In-person forum invite: Travel Group meet up in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho - date set

Thank you!!! I am really going to be there!

Awesome, Jean! Thanks for gathering our collective thoughts and distilling them as we got a little off topic (hahahaha!!!! NORMAL!!) at times, lol.

And yes, I was able to "rehome" a personal item sized bag plus a number of scarves before I take the rest to the charity shop. I was glad both of the bakery employees wanted scarves for themselves or a family member, lol!

And yea to them having Red Velvet cookies today!

Thank you for setting the date. It's on my calendar!

I discovered this resort when doing my research. Looks like a great place.

Does this resort offer shuttle service from Spokane and back again?

Hoping to make it.

Thank you Jean, I have “saved the date”!
Bostonphil, according to the resort website it does have a shuttle service to and from the Spokane airport. It’s $45 each way.

Thank you Jean. I’ve saved the date. Flight to Spokane is just 1 hour 10 minutes from Vancouver. Hop the shuttle for a 2 night stay at the resort. Easy peasy. I’m waiting for bunion surgery and a knee replacement so can’t go to Europe for the foreseeable future. That might be my 2026 holiday.

Thanks for setting this up! We will definitely try to make it!

Wonderful!! Thanks, Jean!

Lol, Pam!

Thanks Jean for getting the meet-up started. Date is saved. Hope to meet you all in person

Yay to having a date! Thanks for putting this together. When I first saw the date I was disappointed because we are usually traveling at that time. Then I remembered that we will take our trip a little later to celebrate a big birthday next year so it should all work out. We will take advantage of being there by hopefully finally getting to Yellowstone and maybe Glacier.

Andrea, go to Glacier before the meet up since an early snow could affect the main Going-to-the-Sun road through the park.

I also am going to try really hard to be there.

Right now things are so up in the air that I don't dare plan too much ahead, but I'm really hoping I can make it (knock on wood)!

I have this weekend getaway on my calendar now. Thank you Jean.

I wish Texas wasn’t so durn far away! I’d love to meet some of my favorite people on this forum. But 22/23 months is a long way away so who knows, we may be up in that neck of the woods pulling our travel trailer trying to see another few national parks.

Jean, I was thinking the same thing about the timing for Glacier. We would likely do any site seeing before CdL and then go to Washington to see our family there before driving home.

Cathy...we missed you! Judy snagged the Tumi tote I was giving away for her daughter (a TJ Maxx purchase from pre-covid). I don't think any of the scarves are colorways that you might wear but if I haven't gotten to the charity shop before you guys are back in the area I'll bring them. At this very moment we are having heavy graupel in CdA but otherwise a very low snow year.

To anyone....if you decide to visit Yellowstone before or after the meet up, let me know and I will help you plan that phase of your trip. Either the North or West Entrances are a 7-hour drive from CdA. BTW, for Yellowstone October weather can be "iffy" - winter comes early to the high mountain areas some years.

This sounds like so much fun! I would love to come - not sure about 2026 yet though….

My insomnia has kicked in so I have been watching CDA youtube videos including one of the resort. Really loving them.

If I am over in WA in the fall of 2026 (and I really, really hope I am) this is the worst possible weekend of the entire fall for me unfortunately.

On the Sunday morning of that weekend I have a key big event back over in Kittitas County, WA which I am not missing for anything if I am actually over there physically. The year after that event is on Monday (which would work) and the year after that Wednesday (even better).

At the moment I can't see how to square the circle. I already have a clash that morning with a Church service (I think I will have to move Church to Wednesday evening).

Either the North or West Entrances are a 7-hour drive from CdA.

That assumes one avails themself of the 80 MPH ( 130km) speed limit that Montana and Idaho have on the Interstate in 'rural' areas.

I doubt Pam ( PbFoot) is driving a 10 year old Yaris.

"That assumes one avails themself of the 80 MPH ( 130km) speed limit that Montana and Idaho have on the Interstate in 'rural' areas."

I go at the speed limit but not more than 3 mph above. The speed limit from CdA to the top of Lolo Pass where both the time and state change is 65 thru town, then 70, then back to 65 across 4th of July Pass and Kellogg, then 70 to going up Lolo where it goes down to 55. I don't recall any 80mph segments on I90. There is a 75mph section west of CdA to the WA state line excepting the current construction zone. I generally make 3 short stops - twice at rest areas for comfort stops and the 2nd one near Butte for an early lunch and one time for gas, usually at Deer Lodge (easy off/on, no traffic at the pumps).

I do drive 80 on the Montana side. Remember when Montana did not have a speed limit and it was posted as "reasonable and prudent"??

No, I did this in my 2013 Honda CRV and my 2024 CRV as well. And in my dozens of trips to the park, I can count on 7 hours consistently unless there is a lot of slowdowns for road construction.

Ooohhhh, you had me at the 80 mile per hour speed limit! I admittedly have a lead foot and I love driving on the autobahn in Germany. For us a 7 hour drive is nothing. When we drive to see our family in Washington State it is a 13 hour drive.

