July 16, 2006

I was much warmer and slept better last night. We borrowed a sleeping bag from someone that had extras. I woke up once to find the sleeping bag on the floor. I thought Ax woke up at the same time as I did, but he seems to remember me waking him up to ask if he was cold. Since he was, now that he was awake, he said yes and I put the sleeping bag back on the bed.

We got up pretty early. Apparently Mickey and Shannon got up at "O’Dark thirty" to do some fishing and Maria was up too, longing for a clean bathroom and shower. I can certainly sympathize, latrines give me the creeps. I haven’t made up my mind what is better, bringing a high-powered light to be sure nothing and no one is down that hole (YUK!) or to keep myself in the dark and pretend that it’s just a regular toilet. (That takes a lot of my imagination.) Neither option is very appealing.

After the sun began to clear off the mist over the lake, a few geese swam by close to shore and seemed to think we were easy marks for food. They were right; we had a few extra hot dog buns. Maria threw out some pieces to the four geese. Shortly, she told the rest of us that one goose was an idiot. We started watching it making imaginative suggestions about its odd behavior.

This particular goose didn’t seem to care about getting some free food but since its companions stopped it seemed to want to dance or the goose equivalent. It was just swimming in circles, a few times actually eating a piece of the bread it twirled into. One suggestion was that it was blind another that it had only one leg another that he was just a queer goose. I’d agree with the third suggestion, it was a weird goose. After the bread was gone the three got into formation and started to swim to the next campsite. The weird one just kept making pirouettes and ignored the others. The others stopped and waited for quite a while doing things to look busy like cleaning themselves, stretching and getting food from the lake floor. After they tired of this one of the three went back to fetch the weird one. It didn’t work and eventually they all came back in our direction to the campsite on our other side. People were now awake over there and ready to feed some geese. The weird one just kept up his dance.

We ate breakfast, packed up the tent and car and played some more cards. After lunch we said our good-byes and started our drive home. I managed to get one picture of Mount Hood on our way out of the forest. (Ax: Yeah, we got a nice pic of Mt. Hood, but we missed the 4 beautifully restored 1964 Shelby Cobras that we saw 20 minutes after leving camp! They were soooo pretty!)

It seemed like a much longer drive home than the drive Friday night. We got home before dark, which isn’t hard in Boise in the summer. (I think the sun sets around 10pm.) I had a really good time and I like Ax’s family. (For the record, my family liked Brenda, too. {Well sure...I mean what's not to like?! })

July 15, 2006

We tried to sleep in this morning. We weren't the first in our group to get up, but we were definitely not the last. We threw on some layers of clothing. Ax grabbed his "special" coffee and we wondered over to the next site where our group would gather.

I was re-introduced to Ax's parents, Larry and Carol, his aunt, Roberta, and brother, Sean. It's hard to recognize someone you met in the dark with a flashlight in their face. I also met the many dogs that got to go on this camping trip. Sugar was the St. Bernard, Sporty looked like a black German Shepard mix, Max may be a retriever mix, Brooklyn was a Golden Retriever and I would guess Tommy Lee is a Husky. When they are all in the lake together, it's every man for himself.

As the morning progressed I met more of Ax's family. A cousin, Sheldon, and his wife, Carol (They belong to Brooklyn and Tommy Lee), a sister, Shannon, and her daughter, Courtney (They belong to Max), an Aunt, Linda, and her granddaughters, Hailey and Isabella, and Uncle, Jack, with his newlywed wife, Mickey. I'd like to say I remembered this all and had no coaching, but that wouldn't be true. There were also some family friends on the camp out as well. Marta and her daughter, Maria, are the ones I spent more time with and remember. Quite a group, huh?

This group really knows how to eat while camping. There was blueberry pancakes with eggs and bacon, oatmeal, potato salad, baked beans, fresh fruits, hot dogs and hamburgers, chips and 7 layer dip, chicken and steaks, Moussaka, fruit salad, vegetable salad, baked potatoes, carrot cake and zucchini cobbler in the 5 meals we ate. Some of the group had been there since Thursday and some were not leaving till Monday. The RVs will be much lighter on the return trip.

