Slight Detour: PACKin' It In

Bill packed it in yesterday.

Shortly after I came downstairs from posting my blog, he announced that he would be spending the morning in Priest River.

Priest River served as the "Capital for a Day" site yesterday where the governor and staff leaders spend the day visiting with locals and answering questions of constituents.

"Are you going to go talk to the governor?" I asked.

"Maybe," he said as he headed out the door.

I continued on with my morning chores and a couple of projects.

Shortly after lunch time, he arrived back at home. He had not talked to the Governor Little, but he did listen to a lot of questions where the governor would start an answer and then direct the appropriate state official to take it from there.

Having worked for the Idaho Department of Lands both in North Idaho and around the state, Bill became very familiar with the state bureauocracies. In short, he loves that stuff and keeps abreast of it.

So, yesterday's session in Priest River was frosting on the cake for Bill.

Shortly after he arrived home, he asked, "Do you want to go up Pack River? This is one of those crystal clear days . . . . "

Having finished my tasks for the day, I immediately answered, "Yes."

So, 15 minutes later we were on the road, dogs and all.

It was a lovely afternoon. We drove to several trail heads and, in some places, got out and walked with the dogs.

At each trailhead, we saw empty vehicles where the passengers would eventually return from their respective hikes.

A New York and a Maryland car made up the fleet at one stop. At another, Bill saw three cans of Twisted Tea staying cold in the water.

He suggested a short-lived impish idea.

"We could just move those from that spot and put them in the water somewhere else," he said.

I thought that was a great idea too, but we're adults now and we must behave, so we did.

The Twisted Tea cans stayed in place.

Our only disappointment with the afternoon drive was seeing that the sun had gone too far west to get a picture of the massive rock formation named the Beehive.

Other than that, the peaks of the Selkirks were clearly visible at every angle.

It was a gorgeous afternoon and a great time for such a drive to Upper Pack River. Bill also used the driving time to review what he had heard and seen at the Capital for a Day event.

We knew that to go up there today would be a completely different story as oodles of campers will be on their way to claim their spots for Labor Day weekend.

So, it was the perfect time to Pack It In.

Enjoy the photos, and do catch Annie's Camino link at the bottom.