Day 123 - Kellogg to Wallace Loop - Two Far 2023 - Oranges to Apples

August 16, 2023

Day 123 - Kellogg to Wallace Loop

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Today we rode the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes from Kellogg to Wallace and back. You can see on the graph above that we had another summit to conquer on today's ride. However, instead of 900 feet in four miles, it was 350 feet in 12 miles. That 1-2% grade was the kind of climb I like, plus it's always a treat to ride unloaded, especially on long climbs. Returning to Kellogg from Wallace super easy, as it was mostly one long coast, with just a few pedal strokes here and there to maintain our speed.

We left a little after 8:00, so we had the sun in our faces the first part of the ride. There was enough shade that it didn't feel blinding as did the sun on the interstate did yesterday.

In the town of Osborn, we took a break in a public park. There was a nice paved road around the perimeter with large grassy open areas and scattered picnic areas.

Also in the park was a display of large representations of mining equipment.

The sign at the base of the structure above

A large model of ore to be loaded on a trolley.

Kerry really wanted to make the trolley roll down the tracks!

The town of Wallace was our turn around point for this ride. This is an historic silver mining town. The entire downtown is on the National Register of Historic Places. I'll get to how that came to be.

We visited a silver mining museum. I took a few random photos.

The mines in the Coeur d'Alene Mining District produce mainly silver, lead and zinc. In fact, the area mines have produced over three times the amount of silver as the famed Comstock Lode in Nevada.

This display showed the evolution of hard-hats, from leather to thermo-plastic.

In the town history section of the museum were these two machines. We have not Googled them yet. Does anyone know what they are?

The next three pictures tell the story of how a small town with a very committed and determined leader fought the federal government to preserve their town and won.

And, in 2004, the town mayor decided that he would proclaim Wallace to be the "Center of the Universe" because, he said, no one could prove it wasn't true. A manhole cover in the middle of a downtown intersection marks the spot.

Besides marking the center of the universe, the marker also pays homage to the area's mines. Clockwise from top: Hecla Mining, Coeur Mining, Sterling Mining, and Bunker Hill Mining

It's still very hot, with high temperatures near 100 every afternoon. We were back to the hotel before 1:00. After lunch, Kerry wanted to ride the ski lift gondolas that were just across the street. I knew I had to stay in and try to get caught up on my blogs, where I was 5 DAYS!! behind. Kerry took the camera and got some good pictures.

The story of the successful reclamation of Silver Valley. The area is home to one of the largest EPA Superfund Sites in the U.S. - Lake Coeur d'Alene has an estimated 80 million tons of contaminated sediment from past mining operations.

Riding down the mountain. At 3.1 miles in length and climbing 3,400 feet from base to summit, this is the longest tram in North America, and the longest single stage tram in the world.

Smoke blocks what would have been a gorgeous view

Today's ride: 25 miles (40 km)
Total: 5,420 miles (8,723 km)

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Kelly IniguezShow us a photo of your loaded tandem?
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