Ok, so I know I'm a few days behind on my blog. It all started when we were traveling through Wyoming and Montana and staying at state parks with no WiFi... or electricity for that matter. So here's the deal. I still want to blog each individual day as they happened in order. However, just to give you an idea of where we actually are in present time, I'll now begin each blog with a quick update before going back in time...great, I shouldn't have written that last line. Now I have the theme music from Back to the Future in my head. (Gotta go back in time... do, do, do, gotta go back in time... Isn't Huey Lewis just the best?)
So, today is actually Wednesday, Sept. 3 (I had to check my watch to make sure... how's that for a different pace of life?). Anyway, tonight we are spending our second night in Vancouver BC. We skipped our trip to Banff because of a prediction of snow and freezing temperatures for at least the next 7 days... probably the next 7 months for that matter. We decided to just head west and get to the coast where we've been rewarded with beautiful temperatures (and beautiful scenery for that matter!!). So there you have it.
Now, back to our previously scheduled programming...
So it's August 28 and we woke up in beautiful Coeur d'Alene. This time we did not awake to the sound of rain on our trailer, instead, it was a perfect day with sunshine and warm tempertures. So, we had some breakfast at our campsite. Bambi had something healthy like a granola bar I think. She probably washed it down with carrot juice and a vitamin B injection. But no... not me. I splurged and got one of those prepackaged blueberry turnover things you can get at almost any grocery store. You know, I think they were made by Hostess or something back in the early 70's and have been sitting on the shelves ever since. They are one, individually wrapped, blueberry filled, sugar glaze coated burst of goodness!! Yeah, those! I hadn't had one in years because everytime I pick one up, Bambi says, OOOOOHHHHH those are soooooo good, but do you know how much fat is in one??? I then promptly put it back and go back to the granola isle. BUT NOT THIS TIME!! I tore into that baby and let the sweet blueberry goodness just role down my cheeks! Now this is living. I figure pretty much everything that I really like is hellbent on plugging my arteries so I'm embracing it and looking it right in the eyes as if to say... come and get me. At least I'll go with a smile...my teeth will be stained blue from the filling, but I'll be smiling.
Anyway, with breakfast behind us, we headed back to downtown CDA and Tubbs Hill. Tubbs Hill is just that... a hill right next to downtown CDA. Except the hill juts out into the lake and has been dedicated as a natural park with hiking trails. We took about 2 hours to climb over the summit, taking in the views of the lake, and also hiking a lakeside trail which afforded some more great views of the lake and the surrounding mountains. We had a great hike but at one point, I think we lost our path and got on a narrow foot path where we had to do a little rock climbing to get back on the main path. At one point, we decided to go to the water's edge and feel the water to see how cool it was. Bambi, in her infinite wisdom, found a log to stand on. But not me... Nope. I walk right down to the water where I bend over to feel the water as a large wave just happened to come in and cover my shoes and socks. So, I got to squish all the way back to the truck with wet feet. Live and learn I guess... live and learn.
We went back to the RV park where we got to take another shower and get into some clean clothes, pack up the trailer and we were off.
