From North to South

Our odyssey began on a warm, sunny Tuesday morning.
After removing the back seat and loading the van from floor to ceiling with duffel bags, coolers, food bins, cooking and eating utensils, camping and sleeping gear and other paraphernalia (eg. bear spray...), we nosed our vehicle south toward the United States.
We approached the border with our fingers crossed, hoping our carefully packed food would not be confiscated, as we were not sure of what we could or could not take into the States. I had made a detailed list with everything carefully documented and, armed with that, we declared our possessions at the gate and politely answered the requisite questions. The customs officer smiled and waved us through, but not without an additional query as to what would possess us to leave our own beautiful valley to visit Idaho.
Well... we have to holiday somewhere!

Upon arrival, we pitched our tent in a quiet campground surrounded by old-growth cedars near the lake, just outside the town of Sandpoint. As I have already mentioned, this is one of our favourite holiday destinations. Quite similar to our own valley, Sandpoint, on vast Lake Pend Oreille, is the perfect get-away spot for us and is an easy, four-hour road trip.
We spent three nights there in our cosy tent in the forest by the water.

On the final evening we decided to give up cooking over an open fire and dined by candlelight on the patio of a tiny Italian restaurant overlooking the river. The pasta was delicious, as were the apetizers, and a fine wine rounded out our meal. The weather was cool and crisp, so I wore my best dress... with sandals, woolly socks and a fluffy hoodie. I felt like the original hippie tree-hugger!

Later, in the dark of the night, we were awakened by a shadowy visitor feasting upon some apples we had inadvertently left in a bowl on the picinic table. We peeked through the screen of our flimsy abode and, speaking in guarded whispers, we hoped that it wasn't a foraging member of the ursine family. It didn't take us long before we surmised that our guest was a harmless, but obviously hungry (and fortunate), racoon.

Leaving food out in predator country is a big No-No!
Tsk-tsk, we know better...

The following morning we broke camp and hit the the trail westward. We decided to take the southern route throught the States instead of starting north back through Canada for two reasons. Firstly, our sense of adventure drew us down the road less travelled, and secondly, gasoline is a much less expensive south of the border.

We were now aiming for the town of Osoyoos in south central British Columbia where Lory, an old and dear friend of mine, now resides.