Back to civilization…
After almost a week spent in the Northern Montana/ Glacier National Park area, we finally made our next move heading West towards Idaho!
Though we’d been super lucky in finding such a private, quiet, and “off-the-grid” (and most importantly FREE) campsite in Hungry Horse, MT, the options were running a little slim in Idaho.
We knew we wanted to be near Couer d’Alene to visit a friend, so we’ll have to put Southern Idaho on our list for “When We Come Back”… I’ve heard too many fantastic things about Craters of the Moon, Shoshone Falls, and the Sawtooth National Forest to pass it by next time!
4 short hours later, we arrived at our next free campsite: Cabela’s!
#WeWentThereTip: Cabelas, Bass Pro Shops, Walmarts, and Cracker Barrels are all easy in-and-out options for staying overnight.
This Cabela’s was located along the Idaho/Washington state line and only 20 minutes from Couer d’Alene, so we were in the perfect location to get around!
One of our first stops when we got back to civilization was this awesome food truck hub!
What made this spot even better was the beer that was available in the little hut next door to the covered tables! 🙂
One of our favorite things to indulge in is Korean food…Without hesitation, we ordered the Bi Bam Bap and the Ban Chan Box. We wanted to try a little bit of everything, so we chose both Bul Go Gi and the Chicken Kalbi in our Ban Chan Box.
Ban Chan Box with Chicken Kalbi (top left) and Beef Bulgogi (bottom left), Kimchi (top right) and Tofu (bottom right) 
Bi Bam Bap
dinner 
&dessert ❤
My sweet tooth kicked in before left, so I talked Devon into splitting a Reese’s Cup Milkshake with me… Man, oh man, that thing was PERFECT.
The next day we were so fortunate to make dinner plans with a friend we met at our job in the Florida Keys. He and his wife moved out to Couer d’Alene a few months after Devon and I started our job, but we knew that that wouldn’t be the last we’d see of each other.
Everyone, meet Scott.
Scott is one of the most genuine and gracious humans you’ll ever meet. He was kind enough to treat Devon and I to dinner at Crafted Tap + Kitchen… I forgot to snap a pic, but my Bahn Mi Sandwich was to die for. The meal, the atmosphere of the restaurant and the company made for the perfect evening altogether.
Scott, thank you, thank you, thank you, for one of the best meals of the entire trip (I really do mean that! My mouth still starts to water thinking about that sandwich…). It was so great to see you and we can’t wait to see you and CJ back in the Keys one day 🙂
We woke up the next morning ready to keep rolling into Washington.
From our Cabela’s campsite in Post Falls, Idaho, it was 3.5 hours to our next free site at Crawfish Lake, WA.
Into the woods we go…
Out of all 19 sites in this primitive campground, we were the only ones there.
Some of you may question, “Oh my… don’t you get scared out there being so alone?”
mmmm… no.
Well, sometimes.
Are we on high alert for noise? Absolutely.
Nonetheless,
We spent the afternoon fishing, reading, looking for bald eagles and talking to Elk…
When we were at our site in Montana, Devon saw a bald eagle that he said was the biggest one he’s ever, ever, EVER seen… I was immensely jealous because I didn’t get to see it at all…
That evening at our first stop in Washington, we saw not one, but TWO bald eagles!
It’s hard to see, but this is one of them as it flew over us…
And this was the other one that was sitting in a tree across the lake…
Whether I was whistling to elk or an elk hunter, the world may never know.
As we left Crawfish Lake, it quickly became clear that Eastern Washington looked nothing like we were expecting.
The car ride continues…
We even saw some of the effects of recent wildfires… It’s a weird feeling driving through a burned area…
About 10 miles out from our next camp, we saw another bear! While the one we saw in Yellowstone was a Grizzly, this one was a black bear. Lok at his cute little ears 🙂
From Crawfish Lake it was another 2 hours to our next free site outside of Mazama, WA.
This site was a liiiiiittle more secluded than I would have liked. Again, a number of sites around but we were the only ones! Except for the one old man we saw ride by on his bike… Yeah, that was a little odd… But we kept to ourselves, high alert as always.
The following morning, our final long haul across Washington began, with the first stop being in North Cascades National Park!
You’ll get to see more next time, but here’s your sneak peak into another great addition to our “When We Come Back” List…
Until next time,
j&d
WE WENT THERE 