Author: Michael Eaton

After finishing up our stay at Bonners Ferry we came back down to Sandpoint. Just for a night. We stayed at the same campsite on the river and Amanda got some work done in town before we moved on over to Spokane. We were officially in Washington state.

The only thing that I know about Spokane is that Gonzaga University is there. If you participate in March Madness every year you are probably familiar with the name. Amanda found a place to work and I checked out the park by the river.

Nothing too special. The Spokane River runs through the south part of town and the park is average a best. There is a little waterfall and a few urban art pieces scattered throughout. But I wouldn’t say it was amazing. At the least, it was a good walk outside.

All in all, Spokane wasn’t all that special and I doubt I will be coming back, outside of just passing through on the way to somewhere else. Got a rock climbing session in and we hit the road.

We drove about halfway across Washington that evening and stayed near a rest stop near Ellensburg. We crossed the bridge over the Columbia River on our way there. That was pretty cool. The river itself is huge – similar in size to the Hudson in NYC. Maybe a bit smaller but still impressive.

Man, was it windy in this area though. My car was getting knocked about on the drive-through. Driving over the bridge was a nervous experience. But I took it slow and everything was fine.

Woke up in the morning and we were greeted with some great views of Mount Rainier in the distance. We didn’t see it when we rolled in the night before because we came in shortly after dusk. Got on the road early and made our way toward Yakima. The last town before heading into the Mount Rainier area.

We found a short hike in the White Pass area to a lake and it was a pleasant walk. Barely any elevation gain. It was nice to be surrounded by these gigantic trees that the Pacific Northwest is known for.

We camped just outside the park in the national forest. Found this great clearing with these enormous Douglas Fir trees. We got there in the afternoon and we had a ton of time to hang out in the hammock and just enjoy the spot.

We spent the weekend up near Priest Lake. The “crown jewel” of North Idaho. And I would say that title is fairly appropriate.

We left Sandpoint in the late afternoon and drove the hour towards the lake area. We stopped off in the small town on the southern tip of the lake and just got our bearings. I got a bit of ice cream too. Salted caramel pretzel. Absolutely delicious.

I found a dispersed campsite in the state forest near the town and it worked out great for the night. Just on the ridge overlooking the river running south from the lake. No lake views but that was alright. It’s free so you can’t expect too much.

Saturday was a big day for us. We decided to rent kayaks from one of the resorts for the day. I hadn’t been in a kayak for a long time. So I was a little nervous. But we spent a little time figuring it out. It wasn’t difficult. Especially on a calm lake.

We were probably out there for seven hours or so. We kayaked to three separate islands and we made stops at a variety of different beaches. There were a few campsites on two of the islands that we paid a visit to. Looked like a pretty good setup if you ask me. Hang out there for a few days and you have the boat or a jetski to cruise around on.

By the end of the trip, Amanda was getting pretty tired and was eager to get back to the resort. We started paddling back to the marina. When we got close I found that I had made a mistake. Our resort was further down the shoreline. We still had more than a mile to go around the bend in the distance.

Amanda was not happy but after that, she paddled like an Olympian. Within no time she put at least a quarter of a mile between us. And I wasn’t even going slow. I was going at a pretty solid pace. I was impressed.

We got in around 5 o’clock and we hung out at the resort for a bit. We had a few drinks there overlooking the lake. It was well deserved.

The next day we took the drive to the northern point of the lake and just chilled out at the beach there all day. We were pretty exhausted from the adventure the day before and just needed to lay low.

The views from the beach were phenomenal. There had been a few forest fires in the area and the visibility over the weekend wasn’t great. But the views from here were really awesome. We made some dinner and ate on the beach and then went back to the dispersed campsite that we stayed at the first night.

Sandpoint is kind of like Coeur d’Alene. A town on the north shore of a very large lake (Pend Orielle). But without the resort town vibes. No pretension here. Just a small little town on the lake surrounded by the mountains. Not trying to be anything in particular.

We got into town in the morning and we found a local coffee shop to work from. Ever since Amanda started traveling with me the coffee situation has dramatically improved. She didn’t approve of my set up and now we have a proper pour-over shin-dig going on. With a gooseneck kettle and everything.

Anyway, we walked around town for a bit and stopped at a few shops. Amanda is putting together a care package for her family and she was able to pick up a few things. We even stumbled on a farmer’s market. It was small but they did have some live music which was nice.

