August 27...Kettle Falls (Lake Roosevelt National Rec Area)

(Kim's Perspective)
Knowing we should get an early start, we rolled out of bed at 7am to make preparations for our departure. Bill called Dishman Dodge to tell them about the issue we now had with our tire pressure monitoring system. It is just me or every time you take your vehicle in to a dealer, something else goes wrong? I have some choice words for that, but I will refrain.

Anyway, I wasn’t feeling so great so Bill left for the dealership at 9 and I stayed behind to rest awhile.

Timing was perfect. Bill got back at 11am moments after I woke up. Haven’t been sleeping well, so a two hour nap is always welcomed. We, and by that I mean Bill, hitched up the trailer. In my current state, I am unable to do much – which kills me. We have a nice routine and it is currently out of whack. Stupid ribs.

Surprisingly, even with my limited assistance, we dumped the tanks and left Liberty Lake park at 12:31. It’s good not to have frivolous packing and time sucking tasks that take hours instead of minutes to complete before you’re road-ready. Simplicity and efficiency are wonderful things.

On our way out of town, we stopped at Petsmart for ear goo for Merlin. He’s been scratching at his ear a bit so I wanted to get something for it while we were near civilization.

We headed up 395 and got propane in Kettle Falls. The guy who was filling the tanks mentioned that the nearby campground was nice. Since it was getting late in the day, we decided to check it out. It wasn’t shabby, so we found a spot and paid for two nights since we weren’t prepared to try and find another campground with available sites on a Saturday. Besides, at $10 a night – you can’t beat it.

We were all set up by 5pm. Bill took his bike to check out the campground and the marina area.


I sat outside with the Boys and read awhile. Once Bill got back, we relaxed for awhile longer then took the dogs for a walk. We were gone about an hour and a half which pretty much wiped me out. Shocking how much you twist, turn, and jostle around just walking. Ow.

We got back around 8:15 and made dinner. Made isn’t really the right word I guess. Reheated would be more accurate. It was leftover beef wellington – YUM – not quite as tasty reheated, but still incredibly good and far better than anything we would have come up with on our own. I wonder how beef wellington would endure a shipment cross country???

We needed to use up some of the apples we had, so I baked them, and called it dessert. It wasn’t dessert. It was just something to do with the apples. Dessert implies something tasty. These were just hot apples with a bunch of sugary, marshmallowey goo on them. Bill tried to humor me and tell me they were good. That was sweet of him. Sigh…baking fail.

August 26...Liberty Lake (Day 10)

(Kim's Perspective)
We slept in today and didn’t roll out of bed till 10ish. Things move a little slower with a busted up side. Stop laughing, Calloway.

We needed to get the tires rotated and the oil changed, so rather than dealing with the mess and annoyance of trying to do it ourselves, we decided to take it to the local Dodge dealership in Spokane Valley.

We dropped the truck off, and very carefully crossed the 5 lane, one way (thank heavens) road to check out the motorcycle shop across the way. Funny the things we take for granted - like being able to RUN across a busy roadway.

As we headed back to the dealer, we were paged over the loudspeaker so we made our way in to see what was up. The techs informed us that the rear differential fluid was bad and needed replacing. Bill confirmed this with a visit to the bay. Color us skeptical, but it IS a brand new truck. Apparently, brand new trucks that are hauling 31 foot travel trailers across the country need to have the rear diff fluid changed. It was black. We currently have 13,000 miles on the truck. It was supposed to be a 10,000 mile trip. We’ve already put 8,000 miles on it and we have 2 months to go. Calculation FAIL. My bad. ;P

After we wrapped up at the dealership, we headed back to Liberty Lake and stopped by the house to pick up Jack for our visit to Cabella’s. We chatted with Trish awhile and then the 3 of us left for the store (the girls were napping, so no Cabellas for Trish).

A dust storm developed. I have never seen a dust storm. There were actual tumbleweeds blowing across the road. This I’ve seen – in the desert – not in urban areas where you’re dodging them as you walk out of the store.

