28 September ‘06

We did make it to Spirit Lake and we did get the kayak into the water…  the trouble was, we had a tough time finding the right place to put in.  We had wanted to kayak a little of the lake, but first we wanted to find this little creek that flows into Spirit Lake from Mt. Spokane.  Spirit Lake does have a nice beach and boat launch area, but it just happens to be at the far end from which we wanted to put in.  After taking the only road following the lake, we finally found a spot that would allow us access.  The only problem we encountered at this launch area was there was no spot to park our car…”NO PARKING OF ANY DURATION” was posted just about every 10 feet from the water on.  Now seeing as how we were just about the only water craft on or just about on the water, we found this to be ludicrous.  With a short conversation between us, we decided to get the kayak all pumped and ready anyway and then take the car up the hill to find a spot to hide it from view.  In finding a location for the car (about 400 yards away), we loaded ourselves aboard our kayak and headed out for an afternoon of paddling.  Heading down lake, it wasn’t too hard to find our entrance into “Brickle Creek”.  The only problem was it was the mouth going in, was very shallow.  As the water flowed into the lake, it brought a large amount of sand and mud down with it.  The kayak draws about 2 inches of water and we just made it through.  The creek was about 10-15 feet wide and the bank about 10 feet above the water.  We paddled up creek for about 45 minutes and thought that with out being able to see anything above the bank, our trip up this creek just wasn’t worth the time and effort.  Now the question was how the heck are we going to turn around?  I knew one thing for sure we didn’t want to back out all that way.  It took us about 4 times to find a place that was wide enough for us to make the turn, but we were successful.  We did see a few things of interest while in the creek, such as a couple of beaver dams that were under construction.  In getting back in to Spirit Lake we just decided to follow the shoreline for a while.  Not too sure what we were seeing, we did find that there was an island that looked ready to explore.  Just as we were close enough to the shore of the island we found that it also displayed a ton of signs warning us not to approach.  Oh well, all we wanted to do was find a place in the shade to eat our lunch so we just put our bow up to the shore and maintained our seat while we enjoyed our snack. 

26 September ‘06

The sun was beautiful, 76 degrees, and it was our day off.  I have wanted to kayak from Priest Lake to Upper Priest for some time, and today was the perfect day.  The only thing that caught me off guard, was the drive up there…it was much further than I had remembered.  We drove up through Spirit Lake and then onto Newport, where we stopped for lunch.  The restaurant turns out to be the 2nd oldest restaurant in the state of  Washington and has a bar that was shipped around the tip of South America in 1800.  Fact is, after the bar arrived in San Francisco, it continued it’s journey over the next 3 months to it’s final destination…Kelly’s Restaurant and Bar in Newport.  We found a great place to put the kayak into the lake…The National Forest campground.  This is located at the northern end of Priest Lake (which happens to be at the end of the road…again, a long way away).  We had a sandy beach to leave from and the water, absolutely flat.  Now to find our way to the channel that runs from the Priest to the Upper Priest.  We ended up taking ourselves across the lake and following a couple of boats behind this break-water.  Low and behold, we found ourselves heading up the channel to the Upper lake.  It was just like a river.  About 30-40 yards wide, very shallow, and lined with tall trees along the banks which would twist and turn about every 100 yards or so.  We hit the water just after 3 and by the time we got to our destination, it was already 4:30.  For the whole trip we had our eyes scanning the shoreline looking for a bear or even a dear, after all, we did see and read the warning that we were in Grizzly Country…  Finally, just about half way back up the channel, we heard a splash.  We both stopped rowing and set our ears to “alert”.  Geezzz, it’s a Moose…  “I didn’t know that there were Moose this far south…”  We got to about 30 yards from her.  She was standing in about 3 feet of water and dipping her head down to grab some of the grasses from below.  What a great surprise, but unfortunately that was the only one.  The row up to the Upper was beautiful and we both were happy we did it.  Tomorrow, kayaking Spirit Lake. 

