Beaver Creek, Hot Again

Linda and I just returned from another camping adventure up at Priest Lake. We shared a camp spot with Rayelle, Mike, and Julia Anderson at Beaver Creek Campground on the lake's Northwest side.

We met the Andersons up at Spirit Lake, followed each other to our spot, and were set up and at the water by 4:00 PM. We had a great spot reserved in a campsite where there was shade most all day and not too many people around us.  It was busy (we were camping over a weekend which is something we normally don't do), but most folks followed the campground rules and were very nice.

This trip was relatively peaceful, though there was one camp group that kept their dog locked in a cage all day and he was not happy about that. The dog kept howling. He was very sad and lonesome, but the owners were boating all day. After the first night, they moved their campsite to a spot a distance away and we couldn't hear the poor dog for the rest of our stay. We felt so badly for him.

Our time at the campground was spent laying in the shade and playing in the water, playing cards and reading. We had great dinners each night and Mike made his usual big breakfast on our second day there. During the evening we played Skip-Bo and enjoyed talking and laughing.

Sunday, I took a walk down the Lakeshore Trail to Teacher Bay while everyone else was down at the beach. It was hot and I was ready to swim when I got back to camp.  

Before we called it an evening, Linda and I went for an evening swim. There was no one down at the beach at that time so cooling off was wonderful.

On Monday afternoon the Andersons had to pack up and go home.  Rayelle had an all-faculty NIC meeting she could not miss. We were sad to see them go.

Monday night was quiet. There was no breeze to speak of, so again we went swimming before bed. 

Tuesday morning we packed up and drove home. The trip was short but fun. Now we are hunkered down. It's over 100 degrees outside and it looks like it is staying hot for the next four or five days.  Thank goodness for the air conditioner we put in last summer.

Photo Bomb!

Old chimney left from beach cabin.

Great camping team!

Evening calm on Priest Lake.

Urban Adventure

After waiting in anticipation, Saturday night finally arrived. Our friends Mike, Rayelle, and Julia Anderson were taking us to the Festival at Sandpoint to see Train with the opening act,  Better Than Ezra.

Our group consisted of the Andersons, the Bennetts, Lexi (Julia's friend), and Ron and Sharon (Rayell's Brother and sister-in-law.)  This was our first time attending a concert at the Festival.

We drove up to Sandpoint at about 2:30 PM and wound around the streets of southeast Sandpoint finding a spot to park. As we wandered, we passed a sailboat parked in front of a house, and low and behold, Jon Totten and Terry Brinton were standing there as we moved past. I waved and shouted hello. Within a couple of seconds, Jon texted me and said to stop by once we got parked.

Mike found a great parking spot and we then took our chairs and blankets over and claimed our spot in line.  Julia and Lexi held our spot and the rest of us walked over to the house where we had spotted Totten.  The house was directly across the street from the concert venue. Jon lives there in the summer.

We went inside and talked for about 45 minutes; Jon told stories and everyone laughed. He has experienced so much and is a great orator.  The band did a sound check and we all looked at each other and said "Why did we buy tickets?" The sound was so good. This house would be a great place to listen to concerts.

After a while, we said our goodbyes and made our way back to our spot in line. Julia and Lexi did a great job. The Andersons ordered pizza that was delivered to Mike across the street from the park. Soon after enjoying our pizza, we were on the move to claim our next spot, in the concert venue. It was a big rush and we were a bit overwhelmed, but we got a good spot and had plenty of room to listen to the concert and watch a little of the action on stage.

Better Than Ezra came on stage at 7:30 PM and did a good job of warming up the crowd. We had listened to their hits the day before the concert and they turned out to be a good opening band. Their sound was a little distorted at times, but what opening band ever gets a perfect sound?

With the crowd warmed up, and Ezra off stage, we waited for Train to take over.  At 9:00 PM Train appeared on stage and they were amazing. Linda and Rayelle headed to the stand-and-dance mosh pit area in front of the stage. They spent the whole concert there. Linda said she sang and danced like she was in her 20s

I have to say that the lead singer for Train, Pat Monahan, has an amazing voice. Very Impressive!

It was a great show and we enjoyed every song.

Thank you, Rayelle and Mike, for giving us our first Festival at Sandpoint experience.

Waiting for the gates to open.

Our little nest.

A concert groupie.

Better Than Ezra.

Let the party begin!

Pat Monahan, lead singer for Train.