Oh, and for the record, tumbleweed are sharp. I know this because my husband thought it would be a good idea to attack me with one. What the heck?!?! Like I need more scratches on me....?!?!?! Thanks, Hon. Really.

We swung by a local RV dealership just for yucks and then dropped Jack off at the house before heading back to the trailer to check on the Boys. We fed them dinner, played stick, did a poo pick up and I snapped a few pics of the dust storm before we returned to the U’s for dinner – grilled salmon, salad, and rice.

Note the position of the sun in the sky....it wasn't dark from nightfall approaching, just the dust storm. The three wildfires that were surrounding the Spokane area made for some smokey air as well. :(




The girls made us cards (aaawwww) and as they were heading off to bed, we said our goodbyes to them. They are incredible kids. I really like them. Crazy, huh? Don’t get me wrong - I like our nieces and nephews too, but I’m under no genetic or marital obligation to like the U children. They are just that likable. Lovable even. And that's BIG for me. ;)

We hung out with J and T for a few more hours and then said our goodbyes to them as well. It’s sad leaving. We really miss hanging out with them. We still talk about them all the time and all the good times we had mountain biking and hanging out on the porch in the evenings. They’re good people and it’ll be nice to have them nearby if we ever move to, say, Post Falls, Idaho. ;P

August 25...Liberty Lake (Day 9)

(Kim's Perspective)
Bill and I woke up at 6:30 this morning. I glanced outside and saw Jack-O heading to those wretched bathrooms. Trailer life ain’t so bad!

Bill fixed a hearty oatmeal breakfast for the girls. Despite his efforts to make it delicious and nutritious, it didn’t go over well with Silly Goose. Due to her incredible upbringing, when she said she didn’t really like it, her mother quietly and simply replied that Mr. Bill had gone to great lengths to make them breakfast and she should eat it. Silly Goose picked up her spoon and ate her breakfast. Not another word was said. Wow. Is this kid for real? Awesome! :P

Jack had to go to work but Trish and the girls hung out awhile before heading back to the house to pack a picnic lunch and get the girls ready for a few hours of playtime at the lake’s swim/beach area. We met them at the beach around noon, ate our lunches and watched the girls play awhile.










The U’s headed back to the house around 2ish and we headed back to the trailer for a nap. Ah, beloved nap – they’re not just for 2 and 3 year olds! We slept till 4pm and then went over to J&T’s around 5:30 or 6:00.

Jack made yummy fajitas for dinner – we ate too many – pretty much a theme when eating anything Jack prepares. “I’m so full, but my mouth wants MORE.” I think the previous weeks’ exercise and activity levels have quickly been undone by some serious overeating. Not complaining though. It’s probably a good thing that they live 3 thousand miles away – I’d probably weigh fifty pounds more if they were still across the street.

Once the girls entertained us with their nightly Sound of Music routine (Silly Moose can say auf wiedersehen better than I can!), they headed to bed and we spent the rest of the evening just chatting and hanging out. One of the great things about good friends is that just hanging out is far better than trying to fill the time with activities. I like the kind of friends that, after 4 years of not seeing one another, you can just fall back into a comfortable friendship like no time has passed at all. It's really great seeing them again.

August 24...Liberty Lake (Day 8)

(Kim's Perspective)
Jack and Trish brought the girls over today so they could do some camping with us.



We stayed in the trailer while they endured the hard ground and chill of tent camping. Side note: Having to pee in the middle of the night and walking 15 feet to your own private (and most importantly, WARM) bathroom is a wonderful thing.

Anyway, we hung out and made clay art with the girls - and I am quite disappointed that I didn't get any pics of that. :(

Dinner consisted of sausage and dogs and fresh squash and zucchini from the farmer's market. Dessert was, you guessed it, smores. No campfire, so we did it over the ole' propane stove. Just as effective and yields a higher turnout to time investment ratio. This is good when you have a 2 and 3 year old who are most likely tired but are being infused with mad quantities of sugar right before their bedtime.





