First St. Joe...2009

Quick post cuz I'm tired.

Sarah and I jetted out of Coeur d'Alene on the 12th of June...just in time to miss "Car d'Alene"...a local car show that occupies downtown for Friday night and Saturday. Turns into a bit of a zoo, but it's still fun. I think I have a post of that from a couple years back.

We headed out for the St. Joe to clear our heads for the weekend. The week prior, I had spent in Desolation canyon in Utah. That post is going to be a bit late since I'm still downloaded Zach's photos and they are rather large. But he's definitely got some good shots that I want to include.

The forecast was rain and thunderstorms, but we hardly saw any of that. Made it to camp about two miles from the end of the road at 7:00 p.m. A nice dinner of bratwurst and grilled peppers (float-food) and we relaxed into the evening. The next day we had a leisurely morning and ate eggs-in-a-basket and sausage...drank coffee...and eased into the day. Our only goal was to hike the trail at the end of the road as far, and for as long as, we wanted.

Camp take one


Camp take two (we had a great spot!)

Hiking up the trail Lucca took off like a rocket towards the water when the trail got close. I thought, "wow, she's thirsty!" But Sarah pointed out that there was something in the brush across the river. We sat and watched while two cow elk crossed the river, then the trail, about 20 yards in front of us! It was pretty darn neat and Sarah has some photos that I will pick up sometime in the future. (My camera's battery died...so I have limited photos.) We turned around because we didn't want to get caught in a thunderstorm in shorts and t-shirts.

Dirty Lucca after the hike (she got wore out!)


Sarah got some studying / reading in

Made it back to camp in enough time to cook and eat a dinner of grilled chicken and pasta just before the rain came. We moved the chairs under a nearby cedar, had "cocktail hour" and watched the lightning and enjoyed the pleasant evening rain. Later, since we actually knew the guy and gal that ended up camped below us about 1/4 mile, we traveled down there and did some "neighboring" and talked into the rainy night.

The next day we were again in no rush to leave, so had a relaxing breakfast of pancakes and scrambled eggs (I forgot we had bacon!) then packed up camp after the tent dried for a bit. All loaded up, we headed up the same road as last year and found our shooting range. Sarah was trying out her new handgun and we had a blast! Literally. She's pretty deadly with it..I'm definitely impressed. We still have 400 rounds left, so once she's through with those...watch out!

Coming back into town gave us both the same feeling.

"Well, here we are. That went by too quick!"

Lotsa flowers in camp


Some more

Glacier lilies, forget-me-nots, and some little white things


Close lily


Same lily, but look close! What we call a "green mayfly"

It's nice to leave society for a bit, but it's always hard to come back.