June 9, 2015 - Coeur d'Alene, ID to Clinton, MT

While waking Edith up Erwin informed her that the sky was already bright at 4 am.  She slept through it just fine, but it bothered Erwin a bit, but he managed to go back to sleep for a couple more hours.

Yes, it was really beautiful outside  There were thin veiled clouds. Temperature was 73˚. 

Sonia, the ranch owner, wanted some of Edith's pictures that she took during the tour yesterday, so Edith emailed few of them to her.  Edith went out and shot some more before leaving. While she was doing that Erwin went to the owners' house to thank them for the tour and letting us spend the night at their ranch.  Sonia gave Erwin a carton of fresh brown eggs that she collected from her chickens. (www.sevenstarsalpacaranch.com)

If and when any of you are visiting Coeur d'Alene be sure to find time to drive up to the ranch and go on a tour with Sonia.  You will find it enjoyable because you will be up close to the animals in the pen.  Sonia is a very gracious lady and her husband Andy was very helpful.  They do have a very lovely ranch with a great view!  We will definitely go back there when we are in the area.

Alpacas watching passerby and her dog

100 year old house now converted into a guest cottage and also used as a Bed and Breakfast Inn.

Gift Shop at 7 Stars Alpaca Ranch

After the coffee break we set out of the ranch at 8:15 am.  Got on Yellowstone Trail Road and the road to I-90 was twisty and very hairy, but offered great view of the lake.

Couer d'Alene Lake

Now on I-90 going East.  Next stop is Kellogg, ID. Exit 50 to get on N Hill Road to check out one roadside attraction. The picture that was shown on Roadside America app is not there any more.  There was only one at the corner in front of the furniture store.  Biplane scrap metal sculpture.  Across the street old mining cars lined up. 

Not far from the town is a 13-foot-tall metal miner. It memorializes the 91 miners who lost their lives in the Sunshine Mine disaster on May 2, 1972.  It was made by Ken Lonn, a former shift boss at the mine.  

Alvin or Chip, the cute chipmunk, made its presence not far from the statue

Back to I-90 E again, then exit 61 to Wallace, ID. Parked the LH at a large parking lot across the street from Chamber of Commerce.  Toured the exhibit on the property.

Sunshine Mine Happy Family Statuenext to the Wallace Idaho Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center 

We drove into the town of Wallace, parked and walked around. Many stores were closed. We found few attractions.  There was a RV park at the outskirt of the town and we went in to check it out and got information.  On way out we stopped at Harvest Foods to get a small bottle of lemon juice.

The "Probalistic Center of the Universe" is located at the intersection of
 Bank and Sixth Streets in historic downtown Wallace, Idaho.

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Wallace Main Street

At one exit we recognized a Penske truck with a red convertible car on the dolly going past us. There was a white car leading in the front.  They stayed at the guest cottage at 7 Stars Alpaca Ranch last night. Cool!!!

Back to I-90 E again.. Interstate construction few miles.  Entered Montana state line at 1:45 pm.. Nice drive.  More clouds appeared... 

It started to rain after we left Missoula.  Pulled into parking area stop before Drummond, MT, so Erwin can get out to stretch his legs and walk a bit.

We decided to camp out at Beavertail Hill State Park in Clinton, MT.  There are 28 campsites and are available on a first-come first-serve basis. Self-registration at the kiosk, but there were campground hosts on site if there are questions and/or concerns. 

The fee for one night is $15 for MT residents or Seniors.  We got the site #16.

Edith fixed taboulee (Arabic salad), then we had banana nut bread (Keri made it) for dessert.

Erwin spent the rest of the evening reading a Nicholas Spark book while Edith went out for photoshooting. She came back in, edited some pictures. She went out again when Erwin told her about the gorgeous sunset.  Now we know why we adopted Montana as our home state because of the Big Sky.  Clouds are so so different and colorful.

Edith went out for a short hike inside the campground. It was very cool and pleasant and it felt so good.

30 Minutes after the sunset the civil colors were very vibrant and dramatic!  The shapes and colors of the clouds.  Edith was a happy camper, so she can capture awesome shots of it

Miles Driven:
LH - 180
Jeep - 10

Today's route:
A: Coeur d' Alene, ID
B: Kellogg, ID
C: Wallace, ID
D: Drummond, MT
E: Clinton, MT

June 8, 2015 - Davenport, WA to Coeur d'Alene, ID

Erwin was the first one up because he thought it was 7 or 8ish, but found out it was 5 am and the sun was already way above the horizon!  He went back to bed!

Again, the sky is blue with no clouds. It was already 74 degrees around 6:30 am.  Could that mean another hot day today?

