We had another long driving day. We left Spokane, after I replaced a fuse in the car that knocked out the instrument panel. Last night at dusk, the instrument panel lights went out, taking all the dashboard information with it. We had no speedometer, but we did have our trusty GPS which would tell us the speed. We were not in a hurry to get moving since all we were going to do was to drive to Columbia Falls, MT and check in at our hotel. This place is at the entrance to Glacier National Pary where we plan to spend about five days enjoying the scenery and activities.

Anyway, in northern Idaho we decided to stop at a US Forest Service site for a little lunch. I had earned the America the Beautiful Volunteer pass (500 hours of volunteer service for the National Park Service) which is supposed to allow free admission to all federal lands. We pulled into the place and breezed by the self service fee booth and started our picnic lunch. This guy pulls up and was pretty unfriendly. We told him about our pass and he said something to the effect that he's never heard of it and besides it wouldn't impress him or allow us free entry. Pretty soon another guy and finally the boss showed up and we had a real convention going on. They had never seen one, but sure enough it showed up on the brochure they were using. Now here's the rub. The listing says free admission to all federal lands. BUT, there was the following after the entry - **. Oh sh&t, asterisks. This can't be good. They referred to a paragraph that said we had to pay fees for facilities maintained by contractors. Although it wasn't clear at the entry point that this place was maintained by a contractor, it was definitely the case. Anyway, the convention adjourned with an amicable conclusion. They said forget the fee and be on our way. We hustled off much wiser than when we arrived.