The Best People Ever!

(L to R) Me, Jess, Heather, Jon and Alex.

For my first outing after the knees surgery, I was able to accompany some of the most wonderful folks on a boat ride down the Spokane River.  Alex Harris grabbed his pontoon boat and we loaded up the Student Activities staff from NIC for an afternoon of fun and laughs. Jon Totten, the Outdoor Pursuits Coordinator, has resigned his position at NIC and this trip was a kind of farewell gathering.

This group of professionals are the best and I am so proud of what they do and have accomplished. It has been exciting to watch them grow professionally and I am so honored to have been part of their team.

Here are some photos from the afternoon, and a little video of one of the afternoon activities.  You can't go anywhere with this group and not witness some kind of spontaneous mischief.

This Sucks

Tim Tam Slam… ever done one? You need several items to make it happen:  hot coffee or chocolate, frozen Tim Tams, and someone who can connect to the internet to find directions and videos is mandatory.  It was our annual President’s Day weekend trip to Hill’s Resort and the usual suspects arrived.  Rania and Dean had the fire started and the cabin warm when we joined them a 1:30 PM.  Bridget and Dennis were a bit farther behind, but they joined us by 7:30 PM.

The Tim Tam thing came up when Bridget announced that she had brought some Tim Tam cookies that she had bought in Canada.  It seems that these sweet treats have found their niche via a cult-like following.  We gathered around the kitchen table as Bridget researched the techniques involved in doing a slam correctly. 

You take a frozen Tim Tam and bite off the two opposite ends.  With a hot steaming cup of coffee sitting in front of you, you grasp the Tim Tam and bite off a bit from each end, and then suck the coffee through the entire cookie.  As the coffee filters through the cookie, it melts the caramel candy in the middle.  As you continue to suck, the hot liquid moves through the chocolate.  It all collapses and you stuff the remaining candy into your mouth.

Bridget was the first to test the slam and was very successful.  My slam was a bit of a failure.  I didn’t fill the coffee cup full enough and when I reached in to suck I dropped the cookie into the hot liquid.  Everything immediately turned to mush and I was forced to fling the cookie into my mouth without the coffee nudge.

My Tim Tam Slam was a complete failure, but the the cookie was excellent and I was able to drink my coffee without spilling down my front.

During the weekend we talked and laughed and on Saturday actually got outside and did some snowshoeing.  We had about three inches of fresh snow on the trail that was groomed for cross country skiing and snowshoeing, which made the event quite fun.

Later that evening after the Gonzaga basketball team lost, we had a wonderful dinner prepared by Bridget. 

Snowshoeing fun on the ski trails at Hill's.

Dinner and Red Solo Cups!

Side note:

On Sunday morning a parade of guys marched past our cabin.  Each one had a mask of determination across their face. The march was the result of a combination of alcohol and machismo.

They gathered on the dock, counted to three and jumped in the freezing cold water.  It took only seconds and they were out and running back to the warmth of their cabin.  Wish I could have had the foresight to sneak over to their living quarters and lock their doors! 

All Abuzz

Going fishing?

They came from all over; Coeur d’Alene, Moscow, Post Falls and Kendrick.  Independence Creek on the upper arms of the Coeur d’Alene River was the final gathering place and the start of another fun filled weekend.  Raina & Dean, Bridget & Dennis met up and had breakfast Thursday morning at a café in Rose Lake.  They caravanned up the river and found a spot in the campground at Independence Creek. 

I went to work and then left for an appointment, after that we headed over Fernan Saddle and dropped into Tepee Creek drainage.  We arrived just in time to enjoy some drinks and a wonderful meal.  The hornets were real bad, but everyone tried to ignore them.  Once the sun went down the hornets went to bed, unfortunately we were so tired everyone hit the sack early.

To the new camp site!

The next morning Raina and Dean went for a hike up the Independence Creek trail.  I started fishing up river and Bridget and Dennis fished downstream.  I hit some good fish.  The big ones were sitting under cut banks, but I drew them out using stonefly nymphs.  I fished about two miles upriver and hiked back via the trail above the river. 

When I arrived back in camp the place was a buzz, pardon the pun, and everyone was packing up and moving to a new campsite.  The hornets had gotten the best of us and while the gang was out on a bike ride they found a wonderful campsite down on Tepee Creek.

