ON TO WASHINGTON

Day 36, 2015-05-26

We woke to an almost flat front tire this morning.  We’re beginning to wonder if 4-wheeling in sharp rocks was such a good idea. Anyway, after an inspection and determination there was no obvious damage, we aired it up and took off up US 93 to Missoula, MT. We went West on I-90 for a while along the Clark Fork River (this is Lewis and Clark territory) which brought us to Cabin Creek National Forest campground at exit 22 close to De Borgia, MT.  Heavily forested, this is what we expected to find in NF Camps.  We lit a fire (after many problems with wet wood) and enjoyed polish sausage cooked over and open flame.  Bettie sent this picture to Ryan, who said I looked like a Yeti.  Bettie replied “the Sasquatch look is big up here”. You can make your own judgments.  194 (5,308)

Day 37, 2015-05-27

After waking to a soft tire again this morning, we had to nurse the rig to the first fuel station.  We did not have electricity at Cabin Creek, so I couldn’t air it up at the campsite, but we were able to take care of that in fairly short order and set out on our way.  Believe it or not, there is such a thing as a “Scenic Interstate”.  I-90 into Couer d’Alene and Spokane was a very pretty drive – over a pass, then down to about 2,500 feet in the valley.  Our home for the next couple of days is Riverside State Park just NW of Spokane on the Spokane River.  Here’s the view from our campsite.

After getting set up in the camp, I went in search of tire repair.  For $18.49 the tire place dismounted, repaired, balanced, and remounted the tire – what a deal, especially since I was afraid it might be new tire time.  And yes, we punctured it while 4-wheeling.  We’ll not likely try that again on this trip. 144 (5,452)

Day 38, 2015-05-28

Today was errands, shopping and laundry.  Consider yourself lucky that I will not include pictures of any of that.  But, we did get a few minutes to walk around the state park. Turns out the park is built along a stretch of the Spokane River that includes the Bow & Pitcher Rapids and a suspension walking bridge that was originally built by the CCC before being re-engineered to its current state in the late 60’s. The color of the water is a rich, clear, dark green that, unfortunately, does not show very well in the pictures.  37 (5,489)

Day 39, 2015-05-29

Seriously!  Spokane, WA is a beautiful city. BUT, don’t try to get around in it.  No matter where you want to go, you can’t get there from here.  I thought San Antonio was laid out weird, but Spokane takes the cake.  I have never seen so many intersections of three roads at a time with such strange traffic patterns.  I guess that is so, at least in part, because it skirts the river canyon which goes in all sorts of directions, but it really ought to be a bit easier to figure this place out.  We are carrying two GPS, a Garmin and the one that came in the truck.  Both GPS got lost in Spokane.  We were taken down streets (lovely, tree canopied ones with old, well cared for homes) that allowed parking on both sides and were so narrow only one car could pass at a time – and this was pulling the trailer.  As we came in, they took us past a municipal golf course.  Same thing, cars parked on both sides and BARELY enough room for the trailer in between.  Then leaving today, it happened again.  We were never able to make turns according to the GPS, so we just wandered around town, heading basically south, until we came across I-90.  Hurray, we were on our way to Steamboat Rock State Park on Banks Lake just below the Grand Coulee Dam.  We took the southern route off US2 to 155, then had a scenic drive along the edge of the lake to the park.  Impressive scenery, with cliffs that plunge directly into the lake.  After miles of rolling farm land, this is quite a change of scenery to something that looks much like the southwest. Temp this afternoon was 85*, also a bit of a change from what we have been used to for the past few weeks.  125 (5,614)

Day 40, 2015-05-30

Today we toured the Grand Coulee Dam.  We were able to get on one of the guided tours so we were allowed into a pump room and were given access to the top of the dam – both of which are now under strict security since 9/11.

From the Bottom of the Dam

One of the Smaller Pump Rooms

The View From the Top

We got back to the trailer earlier than expected so we took the yaks off the racks and went exploring on Banks Lake.  It was unexpectedly good kayaking.  The weather was warm, the wind was light, and the boat traffic was not yet heavy.  We crossed the lake from our campsite to the rocky shoreline.  Here are some shots to give you an idea of what we found.  65 (5679)