Days 62 - 64 Corvallis OR to Columbia Falls MT 30 July - 2 August

Day 62 - 30 July 2015  Corvallis to Ritzville WA - 307 miles 

Ethan left for work at 10am and we were off just after 11. We stopped at Woodburn OR to buy some Icebreaker shirts. Strange to have a New Zealand product less expensive in USA. 
After 24 days of being settled, it's taking a while to get back into the rhythm of travelling. For the first few hours it was mostly Interstates as the outside temperature climbed to over 102°F (nearly 40°C). At least the air conditioning in the car is working again.

Interstates are often boring, but I84, on the Oregon side of the Columbia River, has beautiful cliffs on both sides of the river

including the Beacon Rock on the Washington side.

At Biggs Junction we crossed to the Washington side 

and continued at 65 mph on Route 14

still with views of the Columbia River.

We'd booked a $15 campsite at Horn Rapids in eastern Washington. The sign at the camp entrance outlined the emergency evacuation procedure should something go wrong at the nuclear fuel disposal facility. We figured we could live with that. The campsites were spacious and well equipped, but we were the only ones there.  

After 5 minutes sitting in the shade we were attacked by small biting flies. That was enough. We left a polite note and moved on, first to Prosser for gas and then for ice cream in Benton City. Many of the products in the Benton City convenience store, including the ice cream bars, were from Mexico.  Possibly for the seasonal agricultural workers. 
Rolling wheat fields dominated as we approached Ritzville WA, once the largest wheat handling town in the west. 

We used booking.com to get a $52 room at the Top Hat Motel, Ritzville. A bit more than the Horn Rapids campground, but presumably without nuclear flies.
Dinner was an extended adventure at the understaffed Ritz Roadhouse, but slow cooked omelette and breakfast burrito were OK in the end. We just had to listen to the waitress complain about being overworked while the idle cashier stared vacantly at the waiting customers.

Day 63 - 31 July2015  Ritzville WA to Heyburn State Park ID - 140 miles

After knocking on the office door and phoning the front desk our free breakfast eventually appeared. The granola bars, instant oatmeal and fresh brewed coffee were just what we needed. We were starting to feel a bit better about Ritzville.

Even the swing in the motel garden was appreciated.

The glory days for the town may be over, but it's still pretty good. Clearly the residents are determined to keep up appearances. 

The Carnegie Library was well kept and included one of the many public art steel statues in the town.

From Ritzville it was 92 miles to Coeur d'Alene, ID. This cartoon moose is one of several around the town--something about a children's story featuring a mouse and a moose.

We were in Coeur d'Alene for a crafts festival. One street was closed for several blocks and lined with stalls for hundreds of vendors.

Music included this family playing folk music. 

The city is on a large lake. Many boats are kept at this marina surrounded by a floating breakwater/walkway

with a bridge for harbor access.

There was a beautiful swimming beach opposite the marina.

Heading south along Lake Coeur d'Alene we went through an indian reservation. Two common features are casinos and 'smoke shops', like this one.

Our site at Chatcolet Campground, Heyburn State Park.

After setting up our camp we went swimming at Rocky Point and walked on the boardwalk at Plummer Creek wetland.

Day 64 - 1 August 2015  Heyburn State Park ID to Columbia Falls MT - 254 miles
Packed up camp. At 9:30 we started the 2.8 mile Indian Cliffs walk which had views of Lake Chatcolet (really just a part of Lake Coeur d'Alene) and the St Joe River.

Wetlands on the edge of Lake Coeur d'Alene

We drove around the southern side of Lake Coeur d'Alene on Rt5, then Rt3 to I90.

Old Mission State Park was just off I90. 

There was hardly anyone there. We found a shady picnic table for lunch, but the air was so hot and dry that the sandwich bread dried as soon as we removed it from the plastic bag.

After lunch we went inside the church built by the priests and indians from local materials.

The state-park-run museum had a video about the mission. 
When we get to Montana we lose an hour as we cross into the Mountain Time Zone. Our campground in Columbia Falls said to be there before 7pm tonight, so just after 2pm we got a move on.
Just before the MT border we went through Wallace, an old mining town. At St Regis we left I90, but the road to Columbia Falls was mostly 70 mph. Got to Columbia Falls RV Park at 6:30pm.