The lawn still looked presentable, a little rough around the edges but not quite ready to be mowed again.
My sister Laurie and I had enjoyed a nice visit while taking home-picked flowers and placing them at family graves in the two cemeteries.
Mother and Harold are buried at Pack River Cemetery, while our sister Jeanne Marie, who died at about two months of age in 1950 is buried at Pinecrest.
With this solemn task completed and with more than half the day left, I asked Bill if he wanted to go for a drive.
"Where do you want to go?" he asked, then suggesting Boulder Meadows.
Too many mosquitoes, I said.
It took me a while to decide where I wanted to go, but after throwing some hay to the horses an idea came to mind.
I suggested that we drive a portion of the high drive which goes through the mountains along Lake Pend Oreille south of Clark Fork.
We hadn't taken that road in at least 15 years. There was a time back in the '70s when my friend Chris and I drove the route and other roads all around the lake twice weekly.
We put out traffic counters for the Forest Service Engineers and conducted two-day traffic surveys at Johnson Creek near Clark Fork and on Bunco Road on the south end of the lake.
We knew the roads very well, but I must say that a 15-year break has allowed significant tree and vegetation growth.
Most dramatic for us was driving to the vista, on a side road about four miles up the road, which overlooks the lake to the west and the south along the Green Monarchs.
A travel trailer was parked in the official vista itself, and trees have grown tall, blocking some of the wide-open dramatic view of the lake we used to enjoy.
Some areas still allow an abbreviated view so we enjoyed the moment but not the mosquitoes. They were pretty thick, and I wasted no time breaking down and showering myself with spray.
We passed by the ultimate of Memorial Day recreation while on that trip---, busy convenience stores with bags of ice and beverages purchased, boats on the river, 4-wheelers aplenty, travel trailers, motorcycles, pickups with campers and tent camps.
Like us, most folks brought their dogs along for the fun. In one case, we chuckled as a 4-wheeler passed us.
In the passenger seat, a little dog sat in a lady's lap while a small trailer behind carried a doggie crate with its canine inhabitant having to tolerate the dust blowing up from the mountain road.
With the delightful weather, overall, it was a perfect day for summer to begin, and peeps took advantage.
Bill and I called the five-hour our brief staycation, and we enjoyed it so much that we're thinking of using another segment of this Sunday to drive to a spot with a big, wide view and, if we're lucky, a hillside of alive with magnificent wildflowers.
It should be fun.
So far, this weekend has offered both solemnity and a summerlike sense of escape and freedom.
Hope everyone else is enjoying the weekend also.
Happy Sunday.
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