Beauty among the Thistles and a BIGFOOT Sighting

Our brief heat wave is ending today. Compared to last summer, we've had a pretty reasonable situation this year dealing with temps in the 90s.  

Still, heat is heat, and it can be miserable for those of us who feel sapped of energy once the heat is on. 

Yesterday, when Bill and I sat down for a few minutes to watch the Mariners getting annihilated by the Cubs, the game soon got called because of rain.  

We're very interested in watching the Cubs whenever possible because in two weeks, we'll be sitting in Wrigley Field watching them in person.  What a year to be able to have that experience!  The Cubs lead both the National and American League in wins, so we may be participating in some monumental baseball history. 

I see in this morning's paper that once the game resumed, the Cubs had a couple of more runs and the Mariners managed their only run of the 12-1 Cubs win. 

When the rain break came, we decided to leave the house and beat the heat.  Kiwi decided she needed to go with us too.  

So, we took off to Grouse Creek where Bill and Kiwi do a lot of fly fishing.  Then, we turned off on the Sand Ridge Road which comes out at Elmira. 

The air conditioning felt great, but a potential photo setting tempted me to ask Bill if we could stop and go for a short hike. 

The area is a logged off expanse of hillsides covered with blooming Canadian thistles and summits offering lovely views of the Cabinets, including Strawberry Mountain which we hiked last summer. 

Thistles are nasty but oh so beautiful this time of year. And, the slash throughout the area did not make walking easy either, but it was a short hike with photographic rewards virtually every direction. 

The hillsides were hot, but we were spared pretty much any misery, thanks to some gentle breezes blowing through the area. 

As I was making my way through one spot on the hillside, a small hawk came gliding through the air about ten feet in front of me and at nose level.  

I have a feeling that bird may have been a bit surprised to suddenly see a human walking through its normal flight pattern. 

Bill, Kiwi and I walked for about half an hour through the slash and the thistles and then returned to the pickup and that welcome air conditioning. 

Twas a nice little trip, especially the part where we turned and took a dirt road south to Samuels rather than traveling the highway.  As the only vehicle on the road, we had no concerns about the billowing thick dust rising up behind us. 

Later, we joined the family members for dinner AND spotted a new icon along HWY 95 north of Sandpoint:  BIGFOOT.  Yes, a very artistic and huge rendition of the elusive Sasquatch arrived at Love Works north of the Schweitzer stoplight yesterday. 

What can be more appropriate than some of the Love's doing a selfie with Bigfoot??  We talked to some of the family members who run Love Works Tie-Dye (https://www.facebook.com/loveworkstiedye/).

Two family members, who came outside and visited with us after our photo shoot, told us that this replica was carved by an artist from Clark Fork. 

Bigfoot at Love Works is NOT for sale, cuz we asked.  The plan is for the company to design some Tie-Dye shirts large enough for this 9.5 foot high statue.  

So, folks, this news is hot off the press, and it's worth the drive out north of town to see this phenomenal work of wood art, and I have a feeling it's gonna be even more fun when Bigfoot changes his clothes.

Guess that's enough news for this Saturday.  Enjoy the rest of the photos, and if you're local, by all means, go check out this fabulous new attraction north of Sandpoint. 
  

Our daughter-in-law Debbie is a bona fide Sasquatch aficionado.  I also think it's safe to say that Bill is coming out of the closet with his Bigfoot fascination.  After all, he's a regular viewer of "Finding Bigfoot."  Heck, we even have a brother who received his 15 seconds of fame by being in the audience at one of the FB (Finding Bigfoot) filming stops.