Our summer tour of Oregon and Washington is over.
It is time to turn the wheels south again. But first we spent 3 days enjoying the Coeur d'Alene Idaho area. This was just a quick look-see. Someday we want to come back and spend a longer time exploring this area.
For some reason the 48 miles from Elk to Coeur d'Alene was quite exhausting. Maybe it was the traffic in Spokane. In any event, after a short rest at Blackwell Island RV Resort, we took a short hike on the Tubbs Hill Trail on Friday afternoon.
The trail starts at a harbor on the east side of Tubbs Hill and goes up and around the hill, overlooking the lake for about 2 miles. Some of it is a bit rough, but at the west end is another harbor and an easy street level route back to the beginning.
Here are a few pictures we took on the hike. No words are necessary.
TripAdvisor is a good source for top tourist attractions. If you only have a few days in a place, a quick look there can keep you busy.
On Saturday we went to the Five Start Alpaca Ranch, their top "thing to do" in Coeur d'Alene.
The $10 per person tour was wonderful!
After a sitdown talk about raising llamas and alpacas, and running a ranch such as this, we went out to the barns and pens to meet the animals. We started with some chickens and goats, and then as we walked through an empty barn, this alpaca peeked through the top of a stall from the outside to see what the people were doing.
What's not to love?
Next we went out to a large pen area where there were dozens of alpacas, llamas, and a few goats. They were all quite used to people, but we were told not to touch them.
I had fun taking pictures!
Each animal was delightfully unique.
After awhile, our social time came to an end and the herd quietly gathered near one of the gates. They all knew that it was time for them to be turned out into a twenty acre pasture for the afternoon.
The exit was orderly, but I sure wouldn't have wanted to try to stop any of them. What a fun place to visit. I highly reccomend checking out the Seven Star Ranch if you are in the area.
One pleasant way to learn a little more about an area is to take a tour of some sort. Since the main feature of Coeur d'Alene is the lake, a boat cruise was a good bet.
Sunday was a beautiful day for a 90 minute scenic cruise. We learned a little history, but mostly heard about all the rich and famous people who have homes on her shores.
big interesting houses,
and big luxury hotels.
Coeur d'Alene is a playground for the rich, but it has plenty of room for, and welcomes, average people like us too.
We would have liked to stay for a few more days, but a Roadtrek rally is coming in on Monday.
Many arrived and began filling the park on Sunday. So, on Monday morning we will travel on up to Sandpoint Idaho. Another place we want to see.
More to come ~
those alpacas are adorable.
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