Pacific Northwest (2,846 miles)

This is the last day of travel in the US before we cross into Canada. Since eggs are on the list of prohibited items you can bring into the country, we made French toast for breakfast. It’s a sacrifice, but you do what you gotta do. Haha.

It was my turn to drive again so we switched places after getting fuel and refilling the DEF tank. I’m glad Riley knows all about that stuff and remembers to take care of it. I’d have a lot to learn if I were doing this on my own.

The route across Montana to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho traversed several mountain ranges and National Forests. The landscape changed again, now dominated by dense, towering pines.

We chose to stick to the interstate because it was the quickest and most direct route to Coeur d’Alene. Usually that means monotonous driving with only exit signs and mile markers ticking off the miles. This was much different. White pines, fir, spruce, cedar and many other varieties of evergreen trees as far as you can see. So beautiful.

Coeur d’Alene is a satellite city of Spokane, WA and has a definite big city feel in contrast to the remote mountain passes we’d just driven through. It’s a popular tourist destination with golf courses, a casino resort, restaurants and a super fancy RV park right on the lake in the center of town.

We drove past the yachts docked on the lake shore and took our place in the long line of RVs waiting to check in at Blackwell Island RV Resort. Riley walked to the office to check in while I waited in line. After a few minutes he came out and said they had no record of our reservation. I pulled out the folder of confirmations we’d printed out and flipped through the pages to June 10th. What the heck?! They were right. Our reservation is for a campground and hour and a half up the road. Doh!

Neither of us remembered why we’d changed plans, but we obviously had. Unfortunately I hadn’t updated the Alaska Roadtrip note on my iPhone that we use to navigate driving directions each day.

That was embarrassing. But, I wasn’t really disappointed that we wouldn’t be staying in the bustling campground. It was beautiful, but it had a hoity-toity resort vibe that clashed with our experience so far.

The upside to driving another hundred miles today is we’ll be closer to the Canadian border. It would’ve been a real bummer if we had to backtrack.

We stopped in the picturesque town of Sandpoint, ID for a late lunch at the Burger Dock. Lots of people were out enjoying the water, paddle boarding and swimming at the beach. It looks like a great place to spend a few days.

We crossed the Moyie River bridge just before getting to the campground. It’s an impressive 1,223 feet long and 464 feet high.

Hemlocks Lodging and RV park couldn’t be more different from Blackwell Island. It’s a small campground tucked in the trees right off Highway 2 in the tiny town of Moyie Springs, ID. The office was unoccupied so we went ahead to our site and set up camp. Campsites are tucked into the hemlock trees, giving the feeling of camping in the woods.

There’s a small roadside-motel looking lodge on the property as well. From what I saw, I’m guessing it’s a home away from home for men working in the area. Everyone was very nice, especially the fellow who gave me the phone number of the campground owner so I could call and get the code for the keypad on the bathhouse/ laundry room. I’ve seen worse showers, but it’s been awhile. Haha

We built the first campfire of the trip with wood and branches scattered nearby. The fire ring is right on the edge of the woods so Riley filled a bucket with water, just in case.

This morning we saw a big white rabbit and a couple buff colored ones in the woods right behind Charlie. Later Riley saw another beside the door. Maybe they’re somebody’s pets?

I’ll bet you wouldn’t see that at Blackwell Island.