COEUR d'ALENE

This is not how I remember Coeur d'Alene back when I was stationed in Spokane during the early 60's. For you "smart alecks" that was 1960 and not 1860. The city park and beach walk is really attractive at this time of year.
Doesn't look like Waikiki, but I bet the people are having just as much fun.
The boat marina is close by and houses some real fancy boats.
A large u-shaped floating dock encompasses the boat slips and the boats along the right side in the first picture are for sale.
Think I'll check some prices and maybe buy one.
$410,000. Hmmm.....I'm going to have to pass on this one.
285k...Pass as well.
$200,000.....Crap! I should not have goofed off in school. I don't see any row boats anywhere.
Let me assure you, the only thing I'm looking at is boats. Oh mama, what a lovely boat.

Okay, let's look at something else.
Aw hell......This is boring. Let's go back to looking at boats!

BACK TO THE USA

How would you like to walk out of your front door and see this every morning? Might help to take the sting out of the hour and a half stuck-in-traffic commute to work.
Or this.
At the border, I failed to pay attention to the sign on the right and blew right through the stop sign. The border guard was not a happy camper. I tried to pull the I'm old and confused trick, but he wasn't buying it. Gave me lecture and I was on my way. I sure am glad he didn't find the guns, booze, drugs, cigarettes, hand grenades, bag full of currency, etc. I might have been detained.
Back in America in traffic-clogged roads and a zillion Type-A drivers. Lucky me.

MORE BEAUTIFUL RIDING WEATHER

Spent a couple of days in Golden, BC. Seems like a nice small town. Wondered out loud to a kid about what young people do in this town for entertainment and her immediate reply was "drugs and alcohol." It's a chronic problem. Yet, the crime rate is very low, according to her. The economy problem is starting to hit the area, so I expect the crime rate will change, as well.


Starting to warm up, but the lake is still mostly covered with ice.
Bow Falls, Banff area. Take notice of how blue and bright the sky is in these pictures.
I wonder what comments would have been made had I used this picture instead of the other one when I said, "This was like looking in a mirror."

BEAUTIFUL DAY

Another great day, cool but not cold and no wind. Lots of traffic on the road was the only problem as evidenced by the following picture.
Late 1800's town.
Fort Steele grew into a commercial centre, shipping lead, zinc and silver from Kimberley's North Star Mine to smelters in the United States. However, when the railway bypassed the centre in 1898 the town was gradually deserted.
This was like looking in a mirror.
The mountain view sure beats the flat crop lands.
Eye catching! Click on it for a larger view.
A great road side stop to have lunch. Man, I love this country.

FINALLY

Finally!..... Mountains in the distance.
How to screw up the view in three easy steps.
Overnight at the Travellers Motel. (That's the way it's spelled). The owner is one of ten siblings and can't even come up with the correct number of nieces and nephews in the family. Mom and pop didn't have much else to do during the long cold winters. Only one smart sister in the bunch who is now living in Hawaii on the big island. According to him, her husband invented and patented some sort of non-reusable syringe during the height of the aids outbreak. Went down the street and found a place offering a Ukranian buffet. What's a Ukranian buffet, you ask? The answer in a picture is:

ANOTHER GREAT DAY

Small museum, worth seeing and it was free.
Reminds me of houses in Mililani.
Sort of a puny looking buffalo.
This one is on steroids.
This moose as well.

Rained in Regina overnight. No rain when I left this morning and half way to Medicine Hat it turned into a great sunny day.
Had to stop to put some oil in the crankcase. The leak is getting worse. Gee, with all this traffic, I shouldn't have to wait too long to get picked up if the bike craps out. When I arrived in Medicine Hat, I found a small bike repair shop, and although it was almost closing time, the owner went out of his way to help me. He determined the cause of the leak, got it repaired, and I was out of there within an hour. I watched while the repair was made, and he performed additional steps that is not usually done by other mechanics. Corey displayed a work ethic not normally seen in many young people nowadays. Additionally, he also displayed a lot more "aloha" than what I'm used to seeing in Hawaii. In fact, I think the "aloha" has left Hawaii and come to Canada. From the mechanic here in Medicine Hat who went out of his way, to the grandmother clerk at a convenience store in Swift Current who bought me a cup of coffee because I was so far from home, to the young order taker in a fast food restaurant that had a big smile on his face, was outgoing, and looked like he was happy to be serving me, to the counter receptionist at Motel 6 who gave me cookies as an alternative, because she couldn't provide the whiskey, free dinner, or girlfriend I requested to go along with the room. Maybe I'll move to Canada.