Swan Lake – August 2019

August 22, 2019November 21, 2019 Carol CarnicomLeave a comment

Tuesday August 20: Clifford and I arrived at Swan Lake Recreation Area earlier today and were happy to find a great site, which will be home for the next couple of weeks. After getting Cougar set up, I explore the campground and find a path to the creek that I can hear, while Clifford gets his ham radio antennas up and working.

Cougar tucked in with a meadow behind us

Then we ride our bikes to the day-use area and up the bike trail to a view point. Hard work for me! Dinner is left-overs warmed up and eaten by lantern light at the picnic table.

Wednesday August 21: After a walkabout, I make coffee and sit outside to write in my journal and read Mary Oliver. My favorite poem “Messenger” speaks of “My work is loving the world….. Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work, which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.” I feel like she is my soul-sister.

Clifford and I bike around the campground today, checking things out and getting some exercise. Later he plays his dulcimer and then takes out his microscope in preparation for the upcoming interview to be done here at our campsite. I play viola outside and do some editing and blog-writing.

We have chili for dinner, sitting out at the picnic table. We cover the table and Clifford’s lab gear with a good tarp before I head to bed. Without the distraction of cell phone or family visits (I do miss seeing my kids and siblings!), I am able to focus on better self-care: not skipping supplements and going to bed earlier, for starters.

Thursday August 22: This morning I walk over to the day-use area. A light rain in the night makes everything bright and fresh this morning.

Rain in the night makes things bright and fresh

I find a spot by the lake with a cluster of boulders big enough to sit on and watch the coming of the light on the far shore before it reaches where I am. It is an overcast morning and the light is dull, but I like sitting here anyway.

Back at camp, I make coffee and write in the journal before making our smoothies. Today we drive down the road to a pull-out alongside the lake, just a mile or so away where we can get cell service. I send texts and photos to family while Clifford downloads a music program for his dulcimer.

View of Swan Lake from the cell phone pull-out

In the afternoon I work on a blog of my trip to Atlanta in February to visit my daughter Becka. What a fun wonderful time! When clouds move in, we cover the picnic table with a tarp to protect Clifford’s lab set-up from rain. Because of the clouds and rain, Clifford starts the generator, which we don’t do very often, but now we can have light and continue with our projects. After dinner, I edit for awhile before getting ready for bed, while Clifford stays up late “flying,” using flight simulator software that allows him to fly anywhere and tonight he is flying over the Appalachian Mountains.

Back to Sloway – August 2019

August 10, 2019November 10, 2019 Carol Carnicom2 Comments

Thursday August 8: My daughter Becka and I have had a great time visiting long-time friends in Pasco, Washington, but she needs to get back to her summer job in Wallace and it is time for me to see how “holding-down-the-fort” has gone for Clifford at Sloway Campground in western Montana.

When Becka and I leave Pasco, she takes a scenic detour that takes us to a self-serve produce stand where we buy melons, blueberries, and honey, and then to a produce store full of good-to-eat food, where I buy more honey. What a fun detour.

When we get as far as Coeur d Alene, Becka takes me to this cool place along Coeur d Alene Lake where we sit on a platform above the water to have our very extra delicious lunch and adult beverages. My goodness, traveling with Becka is So.Much.Fun!

Coeur d Alene Lake
Traveling with Becka
Adult beverages…
and a delicious lunch

Back in Wallace, we unload stuff at my daughter Katie’s Bernard Building, as Becka and I will be moving over there from the 4^th Street house where she has been staying. Her apartment is next to the big central kitchen and I will spend tonight in a smaller, but very sweet apartment, just down the hall. Becka’s apartment is topsy-turvey at the moment, full of stuff from the previous owners/tenants. I spend the afternoon, while she is at work, cleaning and reorganizing, so by the time she gets off work, it looks quite nice and homey.

Daughter Merri is also in Wallace, working this weekend as a cook at the same place where Becka works. When the girls get off work, we go up on the roof of the Bernard Building, four stories up, relaxing in the cool of the night as we share a bottle of orange muscato. Too late, too tired for anything else, we soon all go off to bed.

Friday August 9: Becka makes a really great breakfast for me, Merri, and herself. (Katie is sick, so couldn’t join us.) We run errands around town and had planned to go out to eat lunch before I leave for Sloway, but every eatery is either closed or too busy. We buy food at Harvest Foods and have a picnic in Becka’s front room instead, which worked out just fine.

