Four friends at Thompson Pass: Richard, Bert, Lesley, and Chuck. Photo supplied by Chuck Grimm.
From the archives · June 19, 2019
By Chuck Grimm
Four friends, three-wheeled steeds, mountain scenery, and an ice cream order I would soon regret—our ride to Thompson Falls turned into a full day of good company and beautiful country.
Four Musketeers Hit the Road
After our GWRRA ID-H breakfast gathering on June 19, 2019, four Musketeers—Richard, Bert, Lesley, and yours truly—decided to go for a ride.
Richard led us along a route Lesley and I hadn’t traveled before. There was some awesome country to see, and our first stop was the Snake Pit in Kingston for a chance to stretch our legs.
About ten minutes later, we were back aboard and heading for lunch.
Lunch at the Sprag Pole Inn
You guessed it: Sprag Pole Inn, here we come.
They had some of the best fry sauce—a wonderful flavor. Lesley and I ordered our favorite sandwiches. If memory serves, they were the Sprag Pole French Dip with horseradish Swiss cheese. What a treat for the taste buds.
Richard’s barbecue beef looked delicious—and very messy. Somehow, he managed to keep every drop off his high-visibility shirt. Had that been me, well…
Bert enjoyed her sandwich, too. We spent some time visiting with other riders and met two of the sweetest little dogs, Russell and Wilson. Boy, did they know they were cute.
Their owner told us she had chosen those names to balance out her son’s two dogs, Tom and Brady.
Good choice, Mom!
With lunch and visiting finished, we climbed back onto our three-wheeled steeds.
Over Thompson Pass
Our next destination was Thompson Falls, with a short stop at Thompson Pass to stretch our legs.
I tried to take a group selfie, but there was no chance of that working. No matter what I did, I couldn’t see the screen. Fortunately, two couples riding from Troy helped us get the pictures.
Thanks, folks, whoever you were!
We continued into Thompson Falls, fueled up, and pointed ourselves toward Love Works Tie-Dye in Ponderay. A brief stop in Clark Fork gave us another opportunity to stretch before we carried on.
A Little Tie-Dye and a Lot of Ice Cream
Walking into Love Works Tie-Dye felt like taking a trip back in time. I found myself looking for black lights and pictures of Jimi Hendrix. The place brought back memories of the shops from years gone by.
After purchasing a couple of items, we headed to Dub’s in Sandpoint for ice cream.
I decided to live dangerously and ordered a medium swirl in a cup.
I will never do that again.
The portion was enormous—a good eight to ten inches of ice cream, by my estimate. Calling it a “medium” didn’t seem to do it justice.
Let’s just say my eyes were bigger than my stomach.
Homeward Bound
Back aboard our steeds, we headed for home. We dropped Richard and Bert off in Athol, and Lesley and I reached our own place about an hour later.
We had started at 7:15 a.m. and returned at 7:30 p.m., covering 287 miles according to Google Maps. To say we were tired would be an understatement.
But we had spent the day with good friends and seen some beautiful country that the Good Lord saw fit to put before us.
It was a glorious day, to be sure.