A Wink on the Canuck

Willie and Debbie had never been to Canuck Basin.

It has been almost a year since Bill and I drove through the area, making a loop from Bonners Ferry on to the Yaak River Road and back into the Deer Creek drainage. 

We've taken several trips up that way over the years, so there was plenty of story telling to be shared.  

The kids learned about Doogle's Loop, and they walked a portion the same road where Bill and I once met a Border Agent while on foot when a lingering snowbank meant parking the car.

At one point Debbie saw a portion of Northwest Peak appearing above a ridge and heard the story about our hike on that trail years ago when Willie and Annie were little, the bees were out in full force, and we had forgotten to bring along Willie's bee sting kit.

During yesterday's drive from HWY 2 to Canuck Pass and back, we saw all of three motorcyclists, one car and a 4-wheeler. 

So, we felt like we pretty much had the place all to ourselves and that one tiny sample of wildlife, a chipmunk racing through the rocks. 

Canuck Basin is a gorgeous area where fresh and clean, pristine scenes of alpine growth and mountains aplenty never grow old. 

After yesterday's visit, a couple of new stories can be added to the family adventure history. 

In one case, we stood on the roadside and watched up to three helicopters hovering over a forest fire quite a ways across the basin along Copper Ridge.

Our second unexpected and rather unique memory unfolded as we started from the pass back down toward Bonners Ferry.   

A man on a 4-wheeler suddenly showed up in front of us moving somewhat slowly and appearing to be in his own little world, calmly surveying both sides of the road and not too concerned about what side of the road that 4-wheeler happened to be going.

Soon after he appeared, someone in our car asked, "What's that on his shoulder?"  

Then, we all tried to figure it out, and finally someone suggested that it looked like a bird, maybe a grouse. 

"Get up closer," I said, "so we can see it better."  

As we sped up a bit, the driver finally appeared to be aware of our presence and pulled over to the side of the road. 

Sure enough, it was a bird, a very colorful one at that.

Wink, as his owner tells us, is an oft-photographed bird, mainly because he accompanies his friend Ray pretty much everywhere, even City Beach in Sandpoint.  

He also tells Ray when he needs juice and his nuts for breakfast.  

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with Ray, a hunter, lifelong outdoors lover, story teller and award-winning custom photo framer and instructor with a rich career history which has taken him from coast to coast.  

As we visited, Debbie and I got the distinct impression that Wink wanted to participate in the conversation in his own language, of course. Since Ray did most of the talking, though, Wink was happy to show his buddy a whole lotta loving. 

And, so we can now add that bird and his friend and watching a forest fire to our collection of Canuck Basin family tales. 

Twas a fun afternoon, and we're thinking we need to make another trip that direction, maybe the full Yaak loop, in the fall when autumn colors are on.  

What's beautiful right now should be truly spectacular at that time. 

Happy Sunday.