Gray skies greeted us this morning in Winthrop. After a 7 a.m. breakfast in the hotel’s lobby, we took off eastbound on Highway 20. Our first stop was Conconully State Park, northwest of Omak. It was a relatively small park next to a small lake and nothing too special. There were a group of off-road vehicle riders there shooting the breeze as we drove around the campground. We didn’t stay long in the park, instead driving back to Highway 20 and continuing east. It was a pleasant drive on a scenic road with very little traffic. This is definitely a less-populated corner of the state.
Our next stop was Curlew Lake State Park near the town of Republic. This was a nicer park, again on the shores of a lake. We walked around on a short trail, spotting a Common Loon on the lake and other birds. Three deer crossed our path not far away. After we saw them, we wondered if there was a chance of ticks being in the area. We walked back to a picnic table and before eating lunch, we checked ourselves for ticks. Sure enough, there was one on my pant leg, which I quickly flicked off. We didn’t find any others, so we enjoyed lunch. But just before exiting the park, after I had Dave take a photo of me next to the park sign, I found another one on my pant leg that had apparently come from my walk through tall grass to the sign. I flicked it off too. Yuck!
Highway 20 east of Curlew Lake took us over Sherman Pass at 5575 feet. We saw a few wildfire areas along the way, both older ones and more recent. On the way down from the pass, we were stopped so a large herd of cattle could go by. They were being herded by several men and women on horseback. It was quite the sight and sound experience!
We crossed the Columbia River at Kettle Falls and continued driving into the city of Colville. We decided to stay at the Comfort Inn there and discovered it was a great choice when we heard the registration clerk say there was a free happy hour from 4-6 p.m. in the lobby with beer, wine and snacks. Jackpot!
Dave’s truck had been spattered with cow manure after driving where the cattle herd had been, so we went to a car wash in town to clean it off. Then we picked up some cold dinner things from the grocery store next to the hotel and took advantage of the hotel happy hour offer, which even included my favorite hard apple cider as a drink.
The clouds that had been present all day finally cleared off and the sun came out after we ate our cold dinner. And great news came in the evening when I got a call from a ranger at Alta Lake State Park saying my camera had been turned in to the office there and they were willing to mail it to me at home. A very good day!
Lori's Travels 