Day 24 – Coeur d’Alene, ID

Every once in a while, Don comes up with a really great idea for our morning walk; this morning was one of those occurrences.  He and Geri had noticed that there was a “Recreation Area” located across the highway from the road to our RV Park, and we went to investigate it this morning.  It turned out to be a really pretty area with lots of very nice grass, an extensive walkway structure over the lakeside waterfront, and a boat launching ramp with floating wharves.  I like it when there is a lot of variety in the area where we do our walk, and this place had it all.  I got to lead the way most of the time, with Don following along.  Maybe we can go back again tomorrow.

A waterfront walk!

As directed by Geri, we had a concentrated cleanup exercise after we returned, and Don got to clean the area rugs while Geri vacuumed.  I noted that most of Don’s work involved the removal of a pale hairy material from the rugs; I’ve got no idea where all of that stuff came from.  When the cleanup was complete, we broke for lunch, and then piled into the truck for our afternoon touring.  First stop was the local post office, where Geri attempted to buy stamps to replace those that she couldn’t find on the rig.  She waited in line for about fifteen minutes, then gave it up as a bad job.  It was Don’s turn to choose a destination then, and we headed west on Highway 90 toward the town of Post Falls.  There were several things there he wanted to see, first of which was a historic site called Treaty Rock.  This was supposed to be an inscription carved into a rock by one of the first settlers in the area, Fredrick Post, to solemnify a treaty between him and the local Indian Chief regarding his purchase of the local land.  When Geri and Don finally reached the location, all they could read on the rock was Mr. Post’s name in large letters.  Guess treaties were a lot simpler in those days. 

While we were in Post Falls, Don wanted to go to the dam that controls the flow of water out of Lake Coeur d’Alene.  Geri was, of course, very excited by this idea, and seconded his motion enthusiastically.  We drove to a very nice park in Post Falls, and walked down toward the Spokane River on a tree-shaded path.  When the shade of the trees ended, so did Geri, who urged Don to carry on with his holy quest to find the source of the Spokane.  We found a nice table with a bench to sit at, and waited for his return.  He eventually returned with many tales of his quest, including the history of the dam, the generating power of the electrical plant, statistics on the level of the lake, and other fascinating data.  We were enthralled and grateful for the knowledge he imparted.

Here's da Dam!

In a lovely park

With happy inhabitants

As we calmed down from our excitement, we resolved to return to Coeur d’Alene and check out the shopping in the downtown area.  We found a good parking place on the main street, got out of the truck, and immediately encountered a couple who not only greatly admired Golden Retrievers in general, but had one to offer us.  The gentleman, aged 80, who lived here in town, had a wonderful Goldie, but could not take him to live with his new hottie, age 63, in Reno, due to a lack of living space in her home.  They were a very pleasant couple, and earnestly desired to find a new family for their seven year old Goldie.  My personal feeling was that any man who gave up a well-mannered Golden Retriever for a woman young enough to be his daughter was not someone to be admired, even though he was retired LAPD. 

Local Sculpture Mooseterwork

We completed our downtown tour, took a short drive down Highway 95 on the west side of the lake, then returned to town to do a little shopping at Safeway.  While waiting for Geri to make her buys, Don and I made the acquaintance of a bearded biker type who stopped by the truck while we were conversing, evinced great admiration of my attitude and manly appearance, and proceeded to tell us endless stories about his neighbors and his dog, a Pommy who is afraid of cats and trembles uncontrollably whenever a feline approaches.  It was kind of entertaining.

We went home to the coach, Don cooked up some pasta, and we all ate very well.  A little TV and blogging, and to bed.   We’re on the road tomorrow, heading for a place called Wallace, the Silver Capitol of the World.  I’ll let you know what happens!