Fortunately, tired or not, the U's incorporate the most amazing "no whining" rule and it is tremendously effective and, for those of us who don't like whiny children, it is a much appreciated method. This rule has been instilled at a very early age and results in children who don't really whine - even when they're tired. Ahhhh....cute children who are extremely well mannered, aren't messy and don't whine. So refreshing in this day and age where parents let their children run amok and the children, rather than the parents, are in charge. Visit any WalMart, grocery store, or restaurant and you'll see what I'm talking about. Irritates me just thinking about it.

SO - Kudos to you, Jack and Trish, whatever you're doing, keep it up. It's working fabulously. :)

August 23...Liberty Lake (Day 7)

(Kim's Perspective)
With the help of the Tylenol PM, I slept till 11 o'clock today. I woke up feeling fuzzy headed and sore...hmmmm...maybe Tylenol PM is not the solution. I still didn't sleep well so perhaps it's not the best alternative to elephant sized doses of Vitamin I.

Bill made coffee and we had some animal crackers for breakfast. The breakfast of champions I'm sure. Whatever...I just needed to line my gut with something before attempting to shred it with another round of a stomach dissolving NSAID. I generally weigh in between 120-123. Not sure what the maximum "safe" dosage is for someone in that weight range, but I highly doubt it's 3,000 milligrams. Again...whatever...I don't much care. When I first had Lyme Disease, the doc was pumping me full of NSAIDs at ridiculous you-need-to-have-your-kidney-function-tested-every-12-weeks-because-of-these-drugs kind of levels, so I'm sure any damage that would have been done from those things was done long ago.

We puttered around for a few hours, Bill played Stick with the Boys, and then Jack came over to help Bill move the trailer and dump our tanks. Technically, one person can do all of this, but it's easier with another set of hands. Since my set of hands is largely useless at the moment, Jack volunteered his.

After the trailer was back in place and "livable", we chatted for awhile and then headed over to the house. We hung out, played with the girls, and took care of the rest of our laundry. Jack made dinner - and it was the most amazing thing Bill and I had ever had. Beef Wellington. Holy Cow. In fact, it tasted so good, it may have come from a holy cow. :0)

We didn't leave till after midnight (leftovers in hand - we LOVE this guy). As we drove back, all we talked about was that dinner. Bill said "I just want to hug him". That might be a little weird, but even still, the sentiment is there. ;)

Several years ago, Bill and I went to the Prime Rib in DC. We had the most incredible steak. Jack-O's beef wellington put that steak to shame. He really should start up his own restaurant. He's hands down the best cook we know. He grills, cooks, bakes the most yumilicious breads, and oh - he makes incredible desserts too - like the homemade vanilla bean ice cream we had after dinner. Even his "easy meals" are shockingly good. We had tacos for dinner the other night. Most people would just buy taco shells. Not Jack. He makes his own. I wish he and Cheryl would have met - all of Coldstream would be eating high on the hog. Imagine those feasts....my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

We miss the late night knock on the door with steaming fresh bread and honey butter or some wicked yummy chunk of charred flesh fresh from the grill. "Here. Try this." "Uh, okay - if we must."

I think one of the reasons Bill and I don't eat meat much anymore is because it sucks compared to the meat we got to eat when Jack lived next to us. Ah...the good old days. Mountain bike rides, shelling peanuts on the porch, eating Popsicles and ice cream sandwiches post ride...the smell of grilled chicken, beef, or pork wafting across the yard...yep...we miss that. Trish, you're a very lucky woman. How you're a skinny woman, we have no idea, but you're a very lucky woman. :)


(Bill's Perspective)

I did manage to get my new brakes put on my bike.



This is pretty important since we've taken to hurling ourselves down mountains for fun. Since our bikes are antiquated and the braking technology is barely up to the tasks we've been asking of it, the least I can do is make sure what braking ability I do have is in a good state of repair. I wasn't too confident on that last ride so new pads were purchased at REI. Cheaper than a rental or a disk brake conversion which I don't even think is an option on our bikes.


