The long drive.

So the plan was to get into the camper and travel to Slate Creek by dropping down via the cut off on Moon
Pass. We got all of our stuff loaded up (we thought) and took off at about 12:30 PM. No problems were encountered and we filled up at Wallace prior to heading up the pass.

The road over Moon Pass was real good, dusty but real smooth for this time of the year and we made good time. At the top Linda and I were talking and just drove on by the turn we wanted to take which would drop us down the valley into Slate Creek. On we drove down the road into the drainage leading us into the St. Joe via the road to Avery. This was not what we wanted to do but at that point we had decided that it would work out fine. This is the road that many take to the bottom or the Hiawatha Trail and it became busier as we drove. Camp sites were few and far between but we pushed on down to the St. Joe and turned east to see if we could find a camp spot.

No deal, I guess you can't get a spot unless you drive up on Wednesday or Thursday. There were a couple spots but they were close to the road and we didn't want to watch Baca that close. So on we drove.

When we hit the road that splits and goes up the Joe or up over the pass to St. Regis, we took a left. On this road we found two spots, both of which were filled with mosquitoes, so we pushed on.

At the top of the pass we took a tour out on the ridge to the west to a place at the base of Flat Top Mountain. The weather starting changing and the wind picked up so we turned around and backtracked to the main road. From there we drove to St. Regis and decided to eat dinner.

We chose Jaspers
Restaurant at the west end of town. What a mistake! The place has to be the worst restaurant in the world. I mean it! The couple behind us was ignored so often that the guy got up and started serving water and other things to the folks around us. One couple actually thought he was a bus boy working there.

We ate, paid and got back on the road heading home. At the 10,000 Dollar Bar, I noticed a car next to us and the driver was waving. I immediately asked Linda if we had left the camper door open but she said no. I pulled over and low and behold it was the bus boy/waiter/customer from Jaspers. He was so excited that he was able to catch us. He told me he drove 90 mile and hour, but he knew he could do it. Linda had left her little purse with her drivers license and credit cards on the counter and when they noticed it he said he could catch us. They would not give him the cards to deliver, but that was ok, he knew he could catch us. So we thanked him profusely and headed back to St. Regis. We watched for his car back at the restaurant but he didn't return. We wanted to give him some cash for his effort, maybe buy him breakfast and someplace other then Jaspers.

The drive back was uneventful and we arrived in Post Falls about 11:00 PM. We drove about six hours and covered a lot of dirt roads. It was fun but it was exhausting so I went right to bed and slept hard. We plan to go back to the Slate Creek area by the end of the summer and I promise to pay attention at the top of the pass.