Wine in the box, glass on the box.

We made the move in record time.  Once there, everyone relaxed and had a wonderful weekend.  We spent most of our days fishing, riding bikes or sitting in the river cooling off.  Bridget and Dennis were able to relax Friday and Saturday evenings because they cooked a wonderful beer brauts meal on the night we arrived.  Raina and Dean prepared the second dinner, an exquisite meal of salmon, corn and salad.  On the final night Linda and I made fajitas.

To plastic cups that change color! So easily entertained.

Saturday, Bridget and I had a little fly fishing lesson.  The topic was nymph fishing and the correct use of a dropper fly. We worked on tying the dropper on and then we floated some bugs over a slow section.  After that we moved down stream and fished some faster sections. Bridget was getting the hang of it but got a bit of a knot in her line, so she headed back to camp.  I continued down Tepee Creek to where Independence Creek joined together.   I caught quite a few big cuts and had a real great time.

Each night the drinks flowed and the stories were told.  Dennis took lots of night photos using the campfire as his light. It was great to get together with these friends and we decided that this would be an annual summer event.  I am already looking forward to our future gatherings.

Yum!

Salmon on the grill.

It's called Jacob's Slurry.

Breaking camp!

The Fireworks!

This is a bit long, but the fireworks were fantastic and we were just about right under them.  We poached a dock at the Discovery Marina at Gozzer.  What a kick!

On The 4th Of July

Celebrating in style!

Cooking dinner on Reel Time.

Loretta enjoying the day.

"I think I'll have another!"

Life doesn't get any better then this!

Gozzer fireworks barge get in place.

Just Before the 4th

This weekend our tour of the best campsites of Canyonwren Travels took us up the Coeur d’Alene River to one of our favorite sites, Teddy Creek.  This fine little site sits just ten yards off the river in a grassy wonderland that you have to drop down a slight hill to enter.  This slight elevation difference hides the site from the river road and anyone who drives in to one of several other camp sites.

The adventure started early on in the week when we visited Ben and Sherma Higgs for dinner at their house to plan an upcoming river trip down the Lower Salmon. We worked out our trip plans and the conversation turned to the fact that we both were just returning from camping weekends and that we all wanted to get back out as soon as possible.  It was at that moment that ideas were planted and the details started to sprout.  We would take our two campers and go up camping and fishing somewhere on the Coeur d’Alene River.  As the strategy developed, Ben said he would take his boat and we could drift fish the waters of the river.  Then we talked about the time when everyone could leave to find a camp. I was the only one who is not a teacher, so I was also the only one who had to work.  It was decided that Linda would adventure out of her comfort zone and drive the truck, with camper, up to find a camp. She would be following Ben and Sherma in their truck and camper so it should be an easy solo adventure.

Wednesday came and the camper train left town at about 1:30 PM.  From the stories I gathered around our first campfire after I joined the party, everything went just fine on the trip up and the Teddy Creek camp was a great find. After a rough day at the office on Thursday, I loaded some final items into the Jeep and drove up the river watching for paper plates with D-NO written on them.  These plates would guide me to the location of camp.

At the area where the road splits at Shoshone Creek I slowed down and looked to see if there was a plate there.  If they were camped up at our camp spot on Shoshone, there would be my first marker plate and I would turn right at this point.  Seeing no plates I drove on and spotted my first marker at the bridge just before Teddy Creek campground and I knew I was home for the weekend.

I arrived to a flurry of barking dogs and a toasting of drinks; Happy Hour was well in progress.  We talked about how hard my day had been and I praised Linda on getting the camper up and into our spot, then Ben and I went fishing.  We fished until almost dark and came home to Linda and Sherma eating dinner.  They couldn’t wait any longer.  I admit that we sort of got carried away, but we were fishing!

We sat around the fire and I actually made it past 9:30 PM before I went to bed.  Linda followed a bit later.  We slept like two bugs in a rug.

Friday morning Linda got up and ran and Kobi and I met her as she ran back toward the camp.  Kobi ran beside me on the bike and we helped Linda finish her morning run.  We returned to camp and I fixed breakfast. After that everything turned to getting ready to float the river and catch some fish.

