Next stop, more lakes and more smoke

 Smoke is following us, an annoyance, an inconvenience to be sure, but not a catastrophy for us.    Our first few nights back on the road  were spent in nearby Coeur D'Alene.    We had a nice quiet spot at Blackwell Island RV Park (even though it was during Labor Day weekend) and used it to decompress and turn our thoughts to the days ahead.     We even were able to sit outside for second cup a few mornings.

One afternoon we took a forest road beside nearby, small Fernan Lake and up into the pine forest with no particular destination other than to get away from the haze and see what we could see. 

  

We saw definite signs of fall beginning.

We hadn't bothered to stop at the Forest Service office to pick up any maps so when we came upon a very confusing intersection of dirt roads, we decided to turn back and head home instead of getting soundly lost.     Fun while it lasted!

which way to go?   Ah well, nice music to listen to at least!

Another day we took our lunch and drove along the entire east side of Lake Coeur D'Alene.    It was a narrow,  paved, road that twisted and turned along the shoreline.   I enjoyed the views out the passenger window, but for Dave it was a tough drive without much beauty.    Speaking of beauty, however, we came upon a nice spot to stop and take a short hike leading to a  lovely view over Beauty Bay where he could finally see the lake.  

  

At the end of the lake we stopped for lunch at a small boat launch area on the Coeur D'Alene River.   Just after I took this picture a small float plane flew directly down the river in front of us.    I didn't get the camera back out in time.

lunch view

The last leg of that day was much more pleasant than the first.   I routed us home along route 3 because it looked to be the most direct, but there were a number of small lakes and marshes that gave us some beautiful and private views, much less traffic......and - a MOOSE!

we enjoyed listening to a flock of Western Grebes at Medicine Lake

Do you see it?   A moose!    I almost fell over as I was focusing on a flock of white pelicans in the distance.     I didn't see the moose until I'd taken it's picture.

A Moose!   A Fu.....ing  Moose!   I was so excited I didn't even focus the damn camera!   And, I wonder what the pelican in the foreground was about to eat?   A crawfish?  Do they have crawfish up here?   As you can tell, I'm excited by small things!

The next day we were off again, destination - Missoula, Montana.   The beginning of the drive was relatively clear and the mountains were getting bigger and bigger.

pay no attention to the bugs on the windshield.....

The closer we got, however, the less we could see.

We're at Granite Peak RV Resort, just across from the nice Jim and Mary's RV.   (I tried to get reservations there - they were full)

Our site is very uneven but has (or would have) a fabulous view of the mountains if not obstructed by smoke.    Dave was able to get Beluga relatively level so we've been happy with this site.

I hadn't done my homework about the area, at least not about where we could go without lots of other people and lots of smoke.   I know Pam, and MonaLiza, we could have hiked up to the M, but it's just too darn hard to breathe outside.    I went up to the office to inquire about any out of the way roads we could explore but the  young woman there didn't seem to have a clue.   Her only suggestion was to drive up to Snow Bowl to see the views.    I wonder if she'd been outside lately?    As she started to google things, a young man came out from the back office and said "I've got this...".     He certainly did!

He suggested (and gave us good directions) that we drive up into the mountains on Mill Creek Road.   It was a wonderful suggestion and we had a ball poking along beside the rioting creek through a dense, rocky, almost  primeval forest.    Ferns, berries, fallen logs, huge evergreens, maple trees of some sort turning bright yellow, late blooming tiny wildflowers here and there, jagged boulders and not a soul but us made this a memorable ride. 

 

I don't know how long we were on the road but as we came out of the forest we saw that the smoke hadn't really retreated at all.

The young man in the office said that we'd come out of the forest and descend into the Arlee valley with the Rocky Mountains rising up in front of us.     A stunning view he said.

see the mountains?

I'm sure he was right.     All in all we had a wonderful day, doing just what we like to do.

Today, our last day here, we spent domestically.   Laundry, a bit of cooking, a little nap, a little reading and a little baking.    No sense overtaxing ourselves.

Dave makes a chocolate mochi cake with peanut butter frosting

Lewis munches on a celery heart left from my potato salad ingredients

Tomorrow we continue on to Three Forks, Montana for a night and then to Henrys Lake for 4 or 5 days.