Crossing The Border For Me!

We got done with everything so late last night and we were so exhausted that we decided to not worry with trying to find a campground, so we pulled into a boat launch parking lot and slept in the car. We woke up the next morning and got ready for the day, accompanied by the judgemental stares from various visitors to the boat ramp who likely assumed we were homeless (we certainly looked it after the previous day's events).

An easy day was on the agenda based on how incredibly sore and tired we still were from my birthday hike. Being that we were already so close to Canada, we decided to make the short drive up to the border just to say we did it- and so we did! When we finally realized we were at the border, we were already across and in the line of cards to get through customs. Neither of us have a passport, so we start searching for an out. There was a small dirt turnaround to the right of us, so we backed up and headed there to pull around the building and park at the US customs building. We figured we would go inside to see what it was all about and to ask if they had passport applications there. A grumpy old man greeted us with an abrupt "What are you doing in here?'' When we explained, he informed us that they don't have passport forms there, gave us a 1-minute summary of how the border works (x-raying trucks and all that) and sent us on our way. We left the building and walked up to the official border, which was marked with a small cone shaped concrete structure- which I, of course, took my picture with. The border was marked to the left and right up into the forested ridges by a thin pathway, completely cleared of trees. We took our pictures, hopped back in the car, and headed for the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge.

I hadn't realized there was a NWR up there, so it was a pleasant surprise to find it on my map when we were deciding what to do for the day. It seemed like a neat little place to spend some time relaxing and observing nature. There are a few displays around the refuge office buildings, a story trail that leads to a beautiful waterfall, and an driving tour that promised excellent chances to see moose this time of year. As pretty as everything was, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed in the lack of moose that day (we saw a whopping ZERO).

After finishing our visit to the Refuge, we started to head towards Priest River in anticipation of our campsite reservation in Priest Lake the following evening. After driving through one campground with no luck in finding an available site, we pulled into a second and lucked out with a pretty solid campground with access to showers! (I'm all for spending days in the backcountry without showering and embracing nature and all that jazz, but after Scotchman Peak I really needed/wanted a nice hot shower). After cooking up some dinner on a pitiful little fire that really did not want to light, we crashed super early (it was very much still daylight out) to ensure we were well rested for the next day's adventures!

How Neat Is That?!

 

  



As an added bonus to the day, I found some Cactus Cooler at a gas station. We used to drink this as kids (we thought it was actually cactus juice) and I've been searching for some for YEARS now and there it was, staring me in the face in Sandpoint, Idaho of all places!