Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

We arrived at the Coeur d’Alene RV Resort early on Wednesday, and after checking out a couple of available sites, we chose site 148 which backed up against an open grassy field.  We had to do a little tree trimming, but then we had plenty of room!

Of the available campgrounds in the area, this one is probably the nicest – it has nice wide roads,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

plenty of grass and trees, and even an indoor swimming pool!  We didn’t have anything special planned while we were there, but we did enjoy the pool a couple times.

After dinner on Wednesday, Tom and I took a drive into Coeur d’Alene to check out the town.  Driving up the main street along the lake, it reminded us a lot of Ann Arbor – lots of shops and restaurants, with people dining on the sidewalk.  There were lots of people around, and even a band playing in the park.

We found a parking spot on the street, and looked at a few of the shops.

Mrs. Honeypeeps Sweet Shop wasn’t open, but we found another that was.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We passed on the cotton candy vending machine, but got ice cream cones instead . . . they even had black licorice, but I wouldn’t let Tom get it again!!

We continued our walk around town, stopping to see Marvin the Moose.

Tom liked this old truck, even if it wasn’t a Ford!

He made a new friend, too!

I had to take this picture for Bryce – he likes Bassett Hounds!

We followed the bike path down to the park by the lake – it’s a really nice community park with a playground and basketball courts,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and the bike path goes from there to the marina and beach area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lake is really pretty,

and one other campground we looked at is on an island in the lake.  It was a nice location, but not on this weekend . . . there’s an Ironman Competition in town, and by Friday the nice quiet town was a zoo, with roads closed around the lake, so I’m not sure we would have had an easy time getting out of that campground on Saturday!  We were glad to be a few miles out of town!

Driving back to our campground, we followed the Spokane River and caught a couple good shots of a beautiful sunset!

On Friday, we checked out a few sights in Post Falls.  We went over to Falls Park, and took a walk on the path . . . with the geese and ducks trying to chase us away!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We found Post Falls, a hydro-electric generating dam from the early 1900s.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is an interesting-looking dam – man-made structure, along with the natural boulders, and with a 90 degree corner in the middle of it.

We saw some interesting flowering shrubs, too.

Further along on the trail, we caught a glimpse of the Post Falls Bridge over the Spokane River.

Back in the park, the boys just couldn’t resist the playground equipment . . .

but I think they are getting a little big!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That was about all there was to Post Falls, Idaho . . . so we took another drive through Coeur d’Alene but didn’t stop since it appeared to be registration day for the Ironman, and there were people everywhere!  We needed a few groceries, and we saw a Winco and decided to try it out.  They had pretty good prices, and we really liked the extensive bulk food area . . . but we failed to notice that it was cash/check only until we were at the checkout!  I never carry my checkbook, but fortunately between Nicolas and I, we had enough cash!  That meant we had to stop at a credit union ATM to replenish before we headed up toward Glacier the next day, though.

After stocking up, we went back to the RV Park and I did a couple loads of laundry while to guys packed up the back of the RV.  We were planning on getting an early start the next day, since we had a 240 mile drive . . . all on non-interstate highways, and a good chance for rain.

Dam Good Run, Walk, Hike

On Saturday, Lake Pleasant Regional Park hosted the Dam Good Run, Walk, Hike.  Participants could choose from 3 routes – 2 miles, 4 miles, or 8 miles.

The 4 and 8 mile routes took the runners/walkers across the Waddell Dam.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the only time that the dam is open to pedestrian traffic, and in order to gain access to the dam, the park has to provide volunteers to man several checkpoints along the dam.

That’s where we came in!  Several of the camp hosts volunteered our Saturday morning to help out with the Dam Run – either on the dam, or at several other checkpoints along each of the routes.

Saturday morning was warm and sunny as we gathered at the Visitor Center and received our assignments.  Louis and Mary, along with Tom, Bryce and I were assigned to the dam.  Bryce had the very important job of telling the 4 mile runners that they had reached the turn around point at the far side of the dam, and Tom’s job was to make sure that the runners who continued on past Bryce were aware that they were on the 8 mile route. 

Louis, Mary and I were assigned to designated spots along the dam, and our job was just to make sure that nobody ventured off the designated path.

With our assignments clear, we headed down the hill to the dam.

 

The cones we carried had informational trivia attached to them . . . for the reading enjoyment of the participants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The “Dam Team”, ready for work!

Nicolas, along with Ron, was assigned to the location where the 8 mile runners leave the road and pick up the trail for the tail end of their route.  He was going to be responsible for directing traffic as the runners crossed the road.

After getting his instructions from Terry, he headed back towards the campground.  It was going to be awhile before he had to do anything!

While we waited for the first runners to reach us, I took some pictures from my vantage point on the dam.

A quiet morning on the lake

The Waddell Canal

 

These structures pump the water into and out of the lake, to and from the canal.

