It is time to get back on the road

We have been here in Thompson Falls for 7 glorious weeks.  This is truly a beautiful part of the Pacific Northwest.  The lifestyle here is very laid back and we quickly fell in step with everyone else.  It will be tough to leave, not only because of our beautiful location, but because we had such a good time with members of the family that we ordinarily do not get to see very often.  Soon we will be headed to the most popular park in the United States:  Yellowstone National Park.  We look forward to exploring the natural wonders we expect to see there.

Today's blog will wrap up our stay here with a collection of miscellaneous photographs.

This is one view of the 500 to 700 pine trees from which we trimmed countless lower branches.

This is the brush pile where we hauled and stacked the branches.  It is 8 feet high in spots and easily 25' x 50' and there is a smaller pile out of sight one-third this size.

Wild turkeys would often stroll across the property, but come early November, they will probably go into hiding from the hunters.

White tail deer can be seen everywhere.  They are not tame, but they sometimes allow us to get within 20 feet.

We drove to Murray, Idaho early one evening to have dinner in an old saloon.  This charming post office is right across the street.

 Less than a mile from our location is a road maintained by the forest service.  I decided to drive up Cougar Peak Trail.  I made it only six miles before the trail became too rough.

I was a couple thousand feet above the valley and the Clark Fork River.

This is a view of valley in which we were located for 7 weeks.

On the way up the mountain road I came across these two abandoned gold mines.

Local lore is that the mine was dug by hand (no explosives) by an African-American who paid all of his bills in gold.  The floor of the mine was filled with water and so I decided not to explore beyond the entrance.

On the way back from a trip to Spokane, Sandy spotted this Moose and her calf.  My cousin Diane took this photo.  On the way there we saw a brown bear and a cougar bounding into the brush.

We leave here early Wednesday morning and plan to return in 2012.  Today is our 365th day of living the full-time RVing life.  Tomorrow, Sandy's birthday, we start our second year.  No doubt we will have many great experiences,  make and re-new friendships.

Stay tuned.