Friday, April 21
Baker City to
Wallace, ID
363 miles
 |
| Beautiful Elkhorns as we leave Baker Valley. |
Another
trip to Kalispell!! Earlier this year
than usual as we are going the end of April rather than the end of May!
We pull out
around 7:30 and while Rick gets the tires all checked at Lew Schwab, I pull the
Prius around to the garage and lock everything up. By the time we stop for drinks at Yorks, it
is 8am before we are on the road. I take
the first shift driving – the freeway part up to Milton Freewater. The Elkhorn Mts. are gorgeous to the west,
the clouds shifting around constantly and revealing the peaks. The valley is green due to the abundance of
recent rains!
 |
| Big grain elevator outside Dayton WA |
The Palouse
area of Southeast Washington is once again wrapped in springtime greenery –
although we are early enough that some wheat fields are still waiting to be
planted. Smooth sailing up through
Colfax and past Spokane. We stop at the
Steptoe Rest Area north of Colfax for a 15 minute lunch break. Another stop in PostFalls for gas where I
make a quick call to Wallace RV to doublecheck on a site for tonight. No problem!
We pull
into Wallace RV at 3pm, set up, and then take a good walk around downtown
historic Wallace. We even explore up the
first level of steps on the hillside south of town where many of the old homes
are located. Back to City Limits Brew
Pub right next to the trailer park for dinner!
You can’t beat the innovative food this place serves, plus Rick is
always guaranteed some sort of craft beer.
I was
hoping to get a call in to Liz this evening, but I have emergency service only
on my phone. (And yes, boys, I DID try
rebooting the phone! I’m learning!) Want
to see how Mom made her move today to assisted living. No internet in the trailer, would have to
walk down to the pub for that. And it’s
chilly outside!
Quiet
evening in the trailer and early to bed!
Saturday, April 22
HAPPY EARTH DAY &
BIRTHDAY TO RUSTY and GRETCHEN!
Wallace, ID to
Kalispell, MT
166 miles
 |
| Clark Fork near Paradise, MT. |
A lazy
start to the day as I didn’t even get out of bed until 8am!! (Confession – I had been reading since 6:30,
however, finding the morning sun this far east in the time zone provided plenty
of light!) On our way shortly before
9am, as I was driving into Montana. Road
conditions not very good, but at least they weren’t actively WORKING on the
highway. Just a lot of one lane passages
and 35 mph slowdowns! I got us down to
St. Regis and then up the Clark Fork to Paradise and Plains, where we stopped
for gas and drinks. Rick took us on up
into Kalispell.
 |
| Flathead Lake and Swan Mountains |
The drive
was beautiful – green fields, lush meadows and grasslands, and snowcapped
mountains. Water in abundance! (More than we will want in the coming week as
rain is forecast every day!)
We went up
the new 93 Alternate on the west side of town – smooth sailing! Much better than going through Main Street of
Kalispell! Over to Walmart for a grocery
trip and then to the RV Park. No one was
in the office, so we were glad Kathy had told us our site number (really glad
as no one was even here from the CAVs!)
Hinkles returned shortly after our arrival. The afternoon was a
 |
Rick is ready for
the build to begin! |
myriad of arrivals and
visitations as one by one folks arrived.
Only one group waiting until Sunday to come (with the exception of Rusty
who will arrive Monday or Tuesday).
Rick and I
enjoyed portebello mushrooms again for dinner, along with an ear of corn. Then over to Happy Hour in Hinkle RV (it was
cool outside!) One couple, Gary and Karen, are new to CAVs so we were full of stories
to introduce them to the experience.
Headed back to trailer around 8pm.
Did get
ahold of Liz mid-afternoon to get a Mom update.
It was not good, but hopefully the next couple of weeks will allow
things to settle down and she will adapt to a new living situation. She was at The Pearl for 6 weeks and adapted
there, finally. The move was rough,
however, due to mis-communication and Mom was transported without Liz – very
confusing. Will keep in touch and keep
prayers flowing!
Sunday, 4.23.17
LAZY DAY!
Not much
happening today. We are taking a Sabbath
Day of REST! I need it! Group went to Sykes for breakfast – had a
private room so that was nice as we could talk and hear each other. Then Gayle, Kathy, and I went with Diane to
Costco, Lowes, and Dollar Tree! Listened
to the rainfall. Organizational meeting
at 4pm. Laid back day!!
Monday, 4.24.17
Habitat Build Day 1
 |
| Opening gathering. |
We did
it! Inspite of rainfall early in the
morning, rainfall during break, and rainfall during lunch, we got a full day of
work in today!! All the Habitat staff
was at the morning meeting, including meeting the new volunteer recruitment
gal, Nicky. Vicki has taken over some of
the development part of the job Katy B had in addition to family
coordinator. Mary Davidson has been
hired as the On Site Hostess – and she is loving that! Rick gave the opening devotion….I have to
remember I am down for Wednesday.
 |
| Cold and wet lunch. |
Once all the
ChitChat was done it was almost 9am!
