Portland Trip: Kimberley through Moscow to Walla Walla

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We were up early and off from Kimberley for a planned stay at Moscow on Sunday night. As usual, the stay at Chateau Kimberley was wonderful. It is a boutique hotel combined with an art gallery, so there is lots to muse on while there.

The real tourist part of the trip started at Sandpoint with our morning coffee stop at Mad Mike’s Coffee House. Thankfully, they had run out of their great cinnamon buns, so we avoided several hundred calories right off the bat.
While standing by the car waiting for Les to do her required inspection of Cold Water Creek clothing store, I witnessed a strange conflict between a ‘rules based’ guy in a car and a ‘free based’ guy who was walking. It all came about when the rules-based guy stopped his left turn to allow the free-based guy to walk across the street. The free-based guy didn’t start walking and a stand-off ensued. The stand-off was broken when the rules-based guy asked the other to go ahead. The free-based guy told the rules based guy to go ahead because he was waiting for his wife, who was up the street a bit looking in a shop window. The rules-based guy then said he couldn’t because the other was standing on the curb ready to cross. The free-based guy said he wasn’t going to cross yet because he was waiting for his wife, to which the rules-based guy said that he couldn’t go as long as the other was standing on the curb. The stand-off continued for five or ten seconds, when, thankfully, the free-based guy’s wife recognised what was going on and broke away from window shopping to join her husband and…...wait for it…. made him walk across the street with her. Mr. rules-based guy then, finally, drove around the corner and on his way. I’m not sure what would have happened if the guy’s wife hadn’t joined him to walk on, but I have a feeling this might have been a much longer story.

We arrived in Coeur d’Alene ready for lunch. After a cruise to the beach area, we had a great meal at a place called ‘Fort Ground Grill’ near the university, which is near the lake. After that, we parked near the beach and went for a walk. I didn’t bring my bathing suit and was longing for it when we waded in the relatively warm, clear lake water. The place, as you can see from the pictures was packed with people enjoying the late season hot weather. I couldn’t help compare the scene to that from the 1950s when my parents used to take me with them on their Easter break trip to the south. At that time there were only about five motels near the water and they were ordinary. The railway still took up most of the beach front with tracks and yards left over from the days when the lake was used for hauling freight. The scene in front of me on this trip was almost unbelievable in comparison.

South of Coeur d’Alene was all new country for Les and I hadn’t seen that region since 1999 when I was on a motorcycle trip to Bend, Oregon. It is some of the best grain farming country I’ve ever seen and, as you get towards Palouse, WA the landscape changes to rolling hills that are farmed right up to their peak. The roads wind through the valleys between the hills and it is a sight to behold. We turned west near Plummer and made our way through the pretty village of Oaksdale to the Steptoe Butte State Park. This is a 3,612-foot-tall natural monument that provides a unique view over most of the Palouse area. I think almost everyone who owns a camera and lives in that part of the country has taken photographs from that site, but I captured our record shots anyway. The drive up made Les a bit nervous, but she made it up and down without screaming out loud. It was hard not to think of the possibility of careening off the edge of the road and down the hill.

For the remainder of the day’s drive, we had a relaxing drive through Colfax, Pullman, and on to Moscow for the evening.

Moscow was a surprise. It is a bit of a gem in the prairies. It has a university that was founded around 1890. The architecture is a mix of red brick and sandstone buildings, with treed grounds and walkways to everything. We looked around a bit and then headed for the historic area downtown for our morning coffee. Again, we found a great spot, which is easier in a university town, because you can just keep an eye out for gatherings of university students.

Another drive through the farmlands of Idaho brought us to the night’s stop at Walla Walla, Washington. We arrived on Labor Day, so it was quiet, with little traffic. We found the historic part of town which has been refinished as close to the original architecture as possible. It was a treat to walk around in that part of town. Great food, friendly folk and an incredible presence of wine shops selling and offering tastings of the local wines. There are around 100 wineries in the area producing some very good wines. I’ve never seen any of these wines in Canada, so we had to try a few. They were excellent. We finished off the day with supper at OLIVE.
We like this city so much that we are leaving. The forecast is for 99 degrees F tomorrow and we don’t want that sweltering heat to spoil our memories.
We’ll catch up again when we’ve had a few days in Portland.

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