For our final morning in Spokane, we rode Iller creek mountain bike trails, which included the Rocks of Sharon, just cool!
The biking included plenty of climbing and some water to clean off sounded great. We didn't see any obvious good swimming spots nearby, but only a short hour away was Coeur D'Alene city park and beach - pretty busy on a hot day! But still, a nice pretty beach to cool off and hang out for a while.
Back on the freeway, with only a little stop/slowdown going through a pass. We took a short break in St. Regis - there is a little trout aquarium in the travel center - interesting, and free, wouldn't recommend going out of the way to see it but worth a stop if you happen to be on I-90 in western Montana. With going into a new time zone, it was suddenly time to think about a place to sleep - we settled on a rest area for the night and enjoyed an easy wrap, sandwich, chips and salsa dinner. The check engine light had come on in the last half hour of driving and Rudy took a little time trying to do a little trouble shooting, but planned to get the code read in the morning once we got into Missoula. Another episode of Game of Thrones, then a relatively early bedtime. The rest area was noisier than expected with semi traffic, I think this would be my last choice for sleeping options, at least so far!
July 27:
Rudy borrowed a code reader from an auto parts store and nothing came up - just too much slow driving over the pass on a hot day? Now in Missoula, we made our way to Rattlesnake Creek for biking - nice trails, and lots of people! The parking lot was full, but the trails didn't seem crowded. Later in the day, there were less people, they were just getting out before the temps crept into the 90s. Rudy did an awesome loop including summiting Sheep Mountain.
During his 4 hour ride, Leslie putzed on the bike on the 'easier' trails a bit, then took a dip in Rattlesnake Creek, observing some flowers, berries, and watching a willow flycatcher flit around.
Spent some time cleaning up in the van a bit (for being out for almost a month, really wasn't too dusty!), and chatting with van admirers in the parking lot, including a couple from MN! Later in the afternoon, our Missoula friends, Christi and Ethan met us for a little run - an 'easy' one for them, but still a challenging amount of climbing for me (Rudy did his own shorter run). Another dip in Rattlesnake Creek, a quick stop at the 'Good Food Store' for awesome hot and salad bar items for dinner, a bit of visiting with our hosts, then a quieter night's sleep - ahhhh!
July 28:
A laid back morning with a short, easy paved run for Leslie, plus some strength and yoga in the sunny yard, and then food shopping! Really nothing too exciting, but going before eating lunch probably encouraged some 'treats' like a browned butter chocolate bar, teecinno, gelato...
The fun for the afternoon was a mountain bike ride around Mount Sentinel with Christi and Ethan - cool woods and hills and such, on a mix of paths, roads, double track and single track - but I failed to take pictures - just trying to keep up!
The Indian Grill for dinner was probably the most authentic Indian we have had - you pick either veggie or meat and get a full meal including naan and dessert - no indecisiveness over a long menu! Delicious and just the right amount (at least after a 24 mile bike ride!), of course, I neglected to take pictures - still need to work on that!
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