Day 27, Blackwell Island RV Park Coeur d’Alene Idaho

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Another Day on Blackwell Island and Coeur d’Alene

Today is a cold and cloudless day.  It promises to warm into the high 60’s.  I plan to visit Daft Badger Brewing today; Ellen will revisit a shop that had a nice pair of inexpensive glasses (reading I think).  Our “big decision” is to chose between staying another day in CDA or pushing on to Spokane.  If we stay, there’s a zipline tour we may take on Monday.   If we go it makes getting home in time for Ellen’s trip to Utah a day “easier”.  I hope to visit Victoria and the Straits of Juan de Fuca either before or after visiting Jerry & Michelle on Whidbey Island.

Blackwell RV Park is pleasant.  It is just a mile from the city and yet feels like being in the country.  The Spokane River separates the Island from the hubbub of “downtown”.  Unlike some parks, they have plenty of very hot water.  I have no problem taking long shower here!

We’ll fill the propane tank today. I’m curious how much it will take.  The last time we filled was the day we left Yellowstone on the east side and a very nice fellow gouged me: 3 Gal of Propane for $18.00.  “We have a 5 Gal minimum”.  Right, sure you do.  That was on October 3, my birthday.   Eleven days later our tank is down to 1/4, which actually means we have somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 a tank left.  With a 33 Gal tank, we have between 8 and 16 Gal. left.  We’ve been using propane for heat regularly, for stove top cooking a bit, and to run the refrigerator when we’re stopped on the road.  I am pleased with Li’l Beast’s propane consumption and far less concerned than I was entering Grand Teton NP weeks ago.

We will stay overnight here at Blackwell Island and push on tomorrow early(ish).  No zipline for us in CDA this year!  We are planning to come back to Yellowstone and Grand Teton next fall, but this time start by going north to Victoria, driving east through Canada, dropping down to Coeur d’Alene, then north to Glacier National Park, south to Bozeman,, and then drop into Yellowstone earlier in September than this year.  We may leave mid August to have time for stops along the way.

1:08 PM, we’ve done laundry, re-upped for a third day here at Blackwell Island and we’re about to Uber to Daft Badger Brewing for a bite & brew.  We contacted Jerry yesterday.  He and Michelle are busy with two businesses.  We’ll meet them for dinner, but their time is consumed by their work.  It seem frenetic to me, but then I’m enjoying retirement and leisure.  I hope they are enjoying the lives they’ve created for themselves and being kind to each other.  I expect we will go to Victoria and see them on our way south.  Our plans are always flexible.  If we find a place we love in central Washington State, we could stop for a few days.  For now we’re enjoying peace and solitude here with excitement in CDA a short ride away.  Blackwell Island RV Resort closes tomorrow at 11 AM.  I’ll get a propane fill before 11 or get none here.

We were told that the Dakotas got 17” of snow in the past few days and that Montana is seeing single digit temperatures in the early morning.  We fled Yellowstone at “the right” time.  I’ve had snuffles and other signs of a coming cold for the past week.  The past few days it’s subsided. Ellen’s been fine the whole time.  

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Daft Badger Brewing, five stars!

After laundry, an Uber trip to Daft Badger Brewing.  The kiosk we saw yesterday beckoned to me.  Our driver, Steven, said the brewery is in a residential area.  A house was converted to a brewery and pub restaurant.  Some of the locals are none to happy about it.  Yelp’s ratings for the brewery are all glowing, except for a few people who rate the restaurant on minor glitches that can occur anytime. Get over yourself people!

We arrived at a house with a covered patio open on one side.  Inside the bar/restaurant was packed.  Outside the patio had space and we sat along the open side, but moved inside where it was warmer.

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Daft Badger’s Beer List

They were busy.  A 20 something gal came by, “I’ll be with you in a moment”.  It was a long moment.  A bit later she came by and asked if we want something to drink to get started and handed us menus and drink cards. Ellen, “water no ice”, me “An IPA”.   She replied, “We have six IPAs”  “Ok, I’ll check out the menu”.  “I’ll be right back with your water.”   Of course, she was not right back.  Perhaps ten or even fifteen minutes later she was back with water and an apology, “It’s crazy inside, I got really busy”.  No problem, I don’t expect the world to revolve around us.  I ordered a Badger IPA though I said the Blood Orange IPA sounds really good.”  “Would you like a sample of the Blood Orange?”  “Sure, that’d be great!”  I ordered a pulled pork sandwich and  Ellen had an arugula salad and a champagne.  Yes I’d like the habanero potato chips and marinated jalapeno on the side.  Spicy is always a good thing for me!

