Today Edward and the camper were pulled up the Clearwater and Lochsa Rivers in Idaho and over Lolo Pass into Montana. They crossed the Continental Divide at Pipestone Pass near Butte and drove down to Livingston, where they turned south towards Yellowstone National Park. The main highway goes down the west side of the Yellowstone River, but the camper was pulled across the bridge to the east side of the river and into a beautiful campsite within view of Emigrant Peak. This part of the Yellowstone Valley is called Paradise Valley by the people who live here. The closest town is called Pray and the town of Emigrant isn’t far away. Chico Hot Springs is just down the road. There is a big fire burning on Emigrant Mountain. The people who live here say it has been burning for more than two days now. It was showing a really big smoke plume in the early evening, but it was down a bit as sunset came. The wind is blowing through the trees here and the river is right by the camper.



It has been a good day of travels for Edward and his family. More mountain passes and more miles. Tomorrow they will get home to Rapid City and take a break from the camper for a while.

After saying good bye to Elliot and his family, the camper was packed up and Edward was on the move once again. They drove down Interstate 5 to US 12 and crossed Washington on US 12. The highway starts with a beautiful path across the Cascade mountains between Mount Rainier and Mount Saint Helens. They crossed White Pass and drove ate lunch alongside a beautiful lake.



From the Cascades west, it is desert. By Yakima, the land is dry and parched except where the irrigation gives water to the orchards and vineyards. The temperature was only 56 degrees when Edward got up in Olympia, but it was nearly 100 degrees by Yakima and at Walla Walla, it was 101!

In the hills between Walla Walla and Clarkson there are hundreds and hundreds of windmills turning in the breeze. The wind is making electricity for people to pump water and cool their homes.



The travel went smoothly and they decided to stop early and camp alongside the Snake River at the border between Washington and Idaho. There are yet many more miles to go, but it was good to stop and set up camp. The air conditioner in the trailer really felt good as it cooled down and they settled in for the night.



The river was a good place for a short paddle. Edward enjoyed the bushes next to the river. He could see Idaho and knew that they were headed into the mountains again tomorrow.

Edward did not move to a new place. He is still in the rainforest near Olympia, Washington. But there was exciting news to report because Elliot slept in the camper last night. It was a wonderful adventure, filled with many special activities. At first Elliot played with the blue play dough that Grandma Susan had made just for him. Elliot ate supper and then went swimming. The water was pretty cold. Elliot kicked with Papa Ted in the pool for a while, but then he needed to warm up.



There is a tractor at the campsite and Elliot enjoyed sitting in the driver’s seat, turning the wheel and moving the throttle. The tractor is attached to a wagon with hay bales, so Elliot imagined going to take hay to the horses.



After a bath and a good sleep, Elliot got up and ate a good breakfast and then got dressed for the day.



One of the best things about the campground is that it has an old go cart track and Elliot could ride his strider around and around. He was thinking of Go Dog Go! and the big dog party at the end of the book. He told Papa Ted and Grandma Susan about all of the fun he was having. They had to run to keep up and then they couldn’t keep up. Elliot can coast with his feet in the air for 30 feet or more on his strider. He had a wonderful time and went around the track many, many times.



Then there was time to play on the tractor again before heading into town to meet Mom and Dad for coffee.

Edward’s people packed up at Anacortes and they got on the road. Soon they were on a very busy freeway. They drove right through the city of Seattle with the Space Needle and other interesting buildings. They could see a 787 Dreamliner on the ramp at Boeing field and they saw sailboats racing in Lake Washington. After a few hours of driving, they arrived in Olympia. Olympia has a lot of tall trees and they parked in a beautiful forest to camp for five nights.



Edward loved the green plants and trees and the quiet of the forest. There were lots of birds singing and chattering and the light was soft and warm through the trees. It was even a bit cool in the shade, a special treat in the middle of the summer, especially for a bear who always wears a fur coat. Edward knows that he will get to spend more time with Elliot over the next few days and that is an exciting prospect for a camper bear. Perhaps Elliot could sleep over one night and they could have more adventures.

Edward Bear saw the ocean for the first time on July 12. They came down from the mountains and across a plain and then they crossed a high bridge and were on an island. The name of the island is “Fidalgo.” The campground where they settled is run by the Samish tribe. At one time the Samish were spread throughout the islands, coast and even into the mountains. But when European settlers came they brought with them diseases that the Samish people had never before experienced. Many people died from the sicknesses and the tribe became very small for a while. The Samish people on Fidalgo Island eat mostly fish. They have a saying that means, “When the tide is out, the table is set.” They dig clams from the tidal flats and eat crab and other shell fish. They know how to catch the salmon that are the food of the bears and of the Orca Whales.

Edward’s people went on a large boat to look at the whales. They visited two pods of Orcas and had a chance to see a Minke whale as well. It was a beautiful day and they brought back many pictures to share.



