My Happy Place!

Do you have a favorite camping spot?  One that is different than all the others?  Brings you joy, that you look forward to, that maybe you go out of your way to stop there, even if it's for only a few days?  

I do!

We have camped in all the lower 48 states, more than once in many of them.  We were on the road, full-time for almost 8 years and mostly moved about on a weekly basis, so to say that we have camped in a lot of campgrounds would be a pretty true statement.  

To be honest, we are not good at "boondocking" nor "Walmart parking" - so our type of camping is at official campgrounds.  That said, we've tried all types, from Casino to Farms, from KOA to Beaches.  We've been to "fancy" upscale resorts and ones we wondered how they even got a license.  

Some we've only stayed one night, other's a month.  Some, we liked so much we either asked to stay longer, or we made a note to return as soon as we could.  Some, we noted "never to return", but honestly, those were rare, and usually not because the campground was so terrible, but the weather or the location was not to our liking.  

Then, once in awhile you come across a gem.  In our case 2 of them, and both by accident.  One was along the California Coast near Ventura.  It was just luck that we happened to find a spot that was available along the Pacific Coast Hwy (yes, boondocking!) and we grabbed it for the night. 

The second has become our "happy place".  It's in Riggins ID.  We landed there because in August, as it turns out, is their "Mulberry Festival" and every place where we were trying to book, was full! After numerous phone calls, we found this tiny campground.  It turned out to be unbelievable!  Most of the sites are right alongside a swath of soft green grass that lines right up to the Little Salmon River.  It sits above it by about 8', but you can walk down to it via some rock stairs.  Across the river is nothing but trees and a beautiful hill to look at.  Each site has a big shade tree with a picnic table.  Full hook-ups and WiFi. Talk about peace and quiet!  

 We don't even bother to un-hook the car, as you can walk into the small town and shop or eat at the half dozen cafes or restaurants.  We actually did walk into town each day (can't sit all day, every day!) and poked our head into a couple of cute shops, even though most were closed when we were there (only open for a few hours a couple of days a week) but saw some fun things, like a tiny old refrigerator that was turned into a free book stand, as well as a nice mural of the map of the Salmon River which gave one a good perspective of how the river travels. Everyone, including the owners are super friendly.  One of our camp neighbors has caught several fish while he's been here too. Mostly though, I just sit back and read and enjoyed the wonderful sounds of the flowing river.  To me, there is nothing more soothing. 

They have different shade trees along the strip, and this time we found out we were under a walnut tree!  When the wind blew, we were graced with an abundance of walnuts!  Most of them are ripe and ready to gather, so I did, a big bag full to take home...bonus! 

To soon it will be time to leave, but it's always nice to know it's here, and that we have found such a wonderful place to come to...

...on the road...Marie

Celebrating Life at 90!

 Celebrating someone's birthday is celebrating life itself - not only the fact that they were born, but all the wonderful times shared together.  

Depending how old someone is, the celebration takes on a different meaning.  My oldest sister, now my last sibling, is turning 90 at the end of September.  She's healthy, has a bright mind and still a delight, so having a celebration was a "no brainer" as the saying goes.  

Her children jumped right into action, planning, making all the necessary reservations, contacting caterers, musicians, printing invitations (save the date and the invitations), making various decorations, ordering her a special dress, etc.  They made the date a little earlier than her actual birthday for relatives coming in from out of town, so the weather would be better for travel.  

She has a large family, with 4 children, all with children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren of their own.  Additionally, we have nieces and nephews and their children as well.  Add friends to all that, and you have a party large enough to fill a barn...which she did!!

 We decided to come three weeks early and spend some time with her and the family prior to the "big event".  I knew it would be chaotic the days before, so wanted to spend some quality time with her alone before that, which we were able to do.  They were just quiet days of playing cards and sharing stories, going out to lunch and cooking together.  Sister stuff. 

She wanted to host a "Thank you brunch" for all the out of town guests the day before the big party so that she could spend more time visiting with each of them, knowing she wouldn't get a lot of time at the actual party.  As usual, she had been pre-cooking and baking for days to put on her usual spread!  It's what makes her happy.  

That Saturday, all the nieces and nephews, along with myself and Jack came over to a wonderful spread of 3 kinds of quiches, 4 kinds of sweet breads, a large ham, brats, 2 fruit bowls, along with a variety of drinks!  Each of us got a "thank you present" of 3 handmade crochet covered hangers. That's my sister! 

