Camp Coeur d'Alene, Coeur d'Alene
Wednesday 27 July 2022
Because Google said today's drive wouldn't take much more than an hour, I decided to stop at a laundromat in Ponderay before we left town. This was one of those that used cards you have to pre-pay for, meaning you have to know in advance how many washers and dryers you'll want and for how long. I hate those. Fortunately, the laundry attendant took pity on me and showed me how to use the card machine and showed me which washer to use that would cost the least and told me how many minutes I'd need for the dryer. And she was right about everything, which made it all much easier than I'd feared. It was 10:30 when we finally got on the road.
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| today's route |
I passed a business called Encoder Products Company, which sounded like spies so I looked it up. And I'm not much wiser than I was. They say they're "one of the largest privately-held encoder manufacturers in North America," and I think they make motion sensing devices, which don't sound like codes to me. But they're right here in Idaho's Panhandle.
A highway sign told me: "RIG IT LANE Must Turn Right." It took me quite a while to realize part of the sign had been scraped off somehow, and there was no such thing as a "rig it" lane but instead a "right" lane.
I passed Lake Cocolalla, which looks like a pretty place and is apparently not much known outside of the locals, though they say it's a good lake for recreationalists.
At Careywood, I saw a sign proclaiming the town was "Home of the Idaho State Forestry Contest Since 1982." I learned this is an annual contest for kids in grades 5-12 about basic forest and resource management. It includes such varied skills as log scaling, compass reading, tree and plant identification. It's probably a lot of fun and would be a serious accomplishment for these kids. (Actually, for me too.)
Litter pickup in this area was sponsored by "Caring Misfits Pod." I can't find anything about them online, so I'm guessing it's a group of local folks with a sense of humor.
The town of Garwood is home to Gargoyle Granite and Marble, an unusual name.
And then I got back to Hayden, pop. 13,190, and Coeur d'Alene, pop. 44,137. I've been hearing on the radio that in the 2020 census, Twin Falls got pushed above the 50,000 residents mark, which means they're now officially classified as an urban area. And the federal government says that means they need to come up with a transit plan. They've apparently done some study that says a regular bus route wouldn't work there because too many buses would be riding around empty most of the time. Instead they're checking out a program Idaho Falls has started that's more of a van-on-demand kind of service, at least for low income and disabled and vulnerable populations. I never knew 50,000 was the lower limit for a city.
I stopped off at a Safeway and noticed there's a Dickey's Barbecue place in town - "pretty dang classy," they say. The Idaho Panhandle seems a little far afield for a Dallas-based BBQ place, but they do have good food.
Just 10 miles out of town I turned onto a road along the east side of Lake Coeur d'Alene and saw a sign saying I was on the Lake Coeur d'Alene Scenic Byway. And it is scenic. And that's a beautiful lake.
I passed Lake Cocolalla, which looks like a pretty place and is apparently not much known outside of the locals, though they say it's a good lake for recreationalists.
At Careywood, I saw a sign proclaiming the town was "Home of the Idaho State Forestry Contest Since 1982." I learned this is an annual contest for kids in grades 5-12 about basic forest and resource management. It includes such varied skills as log scaling, compass reading, tree and plant identification. It's probably a lot of fun and would be a serious accomplishment for these kids. (Actually, for me too.)
Litter pickup in this area was sponsored by "Caring Misfits Pod." I can't find anything about them online, so I'm guessing it's a group of local folks with a sense of humor.
The town of Garwood is home to Gargoyle Granite and Marble, an unusual name.
And then I got back to Hayden, pop. 13,190, and Coeur d'Alene, pop. 44,137. I've been hearing on the radio that in the 2020 census, Twin Falls got pushed above the 50,000 residents mark, which means they're now officially classified as an urban area. And the federal government says that means they need to come up with a transit plan. They've apparently done some study that says a regular bus route wouldn't work there because too many buses would be riding around empty most of the time. Instead they're checking out a program Idaho Falls has started that's more of a van-on-demand kind of service, at least for low income and disabled and vulnerable populations. I never knew 50,000 was the lower limit for a city.