23 September ‘06

Now let me tell you, we are getting to know “The Rake” pretty good…Each weekend, the campground is full so on Monday we have our work cut out for us.  By 10am we are in the golf cart and heading towards our first camping site to put the rake marks deep into the gravel and clean out the fire pits.  All this to give the next camper the best looking campsite they have ever seen.  As always, there are those that live close enough to Farragut that they could care less that check-out time is 1pm.  That makes it a little difficult because in some cases there is someone that wants to move into their site at 2 and we haven’t had a chance to clean it.  Well now that school has started, we don’t see this happening so much anymore, camping the week days is getting pretty quiet.  This does give us enough free time to go for long walks.  For the last couple of weeks, our week days have shown us about a dozen campers each night.  Now we’re back into the weekend, and we are FULL (over 40 sites)…  Another thing that has changed, Farragut is no longer taking reservations for their camping sites…a little more confusion and work for all of us.  We’ve had to make a few phone calls to the visitor’s center and negotiate a new site for those finding someone already in “their” location.  Oh well, I must say, we are really enjoying ourselves here in our first role of “Host’s”.  We’ve taken a couple of days off each week.  Last Tuesday we went into Coeur d’Alene and had the tires cross-switched, checked our email, and did some grocery shopping.  On Wednesday I went again to CDA and had breakfast with Larry and Pauline.  Later we drove over to Spirit Lake (about 12 miles away).  It’s been over 25 years since the last time we were there, and I really didn’t recognize it.  If this little village was just outside of a larger city than Spokane, it would be a tourist “Mecca”.  The quaint little stores sitting at the edge of a beautiful lake…nothing but a storybook that is ready to be read.  There have also been a lot of things going on here at Farragut besides camping.  Last weekend Farragut hosted 800 boys to a Boy Scout Jamboree.  Today Farragut hosted the annual cross-country race.  There were about 50 busses that carried over 800 junior and senior high runners from 4 states.  Unfortunately, we were so busy here that we didn’t have a chance to watch any of the races.  Later this afternoon we attended a memorial to Rick, the host that passed away a couple of weeks ago.  It was a very nice gathering of his family, rangers of Farragut, other camp host’s, and friends. 

13 September ‘06

We’ve now been here at Farragut for 2 weeks and let me tell you…we have been busting our butt !!!  This isn’t a complaint, it’s just that it does consist of some good physical work which we haven’t done for some time and I’m sure we needed it.  We wake about 8am, check our list for new campers that have set up reservations for our camp-sites, then head out to clean (rake out all the driveways and platforms, and then clean out the fire pits) all the campsites that have opened up.  I would guess that we both walk about 4 miles average a day raking, let alone the walks we make throughout the day and night just to say “hi” to all our guests.  The other night, just after we got into bed, I had to dress, go out and “talk” to one of our “guests” about their loud voices.  It was just before midnight and our “quiet” time starts at 10pm…”gee, is it really that late?”   Hell Yes…  Other than that, we have been running a fairly loose ship and enjoying ourselves and all those guests that we have met.  Last Saturday after we finished our duties, Louise and I went over to visit one of the other “hosts” here.  Rick and Sandy have been hosting here for just about the whole season.  When you met Rick for the first time, it was like you have known him for years.  Saturday, Sandy was away to be with her daughter for the birth of her first grand-daughter.  She was due back Monday night.  Unfortunately, Rick passed away just after he awoke on Monday morning…we will all miss him, even though we have only known him for a short time.   

We have Tuesday and Wednesday off to do what we want (after we clean a few campsites), so seeing as how we haven’t had the kayak out for some time we headed down to the boat launch to set it into Lake Pend Oreille.  The weather was perfect…the water flat, blue, and absolutely clear…the row was really great.   We covered about 6 to 7 miles of shoreline in about 3 hours.  It was one of those times when you feel totally “wiped out”…a good feeling. 

Today we cleaned 12 sites, washed the coach and car, and then headed into Spokane to visit the “Spokane Fair”.  It’s been a few years since we were last at there and after today, it will be even a few more. 

