sunday groovin'...Couer D'Alene, Idaho, A.D. 2007...
Glistening water, the sound of motor boats and jet skies, the splashing laughter of swimmers...these are the defining sounds, the way I experience Lake Couer D' Alene, in Couer D' Alene, ID. Our own little slice of California, right here in the Inland Northwest. It's beach and boardwalk, sea plane and parasail, cliff and breeze.
We arrived, after a lazy morning, at around 2ish, in front of the house of a man called Stickman. His breezeway was littered with all manner of wonderfully smoothed sticks. Stickman takes the artwork that nature has wrought, and finishes it off with his own touches, and freely gives many of them away to any who ask. We asked, and we took four. I took one that was shoulder height, thick and smooth, and had a dark knobby knot protruding outward from the smooth white hardwood center. Stickman called it the "heart" of the walking stick, for me, it's the wart. The imperfection. But often times, in imperfection, the most beauty can be found. It is so with this piece. My wife chose a smaller stick, smooth, light weight but strong, with jewel-like stones inset. Our boys both chose small kid-sized sticks as well.
After we thanked Stickman, and departed, we walked around the East side of Tubbs Hill. It was hot, and the going was sometimes tough for our three-wheeled jogging stroller, but we purchased it many years ago for just this sort of thing, and it held up nicely. Cliffs to our left, and the sun glaring off the water, it was a brilliant sight to see. People recreating in almost every nook and cranny of the rocky shore below let us know that this town is, for want of a better term, a vacation town.
We finally made it to a place called "the Point." An isthmus of land jutting out from Tubbs Hill into the lake. We chose a westward facing beach front. Settling in the shade, my wife and our three month old, were able to put their feet in the water, and survey the much talked about Hagadone Resort and City Beach of downtown Couer D'Alene opposite us. The constant barrage of boats and other large pleasure crafts kept the older boys wound up and excited about all the "giant waves" coming to shore.
After a few hours of this, we made our way back to our car, and my family rested on the grass across from Stickman's house, where we'd parked, as I slowly loaded the trunk once again, and thought about dinner. A little burger join called Paul Bunyan didn't fail to give us greasy burgers, crunchy onion rings, and messy chili cheese fries. All things that I shouldn't be eating, but today was an off day.
Our baby slept on a blanket on the cool ground as we ate our burgers and grease in the fading light in Fort Sherman park. The older boys, eating as fast as they could (and as little as they could), imbibed with impatience, were finally released to enjoy the last thirty minutes of ambient light on the giant playground nearby.
Once the darkness had completely descended on us, and the glow of amber lights filled the park, and the sounds of people recreating started to fade away, we gathered our things, our children, looked at the moon glistening off the water, and said goodbye to Lake Couer D' Alene. We will be back again because, though this lake seems to always be full of people and boats, it is still a beautiful lake, and worthy of visiting a few times during the summer. So, we' will be back again.