Once we gathered everything we owned fish gear wise and put it into the boat, we drove up to Big Hank and launched.  Sherma drove the truck and trailer back to camp while Linda road shotgun.  Our quest was to catch as many cutthroat trout as humanly possible.  Ben’s boat was set up nicely and rowed very well through some very thin water.

We had been on the water about ten minutes when Ben spotted a cow moose looking at us from the right bank.  She was knee deep in back water and very unconcerned about our presents.  As I glanced at the moose, out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement down river.  We turned, looked and focused in on something swimming across the current about 300 yards down river.  As we floated closer and as the animal came to the left bank, we could tell that it was a black bear.  In less than fifteen minutes of river time we had spotted two critters that everyone looks for when they are out in this drainage, but most rarely see.

We drifted down river catching fish and talking.  The fish were not big fish, but there were plenty of smaller ones that kept the adventure interesting.  At about 6:00 PM we arrived at camp and tied up the boat.  Linda and Sherma were in their chairs when we arrived.  The dogs greeted us with a chorus of barks, we were happy to be home.

The evening fire burned hot, dinner was warm and filling.  Linda and I had hotdogs and potato salad.  Ben and Sherma had Chicken Caesar Salad.  We all topped the meal off with cookies from Costco.  I was able to stay up a bit longer; I think I made it to about 9:30 PM.  I am quite a night owl you know.

We slept well and in the morning Linda got up and ran while Kobi and I goofed around camp.  Ben and I gathered our gear and made ready for “Fishing the Coeur d’Alene, Part 2”. We ate breakfast and by 10:00 AM the four of us were ready to do our part in the fishing adventure.  Ben and I set out in the boat, while Linda and Sherma took the truck down to Shoshone Creek where they left it for our shuttle.  They took their bikes and road back the 8.5 miles to Teddy Creek.

Ben and I once again caught a lot of fish, most small, but we did hit a few real nice ones.  The river was busy and every camp was filled to over flowing.  Something about the four wheelers, loud music, in the woods, with guns and beer mentality that is very different from when we were younger.  We basically did all the same stuff, but without the four wheelers and guns. I think we were a little more courteous to others and the environment.  I know we drank a lot of beer back then, but I hope we never offended any one.

At our take out we met three folks that were just putting on the river to fish the evening hatch.  They moved their gear and let us take our boat out. We talked fishing, bugs of the day and dropped a few names.  Most of it was your basic fly fishing man stuff, kind of like dogs peeing on a spot trying to claim ownership.  We arrived back at our camp at about 5:30 PM, our float took us about seven hours.  That was about as long as I need to be out on the river in a day.

Sherma and Ben provided a great dinner of elk burgers, Salad and Rice a roni.  We sat around the fire and talked fishing.  How many times can you reenact the catching of a big fish?  We were able to keep the lies coming until about 10:00 PM.

Sunday morning we all were pretty slow in getting up.  Both camper crews had decided to pack up and beat the big rush down river, which would take place on Monday the 4^th of July.  We cleaned camp and got everything loaded into our vehicles.  The drive home was uneventful, Kobi slept, I drove the truck and Linda led the way in the Jeep.

Great Weekend - No Photos

We packed up the camper and drove up Alder Creek to John and Loretta Sutherland's place and spent the weekend.  Ok it sounds a bit different but there was a Friday after work gathering and we wanted to attend.  We also wanted to go camping.  Therefore we combined the two and attended the party while camping! Problem solved. 

The set-up of the camper went very fast since we were on a gravel pad next to the creek and the barn.  It was a great spot with lots of sun.  We grabbed our chairs and walked up the hill to the house.  As the first to arrive we sat and talked and enjoyed the day.  Everyone arrived and we had a dinner you wouldn't believe.  I wanted to get some shots of the folks and the food but I had forgotten the camera down the hill in the camper.  I wasn't going to trudge down and back up just for pictures so the blog is empty.

Saturday we sat around in the sun and read.  Loretta visited us with Scout and after John finished mowing the grass he joined us and we enjoyed the afternoon.  Linda and I ate dinner in our camper and then walked up the hill and watched some TV.

Sunday we got up and drove home and then I packed up the boat and Mike Wassmuth came over and we went fishing on Hayden Lake.  I took the camera, but because Mike caught all the fish, I didn't take any pictures.  That will teach him!

