Sunday Sights

The goal this week is to find activities that will take our minds off from the heat, the smoke and the ever-growing layers of dust AND this morning, the definite smell of smoke in the air.

It's dirty around here, but we can still see some "purty" as we travel through the dust clouds and do our best to enjoy our scenery, dulled by smoky skies.  

That was the case throughout the day yesterday as Gary, Lori and the Percherons paid a visit to the Lovestead, as my sisters, Bill and I took a road trip up Trestle Creek, enjoyed pizza at Ice House in Hope and then when we came home to another brilliant sunset.

Gary and his drivers have been out and about in the neighborhood the past few weeks, gearing up for this year's Idaho Draft Horse and Mule International Show, set for the Bonner County Fairgrounds Sept. 21-24.  

If you've never been to Sandpoint to see this show, I guarantee it's worth the effort. 

Doesn't matter how many times watch the Gentle Giants perform, the thunder of those huge hooves pounding their way around the arena with their respective hitches and the jingle of metal accessories on spit-shined harness is something to behold. 

Pretty nice that we get a neighborhood show every now and then, too.  

Anywho, we don't like the smoke but are all grateful that it's smoke and no significant fires in the area.  So, we'll deal with less that bluebird skies and hope that smoke goes away soon.

As we drove up Trestle Creek, it was easy to see that several new layers of dust have covered limbs and leaves over the past week.  

We stopped at one undeveloped campground along the way, just past a "Redoubt Realty" sign tacked to a tree, advertising land for sale. 

The camping area along Trestle Creek was well populated with tents, campers, trailers, 4-wheelers, people and dogs.  I remarked to my sisters I was glad we did our camping last week cuz there sure was a lot more dirt. 

Had to be a pretty gritty experience with all that dust.

When we reached the Trestle Creek Road summit where a series of roads continue on down toward Moose Lake and Lightning Creek, we stopped and snapped a few photos. 

We had intended to go for a short photo hike on a trail just up the road, but the trail has been closed because of fire operations (which I believe occurred on a fire back in mid-July).  

So we drove on, turning around at the bridge over Lightning Creek which was damaged a while back in a severe windstorm, especially the approaches.  The locals used their ingenuity to erect a temporary approach for at least 4-wheelers to get over the bridge.

Otherwise, most traffic has not been able to do the scenic loop from Trestle Creek to Clark Fork for some time. It will be nice when and if this ever opens up again. 

Our drive turned out to be pretty uneventful, but the pizza at Ice House matched its usual high standards.  

So, for Sunday, we avoided heat, for the most part, because of air conditioning, escaped a little of the smoke, although it has certainly dulled the the lake scenes.

It's a tough time for those of us accustomed to a pretty steady diet of stunning outdoor eye candy, especially in September when summer turns to fall.  Leaves are turning and dying but hardly because of cold weather, and that's pretty sad.

Good ol' North Idaho resilience and hope for prettier days will help us through, along with the thoughts that it could be a lot worse, as it is in so many parts of the country.

Enjoy the photos.  Happy Labor Day, and thanks to all who help keep our country going their steady laborious efforts.  One of which is coming soon to shoe my two horses.