Sandpoint ID to Yaak MT

We woke up to the sound of children screaming, babies crying, and the garbage truck beeping as it backed up. Too much noise! Springer campground was nice, but noisy. It did have one big redeeming feature--a shower! At 25 cents for 5 minutes it was a warm wet bargain! We used the facilities and got back on the road. Destination Yaak Montana.

For those of you who are wondering....why Yaak?? We met a woman at Cape Arago in Feb. who is from Yaak and she described it's wonders. And after we heard the name, we just had to go there.

Anyway, we finally arrived at Highway 2, our road across the country, in Bonner's Ferry ID. Just across the border, we turned north following the Yaak river up a lovely valley into the mountains. We had lunch on a big rock overlooking Yaak River falls.

So we continued to follow the river, checking out campgrounds on the way and looking for access to the river so we could wet our flies. We found a nice forest service campground and after a brief trip to Yaak city (one store and two taverns) for a fishing license we made our camp. There were a few mosquitoes but a little "Off" took care of that. Our camp was totally isolated and there were only about 6 other campers.

We tried fishing, but the water was high and fast and the access not very good. However, I did try my new pole and started to get the hang of putting my fly where I wanted it to go. Jeff was a great teacher and very patient. Finally we went back to enjoy the campfire and wait for those famous Montana stars to come out. I played the mandolin, we put another couple of logs on the fire and it was a magic night.

In the morning, we had enjoyed breakfast accompanied by the sound of the rushing river. We decided to try the shower on the camper. It was an experience in dodging mosquitoes and washing through swim suits, but that hot water sure felt good.

We left reluctantly to go to Yaak and points East. Joe the campground host gave us directions to go over the mts. toward Glacier National Park, our next destination. But when we got to Yaak, we got sidetracked. Jeff really wanted to see the inside of the "Dirty Shame" tavern. We ended up having lunch, playing pool and listening to the stories of the former stockbroker owner from Pennsylvania.

We were so glad we visited the Yaak River area. It was so isolated and beautiful and there were no other people around. Everyone we met was friendly and helpful. I would love to go there again.