Exploring Northwest US and Canada: Week 4, Day 28, Lake Couer d'Alene, Idaho

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8/7 Ellen had asked me what I would want to see on this leg of the trip and besides enjoying their company and seeing a bit of what Spokane had to offer I said, “we are so close to Idaho I would love to see Couer d’Alene”. The four of us left for Coeur d'Alene at 9am heading east, driving though golden rolling wheat fields and farmland. After an hour we arrived at the lake house of Jim and Ellen’s friends Jeff and Julie. Long time residents of Couer d’Alene, Jeff, a retired Pediatric Eye surgeon, and his wife Julie were happy to share their little piece of heaven with us. The quiet relaxed bay where their summer home is situated reminded me of my childhood on Lake Winnipesaukee on a hot hazy day. Rocky steps climbed up steep rocky walls to connect homes and neighbors.

We all enjoyed a lovely day on Lake Couer d'Alene complements of Jeff, our captain and tour guide who, with his wife Julie, took us all around the lake on their boat pointing out the unique characteristics of Lake Couer d’Alene. Jeff pointed to a truck hanging off a cliff that was left after an ice fishing incident. Apparently ice fishing is big here as it was in NH and many idiots’ goals are to see who can last longest before the spring thaw. This truck didn’t survive the test. We motored across to the north side of the lake to the Couer d'Alene Resort. This golf resort has a unique “floating golf green”, that looks like a saddle bound by a retaining wall to help capture the golf balls that are hit from land. A little ferry carries the players over to the floating green to finish the round. It costs $140 to play including greens fees, cart and required caddy. I assume the ferry is included too.

We boated south to Carlin Bay located in a little cove in Harrison, Idaho, and tied up at the long dock where we received a multi seagull welcome. The “gang plank” that leads upwards from the dock to the lake front “Lodge at Carlin Bay” restaurant, ended at a large outdoor patio which would have been lovely under the umbrella tables except inside was cool and air-conditioned with the same views albeit through glass. It wasn’t a hard choice. Three of us had spicy fish tacos, three had roast corned beef sandwiches and two good tomato soups that (I'm told) could have been warm gazpacho. All rave reviews.

Back in the boat Jeff headed south on the western side of the lake. Julie pointed out the stairs and funiculars needed to negotiate the steep hills from the houses to beach. She pointed out the Campfire Girls summer camp where she went as a child in the summers. There were numerous other summer camps as well as seasonal homes that were perched high above the shore. As we cruised the lake Jeff pointed out the various floating homes unique to this area. Unfortunately the smoky haze from the fires was still making the visibility of the mountains and hills less than optimal.

Jeff's grandparents lived in a log home built in the late 1800s by a Swedish man named Anderson, adjacent to the family home they live in now. A fairly large population of Swedes had settled in the area around that same time. Jeff and Julie summered most of their lives on this lake, and were proud to say that their protected cove had one of the best beaches on the lake. Their home was not perched high on a hill making their beach access readily available.

It was 91 degrees outside as we left Lake Couer d'Alene at 4:30 in the afternoon to return to Spokane. I watched out the car window as we passed by farms with golden rolling wheat fields. We were greeted by wild turkeys and deer when we pulled up one last time to Jim and Ellen’s home. After dinner we enjoyed the great red-orange sun set in the smoky sky, then reflected on how lucky we were to have made this trip.



The end of an amazing journey:

8/8 We were sad to leave our friends in Washington but it was time to finally return to our home in Florida. Jim kindly chauffeured us to the airport early in the morning. The annoyances of smoke followed us all the way to the Spokane airport where we found there was a flight delay due to heavy smoke from the Oregon fires. What a sad year for all these western folks.

On the first leg of our flight home we traveled on a Piedmont American Airplane followed by an American West AA plane. Both planes were the most comfortable airplanes I have ever been on. EVER. I was told the plane and seats had been recently refurbished. I hope they do this to all their planes!

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