[a/s] Coeur d'Alene & Sandpoint, ID - July 21, 2000

[HHamp5246@xxxxxxx]

I know I'm in Idaho, but I feel like I drove to Europe. Coeur d'Alene (French 
for "heart of awl", named by French Canadians... no one knows why it was so 
named except possibly to describe their shrewd and sharp trading practices).

It feels like Cannes or Monaco or Geneva.... a city with a park, a beach, and 
docks.
A city where you can parasail from downtown, or moor your yacht and step off 
and into a fine restaurant.  A city with a fragile sand castle on the beach 
that's 10 feet tall and looks like one of those castles in Lichtenstein... 
the ones with the spires.  A city on a lake with 109 miles of shoreline. A 
city with a mountain up behind the only tall building (The Resort).. on a 
lake with pine covered mountains surrounding it... mountains that you can see 
in many layers as they get farther away. I love that.

The drive over from Montana was gorgeous.  Wilderness until the Idaho state 
line... then more and more ranches and businesses... finally it got congested 
around Sandpoint.  I thought I was going to stay there for a day but decided 
to come on to Coeur d'Alene so I wouldn't be uprooted two days in a row. The 
kitties hate that.

The campground is called River Walk.  You can see the river, if you have good 
eyes.. you can even walk to it if you don't mind crossing a whole lot of 
railroad tracks.... the trailers and motorhomes are packed in like sardines.. 
I have no idea how I will even get my rig out in the morning.  I think I have 
to back all the way out the way I came in.  I's the cleanest, best manicured 
place I've ever seen though.

I dropped the trailer and the dogs and I set out for town.  It's about a mile 
away.  I parked and we strolled... the shops, the galleries, the indoor mall, 
the park... all wonderful.  One antique shop, Cisco's, features "old west" 
stuff.... I was in my glory.  The prices were so inflated I doubt Ted Turner 
could afford anything... I saw quite a few things that I have duplicates 
of..... remember the chaps I bought in White Sulphur Springs?  They had 
almost identical ones for $2,800.  A chair I tossed out when I moved.... its 
twin was there for $3,000.00. <gasp> Tiny oil paintings were $4,000 to 
8,000.00.

After dinner the dogs and I went back to town.  There was a free concert, we 
hung out for a while.  I wanted to play Frisbee on the beautiful grass in the 
park, but when I asked a policeman he said not even people are allowed to 
toss a Frisbee to each other.... so the dogs were out. I found a better spot 
out of town. People were still swimming in the lake at 7:30pm... still so 
hot.  Mid 90s during the day.

This morning we went back and did Sandpoint.  I stopped at the Ford dealer 
and got Bruiser a new air filter, I knew he wanted one after the dirt roads 
in Libby.

Sandpoint is on a huge deep lake, over 1,000 feet deep actually.  More 
mountains everywhere.... the lake is amazing.  So blue, so big.

The town isn't really in walking distance, but it's still nice.  Lots of 
touristy shops, gallerues and even a Starbucks... I had an iced latte.  The 
dogs had water which some kind shopkeeper puts out in a bucket for them (c:  

I hit all the antique shops and malls..... scored a few things then picked up 
some sushi for dinner.  I love sushi.

Tomorrow I will head out for Washington... my eventual goal is a friend's 
place in Sequim.... then another friend in Longview... it'll ake a while 
though... a my pace.
I am taking highway 2 over the Cascades... longer, but more scenic than 
90...and that is the whole point isn't it.  
  
Hunter