Time to get busy…before the rain comes!
Rick was working with a team to install some of the wood pressure
treated along the foundation of the house, another crew started clearing the
dirt away from the edge to install the metal skirting. Tom and Clint and Gayle worked to align the
walls and square things up. I worked
with a team of 5 to install the sheathing on the remaining framed walls for the
first floor. Steve said he really wanted
to get at least the front walls ready to go for stone work while I was
here. Allison Ashley is excited for that
as she wants to help with her stonework as well. We have aways to go. Maybe by latter part of next week!
 |
| Moving a floor joist into place. |
As it was,
I grabbed the skill saw (circular) and went to work measuring and cutting out
the windows for a section of wall. Kevin
and Gary were working the nail gun, Kathy N helping me. Gary’s wife, Karen, was also working on our
crew. We did pretty well! Got 3 sections of framed walls done during
the day.
 |
| Rick, Mahrias, and Brie |
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| Rick plays with Ben and Vida's newest! |
Back to the
campground to clean up, and then back over to job site for our Welcome
Dinner. All the families were invited,
which was really nice. Hoping to see the
Kearneys again, but they didn’t make it.
Davida was also gone, but Ben was there with the new baby and little
Khoen. Ashleys were by briefly, as they
had another activity to attend.
Davidsons hosted at their home, and Schultzes came by also. Got my hugs from the girls, especially
Mahrias. Rick played football with Ethan
and the boys, and we both got to hold the baby!
A good time. Korey has invited
everyone to their house for a BBQ on Sunday for Mary’s birthday.
Rusty
pulled into the campground around 7:15 – hungry as he hadn’t eaten any
dinner. Rick made him a sandwich, I took
pineapple, and Norrels and Hinkles both brought a small dish of leftover salads
to him! Ask and you shall receive! He could use a good night’s sleep!
Tuesday, 4.25.17
Habitat Build Day 2
 |
| Scaffolding crew at work. |
Well, a
half a day before the rain demanded we stop (and a good thing as the afternoon
produced a few thunderstorms that were exciting! )
Rick
finished up his metal skirting around the foundation, while I got the final
panels of sheathing up. Rusty joined our
crew, while Steve took Kevin and Gary away for another job. Second half of the morning we worked to erect
scaffolding in prep for the floor joists for the second floor.
 |
| Happy Birthday, Rusty...a few days late! |
Therefore,
a lazy afternoon in the trailer as I drew pictures, and took a good walk during
a lull in the storms. Rick took the
truck over to the Honda dealership for the recall repair on the airbags. Happy Hour was at the Hinkles, and I brought
a ‘cinnamon roll’ birthday cake for Rusty.
It was a lively HH with cozy quarters, and plenty of wine and beer!
Topped off
the evening with phone calls to Liz and Mac.
The latter was with Mom at the time, so I got a chance to talk with
her. She didn’t sound great, as her back
is bothering her. Discouraging, to say
the least. Walked the whole time I
talked, so I got in my 10,000 steps today and plus some!
Wednesday, 4.26.17
Habitat Build Day 3 –
CANCELLED!
 |
| Genia plants teacups for the shower. |
It didn’t
bode well this morning and as it turned out….we didn’t work! We all gathered and I was able to share my
Groundbreaking Devotion Poem, but that was it!
Mary’s group of “Girls on the Run” (3rd graders!) had made
our sandwiches for lunch, etc. but they will hold until tomorrow (IF we can
build then…the forecast is just awful!) Mary did send us a picture later in the
day of a rainbow across the sky at the build site which was beautiful.
Rick and I
stopped at Walmart enroute home, and then I crawled in bed to read for a little
bit (having not slept very well the night before). At 10:15a I got a call from Diane (who was
down at Genia’s trying to make apricot jam)…Can you come help us? Neither Genia, nor Diane, nor the friend
present had ever made jam before!
 |
| Genia with teacup, Diane and I with Jam! |
So….Rick
spent the day watching the rain fall in the trailer, and I drove down to Somers
and made apricot jam, baked a loaf of bread, and had a chance to visit with my
dear friend. She is hosting a shower in
Bozeman this weekend (along with help from daughter Stephanie) for daughter
Samantha. Full of ideas that needed a
little help for completion since Genia’s energy level wans quickly. I was delighted to be able to help.
 |
| Flathead Lake from BigFork and brewery. |
Around 4 we
drove over to Big Fork and met the rest of the gang at the Flathead Brewing Co.
for Happy Hour prices! Everyone
came. (Rick had ridden down with Rusty,
Tom with Dickinsons) Beautiful building
filled with environmentally and recycling positive features.
Evening
spent in trailer, once again listening to the rainfall.
