Continued our migration east thru Washington on Friday. Contemplated stopping for the night near Coulee Dam or Kettle Falls. Cindy chose kettle falls. Looked better on the map with more forests and camping options. A scenic drive thru northern Washington. Stopped for some tasty fresh produce at a farm stand near Omak. Weather continues to be warm and dry, approaching too hot in the lower elevations. Still amazed at the weather here, expected damp or rainy and I think it only rained for half of one day since we pulled into the northwest.
Looked up a free national forest campground near kettle falls. Place is named trout lake campground and noted only tent spots. We have learned to not trust write ups though. When it says no RVs, usually means no enormous fifth wheels or class A’s. And when we often see “campground full” signs it usually means mostly full. Continue to have amazing luck rolling along with no reservations. About a 5 mile gravel switchbacked road, but found a sweet spot at trout lake, with some maneuvering of the trailer to get it level. Hiked around in the early evening, but no luck finding a shore accessible spot to fish due to the steep banks.
Saturday morning we continued our eastward path, down thru kettle falls, other small farm towns, around Spokane and into Idaho for our second time. Side note comment about their pronunciation here because it seems whack. Guess they are just trying to be unique or something. 2 examples: Willamette is pronounced like “will-am-it” and Spokane is pronounced like “Spo-can”. Never was much of an English grammar expert, but that doesn’t seem correct.
Shortly therafter we arrived in Couer d Alene, ID. Had heard great things about this town. Sometimes with big expectations come letdowns, such as this visit. Tough to find reasonable camping (minimal availability and $50 for a campsite seems insane), a vibe similar to a Florida spring break and views seen before in many prior locations. So.. not sure of the draw here for folks, but decided to move on after exploring the beach area and town. Did have some tasty brews and delicious garlic bread covered with onions and Gorgonzola cheese at a cool gastropub called Moon Time.
One-eyed scallywag
Really?!? Plenty of street parking available and they decide to block in the truck with a trailer
A few quick searches online and found a highly rated state park about 30 minutes north. A “campground full” sign greeted us at the road, which we promptly disregarded as usual. Picked up an overflow site for half the normal site price and supposedly better views than the normal sites! Hoping that Sandpoint turns out better for us..
Chris, Cindy, Charlie and Cecily’s Adventure Blog 