We were supposed to leave Saturday morning but decided to just throw everything in the car and head out. So we took the dogs to be boarded and drove out around two o’clock. We thought we might end up in Ennis, Montana but at the last minute chose to keep going north and see how far we could get before it got too late.

Not in a rush really we stopped in Dillon, Montana and got some food at a place called Sparky’s just at the edge of town. Sparky’s is a pretty cool place and I was able to find the grilled cheese sandwich I’d been craving earlier.

After eating and driving around town for a bit it was almost dark so we found the KOA, which was a new thing for us. It ended up being really cool. The KOA had really good camp spots right on the river and showers that were pretty clean. For

thirty bucks it was perfect. We had our little camp set up in the back of the Yukon and didn’t do too much other than watch an episode of Top Gear on the iPhone and fall asleep but it was way cool and dirt cheap.

Day Two

The next day we got up, showered and got ready then headed into town for some Bad Ass coffee and breakfast. The place we ate breakfast was crazy, I think our total bill was $5.90! Wow, I don’t really know anywhere local that you can get a meal for that. In fact our whole trip things seem to cost less.

After eating we drove another four hours and ended up stopping in Wallace, Idaho just across the Idaho-Montana border. We had some drinks and food at a bar downtown and then drove the rest of the way to Pritchard, where my mom lives. The road was insane between Wallace and Pritchard I guess it was probably some logging road that got paved somehow and I would not want to drive it in the winter, ever. It was sloped the wrong way everywhere with this crazy drop off to the abyss the entire time. I guess the locals use it all winter, namely the school bus… I thought my bus ride was bad.

Anyway, we got to my mom’s house and were done with driving for a while. We visited for a while then headed down to the river to cool off. I can’t believe how nice it was there, the river is crystal clear, full of fish and warm enough to hang out in. The three of us stayed at the river for a couple of hours wading around, swimming and talking.

After a while it started getting dark and we left to go to the Golden Beaver, which is the local bar. This bar was really fun and my mom introduced us to practically everyone in town while we were there. The locals are great and we got to sit in on some Karaoke as well.

Day Three

Despite my huge headache in the morning we got up and got ready, then left for Couer d’ Alene which is about forty minutes away. Our big goal to take a drive down memory lane for my mom and me. Growing up I spent several of my summers in or near Couer d’ Alene and hadn’t been back to some of the places we lived in thirty years.

The first one we right off the freeway and I didn’t really remember at first. It was a older community surrounding a small lake east of downtown named Fernan Lake Village. An upscale neighborhood with small well kept houses focused on the lake it didn’t really seem familiar to me until we got to the boat launch. We got out of the car for a few minutes and walked around taking pictures of the lake and some geese that were bullying some local ducks.

After that we continued towards downtown looking for coffee and realized we were very close to a house I had completely forgotten about on Dollar Street. As soon as my mom mentioned it the memories came flooding in. I think I only spent one summer at this house but it was a great one. Only a couple of blocks of quiet streets away from Lake Couer d’ Alene I was able to ride my bike alone to the lake. At the time it was much less developed with a dirt trial that lead to the untamed beach that emerged from the dense pines surrounding the lake. Today we saw that much of this has changed and the beach from my childhood had long since been devoured gigantic houses and other development. Oh well, still looks like a cool neighborhood that is only two minutes from downtown.

After that we drove to the old farmhouse just on the outskirts of the city, which had since been torn down and replaced with nothing. The old canal I had spent so much of my time in had been left to the natural growth of weeds and trees and was now barely a indentation in the soil. A person not looking specifically for it would probably never even notice it.

Got some lunch and took a drive to Harrison along the lake. I would recommend this drive to anyone as it is one of the most spectacular in my opinion. You wind along Lake Couer d’ Alene most of the way and get a view of some of the best real estate the area has to offer. Someday I would like to stay in one of these for a week or month during the summer.

Harrison was a cool as ever, except much of the town was closed on Sunday? What the **** are they thinking! lol.

Day Four

I got up a little earlier today and went to the river to fish . I drove up to a spot that Angela and I had found the night before and waded in. The river is so cool. It is crystal clear, has plenty of fish, was warm enough to get in without my waders, and I didn’t even see another person for the two hours I spent this morning. At one point I really felt like I was in one of the pictures I have drooled over in fishing calendars through the years. Catching fish after fish on dry Caddis flies pretty much solid for two hours in a spot that is absolutely breathtaking was high on my list for this trip. Being such and introvert I really needed this time to recharge and loved every minute of it.

After this we all went down to meet my moms horses, which were incredible. She currently owns two of them and they live on a friends property that is amazing. This guy pretty much owns the whole valley here along the river. With antique red barns and so forth this place really was out of a story book.

Then we drove a few miles up river and walked through a place called Settlers Grove. It is a small patch of forest that is dominated by old growth cedar. So like the Redwoods in California but Cedar these trees are enormous. With so much canopy above it is almost dark underneath, thick with ferns and streams trickling throughout this has to be one of the most serene places on earth. How sad we cut all these trees down years before as one can only imagine how the surrounding area would look if these giants still remained.

Day Five

After driving for a few hours the day before we had made it as far as Dillon, Montana and had camped in the KOA again.

We woke up late, got some food then headed out to see a Ghost town my mom had told us about earlier. Only a short distance off the freeway I could not believe we hadn’t heard of this place before. It is a complete town from the 1800s which is still standing and well preserved. We spent a couple of hours walking around going in the buildings and taking pictures. The gallery is located here.