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.

HOT @ Kit Price

It's midweek and we had our gear loaded into the camper and ready to roll! This would be the first time we have been up the Coeur d'Alene River in several years. We reserved two spots at Kit Price and would be meeting Rayelle and Mike Anderson for a quick three-night getaway.  The only problem was that our area, like all across the US, was, and still is, under a heat wave of epic proportions. We arrived at our campsite and it was a blazing 96 degrees in the shade. I call that HOT.

We drove up the river road at a leisurely pace. Downriver from Shoshone Creek, we came around a corner and spotted two vehicles stopped in the road. Between the two cars was a yearling moose crossing the road. We stopped and watched as it climbed up the bank and then turned around and trotted back across the road into the brush by the river. Very cool!

Linda and I had reserved our spot for a day before the Andersons were to join us to enjoy some time together. Retirement makes that possible and we love to take advantage of every opportunity we can as "mid-weekers." 

Our campsite was #17, a good one if you are looking for sunshine. There was no shade anywhere near our spot, We arrived, set up, and immediately hunkered down in the shade of the camper.

Most of the afternoon was spent reading and sleeping in the shade. At 5:00 PM the sun dropped lower in the sky and we began to notice a slight cool-off.  I fixed a couple hot dogs and we had dinner. After we ate, we walked to the main river road and took a stroll downriver. The temperature continued to drop quickly and when we arrived back at the camper, the sun was down and it was very nice. The air had cooled and we sat and played cards until Linda had beaten me twice in Skip-Bo. Nothing I could do, she was on a roll and I got trounced!

Darkness enveloped us and the air grew chilly. By the time we went to sleep, it was very comfortable. Midway through the night we both had to crawl under some extra covers. 

The next morning, we got up and I fixed breakfast. Linda did her walk/run as I enjoyed the cool, quiet morning.

This relaxing temperature stayed with us until about 11:00 AM and then the thermometer made a giant climb into the 90s.

When the Andersons arrived it was full-on hot again. Mike backed into their camp spot and got set up.  Their location had shade. A willow tree blocked the sun in the afternoon. This gave us the option to retreat out of the elements.

Once they got set up we sat around in the shade and talked.  When the sun got lower we went back to our camper and heated a dinner of pulled pork sliders, fruit, and veggies. We ended with brownies that Rayelle had brought. After dinner, we walked around the campground and talked.  The heat had taken its toll, we were beat, and by 9:00 PM we were all ready for bed.

The next morning we had a big breakfast that Mike threw together. We then packed everything up and went to sit in the shade, in the water.  We spent the entire day staying cool while checking out the river residents. We caught crawdads, case caddis, and sculpins. I explained fish feeding needs and how that relates to fly fishing to Mike. He listened courteously as I jabbered on. Linda giggled and suggested I stop the lecture. It was a fun afternoon.

That evening Mike barbequed steaks and chicken for dinner and after the feast, we played cards.

Things cooled off nicely and we all went to bed.

The next morning we packed up and drove down the river. As we went, we past flotillas of people on anything that floated drifting down the river. There were hundreds of people slowly moving down that cool ribbon of water.

We stopped at the Snake Pit Bar in Enaville. There we found a table and had a great lunch. Everything we ordered tasted wonderful and was almost way too much to eat.  By the time we departed, the place was packed.  We headed out into the heat, said our goodbyes, and headed home. What a great way to spend a few summer days - wonderful friends, a beautiful river, fun times.