Road to Kilroy Bay

Bill called and said he was going to Kilroy Bay for a forestry project.  

"Would I like to go along?" he asked.

I was in the middle of yard project but immediately decided it could wait.  I'd never been to Kilroy Bay 'cept maybe while passing by in a boat. 

Within half an hour, we had loaded up dogs and were on our way.  Of course, a stop off at the Clark Fork Pantry for a sandwich and some pizza slices was a must.  

Then, began a beautiful trip through Memory Lane.  Countless times I had been on that road, often twice weekly with my longtime friend and Forest Service colleague Chris Moon. 

During summers, we worked as Forest Service traffic survey aides, and put in thousands of miles traveling main roads and their tributaries throughout the back country of Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho and Western Montana.

We especially loved our gig with the "round-the-complete" lake route.  Most often, we started off Bunco Road near Farragut and took our noon break at beautiful little Lakeview where John and Carol ran the bar/restaurant.  

Then, after a good visit and a bite to eat, we moved on, taking the low route around the lake, absolutely loving it whenever we'd arrive at beautiful vistas looking out over Pend Oreille. 

That experience eventually resulted in my purchasing a lake lot at Granite Creek, thanks to my SHS teaching colleague and larger-than-life state legislator Merle Parsley.  

At the time, Merle was also selling real estate for Pack River Properties, and that secondary lake lot in one of the beautiful spots along the eastern Pend Oreille shoreline seemed like the perfect fit for me.   

The price was nice too---about $2,400, to be paid at a rate of $60 a month.  

Well, eventually the lake lot idea eventually didn't seem so sound after marriage and kids and seldom an opportunity to make it over there simply to stand on my own piece of Heaven. So, I sold it to a lady from Spokane who owned the adjoining lot. 

One of the places along the shoreline which Chris and I did not get to know personally was Kilroy Bay.  I don't know why because we tended to stray a lot during our work hours. 

For us to have gone to the Canadian Border and to Chewelah on totally unauthorized trips----- it really seems strange that we never took the winding 7-switch-back road with its long descent down into the village of Kilroy Bay.

So, I, at least, made up for that void yesterday with Bill and the dogs.  Who knows? Maybe Chris has visited Kilroy Bay sometime during the 40 years since we worked together. 

On yesterday's trip, we reversed the route that Chris and I used to take, going in the Clark Fork River/Johnson Creek entrance where, along the river,  we saw two eagle buddies in a tree and some giant mushrooms on another tree (I think). 

  

Once we arrived at a meadow above the actual Kilroy Bay shoreline, Bill pulled out his forestry gear and said he'd be working for about an hour. 

So, with dogs in leash, I took off down the road leading to the village where some sights along the way----like that telephone---certainly seemed like a time warp.

I loved it.  

At first, the dogs were a little apprehensive as we walked the shoreline of smooth rocks, not sand. Eventually, they adjusted to the different footing and had a good time as I walked along a couple of pathways and near the water taking pictures. 

It's kinda fun visiting an abandoned village in a very remote but beautiful spot. I'm sure Kilroy Bay is alive and bustling with its summer residents and then suddenly silent as it turns to an adorable, buttoned up ghost town during the rest of the year.  

I did see two other temporary intruders during my visit.  A couple who have owned property at Whiskey Rock since 1958 came driving through downtown Kilroy Bay on a mission.  Seems they work for a telephone company and had the assignment to locate a pole. 

They didn't stay long, so the dogs and I had the place to ourselves.  My first-ever trip to Kilroy Bay turned out to be a nice interlude from an otherwise busy week as well as a wonderful opportunity to take a journey back to a fun time in my life.  

Happy Thursday.