A DRIVE ALONG THE PEND ORIELLE RIVER

This is a big river, stretching from a 1/4 to a 1/2 mile in width, and flowing north from Newport, WA through the Pend Orielle Valley.  North of the border in British Columbia, it connects with the Columbia River, and then all of this water returns to the U.S., traveling through Washington, and eventually emptying into the Pacific Ocean at Astoria, OR.  Pend Orielle has it's origin from the French culture, and it's pronounced "Ponderay".

In my never ending search for a train to ride, we drove north along this huge river for approx. 30 miles,to the small town of Ione, WA.  In our previous travels, I had picked up an outdated brochure, identifying a tourist train that ran along the river between Ione, and Metaline Falls.   When we arrived at the train depot in Ione, we quickly discovered that this train is run by the local Lions Club, and the dates of operation are not very often.  Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
  

The Tiger Store is more of a museum, but there were free chocolate chip cookies, and yep, I had a couple!

 

 We'll be crossing the U.S. / Canadian Border in a few days, but not on this road.

Except for October, when the fall colors are out, this tourist train doesn't run very often.  It operates on about 10 miles of track that are at the end of a branch line running north along the Pend Orielle River,  from Newport to Metaline Falls. 

We drove back south along a road on the other side (east) of the river, and passed by a place that looked more like a train station than a house.  I had to stop and take a picture of the RR crossing signal, complete with arm, the short section of track with a speeder, and a few other RR things that are difficult to see in the picture.  You never know what you're going to find, when you go exploring!

Back at the motor home, I finished the day fast forwarding through the Indy 500, and then watching the very long NASCAR race from Charlotte.  Today is Memorial Day, and a time to give thanks to all who have served our country.  The freedoms that we enjoy in this country are often taken for granted, but without the sacrifices of our active duty military, and our veterans, the word freedom might otherwise be meaningless.