Week 523-524 - Western Idaho Invitations - 08-28-2016

Western Idaho Invitations

One of the great joys of living full time in your motorhome is the ability to visit friends that you might not ever see otherwise. Last week we saw Colly and Wally who live so far from Paso Robles that they might never make it there. But, once in Washington we were just a few hundred miles away.

After our visit with them, we're off to see others that we have missed for a long time.

Every trip we make, we like to try new roads. These are some pretty remote roads from Chelan to Soap Lake, Washington. The views are wonderful and almost no traffic. If the destination is most important to you take the freeway. But, if you enjoy the journey, this is the way to go.

This is the east side of Soap Lake. According to Wikipedia, "Soap Lake has the highest diverse mineral content of any body of water on the planet."

We stayed two days at Smokiam RV Resort on the lake. Sites varied from back-ins like ours, to 60 foot long pull-thrus, to tent sites.

We tested the "miracle" water, said to have medicinal qualities. The bottom is borderline grossly gooey. Once in the water you feel soapy. The minerals are very slick and while you might not get clean, your skin feels like it. The lake is very shallow; Ellen is out about 200 feet in this photo.

Back on the road we crossed over the Snake River and passed through this quaint little town of Pomeroy, Washington.

We came to visit our old friend and girl's basketball Coach Greg. He was married one year ago in August 2015 but we were unable to make the wedding. He lives in Lewiston, Idaho. We parked the MotherShip in Clarkston, Washington just a few miles away. The cities of Lewiston/Clarkston appear as one city separated by the Snake River. Our overnights were at Hell's Canyon RV Resort.

Here is Greg with his beautiful bride (and high school prom date) Shelli. We spent the evening catching up, meeting and learning about Shelli and having a great dinner at Roosters Waterfront Restaurant. The next evening we invited Greg to play Pickleball to show him our new sport. As it happens, Greg taught Pickleball ten years ago as a high school coach. After a refresher course on the rules, Greg showed us his athleticism and quickness on the court. By now, he is probably hooked and playing weekly!

Leaving Lewiston we headed North to Coeur d'Alene; more on this later. The drive is beautiful up Highway 95. The second photo is the marsh land at Lake Coeur d'Alene.

We came to the Coeur d'Alene Elks Lodge to meet up with our Pickleball and RV friends, Gordon and Karen. The Elks has 30 RV sites, only two with trees. Gordon got one and set us up with the other!

The Coeur d'Alene Pickleball Classic tournament was coming up soon. Due to our injuries we did not sign up. But, we did play for a few days before the tournament and refereed the tournament. The tournament kept us very busy. Before the tournament we spent the evening with Ellen's cousins Larry and Sylvia. They have a house overlooking Lake Coeur d'Alene and the views are awesome. We last visited them in 2009. They look the same; we hope we do!

Back to Pickleball. Ellen sits a game out. Gordon stares down Pete, who is serving, daring him to hit the ball while he stands there with his hands in his pockets.

The tournament had a good turnout of 300 players, many at the 5.0 level! Our friend Richard (in black) was manning the Registration Desk.

1) The vendors were out in full force, selling everything from Tacos to T-Shirts. Our friends Ken and Shannon are not shown but are always present at tournaments selling everything that blings at Pickleball Bling 2) Pete spent most of his time either reffing on the courts or sitting at the referee desk waiting for his next match. Reffing 20 matches earned him a $50 coupon from Selkirk Sports, one of the Pickleball paddle manufacturers.

The play at this event was great. If you like tournaments, put this one on your list.

Ellen captured one of the many gorgeous Idaho sunsets.

Now, check this out. One of the many benefits of living in your motorhome full time is NOT having a schedule.

Look at the maps from last week on the left and this week. The Future path is totally different. The first map had us going Southwest back to Bend, Oregon for more practice for our St. George, Utah, Huntsman World Games Pickleball tournament.

What happened? While is Lewiston, Gordon and Karen called from Coeur d'Alene. We have not seen our PB and RV friends since March 2016. We were only 120 miles from them. So we changed our path from South to North. Then, in CDA, we were offered a 1-week stay by our PB friend Don, to stay at Star Valley RV Resort in Thayne, Wyoming. This change in path allows us to visit Pete's brother Mike in Bozeman, Montana. So with no schedule, we have changed our entire path to reach St. George.

You have to love the flexibility to go where God direct us. "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." Proverbs 16:9.

We are truly blessed.

With love, Pete, Ellen and Mandy

Photos from Aug 2016