Is it Sixteen Years?

Another year and yet another Hill's Resort gathering has passed, but the memories and photos will now live on in our blogs, photo galleries and hazy memories. It was another great year with abundant food and lots of laughs. The weather was superior with sunshine each day. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect weekend.

It all started Friday with a clear sky drive up to Priest Lake. Linda and I left early enough to get up to the cabin before folks arrived. We like to get the wood in and a fire started so that the place is warm when the rest of the crowd gathers.

We unpacked the truck and as Linda was putting things away, I filled the wood rack. Raina and Dean arrived just as Linda was starting the fire which signaled the start of laughing and of course drinking.

Bridget and Dennis had been in contact and we knew that they would show up sometime between our arrival and the end of the weekend. They were on Hill time and no one can ever predict their actual appearance time.

The fire was going strong when the phone rang signaling that Bridget and Dennis were either lost or had actually found their way to the resort and couldn't remember which cabin we always stay in. It turned out to be the latter and within minutes they appeared at the door.

With the cabin warm and everyone present we settled in picking up where we left off last year, laughing and teasing each other. Bridget set upon the task of preparing dinner as the rest of the grouped drank margaritas, wine and a couple beers.

The dinner was outrageous! She fixed a Greek salad and some other Greek type main dish that centered around shrimp that we tossed over rice. We ate facossa bread with the meal and when we were all finished she brought out the most gorgeous home made apple pie any of us had ever seen. This pie was beyond belief. Thick light brown crust covering layer upon layer of apples baked so nicely that they still were just a wee bit firm when bitten. Then to top it off they added vanilla ice cream, we were in hog heaven.

After we licked our plates clean, Bridget broke out one of her new games. I am not sure what it was called, but it was based on identifying shapes on cards that, when put together, fulfilled a set of criteria that Bridget had interpreted and written on four, very small and delicately fashioned paper towel pieces. These intricate criteria sheets became the focus of much of our teasing for the rest of our stay during the weekend. It was so Bridget.

We played several rounds of the game and each time a sequence of cards was produced, Bridget would make sure that the three cards met her set of rules, matching each paper rule sheet to the cards every time they were displayed. This went on until everyone was exhausted and we all wandered off to bed.

Saturday morning arrived with blue skies and cold sharp winds. We ate breakfast and then loaded up our snowshoes for a hike around the local golf course. We took two rigs and proceeded to circle the golf course several times looking for a place to park and embark on our trek. Finally we stopped on the side of the street, parked and donned our snowshoes, we walked the exterior of the golf course playing like children as we went. It was a very fun adventure.

We returned home and had a bit of free time before the Gonzaga basketball game. When tip off arrived we loaded into the rigs again and drove the three blocks to the restaurant and bar at the main lodge. The girls smuggled their margaritas and popcorn into the bar where we watched the Bulldogs smother the Dons in an exciting yet one sided game.

Once the game was over we drove the three blocks back to our cabin and settled down to have a great taco dinner provided by Raina and Dean. It was late by this time so we ate and teased Bridget until we were ready for bed.

Morning came quickly and everyone was eager to pack up and get on the road. Raina and Dean headed up to Bonners to visit Raina's family. Linda and I drove back to Post Falls where we unloaded and then reloaded the truck so that Linda could drive down to Moscow to visit her Mom and Dad. Bridget and Dennis were lounging in the cabin when we left, once again on Hill time.

The Eve of New Years Eve

Our family of friends gathered at Bigote's on the final night we were together to celebrate Don's 69th birthday. This small group has grown close over the years. It was great to celebrate, yet we all knew that within a day we would be back in our homes, not seeing each other for another year. This mixture made the night special. Don and Caroline created a wonderful dinner of coconut shrimp and we talked into the night.

The drinks and conversation prior to dinner covered many topics. All of our roots go back to the place where Don and Caroline are staying, La Paloma. We met Don and Caroline there in 2003 when we were drawn together by the parallels in our careers.

Grant and Jackie became friends with Don and Caroline who introduced them to us about two years ago. Though we are separated in our daily lives by many miles and in the case of Grant and Jackie, a country; we have many common interests and feel very comfortable together.


