WET-Day Wonders

What to do on yet another rainy, yucky day!  Watch it rain.  That's pretty much what Bill and I did for several hours yesterday, only we watched it rain in Bonner County and in Boundary County.

Seemed like a day to go look at the problems the rain has caused in our county to the north. So, we loaded up in the pickup, turned the radio station to full coverage of yesterday's health-care vote--or not--and headed north.

In the White House press briefing, spokesman Shawn Spicer kept recycling the same message about how the President had "left everything on the field" in pushing for the bill and how "you can't make people vote a certain way" when we pulled out of the driveway. 

We saw lots of water in lots of fields while driving HWY 95, and then we had to stop where the road is basically one-way due to a huge mud slide which nearly wiped out a family in their car a few days ago.  

As we passed by, all the orange barrels and men with hard hats, it looked as if the mud slide has not yet stabilized. It also looked as if maybe there was still slim hope from the proponents in Washington that the health care repeal bill might pass. 

Bill stopped at Super 1 to grab some lunch and then we headed across the valley to the West Side Road.  Hillsides all along the way displayed varying degrees of temporary waterfalls and mini mudslides.

We later came to the spot in the road that I had read about in the paper at the north end of the National Wildlife Refuge.  It looked like the heavy equipment had removed most of the slide from the road, but the area still looked pretty messy. 

As we progressed toward the area that was burned off in a forest fire a couple of years ago, we started seeing carpets of green grass beneath the blackened trees, as well as lots of waterfalls. 

By this time, the announcement came on the radio that there would be no vote and that Obamacare would remain the law of the land.   

The Speaker of the House likened the failure to garner enough votes to "growing pains" in governance, since the Republicans control both houses of Congress and the Executive Branch.  

As one commentator said in the later debriefing, Ryan manned up and took responsibility. 

By this time, Bill wanted to continue driving onward to the Fish and Game preserve along Boundary Creek.  We family members visit the area quite often, and in recent years it has served as our own private and lovely spot for Easter picnics.

Let's just say it's not quite ready for Easter outings there yet, but at least the rain pretty much stopped, and we were able to get out and do some walking. 

As I walked down to the Boundary Creek area just across from Port Hill, I saw a sign that I hadn't remembered seeing before.  

Maybe I just wasn't paying attention in past visits, but it did send a clear message that what happens in Washington, D.C. is affecting aspects of remote spots in far-off North Idaho. 

We saw no Mexicans in boats sneaking into Canada yesterday so we did not call the number listed on the sign. 

Shortly after I snapped the photo of the sign, we did hear from the Deal Maker-in Chief. He said the Democrats had failed the country by not supporting the repeal of the very bill they worked so hard to enact seven years ago.

As we have many times in the past few weeks, Bill and I kinda scratched our heads while heading back down the road along Boundary Creek, agreeing that we thought the Republicans with their majority would certainly be the folks to repeal Obamacare---not the Democrats.

But, oh well, logic, as we used to know it, has taken a hit lately.

Like the events in Washington yesterday, we failed to repeal our perennial love of the Kootenai Valley where we know the mud sliding will end soon, unlike that mud slinging in our political system. We're happy to stick with our Kootenai Valley getaways. 

Plus, we drove by a farm on our way back to HWY 95 which seldom disappoints, even on a rainy day.  We missed seeing the usual Border Collie or two in the front yard, but cows and calves and horses walking and running on the dike above provided some lovely sights, even in the rain. 

It was truly a day of WET day wonders, along with one of wondering what comes next in our national scene.  Fortunately, some aspects of life, regardless of who's in charge, remind us of our continued blessings. 

Happy Saturday AND, betcha thought I wasn't gonna say anything about what comes later today.  No worries.  

Speaking of blessings, this IS a ZAGS day, and I borrowed a photo from Twitter (posted below) which beautifully illustrates the importance and the excitement of the day. 

How nice that Jonathan Williams was chosen by the ZAGS to appear on the poster representing the remaining eight teams in March Madness.  He's truly an amazing athlete, as are all the ZAGS, but sometimes his efforts on the court do not draw as much attention as the other stars.  

So, I think it's really neat that he has been recognized as one of the many reasons the ZAGS are so special this year. 

I hear the Pope is keeping mum on who's gonna win today cuz they're both Jesuit schools. At this point, we want our ZAGS to make it to the Final Four.  So, we'll say our "Hail Mary's" while Xavier fans say theirs.  The rest is up to the players.

GO, ZAGS!