Priest Lake – August 2016 – Part 2

Friday August 19: I go for a walk along the lake first thing this morning, not as far as yesterday, but with more excursions down to the water’s edge.

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Excursion to the water’s edge

 

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Sitting on a rock

I sit on a rock, desiring to do a “lake meditation,” but am too easily distracted by sounds: birds, boats, whatever. Playing cello and reading Alex’s book are the main focus of my day. Very noisy here today: ski jets on the lake, a chainsaw, a dirt-blower (like a snow-blower) used by our fastidious host to clean around the campground, excited kids, crying babies, whining dogs. It’s almost as bad as being in town.

Saturday August 20: I am up at 6:00 a.m., in time for the sunrise.

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Sunrise at Priest Lake

Since it is a cool 45 degrees out, I decide to have a campfire this morning. I use a couple pieces of the firewood I brought, but mostly gather twigs and small branches from around the campsite. Make a cup of yerba matte and sit by the fire to write in my journal. Nice and quiet this time of the day.

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Campfire with yerba matte and journal

Later, as I’m playing the cello, a couple of girls are curious enough to engage in conversation and I talk them into coming over and trying out the cello. That was fun for them and for me. In the afternoon, Clifford and I walk along the lake trail past Osprey, the next campground up the road. I’m going to explore it a bit more another day.

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Walking the trail to Osprey with Clifford

Sunday August 21: Another cool morning and I make a campfire with wood I gathered on our walk yesterday. I try the technique for quieting the mind, per Alex’s book, but too many distractions: Mel stopping by, Clifford getting up, the fire needing tending, and so on. Today is a quieter day, as many campers leave fairly early. I finish the book, briefly check email on the tablet, and have just enough power on the laptop to edit one chapter for the Montana author whose book I have been editing. Power has been inadequate here due to lots of trees and not much sunshine on the solar panels; we are grateful for the shade, which has kept us comfortable, but not being able to use my laptop puts a crimp in my editing and blogging. Glad I have the cello and play it a couple of times today.

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Walking the trail to Osprey

In the afternoon, I walk along the lake trail to Osprey by myself and walk around its long loop, checking out possibilities for next year. After dinner, Clifford and I sit outside, as the temperature is quite mild, but it is past my bedtime, so I soon head to bed.

Monday August 22: In the night last night, my tooth problem flared up, which is not a good thing, but an ibuprofin helped. Today, since we are going to town, there is no time for a campfire, so I stay warm and cozy in bed until Clifford is ready to get up. Then we head off to Priest River, about a 25 mile drive, to mail some government forms that we finished filling out over the weekend. We get all the way there before I discover that the papers to be mailed at still at camp. I am super annoyed at the waste of time and gas to drive down here, but we make the best of it by going on to Newport and getting groceries at the Safeway there. We check out a couple of small campgrounds on our way back to Outlet Bay, including one near the little village of Coolin on the SE shore of Priest Lake. 

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View of Priest Lake from Coolin

Even though we still have papers to mail, we have a nice little outing.

4 thoughts on “Priest Lake – August 2016 – Part 2”

  1. That area looks very inviting to me. I also have to admit that if I want peace and quiet and privacy, I best stay at home. But I love seeing and experiencing all the beauty that is different than my home. And I do have fun meeting new people. I am very isolated at home. Thank you for sharing this beautiful place.

  2. Thanks for your reply. I love your adventuresome spirit. I think if I had a lovely peaceful quiet home, I’d probably be less inclined to travel. But living in town, even a small one, is not very satisfying to my soul — so camping takes us to lakes and rivers and mountains and trees and….. and now and then, I meet people, which is a lot of fun. Part 4 will soon be ready to post: I just got back from visiting my off-grid daughter in Montana. Oh yes – I saw an Arctic Fox on a red pick-up. Probably wasn’t you, but sure could have been!

  3. Ha, ha! That Arctic Fox on a red pick up will definitely be ours next year! My property is not on a lake and I definitely am not near mountains. Must travel! The world is an amazing place!

  4. You are so right that the world is an amazing place! I hardly traveled at all before I met Clifford and now I have seen the ocean, the Grand Canyon, and the redwoods, not to mention many other wonderful wonderful places. There is just a part of me that wants to be tucked in and grow food in a greenhouse. But I can’t do that in Wallace where we live, so we will be heading off to see the world in about three weeks. Planning on making the route to Arizona through Utah this time. Knowing how plans go, we may or may not actually see Utah – LOL – but that is our intention, anyway.

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