Thurs, Seot 24: On the road to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

We sleep well again. It is another pretty day and we are up and on the road by 9:30AM. Today, 48 days after we left the "lower 48", we cross the border again just south of Osoyoos, BC.
The drive to the border is scenic

as we follow several lakes and pass though the nice village of Oliver where we stop at a neat little shop with lots of local crafts. The highway goes though a green valley surrounded by more arid mountains. This is a major fruit and wine region and is definitely worth a return visit sometime!

At the border, we have a short wait behind about 6 cars and there are two lines working. We show our passports and are asked the standard questions to which we give the appropriate answers. Then we are directed to a area ahead of us to have our rig and tow strip searched. The lady doing the search asked about fresh foods we bought in Canada that we still have. We have lettuce and tomatoes which we mention plus some green onions we forgot about. Well, in the rig, she confiscates a rather sorry lemon and a piece of lime we have had since we left the US 6 weeks ago and then takes offence at the few green onions we have in the ice chest in the car. She then pokes around in the car some more and asks a few more questions and lets us go. Glad that is now over with! We stop at a fruit stand a few miles down the road as we are still in the pretty green valley of vines and fruit trees. We buy some corn, green beans and fruit and strike up a conversation about the border crossing. Apparently this is a common occurrence. The farmer’s wife tells us there is a moth that gets in green onions the agents are trying to keep out. We all have a good laugh about the bugs knowing they are not suppose to cross that line in the dirt that is the border! Hmmm. She says it is good for her business though!

Soon we leave the green of the valley and head into the arid hills. We soon pick up the Columbia River

just below the Grand Coulee Dam. We make a stop at the Dam and head on down the road to Spokane and finally to Coeur d’Alene where we stop for the night as the country side changes to golden fields of harvested grains and pretty old farmsteads. The campground is on an island in Coeur d’Alene Lake. It is grassy and spread out. We get a good site next to the lake. That is good as we want to spend two nights here to explore a little.

Dick heads to the store to replace the food we need and Carolyn starts to read about what there is to do and see in Coeur d'Alene.