July 30, 2014

July 30, 2014

From Osburn, ID we drove a half hour west to Coeur d’Alene. It is a pretty city, sitting astride a large lake in the mountains. We have fond memories of our last visit in 2007. Unfortunately the area is experiencing a heat wave and the elevation is not as high up and cool as we remembered. Because of that we decide to head to the Pacific coast. We do a little of the scenic drive around the lake (and watch a dog playing fetch in the water) before heading west into Washington.

We stop at the confluence of the Spokane and Columbia Rivers at the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. With the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam in 1941, this section of the Columbia River was converted into a very long thin lake. Besides the recreational opportunities, the National Park also manages the historic Fort Spokane located here. The park Visitor Center is located in the old fort guardhouse. It contains a museum dedicated to the fort’s history. The fort was built in 1880 to prevent violence between Indian Reservations and incoming settlers. That objective only lasted ten years. It was then converted into an Indian School. Hoping to integrate young Indians into civilized modern society, the Indians were forced to send their children to this boarding school far from their home. Unsurprisingly it failed miserably. No child wants to grow up without parents.

Because of the heat we keep moving west and spend the night along side the Columbia River in the town of Coulee City, WA. I take a dip in the chilly river to cool off. Ominously the sunset is ablaze with color. A neighbor tells me it is because of wild fires to our west, the direction we are headed tomorrow.