We have a lot to be thankful for: the trips to Melaque, the friends we have met, and the special friends we keep coming together with. It makes these trips special in many ways. We probably would not be drawn to return each year if we didn't have our friends meeting us in this small town.

I don't know how many necklaces that our three lovely companions have purchased from Gaston, but I think we keep him and his family in business for most of the year. He is a very good looking man, and his wife isn't hard on the eyes either. Our women gather around him and his artwork like flies to food on the 4th of July. They touch each necklaces and listen to the stories of where each stone was found. Gaston's descriptions, all spoken in an almost musical Argentinian accent. I think he sold most of his jewelry because of his looks, voice and stories. Grant, Don and I kidded constantly about how our significant others swooned over him.

Dinner on the Night Before Christmas

On Christmas Eve day we walked into town and did shopping for the nights dinner at Larry and Maggie's, and Christmas day dinner at our Casa. Shrimp were in order for the meal across the street and we bought a bunch of meats to be grilled at our place on the big day.

After we shopped everyone felt a pool volleyball game was in order so we cooled off, and I mean cooled, in the pool. The sun had been replaced by clouds and it was very cold in the water.

The evening dinner was spectacular. We had fresh Coho salmon that Larry brought down, added to that were two salads, meat and veggie kabobs,garlic shrimp, potato's, and ham-n-beans. For desert we had two pies that were finally identified as one apple and one apple, peach, maybe strawberry, maybe pineapple. They were very good so it didn't really matter what kind they were. We called them magic pies because everyone tasted a different fruit in them.

It was a marvelous dinner and by the end Don and Caroline had joined us for a visit. Everyone talked and shared stories until later in the evening. The neighborhood noise level grew with sounds of stereos, fireworks, and families celebrating. This went on until after midnight when it quieted down with the anticipation of Santa's arrival.

Night Before the Day Before X-Mas

We were invited over to Don and Caroline's last night to have snacks before we went to the Maya Tapas bar. They provided smoked salmon, shrimp, yellow fin tuna, chips salsa, chocolate and drinks; by the time we finished we were stuffed.

We watched the dun set and then went to Maya where we had more drinks and tapas. The food was very good, but if I went there to eat a full meal it would cost as much as going to one of our restaurants at home. We had a pizza which was four bites exactly.



In the photo from left to right; Linda, Grant, Jackie, and Don. We had a fest before our tapas, and were glad we did.

The Summer is over!

We needed to get back on the river. The summer is getting real short for us and we still wanted to do a couple adventures. About two weeks ago we went to dinner at Terri and Bill Burch’s house and since we had just come off the Lower Salmon, talk turned to rivers. Sherma and Ben Higgs wanted to either do a river trip or go camping over the next weekend, and we said that if they wanted company to give us a call. On Monday the call came in and on Friday we were launching the boats at Hammer Creek.

It was our first trip with these two river rats and actually our first extended time together. Things could not have worked out better. Ben and Sherma seemed to know everyone we knew and it was strange that we had never connected before this for a trip together. Everything went super smooth and we had a lot of fun.

I am not going to bore you with all the specifics like I did last time; you can see by the photos we had great weather and a good time. I do however want to let you know that we had one tragedy. My favorite umbrella, the yellow and red “Good Humor” one, jumped out of the boat in the rapid located just below the Slide in the Black Canyon. It floated stem up through most of the whitewater as we tried to rescue it. As we drew close enough to pull it in, it caught a wave, turned over and dipped below the surface. Its final effort to return to the boat came when the pole struck a rock and launched it out of the water. The “Good Humor” umbrella stood up, collapsed and dolphined back into the water, never to be seen again. We all grew quiet as we searched to depths hopelessly trying to spot our friend. We had a moment of silence on the beach that night. We are moving on and I am in search of another umbrella, I don’t think I will find another one that drew so many cheers from beaches as we passed.

Everything about the rest of the trip went very smooth. We had a couple night where it rained just enough to send us scurrying to put up some shelter. Both instances only lasted a couple minutes so they were not uncomfortable what so ever.

We arrived at the take out at about 9 am and were home and unpacked by 1:30 pm. How can you beat that! We want to thank Sherma and Ben for such a neat opportunity to get to know them. They are wonderful to boat with and we really enjoyed their company.