Back to Boise for a Bit
Well, I guess I can’t really revive my travel blog without reviewing a bit of my time in Boise with my daughter Maddy, her husband Zane and their pup Kuzco. Calling Boise home base for a full six weeks(!!) meant a pretty big lifestyle change, staying in one place almost the whole time! It was great to hang out with the kids and their friends when they weren’t traveling around the country, and of course taking Kuzco and Maisie with me just about everywhere was fun.
It actually was super smokey most days as fires in nearby Oregon were raging. But it didn’t limit our activities too much. We went on 2-3 walks a day, and I rode Maddy’s bike several times, then discovered the workout gym in their building so hit the treadmill as well. (It really is hard for me to sit still for very long!) I also caught a Banana Ball game at Boise State where they converted their iconic blue football field to a baseball diamond. And since I was there alone, it was easy to seat hop (my original seat was a mile away from home plate :D). What a show! It was super fun. I also discovered a historic Episcopal church—cathedral, actually—which reminded me a great deal of my favorite Episcopal church in Austin, St. David’s. This one was called St. Michaels :D and I attended several times. It’s right behind the state capitol building (which resembles the capitol in Austin as well), and a few blocks from Boise’s version of Hyde Park, which also was quite similar to Austin’s, where we lived for a good 14 years. So I felt right at home! Here’s a little pictorial recap of my time in Boise:
Coeur d’Alene – “The Playground of the Pacific Northwest”
I took a weekend trip to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, when Maddy and Zane returned from one of their weddings, and OH MY GOODNESS. I fell in love … again. Even though I only had a couple of days there, Coeur d’Alene most definitely rose to my Top-3 favorite cities visited in my travels over the past 14 months! Right behind Park City, Utah, I’d say, and maybe tied with Lake Tahoe. Sitting along the edge of the gorgeous Coeur d’Alene Lake, the little city itself was marvelous. Loved the beaches, marinas, the many city parks, quaint shops and beautiful resort hotels. We hiked around Tubbs Hill, took a 90-minute narrated cruise around the lake, and even caught a moose hanging out in a low-water lake inlet. Pure paradise!
Life is a Highway
“A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum.” Except it wasn’t the Forum. And it definitely was NOT funny. Nope, not at all. Not a single bit. Let’s back up just a bit.
After spending what ended up being six fantastic weeks in Boise, I was ready to hit the road again. I had left my travel trailer in an RV park in Washington up near the Canadian border, and decided to break the trip up into two big chunks rather than drive 10 hours(!), hook everything up, then drive another hour into Canada. Smart, right? I thought so, too. I’m so glad I left pretty early in the morning, leaving plenty of time for contingencies. (I learned that in college, thank you very much.) Because … about a little over two hours up Interstate 84, traffic came to a complete stop. I mean a complete stop. We left the engine running for a few minutes, hoping things would start moving. Well, a few minutes turned into two and a half hours! (Yes, I cut the engine shortly after stopping.) Maisie and I walked up and down the highway, visiting with others (of course), and trying to discern between rumors of what happened and the truth.
We saw three different life-flight helicopters. Three. It was a crash. A bad crash. A fatal crash. What we heard was that two vehicles had been racing up I84 (RACING!), and one ended up under a semi. How completely awful. I figured all I could really do was pray for those involved. And when we were eventually allowed to pass (like I said, two and a half hours later), I could see with my own eyes what to pray about, and could only imagine how gruesome the scene was earlier. What was left of the pickup truck, for one thing. I feel so bad for them but, at the same time, am angry that people could be so stupid. Someone in the highway crowd said it was a father and daughter racing (but how could they know that, really)? Whether it was or wasn’t, it sure put a damper on the rest of my day.
But I was glad that I already had reservations in a small town in Washington, originally seven hours from Boise but turned into almost 10. And I guess you could say I made some lemonade by just getting to talk to fellow stuck travelers on the highway, like giving a hard time to a guy with a Univ of Georgia shirt on (haha), joking with someone else about sharing whatever he had in those coolers in the back of his pickup, and borrowing the bathroom of a traveler pulling an RV. You gotta do what you gotta do!
