The Scenic St. Joe River Road in the Fall

Fall is definitely here and the colors of the leaves are brilliant.  We took a drive up the St. Joe River and arrived in St. Regis, Montana about 3 hours later.  The ground cover of reds is evidence of the profusion of huckleberry plants.  The river is beautiful any time of year but when yellows, oranges, reds and greens jump into view there is just nothing prettier.

As you leave St. Maries, the St. Joe River is quite wide, however it gets more narrow the further you go.  There are twists and turns in the road that open up yet another beautiful display of color.  Because of the clarity of the water, you can see all the river rock and the waves splash playfully as the water hits into a large rocks sticking up out of the water. 

There are quite a few campgrounds along the way, some well known like Huckleberry and Tin Can Flats.  They vary in size and I tend to like the smaller ones with only 6 to eight camp sights.  The town of Avery always offers some interesting sites and it is easy to imagine the activity that use to happen in it's "heyday".  Just outside of Avery you can either turn left and head over Moon Pass driving through tunnels on a dirt road and eventually end up in Wallace,ID or continue on the St. Joe River Road heading to Red Ives and the Montana border.  We chose to keep to the right and head to Montana.

St. Regis in itself is an interesting little town with resturants, antique stores and gift shops to spend a few hours (and a few bucks) before heading west on Interstate 90 back home.  Although it is not as scenic, it does cut off about an hour of drive time and winds along the southeast end of Couer d'Alene Lake.

All in all, it was a delightful day with the blue sky, crisp fall air and a day spent appreciating the beauty that North Idaho has to offer.  I would love to say the next pictures will be in the winter with those same trees and water snuggled in a blanket of white snow but the road conditions might keep that from happening.

Morel Mushrooms....maybe better than Huckleberries

We have had an extremely WET spring but there are always good things that come out of adversity if you take the right attitude.  The excessive moisture has brought an abundance of mushrooms in the area hillsides.  I have never been mushroom picking, although my Dad and brother were always going out and spotting those yummy morsels.  A new young friend showed up with 8 and 1/2 pounds of morel mushrooms and my taste buds were salivating like mad when I saw them. 

After questioning him for every bit of information we could get, we THOUGHT we knew just exactly where to go to find these wonderful delicacies.  My son who is an avid huckleberry picker, to the point that we have nicknamed him the "Huckleberry Hounddog" arrived from Seattle and he and I set out to stake our claim.

Heading up Shay Hill, I now know why the Subaru Forrester has won the hearts of many who dare to go where others cannot or wouldn't even venture to go.  It was like a little tank crossing all those washed out ravines.  I was really impressed and it got us to the top of the mountain. 

I hate to admit it but we kind of got "skunked" when it comes to the volume of mushrooms picked but we really hit the jackpot when it comes to scenery.  The views atop the hill were outstanding, could even see for about 30 miles of the Coeur d'Alene Lake.  The spring flowers were abundant, fresh air never been fresher and it was just great to get out into the beauty area. 

Although we did not come back with many morels, we arrived home with a whole new appreciation of mushrooms as we had spotted over 8 other varieties and had no idea of they would be delicious or death!  Thus, onto the computer to study mushrooms, found a book at my Mom's house about the differant varieties and best yet, found out that there is a Mushroom organization in Spokane, WA that offers monthly meetings and field trips.  Guess where we will be going in the fall? ? ?  Life is just one big learning experience after another.

Hidden Treasures in North Idaho

There are so many beautiful places in North Idaho that I think as a native from this area we tend to forget just how much natural beauty we are surrounded by.  I find it very interesting that as a travel agent I have spent 35 years sending people AWAY from our area so that they can catch a glimpse of other parts of the world that show up in travel brochures as something real spectacular. 

Many times we don't appreciate what we have in our very own backyard.  It has become very evident to me just how gorgeous North Idaho is due to the amount of people who actually arrange a vacation to visit our part of the country.  I absolutely love their pictures that they so graciously share with us upon returning to the B&B after another day of exploring.

I must ask myself, when was the last time I put my camera in my car as I take a leisurely drive around the Coeur d'Alene Lake or head up the St. Joe.  If all these pictures that our clients click were put into a glossy 6- color brochure I think they would go out of our travel agency lickity split. But one of the nice things about our area is that most people don't even realize just what is in store for them when they visit Northern Idaho.

I hope to share some of these beauties with you so that not only you can appreciate them but that I can start appreciating what I have within a 60 minute drive.  And at the price of gas now days, that will be a real treat!