
May Adventures
Spring is my absolute favorite time of year. I love the long daylight hours and the fresh green everywhere, not to mention all the flowers that come in stages.

First the crocuses and primroses, then the daffodils and tulips, followed by the irises and lilacs. The red tulips were especially lovely in the Children’s Garden across the street a few weeks ago.
I have appreciated, more than ever this year, the opportunity to get outside and enjoy nature.

The first Saturday in May we decided to check out a new hiking trail on Rathdrum Mountain right above our house. It is a “Storybook Trail.” I have been so curious to find out what that means since I first heard about it last summer. I won’t take time to explain it in this post but I’ll share about it very soon.

The next day we drove up the river to scope out possible campsites. It was cloudy and damp that day but the next weekend was forecast to be sunny so we hoped to go camping. We spotted a small gang of elk between the road and the river.

We did find a small private campground that was open for the season. And the lovely weather arrived right on schedule the following weekend so we were happy to take our trailer out for the first time this year.

As you can see, we had plenty of room for “social distancing.” It was fabulous family weekend with just the 4 of us.

Restaurants in our area re-opened for dine-in on May 16. We were the first customers to arrive at Elmer’s for breakfast that morning. We noticed the waitresses jumping up and down when they saw us coming in. They were as happy to be back as we were.

We took 3 extra days and made a very fast trip to my parents’ place in Arkansas to take care of some family matters over Memorial Day weekend. It was fun to see how much further along it is into spring down there. I especially enjoyed seeing the wildflowers along the road.

Since I was in the area I had the privilege of celebrating Memorial Day in the traditional way, for the first time ever, by putting flowers on my grandparents’ grave.
Before it was called Memorial Day they used to call it Decoration Day, and that’s what people did–decorated their family graves.

On the way home we traveled across Nebraska and Wyoming on I-80, the route of the old Lincoln Highway. We had watched a documentary about it recently and learned that it was the first coast-to-coast highway. We watched for historical markers along the way. We saw an original Lincoln Highway marker at one stop in Wyoming. In the early days of the highway it wasn’t even paved. So hard to imagine.
It was interesting to see the various ways businesses were implementing social distancing. Most fast food restaurant dining rooms were still closed, so we ate in the car while we drove.

One truck stop was even capitalizing on the pandemic by selling t-shirts. I like the one about quarantine being my normal lifestyle. Okay, not quite, but it’s true it’s definitely been easier on us introverts than on the extroverts.

Currently I’m enjoying the lilacs in bloom. As my Grandmother used to say, we’re grateful things are as well with us as they are.


3 Comments
MaryAnne
I’m in love with that swing!
Dee
Glad we could be together in Arkansas, and that we all made it safely home! I love that swing, too! Drool!!!
Teresa Locklear
Looks like you had a great time. Love all the beautiful flowers!