Lovely day at the Kootenai Wildlife Refuge

~~~Nice home for the birds~~~

The Kootenai Wildlife Refuge northwest of Bonners Ferry lures us several times a year.

With a spectacular day yesterday, we took cameras, bikes, dogs and ourselves on a trip through the refuge as well as on a short hike to nearby Myrtle Falls.

We found that leading dogs on leashes while riding bikes is easier said than done. Sometimes dogs figure out how to deleash themselves by slipping out of their collars. That happened a time or two.

My sister Barbara found that carrying her huge camera bag, wearing her winter coat and leading her dog Pita alongside her bike is challenging, to say the least.

We may not take dogs again when we go on our biking adventures, but the doggies did have a great time, just like the rest of us.

I'm guessing, between Annie, Barbara, Laurie and me, at least 500 pictures were taken yesterday.

Annie brought "Precious," her new high-tech, large frame digital camera and her big honkin' telephoto lens. I'll be anxious to see her photos, and you can be sure I'll let you know when they're up on her Flickr account.

Laurie had the time of her life because she received a 35 mm digital camera for her birthday. She was like a kid in a candy store with that camera.

It was a pleasant, somewhat relaxing and beautiful afternoon, topped off by some great pizza at Second Avenue. Later, Willie, Debbie and Debbie's friends joined us after their drive to Canada.

Yesterday was, indeed, one of those treasured days that remind us why we love living in North Idaho. And, after the last couple of weeks' worth of miserable wet weather and mud, it was more than welcome.