Devils Elbow Birthday

Over the many years Linda and I have been together, we’ve tried to celebrate her July 24th birthday with a river float or some other little adventure. This year we took the camper and headed up the Coeur d’Alene River to Devils Elbow Campground, where we met up with our good friends Mike and Rayelle Anderson.

We’d made our site reservations four months earlier, and as the date got closer, our group kept growing. Rayelle found out that her sister and brother‑in‑law, Rhonda and Kevin, already had a site reserved for the same weekend. Then her brother and sister‑in‑law, Ron and Sharon, decided to join in at their campsite. Finally, the crew was rounded out by Rayelle’s niece Malina and her husband Darby.

In the end, everything worked out perfectly, and we were able to gather everyone at one site each evening for conversation, laughter, and the kind of easy storytelling that comes naturally around a campfire.

Our days were spent sitting in the shade or cooling off down in the river. Meals were excellent, and Mike treated everyone to one of his famous breakfasts — the kind that somehow tastes even better when you’re camping.

I managed to sneak in one day of fishing, but the heat had the trout in full “not today” mode. They ignored every fly I offered them, and I couldn’t blame them.

We spent four days and three nights relaxing out of the worst of the heat, surrounded by friends and the steady rhythm of the river. It was a simple trip, but a good one — exactly the kind of birthday weekend Linda loves.

Linda spotted this owl on one of her walks.

DB/AI

Devil's Elbow

Our mid-week adventure led us up the Coeur d'Alene River to a Forest Service campground called Devil's Elbow. This was our first visit to this small campground and we had a very enjoyable time. 

Linda and I drove up on Tuesday and the Anderson's, Mike, Rayelle, and Julia joined us on Wednesday.  Julia brought with her a friend to spend the camping trip with, her name was Lucy. 

We had a great time together, did some hiking, visited Fern and Shadow Falls, and played games of Cornhole and cards.