Coeur d’Alene Campground

The Turnout for Coeur d’Alene Campground

Another cold, crisp, but clear morning.  The campground is nestled in a valley against the north side of a ridge.  We could see the sun on the ridge to our north across the south side of Coeur d’Alene Lake.  We welcomed the warmth of the sun when it arrived.

CDA Campground is one of the better ones we’ve visited.  I enjoyed talking to Rhonda and Jim (I think).  The campground has a stack of firewood for the fire rings, two paddle boats and a canoe for tooling around the open waters of the marsh.  A road divides the marsh from the lake.  Paddling the marsh is quite safe; paddling the lake is another matter.

Again with the cold, we felt no need to leave early.  Ellen said our goodbyes around 11AM and we drove on to the town of Coeur d’Alene.  Coeur d’Alene means heart of the Owl! I’ve read it was meant as a compliment to the American Indian traders who drove a hard but fare bargain.

The drive to the town was short.  Nearing town we followed a sign to the visitors center.  I stopped for diesel and to dump our gray & black tanks at an Exxon station.  As I pulled in I noticed another Winnie View getting gas.  The fellow had a small sized motorbike on his hitch.  Not a bad idea.  He walked over to ask if I had a cycle in back.   He noticed the obvious bulge of our covered tricycle and bike.  I said no.  He asked how my view handled. I said it’s ok.  I don’t notice the hitch weight.  I asked how he liked his View.  He said it handles great after he installed Sumo springs.  He said they stopped the side to side wobble and made the ride much more stable.  He must have seen me pull in with the side-to-side shake.  He said they’re easy to install.  He did his himself, “The best $300.00 he’s spent”.  I had read about Sumo’s years ago when researching the View.  Now they’re on my short list for improvements.

Coeur d’Alene

The visitors center is at the lake end of the street.  We drove a few blocks looking and looking. Then a few more and still another.  Finally we saw a sign saying “Visitors Center 9 blocks”.  We found the visitors center and pulled into a parking across the way.  We were greeted by a sign “No RV Parking”.  I drove through, around, out, and saw parking behind the VC.  Again there was a no parking sign.  Further down a parking lot for Momo, “for patrons only, others will be towed”.  Really?  I drove further and saw more “patrons only” parking.  We saw no street side parking space large enough for us.  A few blocks away I found open parking spaces with a 2 hour limit.  Here I thought Coeur d’Alene was a small town with small town attitude.  No Way, this parking thing is reminiscent of large cities.  San Francisco came to mind.  CDA is much smaller than SF, but some attitudes are similar.

The woman at the visitors center said, “No, we are not a small town any longer.”  She pointed out RV parking spots on a city map and gave us a bunch of pamphlets describing things to do in town.  “Any restaurant that has outdoor seating will have great food.  We don’t have chains here in town”  Great we both said.  No MickieD’s. 

Local or Tourist, Who Drove the Vespa?

The day was growing warm in the sun, but still crisp in the shade.  We walked the sunny side of the street.  None of the curio shops or art galleries interested us.  There was one gallery who had a huge moose head sitting on the floor in the window.  It was massive.  From tip to tip his antlers must have been more than six feet across. We walked on.  Ellen thought to go in, then thought not. 

Tito’s Italian Grill & Wine Shop, Michelle General Manager

We passed an Italian Grill, a number of Bar and Grills, some bars; the Italian Grill won out.  We had a very good lunch there.  I had sausage and peppers with thin spaghetti. Ellen had a margarita pizza.  While we ate a fellow pulled up in a Vespa-like scooter across the street.  Was he a local? Was the Vespa a rental or carried on a motorhome?  We enjoyed people watching in CDA We will stop back here on our way to Yellowstone next fall.  It was very good.

The restaurant has huge prints of photos of Cinque Terre. Some of Rio Majore, a number of prints of Vernazza.  In one your could find the terrace high on the hill where we stayed while we were there. 

I pulled one of the restaurant’s business cards.  I want to remember this restaurant for the next time we visit “Heart of an Owl”.  I think Michelle was the woman who waited on us.

I had planned to go to a local state park close to access to the “Trail of the Coeur d’Alene” a 72 mile converted railroad trail.  This is Rails to Trails most successful project in the U.S.  The old rail track has been paved for foot and bicycle traffic.  It is an easy to moderate mostly flat trail.  Perfect for Ellen.  I sensed some reluctance on Ellen’s part to leave the town and go to a state park.  Worse, I had read that the park had pit toilets and some electric hookups.  I shanghaied Ellen.  I drove the 40 miles to Heyburn State Park.

Heyburn State Park

The drive from CDA to the park is uninspiring.  It winds up and over a low pass through evergreen, then drops into a valley that looks more industrial than pastoral.  Great, I thought.  Not the best approach to what I hoped would be an idyllic state park.  A left turn took us into a forested area.  Another left took us to Heyburn State Park’s visitors center.  The visitors center was a surprise.  It is large, warm, has a gift shop, and overlooks a reedy marsh the the side of Coeur d’Alene Lake.

Leslie greeted us.  We explained that we would like to stay the night with a 24’ RV.  She said, “Here’s a map of the campsite.  Drive through and pick one that you like.  Then come back.”  Ellen asked, “Do any sites have a view of the lake”  “Yes, and she pointed out four possible sites”.  Ron, her boss, walked in as we were about to leave. After exchanging hellos, I asked, “Do you get many large animals coming through the park?”  That started a fun long conversation about animals.  They get Moose, Elk, lots of deer, some bear, but the raccoons are a nuisance!  “Moose are pretty common.  They come down to the lake some mornings.” Leslie said she sees moose every time she goes elk hunting.  “Maybe you should go moose hunting to find elk.”  I asked if it is legal to hunt moose.  Ron said they have lots of moose in the area.  Moose permits are done by lottery to keep the number of hunters down to allow the moose to prosper.

Moose Tomorrow? Spotting Scope for Sure!

We selected site 42 overlooking the lake through some trees.  Our rear microphone decided not to work lately making backing into sites more challenging.  Ellen is very good at guiding me in.  We found lots of firewood sitting at the fire circle and may have a fire tonight.

A word about Heyburn State Park.  It is fantastic.  Every campsite has electricity and water.  Some have sewer hookup as well.  The men’s and women’s toilets are well heated and have showers with plenty of hot water.  The campsites are nestled in pine and cedar; the cedar are wonderfully aromatic.  Heyburn State Park was the first state park in Idaho and the first in the west.  We walked along the lake’s edge past reeds and flushed a vast number of ducks.  Their beating wings and dragging feet sounded like gushing running water until we realized it was the fleeing ducks.

Back Side Visitors Center, Heyburn State Park

We’ll look for moose tomorrow morning and for the reclaimed railroad line in the late morning sun..