Now, let's talk about dinner...






Anyone who watches the food network probably does so with a certain amount of detachment. I used to watch it solely for entertainment purposes. Jack watches it for education and challenges. Dude, these are world class chefs and these meals are probably taking hours if not days to properly prepare and they make it look like it takes 30 minutes. This does not deter Jack. I wish I had more interest in the process. I'd love to appreciate the art that is cooking. However, I do not. I appreciate the final product. I'm a results kind of guy. So, when the final product was pulled from the oven, I was interested...and really hungry. I thought to myself, what an odd looking lump of beige stuff. Since I was building caverns, reading books, putting together puzzles and helping with pattern recognition games, ordering imaginary groceries and eating them, I totally missed the process by which Jack put this little treat together. So when I took the first bite, I was unprepared for the complexity of the sensation. Taste doesn't really do justice to the experience. Imagine the grand finale of the fireworks show in DC... That's sort of what went through my mind during the first bite...and each consecutive bike after, of which, there were many. :)

(massive run on sentence in 3...2...)

When I describe to people who've never been there, the experience of walking up to the Grand Canyon for the first time, I tell them that it doesn't even seem real because most people's brains have never had to try to comprehend something of that scale so the magnitude of the vision before them is truly difficult to sort into something that can be compared to something they are familiar with. This is also how I would describe last night's dinner. There was an amazing piece of meat but it was accompanied by so many other things that I wasn't expecting as well. There was a Portabella puree paste thing then prosciutto then some mustard and it was all wrapped in a puff pastry. I don't even know what a puff pastry is but it's now among my favorite things ever. It looks something like this, only better...



Kim and I are still talking about it and more importantly, how we're going to heat up the leftovers for lunch. :)

When we got here, I was down 14 lbs since we started our trip. That is no longer the case. :( I need to get out of this town but it's oh so tasty here. :)

August 22...Liberty Lake (Day 6)

(Bill's Perspective)

We were planning on going to Church today. That didn't happen. We had found an Independent Baptist Church in the area quite a while ago and were looking forward to visiting. However, sleep didn't go well and although I slept on the dinette bed to make sure there wouldn't be any inadvertent unpleasantries during the night, Kim still didn't sleep well. I actually slept OK because the dogs were with mommy on the bed...I think. Usually, when Merlin jumps on the bed and flops down to snuggle, it's cute. With a bruised or cracked rib, it's probably not as entertaining so I made sure I wasn't the reason he did that.

Kim was about the same this morning. She found a way to get out of bed without too much pain and was able to get up and take care of business. I made coffee and took the boys outside. Sort of a normal routine except for the fact that it's probably all that will happen. :)

She made her way to the sofa and we watched a few episodes of SG1 on the computer but the lack of sleep caught up with her and she's currently napping. Merlin is right beside mommy and Twister is also napping on his sofa. It's all very cute minus the reason Kim is napping.

We're probably going to be slow down mode for a few days while she heals and gets back up to speed. We'll try that relaxing thing again and see how it goes. Possibly more later...but I doubt it. :)

(Kim's perspective)

Zzzzzzzzzzz


(Kim's Actual Perspective)

It's important to always wear proper head gear...



I landed REALLY hard. While catapulting through the air, the only thing I thought about was Jeremy Lusk, the motocross rider that was killed last year after he biffed a landing at the X-Games. Weird the things that pop into your head.

Anyway, when I landed, I knew I had messed up my ribs somehow. At that point, that was the only thing that hurt. The other stuff would begin to hurt later after the adrenalin wore off. I fared pretty well considering. My chest hit my riser bar, I hit the ground with my head, neck, right shoulder and side. I didn't know this at the time, but have since been able to figure it out based on the soreness of my neck and right shoulder. The damage to my helmet just confirmed the right-sided impact.

