THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE~IDAHO & NUGGET RV RESORT~MONTANA

July 22nd: We were up bright and early this morning, anxious to be on our way - and putting the smoky wildfire haze behind us.

Wal*Mart parking lot. 3 AM - most of these RV's showed up while we were catching some zzz's; Post Falls-ID

Post Falls, Idaho from Rainier, Oregon - 6 hr. 23 mins.

Holland got coffee across the street, around 6 AM; mine was iced Hazelnut.

When we passed over Silver Mountain at 7:33 AM, I spotted a road sign that said, "Wallace" … and squealed with excitement, like a little girl: Wallace has been on my Bucket List for 2 years while I worked up my nerve to get there ;-)

When I explained to Holland that Wallace has laid claim to (and been legally documented) as being "the center of the Universe", he gamely turned in that direction.

What a guy!

I loved the feel of Wallace's quirkiness; I like the old-time-Historical mining town architecture - I like that Wallace is hidden in the mountains :-)

Holland had made good plans, and I was excited to see places he'd lived in.

We had thought to get to Bonner's Ferry - but wildfire smoke haze had us turning back.

Holland decided to reroute to Flagstaff-AZ; heat is better than wildfire smoke.

Wallace, Idaho was on a road sign, and I got excited - so Holland turned in that direction. YAY!

It was literally 'right up the street' :-)

I got my 'rural America' moment :-) AND I got to scratch Wallace of my Bucket List ;-)

Wallace-ID from Post Falls-ID; 1 hr.3 mins, via I-90 E

I ENJOYED THIS! This is what I hope to see more of, most of our trip across America.

Wallace-ID: https://visitidaho.org/things-to-do/roadside-attractions/center-of-the-universe-wallace/ & https://visitnorthidaho.com/community/wallace-idaho/

We parked the truck and RV here, at this curbside.

A Junk Shop with interesting junk …

Geiger counter's. We would have bought one, but the shop didn't open until around lunchtime. We just couldn't swing the late hours.

I went looking for the 'Center of The Universe' marker.

Found it!

Holland & Bleu patiently waiting for me …

Leaving downtown Wallace-ID; main street is a looping 1-Way road.

Throw-back humor. This is the kind of stuff that I hope to see more of; off the freeways.

Wallace RV Park - too 'outdated' for Holland, but perfectly 'rural America', for me ;-) It was too small, and too tight for us - most RV's here are 35 feet, and even that is too long for the parking slots.

Wallace is worth the side trip - no place for big rigs to park, but worth a visit.

Another 'Wallace Curiosity'.

This whole town is cool.

A retro RV.

Holland and I both laughed when we saw this saddled elk - and I sent a pic of it to Chrystal; family humor.

After leaving Wallace, we looked for an RV Space to rent for a few days: NO LUCK for HOURS. It was a hot day (90-degrees). We hadn't sleep much the night before. Holland's shoulder was paining him, plans had to constantly be rerouted, and neither of us were in agreement with each other's suggestions for a rest break. We were sticky, and wearing yesterday's clothes. We were both getting cranky.

I finally said, "Holland, let's stop being snippy with each other, and just pray about it - Elohim will lead us to the perfect RV space for us."

So, we prayed; and kept seeking a place to park for the night. At the last place we checked in at, the lady said she didn't have space for us … but an RV Resort down the road did: boy, was that music to our ears. We called, were conformed a spot, and immediately drove straight there.

Holland signed us up here, until Monday :-)

Tonight, we will all get a relaxing good night's rest, and hopefully Holland's shoulder will relax and settle down, too.

Finding an RV spot for the night was nearly impossible, and Holland was getting cranky with his sore shoulder. And neither of us got much sleep the previous night. I was praying we would not have to weather an emotional thunderstorm.

FINALLY! A place to park our RV for a few days - ((((THANK YOU, LORD))))!

St. Regis-ID from Wallace-ID; via I-90 E

Entrance is set up like a pioneering town.

It's a KOA RV Park that partners with the Good Sam Memberships. It's hokey … but, I like it. Holland got his "nice Park", and I got my 'Old West' feels :-)

YES! We booked a space until Monday afternoon. Elohim is faithful.

We were stationed kitty-corner from the Office-Store, near the Park entrance.

QUIET CHALLENGE & WILDFIRES ALL AROUND US

July 21st: We decided to try to "hit the road" one more time: I hope we can keep traveling, but everything depends on Holland's medical issues - he is retired on disability. He is giving my dream a gung-ho effort, and I love him for it; but our marriage is more important than a trip across America.

Traveling under tension when the pain is overwhelming, is not fun.

Only Elohim knows if the two can be satisfactorily dove-tailed.

We pulled stakes in Castle Rock-WA around 1:30 PM this afternoon, outran wildfire smoke across eastern oregon, and reached Post Falls around midnight. We couldn't find an RV spot, so we hunkered down in a Wal*Mart parking lot overnight.

We were bone tired, and struggling a little bit with the smoky haze - but Elohim was faithful and neither one of us suffered lung distress, though my chest did hurt; but I did not have even a little asthma complication.

Elohim is good :-)

Furbaby is growing up; I found a baby tooth found on the inside steps this morning.

Holland getting Bleu 'dressed'.

Leaving Castle Rock; my 'Quiet Challenge' has officially begun.

Oh Snap! Sandal blowout around Woodland-WA

Holland nipped into the Gee Greek Rest Area this side of Ridgefield-WA. I changed sandals … and Holland waited out the back-to-back freeway traffic; every truck slot was taken, so we parked here - there was no where else to park.

Busy, busy, busy - and WA wants to make this bridge a Toll Bridge, a.g.a.i.n.!

Holland couldn't stand the quietness; LOL. 3:30 PM

We passed 'Oxbow State Park' in the Oregon Gorge, and got a surprise … we both thought the Oxbow was in Montana (3010 SE Oxbow Pkwy, Gresham, OR 97080).

We saw a huge smoke cloud across the Columbia River, as we drove through Arlington-OR (https://www.cityofarlingtonoregon.com/).

Bickleton, Washington Wildfire: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/wildfire/6000-acre-brush-fire-burning-klickitat-county/281-82e52b9b-f6dd-4c0c-8370-4fb59e9b2a0d

We had debated driving the WA Gorge side, or the OR Gorge side - I'm glad Holland decided to skip the Washington side, watching the BIG smoke cloud. Our lungs could not have handled that.

Holland decided to take Hwy. #730 to cross the River on our way to Montana.

We're going to try to stay ahead of the smoke cloud - but the drift is extensive.

RV Parks couldn't be found along the route, but there were RV Parks e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e. in Irrigon-OR, and we couldn't stop!

Harvest Foods Big Cowboy; Umatilla-OR

 (https://findyournorthwest.com/columbia-harvest-foods/ & https://www.harvestfoodsnw.com/)

Back in Washington … despite the round-about-2 State Route, this really is the quickest route; with or without the wildfires breaking out.

Aiming for Hwy. #395 … hoping to escape the worst of the drifting smoke cloud.

The smoke odor was very strong - it could be tasted on the tongue. My chest was tightening up as it seeped into the pickup, and I was concerned about Holland's "ify" lungs, too.

Thankfully we are moving further away from the wildfires. The smoke is thinning out some.

Bleu isn't liking the smoky odor-taste, either.

Getting closer to the Pasco-Richland area, the sun was looking pretty normal. The atmosphere is still smoky, but it's a lot clearer than what was behind us.

Traveling the route to Coeur d'Alene (pronounced core-da-lane)-ID