Sunday, 24 through Tuesday, 26 July 2022
I spent 2 of these days in the campground and the 3rd day doing errands in Sandpoint and driving along the Pend Oreille River back to Newport, WA, for a short visit with my friend Denise while I was still in the neighborhood.
In the campground
I'd had such a good experience at the campground at Grant County Fairgrounds in Moses Lake that I was hoping for something similar here. It turned out the only points of similarity were the horses: lots of horses when we got here Saturday afternoon, and whatever event they were hosting here continued all day Sunday. I never did figure out what kind of group was involved, but I could vaguely hear the loud speaker in the show ring, so I knew there was some event happening.
Other than that, nothing much was similar. The fairgrounds here seemed smaller and much lower budget than those in Moses Lake, so there weren't many places I could take Dexter. And every time I found a new area, some one of the local folks was already there with their dogs. Dext was pretty well behaved around them, but we were clearly intruding.
The camp hosts had warned me that the campground's wifi was spotty, which I discovered was putting it mildly - it was rarely even existent. But I was able to get a signal on my hotspot and managed to finish 4 blog posts, catching up as far as Day 15 (which only puts me 12 days behind).
The temps never got much above 90° and we were in some tall evergreens (mostly), so it was a pleasant situation. And most of the other campers were also pleasant - and none of them seemed involved with the horse event, in complete contrast with Moses Lake.
The website for this campground hasn't been updated since last fall, and no one ever answered when I called the office, but they handled online reservations through ReserveAmerica, which of course I've become very familiar with. Oddly, though, this time the process was really different from any other time I've used them, and instead of being familiar and efficient, it was a time-consuming nuisance. The camp hosts said this was the first time they'd been to a campground that used it and they planned to avoid it in the future. And I found myself in the slightly bizarre position of defending and praising ReserveAmerica and saying it's usually very different and not like this experience. (It's a mistake to stake out unyielding positions on things because the world keeps changing on us.) (Though it's never a mistake to insist on honesty and integrity, regardless of the world's flux.)
On Sunday morning I noticed that a family who'd been camping across from me got all dressed up - the teenage boy was wearing a suit. That reminded me that it was, after all, a Sunday morning and I assumed they were going to church, though they took their Airstream with them when they left. Until I saw them I hadn't realized how few people who frequent campgrounds seem to be big churchgoers.
One morning Dext pointed out to me a deer grazing behind one of the campers. Dext got excited and wanted to chase it. The deer remained calm and stared at us. I managed to move Dext along until the deer was out of sight, which means he forgot about it. Although I noticed that each time we walked by that camper afterwards, Dext checked to see if the deer was there. Short attention span but good memory.
Then beginning Tuesday morning, he vomited everything he'd eaten recently that hadn't been digested. So it was several episodes over a little time. And when we went out, his stools were very loose with what I suppose was the digested part of whatever was bothering him. In fact, it became clear he wasn't feeling very good, and he kept wanting to cut our walks short. Poor little guy. Although I'd imagine he brought it on himself by insisting on eating stuff I keep trying to keep him from eating when we're out for walks. And I feel sorry for me having to clean up behind him. Being a parent can be no fun sometimes. But I still hate to see him feeling punk.
Sandpoint and environs
Then on Monday the 25th, I ventured out into the area.
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| today's route |
That's how I found Hickory Street Park in Sandpoint. It was only 2 miles from the campground, and it turned out to be a less-than-one-block area in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Actually, a set of apartments or condos or something had a gate from their central garden directly into the park. It was pretty small but had some nice tall old trees and at least gave Dext some new things to sniff for a change.
From there we went about 3 blocks to a Safeway, then across the parking lot to an Idaho State Liquor Store. By then the day was moving on and I decided to postpone the laundry so I could drive the 30 miles to visit Denise.
I hadn't realized that I'd be following the Pend Oreille River the entire trip, but rivers pay no attention to state boundaries (unless they actually are the state boundaries, which this one wasn't), and the Pend Oreille runs past Newport WA and then north up into British Columbia. Actually, it starts at its lake there at Sandpoint and eventually joins the Columbia River in Canada. Seems odd to think of them joining there when they both end up going through Washington, but they do.
Anyway, it was a beautiful drive, thanks to the river. A sign told me I was following the Panhandle Historic Rivers Passage.
I saw an Idaho license plate on an RV that said ONRWAY.
I heard on the radio that cement is the 2nd most used commodity in the world (water being the 1st). And that China used more cement in a recent 2-year period than the US had used in the whole of the 20th century, which is a fairly staggering statement when you think about it.
At Laclede there was a very large lumber yard or sawmill and the sawdust smell was very strong.
At Priest River, pop. 1,754, I crossed the Priest River, which flows into the Pend Oreille.
A Bald Eagle flew overhead - always a wonderful sight.
Nearing the border I came to Oldtown, pop. 190. I couldn't quite understand what I was seeing so I looked the town up and learned that it's one of those odd places that is bounded by the state line which separates it from Newport WA. In fact, it used to be called Newport ID. Denise told me Idaho and Washington share a traffic light there. I'd thought the Pend Oreille River was the boundary, but in fact it runs along the east side of Oldtown and the state line is on the west. Strange little place.
Then I ran into Newport for a few hours worth of visit, interrupting Denise's one day a week that she has time to do drafting for her clients. Such a shame to be squeezing her day like that but she'd had obligations all the rest of the time I was here, so this was our chance.
Going back you'd think I wouldn't see anything new, but I did. For one thing, I didn't see a Welcome to Washington sign when I went into Newport, but I did see a Welcome to Idaho sign when I went back.
Before I'd seen a sign for Albeni Falls and Dam, but this time I saw the actual dam and the turn for the visitor center. Apparently the falls were always there, and the dam has increased the waterflow through them. I understand they're lovely and a place to visit on another trip.
This time when I passed a power substation, I noticed it was labeled Bonneville Power Authority. I'd been thinking they were strictly a Washington/Oregon power source, but the internet tells me they serve 8 states in this area - from California through Nevada and out to Montana and Wyoming. That's a lot of territory.
On this road, unlike the one I took into town the other day, I saw a sign telling me I was entering Sandpoint, pop. 7,835.
It was late afternoon when we got back, but I was glad for the chance to see more of the area.
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