I sat up, took very shallow breaths and assessed the rest of me. According to Jack-O, when asked how I was, I replied "It hurts". :) Duh. Bill asked if anything was broken. I said "maybe my ribs". I've never broken anything other than some toes here and there so I don't know what broken or cracked ribs feel like, but I'm basing it on the fact that it hurts to breathe, cough, hiccup, sneeze, move, etc. :) I'm still hoping it's just a bad bruise from the impact - it will make the recovery time much shorter and we can get back to our normal trip activity level. Currently, it will be some time before I'm back on the bike.

I consider myself very lucky...a broken leg or arm would have really messed the rest of the trip up. I wouldn't even be able to use our bathroom if I had a broken leg (the bathroom's too small) and showering in a camper trailer is challenging enough - throw in a cast and I'd be screwed. Obviously, landing on my head and neck could have resulted in far worse injuries, so like I said, I'm grateful for some bruised/cracked ribs. I'll likely never know if I broke them or not since my new crappy insurance deductible is $2,500. I refuse to pay for x-rays and a ER visit just to confirm an injury that can't be set or repaired anyway. I would be happier with some more powerful drugs, but 3,000 milligrams of Ibuprofen a day makes it tolerable. Saves me a lot of money too. MUST STAY ON BUDGET! :)

Like Bill mentioned, I didn't notice the minor injuries at the time. They're really not that big of a deal anyway...until you realize that the "boo-boos" are from impact and not direct surface abrasion. This wouldn't normally be anything worth whining about - unless you now require your forearms and elbows to push your torso into a seated position... :( Insert whine. :)

Ow...


I generally take several days to bruise...I look forward to seeing what colors will appear.


This is what a cracked rib looks like.... ;P HA HA HA HA.


I'm not a good patient and I don't like being trapped in a tin can. I needed to get out for a bit, so we called the U's and I suggested a trip to REI to get a new helmet...clearly, I needed one.

Josh, the friendly REI sales guy, helped to fit my beloved, uninjured head (I LOVE MY BRAIN!!) and suggested some rides around the area after I healed up some.

Here's my fancy new helmet...

Dumb thing was $85 bucks which pretty much blew the budget for the day, but since my brain is invaluable (at least to me), it doesn't much matter how much a helmet costs. This is the second time I've had to replace a mountain bike helmet after a crash. If this is what happens mountain biking, imagine what happens in a motorcycle crash.

RANT
People who don't wear MC helmets are complete and total imbeciles. I don't care how educated they are, how "free" they want to feel, or whatever line of crap they give for being an imbecile, they're still imbeciles. "Oh, you found the cure for cancer but you don't wear a motorcycle helmet? You're an imbecile." "You head up a multi-billion dollar corporation and don't wear a motorcycle helmet? You're an imbecile."

I hope you get my point. And just for the record, I consider a helmet to be a full face helmet - not a half helmet, not a 3/4 helmet, a FULL FACE helmet. If you wear anything but a full face helmet while riding a motorcycle, then you're an idiot. An idiot is even more stupid than an imbecile. Why would someone who wears a partial helmet be more stupid than someone who doesn't wear a helmet at all? Because the wearer of the partial helmet is DISILLUSIONED. Somehow, they think that protecting their brain, but having their face ripped off is somehow better than just having their entire melon splattered on the road. That just makes them really stupid and therefore, an idiot.
END RANT Deep breath...ow...okay...shallow breath...

We made our purchases and headed to a Mexican joint in Liberty Lake. Very tasty. The plan was to head back to the trailer to let the Boys out and then head back to Jack and Trish's to hang out for a little while. FAIL. My stomach flipped from the Mexican food, the dogs had gotten into the trash while we were gone and consumed an entire chicken carcass, and I was miserably sore from the REI/Dinner adventure. Pathetic I know, but too bad...it hurts.