If you recall, I had chili yesterday, baked beans and 7 layer dip (with refried beans) today. These are foods we like to eat while camping. I suppose we figure if it's going to give us gas, better to be outdoors. [I picture the campfire scene from Blazing Saddles.] My dilemma was that this wasn't my family; I was meeting my boyfriend's family for the first time. I can't just let a fart fly in front of these people. My solution was to go back to our tent for various items throughout the day. (Ax again: See how smart AND socially adept she is...?)

Before lunch Ax and I changed, got the inner tubes and went for a swim/float. Courtney and Maria went in about the same time and spent most of their time in the water that day. Hailey and Isabella spent most of their time in the boat which was tethered to the shore. I think they could go about 100 feet before the line was taut. They thought they were horribly abused to be on a leash, but they managed to have fun anyway. It was a really hot day; I can't believe I managed to keep from getting sunburned.


The newlyweds went for a long boat ride in another boat. I got a few pictures as they left. We talked, swam, played cards, played with the dogs and read in between meals. Shannon and Carol taught me "Pokereno," a combination of Poker and Keno. Ax and Shannon showed me the game of "Nerts", easy to teach if you've played solitaire. And Ax and I taught Shannon the game of "Golf," which we just learned on our last trip. Playing cards can really pass the time.

On our last trip, we stopped at a truck-stop and Ax saw a lamp-sized Zippo-style lighter. He was very tempted to buy it as a joke. On his way back from Pocatello he apparently saw it again, so of course he had to buy it. Before dinner this evening he brought it over from our campsite. He pulled it out an asked if anyone needed a light. He did get the laugh he was looking for. I always enjoy that kind of laugh too... ...The laugh that no one is expecting and then it takes a minute for your brain to make sense of what you are seeing. I think Jack was the only smoker in our group, but he thought it did its job just fine.

Late in the afternoon a few of us went to gather fire wood. After I stepped over a fallen tree for the fifth time or so, I managed to scrape my shin across a broken branch. It was a good sized scratch, about 4 or 5 inches long. I waited for a second or two to be sure it wasn't going to start bleeding heavily. (If you haven't known me very long, you don't know that I tend to black out at the sight of my own blood.) Since it didn't I kept working. I showed Ax the cut as we got in the truck to go back to camp. He looked as though his eyes would pop out of his head. He couldn't believe I hadn't dropped everything when it happened. (So, for the record, it was a pretty big cut. She scored some major points here for being "tough.") Ax let his dad and brother unload the truck when we got back to camp so that he could bandage my leg. I don't know if he wanted to take care of me or if he was just excited to use his fancy first aid kit. (Yeah it's kind of a toss-up.) After I was bandaged I looked as though I tried to cut my leg off with the hatchet instead of the scratch that existed underneath.

July 14, 2006

Ax was in Pocatello this morning for work and already drove 3½ hours to get back to Boise before 11:00am. He had a mighty long day of driving! We had lunch together then he packed, ran errands (and hopefully took a nap) before he picked me up from work at 5:00pm. We started our 7 hour drive to Timothy Lake with only a minor detour to the post office before hopping on I-84.

It takes less than an hour to get out of Idaho and into Oregon where you aren’t allowed to pump your own gas. If you live in a state that does allow you to pump your own gas, it’s a strange feeling actually being forced to let someone do something for you that you are perfectly capable of doing on your own. (Maybe even better than the "professionals.") When we stopped for gas in Baker City, we left with only ¾ of a tank and had to stop again to refuel before we got to Mount Hood.

We stopped in Pendleton for fast food and gasoline. I hadn’t been to Wendy’s in a long time because I was once sold a moldy baked potato. I decided I was ready to give the place a second chance. Ax got in line behind the one other patron while I went to the restroom. When I came out, the line had grown from 2 to 6 people. The cashier was just looking at everyone from the fry station, not sure what to do.

