Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Day 8: Wallace & Coeur d'Alene













This is the beautiful drive from Montana through Idaho on the way to Coeur d'Alene. It is so wooded and lush, even in August. We were on our way to Wallace where my great-grandfather, Joseph Hamilton Cone (shown in the picture above), worked in the mines and my grandfather, John "Poppy" Richard Cone (shown in the picture below), was born. Joseph worked in the mines, met and married his wife Mary Agnes Murphy (see Day 6) and it is where they had three of their six children.

We stopped and went to the Wallace Mining Museum which also showed a nice little film.

It was neat to visit and to learn about the world they lived in. Although he made good money while working in the mines, he paid the price in regards to his health. He lived a long life, but his lung capacity was diminished. My mom remembers him walking with her and getting out of breath very easily.





















Next stop was Coeur d'Alene. This is another place that conjures up beauty and nice resorts. It is known for its beautiful lake and many golf courses.

After checking into our hotel, we went down to the lake where the boats launch. We walked around the Coeur d'Alene Resort and we wanted to window shop at the outdoor shopping district for the tourists. But as we were getting into the car, Ryan accidentally shut the door on McKayla's fingernail. I frantically got her a cup of ice to soak her already bruised fingernail. I say frantically because I have done that before and if you have done that before you know the amount of pain cannot be described. So then I told her we would have dinner wherever she wanted. She chose Chili's since we lost ours in the desert.

We went to the Famous floating island green at the Resort golf course. It is featured on the Tiger Woods Playstation game for those who indulge. The course was voted the most beautifully maintained course in the US. Everywhere you look, all you can see is green and red. Red geraniums are their signature flower with over 30,000 plants throughout the course. The contrast is amazing.

Ryan wanted to go golfing , but at $270 a round we opted for a visit to the pro shop, a hat, and some pictures. (That price includes a sports massage for every golfer.) Someday Ryan, someday.

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