Blackwell's RV Park
Couer d’Alene, ID (known also as “CDA”)

June 23, 2007


Arrived at the Blackwell park on Thursday.
A quick one hour drive from Stoneridge, we spent the balance of the a.m. getting gas ($2.84/gallon at the Costco, the cheapest gas on the west coast according to gasbuddy.com), getting the oil changed and going to the laundromat. Checking in at noon, we were given a spot along the bank of the Spokane River, but the tall trees were blocking the satellite view, so we had to move to an interior lot. Still have a river view, but it also includes a pulp plant across the river that runs night and day(weekends apparently excepted).

Picked up daughter Julie at the Spokane airport (35 miles west), filling the CRV with her crated bike, duffel bag and suitcase, Carly was relegated to a small corner to nap enroute back to CDA. We walked along the lakefront while Julie checked in to triathlon headquarters). In the evening, we drove her bike route (56 miles x 2). It was tiring just driving it in a car. Lotsa hills


Friday, Julie began the day with a brisk one-mile swim on the brrr! lake course. I ventured over to the local muni course (very nice!) for nine holes with 3 fellow geezers. I opted for his course ($15 bucks for 9 holes, rather than the neighboring CDA Resort course, famed for its floating island hole (only $225). In the PM, we toured the lake on a cruise boat (nice trip, perfect 80 degree weather, but only 17 aboard the boat which could easily handle 200.) Viewed the floating island hole.













Julie moved to her local hotel room, where she can sleep well, undisturbed by Carly’s occasional pacing or the old folks visiting the john during the night. She didn’t think the slide-out bed would produce optimum rest, either.

In the evening, we all attended the official Ironman dinner. A very inspiring program with recognition to a couple of special athletes: The oldest—a 75 year old who has done "about 35" Ironman triathlons (by the way, an Ironman consists of a 2 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, followed by a full 26.2 mile marathon); the ‘biggest loser’- a woman from Kona who lost 170 pounds training for this event (second place—130 lbs ); and finally a double amputee who lost both legs at the knee in a car accident at age 15. Now 39, he is an inspiring triathlete.
Looking around the room of approximately 3000 people, one couldn’t help but be impressed by the trim physiques of the athletes present.
Lean machines indeed.

After returning to the rig, a surprise thunderstorm rumbled through, commencing at 10 pm. Rain and hail continued until about midnite!

Janice has been busy with her publisher, polishing up her manuscript after their initial review and a review by a native American regarding her Indian (feather, not dot) chapters.
Far more work on the road than we anticipated, but we are grateful for our movable internet access which allows her to be a roadie during this part of the process.

June 21, 2007

Spent two days at Stoneridge, a wannabe ‘Sun River’ in the woods of north Idaho.
Folks at the RV Park (where lots are bought) greeted us like royalty, thinking they had new neighbors who had also taken the same bait they swallowed. Once they realized that we were just passing through, their warmth cooled like an Idaho night.

The park itself had large concrete pads, paved streets, no trees over 5 feet, dead shrubs (winter freeze?) and a garbage bin a good 100 yards away. Carly left a few surprises in the weeds on the way to the bin. The lots were selling for $50-60k last year and the price is now upwards of $70k. The golf course had a couple of interesting holes (#1 and an actual #19), but the rest were pretty tame. Certainly wouldn’t want to wile away my retirement summers playing this course, even though it was ‘nice’ to me. Took an obligatory tour with a real estate salesperson, but it was very low key. If you live in Arizona, this may be the place for you in the summer!

June 19, 2007

Left a very nice Corps of Engineers park at Charbonneau,WA and headed northeast, taking secondary roads like highways 124,12, 127, 2, 395 and 41, to get to our destination, the Stoneridge Resort. We will be taking a sales pitch in exchange for free golf (nice course), 2 nights camping, and $25 off of our dinner. (Cost to us-$39)

On the way, it took about 45 minutes to traverse through Spokane. A Hwy 395 detour includes about 30 stoplights. About 10 of them turned to orange just as we approached causing choices between a possible ticket or having everything in the back of the rig (including Carly) fly forward if I slam on the brakes. The traffic engineer need to be lynched.

Speaking of lynching, my beloved SF Giants are twisting in the gallows. Very depressing to read of loss after loss.