Some time later our drinks arrived.  The Badger IPA was good, but the Blood Orange was superb.  It was not the fruity sweet take on a citrus beer I feared.  It had a hint of orange with that hoppy IPA grapefruit crisp finish.  What a beer.  She vanished as quickly as she appeared, off to handle the full house.  It was lunchtime.

Another ten or fifteen minutes later Ellen’s salad and my sandwich appeared.  Ellen’s salad looked like most arugula salads.  My pulled pork sandwich was different.  Most such have pulled pork, some BBQ sauce, maybe some coleslaw or sourkraut.  This one was “different”.  The pork was prepared with dried cherry.  The cherry was present in the background.  The pulled pork was cooked perfectly and without being smeared with sauce.  It had a few marinated red onions and a generous helping of a mild melted goat cheese.  I am on a “heated goat cheese” kind of guy.  Goat cheese often overpowers whatever it is put on.  Either the goat cheese was particularly mild or the sandwich could handle the intensity.  The pretzel bun was great.  The combination of flavors and the moisture of the goat cheese made this sandwich very special.  This was not your typical pulled pork sandwich and would be a disappointment for anyone who expected a BBQ brisket like experience.  This was a level above any pulled pork I have ever had.  It was wonderful.  The beer wasn’t bad either.  I probably bored Ellen to death with ohhh and ahhh and “This is so good” between bites the whole time I ate the darn thing.

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Daft Badger’s Pulled Pork Sandwich, Heaven.

Score a big one for Daft Badger Brewing and their Blood Orange IPA.  I took a six-pack of Blood Orange and a few bottles of other IPAs “to go” to sample later in San Diego.

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After Lunch the Crowd Thinned Out

I very highly recommend a trip to Daft Badger Brewers if you like beer and visit Coeur d’Alene.

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6-packs of Blood Orange IPA Waiting for YOU.

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The Brewery Emptying As We Left

Sherman Ave

We walked the mile and a half down 2nd to Sherman Ave.  2nd ends and restarts, a detour is necessary walking 2nd.  We passed the “moose head” gallery and passed the kayak gallery and Logan.  We stopped into an eclectic gallery that mostly had artwork that didn’t appeal.  There were aluminum or steel images of Lake Coeur d’Alene painted in bright blue.  If you didn’t know the lake, the image would be lost on you. I really liked them.  There was also a pointing of Aspen that was well done and could have found a place in our home or RV, but no. Just up the street we stopped into a Knick knack shop that already had Christmas items for sale.  It was here Ellen had seen reading glasses she liked.  I saw nothing that appealed to me and Ellen got her glasses.

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Fall Colors Coeur d’Alene

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It Reminds Me of New England in the Fall

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Halloween Is Coming

We walked on the shady side of Sherman Ave to avoid the heat! A novelty in the past three weeks.  Eventually we “Ubered” back to Blackwell Island and “home”.

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Seaplane Returning from a Tour

The Bugs are Back In Town

Yesterday evening we encountered swarms of blue gray flying insects that reminded me of gnats, but bigger.  This evening they were out in force too.  “Home” I Googled “coeur d’alene gray blue bugs that fly” and up popped a Coeur ‘’d’Alene/ Post Falls Press article headlined “THE BUGS ARE BACK IN TOWN” all caps.  “Smoky-winged ash aphids are back. CDA is inundated with aphids.  New residents continue to plant ash trees and he aphids are quite happy about it.  The article explains how to control them, sort of.  This happens in warm weather in the fall when they breed.

We had a heck of a time getting through the swarms at the RV campground and and not letting too many into Li’l Beast.  At least they’re not the deer flies of the north east or the black flies of Ontario.  These fellows are harmless.  There are just so many of them, great swarms actually.

A word about Getting Around

With the prevalence of Uber and Lift in most cities in the U.S. it is becoming unnecessary to tow a vehicle behind your motorhome.  At CDA we could request an uber car and have one arrive within five minutes both going to and coming from town. No need to find parking, no concern about parking tickets, no extra tow weight or RV handling issues.  Simply call an Uber/Lift.  Going further, if you want to tour an area, Enterprise will (in select locations) deliver a rental car to your motorhome or offer pickup nearby.  We often drive our motor home into cities and park.  A 24 footer is relatively easy to tool around in.  Even so, for extended tours outside national parks, we have rented through Enterprise for a day.

blackwell Island RV Resort, five stars (off season)

I recommend this campground to those who want to “camp” near Coeur d’Alene for a few days.  In mid October it was quiet and very sparsely occupied.  I imagine during the summer months it can be full and bustling with children running around.  I’m not sure how much the ambiance changes in summer.

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