After driving through Glacier, I stopped at a bar in Whitefish for a burger and some live music and then continued towards Coeur d'Alene, but didn't quite make it before I was ready to hit the sack. I was driving through miles and miles of rolling hills without a soul in sight and it was really quite beautiful. I drove down a back road and found a place to park for the night.
The next morning, I drove to St Regis and had breakfast next to who I can only assume was Hank Williams Jr and then continued on to Coeur d'Alene for a much-needed dip in the lake and some relaxing float time. It's amazing how much joy a $3 pool float from Big 5 can bring you :)
I video-chatted with Brian for a bit, and he suggested that I just make the drive over to Mt Rainier National Park since I wasn't really that far away. Feeling especially fresh and rejuvenated, I decided, why not? It was an uneventful drive...not much to see along the way, but I entered the park somewhere around 5 and had a few hours of daylight left, so I spent the evening exploring. The first part of the park reminded me of something along the coast in the Pacific Northwest...more of a rain forest vibe with lots of ferns, huge trees, and mist and green everywhere. I started with a walk through the Grove of the Patriarchs. Again, I was totally shocked at the lack of people in the park...especially during prime wildflower season. Lucky me!
I followed a Ohanapecosh River and then crossed it on a cool little suspension bridge
From there, I drove on through the park and found a trail to Bench and Snow Lake. I googled it and it looked really pretty, so I pulled over and gave it a shot.
It began to get dark, so I turned back before I got to the lake, and about, 45 seconds from being back at my car, I heard what I can only assume was a bear, next to me in the bushes. It let out a low huff and I could hear it's steps through the brush. I totally froze in fright and opted to just high-tail it back to the car as quickly as possible. It was pretty scary.
That night, I slept at a trail head on the side of the road through the park. There was one other car parked, but I wasn't sure if anybody was inside. I had a particularly restless night of sleep, and right smack in the middle of it, I had to go to the bathroom. I couldn't find my keys and I'd locked myself inside, so they only way out was to unlock the passenger door from the inside, setting off the alarm. Turns out, there was somebody in that little car on the other side of the lot. Oops.
The next morning, I drove up to Paradise as the sun was coming up and then continued to the outskirts of the park for breakfast.
By 11, I was back in Idaho, headed toward Sandpoint...one of my favorite places from when I was a kid traveling with my parents. I have so many happy memories going there every summer: camping on the lake, picking blackberries along the railroad tracks, dinner at some of the coolest restaurants (which are still there, by the way. I ate at some of them:)), the smoky sunsets and the warm water, listening to NPR because it was the only station we could get. I remember driving the hours and hours in my parent's truck, looking out the windows at the trains and dreaming that, when I got older, I'd hop on one of the cars and take it to some small town in the woods and become a waitress at the local diner, and basically just disappear from the face of the earth. I still want to do that, by the way. Those were the days before ipads and headphones and PSP's...god I've missed those days. I spent the afternoon in lake Pend Oreille, floating on my beloved pool float. The water was warm and the water was calm and it was a perfect ending to my trip.
