On The Road Again: Coeur d'Alene - Took a Week to Learn to Spell It

Our park location in Coeur D'Alene was right in town. The place wasn't particularity scenic, but it was spotlessly clean, friendly, maybe 3/4 mile from the center of town, and had a doggie day care right across the street. Perfection (!) for what we agreed was to be six relaxing days.

We promptly met Katie and Dick Booten from New River, AZ in the park. They were not towing a car and couldn't keep up with us on their tandem bike, so we happily took them along on most of our excursions in the Jeep. I LOVED their matching biking outfits...right down to the shoes.
How could we not love them?!?!?

We went to the center of town at sunset to walk the floating pier. Coeur D'Alene is one of the most pet friendly towns in the country (officially!) so Finn could go almost anywhere we wanted to take him. He made friends with Buster, the Booten's dog, and they just bopped around with us.

The floating pier is part of The Resort right on the lake. It's a huge marina and the pier has to be at least 1/2 mile long.

The four of us drove to Sand Point the next day to explore the town. It's about 60 miles from Coeur D'Alene on a lake of its very own.

The hit of our stroll down the main street was this perfectly restored VW bus. We never met the people who own it, but we probably would have spent at least a half day talking with them if we had.

We wandered into a wine tasting room right in the downtown area and asked where the local winery is located. Seems it's right in the building we were in.

We were given a private tour of the wine area in the back.

The "laboratory" is right behind the kitchen.

They are slightly larger than a boutique winery, purchase grapes from other growers and do all the work in this back room. They graduated beyond the small grape press and now use an electric one they keep outside. (I'm still looking for the place that stomps on the grapes - it would be another

new experience for us.)

We found a lovely restaurant overlooking the beach and the lake with the mountains in the distance.

It was great.

We've been watching for factory tours as we travel. Buck Knives offers one so Ed called and made a

reservation for us to take part. Katie and Dick stayed behind.

I had never been in a machine shop the size of this one. It was really interesting. Ed found a

factory second knife he decided to bring home. It has a small blemish on the handle that

had to be pointed out to us.

Upstairs, overlooking the factory, is a little museum. It was fun to see the special order work they have done over the years. Lasers are amazing...

The day was young when we finished our tour so we headed out to Wallace, ID

to see what a mining town of 700 residents looks like.

The entire town is on the National Historic Registry.

Silver mining is its heritage...AND Lana Turner was born here.

After 1900, it became the hub of one of the world's richest mining districts.

To date, it has produced 1.3 billion ounces of silver.

There are several museums in town. I headed right for the Oasis Bordello Museum.

Here's the story of the Oasis: It was one of five bordellos on the street at a time when the man to woman ratio was 200 to 1. It functioned until 1988 (!!). There were 5 working girls who rotated from town to town staying an average of 4-6 months. They worked from 2pm to 6am servicing about 40 clients per shift. They heard that the FBI was coming to town and assumed the feds were after them. They grabbed a few belongingss and left, never to return. The museum stands exactly as it was left. Dishes in the sink, cigarette butts in the ashtrays, boxes of food on the shelves, toiletries in the one bathroom they all shared. It really drives home what a hard and sad life these women lived.

The feds were actually after the sheriff and not the working girls who provided the town

with many things they could not otherwise afford - like band uniforms for the high school...

The lobby downstairs actually didn't have much to do with the bordello. It's the gift shop today.

A working girl lived in her work space. She had a vanity, a cabinet or chest of drawers, and a twin bed.
The rooms were identified by their color.

The madam lived in the large room in the front. She had been a prostitute in her youth and became a madam in her 40's. Her photo is on the vanity. She gave up the business, retired to Coeur D'Alene in a big home. She died 5 years ago and an illegitimate son she had lives in the home today.

Yes, there are red lights at the top of the stairs and a closet full of red replacement bulbs.

Ed bought me an apron with the "menu" on it. I plan to prance around the

house in it when we return home...

The railroad depot is a museum. No more service here, but a cool building.

The Mining Museum is on the main street. A little to technical for me, but

very interesting to Ed.

The "girls" were always good for Wallace...

We took a scenic drive around most of Lake Coeur D'Alene on the way back. The

lake is 25 miles long with many bays. Such a pretty area...and 110 miles of beach.

Coeur D'Alene's downtown is vibrant with street cafes, interesting shops, lots of people walking, and the beach - which makes for some very interesting outfits. It's an extremely casual place, and it couldn't be a prettier setting.

A perfect way to end the day in downtown:

We drove to Spokane to have a look at the town. That's Ed, me, Katie, Dick, and a helpful stranger trying to help up decide what we wanted to see.

First stop was Riverside Park. We bought our tickets to see the falls from a gondola, ignored the information about 90 degrees inside the cars and enjoyed a 20 minute ride.

We got sealed in to go.

First view was of this beautiful old bridge.

A stop to get a good look at the falls. I think we enjoyed the cool air the

falls generated.

Then began the tour of Riverside Park to see the people and the public art on display.

The line of metal runners going around the corner...

A multi-piece work about building the city... Ignore the slacker on the right.

Dick and Ed appreciating the homage to the miners who helped develop the area...

Children playing in the fountain....joyous noise...

Bikers of all ages using the bike paths through the park...

And two old ladies in the red wagon who actually descended by slide!

Our next stop - the Davenport Hotel. The highlight of the day for us.

A completely restored elegant 1914 5-star hotel.

The lobby

The details and the elegance of this place make it a must-see. The consierge

provided us with a printed guided tour so were able to see all the

magnificent public rooms. They call it "space with grace." So very true.

"When Ed Met Harry"

Just relaxing in the hotel discussing the campaign behavior...so much for political comment.

Final stop in Spokane was the Museum of Art and Culture.

This lovely old restored home belongs to the museum. The Campbell family who built it made their money in mining. We toured with a docent and visited all the room in this 13,000 sq. ft. home.

A real step back in time.