Tag Archives: Pend Oreille County

Pend Oreille County Part 3

After leaving the Boundary Dam Vista House on Thursday June 12th we took a right turn off the National Development Road 3165 onto NF-325 to reach the Pee Wee Falls Overlook. It was a twisty primitive road and but before too long we were in another nice parking area with picnic tables, a nice restroom and well maintained trail to the Overlook.

We really enjoyed these beautiful views.

The wind was gusty at the overlook.

This next photo is from our son, Dan, that inspired our trip. He took this photo in May.

We traveled back the way we came and soon were on highway 31 and headed back south.

We stopped at this roadside sign after we enjoyed the Falls. It’s a nice map with places to enjoy along the North Pend Oreille Scenic Byway. We met two gals from Florida and were just finishing their drive on the Selkirk International Loop that runs through parts of Idaho,  Canada and Washington. We enjoyed a nice conversation. They were hungry and I could wholeheartedly recommend the Farmhouse Cafe in Metaline Falls. They were the only two other travelers we saw at any of our stops!

Before we hit the road to go home we made this last stop at another overlook of the Pend Oreille River very close to the downtown of Metaline Falls with a good view of the bridge we crossed at the beginning of our trip. This was another well maintained spot with restrooms, parking and lovely trails along the river.

The Pend Oreille River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 130 miles long, in northern Idaho and northeastern Washington in the United States, as well as southeastern British Columbia in Canada. In its passage through British Columbia its name is spelled Pend-d’Oreille River.

This was a great day from beginning to end and we were thankful for safe travels and beautiful scenery to see and praise God for.

Pend Oreille County Part 2

We were so surprised at the lack of vehicles and people on our little road trip to our neighboring county. We took this drive on Thursday June 12th, 2025. After our breakfast and shopping in Metaline Falls we continued North on Highway 31.

It didn’t take us long to get to our next stop. We took a left turn off of Highway 31 onto National Development Road 3165, also called East Side Road. Crescent Lake was a good marker for the road and guaranteed you couldn’t miss it.

It was a short drive to the parking area for Boundary Dam Vista House. Again we were pleasantly surprised with the nice restroom facilities and parking and well maintained trail to an overlook.

There was an indoor viewing house with windows all around and some great information posted. We were surprised to learn that Seattle City Light owns and operates the dam that is 390 miles from the city of Seattle. What surprised us even more is the fact that the electrical current leaves Boundary Powerhouse crosses Washington State and reaches Seattle IN LESS THAN A SECOND!

We took some photos of the dam from the Vista House before we walked the 750 steps to an outdoor overlook.

Looking north towards Canada.

This was another sign inside the Vista House. I’m glad we planned and left the house instead of just wishing on this day. One more display caught our eye. It was hard to photo with the glare but I took it anyway.

Great information and nice historical tribute.

Looking south…

We exited the Vista House that we had all to ourselves and started our 750 foot walk to the outdoor overlook.

Looking South on the Pend Oreille River.

Looking North to Canada.

Back up the 750 Feet to the parking lot. We enjoyed a few wildflowers.

We were inspired to take this trip because of the next photos our son sent when he had to work out in this area for several hours. His photos were taken in May with different cloud cover.

I’m saving our next stop for another post.

Thanks for coming along.

Pend Oreille County Road Trip

 

On Thursday June 12th we left our home bright and early to travel to the Metaline Falls area of our state. Instead of traveling highway 20 to Highway 31, we chose a back road that looked simple enough to navigate. The map showed that Aladdin Road would get us to an alternate route to the town of Ione. After a while we knew we had missed the turnoff. We turned around and saw a gentleman on his morning walk so we stopped to ask him if he knew where we went wrong and if he knew an alternate route to Ione. He said he did and he had just driven it the day before and if we didn’t mind getting our car dirty we could drive Smackout Creek Road for 14 miles and get to Ione. We found the primitive road and set out slow and easy. After several miles the road changed names to Smackout Pass Road. It was a pretty but very remote road.

We did not see another vehicle until we got to about mile 12. We were relieved to finally reach the small town of Ione.

Our first stop once we reached highway 31 was Box Canyon Viewpoint in Ione.

We were happy to see a nice parking area with a clean restroom.

We saw eagles besides the nice views up and down the Pend Oreille river. Pend Oreille is pronounced ‘Pond Array’.

We made a quick stop at Eagle Nest Viewpoint but we were only entertained by swallows.

Continuing on Highway 31 we crossed the bridge over the river into the little town of Metaline Falls.

The Farmhouse Cafe was the spot we picked for our breakfast. Since it was the only choice for food we were happy the food and service was good.

After breakfast we stopped at a Mercantile for a little shopping. We bought a puzzle for me and a hat for Greg.

We got some extra information about the area from the owners of the shop and set off north again on Highway 31. We had two planned stops that were about 1 mile from the U.S. – Canadian Border.

We knew the next two stops were something we’d enjoy seeing in person because our son, Dan, had been in this area last month and had sent photos via text of what he saw.

I’ll save those stops for another post.

Yesterday we had a nice Father’s Day starting with church and then we enjoyed a quiche for brunch.

Our Colville kids brought us a wonderful homemade Curry for dinner along with a Strawberry/Rhubarb Pie that Addy and JJ helped bake.

They forgot to bring a strawberry for the top so they improvised with the fresh cherries we were enjoying.

It was high time to take a fresh generations photo of the guys.

Enjoy the last days of Spring!

Pend Oreille County

On Thursday June 12th, we hit the road early in the morning to explore a part of the state we’ve never been to before. We were on paved roads and primitive roads. We were in and out of ‘service’. I’m gathering my photos and thoughts and will post soon.

We are following world events right now and the tensions in the Middle East.

Yesterday Jan shared this verse for Truth for Today. It is a good encouragement.

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.

Psalms 4:8.