Around the town

Around the town Coeur d'Alene, ID

Coeur d’Alene, ID

Today’s activities centered around Downtown Coeur d’Alene, a pretty town along the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene. The local walking club gave us maps, water, and hospitality as we strolled around.

The trail took us first through the city park on the lakeshore. Here we saw the first of several statues of Mudgy the Moose and his friend Millie the Mouse. These are characters from a children’s book.

After the park we walked through the remnants of Fort Sherman, named after General William Tecumseh Sherman. Sherman discovered the site on an inspection tour and thought it would be a beautiful spot for a fort. Tasked with keeping the peace in Northern Idaho, protecting railroad crews, and guarding the border with Canada, it was considered an easy assignment by soldiers. Nowadays the fort buildings are part of the campus of Northern Idaho College.

Two of the best preserved buildings are the Officers’ Quarters and the Red Chapel.

From the college campus we came back up through the downtown area along Sherman Street. After passing through downtown and some beautiful residential areas, we took the trail around Tubbs Hill, which offers lovely views of the Lake.

After the 10K walk it was time for lunch, and I paid a visit to Hudson’s Hamburgers, a Coeur d’Alene institution. Hudson’s burgers were listed as one of the Top Five Burgers in the US by Jane and Michael Stern in their book, Roadfood. No frills here, just a perfectly cooked burger with a choice of onions, pickles, ketchup and mustard.

The afternoon was mostly free time, and I spent mine luxuriating in the spa, getting a pedicure for my hard-working feet. In the evening we all had dinner together, with entertainment provided by Robert Singletary, a local historian and guide who dresses in period costume (here he is seen as a French fur trader and a Ft. Sherman soldier) and tells stories of the good old days.

We were also each treated to a much coveted hand carved Walking Adventures boot.

After dinner we took a sunset cruise on the lake and enjoyed an ice cream social. The resort has several of these cruise ships (ours was called Mish an Nock, the meaning of which I have forgotten!) as well as seaplanes and just about any other watercraft you can think of.

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