It was 46 degrees and raining yesterday in Whitefish, so I vetoed our hike. Mountain Ken said we’d warm up once we got going, but I reminded him I would be miserable. Ergo, HE would be miserable. We’re heading to Coeur d’Alene later, and the last thing anyone needs is cranky me in the car.

Shopping in Whitefish

So, a bit of shopping. We were not the only ones with this idea. Found a wonderful jewelry store. A successful turquoise buying mission for a friend. Settled on a white buffalo turquoise ring. White buffalo turquoise is a symbol of Native American culture, and pretty rare — it’s only found in one specific mine in Nevada. White buffalo turquoise grows next to magnesium which bleaches the stone’s pigment white, whereas, blue turquoise grows next to copper, giving the stones their blue-green color. Fascinating.

Ultimately, the town was packed with people, and we can only take so much dodging and weaving around the super slow, wide-walking crowd. So, abbreviated shopping experience.

Met good friends of ours for dinner at a local Mexican place with super yum margaritas. Well, except for the one called “Cilantro Smash”. This is an insult to good and decent margaritas.

My 50th State

Crossed the state line into Idaho today! I reminded Ken in a subtle and non-competitive way that I have now visited all 50 states. And, he . . . has not. He is still trying to find a loophole.

Arrived in Coeur d’Alene, which I had to write about 23 times before it stuck how to spell it. Walked around downtown. A couple of fun galleries, but absurdly overpriced. Buffalo mount = $5K. Giant metal cowboy boot = $3K. Would definitely put this elk in our yard, but $12K. Nope.

Ken was distracted by this Porsche 356 parked on the street. I was distracted by its color. Looks like mint ice cream.

Then, we found this: Is there anything cuter than a pile of Labrador retriever puppies? No. No there is not.

Cheers!