Unexpected Canadian adventure a honeymoon highlight

On the night Harvey Dunham and Patricia Dunn first met at the SS Beryl Restaurant in Spokane to discuss political issues with a group of people, little did they know that exactly one year later they would be celebrating their marriage. The couple had a small wedding ceremony on July 6, 2013, at the home of a friend who brought them together that first night. A few months later, they partied with friends and family at a larger wedding reception at the Coeur d’Alene Eagles Lodge. Patricia and Harvey share a love for the same kind of music and hired the band Desert Rose to perform at their reception. Dewy, the band’s sax player, played with the Oak Ridge Boys for 15 years. “When (Dewy) plays ‘Moon River’ you are bound to fall in love,” Patricia said. After their initial meeting, both of them tried to figure out ways to see each other for work-related purposes, but soon developed this connection into a deeper friendship. Last fall, Patricia invited Harvey to meet her daughter and join them for the holiday in Seattle. During this trip they discovered that her daughter’s mother and father in-law and Harvey are actually friends and had attended Washington State University together. Patricia feels that Harvey fits in to her world in every way imaginable. She’s gotten to experience things she would have never otherwise, like joining Harvey in his passion for antique cars. Shortly after they were married then went on a Model T tour in Kanab, Utah. Patricia says it was a beautiful trip. They were able to take in the amazing sites of the Grand Canyon and much more. They also met wonderful people who also shared a love of Model T cars, some of them even shipping their vehicles from as far as Connecticut to drive on the tour. The couple was blessed to have a month-long honeymoon. They started with a night in Coeur d’Alene, then headed north to Canada. During their drive, they decided to stop at a yard sale on a whim. There, Harvey asked the homeowners if he could pick his new bride a bouquet for wildflowers from their yard. Patricia said the man replied, “Come with me you two. I will show you some wildflowers.” So they followed him through his wooded yard where they came across a gorgeous running stream and two charming wood cabins, including an outhouse between the two to complete the rustic accommodations. Patricia and Harvey enjoyed this darling place while they picked Indian paintbrush, bluebells and foxgloves to make a wildflower bouquet. Then, the homeowner continued his generosity by inviting the newlyweds to stay in one of the cabins, provided they weren’t afraid of bears. (His wife said no one had been eaten by bears – yet!) The Dunhams visited with the couple awhile longer, went to have dinner in town, then returned to the cabin. Patricia picked the smaller cabin with a loft bedroom, old hanging pots and pans, and even a potbellied wood stove to complete the rustic charm. They found their freshly-picked wildflower bouquet in a vase on the center of the rough-board wooden table; the sheets were folded up waiting to be carried up the round-rung ladder staircase that lead to the loft bedroom. A little window was open, bringing in the intoxicating smell of orange blossom flowers. They also noticed a bottle of champagne on ice in the sink with a note telling them to enjoy their stay. The next morning, after a hot breakfast prepared by the homeowners in their enormous log home, Patricia and Harvey headed out to continue on their honeymoon adventures. The next stop found them in a room with a direct view of beautiful Lake Louise, and Patricia remembers all colors of blue dancing in balls of light across the water. They even got to walk to a glacier that feeds that pristine body of water. Love had certainly found its way in to the hearts of Patricia and Harvey and they’re looking forward to spending life with each other. Patricia was widowed 14 years ago. In that time she has grieved, grown and now found a special love with Harvey to share for many years to follow.