Vegetarian – Old Indian word for Bad Hunter…

Friday, August 31 – Low profile day. A walk, a bike ride and then trying to move things around to make room for more campers. They stuck a motor home in between us and the neighbor where there was barely enough room for my truck. The campground was ¾ ‘s empty so I questioned the logic of this and was told it is totally booked for the weekend. The interesting part is all the ones coming in are tenting! Hundreds of them! And the story is they are a Russian Christian group that does this every year. We’ve seen young and old – toddlers to 80+.

 

Should be an interesting weekend. Full moon and all.

At Soap Lake



The only human figure sundial -
according to the sign.

Thursday, August 30 – Road Trip – we met some friends today in Leavenworth, WA today. It was a scenic drive and for the first time since we got to Washington we saw apple orchards and a lot of them. Blending right in are the grape vines, an occasional corn field and one potato field. The last time I saw a potato harvester was on Prince Edward Island.

 

Leavenworth was an old railroad town that reinvented itself as a replica of an Alpine Village and is thriving on tourism these days. The German beer and food is great and there are more shops than I could do in a week. We had a good visit and we asked them a lot of questions about Washington and Oregon because they have family in both and travel most summers in the northwest.

 

 

On the way home we stopped in a small town called Cashmere to see a famous Candy Company – Aplets and Cotlets. I never heard of it but they ship candy all over the world. It was an interesting tour and now I know of one thing that apricots are good for.

 

I could not help but think of the old "I Love Lucy" episode where she was working on a candy line stuffing candy everywhere…

 

 

  

  

 

We did stop at a fruit stand on the way home – the cherries are done but the peaches are good and the apples are just starting to come in. We saw a lot of harvesting on the way home and met semi after semi loaded with big crates of apples.

At the end of the road

Wednesday, August 29 – We did an early morning hike today. Went to the Lenore Caves site and spent a couple hours hiking to seven different caves. Most of this area is basalt lava from 13 million years ago (or so)!

 

 

Then we went to the Dry Falls/Blue Lake State Park, had our breakfast there before exploring more of the park that we didn’t get to the other day. We ended up on a road that 5MPH was too fast the last couple miles but the views and the hiking was great. We had a late lunch by the time we got home and boy that hot shower felt good.

More Rocks...

Tuesday, August 28 – We took a walk by this “Healing Lake” this morning but didn’t go in although Lexi got a good mud pack! It was nice to find a hand held shower at the dock. The breeze was a little brisk off the lake even at 62 degrees. After some coffee on the patio and some steel cut oats we headed into town. I use that term loosely – small town going smaller – probably the lake level going down and taking the town with it.

 

After lunch – fresh local sweet corn we headed north from here along the Coulee Corridor National Scenic Byway. It goes up to the Grand Coulee Dam but we didn’t get that far today. Huge rock walls and numerous lakes along the way to Dry Falls – a geologic wonder from the ice age. Four times as high and wide as Niagara – just no water…

 

From there we stopped at blue lake for some hiking and Lexi’s swim.

 

The rocks – I have to quit taking pictures of rocks but they are so different and the lichen colors contrast nicely.

Monday, August 27 – Moving day – we hate to leave, a week of fun and perfect weather. We got our walk in and Lexi found a new covey of quail, had coffee and started packing up. We were on the road by 11:00 and only 140 miles to go – it was an interesting transition in landscape from 3000 feet and pines to 1400 feet with lakes and a lot of wheat being harvested. This is the only place we could get in over the holiday. There are several major dams and geological sites near here and we have a couple side trips planned, but otherwise it is in the middle of nowhere. This is Soap Lake that we are on and it is heavy in mineral content and is suppose to have healing powers. A lot of Europeans travel here to soak and cover themselves with its mud. Not that convinced yet…

 

The rocks in the area have my attention more than the water so far.

 

Poor timing on marginal phone service as Andrea is back in the hospital again.

Lexi leaped for the ball while I was taking a picture.

Sunday, August 26 – Fresh raspberries for a morning snack after our walk compliments of the Farmers Market. We went to church in Cheney and then found their bike trail – beautiful ride with high rock walls in places and it went by a gorgeous lake abour 80 feet below the trail just one small boat with a guy fishing. On the way back the boat was still there and a girl was swimming toward it – she had to be a heck of a swimmer to get from anywhere on the lake to there. Not sure how deep it was but it was very clear.

 

We got back to camp just in time for the ice cream social, then lunch! Now we should be able to get another Pickleball match in – we have played several times here and taught a couple kids how to play so we could play doubles and the one young lad (Jacob) is really good.

 

Ah, Pickleball, then popcorn and a movie.

 

Saturday August 25^th – Coffee, walk, more coffee and a little toast before heading to the Farmer’s Market. We did check out the small town this campground has for a mailing address and found a church for tomorrow. It was an indoor market – I haven’t seen the one in Waterloo open but the building was similar. Some pretty unusual things and a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables that were almost all organic. Also a lot of things from goats or their milk. We did try a French onion tart – pretty tasty. Linda found a couple things the Grandkids can’t live without – we do miss them already. The Green/Recycle store was way over the top – they even had all the things you need to set up a bee hive, kits for rain barrels, even reusable sandwich bags! I said over the top… then we stopped at a smaller outdoor farmers market but it was about done and well picked over.

 

The Rose Window

Next stop was a Gothic Cathedral  (Episcopal) that was started in the 20’s, held up by the depression and WW2 and they are still adding stain glass windows when donors are available. It was beautiful and one of a kind as the architect designed each stone and had them cut and then numbered and delivered. It was and interesting tour and during our discussions we found our guide was also Catholic. He was especially knowledgeable about the stories told by the stain glass windows.

