I know...I know its not even Halloween or Thanksgiving yet but I can`t get my mind off Christmas. Just the thought of listening to the "delightful" Brenda Lee Christmas album, eating shortbread cookies, and drinking hot cocoa...makes me so happy. Plus there are tons of Christmas decor in every store that I go to. So with that said...I am so excited to get started on this December Daily album and work on Christmas stuff at Cheri`s craft party!! Today I have been pulling out all my fun Christmas cards, papers, and embellishments. Is it November 5th yet?
We have been back from vacation for about a week and it is great to be home. It is true...you don`t appreciate where live until you leave for awhile then come back. I love greetings from our puppy and her sweet "paw" handshakes when she wants a treat. I love the harvest in the garden and home-cooked meals. I love walkin` through our little pumpkin patch and helping Papa pick the apples in the orchard. I love our beautiful flowers by the house and the lake view in the back yard. And I especially LOVE the warmth in my heart for my loving family, faithful friends, and our little cozy blue house.
We really enjoyed staying at this old time motel in Kooskia. The owner was very warm and welcoming. The room was actually quite large and included a small fridge with a microwave. It was very clean and decorated in Old West decor. We did have a hard time figuring out the Dish TV and it was quite comical (the owner came over to help us). I loved the comfy beds and soft blankets. Nana made friends with the owner`s dog named Sprite. At first, she didn`t seem to like me and she barked at me. When I started packing the car, she came over to me and seemed to be interested in what I was doing (or was she just happy to see me leaving???).
We finally made it to the Dog Bark Park in Cottonwood, Idaho. (Papa had some difficulty pronouncing that. It was a little tongue twister.) This place is also a B&B and you can spend the night inside the big dog. The dog was built by the hotel owners and they told us it took 4 years to build because of weather conditions. The downstairs has a queen bed and the upstairs has two twin beds. For breakfast, the owners make fresh baked goods. They also have a cute gift shop where they sell their carved wooden goods. They had a black lab carving that reminded us of Jenna. We really do miss our doggy and everyone at home.
We headed to Coeur D Alene on Highway 95. This is our first time on this highway and it was a pleasant drive through farmlands and Idaho hills. It brought us to the south part of Lake Coeur D Alene. We could see all of the marina and the city shoreline. It was a very beautiful view of the lake. Now we are going to order some Chinese food, stay & relax in this city then head for home tomorrow. We praise God for our wonderful vacation and all that we got to experience.
After leaving Butte, we stopped at small town called Deer Lodge. Nana was very happy to find a prison museum that we could visit. I think Nana is as obsessed with visiting prisons as Papa is at watching the tv show "Cops". The prison is a non working prison that was shutdown in the 70s. The hole (a place that was designated for prisoners that were misbehaving inside the prison) was a small cell that did not have any light except from the little peep hole on the door. It had just a bed and a bucket for waste. The prisoners that stayed in the hole were fed bread and water. The prisoner usually stayed up to 20 days in the hole. I felt that place and the tunnel to be very creepy. The tunnel was used by the guards to secretly listen to the prisoner`s conversations and to watch them without being noticed. After visiting the prison museum, Papa was glad to visit an auto museum. Papa and Nana loved the old 57` Chevys. My favorite was the 71` Corvette. When we finished visiting at the museums, we headed to the beagle hotel in Idaho. We traveled Highway 12 - the Lewis & Clark Trail through Lolo Pass. The land was full of very tall colorful trees, deer, raging river waters, and many plants. I enjoyed seeing all the beautiful blue elderberry bushes. We landed in Kooskia, Idaho.
Today we got a late start and decided to not travel for very long. We began our day in Billings and have landed in Butte (distance is about 230 miles). It was nice to take it slow, make several stops and just enjoy Montana`s big sky country.
