1. I woke up this morning yearning to be among old trees in the cool of their comforting shade. I drove up the North Fork of the CdA River and on up to the West Fork of Eagle Creek and entered the gravel road that leads to the Settlers Grove of Ancient Cedars Trail in the Coeur d'Alene National Forest. But, I never made it to the trees. A large, limbless tree had fallen from up the hill bordering the road and the top of the tree rested on the road, blocking it. I had to make a seventy-five point turn on the narrow single lane Forest Service road to get turned around. I decided to go to the Bedroom Goldmine Bar in Murray for a hamburger and couple of ice cold cans of Budweiser beer. The bar was nearly empty, so I experienced some of the solitude I had sought by trying to go to the cedar grove. The hamburger and beer hit the spot.
Still, in these sad days following Mom's death, it would have been comforting to have some solitude among those old and mighty cedars.
2. I returned home and read the scores of condolences and words of support from friends from the Silver Valley, Coeur d'Alene, Spokane, Eugene, Seattle, Boulder, Portland, Huntingdon, PA, Grass Valley, CA, and many other places. I thought of my friendship with each of person. If they knew Mom, I thought about their relationship with her. I appreciated how many people, who didn't know Mom, felt they had come to know her over the last several months and beyond because of the writing Christy, Carol, and I have done about her on our blogs and on Facebook and the pictures we have posted. My friends have been generous in their support and I deeply appreciate how many people have told Christy, Carol, and me that we did everything we could to care for and comfort Mom in the last months and weeks and days she was alive.
By the way, if you'd like to read Mom's obituary, just click right here.
3. Ed and I both needed some time away and we headed down to Worley to the CdA Casino. As always, it's not so much the casino that makes these trips so good; it's the driving down and back, talking about stuff, reminiscing, and solving the world's problems. We did plenty of talking, not only in the car, but over dinner at the Red Tail Bar and Grill inside the casino. I got back to Kellogg about 11:00 and fell into a deep and refreshing sleep.
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