Beyond Hope...Idaho that is

Hello Everyone,

I've decided we should call the huge house we are staying in "Beyond Hope" since it is just a bit past Hope, Idaho, a quaint little town on the Eastern Shore of Lake Pond Oreille in northern Idaho. We have to drive up a very narrow, steep, and windy dirt road to the top of a mountain that makes Dad nervous, so I have to be very quiet while he drives.

The view from the top is spectacular and we were very fortunate to find this place.

Yesterday, July 28th we drove to the Cabinet Mountain range which straddles north-eastern Idaho and north-western Montana.  Our first stop was at Ross Creek Cedars a wonderful old-growth cedar forest filled with huge western red cedar trees, some hundreds of years old and one hundred or more feet tall. I met several new people and did my best to make them feel happy.

Here's Mom trying to show you how high these cedar trees really are.

 Here's Dad standing inside the trunk of one of many cedar trees we hiked past.

As we hiked along through the cedar forest we came across a dry creek bed and some rather interesting rock art left behind by trolls?

Then we drove further on to Kootenai Falls on the Kootenai River (coo-ten-ee) near Troy, Montana. The falls were very unique in that there were multiple parts and a sluice. Mom tried to give you a sense of how big it was with her pictures.

After that, we drove to Ponderay, Idaho where Dad wanted to try some local ales at a brewery located there. Mom and I sat at a picnic table with Dad while he tried some ales, and found one he really liked called "Huckleberry Cream Ale". I met some more nice people and a couple more dogs while we were there.

Today, July 29th, we left early to hike along the Pend Oreille Bay Trail just over 3 miles before it got too hot (in the afternoon it went up to 88). It was great fun and I met many new people and lots of dogs on the trail. Mom says I'm not as scared of meeting new dogs as I used to be.

We went back home for lunch and spent the afternoon planning the next segment of our Great Adventure as we explore North-central Idaho for the next few days. Tonight we drove down the mountain to the town of Hope and ate dinner on the front porch of the Old Ice House Pizzeria in the center of town. There is an Osprey nest with some young Osprey in it, on the top of a dead tree right across the road, and Mom tried to get some good pictures of the young birds.

This one looks just as interest in us as we are in them. Maybe he thought we were bringing supper?

And some of the more mature Osprey, who were sitting together on a dead tree about a mile away.

Tomorrow we are driving up Schweitzer Mountain to get more spectacular views of the lake😊.