Thursday, 4.27.17
Rain Day #2
Well, Kathy
came a knocking on the door at 6:45am to let us know “NO WORK TODAY!” It was pouring down rain at the time, so
pretty much a no-brainer! Cold and
windy. I wouldn’t have wanted to be
working. Didn’t even get out of my
jammies until 10:30, when I dressed so I could get my mail down to the mailbox
before the postman came!
Mary
Davidson’s daughter Breanna and three friends from a school group Girls on the Run had prepared our lunch
(intended for yesterday). When we were
cancelled yesterday, we promised we would come for lunch today no matter
what. So, everyone headed over to the job
site at 11:45 to have lunch in Mary’s garage!
They got ‘out of school’ for the hour, so were pretty excited and giggly
as only 3rd grade girls can be!
 |
| Girls on the Run - our lunch time hosts! |
Rick and I
then drove up to Whitefish for a little Main Street shopping time. Didn’t pick up that much – a card for Cherrie,
postcards, and a new quilt pattern for fireweed. Was nice. Rest of day was spent catching up
on computer stuff, drawing pictures, etc.
Very lazy day!
Happy Hour
at the Neighbors trailer – the only other rig big enough to host 14
people. It was cozy, but we all squeezed
in! A lively time….Gary Neighbors is
almost as dry in humor as Carl. They
were sitting together and both can tell a tall tale!!
Trailer is
under 60 degrees tonight and we have had the little heater going all day
long! Brrrr!
Friday, 4.28.17
CAV Build Day 3
We worked
today! HARD!! And the rain didn’t fall (ok, some light rain
earlier, but it didn’t last long…), REALLY fall, until 3pm just as we were
driving home! In fact, the weather was
cool enough to not be hot, but not windy and biting cold. I actually shed down to just my two tshirts
(long and short-sleeved) in the afternoon.
 |
| Rick busy with joists and walls. |
And maybe
the reason we weren’t cold was because both Rick and I were very physical for
the day. Rick was up on the second floor
joists most of the day, either helping to place the big joist beams or later to
glue and hammer the tongue and grove plywood sheets into place.
I worked
for awhile with the scaffolding crew, but then Karen N and I were pulled to
move a stack of the flooring tongue-grove ¾” plywood. Heavy boards that took both of us to move
one. We had to take 20 of them out to
the front of the house and stack vertically (so Rick’s crew could later push them
up into place). Then move the rest of
the stack out of the way of the scaffolding to go up.
 |
| My board moving partner, Karen. |
Just before
lunch we started the process of moving all the trusses from the vacant lot
across the alley (not Habitat owned) onto the lot and into a good place to make
them easy to locate and install. The
first trusses needed will be the ones that were on the bottom of the stack,
so…..eventually after lunch we had 6-7 people helping with the job because the
trusses just kept getting bigger and bigger and heavier and heavier! It went from the little porch ones that Karen
and I could carry two each to the trusses that span the back of the house from
corner to corner (7 people!) By the end
of the day I had logged over 12,000 steps and nearly 6 miles!! (Not to mention my back and shoulders!)
Happy Hour
in Schaffer motorhome – the usual laughter and banter, sometimes a modicum of
‘serious’ talk, but not usually!
Saturday, 4.29.17
CAV Build Day 4
 |
| Hauling another second story floor joist up |
Well, we almost got in a full day, but at 1:30p
the skies starting DUMPING and the hail began to fall. We basically hid for a moment and then
cleaned up in the downpour! As we drove
away the rain was ebbing, but by then everyone was rather wet!
 |
Building the stairwell early makes it easier
to go between floors! |
Scaffolding
and planking erected to be ready to put up the trusses as soon as weather
allows! Second floor totally floored
(thank you Rick and Karen D!) and front wall is totally built and ready to be
raised. We got a lot done, but pictures
don’t really show it because you can’t see what’s being done upstairs yet! Clint has finished the stairwell, so it is
easy to get up to the second floor – especially since we had over a 100 2x6
boards to haul up for the wall building!
 |
Mahrias and I pose for our
"Best Friends" photo |
Rick and I
opted not to go up to Whitefish last night – just didn’t feel like another
night of drinking and meal out. Instead
we got our laundry done and I drew the next four pictures for my prayers! A good dinner eating up some food that needed
to be eaten, conversation with Jed, and early to bed!
 |
| Scribble from Rainbow picture Mary sent earlier in week. |
Our $20
WalMart heater is finally dying. It
doesn’t work on the low setting and I detect a burning smell when it cycles off
the high setting. It has lasted 4 ½
years of heavy use! Will put that on the
list for Sunday.
Sunday, 4.30.17
A Day of Rest
 |
Rick got giant pancakes
at Cislos! |
Literally. We went out to breakfast at Cislo’s Family
Diner (Rick got a plate-size pancake), to JoAnn’s to pick up a few supplies,
and then WalMart. Looked for a new
heater, but apparently it is supposed to have warmed up because they have made
the switch to air conditioners and fans!