Bill called Jack and informed him we would be staying in for the rest of the night. I eagerly took some Tylenol PM and then promptly (and oh so gingerly) went to bed. A very exciting day considering all I wanted to do was sleep. Sleep = no conscious awareness of pain. Ahhh....no pain is gooooood. :)

August 21...Liberty Lake (Day 5)

(Bill's Perspective)

Note: I uploaded large pictures so you can click on them and zoom in see full size photos.

Today was NOT a banner day. We stayed up late again and woke at like 8:30. The plan today was to go with Jack and Trish to a local ski joint and do some more downhill mountain biking. Remember we've mentioned on occasion that it's pretty cool. Well, the tide changed a tad today in the cool department. More on that later...

We got over to their house after a monster breakfast of mushroom, onion and cheese omelet assuming there would be exercise involved. As Jack was adjusting gears and Kim was entertaining one of the girls, I dropped my seat height hoping it would give me more comfort in the gnarly tight stuff. As I was tightening the bolt back up, it snapped right in the middle. NOT GOOD! I made a call to the nearest bike shop and he said he didn't have anything. I didn't like that answer so I went over there anyway. Nice enough guy...he took it as a challenge and was able to get it fixed. Something Jack and I could have done but in hours instead of minutes given the fact that we'd have to go to Home Depot. So bike shop dude fixed my seat post clamp and I bought Kim a new set of tires as the ones she's been riding are not ideal for the terrain out here. When I got back, we quickly spooned on the new tires and off we went to Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort.



They must all be similar in nature. Up a steep windy hill to a village of sorts with cute little shops and food and healthy people all around. We got tickets, jumped on the lift and headed up.









The view was amazing here too. Beautiful lakes below and mountains surrounding us. This never gets old. We took a couple photos since we all have the same bikes and look like total dorks then we headed to the trail.










The Bear Grass trail was listed as difficult but the last two that we've done (the only two ever) that were listed as difficult really were not. This one was difficult. It was very dry and dusty and very rocky. So much so that we couldn't really get any speed to speak of because we were constantly dodging rocks...the kind that will hurt you or at least flatten a tire. Jack and Trish were true sports having not been on their mountain bikes for quite some time. Trish has never been a huge fan of technical mt bike riding so this was way outside her comfort zone. But she did it anyway without too many challenges by gravity. We were having a "meh" time of it and then it began to smooth out just a tad. Finally. Just after that, we came to the skills park.



This was just a steep section with three different routes. From the top, (the pic is from the bottom so think backwards) the left was the easy path with no features. The middle had three or four progressively larger drop-offs then some jumps below them. The right lane was a series of jumps the size and intensity of which are determined totally by speed. You go fast, you fly high. You go slow, you roll right over them and an infinite selection of in betweens. First trip, Kim went left and I went right and rolled slowly over the jumps. Kind of scary thinking of going fast. Those down-hillers are nuts. Then we went back up and both assessed the middle lane. I decided to try it and made the drop offs without a hitch. I spent the majority of my childhood doing natural drops in WV so I'm kind of OK with those. That is something I should really appreciate more. Kim was at the top and after we discussed it, she opted to just do the right lane of jumps for practice.



The first two were ridden without issue. The third one was steeper and she got a tad too much speed. She caught air but got pitched forward (Stupid Klein Mantra with the short wheel base) and landed in a pile of dust. It was rather spectacular to watch because it reminded one of say, Mount St. Helens erupting. There was an event... then there was a dust cloud of monster proportions. We saw her go over her bars, something we've all done, then we saw nothing but brown. I was literally asking her how she was because we couldn't see her for many seconds. When the dust began to settle and we determined that if anything was broken, it was probably only (ha) a rib, we got a glimpse of the aftermath...and we laughed. I was terrified that the love of my life was damaged then when I found out she wasn't horribly disfigured, I laughed right in her face. You can see why.

laughing hurts









This next picture is a little gross but it gives a pretty good sense of what she must have endured. She blew her nose and this is what we saw...



