I saw a bumper sticker yesterday with the Grateful Dead's line "What a long strange trip it's been" and it made me laugh. It's certainly been a long strange summer. This is our first summer in Weepy and COVID-19 has really turned it upside down. When everything shut down early this spring, I thought that meant that the summer would be quiet for us. I figured that everyone was off work and having their "vacation" early and would be busy back at work all summer. Whew, I was so wrong. It's been just the opposite. People have been cooped up and eager to get out again. "We just had to get out of the house" is something we've heard over and over all summer. Flying commercially, which has always had a bad rep for their cabin air impurities, has basically been shut down. Same with cruise ships. So, instead people have taken to camping as a way to vacation and practice social distancing at the same time. RV sales have shot up and dealership lots are practically empty. Campgrounds are packed, even where we are right now which is less than 10 miles from the Canadian border. But, it's now August. Although they are still debating, it looks like schools will reopen this month and we hope things will settle down a bit. A lot of these people who took to camping this summer will tire of it, sell their new RV, and go back to whatever was normal for them.
I'm not saying we've had a miserable summer. Not at all. We love Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Washington and plan to spend the rest of summer up here. It's gorgeous, and we've found some wonderful campgrounds. We haven't had hookups since Nebraska in June and we've had a great time just boondocking. It's just been a little more stressful finding spots than usual, that's all, and I keep telling myself that once we make it through this summer, everything else will seem easy.
Ross Creek Cedars near Troy, MT
Kayaking on Robinson Lake near Bonner's Ferry, ID
Kayaking on Robinson Lake
A dream come true for Check - at Fleur de Provence Lavender Farm near Mead, WA
Copper Falls near Bonner's Ferry, ID, about one mile from Canada border
Check has perfected his campfire bread
Near Big Cedars in Montana