But ours seems to have fixed itself!
 |
| Beautiful views from behind the trailer. |
Scattered sunshine. We tried to have Happy Hour outside, but it
was a bit shorter than usual as the sun disappeared and it cooled down
quickly!
 |
| Wall crew gets some tips from Steve |
Monday, 5.1.17
CAV Build Day 5
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| Lunchtime hosts - WITH their tie dye! |
A perfect
day of work!! Not too cold, a mix of
sunshine and clouds. It was chilly
leaving for the site, as most everyone had frost on their windows! But that was due to clear skies! Rick’s crew got the front wall of the second
floor finished, raised, and then the back wall ready to go. I worked all day with the truss team – we got
all the garage trusses up. A team of men
worked the rafters while another team of about 7 brought the trusses over and
hoisted them up to the scaffolding level.
I was in charge of the ground crew, calling out our actions so we could
stay in sync. (I think I got the job due
to a loud voice!)
 |
| An awesome truss hauling team!! |
Jen and EJ
brought lunch today – spaghetti with a delicious meat sauce, garlic bread, and
choco chip cookies! It was perfect! Both of them were wearing their tiedye
shirts!
We stopped
at WalMart enroute home to print off some postcards. Happy Hour in the Hinkle rig, and by the time
we all left a light rain was falling.
More
calls/texts to Liz and Marg to figure out what was happening with Mom.
Tuesday, 5.2.17
CAV Build Day 6
Not quite
as cold this morning, but definitely more clouds in the sky. And it never warmed up quite as much because
a wind started blowing. But Rick’s crew
has nearly all the walls done, several in place. I worked on blocking between rafters, then
putting OSB into the same spots. Later
did a lot of hammering as we put the strip of OSB between the two stories. My arm was tired by the end of the day.
 |
Ashleys put their prints
on garage floor. |
 |
| Putting up a wall! |
The cement
crew was here to put in the garage floor.
It was fascinating to watch their progress from a level above. They did a beautiful job, and later Allison
and the kids came by to put their hand prints in just inside the door between
house and garage. Tomorrow they will pour
the inside slab.
We were on
our ‘own’ most of the day as Steve was with Genia for a doctor’s appointment
and test. He had lunch with Genia and
then came over to check on our progress.
Pleased.
Evening
skies cleared and the mountains are GORGEOUS to the east! Happy Hour in Neighbors RV. Maybe by tomorrow it will be warm enough to
actually be outside and enjoy it!
Mom was to
be discharged today back to Tanner Spring.
I talked with Liz during morning break.
Marg is now with her.
 |
| Swan Mountains behind campground. |
Wednesday, 5.3.17
CAV Build Day 7
 |
| Yellowheaded blackbirds at Genias. |
A beautiful
morning with clear(er) skies and sunshine.
I went out to the job site with Rick and then took off with Diane to
spend the day with Genia. The concrete
boys were already on site preparing to pour the main floor of the house. I would have like to have seen that! Rick spent the day on the roof trusses
(surprise!) putting down decking. He’ll
probably spend the next two days doing the same! More scaffolding put up, the framework for
the front porch done.
 |
| Walls continue to go up! |
Diane and I
drove down to Somers (chillier down there, but still sunny!) and had a very pleasant
time visiting with Genia. She slept a
lot in the morning hours, so we worked on painting the wood slats for Thursday
night, and did a little computer work (WIFI!!!!) Afternoon saw a friend visit briefly and then
a lot of chitchat on our part. Nothing
serious – talked about my mom, dogs, religion, you name it!!
Happy Hour
outside!! Cool, but possible!
Thursday, May the Fourth Be With You!
CAV Build Day 8
 |
| Rick and his ladders! |
Finally!! An incredibly beautiful day from dawn until
dusk!! The snowy mountains were outlined
all day with deep blue skies.
Temperatures reached the high 70’s – most of the crew was down to
t-shirts!!
 |
| After sheathing, we took on painting! |
The roof is
almost done with the decking – just a portion over the garage is left. Rick was up there all day long working with
Kevin and Carl (latter down on the ground doing all the cutting for them.) Another crew finishing up walls upstairs,
another on east side roof decking. Clint
and Rusty worked all day on the front porch.
My team of
ladies (Kathy, Arletta, and Karen N) finished the sheathing on the top floor
outside, working off scaffolding 3 levels high.
I was mostly on top, Karen on level 2, Kathy and Arletta handing stuff
up to us. I had to get Carl to come and
nail gun the last 6 nails on the very top.
Then we installed another smaller piece of sheathing on that side,
before moving to the east side for another full board way up there! (Got those
top nails myself – it was a stretch!! Then
added more levels to the scaffolding.
