In and Around Coeur d'Alene

Some of the things around town I didn't get any pictures, but I attended the Coeur d'Alene Downtown Street Fair, with over 250 vendors.  They block off Sherman Street downtown for about 5 blocks.  The city park is also full of vendors and close by the college campus has an art fair.  The street fair lasts for 3 days and if you wanted to see everything, you would need 3 days.  But I only spent 1 day and had enough.  What was nice was the food.  There was not just the normal fair food, but many of the local restaurants had booths too.   Marion, Carolyn and I had sushi as we wandered through the fair.

Coeur d'Alene also has a wonderful farmers market, but I've been impressed all over Montana and Idaho with the local farmers markets.  I bought fresh leaf lettuce and a week later it was still good.  I love the summertime fresh veggies.

There were the sightseeing trips as well, such as the Caltado Mission.  Also known as the Mission of the Sacred Heart, it is the oldest standing building in Idaho, finished in 1853. The mission came to the area after the Coeur d'Alene Indians went to St. Louis in the early 1900s asking for those powerful "medicine men" in their black robes and with a book.  Father Pierre-Jean De Smet arrived in 1842 and the Jesuit's started their mission with the Indians.  The church is now used for special events and masses only.

 

This parrish house was rebuilt in 1886 after the first burned down.  Inside is a nice museum of how the Jesuit's lived over a 100 years ago and the history of the last 100 years.

The inside of the church looks today much as it did back in the 1860s.

There was not much money to use for ornamentation, so they hammered out tin cans in the shape of chandeliers.

They didn't have money for wallpaper, so they covered the walls with newspaper and painted designs.  Some of the original wall coverings can still be seen.   Here they have uncovered several layers, back to the original designs.

The original construction was 'wattle and daub', which is simply 'straw and mud'.  Huge log timbers were used for supports and then the walls were constructed by weaving vines and twigs and covering it with straw and mud.  When the church was completed, not one nail had been used.  The walls today still consist of the original wattle and daub, but has been covered inside and out with siding and plaster.

This statute of Mary looks like it was chiseled out of marble, but it was carved out of wood and now has a crack running down the right side.

Looking behind the church you see the river.  Because of the mission's location it became an important stop for traders, settlers and miners, taking on the role of hospitality and supply station.

And what is Gene doing?

Picking cherries, evidently.  Next to the church are several cherry trees that were just ripening.  Yum...

North of Coeur d'Alene, on Lake Pend Oreille, is Farragut State Park, once home of Farragut Naval Training Station.  Here is where my father spent several months training before heading to the Pacific in WWII on the USS Maryland.  

In front of the museum is this large statue of a seaman, honoring all the boys who trained here.

Not much is left of the training facilities or barracks, but the Brig is still standing, so guess where they put the museum?  Yep, it's the Brig Museum.  How do we associate the word 'brig' with prison?  Well, the fast sailing ships used by pirates were called brigantines after the word brigand, which means robber.  Lord Nelson used a 'brig' to offload prisoners from his ships during battle and ever since, sailors have called a prison anywhere a brig.

The museum was pretty small, but there was a lot of info about knots.  I guess knots where pretty important to sailors.  They say during training the sailors had to tie everything up in knots, even when hanging out their laundry.  If their trainer didn't like the look of the knot, he would undo the knot, let the laundry fall to the ground and stomp on the it.  The sailor would then have to rewash his laundry and hang it up again.  I guess that's incentive enough to learn how to tie it properly.

I was hoping to get some information about my father while at the museum, but suprisingly, the only info they have about the men who trained here are from the families of the men.  A fire destroyed many records from the years Farragut was a training base, so they don't even have names of all the seaman who trained here.  My fathers name was not among those listed, so I asked for the paperwork to submit his name and sent it in along with copies of his military records showing when he was assigned here.  Maybe next time I go his name will finally be listed and I can find the picture of his graduating class.

Some of our group went kayaking on Lake Pend Oreille.

The lake is 43 miles long, but less than a mile wide in most places and 6 miles at its widest.  A glacier lake, it is the 5th deepest lake in the U.S., being appx 1,350 feet deep.

At the north end of the lake is Sandpoint, a popular tourist destination.  The city has wonderful beaches and the lake for summer recreation, and just outside of town is Idaho's largest ski area.  The building in the background is the Cedar Street Bridge Public Market.

Lunch was on the patio overlooking the river.

We stayed at the Eagles Lodge in Hayden, Idaho, and got a look at the new Pappy Boyington Museum, which is located in the old Eagles Lodge building. 

Pappy Boyington, being a local boy, has quite a following in the area, even the local airport is named after him.  The museum is not yet open to the public, but we got an advance showing and tour.  I would highly recommend everyone go see this museum if you get to the area.