Visiting the Spokane Family

My family has a lot of history in the Spokane area. My first job was at a travel service downtown. It was a pretty city back then. Married my first husband in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and three of my four children were born there. Even though most of the family uprooted decades ago, two of my children and one of my brothers (Mark) returned and now call Spokane home. For that reason, it has become a regular summer stop for us.

Our stay this year was a little shorter than last year. We spent a week at our usual campground in Cheney-- Ponderosa Falls. It is an RPI park and our membership makes it very affordable at $10 a night. Unfortunately, our membership only lets us stay a week. We picked up an extra weekend at another small park in Cheney (Peaceful Pines), but most of the camping options around Spokane are too high-priced for our pocketbook. An option we might have considered was the Spokane Fair Grounds RV Park, but they were still shut down "due to Covid." Maybe next year.

So to compensate for the shorter time, we just packed all the days with visiting. My son, Josh, took a few days off work and we spent those days and part of each weekend with his family. And the rest of the time we spent with Liz and her family (and neighbors), mostly hanging out in lawn chairs in front of her apartment building. 

Adam trying out his new red ball and Grandpa's shoes.

On one of our days with Josh, we took an excursion to Coeur d'Alene and walked around the downtown area for a little while. It's become quite a tourist attraction since I lived there. Little Adam enjoyed walking around on the beach for a bit, but we couldn't stay too long because two year-olds have a fairly short endurance.

Downtown Coeur d'Alene
Mark, me, Nicole and Adam

One evening we had everyone out to our campsite for a cookout. Chris (Liz's sweetheart) did the cooking for us. He makes a living cooking for Outback Steak House, and that man knows his stuff! We had baby potatoes and asparagus cooked on the grill, hot dogs and burgers, and a fruit tray. It was a delicious. feast.

I spared one Friday afternoon for a visit with my brother, Mark. Liz bade me stop at Fieldhouse, where she works, and sent me off with pizza, cheese sticks, a "Cubano" sandwich and a little tub of clam chowder for our dinner. If you're ever in Spokane, Fieldhouse (on the north side) makes spectacular food (I know the cook personally! 😉)

That pretty much sums up our stay in Spokane. We left there on Monday, the first day of the horrific heat wave. I'll talk about that little adventure in my next post.

Stay cool, folks! And as always-- Safe Travels & God Bless!

Picture Gallery

(pardon the windshield bugs)

What's that helicopter doing???

Our overnight rest stop on the western edge of Montana

It's wonderful when you can put out your slides.

Coming into Coeur d'Alene on I-90 westbound

Adam is much friendlier with Mark (men in general)

The goal is to grab his straw...or his glasses...or whatever
else he can get his little hands on

Strolling the beach (Adam with dad right behind)

Our site at Peaceful Pines in Cheney

Granddaughter Leah (16)

Granddaughter Savannah (19)

Granddaughter Haylee (25)

Grandson Adam (2), sporting Mom's sunglasses

Rocky Mountain Country

View of Freemont Lake along the Elkhart Park drive 

The heat wave that was supposed to send temperatures here soaring into the 90's never made it. Mark is washing the coach in sixty degree temperatures. The sun is shining. The breeze is almost constant. We're in Rocky Mountain country. 

Garrison, Montana, is on the prairie among the foothills of the Rockies-- elevation a little over 4,000 feet. It's a beautiful part of the country, and in the summer the days are warm and the nights are cool. We've had to run the heat just about every night we've been here. 

Tomorrow we head north to Spokane, Washington, where live two of my children and their families.

We took two scenic drives during our two weeks in the Rockies-- one in Wyoming and one here in Montana. The best of the two was Wyoming, hands down. But you know what they say-- it's all about location. At Wind River, we were much closer to the snow-capped ranges. Here in Garrison, the peaks were too far away to see from all but a few spots-- and those from a distance that made for unremarkable photos.

From Boulder, Wyoming, we drove up to Pinedale and then took a scenic road to a place called Elkhart Park from which an amazing view of the Wind River Range can be seen. The drive parallels the long and narrow Fremont Lake. 

Lake Fremont

Elkhart Park - the end of the road

On the way back, we stopped in Pinedale at a delightful ice cream shop (my greatest weakness!) called Sweet Creams. All but one of their ice creams were organic and made from natural ingredients. The exception was a combination of taste and bright colors designed to appeal to children. Their "small" cup was about a pint. I asked for the "child's cup" which was about half that. It was delicious! There was one non-dairy offering that Mark enjoyed-- a fruit sorbet.

After a week in Wind River, we headed for our next campground-- Riverfront RV Park in Garrison, Montana. This park is very convenient to get to, right off US-12 and very near I-90. It's a beautiful and well kept park, and reasonably priced at $30 a night for full 50 amp hookups. No fancy amenities like pool or hot tub, but a pleasant and social place. The owners and workers are helpful and attentive. We were especially pleased to learn that the park has a chapel and regular Sunday services, which we attended. It's always a joy to gather with other believers to worship, especially in a smaller setting. 

We're enjoying our slower pace. The only difficulty we seem to be having is finding available campgrounds. Our plan is settled all the way through our stop in Idaho, where we'll be after Spokane, and it was time - maybe past time - to sit down and begin to plan in earnest the next leg of our travel, from Idaho to Minnesota. 

The route plan we had originally made, through South Dakota, was completely demolished when we discovered that Hart Ranch, the RPI park where we usually stay had no availability. We were kicking ourselves for waiting as long as we did. We should have booked it a month ago. It was a great disappointment. As we searched for an affordable alternative, it became apparent that we were not going to find anything along that route. 