 

The little Ginger Thai restaurant across the street beckoned us and we branched out again – ginger spinach salad, miso soup and pad thai chicken. I’m glad we split all that because it was a lot of food and all very good. We have eaten out twice since we left home and both were interesting experiences.

 

Last stop for the day – Manito Park – one of many Spokane city parks. This one is known for the Japanese garden, lilac garden, the Rose garden, and the conservatory. The roses were spectacular to say the least and it also had an area with Empire Dahlia’s – they are huge and some were quite different. Just like the roses you had to watch when smelling as the bees also loved them.

THAT'S A TALL TREE!

Friday August 24^th – After a cup or two of coffee we headed back to the same hiking area for any early morning view. An hour or so into the hike we made it to Eagle peak – one of the trees looked like it could be a good eagle’s nest. The view north and east was great but more tall trees limited anything else. We didn’t find the Lost Ponds trail – many of the signs are missing or blank. Linda was happy someone had a sense of direction…

 

After lunch it will be chore time again. Laundry and wash vehicles are high on the list.

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday August 23^rd – We spent much of the morning making reservations and plans for the next month or so, and decided to stay here a few more days to accommodate the available spot over Labor Day – forgot that could be an issue. After a late breakfast or early lunch… we fixed Huckleberry (fresh here) pancakes. Then we headed to a hiking area not far from here to check out some of the trails. We hiked for about an hour and a half – the smell of pine in the air is wonderful. We found some small ponds down one trail and talked to a local hiker about the area – he said we might see damage from a fire from Eagle peak. Maybe tomorrow. He gave us directions to a Winco grocery from there so we stopped for a few things on the way home. On our evening walk with Lexi she found a covey of those California Quail – the look similar to the AZ Gambel Quail but they sure sound different. They were in an area outside the campground so she was allowed to work them.

Wednesday August 22^nd – Today was Spokane tour day. A cool 54 to start and a high of 78 comfortable degrees. We have been told we did the right thing by hanging back in the mountains until the 100+ days were gone.

 

After our walk and a little breakfast we headed into town – thanks GPS! Too many one way streets for me and several where two streets v’d into one – how exciting. The information place was really good help except for parking – height limits.

 

The downtown has a huge mall, many parks including along their beautiful river falls, and many historic buildings.

The famous Steam Plant converted to a pub and micro brewery was disappointing – only because it wasn’t open! It has 80 foot ceilings and a lot of decorations made from original fixtures. We didn’t go hungry long though, down a couple blocks we found an Italian place that was great. The bread served with the soup was amazing – their own recipe of course. Followed by a vegetarian Panini with their homemade chips. Happily we headed home.

 

While walking Lexi this afternoon we saw a big cove of quail – now she won’t be so interested in that ball.

 

This campground has more tall pines than I have seen in a campground. It made parking tough and satellite reception impossible. Many are 80 to 100 feet tall!!!

Tuesday August 21^st – We got our walk in with Lexi, had a little breakfast and headed out for another bike ride. About 3 miles down the trail the clouds started dripping. We turned around and started back up the mountain – the downhill was easier! We got wet but not soaked and the smell of the rain and thunder echoing off the mountains was worth it. We packed up and headed to Spokane, WA. – we got here early enough to look around – and they have a Pickleball court. After some necessary chores and cleaning we got a few games in before supper.

**Notes**

We noticed how green it was in a lot of Montana but here it looks dry again but the rain should help and they are supposed to cool back to the 70’s and lower 80’s after a couple 100 degree days this last weekend.

Monday August 20^th – We left Deer Lodge, MT this morning , we stopped several times even though it was only 200 miles to the border. The view one place, a huckleberry shake seemed like a good excuse for another stop and we got a bonus there with fresh Rainer cherries and some huckleberries.

We changed another time zone – now on Pacific time.

With all that we came over the border into Idaho at the peak of the Bitterroot Mountains and only 15 mile down the mountain we were at our campground that is very close to the  Coeur d’Alene bike trail. We set up camp, had some lunch and headed up the trail to an old town called

Wallace – a mix of restored and in need of restoration old buildings showed much progress since we visited on the way back from Alaska six years ago.

Some just had interesting signs…

We were happy to head down the trail on the way back because the wind had picked up a notch or two.

The fire of 1910 wiped out all but a couple buildings in Wallace after starting in Canada. Look at these stats:

Sunday August 19^th – Still in Deer Lodge. After a brisk 44 degree walk this morning we went into town for church and then came back to do a few chores and made eggs benedict for a brunch. In the afternoon we rode our bikes downtown to tour the old Prision and several other museums. The one with cars was hard to leave – not sure I have ever seen so many beautiful old (1900 to the late 1960’s). Many are on loan and more than I could count belong to one couple here in Deer Lodge. The new prison doesn’t have tours – just as well.

Tonight we expanded our horizons – went to a demolition derby! We are really not sure if it was more about the demolition or about the people watching… more people unable to read and way too many smokers – oh, they are the same!!!

Can you believe it still moves

Eventual winner on right!

We stopped for a few things at the store before heading back. Movin’ on tomorrow.

Saturday August 18^th – Wow, I thought yesterday had some big climbs… But we are in Montana – Big Sky Country! We left Sheridan, WY.(probably the best of the “Old West Towns we have seen) this morning and stopped next at the Montana visitors center. It was a brand new building but not much else and if it wasn’t in a brochure there was no information forthcoming. We came through some fire areas from a few years ago. And we saw a 90 foot statue of the Blessed Virgin dwarfed by the mountain it was on.

We stopped for a couple days in Deer Lodge, MT 1300 miles so far and we need a break – besides – Sunday is a day of rest! The rock formations near here are neat so we will look for some hiking or biking for tomorrow. I really wanted to go to the Cathedral in Helena and see the capitol again but it is 50 miles of bad road from here and we are suppose to be taking a break.