On The Meandering Road: June 9, 2015 - Coeur d'Alene, ID to Clinton, MT

While waking Edith up Erwin informed her that the sky was already bright at 4 am. She slept through it just fine, but it bothered Erwin a bit, but he managed to go back to sleep for a couple more hours.

Yes, it was really beautiful outside There were thin veiled clouds. Temperature was 73˚.

Sonia, the ranch owner, wanted some of Edith's pictures that she took during the tour yesterday, so Edith emailed few of them to her. Edith went out and shot some more before leaving. While she was doing that Erwin went to the owners' house to thank them for the tour and letting us spend the night at their ranch. Sonia gave Erwin a carton of fresh brown eggs that she collected from her chickens. (www.sevenstarsalpacaranch.com)

If and when any of you are visiting Coeur d'Alene be sure to find time to drive up to the ranch and go on a tour with Sonia. You will find it enjoyable because you will be up close to the animals in the pen. Sonia is a very gracious lady and her husband Andy was very helpful. They do have a very lovely ranch with a great view! We will definitely go back there when we are in the area.

Alpacas watching passerby and her dog

100 year old house now converted into a guest cottage and also used as a Bed and Breakfast Inn.

Gift Shop at 7 Stars Alpaca Ranch

After the coffee break we set out of the ranch at 8:15 am. Got on Yellowstone Trail Road and the road to I-90 was twisty and very hairy, but offered great view of the lake.

Couer d'Alene Lake

Now on I-90 going East. Next stop is Kellogg, ID. Exit 50 to get on N Hill Road to check out one roadside attraction. The picture that was shown on Roadside America app is not there any more. There was only one at the corner in front of the furniture store. Biplane scrap metal sculpture. Across the street old mining cars lined up.

Not far from the town is a 13-foot-tall metal miner. It memorializes the 91 miners who lost their lives in the Sunshine Mine disaster on May 2, 1972. It was made by Ken Lonn, a former shift boss at the mine.

Alvin or Chip, the cute chipmunk, made its presence not far from the statue

Back to I-90 E again, then exit 61 to Wallace, ID. Parked the LH at a large parking lot across the street from Chamber of Commerce. Toured the exhibit on the property.

Sunshine Mine Happy Family Statuenext to the Wallace Idaho Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center

We drove into the town of Wallace, parked and walked around. Many stores were closed. We found few attractions. There was a RV park at the outskirt of the town and we went in to check it out and got information. On way out we stopped at Harvest Foods to get a small bottle of lemon juice.

The "Probalistic Center of the Universe" is located at the intersection of
Bank and Sixth Streets in historic downtown Wallace, Idaho.

Wallace Main Street

At one exit we recognized a Penske truck with a red convertible car on the dolly going past us. There was a white car leading in the front. They stayed at the guest cottage at 7 Stars Alpaca Ranch last night. Cool!!!

Back to I-90 E again.. Interstate construction few miles. Entered Montana state line at 1:45 pm.. Nice drive. More clouds appeared...

It started to rain after we left Missoula. Pulled into parking area stop before Drummond, MT, so Erwin can get out to stretch his legs and walk a bit.

We decided to camp out at Beavertail Hill State Park in Clinton, MT. There are 28 campsites and are available on a first-come first-serve basis. Self-registration at the kiosk, but there were campground hosts on site if there are questions and/or concerns.

The fee for one night is $15 for MT residents or Seniors. We got the site #16.

Edith fixed taboulee (Arabic salad), then we had banana nut bread (Keri made it) for dessert.

Erwin spent the rest of the evening reading a Nicholas Spark book while Edith went out for photoshooting. She came back in, edited some pictures. She went out again when Erwin told her about the gorgeous sunset. Now we know why we adopted Montana as our home state because of the Big Sky. Clouds are so so different and colorful.

Edith went out for a short hike inside the campground. It was very cool and pleasant and it felt so good.

30 Minutes after the sunset the civil colors were very vibrant and dramatic! The shapes and colors of the clouds. Edith was a happy camper, so she can capture awesome shots of it