I am reminiscing today about all of our stays at Lunch Peak Lookout. There was a time period of about ten years where every summer we would rent the lookout for a couple of days. Some years we stayed there multiple times and every time a different experience, especially concerning the weather.
Sometimes there were absolutely beautiful sunny days with clear blue skies.
A hike from the lookout to Mt. Pend Oreille was always on the schedule. July 25, 2005
This trip was with our friends Ann and Neil Wimberley. We did a lot of hiking with them back in what I call our serious hiking days. The Green Monarchs, Lake Estelle, Moose Lake, Greens Falls and our epic hike up straight up Middle Mountain right from our house.
Retired Mountain Man was always fascinated by the granite rocks left on top of the mountainside by the glacier. Elevation 5200'.
They were a good spot for a photo.
We had several stays when the weather took a turn for the worse with thunderstorms, lots of fog and rain. Only one of them forced us off the mountain. The wind was so fierce and it was so cold that we finally gave up. Packed everything up and drove back down to find sunny skies at Trestle Creek. How could that be?
One of the most memorable times was the weekend my Mom went with us. If you've never been to the lookout, it's quite a drive. Especially the last couple of miles since the road was usually very rocky and of course, it's steep. Once you have arrived, it really does feel like you are in the middle of nowhere.
There is a gate about 150' from the lookout, which can be locked while you are staying there. That day an Idaho Fish and Game pickup drove up to the gate and parked. Two people got out of the truck and walked up to the lookout. We were thinking it was kind of a strange place for a Fish and Game officer to show up at?
It turned out that the Fish and Game officer had his father with him and he was visiting from North Platte, Nebraska.
Now I should add here that my mom was not only from Nebraska, but that she was a Nebraska football fan. As a matter of fact my mom was a big college football fan. She had followed college football all of her life, and she knew her football. The coaches, the teams, the players. The Nebraska team was her favorite, even after she moved to Montana, when she became a big Montana fan. Nebraska was always first in her heart. She remembered every year and every detail.
It turned out that she knew who the father was because she had listened to him broadcast Nebraska football games on the radio station from North Platte for many years. Back in those days the games were not broadcast on TV. Only radio. That's how long she had been a fan.
They then had an in-depth discussion of Nebraska football for the next thirty minutes. Somehow I don't think that was what his son had in mind when he drove his dad to the lookout, but the two of them were having a great time evaluating the team for the upcoming season. Nevermind what the view looked like.
Mom at the lookout in 2007 with grandkids, Mitchell and Bailey.
There were many beautiful sunsets and one trip where we took our telescope so that we could check out the stars and planets. Jon's sister, Linda, and I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. looking at the stars while Jon and her husband, Malcom, slept on the floor in their sleeping bags. They had both given up hours ago. We had to keep moving the telescope from one side of the lookout to the other and unfortunately, we would "accidentally" step on one of them, or the other. Oops. There was a lot of yelling and cursing.
Sunset from the lookout. August 17, 2007.
Good memories. I hope you are making some today. Happy weekend.
The hummingbirds love this fuschia. The spend all day there and at the feeders. There are dozens of them.
The other night I watched a PBS fundraiser, Paul Simon in Central Park. Enjoyed every minute of it. So many talented musicians and so many great songs.
This morning's CDA press. The ICU capacity at Kootenai Health is full.
The pace of life here on the mountain has slowed considerably. It's been more than two weeks since Retired Mountain Man came home from the hospital in Coeur d'Alene. He was in serious shape back then and needed two units of blood and his kidneys had stopped functioning, so the needed lots of IV fluids. Last week he had his follow-up appointment with Dr. Crane which included a long discussion with the two of us asking many questions and the doctor giving us his best answers. Dr. Crane specializes in Internal Medicine and he has been our primary care physician for twenty years. He's an excellent doctor. We had visited the kidney doctor the Friday before and now RMM has no doctor appointments until September. That is a great relief since when he was in the hospital he saw multiple doctors. Dr. Fogarty - hospitalist, Dr. Flores - urology and the doctor who performed his cancer surgery and his follow-up treatments, Dr. Bieber, kidney specialist, Dr. McMahon, gastroenterologist, and Dr. Ferraro, Internal Medicine. Don't get me wrong. It was a good thing being seen by so many doctors who were trying to diagnose what was wrong. In the span of two days, they did many tests and worked tirelessly to find the answers.
When I'm out working in my garden I have lots of time to think which brings me to my thoughts about the doctors, nurses and all of the other healthcare workers. What was the total number of years of education and training for all of those doctors that I just named above? Sixty? What about all of the nurses? How many years of training for them? We interacted with dozens of them during Jon's stay. How many total years of experience do they have between them? More than a hundred? Do Retired Mountain Man and I value their opinion? You bet we do.
I read the Idaho newspapers and watch the news and it's astounding how many people refuse to listen to what the medical professionals are saying. Still refusing to wear masks and social distance. "The virus is just the flu." "The virus is a hoax." "It's my right to choose not to wear a mask." "Wearing a mask is satanic". "The virus is just going to disappear." Our leaders, local, state, and federal, who refuse to listen and protect the people they represent. Including those at the very top who are now trying to discredit Dr. Fauci, the CDC and all of the other scientists and doctors.
Which brings me back home to Sandpoint and Coeur d 'Alene. Do we have our local doctors and our medical communities back? Are we ready to help with this crisis or are we just going to contribute to it? Are we so selfish that we have no problem risking the lives of our local doctors and nurses because wearing a mask is too uncomfortable? You know many of them. I know many of them. They are members of our families, friends and neighbors. Dr.Fogarty moved to the Hope area when she was in high school. When she was in college and in med school, we stayed in touch all of those years. She worked hard and studied hard. Dr. Fogarty and all of the others, deserve our respect.
We are so many months away from this crisis being over. Yes, that reality is difficult to face, but it's quite obvious that we can't count on many of our local elected officials. They are politicians. They know nothing about science or the medicine. Stop listening to them. Who do we trust with our health and well-being? Our life? Our state representatives? Our county commissioners? Our sheriff? Not me I trust our local doctors and I can tell you that I will do whatever I can to help them out. You can do that too. Protect your friends and neighbors. Wear a mask. Social distance. Stay home.
Staying home is what we do now and there are some positives. For the first time our cherry tree had enough cherries for a pie.
Plus, I have finally found a pie crust recipe that is really good. A gluten-free one. It should be, since it has a 1/2 cup of butter in it. I am still refining how long to bake it and I am now on pie #2. A peach-cherry pie. There should be "more pie" as my friend Kristine says. And "ice cream". I would like to be able to bake a pie and take it to my doctor's office, but it's probably not the thing to do during a pandemic. I would like to bake a pie for all of them. It's the thought that counts.
Another beautiful day in North Idaho country. There's hope for a ripe tomato soon.
Retired Mountain Man is back to walking to the county road to pick up the newspaper.
Our neighbor, Neil, filled in some of the potholes in our driveway with crushed rock and dirt. Thank you Neil!
The ferns have certainly loved all the rain. It's a jungle out there.
These daisies never give up. They try to grow anywhere and everywhere.
This is a blossom from my Beauty Bush. The fragrance is lovely.
My hostas are taking off and I've decided I might need a few more since I now have lots of shady places that could use some filling in.
These little babies are in their nest on our front porch. Jon and I think that this is year three for the Pine Siskin nest. They were singing away when I took the photo.
This is a great video made by Don Winslow, who is the brother of one of my dear friends. He is a writer of mysteries and crime novels, one being titled, "The Cartel". It's not my forte so I've never read any of his books, but I like this video.
