Arriving in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

We're heading out on a road trip to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Tetons National Park, passing through Idaho on our way to Montana and Wyoming and travelling around 2400 miles (3860 km) as we visit the parks and return.  We make one stop on our way to Yellowstone in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 30 miles (48 km) east of Spokane, Washington, just across the border.

Coeur d'Alene

We check into our hotel on Lake Coeur d'Alene and stroll into town.

Lake Coeur d'Alene

Coeur d'Alene is the largest city in North Idaho and is known as the "Lake City" for its location on the north shore ot the 25-mile (40-km) Lake Coeur d'Alene.  The city is named after the Coeur d'Alene people, a Native American tribe that originally occupied a territory of 4,000,000 acres (16,000 sq. km) stretching from eastern Washington through Idaho to Montana.  The local economy has gone through stages of mining, logging, and now tourism with its abundant resources and beautiful location.  

Walking down the main street, East Front Avenue, we find lots of intriguing public art.

Street art

Returning to the shore of lake Coeur d'Alene, we find more artwork and beautiful views across the water.

Art at the lake

At the Coeur d'Alene Resort, on the edge of the lake, we walk over the world's longest floating boardwalk encircling the marina and the hotel's water shuttle docks, complete with spiral staircases up to a pedestrian overpass under which boats can enter and leave the marina.

Seaplane dock

Coeur d'Alene Resort

World's longest floating bordwalk

As we walk back toward the resort, we are approached by a group of young people who hand us a bouquet of flowers.  We inquire why they don't want them and they tell us that this is a random act of kindness and move on to present flowers to other couples in the area.  What a great idea!

Random act of kindnsss

It's been a long day driving (with many more to come) and we enjoy dinner at the hotel looking out at the lake:  fish and chips and fish tacos (corn tortilla, cilantro-lime coleslaw, mango salsa, chili lime aioli, cilantro, and lime cotija cheese).

Dinner

We'll spend the next day in Coeur d'Alene before getting back on the road to Yellowstone National Park.