The campsite here is one of the best developed campsites we have stayed at. The campsite is small and you can walk down to the beach in no time. There are hot showers, which is a bargain when you are paying twenty dollars a night. And the sunset from the beach was absolutely phenomenal.

We stayed here for two nights and we spent each of the evenings hanging out at one of the picnic tables watching the sunset. Drinking a beer. Playing wildcard gin or chess. It was really peaceful.

I spent the morning fishing in the bay here in town. I only caught one fish in the two days but it was just nice to get outside and get some fresh air. The view from the lake is really stunning.

I think I need to get some different lures or get some worms if I want to get serious about catching some more fish. I don’t have much of a lure selection available to me so if those aren’t working I kind of start running out of options.

Our first stop in North Idaho was Coeur d’Alene. About 50,000 people here so not small by any means. It’s a bit different than I expected. It’s more of a resort town which makes a lot of sense because the lake is absolutely stunning. And it’s within touching distance of Spokane over the border.

We arrived in the early afternoon and headed south from the town along the east coast of the lake. Found a nice small public beach and I caught up on some ukulele playing and Amanda did a bit of drawing. We played a few games of chess (we picked up a small travel set) and I took a swim. The water was a bit chilly but very refreshing.

We drove into the forest southeast of town to try to find a dispersed campsite for the night. The road was fairly rough and there weren’t many spots available. Not that they were taken. There just weren’t many campsites in this forest.

We finally found a campsite but it was swarmed with bees (a constant theme throughout our stay in Coeur d’Alene) so we decided to leave and head down to the developed campsite at the base of the road. Sometimes it’s just not worth it just to save a few bucks.

The campsite wasn’t anything spectacular but it was close enough to town. We made that our base for the few days we spent here.

Our two full days in town went about the same. I dropped Amanda off at the coworking space and settled in the park north of town. Made some breakfast, did some stretching and read a bit. Then in the afternoon, we did a small hike to Tubbs Hill Beach.

The beach here was on a point that jutted out into the lake and it wasn’t crowded at all. There were a few small alcoves among the rocks and it was almost like we had our own private beach.

The second day we were there we met a man and he asked me to take a picture of him swimming out to the rocks a bit ways away from shore. He wanted to send them to his son. He swims out to the rocks every day and wanted proof.

We got to talking and he let me in on a secret of his. I was a stranger after all and we would never see each other again.

He told us that he was battling cancer for about a year, which was a surprise because he looked in tremendous shape. He told us about what he was doing with his diet and how it was doing wonders for him. And he gave us some insight into his journey up to this point. The denial, the anger, the frustration, and then finally, the acceptance.

It was really great just talking to him and feeling his energy. Here’s a man that is fighting for his life and he was still in good spirits. It’s all about mindset, isn’t it?

From Big Sky, it was just a matter of driving through Montana and getting to North Idaho, where we planned to spend some time before we moved on to Seattle to meet Matt. I will come back to Montana another time and do it properly. I definitely want to make it to Glacier National Park at some point. I just didn’t want to rush it this time around.

Bozeman is just north of Big Sky and it was a cool little city. There really wasn’t much going on outside of the area around the main street. But I can see it growing larger over time. They have the university there and Big Sky is just down the highway. That will definitely bring people in.

Butte was a blast from the past and not in a good way. The whole town looked like it was built in 1940 and it hasn’t been updated since. Things were falling apart, literally. Lots of Irish pubs to be fair. But it is just a mining town way past its prime. It had a New England feel to it as far as the architecture went. But that was about its only charm.

Missoula was more like Bozeman. A lively town. It’s smaller than Bozeman but there seemed to be more going on. We only spent the day here but I wouldn’t mind coming back. I am looking for a place to stay from February to April when I work the winter busy season. Maybe Missoula is an option.

Amanda and I stopped at the rock climbing gym in both Bozeman and Missoula. Twenty dollars for a day pass and you can rock climb, they have a weight lifting area, and you get a shower too. Definitely worth it. I will definitely be continuing on with my rock climbing journey.

The gym in Missoula was way more difficult but I enjoy the process. Rock climbing takes a lot of thinking. You don’t jump on and climb to the top. I mean you probably can if you are really good at it. But the plebs, like me, have to think through the problem and come up with a plan on how to get your body up the climb. It’s fun.

