Checking Out Fishing

Over the past few months, I have spent quite a bit of time recovering from my back surgery. Each small adventure we've tried was a test of how I have been healing. We found that I could pack and get ready for our trips with no problems. I didn't have problems getting into or out of the camper, or better yet, crawling into bed when it was time to rest. After this latest trip, I feel confident saying I'm back to normal, and we can continue our adventures with no worries.

Linda was online this spring and checked out the website for Huckleberry Campground up on the St. Joe River and noticed an opening at our favorite campsite. It was available Monday through Thursday, so she clicked the reserve button and secured the spot. Gotta love retirement and camping during the week.

We loaded up and spent the next few days relaxing in the shade on the banks of the St. Joe and loving it. My test dealing with my recovery from back surgery was to go fly fishing and see if it caused any problems. I can say without a doubt that I was able to fish just like I have in the past. I got a bit tired, but all in all, the fishing was unhampered by my injury. Now I just have to figure out how to catch those critters!

Linda enjoyed her time away from the stress of caregiving. She took walks, read her books, and enjoyed the quiet. On one of her morning walks, she came upon a rabbit that was determined to make her laugh. The rabbit would hide in the brush and then rush out and jump around in free-form dance, much like puppy circles, except, of course, it was a bunny. Linda said it did this about four times before it disappeared into the dense brush and out of sight. She looked for the little bunny every time she walked, but never saw it again. 

Around our campsite, we spotted many different birds, but the one that intrigued us the most was the Grey Catbird with its distinctive songs and cries. It really does sound like a cat at times, and we were able to spot it hiding in the brush next to our camper.

For our dinners, we used our Dutch ovens. The first night, I followed a recipe out of one of my many DO cookbooks for a Mexican enchilada dish.  I put it all together, and as I added ingredients, I thought t it might be a bit too plain and not have an exciting flavor. When I served the meal, we were pleasantly surprised that it had a great flavor and turned out really good! It was delicious!

The second night's meal was an old favorite that we have cooked many times, Chicken Cordon Bleu. The meal is always very flavorful, and everyone loves it. It does, however, take a bit of fussing and mixing to get it all together.  I will be trying some ideas I have to make the process less labor-intensive for the future.

Our three nights on the river went by very quickly. We were sad to have to drive home on Thursday, wishing we had just one more day. 

A Birthday Trip to Sam Owen

View from the Veterans Memorial at Hope City Park.

Sam Owen Campground is located on the Hope Peninsula near the thriving towns of Hope and Clarkfork, Idaho. To get to this spot from Post Falls, we drove north through Rathdrum, Athol (hehe, I always laugh at that name) and Sandpoint. Once through these urban areas, we started edging northeast along Lake Pend Oreille. 

We were on a mission, and our task would lead us to the East Hope City Park, where there is a memorial honoring all residents who have served our country in the military. One of the name plaques has been paid for and reserved to honor our aunt Irene Dunn's husband, "Uncle" Jack Dunn.

Jack served in the US Navy and spent most of his time on the island of Guam. He was a resident of Hope and operated his family dairy. I spent many days up at his farm helping with chores, picking cherries, and harvesting hay. It was a memorable time in my life, and I know it instilled a strong work ethic in my soul.

Uncle Jack's nameplate has been purchased, but we found that it hasn't been installed. We walked through the small park and checked out the monuments. It's a pretty little park, and we will definitely have to return as soon as we know the nameplate has been installed.

It was a short drive to our campsite at Sam Owen, and we arrived just after 2:30 PM. We set up the camper and lounged around in the shade until Rayelle and Mike arrived at about 5:30 PM.

We spent the rest of our evening chatting with the Andersons. By 9:00 pm, we were ready for bed.

The 24th of July was Linda's birthday. We loaded into Mike's truck and drove to Clarkfork, where we found the Clarkfork Pantry, an amazing bakery.  What a wonderful selection of baked goods and foods! We bought coffee and various sweet breads covered in frosting. We were in heaven.

Birthday Apple Fritters. Yum!

For Linda's birthday, I gave her some flowers and a card. The two items were supposed to accompany her main gift, but that didn't happen because that gift failed to arrive in time for this trip. Linda and I had gone to a jewelry store and replaced her cubic zirconium in a ring with a real stone. We combined her birthday and our 40th anniversary into one event.

A fish in a bikini.

That evening, the celebration continued, and we found our way into Hope, where we settled into the Old Ice House Pizzaeria. The pizza place is very popular, but we found a table with an amazing view of The Green Monarchs and Lake Pend Oreille. We ate pizza and played a trivia game that Rayelle found in a game box. It was a fun meal and very educational.

Our next day was spent in two locations. The beach or at camp in the shade. The relaxation was exactly what everyone needed.

For our evening dinner, Linda and I cooked brats and provided potato salad and fruit salad. I baked a fruit cobbler in the Dutch oven, which we devoured with no problem. The evening was topped off by playing two rounds of Mexican Train. Julia and I won a round each.

The last day of our stay was spent sunning and enjoying the beach.  We all met at the Andersons' campsite for a great dinner of hamburgers, potato salad, and chocolate brownies.  After we finished dinner, we spotted two immature Great Horned Owls sitting on a dead tree stump. The sun was setting, and my photos were not as clear as most due to the distance and lack of light, but the one shot I got works well enough to show that we did have these beautiful winged visitors.

Lazy Days on the Joe

Last weekend, we drove to one of our favorite campgrounds, Huckleberry. It sits on the bank of the St Joe River. We met up with Bill and Teri Burch.  Also joining us were our next-door neighbors, Jodi and Steve. We had a fun few days playing cards, tossing bean bags, and taking walks. We ate, drank (some of us), told stories, and laughed a lot. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed every moment of our stay.

Wild protesters gather around a fire pit.

On No Kings Day, we silently protested by making signs and taping them to our rigs.  Midway through the afternoon, a camp host came by and said, "Your signs make people uncomfortable,"  and that we should take them down.  We stated our right to free speech and said we would not remove the signs. The host drove away without further comment.  We were ready for more comments, but nothing came, so we quietly enjoyed our little political altercation.

No Kings!

Steve and his bike.