Our sibling assignment this week was to write a memory about going " Up the River" . Up the river is the north fork of the Coeur d' Alene River. You can find my brother's here and my sister's here . There were place names that were always a part of the lore of the river. When a name was mentioned it would conjure up a story or memory of that place. I arranged images and names of the river into this poem:
Floating the North Fork
Of the Coeur d’Alene River
Leave one rig at Enaville, Bumblebee, or Steamboat Creek and
take the other to Shoshone Creek, Bobtail Road, or Lost Creek.
Pack up the sunflower seeds, cooler, cut-offs and thongs
and remember Sea and Ski, shades, and a roll of TP.
Float past the Prichard Bridge, Beaver Creek, and Bill English’s house
and always look for Cedar Island, Graham Creek, and Dad’s "place”.
Find black marks from the inner tube,
scrape bottom in the shallow parts,
look for bushes when nature calls,
and holler and splash friends as you slowly pass by.
Floating at a lazy pace as the sun sinks behind the mountain,
cooler empty, seeds gone, shoulders red with burn.
Dive in at The Rocks, the Black Bridge, or the famous Silver Bridge
wistfully remembering those names that never came back up.
Head back past the Snake Pit to Senator Creek,
Travel home over Dobson Pass- the scenic route,
Turn at the Husky station, cruise by Camp Ferguson and Dago Peak,
and hit Sweet’s Cafe in Wallace for gravy and fries.
You must have floated the river a lot! I love the picture. I think the North Fork is the most beautiful body of water anywhere - ANYWHERE!
ReplyDeleteEven if I don't have time to swim, I like to take a drive up the river when I am home. It is sooo relaxing and refreshing. The clear water and the green pines just make my day.
Oh sounds lovely....
ReplyDeleteIt is lovely crafty green poet. Check out Silver Valley Girl's pictures on her blog.
ReplyDeletePinehurst: Actually I didn't float that much. I drove the river much more watching the floaters or I would be somewhere and they would come into shore.
This brought back memories. We drove up to that area a few years ago - and I was so surprised that the Snake Pit was still there. We also used to float the river from my aunt and uncle's place outside Cataldo. They'd be our 'delivery and pickup' people.
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