There were lots of other adventures on Fidalgo Island. The camper stayed parked in the same place for five nights. The boats were unloaded and there was rowing and paddling around the bay and even from the island to the mainland and back. There were stories from the Samish and other indigenous people that were told. There were even some stories about the white bears of British Columbia. Edward wondered what it might be like to have white fur instead of his brown fur. Some people call the bears “Spirit bears.”



There are many stokes to every place and this new place was filled with adventures and lots of stories. But the best part of this place was that Edward Bear got to meet Elliot. He even got to sleep in Elliot’s bed while Elliot and his family were visiting in the camper.

My oh my has Edward Bear been having adventures. He has been to the top of nine mountain passes on this trip and when he got to the top of Washington Pass he took a look around and realized how high he was here in the Northern Cascades. North Cascade National Park is home to the most glaciers outside of Alaska in the United States and it is filled with waterfalls and rugged spires. The trailer was going a bit more slowly as the truck pulled it up the steep mountain passes, but there were no troubles and the day was a grand adventure.



Today Edward Bear is camped in a bit of the temperate rainforest. It is an exciting place with ferns and moss growing everywhere and trees that are so tall that you can’t see the tops. Edward found a hollow log and other grand things around the campground. There are lots of other bears in this area and the campground has lots of signs warning people to be careful around bears, but Edward didn’t see any other bears in this place.

Edward believes that Kettle Falls is a funny name for a place. Today he is northwest of Spokane, Washington, not far from Canada. There is a huge lake here, formed by a big dam that has filled a gorge between the mountains with the waters of the Columbia River. The Kettle River flows into the reservoir and it too is backed up and slow and deep as it becomes a part of Lake Roosevelt.

Their travels didn’t cover as many miles yesterday, but Edward and his trailer home traveled through some beautiful country. There were more mountain passes, a big city, and then they were out in the rolling country with lots of wheat fields and soon they entered the forest as they drove along.



Edward has enjoyed watching the osprey fishing in the lake. Wow! If he could fly, he could catch a lot of fish. Edward still doesn’t know much about how to catch fish,, but he holds tightly to the one that he has as he explores this big world.

Edward Bear ‘s ears really perked up when he heard the people talking about the grizzly bear sightings in Red Lodge this morning. Edward thougtht that it would be wonderful to meet another bear. He wasn’t sure about a grizzly, however. Edward didn’t know what kind of bear he was, but he thought that a grizzly bear must be old in order to be grizzled, but he wasn’t sure. At any rate he didn’t see any bears in Red Lodge. The day however, was a drive across Montana into the Western part of the state, which is definitely bear country. After a long day’s drive, they stopped in St. Regis, which is definitely bear country and Edward met a whole bunch of bears. One of them even had a fish like Edward.






That however wasn’t the highlight of his day. The best part of the day was the big fish that Edward found right behind the place where they parked the camper. You’ll have to look at the picture to see what a treasure he found.

It was a long hot day, but the campground was just right and Edward went to sleep full of joy at the new friends he had found and the new place he discovered. Edward went to bed filled with lots of good images and dreamed dreams about the new place that he would go and the new discoveries he would make tomorrow.

It has been obvious to Edward Bear for several days that everyone was getting ready for a big adventure. There has been a lot of coming and going at the camper, with groceries and clothes and kites and other items being loaded. Then, yesterday, on Monday, the camper was hooked up to the truck and they were off. They traveled most of the day and in the afternoon there was a great thundershower with lightning and lots of wind that shook the camper and rain, rain, rain. But by early evening they had arrived at a beautiful campsite along Rock Creek in Red Lodge, Montana.



Rock Creek is a lovely small river, and it is running fast with lots of runoff from the snow in the high mountains that you can see all around. The sound of the river running by is like music. The water dances and froths and makes whitewater in the most interesting way. Edward knew about trout in the mountain rivers and he looked and looked, but it was hard to see in the water in the evening. Even though he knew that there were fish in the river, he didn’t see any.

The next morning, Edward made another trip down to the creek. It was quiet and beautiful with the sound of the rushing water being the only thing he heard. The grass by the edge of the creek was being warmed by the sun and felt soft and safe to Edward as he explored. The creek was rushing by so quickly that it seemed that it might be dangerous were Edward to fall in.

He found a little spot by the river and sat on the rocks to think about fishing. “The trouble with fishing,” thought Edward, “is that one would have to set down the fish that he has in order to have his paws free to pick up another.” Edward thought that risking losing the fish that he had might not be a good idea. So even as he though about fishing, he didn’t do any fishing that day. The problem of being a bear with a fish is that the incentive to go out and get another fish is a bit less, Edward supposed.



Red Lodge is a beautiful mountain town filled with fun people and the adventure reminded Edward that there are many places in this world that are worth visiting more than once. This is one of them. Edward soaked up the sunshine of the beautiful summer morning in the mountains and dreamed of other places where he might visit. It seemed that this was a great beginning to a big adventure. Edward hoped that there would be more mountains and rivers as they traveled.