Biking

Northern Idaho is the Bomb!

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Our summer RV adventures continued this week in northern Idaho and boy were we impressed! This place ticked off a lot of our “must haves” in a destination, and we are excited to share the highlights with you.

First we spent the night in a little town called Laclede which is the home to the Riley Creek Blueberry Farm.

Another Harvest Host property, we were able to stay on their grounds with our membership. Stan and Anita, the farmers and owners of Riley Creek, met us with a big smile and encouraged us to roam the farm. We picked blueberries and bought a blueberry pie and jam.

The best part, however, was the beautiful setting. We parked right in the middle of the blueberry bushes, surrounded by wild blackberries, farm animals, and a beautiful garden. With great weather and a few other very nice Harvest Host members, we enjoyed our overnight on the farm. It was hard to leave.

Oh, and there was a tractor!

Our next stop was Coeur d’Alene, and we were lucky to snag a spot at the Blackwell Island RV Park, right on the shores of the Spokane River and Lake Coeur d’Alene. This was one of the nicer parks we’ve stayed in with sparkling clean laundry facility and a large beach from which to launch a kayak. We kept busy just at the RV park.

Of course, we did venture into the city several times and checked out the town. One morning we biked into town, watched runners of the Coeur d’Alene marathon, and had a cup of coffee.

Steve would have loved to run but we didn’t realize the race, modified for COVID-19, was being held over a three day period while we were there. 

From Coeur d’Alene we headed east along I-90 until we found the cute little historic town of Wallace, Idaho. We hadn’t planned on stopping here but when we learned about the Route of the Hiawatha, we found this town to be a convenient base.  We had no idea what we were in for! Wallace is an old silver mining town where every building in town is in the Registry of Historic Places. In town there is a mining museum, a railroad museum, and a bordello museum—all commemorating the area’s historic past. I did the Sierra Silver Mine tour and learned about the process and history of silver mining in northern Idaho’s Silver Valley.

Meanwhile Steve ran the Pulaski Trail, a two mile hike that commemorates the 1910 fire that ravaged the town and region. 

The real draw to Wallace these days is biking. Almost everyone at the Wallace RV Park where we stayed was doing the Route of the Hiawatha. Considered the “crown jewel” of America’s rails-to-trails routes, the Route of the Hiawatha follows the abandoned Milwaukee railroad grade.

Over the 15-mile downhill route we passed through ten tunnels and seven sky high steel trestles with sweeping views of the Bitterroot Mountain range. The adventure begins with the 1.7 mile long Taft tunnel which required us to use our lights and traverse through darkness. A little scary, but super fun!

Most do the Hiawatha in one direction and take a shuttle back to the beginning. It’s an easy, leisurely ride with interpretive signs along the way that inform about the development of the railroad and the area. Steve had planned to ride back up, get the car, and then come get me. Once we learned the drive to the finish took almost as long as the bike ride due to the terrain, and after seeing the crowds waiting for the shuttle, I decided to give the uphill return trip a try.

It was a long 15 miles uphill but rewarding to finish. Plus, we got to see the route from the other direction and really savor the experience. We even met a nice deer along the trail–probably because by that time there were few bikers on the trail.

Four hours on the bike over 30 miles was the most I’d done in a while!

Running right through Wallace and adjacent to our campground was the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes. Another rail-to-trail, this one runs through the Silver Valley from the Montana border to Coeur d’Alene.

Each day we enjoyed this relatively flat paved trail for a few miles in each direction. We keep saying, “Why doesn’t Arizona have trails like this?” 

One other interesting fact about Wallace: it’s the Center of the Universe. Supposedly a few of the locals decided it was so and they say that it is that way until proven otherwise. They even have a manhole cover in the main intersection to declare it. It must be so!

We’re now heading into Montana and then south to central Idaho for more fun. 

Leavenworth to Spokane with Santa’s Reindeer

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Sometimes when you travel you stumble upon things you would never expect. Heck, that’s why we travel. But we never expect reindeer to be part of the story. Recently we spent time in Leavenworth, Washington as part of our Pacific Northwest roadtrip. As before we were based at a Thousand Trails campground. This one was quite a drive from the closest town, Leavenworth, but the surrounding area was spectacular. 

While in the area we took a day trip to Chelan, one of Washington’s premier resort towns. On the south shore of Lake Chelan, this town is all about the water. We checked it out, had a picnic, and then found ourselves at a local cidery to try out the local stuff. On our way to this area, about 75 miles from our campground, we drove through miles and miles of nearly ripe apple orchards. The cider, made locally, comes from those fields. Yes, we bought a few bottles to bring home!

