It was sunny in Colville this morning while we ate the hotel’s breakfast and got underway. We saw a group of six Harley Davidson motorcycle riders in the breakfast room too, talking about their day of riding ahead. Our destination was northeast from Colville to one of the most remote parks, Crawford State Park, very close to the Canadian border.
Leaving the hotel about 8:30 a.m., we drove north and first visited a place along the Pend Oreille River called Peewee Falls near Boundary Dam. It was a very peaceful and pretty place about 90 minutes away that we had all to ourselves. Not very many people in this part of Washington. While we were at the falls, we saw a bird that was new to both of us, a Red-naped Sapsucker.
We then backtracked a little bit, driving through the small town of Metaline Falls to get to Crawford State Park. The weather was cloudy by then, but temperatures were still pleasant, in the 60s. In the park, we learned from a ranger where the trailhead was for a half-mile trail to the Canadian border. I wanted to do that short hike and it took us through the forest to the border, marked by a sign.
The ranger also told us that both black and grizzly bears are seen in the park, as well as cougars, elk and moose, so she recommended that we make noise as we walked so they would hear us and stay away. Dave and I talked during the entire hike to insure we were heard by any and all wildlife.
The clouds looked somewhat threatening by the time we returned from the hike, so we chose to eat our picnic lunch in the truck. There were mosquitoes that helped us make that decision too. We stayed in the park after lunch for the experience we had reserved two months prior: a free tour of the park’s Gardner Cave, which was set for 2 p.m.
The lady ranger, Sandy, who we had talked to before, led our one-hour tour. There were maybe 10 other people taking it at the same time. She gave us some background about the discovery and initial use of the cave, then she led us down into it.
We walked down metal stairs and walkways into the well-lit cave while Sandy provided very interesting geological, historical and biological information about it. When we had walked a ways and were at the end of the walkway, she turned out the lights for a few minutes so we could experience total blackness, then she turned on a black light flashlight so we could see what the various types of rock and other materials in the cave looked like in that light. It was all quite interesting and a great tour, especially for free.
After the tour ended around 3 p.m. Dave and I decided it would be best to head back to the Comfort Inn in Colville, which we had liked, rather than drive a longer distance toward Spokane and perhaps end up in some small town along the way that didn’t have a decent hotel. And it was raining steadily. So we returned on wide open Highway 20 to Colville, after which we again enjoyed the hotel’s free happy hour and a picnic dinner from the grocery store next door.
Lori's Travels 