Our fourth day on the road seemed destined to be an utter train wreck. First, we all got a terrible night of sleep (due to the unwrecked trains at the last campsite). Second, after crossing Idaho and coming into Spokane, Washington, our air conditioner died at a gas station. Temperatures in eastern Washington were pushing past 90 degrees. This was not fun.

After finding a shop that could tackle the car on short notice, we discovered that we weren’t far from a public pool. So we grabbed the swim bag, slathered on the sunscreen, and spent most of the afternoon playing at the pool. This was totally fun!

It was also just what we all needed after three days of driving. Oliver got to enjoy his first time at a real pool; he was mesmerized by the water, slapping his hands on it and looking surprised (and satisfied) every time it splashed up in his face. Eventually, perhaps overwhelmed by the stimulation, he took a long nap on a towel, causing no end of comments from astonished parents about what a good baby he was. (I had to agree… it was blissful sitting under the umbrella, reading a book, while the older kids romped and the car was repaired a few blocks away.) Alas, we did not take any pictures because we were in survival mode, but we can recommend the Witter Aquatic Center if you’re ever in Spokane on a hot afternoon. This reminds me, too, of what a great resource public pools can be on road trips. We have fond memories of spending an afternoon at the pool in North Platte on our 2010 drive to Minnesota, as mentioned in this post.

Turns out that our air conditioner was damaged by some sort of small rodent that climbed in, chewed up some wires, and died. They fixed the wires and got the system working again, but could not find the body of the culprit. How did we know the merry villain had not escaped the unscathed? Why, the sweet smell of decomposition now scented our AC. Why choose new car smell when you can get dead mouse? (Fortunately, hot, dry weather encourages rapid mummification.)

I don’t think we left Spokane until five-ish, but we made it to a campground in the Snoqualmie area of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, just east of Seattle, with enough light to pitch our tents. In the morning we got to experience the full beauty of the Kachess Campground, easily the best campground of the trip. There are tons of forested sites along the shores of gorgeous Kachess Lake with trails meandering along the bank. See the pictures below.

Thoughtful Oliver

Reading about local wildlife.

First view of Kachess Lake.

Gathering moss

Griffin paradise

Selfie of the day

Mossy trees

Morning laughter

Day 4 driving route

We continued our journey across Montana today. Not much to note about the drive, though we did stop for frozen custard along the way. The day ended, however, with the worst camping experience of our trip.

Our original destination was the Trout Creek Campground in the Lolo National Forest. When we arrived, however, the site was deserted and there were signs posted that the water had been turned off due to high bacteria counts. In retrospect, we wish we had simply camped there… it was remote, quiet, and beautiful, and we could have purchased a few gallons of water in town. At the time, however, it felt a bit creepy being completely deserted. The creek, too, was running high and fast, with no safe swimming spots, so it seemed unnecessarily risky for the kids. The Lolo forest is large, so we figured other campgrounds would be similarly lovely with safe drinking water.

We proceeded to the Slowey Campground, described on the forest service website as “a great place to rest after floating the Clark Fork River or just sit and enjoy the river go by… There’s much to like about this campground near the river’s edge with open areas beneath the big pines.” We knew it would be close to the highway, not nearly as remote as Trout Creek, but after our lovely experience along Hyalite Creek at Langohr, we figured the Clark Fork River might create pleasant white noise. Wrong! Not only was the river silent, but there were freight train tracks on the other bank. These rails were heavily used all night, and the acoustics of the area made it feel like the trains were barrelling right through our tents. Because of an at-grade crossing, too, each train was preceded by the bells warning of the gate closures and nearly constant air horn blasts from the locomotive. Trains came just about every hour, so it was a night of very little sleep for the parents.

Griffin’s question suggests just how often the trains came through: “Is it just going around and around in a circle?”

At sunrise we introduced the children to an authentic ethical dilemma: we left camp without paying.

We left the Day’s Inn bright and early and headed west across Montana. We found a wonderful campsite in the Langohr Campground in Gallatin National Forest south of Bozeman. It was an ideal day without too much driving. We arrived early enough to set up camp, cook a delicious dinner (pasta with sausages), and get to bed on time. We pitched our tents next to a turbulent brook that cooled the air and made it especially easy to sleep.

Griffin befriended a neighboring camper from North Carolina who was an avid fisher. He and Griffin spent a lot of time in the evening and morning fishing, whether wading in the brook, standing on the bridge, or walking along the bank. Although they didn’t manage to catch any fish, they had a great time trying. (Griffin points out that they didn’t have any worms, which may have had something to do with it.)

Thrilled to find a beautiful campground.

Oliver happy to be at his first camp site ever.

Rushing river made the best white noise ever.

Our site’s personal wading area!

Cool rock face across the river.

Slept like a rock in his first night in the tent.

Portable crib worked great.

Maggie and Griffin slept in their own tent for the first time ever.

Toasty warm.

Daddy sleeping in.

Mama with Griffin

Maggie and her brother.

Mama with Maggie

Coffee

Loved this site.

Glendive to the campground, south of Bozeman