8 September ‘06

Today is the first full weekend for us and the campground is full !!!  Not only is our campground (Snow Berry) full, so are all the others here at Farragut.  The weather is still giving us one beautiful day after another and giving all the campers just what they are looking for.  On top of the “everyday camper” we have here, Farragut is hosting the last Farragut Naval Training Station, 60th Reunion this weekend.  That means that we have about 5-600 additional people running around here as well.  This morning I was up early and sitting under the canopy having my first cup of coffee, when I was summoned to the “Brig”.  Now seeing as how this was a Naval Base, it makes sense that there was a brig set up for the naughty.  There was going to be a large gathering of sailors and their families at the brig to see the unveiling of a large memorial to them and the training center at Farragut.  They asked me to help with traffic control…  Now remember, this is the 60th reunion for those that arrived at this camp at the young age of 17 plus…that means that the average age for those that attended (and drove their cars, trucks, and motor homes) were well over 80.  All kidding aside, it was a pleasure to be a target out there with all those that went through boot camp here.  We have one of the former “recruits” in the site right across from us.  Just after he backed into his site with his 35 foot motor home, I looked across and found him walking across the top of it.  Now under most circumstances, it wouldn’t have given me such a start.  Bill, it turns out, is 85, about 6’ 1”, and prox 200 pounds.  Next, he was hanging over the side of it trying to un-lock his canopy which was stuck.  He handled all this quite well on his own, and gave me the thought that I sure hope I will be able to do that after the next 20 years.  Now back to the  memorial, it consisted of a cement platform that is to resemble a ship and in the center of that, is a circular platform that holds the sculpture of a Navy sailor.  Everything in getting ready for this reunion unfortunately was running a little behind, so when I was summoned to the brig, the sculpture was sitting on a large wooden pallet and just about ready to be lifted into place on the “ship”.  The sculpture was still clay.  It just didn’t have time to make it to the foundry for the reunion, so it arrived “green”.  The artist was there to make sure that there were no problems during the lift on and off of the platform.  The bust had the typical Navy white hat and jumper.  The head, neck, and face of the sailor have relief carvings of additional faces of the Farragut Sailor…it is wonderfully done.  Later on we were back at Snow Berry, raking out a couple of sites and selling firewood…a full day and it looks like a very full weekend !!!

5 September ‘06

This morning Louise and I went out to Snow Berry Campground and said good-bye to C.W. and Gina and within the hour we were set up right where they were.  Well, now let’s get down to “Hosting”…  First off we had some check-outs, so we grabbed the golf cart and headed off to the first vacated site.  With rake in hand, we raked the sites so that they looked nice and ready for the next campers to arrive.  We had 4 sites to work on this morning and tomorrow looks like we may have double that.  The rest of the afternoon was spent getting the coach settled in.  There are 43 camping sites at Snow Berry and right now we have 15 campers checked in.  Another responsibility is to sell bundles of wood for the campfires.  For the next 4 or 5 weeks we will have 2 days off each week, but once we’ve got our morning site cleaning done, we are free to go off for the rest of the day if there is something we really want to do.  It’s a little physical, but we are enjoying it…. 

3 September ‘06

Joelle drove up to visit us for a couple of days…  Yesterday was a laid back day with a book, many games of ladder golf, food, and just good company.  This morning we joined all the rest of the “hosts” for Sunday breakfast.  This little restaurant in Athol does a good job, good service, good food, and good prices…just what we Full Timers are looking for… After breakfast, Louise, Joelle, and I drove up to Sandpoint.  It has been a long time since we walked the streets of this town.  Unfortunately the “Bridge” shops were all closed because of the bridge was under total renovation.  One of the high-lites from our visit was a notice that there was a micro-brewery “tasting” up at the Switzer ski area.  Now that sounded good all of us so we drove up the mountain.  They had a couple of good bands that were entertaining the crowd, a couple of great barbecue stands, and some great beer.  We also took the time to buy tickets for the ski lift.  The ride to the top of the ski slopes was so good, we had to take it 3 up times.  By the time we got back home we were completely wiped out.  It must have been all the time at the high altitude…

1 September ‘06

Arrived at Farragut State Park and ready to start our new journey…being a “Camp Host”.  We thought we were going to host this new campground that they are opening, but just before arriving we found out that it wasn’t ready for campers yet.  “OK, what do you have for us now???” we asked.  Well they gave us 3 options to consider but, there was one that they really wanted us to take.  The camp host for “Snow Berry” Campground was just about ready to leave and they would really appreciate it if we would take that one over for the next month plus.  After agreeing, they showed us to a temporary spot to park the coach for the next 4 days.  Later that afternoon Louise and I went to Snow Berry to meet the Camp Host’s, C.W. and Gina.  They have been there since the first of June and told us of the great time that they’ve had hosting.   Louise and I had a long visit with them and promised that we would be back early in the morning.   Walking through the campground, we picked the minds of Gena and C.W. on what we might expect during our  stay.  I must say, this looks like we are going to have a great time, a little physical work, but a good time.  One of the duties that have made this campground special, is that every campsite that a camper leaves from, goes into a “clean sweep”…CW and Gina have been raking the campsites leaving them with a fresh look each time a camper leaves and makes it look like a special thought was given for that new camper coming in.  We will also be cleaning out the fire pits, selling wood for the bonfires, and just “being there” for the campers.