Day 21 (June 24) Kalispell, MT to Couer d'Alene, ID - 247 mi

​

Where we planned to stay: Bennett Bay Inn

Where we ended up staying: Comfort Inn & Suites

​

We left Kalispell around noon and proceeded traveling west toward Couer d'Alene, ID.  It was a beautiful drive among the trees and along a river that we followed for well over an hour.  We stopped at about the halfway point to visit some dear friends from our church Ken & Jennifer Thrash and who had moved to Trout Creek, MT. about four years ago where they purchased a good sized home with a lot of acreage and they have been slowly fixing up and bringing it up to standard. The plot included a large barn that they hope to fix up next year a carport, a "toy port" (boat, ATV's, motorcycle, etc.) and they added a mudroom and are planning a deck out front. Oh, and the property also included a grave of a person who had lived on the property and had passed in 1912!

 

We spent much of the time catching up with each other's lives along meeting another couple who just happened to be staying a few days. We had BBQ burgers, Baked beans and some homemade potato salad. Yum!!! We left there about 7:30 pm Mountain Time and when we finally arrived at our hotel for the next 4 days, it was 9:00 Pacific Time. However, we were absolutely shocked by what we saw . . .  

 

The Bennett Bay Inn was not at all what we saw in the pictures and ratings on Booking.com. Instead we saw a very rundown motel that really looked like it should have been razed years ago and rebuilt from the ground up.  It began life in the 50's so if you can imagine a place that had never been kept up, you might have an idea of what we were looking at.

Well, we went ahead and checked but when we got to our room, it was even worse! wall paper peeling, water stained wood panels, an over worn couch, dim lighting, very small bath with no counterspace . . . I could go on and on. This was certainly not the place to spend our anniversary weekend! If it had one redeeming value it would have been the view from the balcony . . .

 

We complained to the staff and they agreed to let us out of our contract with the exceptin of one night and soon we were on the internet looking for something, anything, but what we had just experienced.  The problem was that this town was having an Iron Man competition this weekend so the hotels here were pretty much sold out.  After a short prayer, we found the Comfort Inn & Suites not too far from here and since we have stayed in several in the past, we were able to reserve a King Suite.  Way more than I really wanted to pay but considering what was left (Bennett Bay), we packed the car and moved. Happy with our decision, we arrived at our alternate hotel, unpacked and called it a day.

​

Day 22 (June 25) Of Ziplines, Bridges & Autos-Belays . . . Huh???

​

Our adventure for the day began at a place called Timberline Adventures. It began by meeting in a small storefront in a mall in downtown Coeur d'Alene.  We were given our gear and transported via a large van, to the starting point of our adventure. From there we were transported up a dirt road using UTV's can can hold 6 people to our first zipline.  The first one, like most are short with each following one getting longer and higher. Timberline was about the same except after three moderate zips, we then faced our first bridge.  Fairly easy but different than the ones we had encountered in the past in that the boards you walk on were laid along the bridge length-wise instead across which made for a very different encounter.

​

Once we tackled that we then met up with our first Auto-belay. 

While these are generally use in climbing, these were used to help us down from our lofty perch in the trees to get us safely to ground without any broken bones.  Basically, you grab the cable firmly with both hands, turn facing the tree and just step off . . . backwards! After the first initial panic of falling, you quickly feel the firm grip of the auto-belay lowering you safely to the ground where, if done right, you land on your feet. There two of these on the course, on the course, this one being the shorter of the two. I went off forward facing instead of facing the tree and did pretty well while Dot went off backward like a champ!

​

The rest of the course was 2 more even longer zips, with a very long bridge followed by the two longest zips on this course. The longest being around 1600 ft and about 1800 feet above the ground! We finished the remaining zips, bridges and auto-belays (Oh My!) and before too long it was all over and we were headed back to our room.

​

Day 23 (June 26) 45 years of love and a Segway tour of CDA

​

Today marks the midpoint of our trip with 22 days behind us and 22 days ahead of us. When we look at what has been accomplished and what lies ahead, it is truly hard to fathom that we are actually pulling this off! Or as they say in sports, "Team work makes the Dream work!"  This is also our 45th Wedding Anniversary . . . We are thankful every day for what God has given us and are blessed with family & friends who have helped us along the way.

​

So, to celebrate, we decided to do a Segway tour.  A segway is a two-wheeled platform that you stand on and by moving your body forward, backward and side to side, you make this thing go.  We have been on them three times during our passed Anniverary trips and they are a blast!

This tour took us through older neighborhoods, along the lake shore, through parks and even a forested area.  Our guides, one leading, the other following, were wonderful, keeping an eye on us in case someone fell (yes, I fell . . .) all the while giving us a rich history of Coeur d'Alene.  This is one beautiful city that we certainly hope to return someday.

​

After the ride, we went shopping for supplies, mostly water, and were able to stop at the hotel and rest before heading out for dinner at Dockside, a family restaurant at the Coeur d'Alene Resort on the waters edge.

​

Day 24 (June 27) Alpacas and an Ironman race

​

We slept in this morning and so instead of having our free breakfast at the hotel, we opted to eat out. Only problem is we ended up not being able to get breakfast because we didn't have time to eat before we were to meet at the Seven Stars Alpaca Ranch. So we skipped breakfast altogether. This alpaca ranch also has miniature horses and goats, but the Alpacas are the largest group of animals they have. I believe they number around 30.

Alpacas are a member of the camel family, but don't have the hump like camels have.  However they do have a few peculiar traits that set them apart.  One, you should never hug an alpaca. They don't like that nor do that like being touched.  Two, never stare at an alpaca in the eye or you will end up getting spit on. Three, never stand behind an alpaca or you will get kicked. Fourth, if an alpaca approaches you, don't move or wave arms or anything that might startle them because they might consider that a threat. Other than that, enjoy your time with them.

There was one Alpaca that seemed to really like me.  As I moved into the area of land where they were happily eating and sunning, this one just moved right up to me and rubbed his head on my chest all the while the trainer just told me not to move and let the alpacas do what they do.  This is rare she said but didn't last that long but it was unusual and I really enjoyed it. We helped the owner move the alpacas from one field to another keeping them moving by blocking their path to freedom and once the gate was closed, they all rushed up the hill to the shade of the trees and some afternoon grazing.

The rest of the day we just started packing and getting ready to move tomorrow to Wenatchee, WA.

​

Day 25 (June 28) Coeur d'Alene, ID to Wenatchee, WA - 221 mi

​

Where we stayed: Springhill Suites

​

We didn't have to leave the Hotel until noon because this was a short drive day.  We added a few miles by driving to Grand Coulee Dam first but the visit was worth it.  Construction begin in 1933 and the original dam was the first to harness the power of the Columbia River which runs out of western Canada when it was finished in 1942.  It is one of the largest concrete structures in the world, containing enough concrete to build two standard six-foot-wide sidewalks around the world at the equator.  Although the dams initial purpose was for irrigation and flood control, it quickly became the dams important job.  Water supplied by Grand Coulee Dam irrigataes more than 670,000 acres of rich farmland annually. The water from the Lake Roosevelt os;ofted 280 ft up a hlll side to flow into the Banks Lake reservoir. Also, despite the hot weather the area has been experiencing, the lake behind the dam is completely full.

​