It always dregs up memories driving through Idaho and Washington. Three of my four children were born in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and I lived there, in Post Falls, and in Spokane for many years before moving to California in 1981.
But...I digress.
Our first week was in an RPI park, right off I-90, north of Cheney, Washington, called Ponderosa Falls RV Campground. It's not a bad place, and we'll be returning for another week on Saturday. It's fairly close to the kids, who live practically downtown Spokane on the west side of the city-- a fifteen minute drive. But I'm a little bummed we couldn't stay in the same park for our full three week stay.
It's difficult to find an affordable park in this area, for some reason I haven't figured out yet. I just priced out a KOA park east of the city, and their summer rate is about $85 a night! Who can afford that?! We could get a motel room for less money. The thing is, with the RPI network, we can only stay one week at the reduced rate for which we pay an annual fee to enjoy, and then we have to go somewhere else for a week before we can return for another week at the reduced rate. The closest Thousand Trails park is in Newport, Washington, about an hour's drive northeast of Spokane. And that's were we are this week, with the bees, doing more or less nothing.
Missing a piece |
The view out your window |
To top things off, there is a yellow jacket problem in the area. It seems that the dryer than usual winter has led to the worst bee infestation in fifteen years. Fortunately, although they are everywhere, they don't seem to be aggressive. Nobody's been stung. Yet. And we've managed to keep them out of the house.
The days have been pretty warm, but the nights are in the upper 50s to low 60s, making very comfortable sleeping weather. It cools off pretty quickly once the sun goes down, and then we open up the windows and enjoy the night air.
There's not too much to do here, but we took a drive into Newport and visited their local museum - Pend Oreille Historical Museum, a quaint but interesting establishment. Many of the items on display were things I remember seeing in my parents' or grandparents' homes as a child. Now they're in museums. (Does that make me old?)
On Saturday, we return to Cheney for our last week in Spokane, and we'll get as much visiting in as we can before we head west. Two weeks just isn't enough time when you see family only once a year. I'll just have to factor that into next year's plan. Maybe we can get a monthly rate somewhere. Yeah...I'll make a note of it.
Did you know that half of Newport is in Washington and half is in Idaho? If you’re on State Ave in Washington you can cross the street and be in Idaho. Back in the late 70s drinking age in Idaho was 19 while in Washington it was 21. Washington kids could just cross the street to buy their Booz. :)
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