The Selkirk Loop

I am embarrassed to say that I didn’t know about this drive, and I live in the area of it. Once I heard about it from the Spokane paper, I researched it. We went on the short version this time, from Colville to Metaline, into Canada and across on Highway 3 to Creston, then south to Bonners Ferry on to Newport and finally the Flowery Trail. It is said that the route is popular with cyclists. We saw some on the road, but not a lot. Possibly due to the heat wave we were in.

We spent the night in Bonners Ferry and did the route in 2 days. We were traveling with our kids this time. Unfortunately, these proved to be the hottest days of the year. That curtailed activities, especially for me.

The highway through Metaline Falls was lovely. We stopped at Sweet Water Creek for a waterfall and short walk. The path was asphalt and easy for me with a walker, except for the heat of the day. We also went to Boundary Dam and had a short tour. The dam is spectacular; jammed in a narrow canyon. There was part of the tour down a flight of stairs that my family had to help me with. Near the dam, there is a really nice cave tour, Gardner Cave. We didn’t do it this time because we had been there before. Metaline has a local tourist train if you are fortunate to be there when it runs. It also has a nice little shopping district. Kevin Costner made part of a movie there, the Postman. Even the dam made an appearance in the movie, with Tom Petty in the scene.

The drive over the pass in Canada on 3 was beautiful. I regret not getting enough pix.

Creston was kind of spread out and you don’t drive through the town. All of a sudden, the town was gone. We backtracked because we needed lunch. We had to stop a native, who told us about “A Break in Time”. It was just the kind of food we like. Choices for the kids, a bit bohemian, home made tasting food. If you go there, Google it first.

Back to the USA. Bonners Ferry proved to be the perfect place to stop. Not too long a drive. We stayed on the waterfront at the Best Western Kootenai River Inn Casino & Spa. It had a casino, so we lost a bit of cash there. An inside pool. They had a spa also. Nice place. Bonners Ferry also had a national wildlife refuge. We drove by, but it was too hot to wander that day.

The second day’s drive was less exciting for us. We had been to Sandpoint before. If you want to shop, that may be the best place. Coldwater Creek is headquartered there. Lots of walking and biking opportunities. Be sure to check out the bridge with shops inside. Newport was also a repeat. There was an old fashioned soda fountain in Newport that my mom told us about. It was right on the highway in the ‘down town’. Unfortunately, it was closed on Sunday.

The final drive through Flowery Trail was a nice diversion. Some great views.

We are planning this route again for the future. Next time, we will go kid-free, head north from Metaline and do the top part of the loop. Maybe go back down as far as Bonners Ferry for the night and pre-book massages or similar treats (we couldn’t get anything this time because we hadn’t pre-booked), then go back to and over Canada 3 and back through Metaline to Colville (Tiger Highway isn’t on the map here, but goes directly to Colville).

San Diego/ Cabo San Lucas cruise

This was our second such trip out of California. We went as a family and had a friend (Ruth) accompany us to help with Genny. We went in December over the holidays and added San Diego at the end to entice Genny to go with us.

This cruise was 5 days, San Diego round trip, stopping in Cabo San Lucas and our favorite…. Ensenada! I think every cruise must HAVE to stop there. The cruise line was Carnival this time, our first with them.

Flying into San Diego instead of LA was dreamy. Much more manageable size than LAX. I’d highly recommend going there. We used the cruise line pick up option at the airport again. It went well.

We had 2 rooms to split up the kids. That was lovely. Ruth stayed with Genny, which worked out really well. We were on the same deck, but a ways apart.

Carnival made us feel indulged, which is always my hope on a cruise. The fancy dinners were better than Royal Caribbean, although RC had no problems with theirs either. We thought the breakfast in the formal dining room was better managed than on RC. We also thought that RC had a much better buffet/casual meal set up. Carnival had fewer options offered at the buffet restaurant. The kids were happy, however, they catered more to kid tastes on Carnival.

My big problem with this cruise SHIP was that access was hard. We had to go all the way down the ship, up in an elevator, then down a hall to another elevator to get down to our assigned dinner restaurant. They didn’t just have 1 restaurant you could get assigned to, but 2. I got lost and turned around all week. It was caused by the big atrium in the middle of the ship. It messed up the layout. I can’t imagine being elderly and finding my way around that ship. It was the Elation ship, and I believe other Carnival ships have the same layout.

As always, the free games and activities on the ship were frequent and entertaining.

Our first stop was Cabo. We had a great day. Half of us did a boat ride around the end of the peninsula and half did snorkeling. Both were fabulous and affordable. Even in December, Cabo got too warm for me by noon. It was okay; we had finished our boat tour so I went to the ship and read on deck in the shade.

The infamous Ensenada was our next port. Given our last experience there (see entry on Cal. Cruise #1), we booked an excursion. It turned out to be a much better option than going on our own. We still saw the poverty of the area, but weren’t walking amongst it. We took a bus tour that went up the coast and ended in a classic public building (like a county courthouse) that was lovely.

When we returned to San Diego, we stayed at the hotel. It exceeded our expectations. Our room was to be on the 2nd floor (no elevator) and the clerk saw me in my walker. She comped us an upgrade that was on both floors so I didn’t have to climb stairs.

The rest of my party went to the zoo on the first day and I rested.

The next day we went to Seaworld. Some of it bothered me ethically, as expected. Animals performing cute routines. I hope there was some good being done in the area of conservation, but it was very much for profit. The most beautiful and hard to accept were the killer whales. I teared up at the first majestic jump. Then immediately felt guilty about it all. Those wolves of the sea so don’t belong in there. I know dolphins can perform when free in the ocean, they enjoy it. But killer whales? After I went home, I thought about how my day at Seaworld was over, but the whales were still there, 365 days a year, performing for fish over and over again. I try to find peace in the idea that the suffering of these whales may help others in the world because the park raises awareness of them to the public. The kids had no such worries. They had a great day, blissfully unaware.

I did find this park had bathrooms in poorer condition that Disney parks. Not enough of them, paper garbage overflowing, broken toilets un-repaired.

Accessibility was generally pretty good. One exhibit I would never do again in a scooter was the Arctic. The turns were impossible, people stood in front of me so I couldn’t see many of the exhibits. I hit walls, saw little. They have moving sidewalks in other places which kept people moving and gave me a clear view. Not here. Skip this if you can’t walk through it.

Winter weather in all these places was perfect for me. Temps in the 70’s (except Cabo). Very comfortable for me.