Up and at 'em and out the door by 8:30. Our first stop was the Canadian border. Thanks to Coronavirus, we weren't able to cross. Yep, Canada blocked their borders for Americans. Ironic, isn't it? Anyway, we still drove 6 miles out of the way to see the border.
Next up was a short but sweet visit to a friend and former co-worker who lives on a ranch near Eureka, MT. John and Nat got to play with her sons and burn off some energy, and I got to see a friendly face!
Then back on the road for a twisty, curvy, mountainous, scenic drive from 2580 feet elevation to 2090 feet in about 30 minutes. Jay is a master driver, and I'm happy to ride shot gun on those stretches of road. The road followed the eastern border of Lake Koocanusa, the longest lake I've ever seen. It was cool to see the water in the lake transition from that crystal blue-green from the upper mountain area, to the deeper, darker blue as we neared Jennings.
We then stopped at Kootenai Falls and braved the swinging suspension bridge. Well, I braved the bridge; the rest of the Sleichters happy tromped across it without a care in the world. I hate weakness, including my somewhat new fear of heights, and so I do my damnedest to ignore the fear and brave what makes my fingers tingle. The picnic spot off the road at Kootenai Falls was nice, empty when we got there (advantage of stomachs set on central standard time), with a outhouse/bathroom and hand-washing facility.
Back on the road, through the adorable town of Bonner's Ferry, we traveled with some napping squeezed in. We made it to Sandpoint, ID, for a cute little coffee and ice cream shop downtown. We liked the unique flavors offered there. For example, I got brown butter salted caramel; Maggie got roasted wild strawberry; and Natalie got peanut butter and raspberry jam ice cream.
Back on the road, again, with a goal of the next stop being our hotel. The GasBuddy app showed that gas prices were going to go up about 20 cents once we crossed into Washington, so we stopped in Hayden, ID and filled up. Then we finally unloaded in the hotel in Spokane, where it is two hours earlier than in Kansas.
We had been so good about eating out of our coolers for breakfast and lunch, so we splurged on take out. Katie wanted barbecue, so we did some searching on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and picked Outlaw BBQ. It was worth the mere 4 miles we had to drive to pick it up. Brisket sandwiches, pork ribs, shredded pork? Yes please!
Because of the combination of coronavirus restrictions and rioting in the area last week, we couldn't or wouldn't go tour the famous Spokane riverfront area. I was so surprised how little people are socially distancing, or even wearing masks around here! Because I will be going home after this trip and working at two different hospitals, I have been diligent about socially distancing and wearing my mask while in public. Oh, you should see the weird looks I get, the same weird looks I got in Clay if I forgot my mask in the car.
One guy heard we were from Kansas and said, "oh, this must be weird to you, with all these wacko liberals around!" I told him we have Liberals in Kansas, too; it's all the pot shops that seem foreign to me. Idaho definitely had some interesting yard signs, especially in the mountainous areas. There are some very different cultures up here, and I can see why the clashes between these extremes could lead to unrest.
But that's not for us to worry about today or solve on this vacation. Our goal is to ignore the problems waiting at home and enjoy this family time. With a few exceptions, the kids continue to do well in the car, and if one gets grouchy, we either feed them into a better attitude, or a sibling teases or jokes them into one. I hope that continues, as we are about halfway through our crazy vacation of 2020.
No comments:
Post a Comment