27-29 September 2013 St Maries

September 27  We had lunch today at the St. Maries Senior Meal Site with Francie and Sally and several other seniors. Friday's lunch is usually well attended. Today's menu was roast beef, squash, mashed potatoes, melon, and coconut cream pie.

The cooks and staff are proud of their efforts--no government funds support the meal site, only donations and the charges for the meals. Meals are served Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Sometimes it's a financial struggle; sometimes the noon meal is the only hot meal a a senior eats that day--companionship and food offered in clean warm surroundings. Other organizations in St. Maries have a food bank, an evening meal on Fridays, and a Thursday "Souper Supper." This little town helps its needy folks.

After lunch Francie, Bill, Patrice, and I went to a big garage sale east of town--nice stuff, and people that Francie knows (everyone in Benewah County knows Francie). We bought a few things. I took Bill with me to buy some propane and a new heater for the rig. We did some more visiting at Francie's and then had pie and ice cream at Sally's Handy Corner in the late afternoon. We were home by dark and paid the owner of H2H Bison Ranch for our stay--his excavating company keeps him busy, and I was able to catch him. He has the same number of bison as last year when we were here--no babies this year.

September 28  Late breakfast today--Amana sausage, eggs, and Yukon (brand mix) flapjacks. More rain predicted for today and tomorrow. We decided to delay going to Republic until Monday because of the rain and wind forecast. Hung around our rig until mid-afternoon then went to St. Maries.

Just before we left Patrice noticed that one of the bison was out of the fenced area. I ran and closed the main gate and then tried to find someone to re-corral the small bison. Finally found Warren's mother--she said they often let Penelope out into the main yard but only after the gates are closed. They are trying to train Penelope to be people-friendly so they can display her at fairs and shows. Warren later told us that he forgot to close the gate himself and he was grateful that I took care of it.

On our way to St. Maries we stopped in Plummer to see Denny and arrange for breakfast with him and his wife Rita tomorrow. We arrived at Francie's, visited over coffee, and headed to the Calder Store for their famous Saturday night prime rib dinner.

Calder is about 25 miles east of St. Maries and upstream on the St. Joe River. It was drizzly and a bit windy, and we saw several deer on the way. Calder is a small village with several homes and the restaurant/grocery store/post office. I found a USGS gaging station as we crossed the bridge into Calder.

What a meal--great salad bar, baked potatoes, vegetables, and the most tender, flavorful prime rib we've ever had! We came to this restaurant last year on our visit--and had the same waitress, whose name is Patrice! The dining area is full of historical pictures of logging activities in the area. Many diners were from the nearby hunting camps (elk season), and several people in camouflage jackets stopped by to greet Francie and Bill--everyone knows them.

We returned to Francie's for lemon meringue pie and coffee.

We had a great time today with Francie and Bill.

September 29  Went to an early breakfast with Partice's cousin Denny and his wife Rita at the casino near Worley, Idaho. Not a great breakfast but a good visit with Denny and Rita--lots of catching up with family news.

After returning to the rig, we paid Warren for another night and bought a pound of ground bison. Patrice and I drove around the ranch area and saw several bison calves born recently. The young ones are this copper color. Another "batch" of four calves born this spring already have the dark brown color and are larger. The little ones were trying to get some hay but were butted out of place by the larger bison bulls--it was a bit of a crowded feeding area, and they all were a bit nervous. Patrice got these pictures.

This afternoon we drove into St. Maries and went to the Art, Music, and Brews Festival with Francie and Bill. The building was full of people, vendors, and on the stage were two young men singing and playing some terrific fiddle and guitar. We were captivated.

They were billed as the Acuff Sherfey Duo, and according to the St. Maries newspaper they are "the hottest country rock duo in the Northwest." The fiddler Justin Sherfey just turned 15 and for the last five years he has finished in the top five of all US fiddlers competing at the National Championships held in Weiser, Idaho. Justin also played some fine mandolin and guitar during the performance. The guitar player (also singer) Colby Acuff was 16 and has accompanied the Justin at the championships. They hit it off and became a duo. Colby wrote some of the songs that the boys performed. Patrice and I attended the Weiser National Championships several years ago and we know how talented the entrants are and how tough the competition is. What a treat this was today.

Justin Sherfey and Colby Acuff

Justin

We shopped around at some of the craft tables and ate some hamburgers and hot dogs before leaving the event.

Marionberry pie and ice cream at Francie's ended our day.

It is possible we will move to Republic tomorrow--severe wind conditions are predicted for tonight and some of tomorrow. We understand these winds are moving to the eastern side of Washington from a major western Washington storm. We'll make our decision tomorrow morning.