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Published: July 28th 2009
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Lake Coeur d'Alene
Beautiful view of the lake. Took this picture from the bicycle trail near the west end of the city. We have been busy enjoying Idaho and Washington during the last week. After leaving Glacier Park we drove to Coeur d'Alene, ID. Beautiful city next to a very large lake (Lake Coeur d'Alene) which empties into the Spokane River. They have about 23 miles of bicycle and walking trails starting on the lake and running through the edge of the downtown area and then along the Spokane River. The trail goes all the way to the Idaho/Washington border where it connects with the Washington Centennial Trail which goes for 37 miles along the river, through the city and then through Riverside State Park. Some hills, but nothing major since both of these trails primarily follow the river bed. Beautiful views, in the countryside part of the time and in pine forest at the western end of the WA trail. Coeur d'Alene also has several other bicycle trails that connect with this main one so a great city to have a bicycle. We spent 2 days in CDA resting and bicycling both days.
Left CDA for Spokane (only 32 miles away) and had to make a stop at a Cabella's again. This one is about a mile from the ID/WA border
Spokane Falls
The falls on the river are in the middle of the city. Difficult to get them all in one picture since the river splits and there is also an upper and lower falls. and just off the interstate so easy to get to. Can't skip going to Cabellas! Spent 3 great days in Spokane. Visited the downtown area, saw the falls and had a great meal in a RESTAURANT the first day. Went to Riverside Park on Day 2 planning to bike, but the trails in this wilderness area are for mountain bikers so we hiked along the river instead. Better views of the river and flora than we would have had if we would have been watching for sharp rocks and roots on the trail while bicycling. I did another day bicycling on the trail near our campground while David did fun things like getting the oil changed in the truck and going back to Cabella's to use a coupon he just happened to get in his e-mail the day after we were there. He has been saving points for a specific item and with the coupon to go with them couldn't resist taking advantage.
We left Spokane and drove to Ellensburg, WA (in the middle of the state) yesterday. We are right on the Yakima River which is not deep, but running quite fast. We planned to kayak the river
today, but drove part of the route to see how hard it would be to drop off the kayaks, drive the truck to the take out point, walk or bike back and then kayak to the truck. The road was 2 lane with very little shoulder and in the hot 90+ degree sun the entire way so we were beginning to think we would either need to scrap our kayaking adventure or come back to the campgroun and pay for a shuttle service. While thinking this over a young couple pulled in and they had the same plan, but were also debating the 6 mile walk in the hot sun. We ended up shuttling with them which worked out for all of us. We all had a great day on the river and nobody had to walk the 6 miles.
Tomorrw we head to the coast and Olympia National Park. Will stay there kayaking, biking and enjoying the seafood and sea breezes for a week before heading back to the Tri-Cities area and then home to Nevada.
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Sally
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Fond memories of Lake Coeur d'Alene
Hi Barb and David, John, the girls, and I spent a week at Lake Coeur d'Alene about 25 years ago. We gathered for a family reunion of the California and Alberta branch of the family. It was a beautiful area. We took our boat and enjoyed giving everyone rides and a chance to explore more of the lake. Your trip sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing the photos of the Spokane Falls. Enjoy your week on the coast. Sally