Howdy Hive,
I spent a chunk of last year traveling the United States, visiting places I had never been before. In total: I clocked over 6,000 miles traversed between June-December 2021. I decided to start a new blog series in which I will post some of these experiences on the blockchain, for both my own personal storage, as well as to share these memories with you.
Location: Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho - 1,723 miles from home.
We had been driving for 3 days, and it was time to stretch our legs a bit. "Everybody around here goes to Lake Coeur d'Alene" prompted a friendly local resident, and so - we accepted his quest, and pointed that direction.
The lake that day was very scenic, with a deep dark blue hue reflecting the sunlight. We decided to skirt the lake edge, taking the main road around the lake's shores. The mountains rise up all around the Lake, which is nestled in the valley below. At some point on this drive we decided to turn onto a side road, and headed into the hills.
We didn't know where we were going at the time. We were simply following the GPS up small roads, climbing in elevation along the way. At some point our 'small roads' became 'forest service roads' that were narrowly skirting the mountains edge, and the ride along the way was very bumpy. There was a very sharp drop off to the side of the road. As a back seat passenger, I had no control over the vehicle, and just had to put my trust in the driver that we wouldn't soon tumble down the side.
After a long and winding drive, we finally reached the highest elevation point we could access, which I think is roughly around this area.
Stepping out of the truck, here's a view from the top.
I could see Interstate 90 (that we had just been driving upon) seated far below us, giving context to how much elevation we had gained on our drive up.
My friend and I then decided to explore the woods a bit, with intentions of finding a spot that had less tree cover, allowing us to get a better view. We hiked off road for about 30 minutes, until we discovered the view that we had been looking for. Note how steep the grading of the hillside is.
And a shot of Lake Coeur d'Alene, down below in the valley.
At some point we decided to head back up the hill, to the road, which unsurprisingly was a little more difficult climbing back up the side, than it was walking down. It took some time, and a lot of sliding in short bursts on top of dried pine needles, but we made it back up to the truck.
Out of nowhere and completely unexpectedly, a Yukon SUV comes driving up the mountain. He stops with windows down, and asks us the exact same question we all wanted to ask him... 'What are you guys doing out here?'. We informed him we were from half the country away, which took him by surprise. He informed us he had just purchased his vehicle a few days ago, and was wanting to 'See what she can do'.
It was at this time, I shot the following two short videos. I'll present them without commentary, as I think the words spoken in the video by friend do a fine job of explaining how the situation unfolded.
"You ever see a truck high-side?"
"I like You! - I like me too!"
After the impromptu Monster Truck show, it was time to leave our mountain paradise and find a good local brewery. The pictures and video captured that day really do not do the setting justice, as it was so serene, its just one of those places that gives you pause to stop and take in the moment.
I sat in silence for a bit in that tree clearing we found, above the lake. Its a memory that feels as if I can close my eyes right now as I'm writing this, and transport right back into that Pine needle smelling breezy sunshine, alongside a hill that likely hadn't been traversed by people since the original logging crews passed through the area over a hundred years beforehand.
Being there just felt like I was a galaxy away from anything that would be a cause for stress, back home. It felt like a 'reset' to be in a 'safe spot' where no person or life problems could ever find me. In those moments of much needed peace, this location became one of my 'happy places' I often think about, and I'm already planning a return visit this upcoming Fall.
Hope you enjoyed the views, thanks for reading!
Cheers,
~GG