I am awake!!! YIPPEE!! We caved in to exhaustion and got ourselves a motel room for a couple of nights. The other afternoon in the library I was looking up different places to stay in Coeur d’Alene. I had the vague thought that it would be awfully nice to be able to sleep in a quiet and comfortable place and to just be able to regroup a little bit after several almost sleepless nights and time spent chasing shade. I was rather shocked at how expensive motel rooms have gotten to be. But I found one that was only a couple of dollars more than the cheapest room I could come up with and it offered far more--free wifi, free breakfast, a microwave, a fridge, and a coffeemaker. Most of all, it has given us a chance to rest and catch up. Bill spent several hours last night processing photos. I got caught up on all of my notes, and we all slept through the night. There were thunderstorms and rain showers in the forecast for last night and tonight. It was so quiet in here that I have no idea whether they actually happened. But I do know that I am full of gratitude for a good night of uninterrupted sleep. I rather frightened myself yesterday when I saw the bags and circles under my eyes! This morning we went out to a campground that I had found in my search Monday. It’s quite a bit cheaper than the KOA in Spokane was and it seems to offer the same amenities and to be much nicer. The woman in the office heard our story and said that we were welcome to look around and even choose our campsite if we would like! She gave us a map and told us which ones were available. We picked a nice spot that is between a creek and a tree (a tree--hurray!) and is located in this little bowl-shaped area a little bit farther back than the other sites. Since it’s supposed to get hot again this weekend, I am sure I will appreciate that beautiful tree! We are going there tomorrow and will stay until next Tuesday morning.
I must say that I have had the thought cross my mind that maybe I’ll just stop right here and settle in Coeur d’Alene! I have never been here before, but it is a beautiful place. I am amazed at the huge difference between Spokane and here. Part of it is simply that I found the landscape in Spokane to be rather yucky. I felt the city exuded an air of decay. It was not pleasant at all. It was not a place that I would want to spend any time in, but the kind of place that had me looking around and wondering how quickly I could leave. Not good. This is completely different. Since we had to leave the kampground by 11 yesterday morning , we couldn’t check in at the motel until 3, and it took us ½ an hour to get here, we had time to spend.
We found ourselves downtown at this incredible park in the heart of the city on the edge of the lake. There’s even a little beach! There are many different areas for kids to play in--the beach, a big playground with castle-like structures, basketball court, and lots of room to run around. I was impressed. We parked and started walking around.
We sat by the beach and watched the float planes take off and the people playing. We went further into the park--trees everywhere--big, big trees--and ate our lunches. Then we walked around for a couple of hours.
We walked on the world’s largest floating boardwalk in search of the next in the series of Mudgy and Millie statues. There are 5 of them, based on a story in a children’s book. Mudgy is a moose and Millie is a mouse.
We found the library. I went into the Visitor’s Center and asked a couple of questions about the effects of the economy on tourism. The ladies in there were incredibly friendly and helpful. They went out of their way to help me and gave me some really useful information. The area around our motel seems like the usual chain store strip kind of thing, but downtown really seems vibrant and alive. It is clear that they have invested significant resources into the area and it shows. We went back this morning to walk around and felt the same vibe. Bill and I both agreed that this seemed like the best place we’d been since we left Alaska. We’re going back out later because the Farmer’s Market is happening between 4 and 7.
So after several strange days in eastern Washington, we find ourselves in what seems like a completely different world. Relaxed, functional, getting things done, rested, and enjoying the surrounding area. It’s a welcome change!