When negative things start to add up in my peripheral thoughts about a restaurant, I begin to consciously notice every little nasty thing wrong with the place. After we ordered we began our next wait while the cashier complained about having to do everything herself. I started telling Ax the things I was noticing, like the incredible amount of flies in the kitchen area, the sink that was barely attached to the wall in the bathroom and other things that generally indicate a dirty place. Just to put it over the top I made mention that this large number of flies had to have been born here... ...Which of course, would mean there are probably maggots somewhere… And I continued like that. I mean, why be annoying by complaining? Why not add the "gross out" factor and make a joke out of it? (Ax here - of course if you know my family, grossing me out is no easy task!) When our order was up I found that my potato wasn’t moldy and there was no finger in the chili. I don’t hold very high standards when it comes to fast food.

We were so pre-occupied with the poor service and condition of the Wendy’s, we totally forgot about gas. I also forgot silverware and couldn’t even eat my quality fast food. Neither of us are the type to let the gas gauge get below ¼ of a tank normally, so we were both a little nervous about being so close to E by the time we got to the next town. This time the "professional" did fill the tank and I was able to find some silverware eventually in the truck-stop we found.

Driving in the dark, where animals are likely to be, has always made me uncomfortable. I am able to imagine any shadow on the side of the road as a canine about to jump out in front of the car or that every reflector is the eye of a deer, antelope, elk or moose that will do the same. I am glad Ax was the one driving through the forest at 11:00 at night. (I suggested that she just close her eyes when she gets nervous driving in the dark - I mean, that's what I do...) We did at least have some Dr. Demento CDs to keep our minds partially relaxed. You can only maintain a certain level of stress when singing "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park." We found our camp site and with the help of a few of Ax’s friends and family, had the tent open and in place shortly after 11:30pm just as Ax planned.

We didn’t have any time to relax before going to sleep so I did as I usually do when a road-trip stresses me out. For the first part of the night I wake up every 20 - 40 minutes, with a nightmare of nearly rear-ending a car/trailer/bus/van/truck on the highway. I wake up trying to slam on the brakes of the dream car I think I’m driving as the vehicle in front of me is quickly getting larger and larger. I don’t know if I’m speeding or they’ve stopped or slowed down. After doing this about 7 or 8 times, maybe more, I was finally able to sleep just as the first signs of light popped into the sky.

July 4, 2006

We actually slept till 7:00am this morning. We didn't hurry getting ready to leave either. We had both been chewed on by bugs in the hotel room during the night. Ax more than me, but he was less annoyed than I. I don't recommend the Mountain Valley Inn in Helena. We wanted to be home and didn't look forward to a 9-10 hour drive.

It was a nice day. We made a few stops, took note of the different writing styles of Montana and Idaho's historical signs. We encountered 9 miles of construction through Crater's of the Moon National Monument. We stopped in Arco at Pickle's Cafe for a late lunch. Ax finally got the buffalo burger he missed out on at Lochsa Lodge.

Once we got to Mountain Home we could see the very active lightning storm over Boise. I don't think I've ever seen lightning like that around here. In the midwest, it was fairly regular. The big difference is the lack of house rattling thunder here in Boise. Once we were in the storm it seemed to have more lightning than rain. We unloaded the tent and mattress at Ax's and took everything else to my house. It was good to be home!

July 3, 2006

We got up around 6:00am. Stan was already up and had been through the paper. Grandma made sourdough pancakes, eggs and bacon. Stan seemed to be quite pleased to have them. He says he only gets “sourdoughs” when they have company.


After breakfast we helped with dishes and laundry. Grandma was still recovering from a dislocated shoulder and didn’t need to be reaching for things with so many other people in the house that could help.



Brent and Grandma taught us a card game called “golf”. Ax won. Brent insisted, Grandma couldn't be beaten. (Do you think maybe Grandma was just trying to make him feel special?) We took some pictures, said our good-byes and took Brent back to Helena with us where a B-B-Q was planned at Lee and Lisa's.

Lloyd and Amanda had arrived and so had “Bobs” (Great Uncle Bob and Aunt Dorothy). “Buds” (Great Uncle Bud and Aunt Bernice) couldn’t make it. Bud was still recovering after surgery and Bernice has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Apparently Bud is taking care of her at home. Ax was introduced to the rest of the family.