I totally agree that going to Yellowstone and maybe Glacier should occur in September. I had always assumed we would go to those places in our RV, but driving my car would make us faster and more nimble.

If you’re driving by Butte, Montana to head to Yellowstone and like meat, plan on this local traditional lunch:

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/pork-chop-sandwich-butte-montana?srsltid=AfmBOopLEfrkIcHU5J6Y9FU5SgXSOVYSZHl1vLBMPnEwBQdFSVnxTWZo

Another traditional food are the huckleberry shakes at Huck’s Grill at St. Regis, Montana on the interstate. This is en route to either Glacier National Park (turn north at St. Regis for the shortcut), or on the way to Yellowstone.

And if you aren’t headed to the parks, the Paul Bunyan Restaurant (don’t expect a fancy interior) handmade local huckleberry shakes in CDA are excellent!

I put it on my calendar. Hope to make it.

Ok, we’re going to have to think about this. My Stan usually refuses to travel in the fall of even numbered years (it’s a political thing,) but perhaps we can get him to reconsider.

Pam, I’m counting on you to help me convince him. We haven’t been to Yellowstone this century, nor have we been to Montana since the “no speed limit days.”. Of course, we were driving a VW Beetle then, so the speed limit didn’t really matter, lol.

What fun this could be!

Ooh, maybe it’s time for a girlfriend road trip.

Jane! I'll work on Stan for you, lol!! I'll bet that VW went really well downhill, hahaha!!

Yum to huckleberry shakes. Not crazy about huckleberry "flavored" things but food items made out of real hucks? Heck yes! Costco has the best huckleberry jam...not in all the time as it's from a small outfit in Whitefish or Kalispell MT so when they run out, they run out.

BTW, we had a long discussion at our meet up about dates. We tried to figure a time when the weather was good BUT the hotel prices were not full-on high season. Jean did the checking on hotel rates so thanks for that! Some of us like to travel in Sept, some in October so we tried to go for an inbetween time to slide it in!

For those of you planning to visit, here is a bit of local history. The last stop light on Interstate 90 was in Wallace, Idaho. 48 miles east of Coeur d' Alene. It is an old mining town. Part of the freeway was built over the town rather than destroying the town.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1199431091108010

Wallace is also a site of the great fire of 1910. The aftermath shaped a lot of US Forest Service policies. Pulaski Axe that is used today is named after one of the firefighters of this fire. The following article is interesting in itself, but also takes on meaning with the recent California inferno.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_1910

Pam--I agree, anything made with an actual huckleberry is great! I cleaned out the garage freezer this week and found some that I had in there from hiking last summer. We always take ziplocks with us when we know we are in an area with those!

Pam, I don't remember much about the hills in Montana, but there was a wonderful VW repair place in Billings, which luckily was quite close to a campground.

The memory points of many of our early travels revolve around auto repair, both for the VW and my beloved Dodge Omni. Wanna know where to buy tires in western Colorado? Or get a wheel bearing replaced on a Saturday in rural Missouri?

We only made it to Idaho once; I remember that it was beautiful, but evidently we didn't have any car trouble there.

And for those interested in Lynn's links about the Great Fire of 1910 you can hike up to the tunnel where Big Ed Pulaski herded his fire crew to escape the flames when it blew up around them. He held them there at gun point and saved 39 of his 45 man crew. The hike is from just south of Wallace and is moderate.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Pulaski_Tunnel_and_Placer_Creek_Escape_Route

Ed Pulaski is also buried in the CdA Forest Cemetery.

The Pulaski tool he developed is still in use by wildland firefighters. I actually have at least one in my garage, lol.

Lynn, the highlight of Wallace is that it’s the center of the universe! I had my husband watch for traffic while I took a photo. : )

Jean, I hesitate to correct you, but it's well known that the Center of the Universe is in Tulsa, Oklahoma:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-center-of-the-universe-tulsa-oklahoma

Well, Jean and Jane...I didn't know either of these tidbits!!

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/center-of-the-universe

Well, yeah, but does Wallace have the tres cool acoustic effect? On a bridge downtown, with a view of one of the best Art Deco cities in the country? I think not.

The center of the universe is nowhere and everywhere.
https://www.astronomy.com/science/ask-astro-where-is-the-center-of-the-universe/
https://www.space.com/where-is-the-center-of-the-universe

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HPqyQvNoByc&pp=ygUeQ2VudGVyIG9mIHRoZSB1bml2ZXJzZSB3YWxsYWNl

This video mentions all of them. ; )

Pam, just don’t get run over trying to take a photo of “the official” center of the universe in Wallace - ha! Peek in the alien spaceship while you’re in town, too.

Maybe we should tell everyone to bring their passport when they come to Idaho next year! : )

This sounds like fun and a good reason to head west. I'll put it on the calendar!

I do a lot of pre-election work, so like Stan I am a bit conflicted, but I might have to x out a few weeks.

Thanks for giving us a reason to see more of Idaho.