Saturday, July 5, 2008

A Fourth to Remember







On July 3, our good friends Rollie Taylor and John Jay pulled in for a weekend visit.
We celebrated the Fourth of July by driving to Sex Peak Lookout, in the Kootenai National Forest, about 20 miles from where we live. This lookout was established in the 1920s. It's no longer staffed, but the Forest Service makes it available for single-night rentals to whomever wants to go there. Because of the name, it's a popular getaway for outdoorsy couples celebrating anniversaries and such, but it's also used by families and elk chasers. If you like real solitude, this rocky eagle's nest is a cozy escape.

We spent about an hour climbing on the rocks, exploring the interior, and wondering what it would be like to be up there in that wood and glass shack during a violent thunderstorm. The consensus was that it would be fantastic!

On the way back down the mountain we made several stops to watch wildlife. We saw a mama bear and a watermelon-sized cub. Mama went up a tree and we watched her wait patiently for us to leave. Finally she fell asleep up there, undoubtedly muttering something like, "Damn tourists!" under her breath. We had the binoculars with us so we got a close-up look at her sleepy eyes.

We also saw several flocks of wild turkeys and about 40 deer here and there, including young ones still in spots.

The wildflowers were in full bloom too.

Oh yes, and we saw eagles.
We met only two other vehicles on the whole trip up and down the mountain. Both of them were pickups full of firewood.

That night, back at Shorthorse, we walked down our road to a good vantage point for the neighborhood fireworks display. We have several well healed neighbors who each put on extraordinary ($$$$$) shows along the shore of the river. Rollie commented it was the best fireworks display he'd ever seen....even better than at the fairgrounds in Yakima.

We capped it all off with some homemade strawberry shortcake and called it a night...and a fantastic Fourth of July. What a country we live in!

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