Cousins, Lee and Lloyd, didn’t spend much time at the house. Lee had to work and his friend, Dan, and Lloyd went with him. Something tells me they made a few other stops in between. We had a good time eating, playing with the kids and catching up with family. It was a really nice day.


The kids were thoroughly entertained by Ax. Lee and Lloyd both said they liked him too. Even Glen, who I thought would give him the third degree, seemed to like him. (Not that I had any doubt, mind you.)



The kids were hilarious! Ax was left with the kids at some point just before we ate. He managed to corral them under the table with some form of peek-a-boo so he could eat and not have to use as much energy as he had been. Right after that he drove to the Toyota dealer to check on a problem he was having with the clutch. When he returned the kids went crazy in anticipation of continuing this game of peek-a-boo, I’ll scare you. They took cover under the table again and were repeatedly asking for him to scare them. Shortly they were side tracked and Ax made a big circle to get behind them and roar. They all screamed and giggled as expected, but it really did catch them off guard. I think Kelsey teetered over; Hailey jumped up and bumped her head and Trevor… almost in slow motion… proceeded to pull down his pants and pee on his sister and cousin under the table.

Ax had managed to literally scare the piss out of Trevor. Those of us that saw it happen were so surprised and amazed, no one really did anything. Lloyd’s reaction was to ask Dan, who was standing next to him, “Is he………????” [peeing on my daughter] would be the words I would use to fill in his silence. [Yes, Lloyd. That's what it looks like to me.] He went to rescue Hailey who didn’t seem too damp or upset by the experience and Kelsey had already removed herself from the stream and picnic table.

All in all I think the day was a lot of fun. We went to check into our hotel room before Stan and Mary arrived to pick Brent up. The sun and kids had taken most of the energy we had. We were looking forward to a swim in the pool. In the end we skipped the swim and opted for Dairy Queen instead.

July 2, 2006

We woke after the sun was up. (This means we slept in.) It was a little chilly, but not bad at all. We got ready for the drive to Helena rather leisurely, trying not to wake Lisa. It was probably another two hours before Lisa was up. The back of her Subaru must have been more comfortable than our mattress.

We parted ways with Lisa around 11:00am or so. Our destination was Helena, but what I really wanted was a shower and Ax just wanted a burger. After a while we passed a sign that said Lochsa Lodge and “FOOD” so we got off the road in a hurry hoping at least to find the burger.

There appeared to be some sort of car show going on. We saw many beautiful Model-A and Model-T Fords. We took a little time to admire the cars but were far too focused on food at that moment.

We had a great lunch and joked about some of the taxidermied animals and pelts the lodge had on display. There was one wolverine that seemed to confuse people into thinking it was a badger. There was also a small black bear in a tree that hung from one wall and a raccoon watching over the lunch crowd from a roof top built over the bar. Not to mention the typical Elk and moose racks. They all fit very well in a “lodge”, but I really don’t want these things in my house. (Just in case anyone had any ideas.)

From Lochsa Lodge to Lolo, Montana it was a slow drive. We followed several of the old Fords over Lolo pass, (5233 ft. elevation). The Model-Ts don’t exactly fly up those mountains. In Lolo our cell phones suddenly had service. Since we are such “city folk” we each made some calls and got back in touch with civilization. We did plan to camp that night in my cousin’s back yard. But, when I called Grandma, she offered us a room. We jumped at it, I mean, I had "nature and stuff" on me.

We found Helena easily and my cousin’s house almost as easily. I introduced Ax to the family and I was introduced to my little cousins. Trevor (3), Kelsey (2) , Hailey (2) and Riley (1). My cousin, Lloyd and his wife, Amanda hadn’t arrived yet, but apparently, Linda and Glen brought Hailey up from Big Timber with them.

After dinner we headed east to Townsend to find Grandma’s house. I had a bit more trouble getting us there than the other places. I was following my head and ignoring my instincts. But we got to see some wildlife close-up.

