Our Shakedown Trip

Blog #7

Before we left to find a sailboat, we figured it would be a good time for a shakedown trip, visiting loved ones while we could. 

We left Weston, Oregon on July 18, 2018. Nikki and Teddy did fine, but our cat Penelope was NOT happy at first. Fortunately, she soon settled down to endure the ride. We stopped to provision at the Walmart in Walla Walla, Washington, and then headed to Spokane via Pasco. We drove past Sprague Lake to the Fishtrap Lakes Recreational Area, and we boondocked near Folsom Farm. 

There is an old barn nearby, and there was a big owl in the window who then flew right over our heads! We saw two of them the next day, and I think they're Barred Owls.

There are nice walking trails here, and a Ducks Unlimited observation area.

We packed up the next morning and drove a short ways to Fishtrap Lake, where we paddled our kayaks around for awhile. We thought we were going to drive straight to our daughter's home in Townsend. We drove across the top of Idaho, and into Montana. However, just before Missoula one of the tires on our camper blew out. John put the spare on, and we limped into Les Schwab's in Missoula. We didn't want to risk that again, so we bought four new tires. Then we got back on the road, and arrived at Katria and Jim’s with no more mishaps.

A few days after arriving, John, Katria and I took a day trip to Gipsy Lake (yes, that’s how it’s spelled), up in the mountains east of Townsend, Montana. What a road! It's a very good thing that our truck had four-wheel drive: it was extremely rutted, steep and narrow! We drove at about 10 mph for 16 miles. The views were spectacular though, and Gipsy Lake is stunningly beautiful! We paddled our kayaks around the lake.  It was a nice surprise to find bathrooms here. The road is MUCH better on the White Sulpher side! It was a longer but much faster way home.

John and I helped Jim move his hay equipment to another field where he was doing custom haying. It was fun driving in a "convoy" :). Summer thunderstorms rolled in, and we had two strikes very close to the house: scary! 

We spent many hours walking around the ranch and the surrounding state land. Their guardian dogs Dolly and Grace were born on our Oregon farm. Penelope spent a lot of time hunting under an old cabin across from their house.

We went kayaking on Canyon Ferry Reservoir.  I forgot sunscreen, and sunburned so badly that I got "light sensitivity eruptions". (Later, my sister-in-law  gave me Colliadal Silver and that helped better than anything else I tried). 

On August 1st, we visited Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park! It's near Whitehall, Montana off the main road, but it's well worth it!  The walk to the cave entrance was hot and grueling in August, but the caverns were nice and cool. Don't miss the beautiful travertine steps as you descend into the lower part of the cave. Our guide was very informative: he'd been giving tours for years!

Katria treated John and me to a "Gates of the Mountains” boat tour near Helena. This is a peaceful, informative tour that everyone in the family can enjoy. The scenery on this stretch of the Missouri River is absolutely beautiful and we even saw a nesting pair of bald eagles.

We said our goodbyes to Jim and Katria, and loaded up our pets. They had had three weeks of exploring nature on the ranch, and Penelope was not thrilled to be back in the truck. 

 

I had heard of a candy store in the adorable town of Philipsburg, so we took a detour to see it. The Sweet Palace is a candy lover’s paradise! We found old favorites and lots of new ones to try. In fact, we bought enough to last us for several weeks :). Philipsburg is an old mining town, and is known for its beautiful sapphires.  You can try finding your own, or buy them at one of the galleries. There is also an ice cream store as well as antique and thrift stores.  I would have loved to have spent more time in this charming little town, but we needed to get further down the road.

We continued on towards Columbia Falls where our friends live.  Due to road construction, we took a less-than-straight route. When we realized that we wouldn't arrive until after dark, we decided to boondock (just park somewhere). This is when we discovered  FSRs, Forest Service Roads! We found a nice area for our trailer on FSR 552 near Lake Alva off Highway 83. It was a beautiful spot near the Clearwater River, and we kayaked on Lake Alva the next morning.

Columbia Falls (near Kalispell, Montana) is home to Suzy and her mother Polly. They used to be my family's neighbors in Minnesota, and Polly was my babysitter!  (Me, Suzy's daughter Mandy, Polly and Suzy). It was great to see them again! And in case you are wondering why Suzy is holding a rolling pin, it’s NOT to bean her hubby with! I used to have a collection of rolling pins, and I had one for Suzy and Polly. (What she uses it for is her business, ha ha!)

Our next stop was in Troy, on the Montana/Idaho border, home to our friends Chad and Svetlana and their boys Alexander and Nicolas. They raise beautiful German Shepherds as well as other livestock. We stopped at Kootenai River Falls and the Swinging Bridge: wow!

Next we stopped in Spokane, Washington to visit John's dad Ken, and his sister Chrisie and hubby Bryce and their family: Daniel and son Tyler, David (and Roslyn, not pictured), and Dezeray and Tristan. We had a BBQ and pool party, and Chrisie and I stayed up talking and watching the Perseides Meteor Showers until 2 a.m.!

We thought our next stop was Oregon, but John found a boat in Seattle that looked promising, so we headed west! It was very smokey due to the forest fires. We stopped at the Ginkgo Petrified Forest near Vantage, Washington. They have a great gift shop! Then we managed to snag the last spot at Trailer Inns of Bellevue for two nights. Whew! We looked at SV (Sailing Vessel) Grace.  She was nice, but we didn't make an offer (No picture of SV Grace, but I did meet a very large Norwegian near the marina, ha ha!).

At least we got to see our friends Judy and David in Ellensburg, and eat at their delicious BBQ restaurant, Fire & Smoke on the way home.

It felt good to get back to our farm in Weston, Oregon. Our daughter Jessika and hubby Kyler are going to rent it while we see how this sailing adventure pans out!

Join us in “And we’re off! OR, ID, Yellowstone”!