5 States,3 Peeps, 2 Dogs, & 1 Hippie (PART 1)

Before I began to blog about my trip, knowing it will be a lengthy one I wonder to myself "Self.....do people really want to read such long blogs?" I know there are a few that continue to encourage me to share so......this is for you. For the rest of you who only like one or two liners...you may want to skip this one.., but I hope you don't. So it began. We left early (4 a.m.) and headed to our first destination, Montana. The drive was beautiful. Not long into our journey my dad called to say that his car was broke down and not to count on him meeting us @ camp that night. After dinner in the town of Dillon and a quick trip to the store for supplies we headed to camp. Since dad had all the camping equipment needed for meals as well as my tent we made do over a fire and I slept in the car. Cortny and I headed to the Wise for a quick 'skinny' dip and bath. It was the coldest water I have ever felt...but we dipped, screamed and got semi-clean. There are a few things about camping that mean the most to me.... one is my coffee each morning while sitting around the campfire. Dad had the coffee maker. Fortunately, I have a son-in-law w/a sharp mind that invented a coffee pot out of a can, aluminum foil, pan and hot dog skewer!! One hour later it was brewed and delicious. After breakfast in the morning and the knowledge that dad still was unable to meet us in Montana we headed to meet him in Idaho. Our first night @ Big Hank Campground along the CoeurD'alene River was uneventful except for the camp host who was in the campsite next to ours. While Cortny and I were getting ready to retire we thought we heard an animal. Rich said it was just a horse next to us. I don't remember it being an equestrian campground. come to find out it was the host who was three sheets to the wind and evidently his intoxicated trademark was making loud noises that sounded like a horse. We all agreed that he would be remembered as Mr. Ed. No more public campgrounds for us as we took off to find a primitive site the following morning. Several scratches along my car later, we found a great spot right by a beautiful creek that served as our playground for the next 4 days. Dad finally arrived sporting a car w/a new engine (you can imagine the price tag for that). It didn't stop him from giving Cortny and Rich quick fly-fishing tips. Once on the water and a few casts made they were both hooked (sometimes literally). Matter-of-fact if Richie wasn't in camp making a fire (his nickname was Fireboy) he was out on the water fishing. He must have caught well over a dozen or more. The weather was gorgeous but hot. To relieve myself of the heat I took my inflatable mattress, put on my swimsuit, grabbed the 'skut' and proceeded to float down the creek. What a blast!! Skut loved it, even jumped off @ one point for a refreshing swim. He came up honking. Seems he went under and wasn't quite sure what to think. Dad and I took off one morning and drove up to find a good fishing spot. His car quit along the way and I had to jog 2 miles back to my car at camp in my felt bottomed wading boots that are too big so that my waders will fit into them. Dad's car was the pits throughout the trip. He ended up having to have it towed from the campsite. Last I heard the fuel pump had to be replaced coupled w/the cost of the tow that took the guy approx. 5 hours to complete. Upon one of several trips to town, (which by the way was an hour and a half one way) I happened upon a bull moose wading in a pond. I pulled off and watched him for about 10 minutes and took way to many pics. We had a stare down, he got bored and lumbered off into the forest (I seem to have this affect on some peeps too!) One woke us up in the middle of the night wading through the water. Skully barked at it from inside the tent. I was hoping he/she wouldn't hear and come closer to decide whether the skut would make a nice midnight snack. Speaking of the skullster, he was dad's alarm clock each morning. He would crawl out of my sleeping bag, skip over to dads, jump on his stomach and lick his face. How can you ignore such a greeting. It worked, he got up. I caught a few fish along w/a RATTLESNAKE!!!! Didn't know it until I came back to camp and described it to my dad. He was sunbathing, (the snake not my dad) on a rock and my fly hooked him. I'm glad I had my wits about me (most often they are nowhere to be found) and decided to cut the line well away from the fly. Appropriately enough this leg of our camping trip ended w/dinner at the Snake Pit! Off to dad's apartment to do laundry, get refreshed and ready for our trip to Washington and the family reunion.