Goodbye, Idaho…

After having so much fun in Idaho in July, we have moved on to the Canadian portion of the Selkirk Loop and then into Washington state. We made a couple of side trips before we left Idaho and one was to a large lake near Sandpoint, Idaho. The name of the lake is Priest Lake. We ate lunch at a nice resort there and then took a hike to Cedar Falls at Roosevelt Point. The falls were nice, but the most amazing thing was the HUGE cedar trees.

One of the last things we did before we left Sandpoint, Idaho was to attend the annual Huckleberry Festival at Mt. Schweitzer. This included all things huckleberry, and I mean all things; nothing is too much for a berry that is the state fruit (do all states have a state fruit?). They had jam, huckleberry honey, pancakes, syrup, cakes and pies just to mention a few. Then if you wanted to you could tie die a t-shirt using huckleberry juice and other colors (that was a popular activities with the kids). Last, but not least, guess what they had! Yep, you were right; huckleberry ice cream! Vicki surely was glad to get one more chance to eat her new favorite dessert (other than chocolate, of course).

Mt. Schweitzer is a small but quaint ski resort. The pictures are a bit hazy. Actually we have been told there is a forest fire somewhere in British Columbia that is blowing smoke down this

way, so things are hazy almost everywhere

right now.

The day after the festival we left for Canada. We only spent 2 days there on the Selkirk Loop but really enjoyed ourselves. In case you aren’t familiar with the Loop, it is a 280 mile loop that includes northern Idaho, British Columbia and Washington. It is well worth visiting. At the very top of the loop in BC, you must take a ferry across Kootenay Lake. People drive their cars or motorhomes onto the ferry and in about 45 minutes you are at the other side of the lake.

Right now we are on our way toward northwestern Washington. We will make a few stops along the way and then spend 7-10 days in Olympic National Park. There is plenty of pretty scenery along the way, especially as we travel through North Cascades National Park.