IDAHO-WASHINGTON STATE 2

If you’re unfamiliar with the term ‘panhandle’ it refers to the very narrow northernmost part of Idaho. We crossed into Idaho near Cabinet and followed Lake Pend Oreille which extends nearly all the way across to Priest River, where we spent the next night. Along the way we passed through the little village of Hope, where we saw lots and lots of both powerboats and sailing boats. The lake must be very popular in the summer months.

 

 

As with most of the lakes and large rivers over here, the shoreline is dotted with both permanent and holiday houses, some of which are quite expansive, while others are very ordinary.

 

At Priest River we saw the first of several large lumber yards, with logs piled really high and covering several acres of land. It isn’t surprising when you see just how much forest there is over here. We stayed at a quirky but very comfortable little motel called the Eagles Nest. The owner/s obviously loved carved bears. They were everywhere! Our dinner at the local Mexican restaurant was excellent.



Eagles Nest Motel



Next morning it was off again into Washington, as we decided that although we really would have loved to do some more snowmobiling up at Priest Lake, their hire charges were much too high at almost double the rates at West Yellowstone. We passed through Oldtown and Newport then on to Highway 20, heading toward Tiger but not before a brief photo opportunity at the Mangy Moose and a fuel stop.

The name probably comes from the fact that moose often struggle during the winter with 'winter ticks' which infest them in the thousands and often cause the moose to scratch off a lot of their coat. The ticks are one of the greatest threats to moose in the winter, as the loss of coat can cause hypothermia and even death.

Dipping tobacco, traditionally referred to as moist snuff, is a type of finely ground or shredded, moistened smokeless tobacco product. It is commonly and idiomatically known by various terms—most often as dip and sometimes as rub. It is used by placing a lump or "dip" of tobacco between the lip and the gum. The act of using it is called dipping, packing or more specifically packing a lip, or packing a lipper. Dip is colloquially called "chew", "snuff", "chaw", "daps", "baccer", "spit tobacco", or "mouth tobacco", among other terms; because of this, it is sometimes confused with other tobacco products—namely chewing tobacco or nasal/dry snuff. Regardless, this is what causes most of the 'spitting' we see on TV.

I loved how the sun shone on the snow, causing it to sparkle!

When the snow melts and refreezes, it turns to ice and becomes very slippery - as I have learned after a couple of falls.

The road followed the Pend Oreille River all the way to Ione, which we decided to detour into just for a look. Well! Thank the Lord you don’t live there. It was one of those places that made you think gee it would be soul-destroying to live here. Despite the beauty of the river, most of the houses were surrounded by junk (we have noticed that many of the houses out in the countryside here are totally surrounded by rubbish, with everything from old car bodies, caravans and white goods). It isn’t really a good look when the scenery all around is often so magnificent. Either they don’t care or dump fees are really expensive over here.

Romantic riverside retreat.

 

You can only see a tiny fraction of the rubbish laying around this place in Ione.

At Tiger, we turned west again on the 20 and passed Leo Lake (of course we had to take a photo) and the Lake Gillette where there was a lovely little lakeside resort.

We had originally planned to stay in Colville as it seemed to be the biggest place in the area and thus our best chance of a choice of accommodation. It is really handy that most of the road maps we have had have a list of towns with their populations – gives you a bit of an idea what to expect. Anyway, when we got to Colville, the place didn’t do much for us although the pile of logs at the local lumber yard was truly impressive.

 

We continued on to Kettle Falls. Here we found a great little antique shop owned by a really friendly lady who recommended we continue on to Republic and spend the night there.

Here we again encountered the Colombia River.

It turned out to be a great choice. We had a fantastic night in Republic! First up we went to the local brewery which was housed in the old fire station. Here the local ladies were having their regular Wednesday night basket-weaving class. Quite an unusual sight in a brewery.

 

It was here too that we met up with some Colville lads who had driven their bus up for a boys’ night out. Chip, Scott, Josh and a couple of other guys were really having a great time and as soon as they realised we were Aussies they decided we should learn some of the local ways, including the game of “shuffleboard”. Itwas great fun and led to lots of yahooing and loud laughter.

 

The local girls had also decided it was Prom Night again so they dressed up in their Prom dresses. Unfortunately I didn't have mine handy!

We exchanged contact details, and saw the boys off in the bus back to Colville (we hope they got back OK – they didn’t really have a designated driver for the bus and they were all pretty well sloshed).

 

Then we wandered over the road to Madonna’s where they had a couple of guys playing live music. Here we met some more Colville locals including a lovely young bloke named Carlos who was a bronc rider. He invited us back to his oldies ranch the next day to meet his parents and maybe ride some horses but when we woke up it was snowing really heavily and with that and the fact that going back to Colville meant a 100 mile round trip back up over Sherman Pass, we decided not to go back. It’s a pity as we would have loved to meet some local ranch people.

