August 4th 2017

Today we scoped out the town area of St. Regis which is mostly St. Regis Travel Center  and that has it all!

There is Dolly V’s Ice Cream, Huck’s Grill, Cutthroat Henrys Casino and Liquor Store, fuel stop  and Jaspers (where we had damn good huckleberry pie).

Add to that a really nice gift shop (that seems to have a strong fish theme goin’ on) and a live trout aquarium and what else could you ask for?

Huckleberry everything here in Montana! Pies, Shakes, taffy, candy, tea, and jam!

We had already visited the grocery store/liquor store/fishing license/tackle/ deli and gas station called Stang’s so we popped into the The Place of  Antiques (yep that’s the name) and then called it a day.

August 3rd, 2017

Jerry went fly fishing AM and PM while I cozied up with my book. He has been catching some trout and white fish but since the weather has been hot there hasn’t been much of a hatch, so the fishing hasn’t been stellar. He’s been spending his downtime tying flies so when the bite is on he will be READY!

JP has been fishing the North Fork of the Clark River.

And on the St. Regis . . . .

Aug 2nd, 2017

We have settled in and are kicking back today. You’d think that since we are on a traveling vacation/adventure that this happens all the time. Nope! The days fly by and are full of things to do and places to go.  So today I’m catching up the blog and JP is tying flies and all is well with the world.

This leg of the trip will be about fly fishing and I know JP is excited to go wandering.

The weather here is hot (and hazy due to the fires in Montana) but our new camp spot has lots of shade and there’s a small swimming pool (though not heated) that looks refreshing!

As of today we’ve been living in Lucky on the road for 6 months! Yes! Already! We cant believe it! Our lucky number is 5#. Our friend Jeanie gave us a little 5 plaque that we put up in our trailer. We picked up another 5 for our 6 month road anniversary. This one is branded wood. We will make this a little tradition and if all goes well we should have several more 5’s before we put our feet down again. 

Aug 1st, 2017

We said goodbye to Idaho and headed toward Montana. Our destination was the Bordello Museum in Wallace (because no trip is complete without a Bordello Museum)! The museum is in a little town called Wallace and what we thought was going to be a short stop ended up being an all-day affair! We had so much fun!

It is evidently the CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE because “If a thing cannot be disproven, it is thereby proven.”  Wallace MUST be the Center of the Universe because you can’t PROVE otherwise. Perfectly logical and a great trademark for a quirky cool town that was the Silver Capitol of the World in it’s prime and still has mining underway.

There was a Pawn Shop like no other we’ve seen! It was like an amazing museum with price tags! I saw antiques I have never seen the likes of before! I know its a lot of photos but just to give you an idea. The B&W pictures are framed Kodak Advertisements. Too Cool! No junk here – honest to goodness pieces of the past in every category!

The whole town was old buildings converted into cool shops and antique stores that were really different than the many we had seen before. The shop folk were super friendly and helpful. If we weren’t on the road I think this might have been the most expensive shopping trip ever – though I’m not sure how we would have gotten it home or where we would have put it. These would be the kind of things that would probably get a “That’s so YOU” from friends not quite knowing what I was thinking LOL!

Pop Art Print – 10 ft tall dancing male mannequin – plexi glass table with 3 stools (they all light up) and a red bathtub that the owner says he can also sell me 2 matching sinks to go with it! Just a few things I might not have been able to live without! I think my Brother would have loved this place too!

We did eventually make it to the Bordello Museum. It had been a Bordello over a bar since the late 1800’s. It was purchased by a gal named Ginger in the 1960’s and was open until 1988. Prostitution isn’t legal in Montana so when the town Sherriff gave Ginger the heads up that the FBI was headed to town, she and the gals grabbed their $ and a suitcases and headed out of town for a little vacation – that was in 1988. Unfortunately the FBI was there to investigate the Sherriff, not the bordello and stayed in town for 2 more years. The gals went on with their lives and Ginger sold the Bordello to a gentleman who decided it needed to be a museum. So the upstairs is (with the exception of one room that had water damage) exactly at it was left when the gals dodged the FBI. Grocery bag partially unloaded, dirty dishes in the kitchen sink, cigarette butts in the ashtray. A time capsule for sure. They dolled (pun intended) the rooms but otherwise its a 1960’s moment in time.

This was one of my favorite days on the road! I hope we go back and camp there on another chapter of our adventure. I’d love to cozy in for a few days – maybe when its not quite so HOT!

We headed east but made a stop at Lincoln’s $50,000 Silver Dollar Bar, Restaurant, and Gift Shop. That’s a bunch of silver dollars and a dandy business. We had no trouble fitting in the truck parking!

July 31st, 2017

We headed back to Black Sheep Sporting Goods (because it just wont quit calling to JP) and spent some time there before we headed to old downtown Coeur d’Alene. He bought me a treat! I love my new bobbers!

We found some unique shops with really cool vibes. Again with the repurposed stuff that intrigues me no end, because of course you can make a hanging lamp out of a hard hat or drum! Several thrift shops, pubs and cool eateries too.