Just before lunch we were off to paint the trim boards, setting up a
drying station in the garage, covering the new floor, etc. Finished that up after lunch and had more
scaffolding work to do! I climbed A
LOT!!
 |
| Heading down the back roads to Somers |
The HFH
office gals were present for lunch, provided by a board member. Delicious soup, bread, jello, and homemade
cookies. I was a little puzzled that
there was no ‘thank you’ speech or anything since this was our ‘Farewell
Lunch’. I talked with Erin was about 15
minutes after lunch about the repair possibilities they are exploring.
 |
| Milepost signs. |
Quick
cleanup and everyone off for Somers to Steve and Genia’s for what we’ll
consider our real Thank You Party! An
absolutely beautiful evening. Steve BBQ
dogs and burgers, we all brought plenty more.
Ashleys were out for awhile, but had a track meet to attend.
 |
| Genia and Steve |
We built a campfire and roasted s’mores. And
mostly we worked on Genia’s ‘craft project’ idea – crossroads mileage markers
to all our homes. Everyone painted a
stick with names and hometown and mileage.
It looks pretty cool.
Home by 8
and early to bed!!
Friday, 5.5.17
CAV Build Day 9
 |
| Views from top of scaffolding |
This was a
LONG day!!! A final gathering at the job
site, with a few less people – both Kathy and Diane were gone, but also Rusty
who we hoped was going to Urgent Care (and he was!). Rusty arrived shortly after the break was
over. Steve T was late in arriving as
well, so we all just went back to work on the jobs we knew needed to be
done. KarenN and I tackled the top of
the scaffolding to prepare it for the truss installation – both sides of the
house, putting platforms on top of the third layer and then guard rails around
the sides. We had Arletta and Allison
passing parts up to us, but it was a lot of monkeybar business! Also got the last sheet of sheathing in on
the stairwell wall.
 |
| Our scaffolding handiwork. |
Rick was
STILL up on the roof installing decking!
Another crew busy on the front porch framing.
After
lunch….we installed the second floor trusses for the roof – the last major job
Steve had hoped to accomplish while we were there with a big crew. 5-6 of us on the ground, more on the back
section of garage roof, and a whole team inside the second floor to actually
nail it in place. The first two were
double trusses, so HEAVY!! Once they
were in place, the rest went fairly quickly.
 |
| Rick and top half of truss crew. |
A more
major cleanup of the job site then and final gathering for words of inspiration
from Steve. He is pleased beyond words
with the progress made in spite of the weather.
 |
| Lisel, war paint, and tie dying! |
THREE
O’CLOCK. Time to pull my tie-dye
materials from the truck and bid Rick goodbye for the afternoon. It is PARTY time! While Mary and Allison leave to gather their
kids, I get their garments soaking and the dyes mixed. The next two hours are a fun blend of chaos,
dye on table (it looks beautiful!), dye on little faces, and hopefully some
wonderful end results! I had eight kids
dying, plus Allison, Jen, and EJ. All
cleaned up by 5:45 when I walked down to the Kearney’s house for the
potluck. Rick met me on the way! A quick change of clothes and it is….
 |
| Tie Dye crew! |
SHISH-KA-BOB
time at the Kearneys! Jason and Angela
had invited the whole CAV crew over.
Knowing I was going to be ‘tied’ up, I had purchased a chocolate pudding
cake for our contribution. The evening
turned out to be beautiful – the light rain shower that swept through right
before tie-dye clearing to blue skies for awhile. The Kearney kids were so openly glad to see
us, with warm welcoming hugs. Rick and I
stayed for an hour-half and then left to meet our last commitment of the day…
 |
| Jason and Angela Kearney |
SOCCER! Mahrias Schultze had invited us earlier in
the week to her soccer game. We got
there just as the short game was beginning.
Her team was definitely out-matched, but Mahrias ran hard and gave it
her best. Hugs goodbye and ‘until we
meet again’!
Whew. I was tired tonight. Rick is tired. Looking forward to a relaxing weekend.
 |
| Trailer boo boo |
Forgot to
note the other major happening of the day….while Rick was home in the
afternoon, the trailer got damaged again by the lawn mower. Second time this has happened at the
park. Only this time we know for sure
what did it. The guy was VERY apologetic
and assured us that insurance would cover.
So Rick spent some time digging into the files to contact Bish’s and
find out a quote, etc. We will have to
follow up more over the weekend on this because the damage is more severe than
last time. Nothing that makes the
trailer unusable, but our waterseal is probably compromised as it stands.
Saturday, 5.6.17
Dining Together and
Departures
 |
| Daffodils at Whitefish Presby Church across from Buffalo Cafe |
We only did
three things today….breakfast with 4 other couples at the Buffalo Café in
Whitefish and dinner together as a whole group.
Laundry in between and dead time (yes!).
