Now that the snow has accumulated to about a foot in depth, we enjoy taking Sunday trips to new places and explore the area a little bit. This week we drove north towards the Canadian border and pulled over in Kootenai Wildlife Refuge by Bonners Ferry.

Myrtle Falls

I don’t really understand why they call it a refuge (implying peaceful foraging grounds) when four days out of the week you can come in and shoot the wildlife. More like a ‘Nature Park of Confusion’.

The roads are icy but the skies are clear and we have snow chains and a survival kit in the trunk. Nothing can go wrong now.

Right.

In one smooth curve we begin to slide. Movement in slow-motion. I look ahead and feel rather indifferent as there is no ravine, river or otherwise remarkable obstruction to crash into- just a snow bank and some young pine trees. When the car comes to a stand-still we begin to giggle.

Perhaps we were just desperate for some adventure again.

We dig and collect branches for at least a half hour. We try three times to get out while I push. Just as we’re beginning to lose hope, a man walks by with his big dog ‘Tiny’ and helps push. That does the trick and we’re free. In the middle of our ecstatic victory dance a massive red pickup truck pulls up. ‘You guys stuck?’

Typical.

Hmmm… Maybe I Was Driving On The Fast side?