Enjoying Paradise While We Can

It was another hot Sunday, filled with too many yellow jackets and bald faced hornets to go find huckleberries, so mid-afternoon we decided to go for a drive. Earlier in the day, I had mentioned a drive around the small area lakes and along the Coeur d'Alene River and Lake, because we've only done that drive once and we didn't take the time to enjoy it. By the time we got out of here it was almost 4:00 and I told Thane that we didn't have enough time to do the whole drive. He assured me that four and a half hours of daylight would be plenty. We started our lake tour at Rose Lake, well actually we started our lake tour at Radiant Lake in Rathdrum, the new man made lake, equipped with fountains at each end. Somehow, it's just not as impressive to me as a real lake. Back to the drive-it was a beautiful afternoon and the lakes glimmered as the sunshine danced across the water. We drove back a few miles to the lakes that weren't right along the road and enjoyed the peace and quiet in those less populated areas.

We saw so many neat old farms and expansive meadows of gold, and wonder how long they will survive before paradise is paved and housing developments ruin the beautiful area. Next to the one old farm, a new road is punched in and we are sure there will be new homes popped up all over the beautiful rolling meadow next time we take this drive.

Thane found an old mercantile that is for sale and thought it would be a neat investment if we could afford it, but we can't. It is a neat old place and I'm sure it has quite the history since it was built in 1912. Not far from the old mercantile, we saw an osprey on a pole with a fish that was bigger than he was! He looked very full, but was not leaving his prize catch, so he just sat down on top of it to guard it from the gulls below who seemed very interested in his dinner.

We arrived in Harrison at 7:30, and I told Thane I didn't think we were going to get to enjoy the second half of our drive like we did the first, because darkness was quickly approaching. Being ever the optimist, or not wanting to be wrong, he was sure we would get around the lake before dark. We stopped at Bell's Bay, but that was the last stop we made because the sun had set by the time we left and we had quite a drive to go yet, on a very narrow, windy road.

We lost track of how many deer we saw, but enjoyed watching each one. We got to see a hen turkey with seven babies scurry across a field, and later when we came back from Bells Bay, they were walking the old fence while several deer stood in front of them in the old coral. I loved seeing the old farms and buildings and enjoying the beauty all around us. I hope and pray it stays that way, but deep in my heart I know it's only a matter of time until this special section of Idaho is ruined, too, filled up with cookie cutter houses that unlike the homes that proceeded them, have no character or charm. It was a good drive, and I look forward to finishing the second half sometime soon!