It has been a whirlwind the last week or so and we needed some time to rest. So we decided to stay in Big Sky for a few days and lay low. This is a big ski resort area and I wanted to check it out and see what it was all about. I’d love to come back in the winter and ski the mountain.

After we left the park on Sunday afternoon we stopped off in West Yellowstone for lunch. It was a tourist town. Lots of gift shops and over-priced food but we were thankful to get some pizza and a beer.

I found this campsite about 45 minutes north of the town and it was a nice little spot. We hung out by the creek for a bit and then we headed up the road to the campground. Nothing special, just a flat dirt parking lot with a pit toilet.

There was a farm right across the way. As we were making dinner, the horses from the form came by and gathered in the pasture close by to the van. There were quite a few of them. Maybe about fifty or so. All different colors and it was fun to watch them play with each other. They are so strong and graceful.

Big Sky was pretty dead. I mean it was to be expected. It’s the off season. But I was expecting the town to have more to offer. There was one small street with a few shops and the community center seemed nice. But besides that there really wasn’t much going on.

The golf course was really nice and I spent the afternoons there. I didn’t play a round becuse it was a bit more expensive than I would have liked. But I did spend some time practicing my chipping. I think I want to focus more on practicing than playing this next month or so.

In the afternoon on Tuesday we hiked the Beehive Basin trail on the recommendation of a person I met at one of the coffee shops. It was a fairly difficult hike because it was uphill the entire way. But it wasn’t very long – about seven miles total.

There were so many wildflowers on the trail. I felt like I was in The Sound of Music or something. At the top there was a small lake and there was a really beautiful view of the valley down below. We decided to hike a little further to the another overlook spot and we chilled up there for a bit.

Amanda was keen on hiking to the top of the mountain. It looked doable but it was a pure rock scramble for about 500 feet or so. I just didn’t feel comfortable with it. The rock looked loose and it was getting late. It didn’t take too much convincing to get her off the idea.

Friday was a fairly slow day for us. We stayed in Canyon Village until the late afternoon. It rained on and off for most of the morning. I didn’t have much of a desire to go off by myself and do a bit of exploring so I just stuck around and did some reading and writing.

After we were done in Canyon Village we moved down south towards the canyon and checked in to our new campsite at Bridge Bay. There were a few big bull elk just sitting around the campground when we arrived. We’ve seen quite a few in this area before as we were driving past. They must really like this spot.

We took a small walk down to the natural bridge that was near the camp. Just another name for an arch but this one is created differently than the ones we saw in Moab. The water flows underneath the rocks here, in small cracks found in the porous earth, and erodes the layers slowly until the bridge is formed. Now a tiny waterfall is left.

We meditated under the waterfall for a bit and then made our way to camp. The rain continued and we had a quiet night.

The next day was a big driving day. We stopped off at the northern rim of the canyon and walked down to the lower falls. There is an overlook there and you can stand right above the falls and feel the power of the water.

From there we drove north towards Mammoth Hot Springs which is near the northern boundary of the park. We made a few stops along the way but nothing really worthy of note here.

The weather held for most of the morning but as soon as we started walking the boardwalks of the springs the sky opened up. The springs themselves were cool, especially the terraced parts. The calcium deposits created the structures and the formations are changing all the time.

Amanda was really excited to see these but it was a bit of a letdown for her. It seems as if some of the springs are inactive at this time and there were only a few small sections that actually had the terraces. I think if it was sunny it would have been a lot nicer. The sun brings out the coolers in the springs.

The rain passed through and by the late afternoon, we were out hiking. We did the Beaver Pond trail. No beavers unfortunately but it was an enjoyable walk. The forest is so lush and green here.

We did run into a large group of elk on the trail towards the end. I shouted at them but they wouldn’t budge. They’re not really bothered by humans here. They probably have had tons of run-ins and nothing ever happens so they have no reason to really care.

Normally I wouldn’t be too bothered but there were a few females with their babies so I just wanted to be extra careful. Eventually, we found an alternative route and avoided them.

Sunday was our last day in the park. We woke up early and hit up the most popular trail in the park – the Fairy Falls trail. It was so foggy in the AM but the sun came out once the sun got high enough in the sky.

The waterfall was nice and we decided to go further down the trail to Imperial Geyser. We spoke with a few people coming out as we were going in. They told us that they saw a bear and she had some cubs with her. So we had to be extra careful.

