Uncle Charlie taught us Georgians that when there is “Fire on the Mountain! Run, boy run!” And that’s what we did when a wildfire foreclosed further touring of the east side of Glacier National Park. We packed up and ran down US Hwy 2 to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, a resort town that sits on a large lake with the same name.
We setup camp at Blackwell Island RV Park on the banks of the Spokane River that feeds Lake Coeur d’Alene. We did not have a view of the river or the lake. But we could see the freshly painted dumpsters and a cute Minion fire hydrant. It is important to take pleasure in the little things.
Tito’s in downtown Coeur d’Alene served us a fine Italian dinner before we walked the downtown streets and enjoyed our obligatory new-town-ice-cream from Shenanigan’s. A sculptured moose greeted us and foreshadowed the next day’s events.
Rather than spend our one day in town with the thousands of other vacationers that flock to Coeur d’Alene for relaxation and fun, we headed 50 miles east to Wallace, ID. To their credit, the kids did not complain…loudly.
I recently listened to the audio version of The Big Burn. The Big Burn chronicles the Great Fire of 1910, the heroics of Forest Service Ranger Ed Pulaski, and the role and subsequent development of the National Forest Service. Centered in the Coeur d’Alene region, the Great Fire scorched over 3 million acres, including a third of the town of Wallace, the local base of operations for the Forest Service. In addition to that compelling history, Wallace has a rich history of silver mining and bills itself as “The Silver Capital of the World.”
We started the day with a tour of the Sierra Silver Mine. Wally, a 35 year mining veteran, guided us through the mine and taught us the basics of mining. Far from a static tour, Wally also demonstrated how the equipment worked. Neat!
Looking good…
Wally teaching the basics…
Into the mine…
L & M3 learn about diamond drill bits.
L & M3 inspect core samples.
This is a demonstration of the dynamite blast sequence.
Wally demonstrating the “widowmaker” drill.
I’m having difficulty uploading videos of the demonstrations. For those interested, this youtube video does a good job of documenting the tour. The demonstrations start at about the 5 minute mark.
After the tour, we enjoyed a stroll through town. Wallace is everything I wanted Deadwood to be. Like Deadwood, the entire downtown of Wallace is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But Wallace retains its authentic character while still attracting visitors to its rich history and (surprisingly) culinary delights. We enjoyed lunch at the 1313 Club. Some say the club got its name from being the 13th bar and 13th brothel in Wallace. Those with more mundane imaginations say the original club was 13 feet wide and 13 feet long. I didn’t see a room with those dimensions…
After lunch, we stumbled across a street corner designated the “Center of the Universe.”
We had no idea what that meant, so I looked it up when we got home. Turns out the residents of Wallace weren’t too happy with an EPA decision and the Mayor chose to express his displeasure by using the EPA’s reasoning to show that Wallace was the probabilistic center of the universe. I’ll let the Mayor’s proclamation speak for itself:
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I haven’t studied the situation, therefore I take no position on the propriety of the Mayor’s proclamation or the validity of the underlying EPA decision, but I do respect a town that vents its frustration in such a unique and hilarious way. Kudos, Wallace! I wish I had noticed the manhole cover.
The trailhead for the Pulaski Tunnel Trail lies just a few miles from the Center of the Universe. The 4 mile round-trip trail follows Placer Creek uphill to the Pulaski Tunnel, an abandoned mine used by Ed Pulaski to shield his 45 man crew from a wildfire that had overtaken their position. All but 5 men survived. The trail traces part of the path the men followed while hastily retreating to Wallace and includes a number of interpretive signs along the way explaining the history of the Great Fire, Pulaski’s role in fighting the fire, and Pulaski’s heroic efforts in saving his crew from certain death. Pulaski actually threatened to shoot any man that left the protection of the mine.
We did not see any critters to speak of while on the trail, but much to our delight, we encountered a couple of moose just hanging out at a water tank and pump house that sits where the trail exits the forest, a few hundred feet from the parking lot. This picture won’t make the cover of National Geographic, but we’ll take it!
Those suckers in Coeur d’Alene sure missed out on a great day in Wallace, ID.
Wish we could have been there. Very interesting. Appreciated Dolly too!
Mine shaft looks very interesting! Contrary to the Mayor – my wife claims that *she* is the center of the universe.
Touring the silver mine and seeing the equipment work would be great. Being at the site of the big burn would really be interesting. I was just reading in your “Backpacker” magazine that moose mating season peaks in September.