One of the big highlights of our time in Leavenworth was a visit to the Leavenworth Reindeer Farm. While normally a holiday event, the local herd was happy to greet us and the local family that runs the farm told us all about the reindeer. Did you know a reindeer is really a domesticated caribou? We were introduced to each and every member of the herd and given a chance to feed them. These were some very friendly reindeer! We even had a chance to meet the farm’s flock of chickens.

Leavenworth is a German-themed tourist town, and it was packed the day we went to explore. In an effort to avoid the crowds, we just hit the local brewery and a nearby winery. We would definitely return to this area as there is so much to do. 

After a few days in Leavenworth we drove about four hours east to the Spokane area. Our first stop was at Walter’s Fruit Farm, a Harvest Host property, which allowed us to park in their field.  Along with one other RVing couple who parked next to us, we enjoyed the beautiful farm views and visited a local brewery that was just down the road. This area north of Spokane is called Green Bluff and has over 20 farms open to the public. Fruit and vegetables of all kinds were available right out of the ground. Too bad we were only there one night!

We heard there was great biking in the area and it did not disappoint! Twice we drove from our Thousand Trails campground to Spokane to explore the 37-mile, paved Spokane River Centennial Trail. The trail begins at the Idaho border and runs through Spokane to Riverside State Park alongside the Spokane River. First we focused on the downtown Spokane portion and took in Spokane Falls and the many bridges that cross the river.

On the second day we headed to Riverside State Park and jumped on the trail again. Views of Spokane and the Spokane River were incredible, and if we had more time, we would have covered more miles on this gem of a trail.

Some folks have been asking how we spend our “downtime” while on the road.  Well, Steve is sticking to his exercise routine and either biking or running from the campsite every day.  That gives me time to write, clean up, or pursue my newest “hobby,” needlepoint! I type that with sarcasm because I really don’t know what I’m doing but it’s been fun to fiddle with something while icing my foot. I can’t say this is going to be a life-long hobby but it’s kept me busy.

We’re headed east into Idaho next. Stay turned for more pretty scenery pictures and probably more reports of breweries!

Berries and Bikes North of Seattle

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We’ve spent the past ten days exploring the valleys and coastline north of Seattle. Our destinations were somewhat defined by the locations of our Thousand Trails campsites. This isn’t an area we had on our bucket list, but it should be on yours, and it’s one we are happy we explored. We have really enjoyed driving the country roads, discovering farm stands, u-pick berry sites, and local bike trails.

 

After we left the Olympic Penninsula we headed to Monroe, WA and the Thunderbird RV and Camping Resort. Monroe is about 35 miles northeast of Seattle and our campground was located on the Skyhomish River. From our base we explored the cute town of Snohomish and found the incredible Centennial Trail.

The Centennial Trail is a rails-to-trails route that covers a 30 mile route through cute towns and fertile valleys. We rode on the trail on two consecutive days.  First we started in Snohomish and rode north to Macias. The next day we went further north and rode a section near Lake Stevens.

We rode a third day too!  Our final outing was from the northernmost trailhead of the Centennial Trail. The trailhead is defined by the Nakashima Heritage Barn, a 1906 structure owned by the first Japanese-Americans to farm in the area. They operated it as a dairy farm until 1942 when they were forced into internment camps and sold the farm. We really liked this trail!

In between the bike riding we stopped at a number of farm stands to explore the area’s fresh produce. IMG_8845Steve bought and pickled cucumbers he said tasted like candy. We also visited the Loggers Inn in Sultan. They claim to be the “oldest in the west” but we’re not sure what that meant since the building was built in the 70s. Nevertheless, Bob and Mia enjoyed one more beer garden.

For four days we camped at the La Conner RV and Camping Resort in La Conner, WA. La Conner is on the coast about 70 miles north of Seattle and less than 10 miles south of the port city of Anacortes. One day we ventured even further north to the very cool city of Bellingham to do a little shopping and sight seeing. Wandering the Whatcom Falls Park in the center of the city reminded us of New York’s Central Park. Greenspace in a city makes all the difference.

More beautiful scenery and a stop at a shellfish farm punctuated the day. Steve got oysters from Taylor Shellfish Farm and enjoyed them the next night.

The little town of La Conner was a fun hangout right on the water. We had lunch, strolled the main street, and watched the boats float by. Evenings are usually filled with a sunset walk and maybe a campfire.

We’re getting pretty good at making s’mores. All in all we’ve had great weather and for that we’re thankful.IMG_8852