Edward has known for several days that the camper was being prepared to roll and he suspected that it would be heading toward South Dakota. That is home for Edward and he likes his home. But he had real mixed feelings when he though about leaving Mount Vernon. The sleepovers with Elliot and Emmala were wonderful and he had gotten used to being hugged by those two and by Eliza as well. Edward liked all of the company that he had in the camper. Rachel even came for a week and one night there was a grand sleepover with Elliot, Emmala and Rachel! It has been a wonderful summer and heading back to South Dakota means that fall is coming and for Edward, it means that hibernation can't be all that far behind. Edward doesn't mind hibernating. He's always up for a nap.

As the camper made its way sough to Highway 2, Edward had a quick thought: "What if we make it to St. Regis, Montana? That's where you can get a huckleberry shake. Edward likes huckleberry shakes. They are his favorite for sure.

As it turned out, the camper didn't go quite that far. They made it all the way across Washington and into Idaho, but stopped at Wolf Creek Lodge, which is just past Coeur d'Alene. Our d'Alene means "Heart of the Mountains" in French, and it really is in the heart of the mountains. And there is a big beautiful lake at Coeur d'Alene. Edward thought everything was pretty interesting. He took a look at the creek that runs down to the lake. There are canoes and kayaks and inner tubes for floating on the creek. The campground is pretty close to the Interstate, so there is a bit of highway noise, but things are very nice and Edward settled in for the night.

Just a few days and the camper will be back in Rapid City and getting ready to go to the storage place. In the meantime, Edward is getting ready for a couple more adventures.

First of all, it is important to note that there are several lakes named Silver Lake in Washington. This is the one that is on the way to Mount Baker in Whatcom County, just a little bit south of the Canadian Line in the Northwest corner of the state. Edward is camping here with Elliot and Emmala and Susan and Ted. It is beautiful campground run by Whatcom County, situated in a grove of tall trees, with ferns growing underneath. There are lots of giant cedar trees and there are also the stumps of trees that were even bigger than the ones that are stretching to the sky. It smells good in the cedar forest and the cool was welcome as it was over 90 degrees in Clear Lake when the group left to go up the road to this special camping place.

Elliot and Emmala paddled the yellow boat in the lake and Grandpa Ted gave boat rides in one of his cedar boats. Edward thought that it was neat that the boat is made out of the same kind of wood as is growing in the forest. Elliot and Emmala have been learning about campfire cooking this summer, cooking hot dogs and hamburgers and marshmallows over an open fire. They had pigs in a blanket and corn on the cob for supper tonight. Edward wondered if there were any fish in the lake. They saw people fishing, but they didn't see anyone catching a fish.

Elliot and Emmala were good campers. They picked up bags of trash that had been left behind by other campers and helped to make the campground better for the next visitors. This is just a one day trip, a fun time after a busy week and before the weekend comes. Edward knows that there are new adventures ahead.