In case you're wondering...the answer is yes. That is a rock. :)

Though it is difficult to see in the pictures, there was a fair amount of elevation change happening in that short stretch of jumps and such. So when Kim got launched at the top of that jump, she went into the air then didn't land till mid way down the back side of that jump. My guess is that her over all fall was probably around 6 or 8 feet before she landed on her bike and the ground before tumbling / sliding a little farther. Imagine climbing on top of the roof of your car, holding a bicycle in your arms and diving into the air onto the ground and landing on anything but your feet. Uh huh... That's gonna leave a mark.

She was pretty sore but didn't seem to notice the surface damages until we started pointing them out to her...like the cut on her thigh,



the rash on both forearms, the small hole in her knee and the huge knot in one of her calves. For reference, the cut on her leg was through a thick neoprene knee brace and the rash on her arms was through a long sleeve jersey neither of which ripped. This all took a back seat to the fact that she couldn't really breathe without significant pain. She was being an amazing sport but was very smart in her realization that this was adrenaline that was keeping her moving and smiling. She knew it would wear off quickly then things would get ugly fast. So, we put Humpty Dumpty back together again, she slammed some ibuprofen and we finished the ride in a very different manner than we started it. Luckily, the trail wasn't long to begin with and it didn't take very long to get to the bottom. We all opted to cut our losses for the day and head home. The ride home was no fun because right turns hurt Kim bad. I tried to drive gingerly but it's a truck after all.

There was one positive note on the way back, however. Just a few minutes on the road and we stumbled upon a momma and baby moose feeding near the road. Pretty cute really. Thanks to Jack for noticing and pulling over for the photo op.







We headed back to the trailer to address the boys and get Kim cleaned up. That was a challenge for her because apparently almost every movement requires use of your core body muscles. When those are in great pain, everything hurts. Oh, and you know how in every day speech people use superlatives when they aren't really accurate? Like someone will say, "He always says that" or "There's never a cop when you need one" or "There were cops everywhere"? Well, as Kim was preparing for her shower and taking her clothes off, we realized that she did indeed have dirt and dust everywhere. ...nuff said.

We headed back over to Jack and Trish's to finish another load of laundry in their futuristic laundering devices that we had to take lessons on how to use. Jack was preparing dinner again (I love this man) and we played with the little ones until they ran out of stall tactics and were dragged off to bed. Dinner was amazing as usual. You'd think that something like turkey tacos would be kind of plain or somehow an average meal. You'd be wrong, really. He made his own tortillas and the final product was wicked good. After clean up, we headed back to the trailer and got Kim into bed hoping and praying for quick healing. Feel free to join in on those prayers.

Though not the best day of our journey so far, we are both very grateful that Kim's injuries are minor. She is fully aware that she could have snapped any of her bones, particularly her neck. Given the spectacular nature of the crash, she walked away quite lucky...lucky to walk away.

August 20...Liberty Lake (Day 4)

(Kim's Perspective)
Bill and I slept till almost eleven o’clock today. That is unprecedented for this trip so I guess after several nights of getting to sleep late and then not sleeping well, we needed to get some decent rest. I showered and we stayed at the trailer until Jack and Trish came over to show the girls “where we live”. :)


Trish, being the masochistic exercise fiend that she is, RAN to the campground with the girls in the baby jogger. Uh…you’re crazy. The road here is windy, hilly, and narrow and, oh…you’re pushing/pulling 2 kids in a jogger with a combined weight of 70 plus pounds?!?!?! Are you insane?

You have to understand that Trish is the most fit person we know (Sorry, Whitey, but until you complete an Ironman, Trish pretty much beats you in that category), ;P but it still seems crazy to run the nearly 5 miles over here while pushing 70 couple pounds up dozens of hills. The thing that gets me is she’s so nonchalant about it and totally humble about her athletic abilities. I give her mad props for staying in that kind of shape. It’s one thing to be in great shape right out of college, it’s another thing to be in even better shape and to compete in a freaking Ironman marathon 12 months after giving birth to your second child.

