After departing Bayview we headed north to Sandpoint on our way to Whitefish Montana. Sandpoint is a great little town of about 8-10k people. It’s on the northern part of the same lake Pend Oreille. There is a great city beach with warm water and a charming downtown area.
This summer we are again heading to Montana but a different area of the state. On the way their we decided to take a couple days in Northern Idaho to celebrate Noah’s 14th birthday. We rented a floating house on Lake Pend Oreille. (Pronounced “Pondaray”). The lake is one of the deepest in the US and is known for a US naval research center on the lake. The place where we stayed on the lake was Bayview which coincidentally right near the naval center.
On Noah’s birthday we did some gifts in the morning. Noah got his main gifts couple of days ago - a bass guitar. Late morning we headed out to a swimming area called beaver bay in Farragut state park not far from where we stayed.
After swimming we went and picked up food for dinner and a cake for Noah! Back at our place we took advantage of the warm weather and swam some more! The lake was warm because Kelly even decided to take the plunge.
Noah and Abbie left today for Young Life Camp at Washington Family Ranch in Antelope, Oregon.
They should have a blast!
We have another driver in the Donaldson family!
Hunter got a 91% on the written test and a 96% on the driving test. Way to go Hunter!
Kevin building the chicken run. 🐓
Kelly and the kids made my birthday really special this year. Lots of cool gifts plus I got a really nice whiskey set from Pat and Sue!
After church we drove south near silver lake and did a hike Hager Mountain. The tower is a working tower, so we got to see inside and see both the traditional and newer methods of scouting for fire.
The main reason we drove down to that area is that Kelly booked us reservations months ago at the very famous “Cowboy Dinner Tree”. It was an amazing filling steak dinner.
We just returned from a 4 night 5 day raft trip on the wild and scenic Grand Ronde river in north eastern Oregon. Spectacular trip along with two other families - the Lovejoy family and the Kerr family. 16 people in total.
Day 1 (Friday)
Drove from Bend to Minam put in on the Wallowa river. Launched late afternoon. Weather was nice at the put in - mid 60’s but cooled down quickly as the sun dropped below the canyon walls. Water was cold and by the time we found a camp spot for the night everyone was chilled.
Day 2 (Saturday)
Rising to frost laden tents and a cold night made coffee taste even better And when the sun finally rose over the hills across the river we started to feel excited about the day ahead. We would continue on the wallowa today to and beyond the confluence with the Grand Ronde entering the wild and scenic segment.
We found a great site on a bend in the river to pitch camp while we waited for the Kerr family to catch up (they put in Saturday morning)
When you are in the middle of the forest kids come up with interesting projects such as seeing how many hammocks they can stack.
When you are on these trips you have to pack everything out including ashes from the fire and human waste. The toilet is referred to the Groover. One of the projects at every campsite is finding a good spot for the unit. Away from camp, with privacy, but a 5 star site we had here with a view of the river through the trees.
Day 3 (Sunday)
As expected on the trip the weather was warming up each day and today it was expected to go over 80. Here we are loading the boats in the morning.
Some more photos as we floated down river. This trip was great with lots of moving water but nothing over mild class 3. Lots of rolling Disneyland style rapids to make it fun.
After checking a few different sites out we settled on a great site that could fit us all comfortably with both shade and sun. We decided to actually do a layover day here to reduce the stress of packing up and moving every day.
On the trip each family took a dinner and breakfast to cook for the group. Sunday dinner was put on by the Donaldson Crew. We had margaritas for the adults, a taco bar for dinner and fresh Dutch oven brownie for desert.
Day 4 - Monday
With the river moving quickly and going further the previous day we decided to make Monday a layover day and stay at the same campsite. Here is a walk around the campsite.
We were on for breakfast and did a big feed of oatmeal in the Dutch oven. Following a hearty breakfast we did I hike up high above camp in the morning.
In the afternoon with the weather getting hot we carried out some baptisms! These were planned and glad for that warm air over the cool river water. I had Mark baptize me. While I have been ‘sprinkled’ as a baby before I have never been submerged and I wanted to do this as a lead for my kids as well. Noah went second and then Abbie! We were so happy. Mark then baptized Jasper and then Byron decided to do it on the spot so a very special afternoon for everyone.
Day 5 - Tuesday
A great float out on our last day on the river.
We went with 3 other families (Lovejoys, Murphys, Swansons) to Coeur d’Alene Idaho for a long weekend to go to a floating lantern festival. Drove over Thursday up through Spokane so new territory for Us. Got to our campground for the weekend - Camp Coeur d’Alene. The others three families all brought trailers so we opted for a cabin. Being early May we didn’t want to chance tent weather. The cabin was awesome.
We spent some time exploring Coeur d’Alene and surrounding area. Simply beautiful.
The festival was Saturday night. Everyone had a lantern that came with a marker to draw pictures and or write a message on. The wind was a little high which made for some interesting lantern trajectories. There were a few thousand people there!
We signed up Preston to play indoor soccer this spring, and he loves it. He gets to play with his best buddy Jasper. Today their team tied 3-3. Jasper scored 2 of the goals and PJ almost scored a goal. This is Preston’s first real team sport and he’s doing great! We couldn’t help but celebrate with 7-11 slurpees.
For Hunters 16th I took a him and few of his friends (Jack Lovejoy, Jack Hartley, Nathan Kerr, Noah) away for a yurt night on the west end of Suttle Lake. It sleeps 5 so I slept outside:).
Noah and Jack Lovejoy decided to brave the early season lake water!
The next morning we had a big breakfast and went to check out some caves. Really cool icicle formations in the cave since it’s still early seasons.