This beautiful bald eagle was sitting on a post beside a dead deer. He didn't bother when we pulled up to take a photo, although all the crows and golden eagles took off.

Our next planned stop was to be either in Twisp or Winthrop, almost the furthest point you can travel up Highway 20 in the winter, as the road past Mazama is not maintained because of the prevalence of avalanches (we think). When we reached Tonasket, we saw the first of many little caravan diners which seem to be common in the district, selling authentic Mexican fare, so we stopped for some breakfast and had a delicious pork chilli burrito for about $2.50 each. Then we turned south to Okanogan and on to Twisp. This whole area is a huge apple growing district, which explained the presence of so many Latinos. Like Bowen, where the fruit picking is not done by Aussies, but Koreans, here it isn’t done by Americans but Mexicans.


The snow ploughs were still in action.



View as you drive down into Tonasket.

The apple and pear orchards are extensive.

This quirky artwork was outside a tiny little corner store in Omak.

The accommodation choices in Twisp seemed expensive so we went on to the Winthrop Inn which we had found on the net the previous night. It was the most reasonably priced, and came complete with hot tub and everything else we needed. A short drive across the Chewutch River took us to the main shopping area of town so we had a stroll and ended up in one of the local bars. Here we met a lovely couple called Chuck and Vickie. Both are firefighters and had come up from Entiat for the weekend to enjoy the snow etc. Well we ended up having dinner with them at the local Mexican and exchanged addresses etc. They invited us to visit with them the following night and we felt so comfortable with them and enjoyed their company so much we decided to take them up on the offer.

The main street of Winthrop.

 

 

Next morning these icicles at our hotel were almost touching the snow.

 

Chewuch River, Winthrop

One of many lovely old barns along our route.

Methow River

When we arrived in Entiat, we had no trouble finding Chuck and Vickie's place. They have a lovely acreage on the banks of the Entiat  River. What a great night we had. Chuck, Vickie and their son Cody are avid bowhunters and it was really interesting seeing their bows and their hunting trophies as well as learning about the hunting culture etc. Chuck had also been to Australia fighting the fires in Victoria in 2008, so we had lots of stories to exchange. They also told us that they seldom eat beef or other meats apart from the game they hunt. So we were really spoilt when they cooked up a lovely dinner which included moose, elk and deer meat. I liked the moose best – it has a slightly stronger flavour but seemed tenderer than the elk and deer. Anyway, we really appreciated that they would share their game with us as it is not easy to find in restaurants here, which is surprising. Perhaps we don’t go to classier restaurants as we’re told it is quite expensive.

Chuck with their collection of bows.

 

Chuck and Vickie with their first deer as well as a couple of other trophies.

Next morning, Vickie was off very early to do her school bus run etc and Chuck had to go do a course at the Fire Service in  Wenatchee, so Cody was left to entertain us. What a lovely young lad he is. He told us all about the “sheds” that they collect in the forests around the district. Sheds are what they call the antlers that the elk and deer drop during the winter, before growing a full new set in the spring. It is really amazing how they grow them so fast. Cody has an awesome collection of sheds – he will soon need a separate room as his is almost full. He explained the differences between mule deer and whitetail deer antlers and also showed us an impressive set of elk sheds that Chuck had found. One reason why they are so impressive is because it is often difficult to find both antlers (a matched set) from the same animal. This is because they don’t necessarily drop both in close proximity. Cody explained that sometimes it takes hours to find the second shed in a set and sometimes you just don’t find it at all.

An impressive pair of elk sheds that Chuck found.

 

Cody with an unusual pair of deer sheds.

Chuck was also a fishing guide for many years so he has some impressive fish trophies as well. We think these guys would love to come to Australia and do some hunting and fishing. Hopefully they will visit us soon as they are lovely people. And besides, Chuck already has the hats to fit right in in any country town!

Two of Chuck's fish trophies.

We hadn’t really decided where to go after Entiat, but our dear friend Donna Sue, who has a time-share in Leavenworth, rang and asked if we would like to spend a couple of nights there. We hadn’t heard of the place before but she told us it was a delightful little town where they had built everything to look like a Bavarian village and that it was a nice place to visit. We of course took her advice and she arranged for us to stay at the Wyndham Worldmark Resort there. It was lovely! The resort is only for timeshare owners and their guests and the facilities were terrific – heated spa, tennis courts, pools, gym, baseball courts and a lovely riverside park abutting the property.



We watched these kids having a great time in the snow.



They were still there after it was dark.

The view from our bedroom window at night.

We really enjoyed our two days here as the condos were self-contained and that meant we could cook normal meals.



Dinner

The views from our balcony were lovely.

Also it was a lovely spot to take a walk along the river, go cross-country skiing, toboggan or walk through town to do some shopping.

Wenatchee River, Leavenworth

Or you could play in the kids' snow castles.

