Yesterday, we drove from Yellowstone all the way to Coure d’Alene, Idaho in one fell swoop. We traversed 3 states in the process – Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. One of the coolest small towns we drove through was the old gold and silver mining town of Wallace, Idaho. The town was tightly nestled in a steep valley covered in dense, tall evergreens – Jessica really loved the sight of it. Apparently, it is still an active mining town and you can hear the blast from the mines under the city on a daily basis.

Our destination in Idaho was Coure d’Alene where Jessica’s parents’ close friends have their lake house. We finally got to the house around 9:30 pm (after missing our exit and driving 10 miles out of the way to the next exit) – just in time to catch one of the most beautiful views we’ve seen thus far on our trip. The 16 mile byway that leads up to the Ellison’s home from I-90 took us right along the lake and down near water level, giving us some great views of the lake and a great reflection of the dusky sky. I wish we could have had a camera good enough to capture the beauty of it all. 

It was really great to spent time with our close friends the Ellisons at their lake house and be greeted by familiar faces after 2,600 miles of driving thus far. This was also our first night back in a real bed after spending the last three nights either in the car or the hard ground of our tent. Judy and Dennis make great hosts. They were just winding down from a huge family week that filled their beautiful house to the brim. The last members of their family were leaving this morning and we were the last ones out the door after one last leeching of their WiFi.