We weren’t
going to go out to breakfast, which actually was late enough to be brunch, but
when I heard it was the Buffalo Café, Rick and I decided YES! We can mess with the trailer details
later. Excellent food as usual – Rick
finally getting to order the Huckleberry French Toast Bake. I had what amounts to a veggie omelet served
on top of hash browns.
 |
| Kearneys at DeSotos |
Back to
talk with office and do our laundry.
Then at 4:15 we left for downtown Kalispell and DeSotos Grill, which is
housed in one of the oldest buildings in the city. Formerly an automotive shop, two old cars are
in the patio area which they open up when the weather is warmer. Glad we got there early because they place
was jammed with waiting people when we left shortly after 6. Excellent BBQ and smoked food. Rick and I shared a Salmon Hoagie with a side
of Smoked Bacon Macaroni and Cheese.
Best M&C I’ve ever tasted! A
glass of wine (beer for Rick) and we were satisfied! Live music came on around 5:30. The single singer had a great voice and gave
his own rendition of some familiar old tunes.
Dressed in overalls and a headband with a big round face, he was fun to
listen to! (Pretty painted guitar
too!) Kearneys were invited to join us,
and they arrived with Kaeli, their oldest, who had to miss out on the BBQ and
wanted to see everyone! It was a fun
time at a good restaurant!
Home to get
an email and then phone call from Liz.
Mom is VERY confused and not doing real well. I suspect our plans are going to change. L There are
people on a waiting list for Libby that can take our place, as much as I want
to go there.
Sunday, 5.7.17
Day of Rain and Rest
 |
| Rainbow! |
Well, decision made. We are heading home on Tuesday. I emailed the CAV office and Dyanna Todd up
in Libby. Hopefully Kevin and Karen will
be able to get on the build in our absence.
I’m not sure how many are on the wait list ahead of them.
It rained
most of the day until late afternoon. We
did very little but relax, read, draw, and say goodbye to the Neighbours. I made a run to JoAnn’s to pick up a few
craft supplies.
Happy Hour
at 4 that lasted two hours and we didn’t even have appetizers! Then 7 of us went to Five Guys Burgers for
dinner. Beautiful rainbow on the way
home. Rusty joined us tonight, the first
night he has ‘come out’ for HH or meals since he got sick last Tuesday.
Monday, 5.8.17
Glacier NP Bike Ride
Three years
ago, when Rick and I first came to the Flathead Valley affiliate in the spring,
we discovered that the Road to the Sun opens to hiker and biker traffic long
before it is officially open to automobiles.
We didn’t have our bikes with us. The past two
spring visits, we have taken our bikes in anticipation, but each year the Sun
Road opened EARLY and we missed the biking opportunity. So…since we were coming in April-May this
year, we KNEW the road would not open on us and we brought our bikes! Then the weather was so bad the last two
weekends, there was no point! But today
was forecast for definitely clearing, although it was quite cloudy in the am when
we left. But today it must be as we
leave for home tomorrow.
 |
| Riding along McDonald Creek |
 |
| Trilliums! |
We drove up
through West Glacier and into the park to MacDonald Lake lodge. The lodge isn’t open, but the road is
maintained this far all winter long. The
park is used by xc skiers and snowshoers heavily in the winter months from the
lodge on up. But the report was the
highway was snowfree up to The Loop, and bikers were ok to ride that far as
long as the plows weren’t working. And
even though it was a Monday, we heard they weren’t working! We had no intention of riding THAT far
anyway!! (Remember, this is a relatively
new bike to me and I really haven’t ridden it more than 3 miles at a time and
that rarely!) I knew I would be sore
regardless!
 |
| Avalanche Creek area |
The first
part of the ride we were in the clouds – the peaks above us as we rode along
MacDonald Creek totally obscured. But
gradually, I would look up and see a snowy summit through breaks in the
clouds. By the time we passed Avalanche
Campground, the peaks were coming into full view, the sky blue, and the vistas
just kept getting better and better.
We rode
just past Logan Creek and the bend in the road to head north to the Loop. Not far enough for views of the east side of
Heaven’s Peak, but definitely far enough for full views of the Garden Wall, Mt.
Oberlin, Mt. Clements and the twin peaks of Mt. Cannon. Absolutely awesome.
Up close
along the road we were greeted with hundreds of trilliums in bloom. They were largely the only flowers we saw in
abundance, but the showy white petals and leaves are so beautiful. Every creek and rivulet was running full with
the spring melt. We gradually found more
and more snow along the side of the road as we slowly gained elevation. The road is actually a very gentle grade for
much of this distance. It steepens more
as you approach The Loop and then? Well,
then it’s not my kind of biking!!
