Route of the Hiawatha and beginning our tour on the Coeur d’Alene Trail!

Route of the Hiawatha and beginning our tour on the Coeur d’Alene Trail!

We left early this morning and headed to MT to the ski resort and then to the trail—7.3 miles of riding through 10 tunnels and over 7 trestle bridges—it’s all a gentle downhill.  The first tunnel is 1.66 miles and completely dark.  You need headlamps and lights to see your way.  Water drips down on you and along the sides of the trail.  You see in the dim light the stalactites hanging down from the roof.  

Deer at the end of tunnel! 

The nominal fee to ride this trail is an incredible value.  So many families on the trail as it is downhill.

We LOVED it!

Took the bus back and rode through the long tunnel again back to our vehicle.  

Then we drove to the start of the Coeur d’Alene Trail at Mullan and left the vehicle there and biked back to Wallace (Paul biked back uphill to get the vehicle).

Here is a map of the trail we are setting off on!  Excited to see how this goes this is our test for a bigger bike trip later this fall--inspired by this list!

Claire's "dancing shoes" that she insists on wearing EVERY day.
Time for some new shoes!

Mommy's sunglasses

Rain, rain!  Really after experiencing no rain for months it starts raining the day we plan to leave on a long bike trip.

Paul shuttled the car to Harrison.  Just us and our bikes now.  The rain cleared up as we pedaled out of Wallace under the overpass.  We were off.  So exciting and a bit nervous we set out.  We arrived at a Farmer’s Market.  AMAZING Pecan Pie bars.  Laura got stung by a bee—but the stop was great. Then on to Kellogg and we began to learn more about the history of this area--it is a troubled mining history.  

Trailside stop

Playground!

We stopped at a playground where the kids played—they love playgrounds.

There was a war monument in Kellogg at the park that was striking.  What was striking was that there were all of these empty slots for those who had yet to lose their life in future conflicts—the future holds death to protect this land. 

There is a large downhill bike route on the ski hill…see all kinds of downhill bikers.  We went by on a pump track and Nolan was so excited. 

 Nolan pulled the kids for about 25 miles on the trail!  It is like having a Sherpa!  Love kids with strength and energy!

Trailside View

We camped near Caltado, ID at a improvised campground.  We did not know but this area and the trail is funded in part by a settlement due to the superfund site.  Yes, this is one of the largest superfund sites in the nation.  There are signs along the trail next to the water that tell you to use caution near the water and the shoreline because of the residual contamination. The story of environmental damage and the impact that it has had and continues to play is coming to us bit by bit.  A great portion of the economy of this region is now made up of clean-up efforts.

Lot's of hand washing and we are not letting the kids play next to the creek--which is a shame because this is a beautiful waterway.  At one time though the waters were not clear as they are not--they were milky white and the creek was sometimes referred to as "lead creek".  There are people on the water, in the water and the family at the campground said that all of her kids play in the stream--but it is not to be for us.

How can communities look at development that future generations do not pay the price for?   Something to ponder as we pedal by cordoned off areas filled with contaminants.