The next day was The Big Celebration!  You would never know that lady was 90!  She was all smiles and ready to party!  The place was FULL, she was beaming, people were happy, food was great, music was playing, place looked wonderful and the drinks were flowing.  We even got her up to dance!  I made a short speech, tried not to cry...don't remember much of it,..forgot a lot of what I wanted to say, but I'm sure it didn't matter. She knows I love her.  To say the party was a success, would be an understatement...

When I reflect about this, I think about all birthdays...and how all of us should celebrate every one of them! So much better to celebrate life, than to talk about it afterwards at a funeral...

...on the road again, Marie

The many colors of Montana...

We have been to Montana a number of times, and during different times of the year.  As we drove through this year, I got to thinking how different the colors are from mile to mile.  It's late August and early September, to early for the fall colors, to late for any spring flowers...pretty much during the late summer when it's the hottest and driest.  Yet with all that, each area seems to have it's own look, it's own set of colors.  Mountains, hills, meadows, wheat fields, rivers, lakes, and lots of forest trees.  Each turn in the road brought a different sight.  

I decided to just take pictures as we went, some are a bit blurry as we were driving, but one can still get the idea, the view.  We saw a few deer here and there, some cattle, horses of course, but the only pictures I took were the bison herd I found at a waterhole, which I found enjoyable to stop and watch for a few minutes. 

...and this was only a small corner of the state, but one can't help but love it's diversity and wide open spaces!

...on the road,  Marie

If you would like to see the rest of my pictures, they are on my flickr: Marie Beschen, Album: Montana

Paling around in Polson Montana...

For years our friends Emily, Pat and Ian lived in Missoula Montana and every time we traveled nearby, we would be sure and carve out some time to pull into that area and visit.  A few years ago Ian married, and then eventually moved to Polson and had a couple of children...so, of course "grandma and grandpa" quickly followed!  Now, we make a day visit to Missoula because there still are a couple of shops we like, and then travel on to Polson for our visit!  Polson is the home of the beautiful Flathead Lake, and it's a little more pricey, so we ended up camping out a smidge further, but still close enough for easy access.  

We actually have another friend who also lives in Polson, one of our Happy Trails folks who used to just be here during the summer months and winter in Happy Trails (and was in Theater with me and along with Jack in the Sawmill) but last year decided to move back to Polson year 'round.  We were super lucky to catch up with Charlie as he had just gotten back from a two week fishing trip in Alaska just before we left, and got my phone message that we were in town and wanted to see him.  He called me back and we got together at his lovely home for lunch and a great afternoon of "catch-up".  After spending his first winter back in Polson, he's not so sure he wants to do it again and is looking at places to take off for at least a few weeks this year to someplace "without snow"!  I think Arizona spoiled him!

 We spent several days with our friends Emily and Pat, including our anniversary.  They were kind enough to take us to a lovely dinner to celebrate our 29th wedded year (forgot to take a picture!) as well as a great home cooked one the next day, yum!  We all drove together to tour Bigfork and see their beautiful Swan River community area.   

When we weren't with them, we were checking out Polson! Well, let me tell you, they have the most unique museum we have come across so far.  The Miracle of America Museum has just about everything ever made or even thought of, from the late 1800's to the 2000's!  ...and in all the details!  Over four acres outside, and I would guess over an acre inside as well.  It took us just about all day to look through it and I'm sure we didn't see everything.  I asked the hostess how long the owner had been collecting all this and she said since he was a very young child, and of course has gotten donations as well. The number of vehicles (of every kind) and weapons alone was mind boggling.  Jack said some of his WW2 collections were things he had never seen (and he's been to numerous museums) and worth quite a bit.  I took a ton of pictures, but here's just a few to give you a little idea...

Once again we lucked out in finding a great "food place"!  I had read some blog somewhere about "what to do and where to go" etc in Polson and it mentioned Betty's Diner, and being a diner, I knew we had to try it.  Just reading the menu, I knew it would be a "winner", and boy, oh boy was it ever!  One of the best burgers we've had in a very long time! YUM!!

Well, all to soon our visit needed to end, as there are only so many days until we need to get to Washington, so hugs were given all around and thanks to Polson for the nice sunshiny days!  We were off on a scenic route following the Bitterroot River along Hwy 200 through the rest of Montana to the eastern side of Washington...

...on the road, Marie

If you would like to see the rest of my pictures, they are on my flickr: Marie Beschen, Album: Montana