I stopped off at a Safeway and noticed there's a Dickey's Barbecue place in town - "pretty dang classy," they say. The Idaho Panhandle seems a little far afield for a Dallas-based BBQ place, but they do have good food.
Just 10 miles out of town I turned onto a road along the east side of Lake Coeur d'Alene and saw a sign saying I was on the Lake Coeur d'Alene Scenic Byway. And it is scenic. And that's a beautiful lake.
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| Lake Coeur d'Alene |
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I passed the turn for the campground so I could see a little of the lake and this scenic byway, and I got more than I bargained for. Going south, the road did indeed run along the lake for much of the way I drove, but it was nearly constant tight curves, uphill, and I was in the outside lane (farthest from the hill) all of which added up to some uncomfortable moments of driving. After 4 miles I'd had enough - it just wasn't scenic enough to warrant such a difficult drive (it would've been different in a car, especially a small car), and I turned around. Going back I was on the side closest to land, but a sign told me it was a 5% grade (I knew those had been some steep hills) and the double s-curves were still very tight. It was actually a relief to finally get back to the campground.
When I checked in, I'd been planning to dump my waste tanks right away. It'd been 5 days since I'd last emptied them so it was time. But they told me that they were experiencing a low underground water table due to the lack of rain, and that had messed up the leachfield for their septic system. They voluntarily refunded me $14 for not being able to dump my tanks, which was nice, but still an inconvenience. They gave me locations for the nearest tank dumps, but they weren't particularly close by so I let it go.
Then I found I couldn't get my RV level in my campsite, which meant we'd be canted a bit one way or another. Happens all the time but still a nuisance.
On the other hand, the RV was almost fully shaded by trees so the AC didn't have to work overtime as it did at Sandpoint. And the wifi service here was excellent. I used that amenity to create drafts of all my upcoming posts and then uploaded the photos I wanted to use. It's the photos that slow me down - sometimes for hours - when the internet reception isn't good, so I figured this way I'd solve that hurdle while I still could.
The forecast temp for this afternoon was 98°, and after walking a bit in the sun, it felt like that was accurate. This place didn't have a dog park, but they did have a dead end road where people take their dogs, so that's where I took mine. It occurred to me when we were climbing up the steep hill (in the sun) that this looked like good bear habitat. And I learned later that they do get visits by bears now and then. I heard a news report just the other day of a dog having been in a fight with a bear. The wildlife officials didn't bother tracking down the bear because the dog had started the fight and the bear was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or something like that. I didn't want to see what mine would do, because I'm pretty sure he too would start a fight and I didn't want to deal with the resulting vet bill.
When I checked in, I'd been planning to dump my waste tanks right away. It'd been 5 days since I'd last emptied them so it was time. But they told me that they were experiencing a low underground water table due to the lack of rain, and that had messed up the leachfield for their septic system. They voluntarily refunded me $14 for not being able to dump my tanks, which was nice, but still an inconvenience. They gave me locations for the nearest tank dumps, but they weren't particularly close by so I let it go.
Then I found I couldn't get my RV level in my campsite, which meant we'd be canted a bit one way or another. Happens all the time but still a nuisance.
On the other hand, the RV was almost fully shaded by trees so the AC didn't have to work overtime as it did at Sandpoint. And the wifi service here was excellent. I used that amenity to create drafts of all my upcoming posts and then uploaded the photos I wanted to use. It's the photos that slow me down - sometimes for hours - when the internet reception isn't good, so I figured this way I'd solve that hurdle while I still could.
The forecast temp for this afternoon was 98°, and after walking a bit in the sun, it felt like that was accurate. This place didn't have a dog park, but they did have a dead end road where people take their dogs, so that's where I took mine. It occurred to me when we were climbing up the steep hill (in the sun) that this looked like good bear habitat. And I learned later that they do get visits by bears now and then. I heard a news report just the other day of a dog having been in a fight with a bear. The wildlife officials didn't bother tracking down the bear because the dog had started the fight and the bear was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or something like that. I didn't want to see what mine would do, because I'm pretty sure he too would start a fight and I didn't want to deal with the resulting vet bill.
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