Anywho…Jack, being the more reasonable of the two, DROVE to the campsite. ;) Trish took Silly Moose back with her and Silly Goose stayed with us a bit until we were ready to leave. Jack took her back to the house and we followed behind with the Boys.

Trish stayed home with the girls and the three of us took the Boys somewhere on the other side of Coeur d’Alene to the Idaho Panhandle National Forest for a hike. We didn’t get to the trailhead till 5:30 so we didn’t have much time to spend hiking,




...but the trail was really nice and there were some really great views of the river at various points along the way.









After hiking for about an hour we turned around and headed back. This was mostly due to the fact that Twister alerted to something along the trail. Grizzly bear, mountain lion, mountain goat - who knows and who cares – it’s time to turn around. ;)

We got back to the truck and munched on Cliff Bars and some strange candy bar thing that Jack had grabbed at the gas station. He wanted us to experience some of the “local flavor”. :) We headed back ‘home’ and got to the house around 10:30. Given the late hour, we dropped Jack off and headed back to the trailer to get the Boys pilled and fed.

Jack hooked us up with leftover Risotto for dinner so we tossed the leftovers into the microwave, took care of the dogs, and I worked on transferring pics from the camera and updating the blog. We’re both looking forward to tomorrow – Trish is getting a sitter and the four of us are heading to Schweitzer Mountain for some downhill mountain biking. Wooohhoooo!!! With that said, I need to get some sleep. It’s currently 2:14am and this late to bed early to rise thing is not going to bode well for my riding tomorrow. ;(

August 19...Liberty Lake (Day 3)

(Kim's Perspective)
I woke up entirely too early considering my 2am bedtime last night. I let the Boys out, made some coffee and tried to catch up on the blog. FAIL.

We made plans with Jack and Trish to go hiking so we loaded up the dogs and headed to their place. With the Girls and the Boys in tow, we had to drive separate vehicles, so we followed the ole’ Liberty and headed to Mount Spokane.

Bill and I were both shocked at the elevation and the scenery.



For some reason, we both kind of assumed it would be a little-ish mountain – certainly not one at 6,000+ feet – we were ill prepared for the cool temps and the hefty wind at the peak.



After some stick time...


and taking time to play and enjoy the views of the surrounding lakes and valleys...







...we headed to the warming hut...


...and did some scrambling on the rocks.



The view on this side of the mountain was just as nice...


We played on the rocks for quite awhile and then headed to the trailhead at the top of the mountain. The trail was pretty steep and rugged and was not suitable for a casual hike through the woods with 2 dogs and 2 small children so we turned around and agreed that a more mellow trail further down the mountain would be a better idea.

Once we got to the parking area at the second trailhead, the temperature was much warmer and the trail was much more enjoyable for bi-peds and canines alike.



We didn’t hike long, but it was enough to wear the Boys out and for us to get a little exercise and breathe some fresh, mountain air.

After the hike, we headed to a few of the local orchards and picked up some fresh peaches. Mmmmm…so good!


We followed Jack and Trish back to their house and I washed a couple loads of laundry while we were there. Jack made some yummy burgers laced with gorgonzola cheese (huh, never thought of putting cheese IN the burger) ;) and we chatted over dinner.

It’s nice to connect with them again. We’ve really missed them. It’s rare to find good neighbors who become good friends and, more importantly, the kind of friends that you can connect with after a long period of time and it doesn’t feel like you’ve been apart. Jack and Trish are just good people and it’s always great to hang out with people like that. Their girls are adorable and some of the most well-behaved and certainly most polite children we’ve ever met. “Would you like me to help you, Silly Moose?” “NO! Thank You.” Ahhhh, the independence of a 2 year old. :) No, she clearly doesn’t want me to help her, but at least she’s ridiculously polite about letting me know. :P

We had another late night at the U household and didn’t get home till after midnight again. Wow. We’re hanging out with friends who have a 3 year old and a 2 year old and they’re killing us. We need to sleep!! ;P