We headed to Coeur D' Alene lake and went to the boardwalk for a walk on the lake. It is a floating boardwalk on a beautiful, natural, freshwater lake. We walked the boardwalk and enjoyed the fresh air and the mountain vistas. The lake was so calm and pretty. I expected to see some birds, but there really weren't any, except for a few seagulls in one little area. After our stroll, we drove down to the Wolf Bay area and drove around that area of the lake for more beautiful views.
We were hungry for lunch and stopped at a BBQ place in town that had a smoker out front that smelled so good we had to stop! They were just pulling a tri-tip out of the smoker, so that made our choice easy: the tri-tip sandwich with 2 sides. I had the BBQ beans and red potato salad, and Bekah had the mac n cheese and green beans. It was the best BBQ we have had in a long time!
We left Coeur D' Alene and headed east to Cataldo next. This town has the oldest building in Idaho! It is a Catholic mission established by Father DeSmet, a Jesuit priest. The mission was built in 1850 from cedar logs pegged together without the use of nails, and covered with wild grass adobe by Father Ravalli and two Brothers along with the natives. The Visitor's Center there was fascinating. They had extensive information on the Coeur D' Alene natives, their way of life, their clothing, and their beliefs. They had relics from Father DeSmet, and his life story too. I could have spent much longer reading everything they had there. They made it so interesting with visuals and sounds. Their displays of the clothing and other articles from the natives were just incredible, with all the extensive bead work. They unfortunately didn't allow any picture taking. We also toured the mission itself. It was fascinating with the adobe very visible in places. The mission is still used today occasionally by the local Catholic tribes people for special ceremonies. The rectory was also open for touring, and we found that interesting as well. The kitchen was fun to explore with the rules of eating such as "Don't use the tablecloth to wipe your mouth"!
After that mission exploration, we headed to Wallace. There we wanted to see the Mining Museum in an old, historic, silver mining town. Alas, the museum was not open on the weekends, so we decided to stay until Monday. There we found great places to eat, an inexpensive place to stay, and explored the town itself. We took a tour of the town and found out a lot of the history of the town and its buildings. The town was originally built in the 1800s. But there was a great fire in 1890 and most of the town was destroyed and had to be rebuilt. So this time, masonry was used instead. Most of these brick buildings remain today, others were built in the early 1900s. There is an interesting Bordello Museum we wanted to tour also. Evidently, this building was a bordello until 1988, but the museum is only open in the summer. We also found out that the movies "Dante's Peak"(1996), and "Heaven's Gate"(1979), were filmed here. As it turns out, we were glad to have spent the weekend here. Rebekah caught a cold, and was glad to have a day to spend in bed.
Once, a North Korean satellite crashed out of the sky into town, so this little spaceship is there to remind of that momentous occasion.
On Monday, we toured the Mining Museum. It was a fascinating look into the world of mining. There were many displays depicting the life of a miner, displayed as if we were in a mine shaft, a job I could never do! There were several displays of the ore, and what the ore is used for as well. The local mines here produce more silver ore than anywhere else in the US. They also produce several other minerals. It was a great museum. I'm so glad we stayed to see it. On our way out of town we stopped at the town Visitor Center to see the outdoor display of mining too. There they reproduced a mine shaft, and drilling tools used by miners.
From here, we headed East to Northwestern Montana!
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