Retirement Road Trip 2011: Day 15, Friday 9/9

0 miles, still camped at Heyburn State Park with Dave and Ann Wright.

Today was a relaxing, do nothing kind of day.  With temperatures forecast to be 90, we had no desire for road trips or strenuous activity.  The campsite we are parked on has lots of shade and is very pleasant.

The Coeur d'Alene Indians were the first inhabitants of this area.  The park was formed in 1908, which makes Heyburn State Park  the oldest State Park in Idaho.   Located about 40 miles from both Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and Spokane, Washington, the Park gets an equal amount of traffic from both states.  It was almost empty when we checked in on Thursday, but it was nearly full by Friday night.

So what do you do on a do nothing day?  Well, long walk with the dog, read, long philosophical conversations about solving the world's problems, read, walk the dog, watch campers set up their equipment, etc.  You get it.  David got his fiddle out to practice some of his Irish fiddle music, which immediately drew interest from nearby campers.  In fact, a man come over to talk music, and come to find out, he is from Switzerland.  He and his wife have been traveling around the US and Canada for the past three weeks or so.

I've decided there are two universal social lubricants.  They are dogs and music.  Most people are attracted to dogs and strangers will strike up a conversation when walking their dogs.  Playing a musical instrument does much the same thing.  When Alfie Bigarel, my brother in law, gets his guitar out when we camp at Blake or Cranberry, the same thing happens.  Nearby campers are attracted to either join in or just listen.

For dinner we drove up to the local marina about six miles.  We sat on the deck over looking the lake and a very good meal.  We rounded off the day with another campfire.

We are looking at a road trip on Saturday to explore the surrounding area.  We will probably leave here on Sunday, split up for a couple of days, and meet back together at my son Cory's house on Wednesday evening in Roseburg, Oregon.

That's all for now.......