We went for it but the adrenaline was definitely pumping a bit. We didn’t come across the bear thankfully. Though part of me wishes we saw it from a distance. It would have been a nice ending to our trip to the park.

Mom and Dad were staying at the Old Faithful Inn which was actually a pretty big hotel. It was super rustic inside. Our plan was to get Amanda set up for work in the morning but the service wasn’t nearly as good as the night before. So we had to find a new place for her to work.

Thankfully, the other lodging area near Old Faithful had reliable internet service and we averted a bit of a disaster. It was tense there for a bit but everything worked out.

After getting everything settled I went over to the geothermal area and I watched the Grand Geyser erupt. This geyser erupts once every day or so. It was cool to be able to see it. Most people who visit don’t get a chance to. The Grand Geyser is more powerful than Old Faithful but the latter erupts more often and more reliably (hence the name). So that is why it is more popular.

Amanda and I walked the entire area later in the afternoon and it’s really quite amazing. There are different types of geysers and springs. The springs are the most beautiful. There are different types of microorganisms that thrive in these springs and they give the pools such beautiful colors, especially on the outer edges.

A few pictures from the walk:

We stayed in Grant Village on Wednesday night, which is close to the lake. We met up with my parents for drinks – they were staying in the lodge a bit to the north of the campground – and then we passed out as soon as we got back to camp. We were exhausted.

We spent Thursday morning near Old Faithful and I watched the geyser erupt again while Amanda got some more work done. From there we drove the loop road to Canyon Village but we stopped at the Grand Prismatic Spring on the way there.

The parking lot was an absolute zoo and it took us a while to find parking. Some of the people out here act like children. Trying to cut the line of cars and yelling at each other. Is it really that hard to wait patiently for a place to park?

The view from the ground wasn’t that great to be honest. The pool is so big and the steam coming off of it makes it difficult to really see anything. We will come back later in the week and take the trail to the overlook point.

We got into Canyon Village later in the afternoon and drove over to the south rim of the canyon. We stopped off at the Upper Falls lookout area and hiked the south rim trail to Artists Point. The trail was fairly easy but offered amazing views of the canyon.

The lower fall was especially impressive. It’s such a powerful waterfall. The colors of the canyon were beautiful. Yellow, orange, red, and green are contrasted with the blue of the water. The view from Artist Point was exceptional. Honestly pictures don’t really do it justice.

From there we were ready to get back to the campsite and relax. The past week had been so busy between getting things ready for the trip, Cheyenne Frontier Days, and traveling with my parents. We hadn’t really had a moment’s rest.

We made some of the elk sausages that Rock was nice enough to give us and we sat out by the lake and watched the sunset. It was beautiful and there were so many fish jumping. Such a peaceful end to the day.

We stopped by the ranch for breakfast which was really nice. I enjoy Luke’s grandparents and Rock made some awesome omelettes. It was a feast.

We got on the road a little after 11 o’clock and drove for roughly six hours to the Jackson area. We made a few stops throughout the day and we even passed through Rock Springs. Long time no see.

We found a National Forest area just south of town and that made a good campsite for the night. We heard some animals extremely close to the van just after settling in. They might have been a group of elk or deer – it was really difficult to make it out. And I wasn’t going out there to check least I frighten them and have a bigger issue on my hands.

The next morning we got settled into town and I went with my parents into Teton Village while Amanda worked. Dad was really excited to get on the tram to the top of the Jackson Hole ski resort. The ride was really awesome to the top. I’m excited to go back in the winter and get some skiing done up there.

We probably spent an hour or so up there and then we made our way back to town for lunch. We ate, picked up Amanda when she was done with work, and then we moved toward the national park.

Then we drove the scenic loop road through the park, which is about a 40-mile trip back to the visitors center in Moose Junction. Made a few stops along the way at some scenic overlooks, got caught in a bison-induced traffic jam, and we saw a bull elk with a fantastic rack on it.

The visibility of the mountains wasn’t so great, unfortunately. It’s amazing that the smoke and haze from the forest fires in California can affect the visibility here. We still had a good time though.

The next day Mom and Dad left for Yellowstone earlier in the day. We got a start in the afternoon and tried to make it into the park for a hike. But the weather was total garbage at around 4 o’clock. By the time we made it to Jackson Lake, it was thunderstorming pretty hard.

It’s all good. I mean I was a little frustrated at the moment but you can’t control the weather. I’ll be back eventually for some more hiking here.