Beth wakes up early this morning, so we get an early start. 52 degrees at 6 AM. We decide to get a closer look at Priest Lake. The rockhounding book mentions the shore at Ledgwood Picnic Area, so we head there, a short drive. Beautiful morning as the clouds begin to dissipate. Quiet and peaceful.
The pebbles on the shoreline range from tiny to fist-size and most are already quite polished. They look so much prettier in the water, so Beth dons her water shoes and wades in. The water is a bit chilly even here in the shallows, so I can imagine how cold the depths must be!
Lots of interesting layered stones. Greg and I each fill a good size zip lock before we break for breakfast, check emails, etc. The day has warmed enough to lose the warm jackets.
This interesting flower is close by. It is called a tiger lily I find out later, and it does resemble the daylily with that name. However this flower is only about 2" long on a stem that is over three feet high!We head back south and then continue the loop toward the town of Sandpoint. First stop is the Bonner County Historical Society & North Idaho Native Plant Arboretum, both of which are OPEN!
The museum is very nice, well organized and has interesting artifacts that have to do with early development of this area. Idaho didn't become a state till 1890 and the Northern Pacific Railroad connected Sandpoint to the rest of the world, so the US history here is relatively recent. The railroad once ran right through main street in town before it was moved outside of town where three major east-west railroads converged.
Railroad items, logging tools, fishing items, clothing, household goods, and personal items from early residents. Well written descriptions and stories - an almost intimate feel.
Outside are an old water wheel and a bright yellow caboose.
There are beautiful native flowers and plants in the walk-through arboretum which was created and is maintained by the Kinnickinnik Native Plant Society (kinnickinnick is a long-lived evergreen ground cover). A few plants are labeled, but I check in the museum to see if they might have a pamphlet or something to identify others. The sweet young girl (she seemed almost embarrassed to ask us to pay the $3 entry fee) there offers to lend me a book on native plants that they have for sale while I look at the flowers - cool! I take pictures of many of the pages for later i.d.
Not sure but I think these are called pussytoes!
Wild geraniumWestern Columbine
Don't know the name, but each little bud bursts into a fuzzy ball.
Wild Mountain Rose
Self-Heal or Heal All
Threadleaf Phacelia
Indian BlanketWe decide to visit the town of Sandpoint which looks very interesting, kind of artsy, young and fun.
We don masks and visit the Galaxy Gallery which is an indoor market in a building built over the river. Feel sorry for the vendors who are not making many sales these days.
Sandpoint must be an interesting place in the winter, too!
These folks were in the river just outside the Gallery. Stand-up paddle boarding has become very popular everywhere we've gone.
And this alley next to our parking spot was given over to colorful graffiti. Not your normal alley.
From here we take Route 200 for a short ride towards Hope, which was touted as a beautiful drive. It is also known as the Pend Oreille Scenic Byway and runs along the Pack River which leads to Lake Pend Oreille. Pretty enough as the water makes it's way through a variety of landscaping. It is a popular fishing area.
Enough of the Selkirk Loop (which continues into British Columbia, Canada IF the border were open. Sure can't fault Canada for closing it though - I'd do the same! A different river every few miles, it seems, as we leave Idaho and take route 2 east into Montana.
We are back into Mountain Time Zone now. We stop at the Kootenai National Forest's Yak River Campsite near Troy. Only a few available spots, so we snare one.
This sign is posted, so we leave the hood open. We've only seen this once before and that was for packrats at Organ Pipe in Arizona. Apparently the critters like pitch dark and have a taste for wiring!
No wood rats, though we do see a few chipmunks and squirrels which we've seen all over the place.(Basically rats with cute stripes and bushy tails 😄)
We hike to the nearby Yak river and explore a bit before settling down. The river is clear, wide and fast moving. A few fisherman are plumbing its depths.
And yes, I did see some more flowers, but restrained myself.
We have ham & cheese sandwiches with chips and hummus, and finish off the cherries.
We've decided not to go to Glacier National Park as we have heard that it is jam packed, with only the western entrance open. Many Glacier and Two Medicine, two of our favorite spots are on the east side. We've been there 4 times and obviously love it, but have never been able to complete the Going to the Sun Road which traverses the park, due to snow, mud slides, etc. I might have to rate this as my favorite National Park, and it looks like we'll have to go back at least one more time. Instead we will go back to a few spots in Montana that we've enjoyed and then head down towards Yellowstone. As far as we can tell, there are no special regulations there, though some campgrounds and visitors centers are closed.
A clear night and the stars sprinkled amongst the tall tree tops are wonderful! It has been so cloudy this trip that we haven't seen much night sky. That, and the fact that we're often falling asleep as the stars come out! 😊
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