A Fun Day, And FUN Is What Bike Touring Is All About

September 15, 2021

Couer d' Alene, Idaho

Morning Fun

A startling noise woke me up from a deep sleep. I looked out Mike's screen door to this view.

There was something honking very loudly out on the lake at the ungodly hour of 6:30 a.m. Whatever, or whoever, it was obviously was not aware of the campground rule that clearly states "10:00 p.m. - 7:00 a.m. is quiet time." The honking was different than the honk of the Canada Goose, with which I am very familiar. It was a louder, deeper honk.

Of course, I had to get up and investigate. By the time I threw on some pants and shoes and raced down to the lake, the mysterious honker was nowhere to be seen or heard.

I went back to my campsite, made some coffee, and brought a cup back down to the lake with hope the honker might return.

I didn't hear the honking bird (a trumpeter swan perhaps?), but I did see a seagull, a kingfisher, and a couple of what looked like mergansers. It was a nice place to enjoy my morning coffee.

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Fun On The Trail of the Couer d' Alenes

I took the same trail up the 3% grade as I rode down yesterday. I have to say, it didn't seem any more difficult. My cartoon alter-ego and I decided to have some fun with pictures.

"Oh sure, NOW we see the sign. A little late don'tcha think," shouted G-2 at the the folks who maintain the trail.

"Yeah, I don't know how that rock slide could have happened to you and not to me," I sympathized.

The sign should have read, "NO SHOOTING GREG IN THE HEAD!"

There's nothing fun about this sign. There was a fire here in July and the bike trail was closed for more than a month. Yesterday I saw firefighters carrying shovels and checking fire hoses along the trail. I suppose they can never be too careful about the possibility of a hot spot flaring up again.

There were many acres of charred trees. I have to believe it was the work of the firefighters that prevented many of them from being turned to ashes.

Leave it to G-2 to find the only hot spot left in this fire zone.

"Don't worry G-2," I assured, "I'll grab this fire hose and blast you with ten gallons-per-minute of ice cold water."

Fun On Highway 95

The thing that made U.S. Highway 95 fun was the 15-mile-per-hour tailwind. (That doesn't count the four miles in which it was an uncomfortable side wind. It was a bit more than uncomfortable when big trucks went by and almost blew me into oblivion.)

The scenery was great though. I'm not going to bore you with a ton of pictures, but it's my job to show at least a couple.

I prepared an excuse in case a State Trooper asked why I stopped here. "I had to take an emergency photo of Lake Couer d' Alene's Cougar Bay, officer."

The Reckless Mr. Bing Bong and I took a break on the shores of Lake Couer d' Alene.

Fun In the City

I wonder how many places have an Indian tribe, a city, a lake, a river, and a bike trail with the same name. Couer d' Alene does. I feel like I'm in a one-of-a-kind place.

And if you can name another place with that distinction, how many of them have a name as cool as the French translation of "Heart of an Awl." I don't even know how that applies here. The city has heart, but I don't get the awl part.

Proceeding to the downtown area of the resort city of Couer d' Alene, I took some more pictures because my words just won't do.

It's a holy city. Even the National Register of Historic Places recognizes that. So does the photographer staging this photo shoot in front of Couer d' Alene's oldest church.

It's cool and there's a stiff breeze. I bet this beach is packed every day in mid-summer.

The main street through the downtown area is still bustling in the off-season though.

I don't think I'll even enquire as to the price for a night at the "Couer d' Alene Resort Hotel."

Heart

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Today's ride: 45 miles (72 km)
Total: 322 miles (518 km)

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