On the way back to Sloway, I stop at the artesian well, Elmer’s Fountain, not far from Wallace. The water there is so good and the place has a pleasing ambiance. I notice a trail that I have not seen before and am tempted to follow it, but instincts tell me that I should head on back to Sloway.

Elmer’s Fountain
Path is tempting

I have a relaxed drive over Lookout Pass, back to Montana, where Clifford is eager to hear about my travels. Traveling was fun, but it is also good to be back “home.”

Clark Fork River at Sloway Campground in western Montana

Sloway to Wallace – August 2019

August 3, 2019November 8, 2019 Carol CarnicomLeave a comment

Friday August 2: Today is a day of walkabouts taking photos, mostly of the Clark Fork River at the Sloway Campground where Clifford and I are camped, just off I-90 and a little east of St. Regis, Montana. Since we have had several travel days, I have a to-do list of things that were put on a back-burner, and most of these are taken care of today. Clifford has his project list, mainly ham radio and playing his dulcimer.

Saturday August 3: This morning I take coffee and journal and go to the picnic table by the river to sit in the sunshine while I sip and write. After breakfast, I work on more of my projects, including backing a day pack for my trip to Wallace, Idaho, to visit my daughter Katie and her family, and daughter Becka, who is spending the summer in Wallace, working and visiting Montana/Idaho family.

Although I had planned to leave for Wallace tomorrow morning, my daughters convince me that I should come over this afternoon, as there will be a live band playing on the streets this evening. So, I finish packing and getting things ready for Clifford to be on his own for a few days.

It is a lovely drive to Wallace, I-90 winding its way through the Coeur d Alene and St. Joe Mountains and over Lookout Pass into Idaho. At Wallace, Katie and her husband Jeremy show me around the three-story brick apartment building that they have just purchased. It has an interesting history in that a large family lived there and then the building was apparently abandoned with food still in the cupboards, clothing still in the closets, dishes and books and other personal items still in place as if the family expected to return any moment. While there may be a perfectly ordinary explanation, the place has an ambiance of intrigue.

Except for the dust…
…one would think….
…the family will return momentarily

I do laundry while Katie and Becka finish their evening jobs, then we listen and dance to music until the bands wrap things up – late!

I stay with Becka at Katie’s 4^th Street house, which happens to be the house where Clifford and I lived in the upstairs apartment when we lived in Wallace a few years back. There is a bit of nostalgia in being in Wallace and staying in the 4^th Street house. And I love having this time with my girls!

Heading West – July to August 2019

August 1, 2019November 7, 2019 Carol CarnicomLeave a comment

Monday July 29: After Clifford and I leave the Hardtimes Bluegrass Festival venue in the Bitterroot Valley, we head to Missoula for multiple errands, including new tires for Cougar at Les Schwab, and then spend the night in the Bretz RV & Marine parking lot. We bought Cougar here exactly a year ago, so it’s kind of a fitting one-year celebration.

My car, which I only use during the months in Montana, is making a nasty sound when I use the brakes, so we take it to Les Schwab on Tuesday for an inspection, and as we expected, new brakes are a priority for safety. They can do the work tomorrow morning if I am there before opening, so we spend another night at Bretz.

Wednesday July 31: I set the alarm, make coffee, and leave for Les Schwab, arriving before opening and being the first person in line. It is a good thing I am armed with cell and journal and an AARP magazine to read, as it is three hours later when my car is finally ready.

Clifford and I leave Bretz by noon and meet my daughter Ang in Alberton, thirty miles west of Missoula. It is great to have a bit of time to visit with her and we share a really good pizza before continuing west to Quartzflat Campground, another twenty miles to the west. This is a very convenient stop for travelers along the I-90 corridor, right at the exit to the rest area. We are spending the night here and we make our way to the back loop furthest from the highway and overlooking the Clark Fork River below.

Thursday August 1: This morning we leave Quartzflat and continue another ten miles west to the Sloway exit. This is the first time we have camped here, and we pick the more open loop with pull-through spots, more convenient for setting up and also easy access to the Clark Fork River.

Easy access to the river from our campsite

Shortly after arriving, my daughter Becka calls; she and her sister Katie and Katie’s boys are at St. Regis, only five miles further west, and they are coming here for a picnic. What a fun fun fun surprise! I am delighted to see my daughters and grandsons. We have a great potluck picnic, mostly yummy stuff that the girls brought, as we sit at a picnic table right near the river. What a happy start to camping here at Sloway.

