July 12, 2011
I enjoyed an awesome roadtrip over the weekend. Started out in Saint Regis, Montna and then headed to Plains, Montana. Bought supplies at the local Ace hardware and proceeded towards Thompson Falls, Montana to explore the Thompson River route to Happy Inn.
Somewhere along the way we made a wrong turn. Ended up on a secondary road with spectacular scenery. Saw a dozen or more spots that I would love to dredge. Some times the best adventures are those when the best plan is "no plan".
The unplanned detour took almost four hours. We finally found a black top road that looked familiar. Sure enough, it brought us back to Wildhorse Plains. Filled up on gas and back up the road to Thompson Falls connecting to Highway 56 North, then Highway 95 North; headed for my childhood home in Eastport, Idaho. Our journey took us up the Yaak River, an area where my father worked as a logger years ago.
The high mountain wild flowers offered waves of brilliant color against the verdent forest backdrop.
We encountered daisies, mountain mallow, buttercups, Indian Paint brush and the Idaho State Flower, the Syringa bush.
The Cabinet Mountains of Northern Idaho provide plenty of wildlife viewing opportunities. Home to black bear, grizzley bear, mountain sheep, elk, deer, cougar and wolves, eagles and osprey, the dense forest invites the adventerous explorer.
We hiked in to Copper Falls. The trail head is less than a mile from Eastport and the United States/Canadian border. The trail was rather steep and agressive, but more than worth the effort. The falls are several hundred feet high, crashing down the face of the mountain to fall into a moss draped glen. The pool at the base of the falls flows down the mountain and connects to the Moyie River. Hidden by a dense wall of giant cedar trees, Cooper Falls is jaw-dropping beautiful.
Rare tiger lilies danced in patches of dappled sunlight.
We returned to Saint Regis via Bonners Ferry, Sandpoint and Coeur d Alene, Idaho. A rather long trip but I enjoyed every minute of the trip.
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