Crawford Bay, British Columbia

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Yesterday we drove from Heron, Montana to Crawford Bay, British Columbia. Our main route of travel was US-95 along the eastern side of the Selkirk Mountains up into Canada and then Route 3A along the eastern edge of Kootanay Lake to Crawford Bay’s Kokanee Chalets Motel & RV Park. It’s a very nice campground in a Very Rural area. We have been surprised at how completely rural this area is. Nice to visit, but I’d never live here. The campground has reasonable wifi, though, so civilization isn’t all that far away.

Yesterday our main stop was at The Glass House in Boswell, British Columbia. Check out the picture album for some pictures of a very quirky and unique place.

Now we’re in the process of getting ready to go to Church. The Church meetinghouse locator website tells us that there’s a Kootenay Lake Branch meeting in Riondel, British Columbia, about 20 minutes from here at 10 a.m. That’s where we’ll be.

Last Night In Montana On This Trip

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No pictures because I haven’t downloaded them. It’s about 11 p.m. at night and getting to bed is a higher priority than a picture for some reason. Tomorrow likely will include some pictures. We spent the morning at Glacier Park and then drove back to Heron, arriving here about 5:30 p.m. After cleaning up and showering, Nina, Dawnmarie, and I went to a lovely little nearby lodge for dinner. The halibut was very good and worth ordering. The lodge is on the edge of the national forest and while we were eating a herd of elk crossed in front of the inn and a couple of deer were feeding in a meadow. A feast for the eyes as well as for the belly.

Tomorrow morning we’ll be on our way. As previously advertised, we’re headed around the Selkirk International Loop. We’ve made reservations at Crawford Bay for the next four nights. A few days vacationing on our own before going back home.

Glacier Natl Park

E-Mail Musings

There’s supposed to be wifi in this campground, but the signal is so weak I can’t connect. We’ve got good cell phone service, though, so this post is coming by email via my cell phone.

We left Heron this morning with the motorhome full – four adults and five children. The kids were excited about riding in the motorhome for the first hour of the four-hour drive over here. Then they were quite bored. We’ll have to find something more to keep them amused on the ride back tomorrow. After getting here we drove up the Highway to the Sun as far as it was open, 16 miles. An avalanch has closed the road near the pass. Tomorrow Kirk will take the older kids on a short 1-2 hour hike and we’ll drive back to Heron.

Kirk has a nice fire going and we’ll soon have hamburgers, brauts, and hot dogs on the fire. Definitely Celestial food!

I’ve Got Some Movies

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I’ve put up two movies that should work on your computer…. The first is of Kirk’s parent’s house and environs. To see this one click here. The second is on Kirk and Dawnmarie’s property a bit away from Kirk’s parent’s house. To see that one click here.  Download times are fairly lengthy for these short videos. Comments welcome!

We Found It! The End Of the Road!

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The End of the RoadYesterday we drove up to the Ross Creek Cedars, an old-growth cedar forest that somehow escaped the devastating wild fires of 1910. As we approached the area, we were greeted with the sign on the left. Because I have already written about being “near the end of the road,” I was happy to actually find that there was an end of the road!

The cedars were quite spectacular and were discovered in the late 1950’s by a young forest ranger marking trees for logging. It’s since been made into a lovely place for families to visit and walk through. I took a whole bunch of pictures which eventually will be put in the picture album (the pictures are now there!)

Today is a quiet day and we’re staying around the area. Tomorrow we’re headed to Coeur d’Alene and the lake, Thursday and Friday over to Kallispell and Waterton-Glacier National Peace Park. Saturday we’ll proceed on our own way around the Selkirk International Loop.

I need to find a place that sells AA batteries. That sounds like a good purpose for the day!

Boyd and Jo’s Place In Heron, Montana

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Kirk\'s Parent\'s HomeToday is a partly cloudy day with occasional rain showers forecast. It will get up above 90 degrees today, an unusually high temperature for this part of western Montana. After getting up this morning, I took a few pictures. Clicking on them will show some additional information. Clicking again on the picture will show the larger view.

Home Away From HomeWe’ve parked the motor home in front of the house and the shed on a nice level area. That’s where we’ll be sleeping while we’re staying here. Last night our granddaughter Kate slept on the couch in the motor home with us. Tonight it’ll be another grandchild until they’ve all had the opportunity. It’s, of course, a significant attraction.

The End of the RoadThe woods around here are filled with Aspen, birch, poplar, and pine trees. They get a lot of rain and a LOT of snow, so everything here is lush and green. I think it rained for a couple of hours last night giving everything a crisp look. This trail runs behind Kirk’s parent’s home and is quite popular with the grandkids as they ride the 4-wheeler around the property.

Tree HouseIf there’s trees around, why not have a treehouse? This is Kirk’s creation started when the family got here near the beginning of June. The kids just love climbing up there and the two levels provide space for kids who aren’t comfortable climbing up to the top level. Spencer, as the only boy around, has had to contend with the girls wanting to make the top floor into a girly space rather than it being a fort or a castle. That’s particularly the case when all the family is here as Spencer is then surrounded by many, many girls.

The ShedThe shed is a replacement for a barn that collapsed under the weight of snow a few years ago. The result is a great place to park the motor home as it’s fairly level in front. There’s plenty of “stuff” stored in the shed as well as every power tool imaginable in the attached workshop.

We’ve been here not quite twenty-four hours and I’m starting to wind down. This is a place where one can definitely do that. Will it be successful??

The End Of the Road Is Near Here, Right?

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We’ve arrived in Heron, Montana (clicking on the link shows a Google map). I think this is the most rural I’ve been in many, many years! The road turned to dirt, but continues a ways beyond the driveway where the motorhome is parked, so we’re not entirely at the end of the road!

I drove from Hamilton to here, so no pictures (yet). We arrived about 4 p.m. this afternoon. I brought a Wifi access point with me and it’s plugged in and working great. They have DSL here and it seems pretty fast. There is no cell phone service. I’ll probably not miss that, though.

Tomorrow I’ll take some pictures around here. It is very pretty here and very, very quiet. Nature is definitely the order of the day here.