June 9, 2009
Leaving Kalispell, we crossed the Bitterroot Mountains into Idaho and the mining town of Coeur D’Alene, CDA, to the locals. The Bitteroots have always fascinated Russell because it is a grizzly highway for bears coming and going to Canada. CDA was exciting to me because of a historical fiction I read many years ago about a mining war between owners and workers. I don’t remember details, but the setting has stuck with me all the same. Neither place disappointed. We got to the Blackwell Island RV Park to meet Rick, a long awaited event.
Our favorite part of the Bitterroot was the town of Wallace, Idaho. They had every building in town declared a National Historic Monument to fight the I-90 freeway coming through. I-90 did get built eventually, completely above the small city. The buildings here are quaint turn-of-the-century and hold many off-beat museums. The three of us toured an old mine in Wallace. The tour, led by a former miner, is in a shaft that was worked for almost 100 years before ever making a profit when it opened up to tourists. The various owners had hoped to hit gold, silver, copper, lead, anything that paid. For several years it was used as a classroom for a local college to train miners. Economic factors impacted the need to have more miners. For the price of a ticket you tour the downtown museum, ride a trolley to the mine, don a hardhat to get the total mining experience and finally tour the town of Wallace on the return trolley trip. What a deal! We also enjoyed the local color with lunch and a pawn shop trip.
Pat joined us a few days later, not the least bit unhappy about missing the mine experience. But we all four returned to Wallace for a bike ride beyond all expectations. The national Rails to Trails program has converted the defunct Hiawatha Rail Line to a bike trail. This trek takes you from a few miles east of the Idaho/Montana border to near Wallace on the west side for an up close look at the heart of the mountain range. It is 17 miles, down hill, wearing a helmet and headlight. The ride goes through ten tunnels and over seven trestles that span amazing river gorges. You are often at treetop level, looking down, or in my case, forward.
The most daunting tunnel is right off the bat, the 1.7 mile Taft Tunnel, a curving, dank, dark, cold test of endurance. I white-knuckled the experience with a determined finish-without-falling focus, while the other three thought it was fun! The views on the west side of the tunnel make it worthwhile. Next is the section of gently sloping, bright, wide trail that curves along the mountain side. But more tunnels await, shorter, easier, but tunnels all the same. After falling in the second one, the others weren’t so bad.
Unfortunately you get a long look at the first trestle way before arriving. It is long and tall; fear of heights would be a real problem here. Grim determination and the mantra “Don’t stop, don’t look down” got me across. Again I need to mention that three fourths of our party was having a wonderful time! The vistas were unlike riding by in a car, you are actually IN the setting, the cliff faces are RIGHT THERE! The rivers, however, are WAY DOWN! Despite my fears, the trip was unforgettably spectacular and the reason for us to buy bikes again later in the trip.
I did adjust. We even stopped and enjoyed looking over some trestle railings. At one stop we looked at a mist of rain in the near distance and were spellbound by the scene until Russell mentioned, “it’s coming our way!” Start peddling – fast. We made the last portion of our trip hunched over handle bars, dripping with mud kicking up on all surfaces. Fortunately, the rain was fairly light and it stopped to allow us some drying time prior to getting on the school bus shuttle for the return trip.
The bus trip is mostly in the valley you were looking into from the bike path, a great perspective. It drops all riders off at the west side of that 1.7 mile Taft Tunnel. That is definitely not the appropriate side of the gauntlet. We all headed into the final leg of the journey, pedaling as fast as possible, for awhile. I had to stop and refused to get back on that bike. I just could not, would not, do it. I walked my bike the rest of the way. I told the others to go ahead. Fortunately, Russell ignored me and followed, pedaling very slowly the whole way. It was a very good thing because prior to the exit my light burned out. We caught up with Rick and Pat taking naps in the truck.
We spent the rest of our days in CDA enjoying the city. Downtown is vibrant! Most businesses are open and busy. Huge baskets of petunias hang from every old-fashioned light pole. There is an active night life and much alfresco dining to add to the atmosphere. The city is built along Lake Coeur D’Alene which gets fed by the Spokane River. Our park was on Blackwell Island where the river meets the lake. The lake was formed by retreating glaciers and has abundant marsh lands, and therefore abundant wildlife. One day Rick spotted a baby moose prancing across a marsh. He was cartoonish, wearing a great moosey smile. I’m quite sure that all the moose in this region are smiling.
We hiked in the city park which sits by the lake around an Idaho hill, or Texas mountain. It was a rugged, but very doable, climb to the top with a view of the lake on three sides. Many folks were boating, swimming, parasailing, and skiing. Pat and I explored the city another day with a Bed and Breakfast tour that was fun, and surely would have been skipped if we had not been together. One business is in an old elementary school now owned by a former student. Cool!
One thing we enjoyed about CDA was the opportunity to be with the Rutherford’s. We shared meals, movies, bike rides and walks in addition to our more daring adventures. There was a lot of talk about where to next, a tough problem to work out when the options are so vast. We decided on a trip to Seattle, they hadn’t been in many years and it was a first for us.
NEXT TIME: try CDA in winter? More bike rides, a kayak trip!