Picnic with five of my most favorite people in the world

The rest of the day, I explore and take photos, and then finish edits to Ang’s second trilogy, Emperors and Exiles, (a good read for those who love epic fantasy), while Clifford sets up his ham radios and delves in to flying software.

Fun with Family Days – July 2019

July 22, 2019November 3, 2019 Carol CarnicomLeave a comment

Wednesday July 17: This morning my brother Rollie and his little dog Ninja come out to the Bass Creek Recreation Area (Charles Waters Campground) in the Bitterroot Valley of western Montana where Clifford and I are camped, as of yesterday afternoon. After he arrives and gets his motor home set up, he takes me to our sister’s place where my car has been stored all winter. All we are doing is getting the battery out to trade in on a new one. I say all, as I stand and watch as he wrestles with the tight space and the difficulties of getting the battery out.

Back at camp, we get out our instruments to play some bluegrass music. I’ve gotten better with playing fiddle tunes on the viola, so it is a lot of fun to get together. For dinner, we sit at the picnic table at our site, and I almost get skunked at cribbage.

Thursday July 18: Clifford and I make a trip into Missoula to get a new battery for my car and we go to Barnes & Nobles for our bookstore fix. Back at camp, Rollie and I play music again, dinner at the picnic table again, and I lose at cribbage again. LOL

Friday July 19: Rollie puts the new battery in my car, so now I have wheels. In the evening, several of my siblings and their spouses come to our campsite for a potluck dinner. So fun to chat with all of them, and I am so busy talking and eating that I don’t take enough photos!

Saturday July 20: Today is Alberton Railroad Days, a money-raiser for the town of Alberton, Montana. My daughter, Ang, is the president of the non-profit that puts on this event. Vendors, music, a parade, an Antique Auto show, and a shoot-out are among the activities. Rollie and I play bluegrass music as our contribution. After he and I play for our allotted time, he goes off to play with the Old Time Fiddlers, while I join up with another daughter, Merri, to look for the Golden Spike, which has been hidden with tricky clues to its whereabouts. No one finds the Golden Spike, so the pot will be bigger next year. It is late by time Rollie and I return to camp at Bass Creek.

Sunday July 21: Today good friends come to visit. Ken and I have been friends since we were in 7^th grade orchestra together. Ken, his sweet wife, Shelley Anne, and I hike up the Bass Creek Trail to a lovely calm section below a waterfall. It is so enjoyable to spent time together, having known each other for many decades.

Flowers along…
Bass Creek Trail

Monday July 22: Today Rollie and I drive out to see our sister, Lillian, who lives not far from where our dad grew up, and about fifteen miles from where we are camped. We have lunch on the patio, appreciating the time together. While Lillian and I do some of my mending, Rollie plays fiddle tunes for us on his mandolin.

Back at camp, our sister, Nancy, comes out and we hike up the trail, enjoying the sounds of the creek tumbling alongside us. Back at camp, while I make nachos for dinner for all of us, Rollie and Nancy play their mandolins. What fun family days!

Bass Creek: We Have Arrived – July 2019

July 16, 2019November 2, 2019 Carol CarnicomLeave a comment

Tuesday July 16: It is a beautiful morning at Divide Bridge Campground, near the small town of Divide in southwest Montana, but Clifford and I are continuing the journey north today. We have a little breakfast, make tea and lemonade for the thermoses, and are on our way by 10:00 a.m. We travel north on I-15 to the junction onto I-90, then northwest all the way to Missoula.

Morning light on the trees at Divide Bridge Campground

Jet trails mar the sky, so I don’t take many photos, but I am happy to catch a glimpse of the Clark Fork River, a very important waterway in western Montana. This portion of the journey is pleasant with enjoyable scenery, as well as not much traffic and not so windy as earlier segments of the trip.

Arriving in Missoula, we take Highway 93 south down the Bitterroot Valley, with the great Bitterroot Mountains to the west and the Sapphire Mountains to the east. I feel a connection to this valley, as my mother was born and grew up here, and my father’s parents moved to this valley when he was a child, so he also was raised here. Two of my sisters, as well as cousins, nephews and nieces, still live in the Bitterroot Valley.

Our destination is the Charles Waters Campground in the Bass Creek Recreation Area in the foothills of the Bitterroot Mountains about 25 miles south of Missoula. We arrive early enough to have a good choice of spots and are pleased to find a pull-through site that we especially like the looks of. It is a roomy spot with a mix of sun and shade, a view of the woods, and a path to nearby Bass Creek.

