I grew up in a small town.
I have a great appreciation for conversations that start with “who’s yer father?” and the friendly wave, the casual lift of a hand off the steering wheel of a pickup truck acknowledging a person’s existence.
We don’t do that in the city.
Maybe in the suburbs where you might – might – know your next-door neighbor’s name.
Spirit Lake, Idaho, is that kind of town.
The highlight of a day in Spirit Lake
A recent client lives in Spirit Lake. She wanted to meet at Bear Lake Regional Park in Chattaroy for her session. She often takes her grandkid there to go for a swim.
I’m familiar with the park. Bella and I explored for the first time XX years ago and, last year, I did an end of life session for my dear friend Stephanie and her beloved Bam.
As we chatted through the session, my client told me the drive from Spirit Lake to Bear Lake via E. Blanchard Road is one of her favorite road trips.
I’d heard from others it was a beautiful drive through the country … or read it somewhere.
So, on a rare day with not much to do (in truth, I had a ton of things to do but I owed Bella a day), I loaded Eddie the Edge up with Bella and Zippy the Z9 and left all my cares behind.
We started with a stop at a canola field on Bigelow Gulch Road, a shot I’ve been seeing in my head for years but never took the time to stop and create.
And then we headed onto Bear Lake for Bella’s first real photo shoot since last fall, before her ruptured her canine cruciate ligament and landed on the injury reserve roster for the winter season.
She hasn’t skipped a beat on “hold your pose,” has she?
A nice day for a long drive
The drive from Chattaroy, Washington, to Blanchard, Idaho, was beautiful. It was pure Eastern Washington and North Idaho country.
Lush green forests, expansive ranchlands and crystal clear lakes.
As far as the eye can see.
Trouble was, any stunning viewpoints – and there were a few – held no places to stop on the road.
From a day drive perspective? Excellent. Calming. Quiet.
From a photography perspective? Ah, I’ve knocked it off the list and don’t need to do it again.
As we turned onto Highway 41 and started heading for home, I still needed something that said “country” or “rural” for this week’s blog circle. I thought, “oh maybe the boat launch at Spirit Lake will give me something.”
Nope.
But the downtown?
Gold.