Month: August 2020

We decided we were ready to leave Idaho and start working our way back home. The plan was to spend one night in Prosser, WA on the way to Oregon. But it was forecast to be 106 that day, which is way to hot for #vanlife, so we booked an air conditioned AirBNB for two nights. I’m glad we did, as we got a chance to explore Yakima Valley a bit.

This part of Washington seemed to be 1/3 apples, 1/3 grapes, and 1/3 hops. Huge farms everywhere. We were pretty unimpressed by the wines at the two wineries we went to in Prosser, but liked the beers at Snipes Mountain Brewery.

We got to check out “Gravity Hill”, which was fun. It really works (well, the illusion does). We also stopped at the Stonehenge WWI memorial on the Columbia river, which was surprisingly interesting.

One of our favorite spots from our trip to Oregon in 2024 was Crane Prairie Reservoir, about 1 hour from Bend. It was basically our route home, so we decided to spend a week there next. We stayed in the same camping area we did then, and even had the same bald eagle in camp as we did then (we think). We also met up with some friends from Eugene on Lava Lake.

Next stop: home!

Full set of photos are here.

After 7 weeks of #vanlife, we felt it was time to rent a cabin and spread out for a few days. It was also time to give the van a good cleaning, so I found a great cabin on AirBNB near the Canadian border north of Bonner’s Ferry, ID. We spent 6 nights there. No nearby neighbors, no cell coverage, no internet. The cabin was straight out of mountain cabin decor magazine: taxidermy wildlife everywhere, and moose/bear/elk motif on everything, including sheets, towels, placemats, shower curtains, shower curtain hooks, drawer handles, door handles, gas grill, etc. Super cute. We loved it. We had an Elk in the yard one morning, and tons of turkeys and geese. Still no bear sightings on this trip yet. I find it interesting that I see WAY more bear scat on our road at home than anywhere I’ve been on this trip, yet I alway hike with pepper spray here, but not at home. I guess it might have something to do with the possibility of Grizzly Bears here….

Next on to Priest Lake, ID, stopping in Sandpoint for lunch on the way. Sandpoint is a very cute touristy town with some great galleries and restaurants, but as we were still avoiding towns, we only stayed a couple hours.

We really liked Priest Lake when we did our Idaho trip in 2012, so we decided to come back, and stay on the east side of the lake. (We stayed on the west side last time). We found a great spot along a creek 2 miles from the lake. Like many lakes, there is no dispersed camping along the lake: only very full campgrounds and private homes. But it was a quick bike ride or drive to a state park on the lake.

Full set of photos are here.

[blog_subscription_form]

After leaving the Bitterroot Mountains, we first drove to see the Garden of 1000 Buddha’s, and then drove up to check out the historic town of Wallace ID, which is worth a couple hours if you are in the area. Don’t miss the mummified mermaid at the North Idaho Trading Company. Then we continued on to the town of Thompson Falls, which is nice enough to let folks overnight in their parking lot.

Then on to the ‘town’ of Yaak, MT, with a stop at Kootenai Falls along the way. The falls are quite impressive, and definitely worth a stop if you are in the area.

Since our original plan was to be in Alaska exploring small quirky towns all summer, we decided to check out Yaak, MT, a town of about 30 people and 2 bars. We stayed at very friendly ‘Hipcamp’ site, a 2 minute walk to both bars, and with a great swimming hole on the Yaak River. We had some really interesting conversations at the bar (outside patio, of course). The barmaid said it was their busiest summer ever (which was not really all that busy when we were there). Unfortunately we just missed their summer music festival.

This part of the world is definitely Trump country, but we just avoided talking politics, and found everyone very friendly. I would definitely come back.

Full set of photos are here.

[blog_subscription_form]