Day 8: Kettle Falls, Washington to Bonners Ferry, Idaho

Leaving early from Kettle Falls we jumped back onto the 20 east that continued to take us across Washington State and into Idaho. We hit the road early so we were able to stop at some little hike spots and picturesque waterfalls on the way, the 20 east also runs parallel to the Pend Oreille River which makes for beautiful driving . We were all starving so we decided to stop at a diner, the only diner in a 40 mile country road radius, to eat some breakfast. Can you say yum?! The best homemade cinnamon roll I have ever eaten! The eggs were huge and the yolks were dark orange! We were all amazed at the portions as well, they aren’t messing around out here. After breakfast I took over driving to get us into Idaho territory. The border lies around Old town and the Pend Oreille turns into the Priest River as we hop on the 2 northeast up to Sandpoint. Sandpoint is a cute town, however there are a lot of people here! The population was around 6300 people but I’d guess their population has at least quadrupled. We head down to check out Lake Ponderay, but are advised not to take our canoe out, ha ha we might not make it out to tell the story. Besides, its now mostly a bass lake, the locals are paying to get the trout out as they are taking over the lake and killing the habitat. We cruise around the cute down town and get the scoop on the spots to fish, namely down to Coeur d’Alene and up to Bonners Ferry. So we hop on the 95 North and continue up to my place of birth, Bonners Ferry. it’s a quick jaunt, only about 30 miles before we are there, stopping at McArthur Lake on the way, another bass lake. I remember the town vaguely from my last trip up here some 15 years ago but its changed even more. The recession has shut down the mill but on the positive side about 7 years ago they restored the whole downtown area and put in lights and some upgrades. We stopped by the visitor center and picked up a map and talked to some locals about fishing and camping. After driving around town and checking out what I think is my birth home on West Comanche, I couldn’t remember exactly which of the houses at the end of the road was it, but I was not old enough to have memories here, we head back into downtown to get a beer at there little local sportsman pub. The people here are total characters and I love that suspenders and overalls are still in fashion here. Oddly enough the man sitting next to us, Ralph, is from Santa Barbara and moved up here in 1989 which made for interesting conversation and a lot of useful information about the area. He sends us into Moyie Springs for fishing and camping on the twin rivers, I am excited because this is where Jason was born and I have never been here. It is freakin’ beautiful. You drive over the 2nd tallest bridge in Idaho to get to the campsite which is down a long twisted road just before Evergreen Elementary school. The campsite is virtually empty, its Monday, and its only 20 bucks w/hook ups which means we get electricity! Awesome! Matthew and I decide to take the bikes off the back and run the dogs, all the other campers have little dogs too, they are all old and funny, the people not the dogs, and I think its happy hour because they are all a little goofy but chatty which is good. I am really starting to like this whole RV experience, its funny. Anyway the campsite is big and spread out by the river and very accessible by bike, the trees aren’t quite as tall as in Washington, but we all decide that Idaho has the winning combination of more trees to people ratio, warm sunny weather, good fishing and water access as well as a positive vibe, except for the scary anti-meth billboard as you come into town. We think we might stay here for a couple days, Mike has already caught 2 rainbow trout! After dinner and wine by the river we hit the hay and get ready for a day of outdoor activities tomorrow! Another successful leg!!!!!