After eating breakfast and checking to be sure everything is in its place we left Davenport, WA at 7:25 am.  We turned right on Highway 2 toward Spokane, WA, which was about 30 miles away.

There were a few attractions that we wanted to see while visiting Spokane, WA.  First stop was to visit Manito Park and Botanical Gardens on S. Grand Blvd.  It is a 90 acre public park with abortetum, gardens and conservatory and is open to the public.  It was established in 1904.  There are five major garden areas, but we visited only two of them: Japanese Garden and Lilac Garden. 

Mirror Pond

Next stop was to visit the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist on W. Riverside Ave. It is the home of a large parish congregation. Inside the cathedral there is a canvas Labyrinth that is in the North Transept of the church. There is an instruction of how you should walk for mediation, peacefulness and well-being. If you have followed our 2014 journey you will probably know that we check out cathedrals and churches not because we are religious, but because we wanted to see the Gothic architecture, stained windows, rose windows, statues, etc.  Mostly for photography purposes.

The church did not allow flash photography, so this was the best
shot Edith could get of Erwin walking the Labyrinth

Sundial

From the church we went to Banner of Service 9/11 Memorial that is on E. Lincoln Road, at the Fire Station #18.  The sculpture was made by Hazen Audel and Robert Sevilla-Naudon in 2006.  It is a tribute to the firemen who served and helped on September 11, 2001.

The weather started to get hotter and hotter as the day dragged on, but we wanted to visit some more attractions.  

We decided to park the Jeep in a garaged public parking that was directly across from Riverfront Park.  We went inside the shopping mall that is above the parking garage, walked across to find something to eat for lunch.

Shopping Mall

Edith had read one review on a restaurant called Red Robin and suggested that we try their hamburgers. We ordered blue cheese burgers (split in half) and a small tower of onion rings.  Edith forgot to take pictures of the lunch we had.  It was very delicious!

Now it was time to go out for a walk. We went past some unusual statues/scuptures throughout the district.  There were several people playing musical instruments at almost every corner.  However, most were already closing up for the day.

Run, Erwin, Run...(He blends in well?)

We meandered among the 100 acre of Riverfront Park and it is right in the heart of downtown Spokane and along the Spokane River.  The Park was created for Expo 1974, a World's Fair event. It has Skyride (it was closed, open only on weekends), IMAX theatre, waterfalls, bike paths, train tour, many more.

Splash Park

Spokane Waterfalls

Even though it was a hot day someone decided to put up
a hammock and enjoy the day

Giant Radio Flyer Wagon
It was built in 1990 and contains 26 tons of steel and concrete.
12' High and 27' Long

Erwin having his 2nd childhood moment

Great Northern Railroad Depot Clocktower in the background

The Garbage Eating Goat
It was built in 1974 for the Fair and has been
"eating" garbage for 41 years

We wanted to continue exploring the park, but it got hotter and hotter and we were almost dehydrated.  "Time to stop and get going" we said to ourselves.

On way back to I-90 to go to Coeur d'Alene we made one last stop to get a picture of the roadside attraction in Spokane: Milk Bottle Building #1 (there is another one, but we could not find #2).  It belonged to the former Benewah Dairy Company that was built in 1930.

Now on I-90 going East - the next stop was going to be at Coeur d'Alene (CDA) downtown, but while enroute Edith checked www.tripadvisior for information on attractions in CDA.  One thing caught her eyes and she wanted Erwin to call ahead to see if we can go on a tour to visit 7 Stars Alpaca Ranch (www.sevenstarsalpacaranch.com).  The lady on the other end said that we could come visit it if we get there before 4 pm, which we did.  

What we did not know was that the ranch was way way out in the country and to get there we would have to drive our LH on this narrow, twisty dirt road for about 5 miles! Scary yeah, but we made it!

We were first greeted by Andy, then his wife Sonia came by.  

https://youtu.be/CAUq6nq1iCE

Sonia and Edith's favorite alpaca

Cooling off the Alpacas by spraying water on their bellies and legs! 
They do not like water on their heads or back!

After the tour was over Sonia led us to the gift shop store that her husband Andy just finished building. It is a beautiful store and displays different things that are made with alpaca fur; such as socks, caps, shawls, blankets, etc.  On the table there is a guest book to sign and next to it is a plate of pumpkin muffins that she just baked.  They were so delicious!

Because it was so late going out back on that harrowing road we asked if we could dry camp at the ranch for a fee. Plus it was a beautiful location and scenery was awesome!  

Even though Edith could see the Milky Way it was not dark
 enough to get the colors

Two hours after the first photo was taken

Miles driven:
LH - 223
Jeep - 68

Today's route:
A: Davenport, WA
B:Spokane, WA
C: Coeur d'Alene, ID