It's Raining, so keep Clam!

The Clam in all it's glory!

We finally got a break and were able to drive up the Coeur d'Alene River and do three days of camping. Tom and Sarah Husby and Dan Breeden were getting away from the city and invited us to join them. The group all gathered at the store in Pritchard on Sunday, and then as a convoy, drove up the river to the area around Teepee Creek where we found a very nice little site right next to the stream.

The three rigs filled the dirt access road, which left a great spot for our camp chairs near a fire ring. We were set up in less than a half-hour and ready to relax with no worries or interruptions.

We sat around the fire and chatted the afternoon and evening away. There weren't many folks up and driving around on that first night. We knew that the weather might be changing from partly cloudy to emanate rain so our thoughts were that the big 4th of July crowds might not head up this early in the week.

Everyone had dinner and Danbo stoked the fire as we sat around laughing and telling stories.

The next morning we were having coffee when a friend and his dog dropped by. Jim Gallahan and his dog, Black Dog, came up the river to do some fishing with Tom and visit our campsite. It was good to visit with Jim and catch up on life events.

Tom and Sarah had brought a screen tent up with them called The Clam. It had never been set up and Tom wanted to see if the group could accomplish this task. Previously, Tom had attempted a setup but got stymied and gave up. The group pulled out the Clam and Tom explained what he had read in the instructions. It took a bit but the Clam finally was about set up. Jim stepped back and said, "It looks like we have it set up inside out!"  

Returning from fishing.

Back to square one... we attempted to go. During the previous setup attempt by Tom, some poles were twisted and would not let us pop the Clam up properly. Jim and I took the pole holder apart, unwound the tent pole, and then got it all back together properly. After about 45 minutes we were finally able to pop up the Clam and stake it into place!

What a nice bug net shelter! As it turned out, this space became very important as the campout progressed.

Jim and Tom went fly fishing downstream and I got my gear on and headed on upstream to see if I could find some fish. It was a nice afternoon and everyone had a great time.

The afternoon progressed and the clouds grew darker pushing out the blue skies. As we returned from fishing the clouds opened up and it began to rain. Back at camp, everyone climbed into the Clam, out of the downpour. 

From this point, we basically spent our time either hiding from the rain, sitting in the protection of the Clam, or walking around the area when the weather let up a bit. There were times when the rain came down so hard that we could not hear each other talk over the pounding on the Clam's fabric roof. It was amazing. Danbo brought Tom and Sara's propane fireplace under the Clam and it made for very comfortable sitting.

On Tuesday the rain continued. Tom and I went fishing. I made my way to a nice deep pool with a good riffle at its head. My thought was to get a perfect cast into the water, so I got into position and stripped my line out. Then I loaded the tip of the rod and made a small false cast. On my second cast, I laid the fly down on the water in a great looking spot. Just then, out of the corner of my eye, a baby fawn that had been hiding almost under my feet jumped up out of the tall grass. It scampered upstream. I glanced at the baby and at the same time saw a big cutthroat strike at my Stimulator fly. Because I was watching the deer, I missed setting the hook on the big fish.  The whole event only took a couple of seconds. I stood there shaking my head and smiling. Five minutes later the sky opened up with a downpour that sent me hustling back to the safety of the Clam.

Our little group spent the rest of the evening in and out of the Clam. Danbo kept the fire going despite the huge downpours of rain.

The next morning we packed up the Clam, all our gear, and headed back to Coeur d'Alene. What an enjoyable three days. We are ready to head out again as soon as the holiday weekend is over.

Mergansers on the move.

We walked to Magee Ranger Station.

The old barn at Magee.

Linda loved this green grotto.