As I get the hang of blogging again I remember it being a lot of fun and a lot of work. So I am going to work harder at being brief and combine a couple of days together. You remember “the harder I work the behinder I get”? -- it’s kind of like that.
One great benefit of taking the time to document our travels is that I can refer to them later. So on we go ...
Day 3
We intended to get up and leave Kellogg, Idaho by 7:30 in the morning but we ended up getting underway to our next AirBnB by about 9:00. While en route to Columbia Falls, we had stops along the way at Flathead Lake Alpine Coaster and then Wayfarer State Park.
Flathead Lake Alpine Coaster
The boys each had three rides and Kelly and I had one apiece. It was another fun event after a long morning drive. While there we had a picnic lunch then made our way to the next stop.
Wayfarer State Park
Check in wasn’t until 4 PM so we had time for the buys to get in the water and get some energy out. They found a couple of logs they wrestled around with and then it was time to head into Columbia Falls.
Our accommodations are great and we quickly unpacked and put our feet up for a few minutes. Then off to downtown Columbia Falls.
That night we had dinner at the Gunsight Saloon. It was pretty uneventful until just before we got ready to leave. They have music 7 nights a week and we listened to Todd Cowart for a while. Then Jon said, “I think I heard this guy 15-16 years ago in Hilton Head. After he gets done with this song I am going to talk to him and find out."
Sure enough! It kind of blew them both away. Turns out it was 2004. They were both amazed and had a good chuckle about it.
Small world! That definitely will be one of the more memorable moments of this vacation.
We went back to the AirBnB and enjoyed the rest of the evening. As I mentioned this place is quite a bit larger than the last one we had.
At the far end of the basement area is a shuffleboard table which we have used for hours.
One thing we have been on the lookout for is wildlife. Thus far it has been a little disappointing although we have daily visitors near our place that are very comfortable to lay down in the long grass of just walk around the yard.
Day 4
The next day we were in no rush and the only thing on our agenda was a hike on the Whitefish Trail at the Lion Mountain Trailhead.
We left and arrived about mid morning on another day of nice weather.
Kelly, Jon and the boys continued on after Pam and took a shorter route back to the parking lot.
They went to the top of Lion Mountain and were rewarded with a pretty view.
Those were most of the highlights from the last couple of days. Thanks for taking a look at the Roadrunner Chronicles!
Yesterday we had “a day of recovery” to get over our jet lag. We hung around the area in Kellogg, ID.
Our destination is Bozeman, Montana for our four days with family and extended family and this is the sight-seeing part of our trip.
To recap we flew in to Spokane Washington on Friday and are making our way east for a few days before the reunion. Meanwhile we get to see some great sights, interesting places and are glad to enjoy beautiful weather which is forecast to continue.
On Sunday we left Kellogg ID for Columbia Falls, Montana and had plans to check out things there and along the way.
The little town of Kellogg, ID (pop 2230) has some things going for it. It is another example of seeing a great little town we never heard of that has a lot of personality. It is near the Silver Mountain Recreation Area and we can see the ski resort chair lifts going up the mountain from our back yard.
This is the view from the hot tub at our AirBnB in the foreground to the mountain and tiny gondola going up the mountain in the distance. The back of the garage is painted with “Aloha Idaho”. When we first arrived I saw the front door with “Aloha” on it. I messaged our host and asked the significance of Aloha here in Idaho and she said that is her moniker as a real estate person in the area because she lived there for the last 10 years before moving here. It seems a little out of place but it is memorable so I guess that is the point.
Our main activity for the day was our much anticipated trip to a gold mine. Back in the 1880 and 1890 this place was ripe with miners and the hunt for silver and gold was prime.
The Crystal Gold Mine was only three miles away and very convenient to get to.
It was not very crowded and we were very pleasantly surprised how well the experience turned out. Before the tour of the gold mine, we had 30 minutes or so to pan for gold. Our docent showed the boys the art of panning.
They didn’t strike it rich this time but it was fun sifting through the sand and they got a few souvenir gems.
Next was the tour of the Crystal Gold Mine and the first thing we had to do was pick out hard hats. In our group shot below you can see the names on the hats which was kind of fun.
The tour was approximately 900 feet underground and took about 40 minutes. One great thing about it was that the walking path over the ore cart rails was all concrete. It was damp in places but the concrete made it very good walking.
Once again, our docent was very well versed. I found a succinct version of most of his key points on the internet:
Gold extraction at Crystal Gold Mine
The Crystal Gold Mine in Kellogg, Idaho, operated as a hard rock mine during the 1880s, focusing on a gold-bearing quartz vein. The methods used at the time were rudimentary compared to modern practices and involved considerable manual labor and harsh conditions.
Mining the quartz
Miners drilled into the rock by hand using tools like "Hand Steels," "Single Jacks," and "Double Jacks" (types of hammers).
They worked by candlelight and followed the quartz vein, which was often identified by its reflective properties compared to the surrounding rock.
When necessary, they might have used small amounts of dynamite or scaling (chipping away at the rock) to access the quartz.
The extracted quartz was then brought to the surface, likely using mine cars on tracks, an advanced feature for the time period.
We actually could see some gold embedded in quartz on this particular lighted glass:
It was 73 degrees up top outside and only 53 degrees inside the mine tunnel.
Had to take a group picture.
After our tour we found a picnic table and had lunch.