Our campsite at Charles Waters Campground

Blossoms at…
Charles Water Campground

We get set up and then Clifford works with his ham radios while I go for a walk to explore our surroundings. In the early evening, we leave to meet up with a couple of my delightful daughters for dinner at the Lumber Jack Saloon north of Lolo, Montana. It is a bit further than we thought and there is much traffic on highway 93, so we are a bit late getting there, but once we arrive, we have an absolutely marvelous time with my girls!

We have tasty steak sandwiches, good Montana beer on tap, and dance to music from the jutebox. The lighting wasn’t great for photos, but that is a small matter compared to the great fun time there. As Clifford and I head back to our campsite, we catch the last of the sunset over Lolo Peak.

Back at camp, while Clifford works with his ham radio setup, I edit photos to send to my girls, then read “Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe” until bedtime.

Montana We Are Here – July 2019

July 15, 2019November 1, 2019 Carol CarnicomLeave a comment

Monday July 15: Today is a long day of driving as we leave southern Idaho and cross into Montana, traveling north on I-15, arriving at Divide Bridge Campground in the mid-afternoon.

This is a lovely BLM campground in a very scenic area alongside the Big Hole River, just a few miles from the little town of Divide, Montana. The campground is well-maintained with lawns and flowers on one loop, and left more natural on the other loop. Clean restrooms and good water are much appreciated.

Flowers at….
Divide Bridge…
Campground

We are happy to have arrived early enough to get a spot by the Big Hole River, in fact it is the spot we had the very first time we stayed here. It is not so hot here as it has been thus far on the trip, a pleasant relief. The mosquitoes aren’t too bad when we first arrive, so once we are set up, we sit outside for awhile, happy to be here with time to relax this afternoon.

When it starts to rain, the mosquitoes become problematic, so Clifford goes inside to take a nap and I walk about to take photos of the river and the flowers. Back at the campsite, since I didn’t have coffee this morning, I make a French press coffee and do some editing before starting dinner. After dinner, dishes are done, awing is in, herbs are in. We are mostly ready for leaving in the morning. We like this campground and wouldn’t mind staying longer, but we have places to go and people to see…. Family awaits in northwest Montana.

Big Hole River at Divide Bridge Campground

Diamond to Southern Idaho – July 2019

July 14, 2019October 31, 2019 Carol CarnicomLeave a comment

Sunday July 14: As soon as we get up, I make tea and coffee for the thermoses. After yogurt and fruit for breakfast, we pack up the little that needs packing – we weren’t here long enough to really unpack much. Everything is in place and we are ready to leave Diamond Campground, south of Spanish Forks, Utah, by 9:00 a.m. This was such a beautiful spot, I am sad to leave.

Packed and ready to leave Diamond Campground, south of Spanish Forks, Utah

Heading north on Highway 6, we soon enter I-15 and everything is good until we get to Provo. Without warning, we enter a construction area where the lanes narrow and curve this way and that, and the speed limit does not slow traffic down nearly enough. We are nearly side-swiped by a semi trying to come alongside, but he pulls back and we make it through okay. After miles and miles of fast-paced traffic, it is such a relief when we finally make it through the Salt Lake City complex.

We stop for lunch at Tremonton, Utah, then continue on north, still on I-15 until we reach the Devils Creek Reservoir, north of Malad City in southern Idaho.

Southern Idaho landscape north of Malad City

We pull off to check out boondocking here, and driving past the marina and the RV park, we find a fishing access at the far end of the reservoir. We park here and while Clifford naps, I walk down to the reservoir to take a few photos. The water is low, but the hills are very green for this time of year. I talk to a nice family of grandparents, parents, and kids playing and fishing at the water’s edge.

Clifford is refreshed from his nap and we continue on.

A big thunderstorm near Pocatello, Idaho, cools the air from upper 90’s to mid 70’s, but once we are out of the storm, the temperature climbs again.

The landscape changes as we near Idaho Falls

Beneath the sagebrush are glimpses of great lava fields

We are grateful to arrive at the Idaho Falls Walmart and find a spot to park along the edge of the lot where there is strip of grass, a few trees, and thistles blooming on the ridge above. We stock up on supplies and sundries at Walmart, then walk to the nearby Panda express for dinner.

