As we were pulling out of Butte, Montana this morning, we noticed the temperature was lower than we've experienced in many months. 37 degrees. It actually felt good to me, but then I am a cool weather gal.
The first rays of the sun were pale pink and soft white.
But it didn't take long until the pink turned to orange and the white to gold. It was a beautiful sunrise over the hills in the east.
The closer we got to Idaho, the more green we saw. Green trees, green lawns, and green pastures for the sheep, many of them being watered in the early morning fresh air.
And soon we were in Idaho. another very beautiful state.
The mountains are so lush looking.
And the flowers on every light pole lining the main street of Coeur d' Alene, and decorating almost every shop front and building, were absolutely beautiful.
This area down by the lake near the sightseeing boats, was ablaze with red geraniums. I don't know if I've ever seen so many geraniums used in a mass decorating project. This spot above is maybe a fifth of the flowers in this public touristy area. Brilliant color!
And we had our regular lunch of a sandwich along the lake, next to a very popular bike/walking/running trail. The traffic was constant along the trail. Must be some in shape people in this city.
We are now at our evening resting place on Fairchild AFB, west of Spokane. This was the first base that Ernie was sent to after his technical schools. He arrived here in 1962, 50 years ago. We took a drive around the base, and he recognized only a couple of roads and a few of the buildings. Everything looks very new and modern compared to what he was familiar with in the old days.
Speaking of new and modern compared to the old days: The Prius did herself proud today. We drove 350 miles and she gave us 56 miles per gallon. Really! And we were in the mountains, so there was a lot of up and down. However, it was cool, so we did not run the air conditioning. That makes a big difference. So far expenses are running well below expected. Yay for us! Or just call us cheap.
See you tomorrow as we journey west to Tacoma. We have never visited that area before, so we are looking forward to seeing new and exciting things. Oh, and visiting a couple of family graves in the Yakima area.
4 comments:
We've had lunch in that park by the lake on one of our trips back and forth.
And I grew up just outside of Tacoma, in the little town of Puyallup, which nobody can pronounce. We attended Faith in Tacoma (WELS) and I graduated from their Christian Day School after eight years there.
Enjoy the sights for me, and if you get a chance, stop and get some blueberries in Puyallup. The berry fields was always my summer job. I did Strawberries and Raspberries every summer starting at 11 years old. They are generally June and July fruits in that area. One year things were early, to I even got to do a few weeks of blueberries before having to head back to WI for school.
I grew up in Issaquah, and went to the State Fair with my horse each fall in Puyallup :) Wave to my folks as you drive by.
I'll tell ya, it's definitely fall up here, now. Leaves just starting to turn, and getting down into the lower temps at night. Very stormy today. I've been chopping wood and bustling around in anticipation of some big storm...:)
Looking forward to some photos of gravesites when you get to Yakima. Drive careful.
I've really enjoyed your trip reports and beautiful pictures. We also had to make the stop at Wall Drug - how could you not stop after seeing the signs mile after mile.
Congratulations on your beautiful great granddaughter!
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