Mickinnick Trail, Sandpoint, Idaho
I failed today. It was really hard. Not that I never fail – everyone fails. But, I think I usually find myself just having to accept I am slower than I want to be or used to be, but still making it to the end, whatever that means. Still a failure, because I did not […]
Mineral Point Trail, Sagle, Idaho
We will not forget any time soon how Barbarian Scientist and I learned early on how to share our time. I would go visit him for a weekend, and for him weekends were for staying up late, sleeping in, and completing chores. It was so painful for me. I believe weekends are for waking up […]
Saltese Uplands Conservation Area, Spokane Valley, Washington
We do not have an official contract yet, or a forwarding address, but we are down to the 5-week-ish countdown to relocating from the Inland Northwest. I might stay behind for a couple of weeks. Who knows. Nearly all of our belongings that we are giving away and selling have been managed and just about […]
Mackenzie Natural Area, Liberty Lake, Washington
I wrote here about Liberty Lake Loop, in Liberty Lake, Washington. On the drive to the trailhead parking lot there has been a lot of real estate development, but there remains one section reserved for recreation, called the Mackenzie Natural Area. Following the typical historical accounts of white people removing Native Americans from their homes, […]
McKenzie Conservation Area, Newman Lake, Washington
Well. I am here to be anti-climatic. After a week of hiking in the south west, it is difficult to be back in North Idaho during the beginning of March. The exciting trails are still inaccessible due to snow, and the accessible trails are…well, they are not the trails of the south west. Not far […]
James T. Slavin Conservation Area, Spokane, Washington
Winter is often pretty lame in the Inland Northwest. Although the lack of snow makes life easier in many ways, it also makes the gray days seem more gray and the cold seem colder. So, when the clouds part for a day, it feels like you might have died and surprisingly landed in heaven. Even […]
The Center of the Universe, Wallace, Idaho
Wallace, Idaho is one of my favorite places ever. It is a tiny, old mining town in North Idaho, about an hour east of Coeur d’Alene. It is a town with a population of 800 that has had to restart many times. In the late 1800’s, miners discovered one of the largest silver deposits in […]
Dry Gulch Preserve Trails, Wenatchee, Washington
I have said it before – give me all the sunshine. And of course, adventure. Wenatchee, Washington provides that for me. It is a few hours from Coeur d’Alene. An easy drive. Clear roads and loud music are the perfect setup for a solo weekend getaway to spend a couple days on exposed trails. The […]
Blue Creek Bay Recreation Site and Trail, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Time spent among trees is never wasted time. – Katrina Mayer We have had a strange winter. The Inland Northwest has received less than half the amount of snow that it usually gets, and honestly, what it needs. The region counts on snow melt in the spring and summer so that our wild areas are […]
Ben Burr Nature Trail, Spokane, WA
Between Liberty Park and Underhill Park, in Spokane, is the Ben Burr Nature Trail. Part of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, it is a paved trail that connects to the Centennial Trail, which I have written about a few times, and also has many access points to the named parks. IT IS ALSO THE TRAIL WHERE I […]