There was
more bike traffic on the road for a Monday than I expected, but then again,
this was a day when the forecast was good which drew people out! We did encounter two groups that gave us bear
warnings. The first group had actually
SEEN the grizzly, the second just said ‘lots of bear activity’ up ahead. In each case, my heart rate goes up, but Rick
graciously yelled ‘Yo, Bear!’ frequently and often. Noise is our best precaution as well as vigilance! We did NOT see any bears! (Thank you, God!)
 |
| Lake McDonald and peaks from Apgar Village |
Back to the trailer park by
3:45, in time for a 4:30ish small Happy Hour at Norrells. The group is shrinking! Carl and Arletta had also been up at the
lodge and saw our truck. Dickinsons
drove to the east side of the park today.
Rusty laid low, still hoping to get well! Evening spent packing up and getting ready to
roll early in the am.
Final note –
before leaving this morning for the park, we stopped at the RV office to
discuss again the damage from the lawn mower.
We were having trouble getting a quote back from Bish’s, but the one we
got was for $800 to replace the back bed door unit (not the canvas cover). Ouch!
The park was more than willing to cut us a check for $500 and not have
to turn it in to insurance. We are too,
as we will probably make the repairs ourselves!
(Final, final note several days later.
Rick pounded out the dent again – it looks passably good! I spent $10 on a vinyl patch kit and took
care of the fabric part. It looks
repaired, but it is serviceable!!)
Click
HERE for a link to all our Bike Ride Photos!
Tuesday, 5.9.17
Kalispell, MT to
Baker City, OR
527 miles
Heading home today rather than
west toward Libby. Someday we’ll get
that route along the Clark Fork and through Thompson Falls into our plans, but
duty calls me home to go to Portland and help my sister. I am thrilled to have heard last night that
Kevin and Karen Dickinson, who were on the waiting list for Libby, got the
confirmation that they are IN, largely due to both Norrells and us pulling out. At least I know good folk are in our place! Rusty will head on over, as will Hinkles as
well.
So…shortly
after 6:30am we are on our way, stopping for a quick coffee, and using the new
Alt 93 route to bypass the downtown area.
The new highway has been wonderful this whole visit with easier access
to the build site. Rick takes the first
shift. It is a clear sunny morning with
the snowy peaks rimming the eastern skyline for miles to the south.
The valley
of Hot Springs is lush and green. Rick
drives us to St. Regis where we gas and re-coffee. I take us from Montana to the edge of
Idaho-Washington and our favorite gas station in PostFalls, ID with the
Subway. We sandwich up and Rick drives
us down through the hilly Palouse country of eastern Washington. The wheat fields are greener, but there are
still more fallow fields than we expect for this time of year. A quick $5 of gas in Dayton, just to make
sure we can get to Milton-Freewater. Gas
in Dayton is 30 cents more expensive than across the border in Oregon. (We also discover it is 10 cents more than
the next town over….log that info into our brains!)
I drive the
final stretch home to Baker, from M-F down to I-84 and over the passes to Baker
Valley. We are home by 4:15p, having
gained an hour at the Montana-Idaho border.
It is still a long 10+ hour day of 527 miles!! But I will have two days to ‘catch up’ at
home before heading over to Portland for the weekend.
TRIP SUMMARY:
Total Miles: 1576
Trailer Miles: 1056
Nights: 19
Total Expenses: $1343
Expenses per day:
$70.68
We climb out of the Phoenix basin
steadily toward Flagstaff, more gorgeous hillsides of yellow, orange desert
mallow, and saguaros. At the top of a
long pull, we crest to a broad mesa of brown grasslands and far reaching
vistas! Occasionally we catch of glimpse
of Mt. Humphries’ 12,000’ in the far
distance near Flagstaff. Long drop into
Camp Verde where we stayed several years ago for a quick explore of
Sedona. We still plan to return to hike
more of the Sedona area, but not this trip!
At the top of the hill above Sedona, we pull over for a rest stop and a
second chance for me to make contact with the Panguitch CG we hope to stay at
in Utah. At that point, Rick takes the
wheel again. Good move on my part! We instantly pass a sign saying ‘Entering
Winter Driving Conditions’!! And we did
find snow between Sedona and Flagstaff – a steady 5-6” along the roadside. But the highway was totally clear! It was beautiful with the pine trees,
elevation 6,000 feet for much of the way.
Then on to Page, 125 miles to the
north! First part of road is rimmed by
mountains with snowy tops, pines, and Joshua trees. Past Waputki Ruins NM and we enter a broad
grassland plateau with the Painted Desert in the distance to the NE. From Cameron and the junction to Grand Canyon
South Rim, the road is bordered by towering red cliffs to the east. We are on Navajo Nation lands at this
point. We traveled this road several years
ago in leaving the South Rim bound for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (Hwy
89A). This time we plan to stay on Hwy
89 toward Page and circle the north side of the Vermillion Cliffs NM. 
What a surprise we found at the
junction between the two! 89A turns west
and follows at river level below the cliffs.