Note: While we have been in Idaho we have seen a bear, deer, Blue Herron, Osprey, Beaver, Coyote, Chucker and a moose in the brush to boot!  The Beaver family had one member with a sense of humor! He swam across the pond into the lily pads and came back out with a lily pad on his head. I’m not sure if it was a fashion statement or if he thought he was incognito – but it was pretty funny!

July 30th, 2017
JP has been getting up early and finding places to fly fish but the heat and the crowds here aren’t making for good catching. He’s considering this practice for the weeks ahead in Montana.
We tried to take a picnic to Coeur d’Alene today but didn’t find a park that was not fully packed with people. We opted for lunch in the air-conditioned truck and headed back to Fred Meyers (when time allows – one should always shop)!                We got a call from some friends of ours, Chuck and Linda who were on their way through Idaho heading home from a trip to Montana. We met them at Freddie’s and had a great little visit at Starbucks. You just never know what the day will bring!

This evening I went with JP while he did some bass fishing in the pond along the bike trail. He had fun catching bass using the new techniques he learned from our camping trip with Ben and Wanda at Ten Mile last May.

July 29th, 2017
Today we headed to Rose Lake and stumbled on to Watson’s Lodge. It’s a pretty old bar with an upstairs they rent out on VBO for a rustic getaway experience. The bar’s décor is all about Kennedy half dollars. All of the cupboard doors and counters had the coins imbedded in the wood with Plexiglas over them. The newest owner (since 2006) has honed his skills as a bartender and served his one guest by sliding the beer bottle straight to him down the length of the bar. OK, I’m easily impressed!

Yes! There was more to our day. We went into Coeur d’ Alene and visited the Northwest Tattoo Museum. The Tattoo Shop is owned and operated by Jay Brown. It’s a small place and the tour consists of Jay sharing his collection of tattoo memorabilia. There was old and unusual tattoo tapping pieces, one of a kind tattoo items, tattoo designs, old photos and posters. There was 30 years of collecting on the ceilings, walls, in the bathroom and in the display cases of the one room shop. There is no charge to have Jay give you the tour (which was about an hour and a half long) but donations are accepted. There’s Norman Rockwell mural painted on the outside wall of the building.

Jay’s passion for his art is apparent as is his love for his late dad, mentor, and teacher who was also a tattoo artist. His daughter will be his next and last apprentice. It was an interesting twist on-sight seeing!

July 28th, 2017
We headed out today to our next location. It took about 3 hours for us to drive to Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho. After a trip Fred Meyers to load up on groceries, we headed to Kahnderosa RV Campground (yep, sounds a lil’ like Ponderosa). The campground is just across the road from Coeur d’ Alene River.
The campsites are a bit tight and there aren’t a lot of trees for shade. The area surrounding the campground is another story! Kahnderosa sits near The Trail of the Couer d’Alene which is a paved 72 mile bike trail that runs across the Idaho panhandle.

We walked up part of the paved bike trail and it was just enchanting. You walk along lush banks beside the Lilly padded ponds and it’s so lovely! We spotted a pair of Beavers, 2 Mule Deer and a Blue Herron. We heard tell of moose sightings in the early AM. Wouldn’t that be a scary treat! The lake and ponds are calling JP so we made a quick trip to a little town called Pinehurst so he could be legal to fly fish in the AM.

July 27th, 2017
We planned on getting up early to fish the Snake River near the Basalt Formations before the heat of the day but didn’t quite make the early call. We decided to give it a go anyway and made the one plus mile hike in to fish. JP caught a nice bass and I caught a smaller one but the heat got the best of me (I know – Me? Too much sun? I didn’t think it could happen!) but alas we called the trip early and headed back to some shade. JP took off on his own and caught several small mouth bass further down the Snake River.

Later that evening we drove to the Clearwater River and tried our luck there. It was really shallow so after catching a full limit of rocks I decided to pack up my gear and just enjoy the sun setting on the river. JP waded out to the riffs and caught a trout and a white fish. It’s always fun to watch him fly fish!

July 26th, 2017

Oh happy breakfast ! Waffles N More today. This place was packed which is a good sign and the breakfasts all came on platters. The big fellas leaving with to-go boxes are a dead giveaway the portions are huge. I’m thinking the waitresses are known for their social skills as well as their ability to multi-task. What a hustle bustle kinda place and yes – we did leave with to-go boxes.

We took a short hike up to the Jack O’Conner Center in Hell’s Gate where we are camped. We had never heard of the guy (probably because his fame was a bit before our time). He was an author of numerous books and he wrote a monthly feature for Outdoor Life from the mid 1930’s on. He was a college professor and outdoor writer on the subject of firearms, hunting and big game natural history. The center houses a collection of his mounts and the history of a hunter – conservationist. The pix show his camping set up for travel, the mounts and some of his books. I’m not a hunting gal (though we’ve eaten our fair share of venison when JP was hunting) but I am a book gal and was intrigued about his life (and Eleanor his wife’s) adventurous life and family. He passed away in 1977. His words will live on.

Later we visited the sports shop Lolo’s Sporting Goods where Jack spent a good deal of time and bough all of his licenses. Its been there since 1954 and likely hasn’t changed all that much over time.