We rested up in a MOTEL in Cashmere, Wash. (when was the last time you stayed in an actual motel?) … I remember my family staying in Howard Johnson motels on our triennial trips from D.C. to Houston to visit my grandmother. And aside from seeing motels in a variety of horror movies or in sketchy scenes in TV shows, I hadn’t been near one. I’m trying to be frugal, and this one did get decent reviews. The town was precious and so beautiful in the desert mountains—kind of like Washington’s version of Mayberry. So how bad could it be? Right?
Well, the linoleum floor in the bathroom was straight out of the 60’s. I didn’t look too closely at the carpet, afraid of what I’d see. On the little dinette table on top of the laminated motel instruction sheet was a small bag with earplugs in them. Earplugs? Well, you may have guessed it, because YES, there were train tracks nearby. I’m not making this stuff up! But the bed was comfy and smelled of bleach (at least it was clean!), so I slept pretty well and got off to an early start the next morning to pick up my camper and renew my RV lifestyle! I only took one picture, but here it is: a beautiful park just a couple of blocks away:
I might have worried a little bit about remembering exactly how to hook up the travel trailer, navigate backing in, and traveling mountain passes and hairpin turns, etc., but it really was like riding a bike. Maisie seemed happy to hit the road again—she just loves being outside and having so many people want to pet her. We made it across the border and to our spot in West Vancouver without any incidents. After a much-needed trip to the grocery store, we got settled in nicely.
Canada, are you ready for us?
Vancouver
I loved being able to return to Vancouver, as the first time I visited earlier this summer, I only had two days to spend exploring the area, and it was nuts because of the World Cup game. I probably said this before, but, man, what a beautiful city! Vancouver has the best of everything—beaches, mountains, big urban city, quaint harbor towns/burbs. Rivers, rainforests, waterfalls. Wow.
Maisie and I spent our first day tooling around the main downtown. We put in a few miles walking along the shoreline and through a million city blocks. I didn’t seem to take many photos (oh, well). I was happily surprised to see a few trees already beginning to change colors! It’s only August! I just love that. So yes, I guess that for once, it’s NOT too early for Starbucks to start promoting their pumpkin coffees. LOL
Have y’all ever heard of the Capilano Suspension Bridge? If you ever visit Vancouver, consider carving out part of your day to traverse this iconic bridge in its namesake park along the Capilano River in North Vancouver. Maisie and I both ventured onto the swinging planks of the 450-foot suspension bridge, rising 230 feet above the river. She was not so sure about the walk over, but eventually got her sea legs under her! Y’all, let me tell you, that bridge was a-rockin-and-rollin! Totally safe, though, with steel cables and fencing lining each side (that’s my story and I’m sticking with it). What a blast! The park itself is a natural wonder with a rich Canadian Indian history nestled in a rainforest that gets 8 feet of rain a year! They even built an incredible maze of raised boardwalks called Treetops Adventure, that lets you explore the forest canopy high above the canyon.
After that fabulous morning adventure, it was just too early to head ‘home’ so I decided to drive around a bit, picking a random park on my maps app that would have us driving through North Vancouver to see the residential side. It reminded me a bit of Hollywood Hills. I honestly thought I picked just a random neighborhood park—and maybe it was—but Good Lord, it was amazing. A virtual urban forest with yet another suspension bridge, complete with twin waterfalls and a long walk down to the canyon floor. Holy Cow, y’all, what a fun surprise!
Lynn Canyon Park + Twin Falls
The next day we went back to the city to check out Granville Island. Another gem just across Brokers Bay from downtown, it had a HUGE public market that most definitely rivals Seattle’s Pike Place. From fresh seafood to flowers, baked goods, produce, meats, coffee, restaurants, galleries, etc., it could be a little sensory overload if you weren’t prepared for it! Probably not something I would do every day, but a weekly visit for some fresh seafood and other yummy treats could be in order.
Lastly, Maisie and I both enjoyed just hanging out in West Vancouver, near our campground which was nestled on the shore very near the epic Lions Gate Bridge. You could walk along the endless shoreline of the Burred Inlet and English Bay, while everyone was out strolling along, enjoying the magnificent weather and taking in amazing sunsets. I really do love Vancouver.
Up next? How about a little bit of Whistler, BC? (IYKYK)