July 26 - July 31, 2021
Spokane - Saint Regis, Washington
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| The reality of our route is the bright orange section :-( |
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| Rural Eastern Washington has a wonderful modern pattern. |
Spokane puts us back on Plan B through northeastern Washington. We usually try to stop here or nearby to meet up with Bill's best friend Tommy. His wife and daughter are visiting family out of state this year.
When making plans I'm happy to see there's a new park just east of where Tommy lives in Spokane Valley. Liberty Park RV Campground is just off I-90 but has very limited check-in space. Rigs are backing up into the street as we each have to review two long pages of rules before getting escorted to our immaculate concrete and green grass site.
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| Check in takes a long time, but I'm happy to see blue skies! |
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| The numerous rules include several serious fines. I know it's because people can't do what's right, but it really puts a damper on our arrival. |
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| Just happy there's nice cool green grass in her yard. |
Tuesday Tessa and I drop Bill off to spend the day with Tommy and run city errands while we can. Getting the Jeep washed means it rains later in the day. The rain is so needed that I can't even be irritated!
I meet them for dinner where we once again experience the joys of staffing shortages. It's still nice to get caught up. Forget a photo again :-(
Also in Spokane this time are our dear friends Sue and Dave (Beluga's excellent adventure)! Spending the summer near their son and his wife, it's great to see them after way too long. Lunch at Clinkerdagger overlooking the Spokane Falls is perfect - all of our meals are delicious and our server is delightful. We never run out of fun things to talk about with these two fellow were-fulltimers-now-have-a-winter-base-in-Arizona peeps! The time goes too fast as always, and hopefully we'll see them this winter.
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| Bill, Jodee and Dave. Thanks Sue! |
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| Lovely to hear the rushing water during our visit. |
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| Distant smoke treats us to a rare pretty sunset. |
Thursday we drive a couple hours in three states on I-90 where we again find the smoke on the east side of Lookout Pass. The Saint Regis River is beautiful. Saint Regis, Montana, is our next stop.
Nugget RV Park is pretty with dirt and grass sites interspersed through pine trees. Swimming pool and hiking trails with lots of families. We have open sky which in the 100 degree temps isn't the plus I'd hoped for. I'm very happy to have 50 AMP FHUs.
The smoke is horrible. Air quality ranges between 130 and 160. We venture out one of the days hoping we'll find clearer air, but sadly it just gets worse. It's a lovely area with what looks like incredible geology all around. I almost didn't take pics, but this is our real experience that I want to remember. We'll come back when it's clear - probably in the late Spring given that the last several summers have looked like this here.
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| A brief golden glow from the late sun behind us. |
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| Thompson River |
Saturday we stay home with lots of AC and blinds closed. A little cleaning, laundry and blog post writing.
When I made reservations back in February for the upcoming week I got the last space in Polson, Montana - three RV parks, one space left at the time! 30 AMP seemed okay at the time, now I'm hoping we can stay comfortable during our four days stay. It's a new stop for us, and we're both really looking forward to it!
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| Cupcake love from Ezra! |
Nothing better than cupcake love except cupcake kisses in person! What a cutie he is! So sad to see the smoky photos…what beautiful country that is. We spent a month in Polson in 2013…the National Bison Range, a drive around Flathead Lake, cherries and farmers markets all come to mind. I also met (for the first time) Dave and Lewis there…just before they pulled out so we didn’t meet Sue. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteI've heard such wonderful things about this area so we're especially disappointed we can't enjoy Polson in the heavy smoke :-( I agree those cupcake kisses are missed!!
DeleteIt was so nice to be able to sit with you two again. We had lots to catch up on! We'll be at Catalina SP the beginning of Feb. so let's do it again! Smoke is a reality here, still. Thank goodness we have airconditioning but it's not as much fun being in such a beautiful area and not being able to see it! Love the cupcake love!
ReplyDeleteYes we will get together this winter for sure!! Sorry to hear you still have smoke. Doesn't bode well for the rest of the summer.
DeleteYou were in such a beautiful area. That smoke sure did change things. So sad. But it looks like you had a fantastic day to meet up with those special friends and dine over the falls. I can only imagine all the catching up you four had to do. I'm so jealous. We'll be in Tucson for two weeks from the end of Jan to the first week in Feb. We'll definitely have to meet up. We, also, ate at Chinkerdagger's during our Spokane visit. Such a great deck. That is an adorable photo of Tessa:) Love Ezra's photos with the cupcakes. Too cute:)
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see people again and to plan to see more this winter!! That deck is the best spot in Spokane I think :-)))
DeleteFires, smoke, mudslides seem to be defining all our travels this year. We’ve already had over 100 miles of unexpected detours.
ReplyDeleteYour photos still show off the beauty thru the haze
I don't know what the answer is but I can't imagine the impact this is all having on tourism dollars, especially after a year like 2020. I'm glad I've continued to photo what we're seeing even if it isn't the beauty we were hoping for.
DeleteI'm so sorry to hear about two pages of rules before you can even check in. What has happened to rving in the last few years? Also sad to see all that smoke. But I'm glad you posted the reality of what it's like where you are right now. If I could package up some of the rain and the cool temperatures here to send them to you I would be so happy to do it. Tessa, Ezra and your friends are certainly bright lights in the smokey heat.
ReplyDeleteFortunately we haven't run into any other over the top rules places in a long while - and the park was nice enough after all. I also wish you could send some clear air. We'll be in Vermont next year and hope for the same. Right now there's few places in the West not impacted by the fires.
DeleteThe NW fires used to be a crapshoot. Now it’s more of a given. Kind of takes MT off the future possible summer home list.
ReplyDeleteSad but true. We won't be coming back to the area in late summer again. Impossible to enjoy much when it's like this.
DeleteWe've decided to tell friends and family that July and August in Montana just isn't a good idea. We had a couple years of fewer fires but this year the fire season came back with a vengeance. Safe travels and here's hoping you find clear skies soon!
ReplyDeleteThat's probably good advice, and sad for you guys being there for the worst of it. We're hoping this low pressure system gives us all some relief!
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