Taking a vaca from the vaca ... Back to CO we go!

Due to the never-ending smoke from the fires in Washington we decided to take a hiatus from the trip until it clears (hopefully!) since it is on our route & will affect our travels. We drove from Sandpoint to Spokane and did a quick overnight before jumping on the plane on Thursday morning back to Denver. We spent 2 days in Denver taking care of things at the rental properties (weeding, gardening, cleaning, chores, etc etc) and then headed up to Aspen on Saturday to see Michael's family and surprise his mom for her birthday! Aspen is beautiful right now and we had a nice day today relaxing at the house and then went on a nice hike. We will stay up here for a while and cross our fingers for the smoke to clear as soon as possible and then we will fly back to Spokane and resume the trip. While we were sad to leave the trip it sure is nice to be with family and in a house again! I made a yummy home cooked dinner on Thursday night and then some wonderful friends invited us over for an amazing dinner on Friday night. There is nothing like home cooked meals when you are on the road non-stop! We will also get to celebrate Michael's birthday with his family on Thursday in Aspen!!!

Flying into Seattle!

Our flowers blooming away at home!

My home cooked meal- Steak, baked potatoes, asparagus, & roasted tomatoes- yum!!!

Gorgeous day & hike in Aspen

A few days in Sandpoint, ID

We stayed 3 nights and Sandpoint and despite the smoky haze we still had a great time and loved it! It's a cute little town on the HUGE Pend Oreille Lake with lots of cute little stores and yummy restaurants. We spent the days exploring the lake on the jet ski and evenings trying out the local cuisine and had several delicious meals that did not help our waistlines...LOL! Sandpoint is definitely a place that we will return to when the skies are blue and the air is clean!

Into Smoky Idaho We Go...

We arrived in Idaho last night and it sure is smoky here too! This is due to the fires in Washington now as opposed to the ones in Glacier that we had to deal with in Montana. However it is still pretty so we are not letting it get us down! We are staying in Sandpoint for a few days which is a really cute little town on the Pend Oreille Lake. The lake is the biggest in Idaho- 43 miles long! It's surrounded by 3 mountain ranges- the Selkirk, the Bitterroot, and the Cabinet. In 2011 Sandpoint was rated the Most Beautiful Small Town in America by Rand McNally & USA Today! If only we could see it through the smoky haze!

Kootenai Falls

We stopped at Kootenai Falls en route to Sandpoint. Kootenai Falls is the largest undammed falls in Montana and is a popular tourist attraction. There is a short hike to the unbelievable view as well as a swinging bridge that goes over the river. The falls and surrounding areas are considered sacred to the Kootenai Indians whose ancestors were the first to inhabit this area.

Last days in Whitefish & Marion, MT

After almost a week in Whitefish we decided it was time to move on... we really loved it there and can't wait to go back and ski this winter hopefully! We had a great last dinner at Tupelo Grille- a southern/NOLA style restaurant that is one of the best places in town. We cooked most nights but had to try some dining out in Whitefish! Another highlight was the famous huckleberry ice cream... a must try in Montana and the best place to get it from is the ice cream store Sweet Peaks. Yum! We will start our diets someday! 

We originally were planning to stay in Libby, MT on the way to Sandpoint, ID but decided to stay over in Marion, MT at McGregor Lake which is near where Michael went to camp when he was younger. The only cabin that they had available had electricity but no water (so no toilets, sinks, or showers!!!) But we did have our own porta-potti outside the cabin! LOL! It was right on the lake and we had our own little dock that Michael was excited to park the jetski at! There was a cute little restaurant that we had dinner and breakfast at...soon we will do some real camping again but this was pretty close in my opinion!!!