After cruising the back roads of BC for almost three weeks the weather is beginning to cool and so to stay true to our mantra we must turn south and cross the border into the lower 48 ……as we Alaskans call it.

Driving east from Osoyoos just north along the US border on Hwy 3 we entered the fantastic Kettle Valley. We immediately fell in love once again with BC. In the spring this place must look very similar to the Alps in Europe. Deep canyons, clear rivers and steep rock walls all embellished with fall colors, very scenic to say the least. There was a railroad built in the early 1900’s and gold mining attracted many an eventual settler. Several of the old rail beds have been turned into bike trails that can be ridden for hundreds of miles through tunnels and over high trestles. I am just guessing but the potential for this to be fun could be emormous!

We finally crossed the border at the tiny town of Midway which must get a total of 10 cars per day. A very small out of the way crossing with one border guard. He went through our fridge and confiscated all our unbeaten produce as we chatted with him about working for the US gov and retirement. We sat with the dogs on a wooden bench out front of the small guard shack and were the only border crossers for at least 45 mins. Definitely our most relaxed border experience. Soon we found ourselves in the town of Republic Washington.

With cell service back to normal we called friends and family, ate some great Mexican food and visited the forest service office for maps. On our way out of town we spotted the city fairgrounds which had an Rv park. With virtually no one around we parked the Zephyr facing a large field surrounded by pine and yellow Larch trees with white tailed deer grazing in the distance. We decided to stay and in no time we were drinking a great Merlot from the Okanagan Valley and relaxing to smooth jazz on the sat radio while the dogs played in the creek which flowed less then 30′ in front of us. Life is good.

Later in the week we found ourselves driving along Lake Roosevelt NRA. We refreshed our food stores at the fantastic Meyers Falls natural food store and antique shop in Kettle Falls http://www.meyersfallsmarket.com It is located within an old renovated apple packing warehouse …don’t miss it if your in the area, wish we had one of these in Denali. That afternoon we ended up down lake at a lakeside campground near old fort Spokane. $5 a night with 50% off for the golden age pass (yes I now have one) this is a great deal!

So far we are impressed with openness of the forests and seemingly great climate in this part of Washington at least at this time of year. This weekends forecast looks good but rain is forecasted for early next week. We may take a quick look at the Grand Coulee Dam and then head south. We are looking forward to two items on our “to do” list while in Washington State……try several several types of locally hand crafted ale and stop in at one of the newly established cannabis shops just to see what it looks like inside. Should be very interesting. Stay tuned……