Into The Smoke

It is August 3^rd and we are on our way to Ellensburg, WA. Our last two days we were in Smoke coming down from the big fire north of us in BC. Our course is set as we leave Mt. Vernon, our decision is to go south and cross the Cascades on I-90 and we found something in Ellensburg that we wanted to investigate. You guessed it, we are looking for a restaurant that is unique.

They took an old Mobil gas station and turned it into a restaurant called the Red Wing Diner.

This is the interior, there certainly is enough memorabilia on the walls to keep you busy reading until the order arrives.  The next day, I headed south to Yakima to play golf at the Elks Course. I think this is course #192, coming closer to that 200 number.

Remember I was telling you about the smoke?

This is a picture taken just outside of Ellensburg as we turn north to visit our good friends in Osoyoos, BC.

As we drive through customs into Canada with the motor home, we do something that we’ve been unable to attain in a number of years. That is taking the RV into Canada and not getting searched. We answered a few questions and then drove right through. We didn’t go far. Just past the customs stop, we turned right then left into our friend’s driveway.

Let me introduce our good friends, Bob & Donna. Bob is taking us on a tour of Lake Osoyoos. You can see just how smoky it is and the fire is some 200+ miles from here.

This is a view of the lake from an overview east of the lake. You can just make out the lake through the Smoke.

We found this sign while we were out and about. We had timed our visit with a tournament at Osoyoos Golf & Country Club with about 60 of us seniors. How did I do? Not quite last place but, pretty close.

We had met Bob and Donna when we first went on the road about 2001 in the desert at Quartzsite, AZ. It’s been a lot of good times over all the times we hooked up. They ended up taking us to many places in the Okanagan Valley and we met a bunch of the great people that they hang out with at home.

This is one our better pictures, even though I seem to have my mouth open. That was supposed to be a smile.

It’s August 11^th and from BC, we headed for Missoula, MT. First, we were stopped and searched at the border crossing by our US guys. They took some great tomatoes that Donna had given us out of her garden. I told Donna she could walk over and get them back if she wanted. She declined.

We made a quick stop at the Dry Falls in Washington. These were Falls when the Great Glacier Dam in Missoula broke and the water came rushing through creating this grand falls that were larger than Niagara.

These pictures are views from the overlook looking both left then right. I’ve touched them up as much as possible, but the smoke was so thick that this is the best I could do.

Our next stop was a camp near Worley, ID. where we met up with some good friends that live next to us in Texas. While we were there I got a chance to play Coeur d'Alene Golf Club which normally cost a bundle but they were having a special for only a third of a bundle. You had to pay for a caddie, too bad we didn’t get a good one, oh, well.

I got a kick out of the golf cart, complete with a wooden steering wheel, headlights, turn signals and fancy wheels as well as a fancy GPS. The course is known for its floating green which, after you hit to it, you are taken by boat to complete the hole. I did well and got a par on the hole. Did I mention that we got a chair massage before we started and after we were done? I guess this is how the other half lives, eh?

We continued the trip onto Missoula, MT. Now this is our first time in Montana. So, on through the smoke we drove. At one point the smoke was so thick we had to slow down. I was afraid that the highway might be closed because the fire would be so close. But as we neared Missoula, we seemed to come out of the worst of it. We got parked for a 2-night stay. The fires were north and south of us.

The next morning found Pat dropping me off at the golf course while she went on to a display of Hmong Art and Stitchery.

Of course this is just a small example of what she saw. But, she then came and picked me up and off we went for some lunch and then in search of a thousand buddhas, yes, you read that correctly.

About 30 miles north of Missoula we found them.

Ok, so this is one, but if you look, this one is surrounded by others and you can see many others in the background and yes there are 1,000 of them situated in lines radiating out from the goddess in the middle.

Of course, throughout the park we were treated to many little sayings. I know the picture is clear of smoke, but it just happens to be that the wind is blowing in the opposite direction keeping the smoke away. One of the worst fires is in the Lolo Mountains just south of Missoula.

So not only do we get an artistic tour we were enlightened as well.

We did drive out of the smoke finally as we came out into the plains.

Our last night in Montana was Miles City. While it was not a large city it certainly was a charming little city. We did find the Range Riders Museum. This place had a bunch of buildings full of stuff. It was great. There was everything from pictures and photos to housewares, saddles and guns with a bit of everything else thrown in.

There were so many things that were donated by the locals that it took many buildings to hold all of the treasures.

We went from building to building enjoying the various displays.

This was truly a marvelous find for us.

We are moving on to Bowman ND. This is the first time in North Dakota. We now have only one more state to reach for us to have achieved all 48 states with our MH. Bowman will find a day of golf and a bit of relaxation before we turn south and head for home. That will be our next story, I hope you have been enjoying our stories to this date. Oops, I forgot to tell you that day of golf in Bowman was during the eclipse. We were far enough out of the path where it only got a little darker. Pat tried a few things to put the image on cardboard and I was able to look through some glasses some kids had at the course, but that was the extent of our eclipse experience. See you next time.