Idaho, Washington, and finally Oregon.

Monday and Tuesday nights, we stayed at a very nice Riley Creek Corps of Engineers campground right on the Pend Oreille River. The roads were narrow, the campsites were spacious, and the neighbors and hosts were all very friendly. There are many walking trails in the park. The river is downstream from Lake Pend Oreille. Lake Pend Oreille is a very active boating and swimming lake, surrounded by mountains dotted with beautiful homes. The weather was perfect while we were there. While the air was warm and sunny, the campground had ample shade. The town of Sandpoint's had charming stores and many great restaurants.

On Tuesday, we drove into Washington State, traveling through Spokane and then south through the Palouse region. If you're not familiar, it's miles of rolling green hills! The sand drifts are remnants of the Missoula floods, resulting in very fertile soil. It is very rural, with lots of working farms. The Hills, planted with wheat and legumes, are a vibrant green in the spring turning to amber in the harvesting season. We took a slight detour off the highway to try to get a picture of Belle against the vivid green landscape. In the process, I met a farm owner named Bill. The sign leading down the road we wanted to take indicated a loop back to the highway, but what we didn’t know was that it also said, “Turn around, the GPS is wrong.” I chatted with the farmer, who informed us that we could get through. We got our pictures and were back on the highway in no time.

We continued south and descended a long, steep hill (9% grade) toward the Snake River. At the river is a small KOA and marina. We essentially had the campground to ourselves. We found summer! It was quite warm in the sun—*95°F—but once the sun dipped, we enjoyed the large, tree-shaded, grassy spaces. The dam, operated by the Army Corps of Engineers, has a lock and a visitor center, both of which were closed due to staffing shortages. That was a bummer because we’d heard the dam tour was very interesting. We had an easy taco dinner, watched a few of our shows, and caught up on some computer work.

Thursday morning, we decided to pack up and head into Oregon one day early. We enjoyed a scenic drive up, down, and around the Lewiston Highway. We arrived at the rendezvous park for the caravan meet-up. Eight other Airstreamers had the same idea: arrive early, rest, and prepare for the 21-day journey. Events start this evening, Friday, with a meet-and-greet and a taco dinner provided by the hosts.

So far, we've met one group traveling from Florida, another from Texas, one from Maryland, two from California, and the two hosts—both local to Oregon.

We are ready to ExplOregon!

Idaho and the Palouse

Montana