Thursday travels . . .

We planned to leave Bozeman this morning about 11 for our 6 hour drive to Spokane, but sometimes life gets in the way on your way to do what you planned. We wanted to stop in Missoula for a quick visit with Mom and Dad. But that didn't happen. It is okay as I will get over there next week once I get home.

First, we got a phone call about the air conditioning not working in one of our business condos in town so that required Bob to head in to town - about 10 miles - to see if that could be remedied. He got it fixed and then by the time he came home I had found we had a visitor. This woodchuck was in the front driveway. Then when I went around to the back deck there was another one on the deck. This guy is pretty good sized - probably about the size of a large cat. We really don't need this one or the family, but we wanted to leave today so what to do? We will have to have them trapped and moved but not today so we turned on a radio really loud on the deck - hope that influences them to move on. I have heard it works for raccoons. We usually have them visit later in the summer.

We then loaded the car and backed out of the garage to see a small oil spot so Bob took the car into town to have "our mechanic" who changed the oil yesterday take a look. It was fine, but by that time it was after 1 pm. We finally got loaded, left Kassie at the doggie hotel and were on the road by 2. We had reservations at our favorite hotel in Spokane so motored right through Missoula. We gain an hour at the top of Lookout Pass when you leave Montana and head into Idaho. This picture shows what you see when you look back at the overpass just after crossing the border. We were heading in the direction to your right - into Idaho. It is a beautiful drive all the way from Bozeman to Spokane on I-90.

Once we got to Spokane, we checked in at Oxford Suites in Spokane Valley. It is a great hotel - very reasonable, very clean, spacious rooms and a wonderful complimentary cooked breakfast. They also have complimentary hors d'oeuvres and drinks in the evening (supper for us). We went down and relaxed over a glass of wine. Then I took a little walk around the grounds just as the sun went down. It is a very pretty area behind the hotel, but it must be a little dry. You can walk out on the deck below from the lounge area. When I looked up I saw this contrail in the sunset sky. I always wonder what the people on the plane are thinking as they fly across - in this case heading northeast - maybe toward Calgary - maybe from San Francisco.

I just had to take a picture of our car - the "LillyB". There is quite a discussion on MQP about whether or not you should name your cars - or your quilting machines. Of course, I named this black Blazer "LillyB" when I got her almost two years ago. The LillyB has her own personality and the name fits. The "B" was supposed to stand for Blazer, but when she sends emails (via OnStar) to Bob complaining about the air in her tires and such, the "B" now stands for another word. I do love her though. And, as you know, I named my A1 quilting machine, "Miss Daisy". I was always driving Miss Daisy - she is a great quilting machine. Then when I got my IQ, I named him Hoke so he could drive Miss Daisy. We have a new update for our IQ's and I can hardly wait to get home to play. I am so amazed at the wonderful things Zoltan envisions and creates for us.

Tomorrow we will get up early and head to Portland for the next part of our adventure. It is all good!!!