze one of them. Yum! We had never heard of kamloop trout, but they were beauties – about 3 pounds each and fantastic tasting. We also drove into Spokane and did a 10K walk in the downtown area that included the River Front Park and the Spokane Falls. The Spokane River runs right through the middle of downtown. The falls were quite a sight. We just got word that our...