This canal is part of the Central Arizona Canal System, which brings water from the Colorado River at Lake Havasu, into central Arizona where it is stored in Lake Pleasant.  Water is brought into the lake through most of the fall, winter and spring, and then in the summer the water travels from Lake Pleasant, back through the canal system, to Phoenix and the surrounding communities, and down to Tuscon, supplying water during the hot, dry months.

Our maintenance compound, laundry facility, and 2 volunteer sites are located next to the canal south of the dam.

 

Around 9:15, we saw our first runners coming down the hill from the Visitor Center, heading toward us on the dam.

We continued to see folks for about the next 20 minutes or so, and most of them were just walking, enjoying the view from the dam.

There wasn’t a huge turnout, and other than the first few runners, most were casual runners and walkers, just out enjoying the beautiful morning.  I took lots of pictures for people, and several stopped to chat for awhile.

 

When they passed me, they continued on across the dam.  The 4 mile runners turned around when they reached Bryce and reversed their route, but the 8 mile runners took a trail through the desert below the dam, past out maintenance compound, and back up the access road to the campground where Nicolas directed them back to the Start/Finish Line at the 10 lane boat ramp.

Volunteer Frank marked the end of the pack, and he completed the entire 8 mile route, making sure that nobody got lost along the way.  Once he exited the dam, the gate where Tom was stationed was closed and locked. and we followed the 4 mile walkers as they came back across the dam.

Once everybody was off the dam, the gate at our end was closed and locked also, and we made our way back up to the Visitor Center.

We were done for the day and could go back to the RV for lunch, but Nicolas had to wait for all the 8 mile runners to return before he was done. 

We didn’t do much else for the rest of the day, except relax, but I do have a few nice sunset photos to share with you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boat Tour of Lake Pleasant

As part of the Volunteer Appreciation activities this week, our Park Supervisor arranged for a boat tour of the lake for the Lake Pleasant and Cave Creek volunteers.

Everyone got lifejackets and we headed down to the shoreline below the picnic area,    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

where we waited for the boats to pick us up.

Uh, oh . . . how are we all going to fit on this boat??!!

OK, that’s not our boat . . . the county has two maintenance boats that we were taking out.  They weren’t the prettiest, but they floated, and held lots of people! 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We loaded up the boats, and made our way towards the dam at the south end of the lake.

The New Waddell Dam, which forms Lake Pleasant, is part of the Central Arizona Project, which diverts water from the Colorado River into central Arizona, via a series of aqueducts.  The lake provides a storage reservoir for this major water supply, and the level of the lake is raised and lowered via these two pumping stations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The park’s Visitor Center sits high on a hill overlooking the dam and the campground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hill is also the location of a cell tower that provides our excellent Verizon service in the park.  We continued past the dam, and got a good look at the Marina and RV Park on the east side of the lake.

There are lots of huge houseboats in this marina!

As we continued along the eastern shoreline, we could see the undeveloped north end of the lake in the distance,

as well as the campground to the west.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This popular area for water recreation has a feature that I’ve never seen before . . . a floating restroom on the lake!

 

Nobody got off the boat to verify the function, but David assured us that it was a fully functioning restroom.  It’s definitely more convenient than having to go all the way back to the Marina, that’s for sure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The northeast shoreline is part of a conservation area, and there is no access to the water.  There is, however, occasionally evidence of trespassers . . . like this makeshift shelter on the shoreline.

Also to the northeast are the Bradshaw Mountains and the Agua Fria River, which is a secondary source of water to the lake.

We drove past the Agua Fria inlet to the lake, but couldn’t go into the river because it’s closed in the winter for bald eagle nesting.  We didn’t see any eagles that morning, but David did tell us about a hiking trail along the Agua Fria where we might be able to see them.  We’ll have to go check that out soon – maybe after this weekend’s rain moves through.

 

The other boat pulled up alongside us then, and we discussed whether we should continue around the north end of the lake or head back.  Everybody voted to continue the tour!

 

It was a beautiful morning, and now that we were facing into the sun, it was comfortably warm.  Tom was certainly enjoying himself!

This area of the lake is more rugged, and sheltered by the mountains, and it was noticeably calmer. 

The fishermen really seemed to like this area.

 

There’s even another floating restroom for their convenience!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We drove around several small islands in the lake . . . Balanced Rock Island,    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and Blue Heron Island.

 

We didn’t see any blue herons on the island, but we did see lots of nests.  When we arrived back at the boat launch, we finally saw a blue heron.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we arrived back on the west side of the lake, we started to see more evidence of development, including several RVs parked along the shoreline, and the Scorpion Bay Marina.

The Operations Center for the park is located on a high bluff overlooking the lake.  The entire Parks & Recreation Department for Maricopa County is n the process of moving their offices from downtown Phoenix to this building.  I think it would be a great place to work . . . if you have to work!

We ended our tour at the ten lane boat ramp, which was just a short walk back along the trail to the picnic area.

There were just a few people at the boat ramp on Wednesday morning – nothing like the crowds we get on the weekends! 

It was a beautiful day to be out on the water though, and all of the volunteers really enjoyed the boat tour.