Best. Fall. Ever.

I am loving this weather! The bike rides and the hikes have been glorious and I am so glad to live in the Coeur d'Alene area. On Columbus Day, Steve and I rode our bikes from Hayden down to the east end of the North Idaho Centennial Trail. Check out this view!

Higgins Point at the End of the Centennial Trail

 The Centennial Trail goes from Higgins Point (our destination) along the shoreline and then through Coeur d'Alene (we stopped for lunch at Bakery by the Lake) to the Washington border and to Spokane (not quite infinity) and beyond for a grand total of  60 miles. On the Idaho side, there are some tricky places (mostly in Post Falls)  but the governing foundation is working on them.When I moved up here in 1987, I really missed Boise's Greenbelt Trail System. Someone must have heard my heart's desires because that is the year that the gears started moving on this project. Thank you - North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation! www.northidahocentennialtrail.org

Steve on his recumbent bike on the the Higgins Point hill

Biking in Farragut State Park on January 7th. 

Went biking at Farragut yesterday. My toes froze but it was a great ride. Can you believe how warm it has been? I dislocated my shoulder on my last ride so I stuck to the Lynx trails (easy)  while the teenaged boys took off and rode the more difficult trails. Mollie, my Boston Terrier, ran with me. 

Farragut State Park is 4,000 acres north of Coeur d' Alene on Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced ponderay).  It was the home of the Farragut Naval Training Center during WWII and Idaho's largest city at that time. My step dad attended basic training there and has attended numerous reunions at the park. They even had German prisoners of war at the camp who later attended the reunions. Although cold and remote, it must have been pretty sweet to be that far away from the action. 

Biking, X-country sking, hiking, disc golfing, camping, swimming, and boating are some of the things to do here.

 The best Cross county race (Junior High and High School running)  is at  this park although it is threatened due to the park's (and the nation's) budget problems. Here is a picture of Goat Hill from the race and me trying to shove my bike up it. It is really steep- I can barely hike up it and feel sorry for the kids racing up it but they don't seem to mind.