Exploring the American Wilderness and Other Adventures

John Pointer Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary Trail, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

24 Christmases as a mom. My first one as what they call an empty-nester. Things 2 and 4 are in the world and chasing happiness. Thing 3 is settling into his first duty station and being a new homeowner in Virginia. Things 1 and 5 are making their way through the Rockies to then slog through the mid-west to join their brother in Virginia. 

The house is empty. It echoes. 

We spend our entire parenthood preparing our children for this but somehow neglect preparing ourselves. I’m supposed to be having the time of my life but instead am wrestling with cancer. Last month I had a window of the worst pain I have ever experienced yet and I really thought I could be looking at my last days. Alas, I’m on the other side of it now so I can try to push through to the other side of wondering if I’m anything at all now that I have none of my children at home. 

Christmas. Every year it’s an event I only want to push to the other side of. The painful memories that still have real estate in my brain are stark contrasts to the joy I’m supposed to have. This year was a little better, though. Barbarian Scientist and his spawn and I spent Christmas Eve with his dad, who is now my Dad, and his family, who are now my family. It was the first year that Barbarian Scientist chose to do this instead of participating in the capitalist nightmare of his maternal side of the family and it’s the first time I’ve seen him be so happy about the holiday. Dad is a rare person. He is authentic and tender-hearted and sentimental and forgiving and generous and inclusive. The partner he chose for life will be called Rose. I’m so lucky because she’s my age. Like me, she’s been battered hard by life, but she’s elected to turn that pain into soft edges and beauty instead of hardness and thorns. Their children are impeccable products of them. I’m thankful for this time with them and that they were there for me on this first Christmas without my boys. They pulled out the stops and they spoiled me with gifts and we laughed a lot. It was perfection.

Christmas Eve with them softened the blow of Christmas morning in an empty house. Even though it was softened, it was still empty, so we escaped to the woods for a bit. We have had a strange winter so far, with very little snow that melts shortly after it lands. Even though we could have driven a bit and accessed some trailheads that are usually snowed in by now, we opted to stay close to town and wander the John Pointer Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary Trail. 

John Pointer Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary Trail is about as long as its name, at 2.6 miles with only 470’ elevation gain. Many online sources will say that the trail is even shorter than that, but I do not know how they do the entire thing and it be so short. There were not very many people there when we arrived and we only saw others twice while we were wandering around.

Constructed in 2014, the 1.2-mile John C. Pointner Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary trail is located just a few miles south of Coeur d’Alene. The trail lies in the 155-acre parcel managed by the BLM, which was acquired from Mr. Pointner in the early 2000s. John C. Pointner had dedicated much of his life to preserving the Cougar Bay wetland and protecting the many species of wildlife and birds in the area. His wish upon his death was to have the area retained for the public to enjoy and appreciate the natural setting. In 2021, the BLM acquired an additional 88.5 acres of adjacent lands from The Nature Conservancy. Through the acquisition, the public enjoys permanent public access to the area as well as an additional one-mile of hiking trail. Visitors to the Cougar Bay natural area can experience the unique habitat for a variety of migratory birds, waterfowl and a range of wildlife. Hikers can take advantage of filtered views of the City of Coeur d’Alene and Lake Coeur d’Alene from the viewing platform as a reward for their efforts.

https://www.blm.gov/visit/john-c-pointner-mws

Any part of the marsh or the trail system that did not get direct sun exposure was frozen. When we were leaving, there were three men playing hockey on this patch of ice.

There is a point where you can climb a little hill or continue straight. Climb the little hill. It brings you to this lookout to give you the view of the bay and downtown Coeur d’Alene that is pictured below.

So, here it is, December 26. I survived another Christmas. I am surviving all of my kids being spread around the country and chasing their dreams. Fortunately, Barbarian Scientist and I have some really exciting things coming up and are making major changes, so I may write about that soon. I still have to write about my last trip to Charleston, SC, though, and my goal is to get that completed before the new year.

Thanks for following along and happy hiking!