Wallace Idaho

I stayed last night in the charming little town of Wallace, Idaho, an hour or so east of Couer d'Alene, after 400 miles and 9 hours on the road. I figure I need to do at least 400 miles per day if I have any hope of making it to Michigan in 5 or 6 days, allowing for a few stops of interest along the way. The day took me longer than it should: I had intended to wait until after rush hour to leave, but I tossed and turned all night and finally at 4:30 am gave up, threw the stuff in the car, and made the 6am ferry. Which put me pretty much in prime rush hour going through Kirkland and Bellevue. That, various road repair projects, and a totally unexplained backup near Spokane, made me very happy I had packed a few Starbucks Doubleshots in the cooler.

With the early start, I was here by 2:30. As soon as I pulled in I got out the ipad and made a reservation on Hotels.com, where I have finally earned a free night! The downside of that was it took the reservation about an hour to work its way from Hotels.com to the actual hotel, but that's OK because I wanted a walk anyway.  What a pretty little town, full of old craftsman-style houses and antique stores. I am not a big antique-er, but if you're ever through this way it's definitely worth a stop to visit The Cobblestone and chat with the proprieter. This place, which was originally the J C Penney's, is like a museum,  and the guy made me think of Cadillac Jack (if you haven't read the Larry McMurtry book, you should).

A branch of the Couer d'Alene river rushes right through the middle of town, where it's coralled into a 10-foot concrete ditch. Many of the houses have their own little bridges across it, and the sound of the river masks out any freeway noise.

The Wallace Inn gets 5 stars from me. A spacious room with a queen bed and comfortable couch, quiet enough to leave the window wide open and hear the birds in the morning. AND an attached breakfast place that serves lattes! In addition, There is a very tempting bike trail right across the street, and the Hiawatha and Couer d'alene trails are nearby. I wish I could stay longer..