Back at Cougar, we sit outside to enjoy the lovely sunset and the pleasant coolness of the evening, chatting as we watch the moon play hide ‘n seek with the clouds.

Great sunset seen from Idaho Falls Walmart parking lot

A hiss gives us but a second warning before the sprinkler system comes on. Our backsides are soaked by water hitting us full-blast as we dash inside, rescuing cell phones and books as we go.

It is not a restful night, as each time the sprinkler comes on, the water hitting the side of Cougar is deafening. There is also a lot of traffic, lights, and city noise – but it is convenient and free.

Diamond Campground-Utah – July 2019

July 13, 2019October 30, 2019 Carol Carnicom1 Comment

Saturday July 13: Clifford and I are spending today camped at Diamond Campground off highway 6, south of Spanish Forks, Utah. This is a beautiful campground and a day here is a day of restoration before we continue the northward journey for the summer.

For a morning walk, I hike to the bluff above the campground, walk the length of it, enjoying thistles in bloom and various meadow grasses that live here. In the distance are the mountains of northern Utah.

Grasses and…
blooming thistles

Mountains of northern Utah in the distance

Eventually I find a trail that leads down off the bluff, coming out at the far end of the campground. As I walk back to our campsite, I notice the great variety of trees that grow here, providing beauty, shade, and privacy for all of us who are camped here. After breakfast, Clifford and I hike a ways on the Discovery Trail, which runs along the creek and parallel to the campground. Kiosks along the way provide the history of the area, as well as describing the plants and animals that live here.

A trail off the bluff to campground below

A creek runs…
along the trail…
and flowers…
are in bloom

In the afternoon, while Clifford works with his ham radios, I edit manuscripts for the authors I am working with. Sitting outside, Clifford plays his dulcimer and I review photos taken this morning. A thunderstorm with wind and rain causes us to take the awning in and move our activities inside. However, after the storm passes, we are treated to a most gorgeous double rainbow.

Right at sunset, I head out for one more walk, taking the Discovery Trail up an incline to a different bluff. My feet and legs are thoroughly wet from the grasses along the trail, but it was well worth the effort for the view.

On the Road Again – July 2019

July 12, 2019October 29, 2019 Carol CarnicomLeave a comment

Thursday July 11: I am up early this morning for last preparations before leaving on our summer trip northward. I make coffee, write in journal, and prepare thermoses of tea before Clifford gets up. After smoothies, we finish packing the last minute items, making sure bathroom, kitchen, and lab are in good order.

The to-do list has been very helpful, as most everything has been taken care of ahead of time and what’s left is on a check list so we don’t get down the road and wonder if we remembered such-and-such. It is 1:45 p.m. by time we finally pull out of base-camp, as I like to call our place here in Monticello, Utah.

I take photos as we travel, saying good-bye to the southeast Utah canyon country. It is 100 degrees by time we reach Moab and hot all the way to Price. Increasing winds make the last portion of the journey harder and we are very grateful to pull into the Walmart parking lot, driving around to the far side to park out of the way. Although it is still hot here, it is not as windy in town.

Castle Rock – Highway 191 north of Monticello, Utah

Wilson Arch – Highway 191 north of Monticello, Utah

Approaching Moab & LaSal Mountains in the distance – Highway 191, Utah

Southeast Utah Canyon Country – Highway 191

I’m too tired and hungry to feel like shopping, but after taking time for a late lunch, I go in to buy supplies while Clifford naps. It is dark but still warm outside when I finish up in Walmart. I put perishables in the fridge, but let the rest go and head to bed.

Friday July 12: This morning we pick up a few more supplies, and after fruit & yogurt for breakfast, we are on our way. The wind is not so bad this morning, but there is a crazy amount of traffic on highway 6, and we are very relieved to get off this busy winding highway at the turnoff to Diamond Campground, south of Spanish Forks, Utah.

Diamond Campground is one of our favorite overnight places, being located in a scenic valley off the highway. The downside is that most sites are reservation only. We consider ourselves fortunate to find a really great spot with shade on a Friday. It is one of our easiest set-ups with the pads being level enough to not even need the levelers.

After lunch, Clifford gets his ham radio set up and I spend most of the afternoon walking around the campground, hiking the Discovery Trail, and hiking to the bluff above the campsite near sunset.

A creek runs through the campground and it so GREEN here

Thistle in bloom
Something pretty

View from the bluff near sunset with Cougar below

After dinner I edit today’s photos, grateful that we will be here another day, a day to relax before the big push to Montana.

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