Day 6: Coeur d’Alene to Sagle, ID

We left even earlier than usual in hopes of avoiding traffic out of Coeur d’Alene this morning. We didn’t have a long or difficult journey ahead of us but we were trying to avoid some of the Saturday traffic. Today was Gloria’s worst nightmare as we had to ride along the side of a relatively busy Highway. We were also looking forward to arriving early at the Powell’s house near Sagle Idaho.

We did enjoy relative quiet as we took side roads and headed north out of Coeur d’Alene and into and through Hayden. The route was mostly flat with tree-lined streets and it was cool outside and beautiful.

We’d likely have spent more time enjoying Coeur d’Alene but the temperature reminded us of summer in Tucson.

We just about melted walking around town the night before. Admittedly I was capable of walking to a Mexican restaurant for a late lunch and then not much later walking to a Burger Shack for malts and a burger and then to a grocery store for some snacks and tomorrow’s breakfast. The heat really built my appetite:)

For many of the miles we headed north we were able to avoid highway 95 and take side roads that were quiet and pleasant. It appeared that in this part of the country the only work available was likely in the lumber industry.

I found the above two pictures of the same location hilariously dichotomous. The first is the visitor’s entrance that essentially looks like a beautiful garden. The second is a glimpse into The lumber mill itself which looked like an industrial waste land with stacks of trees and lumber as far as the eye could see. But, I guess I can’t complain as my house is made of wood.

After a few hours of riding, I was really craving pancakes. We came down a road in a small town and found a wonderful little cafe. It wasn’t on Google Maps. In fact it appeared to have been part of a complete media blackout. Inside the tables and booths were close together as we’re all the patrons. Additionally not one of the workers wore a mask. I was concerned we had accidentally walked into a white supremacist breakfast meeting. Accordingly I chose to not wear my mask thinking I might get shot as someone trying to rob them.

I was able to get my pancake, which was wonderful, and topped it off with some country eggs benedict. The difference being traditional eggs benedict and Country Benedict is is that traditional are fancied up with things like hollandaise sauce while country just flat-out accepts that your over-indulging and gives you everything from sausage to biscuits and gravy. It was all amazing and the service was fast and incredible. Perhaps they were trying to hurry us out so they could finish their white supremacist meeting.

Eventually we had to ride the highway. It had a very nice shoulder for almost all of it and rumble strip. Our plan was if we heard tires hitting the rumble strip, then we’d point our tire into the ditch. Not really a comforting thought but at least some plan for action right before death

One thing we did notice pedaling on the highway is that apparently cars are not for sale in northern Idaho. You can only buy trucks. It doesn’t matter if you’re a sixteen-year-old girl or an 80 year old man. You must drive a truck. And it can’t be just any truck. It has to be a big truck with a loud Muffler and oversized tires.

Gratefully we did not have to stay on the highway for long. We headed off into the side roads again for the last 15 miles of our day. We were getting closer to Sandpoint and the Powell’s house on Bottle Bay Road overlooking Lake Pend Orielle. I’m not sure why they let the French name all these places but it sure makes for a lot of extra vowels in each word. Despite the name the place is beautiful.

The last few miles the road was quite narrow but fortunately had very few cars. It wound around the edge of the lake through beautiful forest. After a relatively short day we arrived early in the afternoon at the Powell’s second home where they plan to retire. We were going to offer our testing it as a retirement location while he continues to work.

While the house and area are beautiful, it was most exciting to see our friends from decades ago in medical school. We had attended Wake Forest together. To add to our excitement Gumby somehow found us at their house and was waiting when we arrived. Tim, ever thoughtful, had found Gumby and bought two of them for us, recognizing our inability to actually take care of something for any period of time. Hopefully we can at least get one of them to the end of this trip.

Tim and Julie welcomed us into their home and then quickly took us down to the beach where we enjoyed a wonderful afternoon getting reacquainted as well as enjoying the lake on both the wave runner and paddle boards.

Really great friends are one of the greatest joys of life. Even though we rarely get to see Tim and Julie, we are forever grateful to have them as friends. Pedaling for 6 days to get here was worth it.