As we left CDA, we decided to stop off at a Safeway grocery store (not to sleep this time either, to actually buy groceries!!) We went inside and after walking around for about a minute or two, we could tell that something was amiss. Apparently, just less than 30 minutes prior to our arrival, the pharmacy desk at the back of the store was robbed at gunpoint!!!! No kidding this time. There were detectives hanging up yellow tape and taking fingerprints all over the place. They allowed us to do our shopping but we had to avoid one isle where the person had escaped down. As we were checking out, you could tell that our checker was still a little shaken and was having trouble focusing which is understandable. Not wanting to miss out on all the action, we just decided to have our lunch right there in the parking lot. It was cool, kind of like watching an episode of CSI. The detectives were walking around the parking lot when suddenly I heard some commotion behind our trailer. The suspect had actually returned to the scene of the crime to witness the commotion and one of the clerks recognized him. However, just as the detective turned to see what was happening, the guy pulled his gun on the detective and placed it on the back of his head. Everyone just froze and suddenly, Bambi and I realized that we were a part of this thing now. He slowly moved in behind our trailer, with the cop at gunpoint and started screaming like a crazy man. He said that he wanted safe passage to the outside of town. From there he went on with his demands saying that in return for the cop's life, he wanted one million dollars in unmarked bills and a helicopter. From there, he wanted to be flown to a specified airport where he wanted a Leer jet to be standing on the runway, fueled up and awaiting his instructions. The cop struggled a bit but the man pressed the gun further into his scalp and you could see he was serious. I knew that something had to be done. I was witnessing this whole thing go down just outside my review mirror. So, I crawled over Bambi and outside the truck. Bambi is all like "don't go..." and I was all like "It's my duty as an American... I'll be right back." I crawled next to the side of my truck and when I looked under it, I could see the two men still on the other side of the trailer. I slowly, and very quietly opened the side door to my trailer and chose my weapon. I could hear the police negotiator talking to the man and trying to calm him down, but I could hear from his voice that he was becoming agitated and that someone had to do something... quickly. I snuck around the side of the trailer and spotted the guy. I was nearly spotted but I quickly slid back behind the trailer undetected. Then, when he began yelling at the crowd again, I knew it was my chance... now or never. I sprang into action and wielded my weapon like a pro. I reared back and struck the man over the head. The detective sensed what I was doing and he stomped on the guy's foot making him let him go. The detective dove to the back of the truck and I reloaded and struck the man again... that's right, my weapon of choice was a marshmallow roaster. As he fell, I stabbed the roaster to the ground with one prong on each side of the man's neck, pinning him to the asphalt where he dropped his gun just outside of his reach. I stood over the man looking down at him. His eyes glanced to the right, toward his fallen weapon but I looked down at him and said "Sure, I know what you're thinking... he used one marshmallow roaster. But does he have another one?" "So, I guess all that's left is for you to ask yourself one question... are you feeling lucky...Punk!" "Well, Do ya'?" "Go ahead and make my day." At that, the man layed back, knowing that he'd been defeated. The detective jumped back over and handcuffed the man and said, "The city of Coeur d' Alene owes you a great debt." The store manager ran over and said, "Sir, how can we ever repay you?"
I looked at them both and said, "no need... I'm a Chiropractor, and whether it's saving people from the detrimental effects of vertebral subluxation, or apprehending gun-wielding criminals, it's all just in a days work. Well, on second thought, I would like to have a couple of those Blueberry turnover thingy's."
Ok... so only part of that story is true. It's all true up to the point where the criminal returned. The store actually was robbed just ahead of us getting there and we really did have lunch in the parking lot to watch the detectives do their thing. It was cool to see but we were glad we hadn't been 30 minutes earlier.
Anyway, I entitled this blog "back to big sky" because we decided to leave CDA and drive back East to take in Glacier National Park. We drove North on Hwy 95 to Moyie Springs ID and then East on Hwy 2 into Montana. Along the way, we stopped a couple times at some scenic overlooks and even took a hike to see the Kootenai Falls and Swinging bridge near Libby MT. This is one of those little stops along the highway that I'm sure most people just drive right by because it's only marked with just a little sign. There is no visitors center, nothing special, just a little parking spot next to the highway and a dirt path leading into the woods. But we figured, what the heck, we've got the time. Lets see this thing.
We were so glad that we did. The falls were truly impressive and the swinging bridge was just fun!! Just one of those cool little places you find along the way out here. The pictures of Bambi on the bridge don't do it justice. You're actually quite high and this bridge really does swing when you are up on it. You look down, and the water is really rushing by. Very cool sight to behold.
Anyway, after our little hike, we got back on the road finally ending up in Kalispell MT. Kalispell and it's neighboring town Whitefish are really great towns. Kalispell is growing like crazy on the north side with new housing and shopping all over the place. Whitefish, which we would visit the next day, is a lot like Jackson. Still has a lot of old West flavor but is lined with cool shops and restaurants. It sits at the bottom of a mountain with a world class ski slope called, appropriately enough, Big Mountain. Looks like another great place to take a ski vacation.
Anyway, we finally stopped for supper very late and we were just beat after driving in the mountains all day long. We grabbed supper at a Hu-Hot (It's no taco bell, but I love's me some Hu-Hot too!!) and then drove across the highway to a brand new Holiday Inn Express. It was a very nice hotel and was obviously brand new. Enjoy our stay... not really. We stayed in our trailer just outside the hotel and froze again because we had no electricity. You'd think we'd learn!!!! One thing's for sure... getting out of the trailer to go to the bathroom at 3am and looking up at the night sky was a great reminder that we were indeed, once again in big sky country.
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