Although there are really far too many shops selling the same stuff, we did enjoy walking through town, tasting wines, chocolates, mustards etc and doing the odd bit of shopping. On Wednesday night we went to the Icicle Brewery where a local band was playing a really eclectic mix of reggae/acoustic music. We also caught up with Brian here. He works works for the WorldMark timeshare group and had talked to us earlier in the day re the WorldMark timeshare plans. He was a really nice guy and we had a great time chatting with him.

 

 

 

After our stay in Leavenworth we headed south again toward Yakima, so we could have a last visit with Donna Sue and Jack.

There were again some lovely scenery along the way.

 

This stockpile of hay was impressive.

Instead of taking the interstater from Ellensburg, we decided to follow the Yakima River on Highway 821 and we were really glad that we did. The river passes through an impressive gorge and is obviously very popular with local fly fishermen. As we drove along we spotted lots of them in boats and in waders, casting their flies. There are lots of public camping grounds along the gorge with toilet facilities and fire bins so I'd imagine it would be a very busy place in the summer. Donna Sue late informed me that it is also one of her favourite rides. She often takes girlfriends on her Can Am and heads up to Ellensburg for lunch. and I bet hers isn't the only bike on the roads then.

 

 

 

 

As soon as we settled into our hotel in Yakima I gave Donna Sue a ring and was taken aback to hear that Jack had had a heart attack the previous evening. Fortunately, they got to him in time although it was touch and go. Anyway we headed up to the hospital to see him and also got to see Nigel again as he had ridden up from Tri Cities. We were also really stoked to catch up with another old friend from the '08 Menlo rally, Steve. We had breakfast with them all (except Jack) the next morning and we had a lovely time catching up and reminiscing about the rally. As Nigel is a Kiwi, Steve a Pom and another guy at our camp, Bjorn was from Norway (I think) we had a real League of Nations. So despite the fact that we were really sorry about Jack's heart attack, we were really happy to have been able to catch up with so many of them again. And let's not forget Annie.

It was rather funny while we were in Yakima. I had rung to confirm our flights out of Seattle and because my computer was still set for Aussie time, I wanted to check that our flights were actually on Saturday (Seattle time). Anyway the dopey girl I spoke to assured me that our flights were for the next day. This meant we would have to head back to Seattle very early the next morning. But after a second phone call it turned out that our flights were on the Saturday, not the Friday. Lesson learned - Be very careful how you put questions to dopey people at call centres. They might tell you what they think you want to hear but it isn't necessarily the correct information.

As a result, we were able to take our time on the way back to Seattle. We headed up over White Pass again and were planning to take Highway 123 through Cayuse Pass onto Highway 410, but the 123 was closed. We were disappointed as we would have liked to have a closer look at Mt Rainier which is a really beautiful mountain. We continued down to Packwood and stopped for one of the great pizzas at Cruisers. Then we continued on to Morton where we turned north again and went up through Elbe and Eatonville. Just past Eatonville we finally got a glimpse of Mt Rainier. The route was definitely better than taking the I90.

Mt Rainier

We had found a reasonable hotel close to the city on the net the night before and we managed to find it without too much trouble. It was in Charlestown, a very eclectic area of Seattle, inhabited by a mix of blue collar workers, artists and students. There were several very interesting little pubs nearby, so we did a bit of a pub crawl, met some interesting people and got to hear a rather good band.

Next morning we headed into the city to take a look at the Pike Place Markets, famous for their fish-tossing fishmongers. Parking seemed to be a bit of an issue when we arrived. The attendant at the first car park we pulled into wanted to take our car keys so we told him "forget it". The metered parking had ambiguous signs re times when you could and couldn't park and lots of mentions of "Tow Away" so we didn't want to risk that. Still other car parks required use of a Credit Card. We didn't want to use ours and the machine wouldn't accept our Debit Card. Eventually we found one with an attendant who didn't need to take our keys. Just as well as we were just about ready to say forget it and head to the airport.

There are lots of interesting art works scattered around Seattle streets.

 

Anyway we eventually got to the markets and had a lovely time wandering round looking at the different things available. We also tried the local oysters and the big Alaskan crabs (not as good as our sand crabs and mud crabs). We got to see the guys tossing their fish around and then wandered across the road to the piers.

 

 

 

 

Impressive!!

The aquarium is close by as is the giant ferris wheel so there is plenty to do around the place. The markets don't get going until around 9.30 and as we discovered in lots of Washington, many businesses don't open until 10 am.

Seattle Aquarium with ferris wheel in background.

 

 

There are lots of places to eat and one of the piers had a beautiful carousel as well as a fine collection of dead critters on the walls.

 

The waterfront here is not unlike Hobart's except the buildings in the background are a bit different.

 

 

 





We were surprised at how steep some of the streets were in Seattle - almost like San Francisco.

After our morning in downtown Seattle, we headed back to Sea Tac  International Terminal, returned the car, booked in the baggage and began the long journey back to Australia, happy to be heading home after a fantastic winter holiday.