We have reached a point in this 2020 year that I have dreaded for months---a long winter ahead with a dangerous Pandemic getting worse and spiking off the charts.
In the past week, nearly 100 new Covid cases have been reported in our county alone, and it's not slowing down.
And, so---not to sound like a broken record---we here in Bonner County must be more careful than ever.
This morning's Daily Bee featured a full back page ad from Idaho business leaders imploring people throughout the state to cooperate with CDC guidelines.
We've reached desperate times, and we must drop the magical thinking and do everything possible to protect ourselves and those we love.
Granted, I know firsthand that it's not easy. Some lectures have been heard within this household via phone conversations and the like, punctuated a couple of times with the declaration from our daughter Annie: I want my parents.
Talk about a comment that hits you right square between the eyes.
Decision-making in these uncharted times will probably come often and with a level of difficulty unlike anything we've ever known.
It's nice to see some leadership in Idaho speaking out, and it would be really nice to see this kind of leadership universal throughout this nation at this time.
That said, Bill and I will work harder than ever to find ways that the days ahead will work for us and for our family.
Once again, improvisation and creativity will rule our decisions for upcoming plans to break the routine and to make some lasting memories.
Once the chores were finished yesterday, I walked into the house, asked Bill if he had to go to work.
Yes, he did, he said, but I could tell he was also all ears and feeling flexible if I had a better plan.
Let's take some simple snacks and the dogs and drive to Twin Rivers campground (east of Bonners Ferry where the Kootenai meets the Moyie).
Then, let's drive to Troy and get back here by 3.
We needed to be back earlier than usual because of afternoon chores and because it was Schwan's Man day.
My suggestion took about 30 seconds to go into action. Soon we were in the car with some Wood's German sausages, some chunks of cheese and leftover Halloween candy.
In the far back was Bill's portable propane grill which he planned to set up for cooking those sausages exactly to the point that their skin was black.
Foster and Liam sat in the back seat, but not for long.
We made it about two miles down our Center Valley Road system before turning around and bringing noisy, whiny, barking Liam back home.
He just doesn't get in to road trips.
That left the whole back seat for Foster who usually loves to ride shotgun, but I wasn't giving up my seat.
We spent some time walking around Twin Rivers, which is a beautiful spot far down at the end of a winding road off HWY 2.
Then, it was on to Troy where Bill wanted to cook those sausages in Roosevelt Park next to the Kootenai River.
Once there, we encountered a bit of deja vu from the good ol' days on Great Northern Road.
A freight train was blocking the tracks to the park.
We drove around for about half an hour before the train finally went on its way. In that time, we saw lots of interesting sights around Troy, which definitely displays its political leanings.
Finally arriving at the park, Bill went to work cooking those sausages while Foster and I walked around. Our wanderings took us across the street and just down from the park where Michael from Massachusetts (named for the archangel) was strumming his guitar on his front porch.
Standing at the edge of his lawn and just off the road, I struck up a conversation with Michael, whose brother told him a little over five years ago that he ought to retire in Troy.
So, he did, and he's a happy, contented former rock band musician who knows pretty much everyone in Troy and figures he's found his own Heaven on earth.
The best part of the story: when I told Michael my last name was the best 4-letter word on Earth, he immediately spouted out "LOVE."
Cuz he told me that's his last name too.
We said our good byes and soon I was biting into a steaming hot charcoal German sausage. Maybe the best one I've ever eaten and without mustard.
When my siblings and I went on trips to Montana and didn't always get along in the back seat, my parents invented the game, "Count the deer."
On our way back, Bill suggested that instead of deer we should play "Count the Trump Signs," adding that we didn't want to count any deer dashing on to the road in front of the Subaru.
And, so Foster, Bill and I enjoyed an extreme Pandemic outing, safe from virus germs and loaded with images and memorable anecdotes.
We'll keep planning such adventures based on simplicity but designed to keep us from going stark raving mad as this situation continues to worsen.
We are blessed to live in an area where that is possible.
And, of course, our day was happily topped off by the long-awaited introduction to this year's ZAGS!
What a touching introduction it was as Kraziness in the Kennel with the team scrimmage began last night on KHQ.
Good times ahead; let's hope the ZAGS stay healthy cuz they'll surely keep us mentally and emotionally healthy as the winter moves on.
Happy Friday. Stay safe and keep others safe.
Montana's Big Sky country offers a little something for everyone.
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