My brother, Brent, was visiting Grandma (Mary and Stan) from St. Louis for a week while Mom was at a convention in Dallas. When we arrived at the house, Brent and Stan had just returned from fishing (with nothing to show for it). Again, Ax was introduced to more of my family. We took showers, did a load of laundry and started to feel civilized again.

There was a brilliant sunset that night. I thought of the camera at nearly the last minute. I don’t think my picture will do it justice.

July 1, 2006

From Grangeville we headed northeast to meet Lisa. We made plans to meet her at the bridge that leads to Jerry Johnson Hot Springs at 11:00am. ...And we almost knew where we were going too. We had a map and we were looking for "Jerry Johnson" and a bridge.

We first found Jerry Johnson camp site and decided that wasn't where we should be. Then, we found a bridge and passed it not seeing Lisa's car and thinking we should be driving across a bridge instead of walking across one. We soon decided that had to be what we were looking for and returned to see Lisa crossing the highway to get to our designated meeting spot. "Perfect timing".

The three of us hiked the 2 miles to the springs after coating ourselves in sunblock. "Better safe than sorry." The pools at Jerry Johnson are on a beach of the the Lochsa River. River water mixes with the hot springs water in some pools. It's nice to have a wide range of pools and temperatures to choose from.

Before leaving we walked up to a higher, more private pool and encountered a male white-tail deer in a clearing below. Ax decided to attempt a closer look. He managed to get close enough for me to be anxious about it. I couldn't help picturing video from When Animals Attack and hearing Bob and Tom's, "I need a bambalance". Ax would probably expect me to keep a clear head and save him and I, on the other hand, would rather prevent that situation entirely. (I think Ax's ego would take a beating if he was attacked by a deer.)

Within about 30 minutes or so, the deer urinated twice in different places. I interpreted it as aggressive behavior; "the boyfriend" did not. In the end, Ax was satisfied with his distance (or lack of it) to the buck and headed back up the mountainside to where Lisa and I were watching. Just then 2 guys tramped through the clearing with their dog, startling the deer. Again, "perfect timing".

After hiking back to the cars we headed to the camp site. Ax and I had already dumped the tent/trailer there before meeting Lisa. The Wilderness Gateway campsite was huge! Our chosen site was between 2 latrines, close to the pavilion, playground and the "kooshie" restrooms with flush toilets. It was also close to the water faucet. (Quite a bargain for $10.) We were really roughing it.

Gophers flourished at this camping area. We didn't see more than 3 at any given
moment, but it was obvious they were everywhere. They managed to get a couple strawberries for themselves and cleaned the crumbs from our plates when we went for a dip in the river.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Lisa and I listening to Ax read aloud from The Princess Bride. Lisa went to the Nature Photography presentation at the pavilion at 8:00pm. We stowed the rest of our supplies for the night. Ax started a fire and I tried to prevent an impaction headache by taking a few doses of Sudafed. Thankfully it worked. None of us stayed up very late.

June 30, 2006

Originally, this was a weekend trip to visit with my friend, Lisa, who recently moved to Moscow, Idaho. It later turned into a longer trip to visit with family in Montana. It also gave me a chance to introduce my boyfriend, "Ax".

Friday, Ax and I drove from Boise to Grangeville, Idaho after work (about 250 miles). We were packed up and on our way earlier than expected. With potty breaks and stretching we made it in about 4 hours.

I was a bit apprehensive about the motel I chose on-line. The choices I had were Monty's Motel or the Elkhorn Lodge. It turns out there was a Super 8 and a few others, but the Elkhorn was clean and all we really needed. It smelled like my Grandma's house. (A comfortable old cabin full of Avon products.) Anticipating a late arrival to Grangeville, the motel did everything over the phone and gave us our room number. The paperwork was waiting in our room for a signature. We never had to see a member of the staff. It was very convenient!

Other than Ax being miffed that someone or something chose his tire as a place to relieve himself; it was a pleasant stay in Grangeville. Since we didn't have to meet Lisa till nearly lunch time on Saturday, we didn't do any hurrying to get ready for the next leg of our trip.