Leaving Kalispell, we crossed the Bitterroot Mountains into Idaho and the mining town of Coeur D’Alene, CDA, to the locals. The Bitteroots have always fascinated Russell because it is a grizzly highway for bears coming and going to Canada. CDA was exciting to me because of a historical fiction I read many years ago about a mining war between owners and workers. I don’t remember details, but the setting has stuck with me all the same. Neither place disappointed. We got to the Blackwell Island RV Park to meet Rick, a long awaited event.
Our favorite part of the Bitterroot was the town of Wallace, Idaho. They had every building in town declared a National Historic Monument to fight the I-90 freeway coming through. I-90 did get built eventually, completely above the small city. The buildings here are quaint turn-of-the-century and hold many off-beat museums. The three of us toured an old mine in Wallace. The tour, led by a former miner, is in a shaft that was worked for almost 100 years before ever making a profit when it opened up to tourists. The various owners had hoped to hit gold, silver, copper, lead, anything that paid. For several years it was used as a classroom for a local college to train miners. Economic factors impacted the need to have more miners. For the price of a ticket you tour the downtown museum, ride a trolley to the mine, don a hardhat to get the total mining experience and finally tour the town of Wallace on the return trolley trip. What a deal! We also enjoyed the local color with lunch and a pawn shop trip.
Pat joined us a few days later, not the least bit unhappy about missing the mine experience. But we all four returned to Wallace for a bike ride beyond all expectations. The national Rails to Trails program has converted the defunct Hiawatha Rail Line to a bike trail. This trek takes you from a few miles east of the Idaho/Montana border to near Wallace on the west side for an up close look at the heart of the mountain range. It is 17 miles, down hill, wearing a helmet and headlight. The ride goes through ten tunnels and over seven trestles that span amazing river gorges. You are often at treetop level, looking down, or in my case, forward.
The most daunting tunnel is right off the bat, the 1.7 mile Taft Tunnel, a curving, dank, dark, cold test of endurance. I white-knuckled the experience with a determined finish-without-falling focus, while the other three thought it was fun! The views on the west side of the tunnel make it worthwhile. Next is the section of gently sloping, bright, wide trail that curves along the mountain side. But more tunnels await, shorter, easier, but tunnels all the same. After falling in the second one, the others weren’t so bad.
Unfortunately you get a long look at the first trestle way before arriving. It is long and tall; fear of heights would be a real problem here. Grim determination and the mantra “Don’t stop, don’t look down” got me across. Again I need to mention that three fourths of our party was having a wonderful time! The vistas were unlike riding by in a car, you are actually IN the setting, the cliff faces are RIGHT THERE! The rivers, however, are WAY DOWN! Despite my fears, the trip was unforgettably spectacular and the reason for us to buy bikes again later in the trip.
I did adjust. We even stopped and enjoyed looking over some trestle railings. At one stop we looked at a mist of rain in the near distance and were spellbound by the scene until Russell mentioned, “it’s coming our way!” Start peddling – fast. We made the last portion of our trip hunched over handle bars, dripping with mud kicking up on all surfaces. Fortunately, the rain was fairly light and it stopped to allow us some drying time prior to getting on the school bus shuttle for the return trip.
The bus trip is mostly in the valley you were looking into from the bike path, a great perspective. It drops all riders off at the west side of that 1.7 mile Taft Tunnel. That is definitely not the appropriate side of the gauntlet. We all headed into the final leg of the journey, pedaling as fast as possible, for awhile. I had to stop and refused to get back on that bike. I just could not, would not, do it. I walked my bike the rest of the way. I told the others to go ahead. Fortunately, Russell ignored me and followed, pedaling very slowly the whole way. It was a very good thing because prior to the exit my light burned out. We caught up with Rick and Pat taking naps in the truck.
We spent the rest of our days in CDA enjoying the city. Downtown is vibrant! Most businesses are open and busy. Huge baskets of petunias hang from every old-fashioned light pole. There is an active night life and much alfresco dining to add to the atmosphere. The city is built along Lake Coeur D’Alene which gets fed by the Spokane River. Our park was on Blackwell Island where the river meets the lake. The lake was formed by retreating glaciers and has abundant marsh lands, and therefore abundant wildlife. One day Rick spotted a baby moose prancing across a marsh. He was cartoonish, wearing a great moosey smile. I’m quite sure that all the moose in this region are smiling.
We hiked in the city park which sits by the lake around an Idaho hill, or Texas mountain. It was a rugged, but very doable, climb to the top with a view of the lake on three sides. Many folks were boating, swimming, parasailing, and skiing. Pat and I explored the city another day with a Bed and Breakfast tour that was fun, and surely would have been skipped if we had not been together. One business is in an old elementary school now owned by a former student. Cool!
One thing we enjoyed about CDA was the opportunity to be with the Rutherford’s. We shared meals, movies, bike rides and walks in addition to our more daring adventures. There was a lot of talk about where to next, a tough problem to work out when the options are so vast. We decided on a trip to Seattle, they hadn’t been in many years and it was a first for us.
NEXT TIME: try CDA in winter? More bike rides, a kayak trip!
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