8/29/12 -- Into Washington Mountains

The little campground at Cataldo ID was lovely.  I heard some interesting stories from the campground host.  He said:  In spring, a herd of moose come here.  They sleep in the campground and then cross the river to browse over there during the day.

Last spring, one moose cow had twins.  When they were old enough, she took them across the river like all the other moosi.  That was fine until evening when one of her calves absolutely refused to cross the river.


"Moose" River

The campground host said that Mama Moose stayed on the camp side of the river with her other calf but woe betide anyone who came between her and the river where her calf waited on the other side.  She never charged anyone, being a good camper, but she lowered her head and made honking sounds.  Her message was clear: Stay away from my calf, or else.  Everyone respected her space and stayed clear of that invisible umbilical cord that stretched across the flowing water.

The bathrooms were in a little building on a hillock.  The building was also on stilts high enough to require 4 stairs to enter.  It seemed a strange arrangement to us.  When I asked, I learned that the campground floods every spring and every fall with up to 4 feet of water.  Only the bathrooms and the two trailers belonging to the owner and the campground host escape the flood. 

The high water usually lasts a day or two, however, every year a bunch of reporters show up from Coeur d'Alene to write a story a bout the guy that was stranded by the flood.  He said, "It's no big deal to us, just what happens.  They are hunting for a story, that's all."

The next day we headed north to pick up state hwy 20 going west.  We encountered bad smoke in the Coeur d'Alene valley and it only got worse as we drove north.  After an hour or so, we found a MacDonald's and made good use of Karen Z's website on fires.  Thanks, Karenz and thanks, MacDonald's for free wifi.  We learned that the smoke was coming from fires clear down in Oregon.  We checked the Canadian sites too.  Going north looked really good.

The smoke cleared within a few miles and we traveled in blue skies with fluffy cloud bits.  The road up the Pend Oreille River was especially beautiful.  The river is named for a Native American Tribe, also called the Kalispel.  The name "Pend Oreille" comes from the phrase "hangs from ears" because many of the native people of this tribe wore large shell earrings. 

We stopped often to drink in the beauty and to take pictures.

Pend O'Reille River

We drove through beautiful mountains all that day.  At one point, we were only a few miles from the Canadian border.  Wow! 

The people who named the Black Hills hadn't got this far west.  The mountains here are covered with pines that look black in some lights, just like the Black Hills in South Dakota.

Last night, we camped at Lake Leo.  It was lovely.  We slept like babes at 4000+ feet elevation. 

We had a nice view of the lake.  It did make me think of Winston, though.  We miss our little traveling companion.

Winston, the Moose

The reason we thought of Winston is that he was always looking for lily pads, his favorite food next to coffee.  This lake would have made our little buddy purr!


Adina at Lake Leo (with lily pads)

We enjoyed Lake Leo but this morning when we woke up, the temperature had plummeted into the 40's.  We decided to move on and find a warmer place.  The road led down the mountain, so we were encouraged.  There was a WA state park we had our eye on.

The trouble was that somehow, we missed it.  Then we saw a funny little brown sign that said "Starvation Lake."  The name wasn't the most attractive but we decided to give it a chance.

What we found was a lovely camp on a pretty lake.  It's run by the DNR (Department of Natural Resources).  It's primitive, which is why I'm at a MacDonald's in Colville WA, writing this blog.  Everything electronic that we own needed to be charged and we also needed some supplies.

We found a nice handicapped site with a view of the lake and unhooked the trailer.  We'll stay there through the Labor Day weekend.  We want to avoid the holiday traffic.  Besides, we fell in love with iStarvation Lake Campground. 

We were amazed and delighted when we asked about the cost 4 of camping and of wood.  DNR campsites only require an annual pass, purchased for $35.00 wherever fishing licenses are sold.  Once you have that, DNR campgrounds -- and their wood -- are free!  We'll get our pass while we're here in Colville.  The campground host gave us a map of DNR campgrounds and there are quite a few near Vancouver.  Yes! 

We think we just found heaven.

Our Starvation Lake Camp

The table sits under a canopy so I don't even have to tarp the site (against the possibility of rain).  This table is made of 2 inch thick slabs of beautiful pine.  Here's a glimpse of it.  The pine needles came from the tree above us.


Starvation Lake Camp table top with 4 inch pine needles

We asked where the name of the lake came from.  A long time ago in settler times, a bunch of guys went up the mountain hunting.  They needed to lay in a supply of meat for the coming winter.  They were shooting everything in sight when they were caught in an early snowstorm.  They ate all their beans and all their biscuits while they waited for the storm to abate so they could go home.  When all they had was a ton of meat, they figured they were like to starve to death, right there. 

 

A few days later, some young bloods from Colville plowed their way up the mountain and found the stranded hunters.  They fed the fellows and took them down the mountain.

 

Nobody died.  Nobody starved.  Still, the name stuck.  Go figure.

 

We're right near the Pend Oreille Wildlife Refuge, laced with trails and lookouts.  We'll be exploring for the next few days.  Don't worry, I'll have lots of new pictures for the next blog!