Coeur d'Alene, ID

Have you ever planned one thing and had it turn out totally different than what you originally planned? Yesterday, my intrepid husband Myron and I decided to see if we could check out an off-the-beaten-path Bed and Breakfast at Wolf Lodge. So armed with digital camera and good intentions, we wound our way around Wolf Lodge Creek Road only to find that the only living souls around the gorgeous building were a herd of work horses. Then I checked the phone number, and it was disconnected. I felt tremendous disappointment that my fantastic idea bombed, but Myron had plan B. We’d take a little day trip. All it cost was the gas and a hamburger when we were done (approximately $20 total).

Mom and baby moose

Wolf Lodge

Ravages of winter

Fog,sun,snow at Harrison Flats

nature flocks a whole forest at once with either a fog bank or a snowstorm. It’s an amazing sight when you think about it.

We drove back down the Wolf Lodge Road and a very special photo opportunity greeted us– a moose mom and her calf calmly eating near I90. Traffic and all, they stayed for me while I fiddled with my camera. What a fun thing to start our day trip journey! (Note- this drive often has moose or deer along it – a good reason to drive with casual speeds, not barreling along at a fast pace).

We drove back to the freeway exit and decided to turn towards Highway 97. Wolf Lodge Bay itself is quite lovely this time of year, and yesterday’s combination of sun and fog made for some spectacular beauty. You can pull off the side of the highway a bit at Wolf Lodge to drink in its charm. There is a boat launch ramp there that is closed this time of year, but has enough room to pull over if you want to walk across the highway and look. Certain times of the spring will show off some eagles in that area.

Wolf Lodge exit is clearly marked and contains both a campground/RV park for summer, and a marvelous steakhouse. (It requires reservations, but well worth the effort – Wolf Lodge Inn Restaurant 664-6665. Go hungry, dress casual, not for dieters, a little pricey but worth it for the size of the steaks). Turn left at the exit for that place and turn right for Highway 97.

One thing about North Idaho’s roads is that if you stay on them long enough you’ll eventually come back to Coeur d’Alene. Highway 97 winds around Lake Coeur d’Alene, up through Harrison and St Maries, and if you take either of the well-marked turns it drops you back to US95 or I90. It’s labeled as the “Scenic Byway.” And yesterday it was more scenic than usual.

I felt like I was in a Christmas movie. Every tree was ice-flocked. Farms with livestock looked like ethereal visions in the fog. Deer hiding in the forest were almost ghostly apparitions along the highway. (No we didn’t hit any, and no I missed them on camera, not for lack of trying. They know me, they know my camera, they move out of the way. I need them to talk to the moose about being so flighty.)

As we rounded the corner to Powderhorn Bay, we saw the ravages of this winter’s heavy snow. Boathouses had collapsed, marinas were jammed into the ice and no longer in neat rows, outbuildings had crunched roofs, and ladders had been carefully stationed against the sides of trailers and older homes for the next onslaught of ice and snow. It was like the whole area waited for spring so they could breathe a sigh of relief.

We rounded the highway where the St. Joe River meets the end of Lake Coeur d’Alene and saw a great grey heron standing on the ice. With his feathers fluffed up, he reminded me of an elderly person all bundled in a big heavy coat against the frigid winter wind. Sincerely glad I was in our truck all snuggy and warm. He really looked miserable.

By the time we ended up back to US95 and on our way north to Coeur d’Alene, the fog had started to lift. The stark white trees, the charming fences sticking out of the snow, the mix of green and white against the brilliant sun…it was a day trip well worth the effort. It made me ever grateful to live in a place where every time of the year has a captivating beauty. If I could just train the deer…