In fact we usually make it a habit every day to pack a lunch, whether we are at a specific place or just driving.
After lunch, the boys took their turns at the shooting range. They each got 100 BB pellets and the goal was to hit the target so none of the red star was showing.
They both did about the same and left tiny spots of red on the target so no prize this time. But they had fun.
Our next event was to go back to our place and have some serious hang out/nap time to get over the jet lag. I spent longer that usual napping on a blanket in the back yard. It was great. Everyone else had some quiet time inside. Afterward I walked three blocks to the “downturn” area that had been blocked off for the annual 3on3 basketball tournament.
Pam and I first learned about 3on3 basketball in 2011 when we had a Warner Bros and Wives Reunion in Spokane. Spokane hosts an annual “Hoopfest” and hundreds of teams from all over participate each year. Who knew? They advertise as the “Largest 3on3 basketball tournament on earth” 3000 volunteers? it is huge!
In Kellogg, their version is much smaller but still entertaining and fun to watch. I got to watch the dunk
http://www.silverhoops3on3.com contest. Bouncy Ben came out the winner this time. I guess he has done this before and well known.
On the next block I saw The Silver Valley Veteran’s Memorial was very impressed.
Apparently a group of regular coffee drinkers had been talking for years about 1st Lt Frank Reasoner (a local guy) whom they felt was never properly recognized for his service and ultimately giving his life during the Viet Nam War.
The memorial expanded to include all veterans from the local area who have served and were honorably discharged. One thing I liked was that each person gets a 8” x 10” plaque which is placed on the inside of the wall (shown above) that surrounds the memorial.
Later, we had time to wander around another town nearby. Wallace is smaller but seems to have more shops and restaurants.
It again was a beautiful evening and we enjoyed a walk about town. One thing we have noticed in these parts are the huge and magnificent flower hanging baskets.
We ended up for dinner at The Fainting Goat restaurant which had something for everyone:
- bison sliders
-mountain nachos
- mountain man pizza
- mac and cheese
- butter noodles
With that, we returned to our house and the boys jumped in the hot tub and we had a quiet everning.
Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!
This has been at least two years in the making, maybe longer. We are going to spend a few days with my three brothers and wives, their children and then grandchildren. All in all there will be 35 (22 adults and 13 kids). We are scattered out over the midwest, southwest and the east coast and the decision was reached to converge on Bozeman Montana for a few days together. Everyone has made their own accommodations (AirBnB, etc) and some families will be staying together at different places together.
There is a lot to do in that area with Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park good day trips from Bozeman. In our case, we are traveling with daughter Kelly, son-in-law Jonathan and grandsons Brooks and Harrison.
We have had numerous reunions over with brothers and wives over the years. We all like each other, respect each other and love our time together. During our RV days (2009-2019) we got together a few times:https://warnerrvnews.blogspot.com/search?q=Reunion. This link shows two times but I’m sure there were others.
I have often referred to this blog from our RV days when we talk about seeing something and we don’t quite remember when we were there. The Roadrunner Chronicles is helpful because I can do a “search” and sure enough there it is.
Some quick blog searches were useful though not perfect.
Serious planning has been underway since the end of last year and Kelly has done a great job of pulling it all together and at the same time everyone has the leeway to travel to Bozeman and have a little vacation around our time in Bozeman.
Yesterday was day one for us and I asked the boys and Jon about highlights, some of which are included in the recap below:
This has been the easiest trip for Pam and me for some time. We will be gone 11 days with 4-5 actual reunion days in Bozeman. Jon and Kelly have done all the planning and scheduling and all we’ve had to do is pay our share and show up.
Jon found it expensive to fly into Bozeman so we went farther west -- to Spokane, Washington. We had a Southwest Airlines flight with a stop over in Denver. Then we rented a Ford Expedition and drove to Kellogg, ID.
Here some highlights from Day 1:
- Baggage check in and boarding pass at the Southwest kiosk was a breeze. Then we went through the TSA pre-check line, showed our military IDs and it was quick and smooth.
- Southwest Flight to Denver was almost 4 hours but it seemed to go by quickly. We were all able to sit near each other in two rows of three. It was good we each brought sandwiches because the pretzel snacks were nice but not enough for the flight.We had 1 hour 45 min layover in Denver which was plenty to time to grab some chicken tenders, a beer and some fries. Then on to Spokane for a short lest-than two hour flight
- In Spokane we were able to secure the vehicle that was reserved. Sometimes that doesn’t happen. But its did this time and it was great. The Ford Expedition was new, with lots of creature . There was plenty of room for six and suitcases and very comfortable. By then we were realizing we were on the Pacific Daylight Savings time zone and were beginning to feel it. We arrived at our AirBnB at about 8:30 Virginia time.
- Another highlight was the drive from Spokane to Kellogg. Beautiful -- just gorgeous. It was a very pretty afternoon and evening and we say some beautiful sights along the way.
- One such sight was along I-90 where we were able to see some of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Nothing like a great scenic drive to enjoy.
- Our AirBnB: has plenty of bedrooms and completely adequate but nothing fancy. We wanted to get out of Spokane and head east an hour or so. It worked out fine as was very reasonably priced. We have never been to Kellogg Idaho. It’s another gem in small town America.
It’s fun to blog again but a little short update has taken hours because I am so rusty. It’s been a while. More tomorrow to document our vacation and leading up to our extended family reunion. Until then, thanks for checking in on another edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles.