So we decided to change the plan entirely and see what we could find through Wyoming and Nebraska. There are a surprising number of city parks with affordable campgrounds in these states, and also in Iowa. The only problem is none of them take reservations. Availability is first-come-first-served. Our hope is that if we show up during the week, we'll have a better chance of finding a spot. In any case, that part of our journey is more than a month away. As our Lord reminded us, "Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." (Matthew 6:34)

And today, praise be to God, we have no troubles. All is well. 

I hope the same applies to you! Safe travels, and God bless!

Picture Gallery...

Fremont Peak, the highest in this group
of the Wind River Range

Elkhart Park viewpoint

On our way to Garrison

On our way to Garrison

On our way to Garrison

One of our rest area stops between Boulder and Garrison

I found this interesting. There was an osprey
nest on a platform at the Wind River RV Park.
At the time we thought it was an eagle nest,
since it was so large, but the birds were too 
small to be eagles. Mystery solved.

Rest area stop

The osprey in flight

On the road

Rain heading into Wind River RV Park. We arrived during
a break in it, however, and Mark was able to set everything
up before it hit.

The closest we got to the mountain range on our drive
in Garrison.

A Brief Stop In Colorado

Our lovely space in Colorado City KOA

Our visit to Colorado City was a short one, primarily due to the fact that our campground was a KOA. The Pueblo KOA, which is actually in Colorado City is a nice park, but let's face it-- KOA's are expensive. And two nights were all we could do.

Mark's nephew, Jim Finnesgard, his wife, Liz, and their daughter Jamie (with her husband and two children) were the focus of this stop. Mark is Jim's uncle, but they are close in age and grew up together. Jim and his daughter and son-in-law recently bought property in the Colorado City area where they are building homes. In the meantime, they are living, like us, in RVs. 

While we were there, we saw their beautiful plot of land, which is somewhat outside of town and about half of their acreage is wildland. It has a wonderful view of the valley surrounding Colorado City, and Pike's Peak can be seen in the distance. We shared a couple meals out together and did some sightseeing as well.

Jim and Mark

The hill on the back part of their property

Our first full day we took picnic lunches out to San Isabel National Park and then walked a little while along a nearby path. Afterward we drove out to a place called Bishop Castle. That is a very interesting place. This man, by the name of Bishop, decided some thirty or so years ago to build a castle and he's been working on it ever since. It's very far from finished, yet he's opened it up to the public as a sort of tourist attraction--complete with a gift shop (and a donation box). I can't imagine how he can get any construction done with tourists everywhere, but what do I know? 

San Isabel National Park

A walk along the path, San Isabel Park

Bishop Castle
(more pics below)

We departed late Sunday morning for our next destination. I have to say, Colorado is not an especially friendly state for free overnight camping. They don't allow it in the interstate rest areas, and even the local Cracker Barrel had a sign that said "No Overnight Camping"...despite what we were once told by a Cracker Barrel manager:   that "all Cracker Barrels allow overnight camping--you don't have to ask." Well, apparently that's not true, at least in Colorado. Consequently, it turned out to be a very long day. We got through Denver, on rough roads and through what seemed like endless road construction, and fueled up the rig north of the city. Nearby was an empty mall parking lot where we pulled in for an hour or so and ate some dinner. From there we decided to drive another hour to the Wyoming Welcome Center, where we spent the night.

I was surprised to discover (from a website) that nearly half the states in this country don't allow overnight parking in their interstate highway rest areas. Those that don't may or may not be strictly enforced, but who wants to test it and risk getting rousted out in the middle of the night? (Not us.)

But because of the first long travel day, the next two were quite short. And here we are in Wind River RV Park, Boulder, Wyoming. Boulder is situated in a sort of mountain horseshoe. The Wind River Range is to the north and east, and the Wyoming Range is on the west. US-191 takes you straight into Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, but we won't be going there on this leg of the trip. 

The Wind River Range

Coming into Wind River RV Park

The area is well named. It is always windy or at least breezy. We had to slow down on the road significantly due to the occasional wind gusts that hit us unexpectedly from time to time. 

We're here a week. The weather is dry and beautiful, a pleasant change from all the humid rain from the previous weeks. That's it for now.

Safe travels & God bless!

PICTURE GALLERY...

Getting ready for our little hike at San Isabel Park

Bishop Castle, one of several 
"traverse at your own risk" disclaimers

Mark on the working drawbridge
(Yes, there's a mote.)

Looking down the spiral staircase from
nearly the top of the tower.

The castle even has a princess!
This lovely lady was having a photo shoot while we were there.

Looking up at the ceiling at what looks
like trellis or carport supports. Right now
it's open to nature.

The tower has a skywalk, but I wasn't 
brave enough to go out onto it.

A closeup of the dragon head

Leaving Wyoming Welcome Center, we ran into dense fog.
That was a bit nerve wracking!

Our second "boondock" night was at a rest area near
Elk Mountain, Wyoming... this is Elk Mountain.

Elk Mountain rest area was a bit shabby and the parking
space lines were not very well marked. But we found this
space way off to the edge and claimed it for the night.
Plenty of space to level and put out slides without being
in anybody's way.

Sunset at Elk Mountain rest area.

A pair of Bluebirds were obsessed with our RV. Here
is the female. She fluttered around the mirror and pecked
at her image at least a half dozen times.

Here she is perched on the top.

And here's her beautiful little partner.

Our space at Wind River RV Park, facing 
the Wind River Mountain Range.