Bits and Pieces - Another Summer Has Passed

We are wrapping up our summer here at Farragut State Park in Idaho and had some additional pictures.

 

In June the state park offered a free class called "Intro to Disc Golf". We thought that would be a great way to learn the basics, since we had never tried this sport. We learned that the disc is thrown differently than a normal Frisbee. The rules, however, are similar to golf.

Kurt getting private lesson.

This baby Dark-Eyed Junco jumped
out of his nest in the courtyard of the Brig.

One day in July we visited the Bird Aviation Museum and Invention Center in the small town of Sagle, ID. This museum has a rare collection of restored vintage flying aircraft. Dr. Forrest Bird, who pioneered the medical respiratory industry, initiated the museum. Flying and collecting planes were his passion.



Staggerwing Aircraft

Some of The Large Collection

About 60 miles west of here and north of Mt. Spokane, is a small farming community called Greenbluff, Washington. There are numerous orchards filled with cherries, peaches, apples, and pears. In July, we picked our own Rainer Cherries. We also picked up some early peaches. We loved the peaches so much, we drove back a week later to purchase a case of Coral Star Peaches. We have been out to the orchards three times now, with our last visit buying a case of apples and another case of peaches.

We were eating them as we picked them.

The cherries were at the end of the season,
but still managed to find some good ones.



August 21 was the date of the Solar Eclipse. Here in the north Idaho, we got to enjoy 92% coverage.

On one of our days off we took a tour of the Buck Knife Factory. Hoyt Buck was looking for a better way to temper steel so it would hold an edge longer. His unique approach produced the first Buck Knife in 1902. Hoyt made each knife by hand, using worn-out file blades as raw material. The factory is now run by the fourth generation.

Located right here in Post Falls, Idaho

Display of the specialty knives
in the Buck Museum.

Here we are at our desk in the
Museum at the Brig.
We have enjoyed our summer here
and look forward to coming back next year.

A Week in The Canadian Rockies

Our last day of volunteering at Farragut State Park was Saturday, September 2, so we scheduled a week at a time-share condo in Panorama near Invermere, British Columbia, for the week of September 3rd. Panorama is located on the west side of the Canadian Rockies.

 

There are four Canadian National Parks in the Canadian Rockies UNESCO World Heritage Site. The four national parks included are Banff, Jasper, Yoho, and Kootenay. We also visited two additional Canadian National Parks, Mount Revelstoke and Glacier (not to be confused with the US Glacier National Park or the Canadian Waterton Lakes National Park, both of which we visited in July).

 

As an added bonus, since 2017 is the 150th anniversary of Canada's birth, all the national parks are free to the public.  

Our Home Base - Panorama Ski Resort

Two Bedroom and Two Bath Unit

Kootenay National Park

Day Trip to Kootenay NP
Stop at Numa Creek 

Bridge Along Paint Pots Hike

The iron-rich mineral springs stain the
surrounding earth red.

One of the three Paint Pots
emerald green pools.

Marble Canyon Trail

Water Cascades Through Narrow
Limestone Marble Canyon

Criss-cross the Narrow Gorge
along Marble Canyon Trail

Sighting of a Mother Moose and
Calf on our Drive "Home"

Yoho National Park

Natural Bridge

Kicking Horse River Cascades
Under the Natural Bridge

Hike to Takakkaw Falls
Takakkaw means "It is Magnificent"
in the Cree Language.

The 840 foot falls is
feed by a massive ice field.

Cave and Basin National

Historic Site in

Banff, Alberta

Visitor Center of Canada's
First National Park,
Born in 1885

Underground Cave and Hot Spring

Outdoor Hot Spring

Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

Banff National Park

We took this exceptional hike in 2003 while
camping here.

Rather than hiking along the rim of
the canyon, a catwalk leads through the
depths of Johnston Canyon.

Johnston Canyon Lower Falls are accessed
through a narrow rock tunnel at the
end of the trail.

Mount Revelstoke National Park

Giant Cedars Nature Trail through
the Cedar-Hemlock Forest

Nels Nelson Historic Ski Jump
at the Base of Mount Revelstoke  

In February 1916, Nels Nelsen broke the
world record by jumping 183 feet
on the Revelstoke ski jump.

We followed a paved road to the
historic fire lookout at the
summit of Mount Revelstoke.

Numerous forest fires burn
throughout drought ravaged
British Columbia.

Waterton Lakes National Park

Monday, July 31, we drove into Alberta, Canada, to tour Waterton Lakes National Park which is adjacent to the north boundary of Glacier National Park.

Waterton Lakes is 195 square miles.

Prince of Wales Hotel, Built in 1926 on
the Shore of Upper Waterton Lake

We enjoyed a delicious lunch of Shepherd's Pie
at the Hotel.
This traditional English dish is made with
ground beef and lamb, vegetables and
topped with whipped potatoes.

A Hike Along the Red Rock Canyon
at End of Red Rock Parkway

Cameron Lake at the end of Akamina Parkway

Bighorn Sheep along the Akamina Parkway

Boarding the "International", Built in 1927,
for a Shoreline Cruise of
Upper Waterton Lake

Sitting on the Top Deck for Outstanding Views

We stopped at Goats Haunt deep
in Glacier NP, Montana.
This is actually a port of entry, with customs agents,
and can only be reached by water or hike.