The main hwy 89 veers sharply UP and OVER those red cliffs we have been
following and thru a narrow gap cut in the rock. Amazing views to the west, but not in a
position to get good pictures there. (No
room in the one scenic pulloff for a truck and trailer!) Once through the ‘slot’ we stayed on a high
plateau and a gentle downhill run all the way to Page! 
Page is NOT the flat desert area we
both envisioned next to the dam.
Sandstone cliffs, hills, and the convoluted fjords and bays at the end
of Lake Powel define the area. We find
our campground, get settled, and then at 4:30pm take off to explore a few
scenic vistas (and walk around a little).
We view the dam from the west at one point, then drive along the south
shore to a point above the lake, then over the dam bridge to the views from the
visitor center on the north side. VC was
closed, so we will check it out tomorrow. We have to check out of the campground by 11,
so our plan is to take a few short hikes in the morning, check out, grab a
brunch at Denneys, hit the VC, and then head north toward Panguitch, about 140
miles north of here. 
I think this area of Utah is at the
crossroads of all the major airplane routes.
All morning long the only ‘clouds’ I see in the sky are the contrails of
crisscrossing planes, diffused in the upper level winds. You can’t look up at any time without seeing
at least one or two planes. Later in the
day it overcasts with ‘real’ clouds! 
I mentioned to Rick that Kodachrome
Basin looked pretty neat and was something NEW!
So we drive past the entrance to Bryce and another 13 miles to
Cannonville, and then 10 miles down a PAVED side road (a rarity in this part of
Utah once you get off the major highway) to the state park. Named for the wild variety of colors and the
newly invented Kodak color film in the 1950’s, it is a well maintained and
marked state park. A nominal $8 fee per
car to enter. I knew of one 3 mi trail,
but we found several others that we ended up taking first (a good choice to
make, as they were more spectacular than the one in the brochure!). We drove out to Shakespeare Arch, hiking only
the mile RT to the arch. A small feature
nestled at the top of a rock wall, but pretty.
Then back to the main part of the park and the 1.5 mi loop (my pedometer
says a little further!) on the Angel’s Palace trail. This took us up a broad slot to the top of a
layer of rock and a convoluting pattern of figure 8’s out to the end of fins
(on the top of them!), around what Rick described as piles of solid dinaosaur
poop (dark chocolate colored rock!), spires, and such. Always the solid sheer face of the white
gypsum layer beyond with its pinnacles and red stripes. 
Kodachrome Basin is known for its 60
plus spires of debatable origin. Many
are of a different layer of rock than the surrounding features; eg. A gray
pillar set in the midst of redrock.
Geologists are still working that one out. 
A bite of lunch and then the Panorama
trail – at least the 3 mile loop of this potentially 6 mile trail! A variety of spires – one looked like a
volcanic plug the sides were so smooth (Ballerina Spire) and another nearby
looked like a gnome. We passed the Hat
Shop, but some of the hats had fallen off their pillars. Secret Pass was a short side loop well worth
the mini slot canyon and the beehive shaped pillars. I logged 15,000 plus steps today so we hiked
a few miles!! 
We awaken this morning and find pellet
snow falling to the ground! Not hail,
not flakes, but little tiny balls of snow that ‘clink’ when they hit the top of
the trailer! Forecasts are hard to read
as most of them say rainy later in the day, but the clouds are upon us
now! 
But we decide to head into Bryce and
do what we can do! We rather hoped the
weather would keep the crowds away, but it IS spring break and people are out
in droves!! Bundled up, but here!
The Peekaboo portion of the trail is a
constant delight of ever changing vistas, little passes. You are changing elevation all the time – up and
through a notch or tunnel, then down again into another mini amphitheater. The skies were overcast, then big patches of
blue with billowy white clouds. It was
like the sun was playing PeekaBoo as well!!
I once again took way too many pictures!! We were forever amazed by the changing colors
of the strata. The top layer with its
big cave-like pock marks. Then the dark
red layer of hoodoos. Then a white
layer, then pink. I took one picture
(but I think I deleted it) of yellow surfur and purple rhiolite colors on the
path – Baker Bulldog colors!! 
The amphitheater is filled with
pockets of snow, especially on the north slopes. Makes for amazing pictures and color
contrasts. Also makes for a wet and
muddy and icy trail in places. Glad we
took our hiking poles with us today! 
Quick lunch from the tailgate of the
truck and then down 3 miles east to the Mossy Cave/Waterfall Trail. A short one, but a lack of water in the Tropic
Canal means the waterfall was pretty anemic, and the cave had lost all of its
ice except for one ice pinnacle deep on a shady corner. 
The snow, however, makes the journey
beautiful! (Of course, I wasn’t driving!) What started as a slightly scratchy throat
last Friday has evolved into a good case of congestion by this morning. Enough so, that I actually take some Daytime
cold medicine in Beaver. 
