Our Road Trips

6/11/14

We have been laying low for a few days, just enjoying the nice weather at our really nice Army Corps of Engineers camp ground in Laclede, ID. Sunday, we just sat outside and enjoyed the day and were a couple of lazy bums. The campground was full when we got back on Sat afternoon (which we expected) and it cleared out Sunday morning...back to work tomorrow. We had a fire outside & sat and talked after cooking a steak on the grill. We also took a bike ride down to the river & sat and watched some kids having fun in the water. We have no TV, so we watched videos too...pretty lazy day.

Monday, was more of the same. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, so we thought we'd just sit and enjoy it...that is what retired life is supposed to be now & then. Barb made a great dinner and then we got serious at Yahtzee...3 games. Wonderful day!!

Tuesday, we had some lunch at the camper and then rode into Sandpoint. First thing was a trip up Schweitzer Mountain. Since it is not winter, they are doing maintenance up there, so it was sort of deserted. There is a ski resort up there that sort of took us both by surprise, how many chalets, etc. there are up there. It is the biggest skiing resort in Idaho & Washington, with 7 lifts and 2900 acres of skiing...pretty big place. What amazed us the most was there is a fire station up there with a rescue, 2 pumpers & 2 woods trucks.

Then we headed down, stopped to take a few pictures of Lake Pend Oreille & Sandpoint. Right after we started back down, it started raining, thunder & lightning, then sleet...holy cow. As soon as we got down, it stopped. So we drove to the lakefront to check on a cruise, nobody there. We called and they are in transition between Spring & Summer...cruises start again Thursday. So we went grocery shopping and headed back to the camper. Ribs on the grill...been a while. They were delicious. Some more Yahtzee while the ribs were cooking, then some NCIS after dinner...Barbara's favorite show.

Wednesday, we finally were able to catch a tour at the Albeni Falls Dam between Priest River & Oldtown, ID. A nice young lady who is on summer break from college took us on the tour...a 42600 KW dam built in 1951-55 and operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. It was built after a huge flood in 1947 devastated the area. It is part of the Columbia River Basin which covers most of 5 states. It is pretty cool to tour these dams & their power houses and hear all the statistics. And the Columbia Basin provides most of the electricity in the area, all the while they are also controlling flooding and providing recreational facilities.

Then we drove up to Priest Lake, about 40 mins north. We found a very nice restaurant on the lake and had lunch enjoying the scenery and the weather...another gorgeous day. The food was great too. Then we drove around a bit and stopped to buy a Huckleberry pie & some more jelly...good stuff. We then headed back to the camper...very casual day again. Tomorrow we are going to get a boat ride on Lake Pend Oreille among other things...we always find things to do when we look. I think Barb wants to do some shopping...OK then. We have had a great week.

My sister Peggy has been back in the hospital for about a week, so our thoughts have been with them. My other sister has a birthday today and our Florida family are leaving on Sat for the long drive from Central FL to Yellowstone, where they will meet Barb's two sisters & her niece with their 4 kids along...so the whole gang will be on the road. We hope their travels are safe...so all of our family is in our thoughts a lot.

We leave for Alaska too next week. All of us moving around. Safe travels to all!!

Steve & Barb