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Writer's pictureMatt

Cross Country 2023: Day 13. Spokane to Idaho Panhandle National Forest

Today I learned there was no room at the inn


Hooray for rest days. Yesterday I explored Spokane for a bit. This is a neat city and I could for sure some back again.


Today Alex and I started with breakfast at an incredible local bakery called the Grain Shed. They also have a tap room downtown which is how we heard of them. You walk in and bread is everywhere, the ovens are going in the back, and sounds of espresso making fill the air. My kind of place for sure. We headed mostly via the Centennial Trail out of Spokane and over towards Coeur D'alene. Spokane has some wonderful river trails worth exploring.


I kept checking my phone again and again trying to see where the state line was. I was very curious if there was going to be a marker at all, and I didn't want to miss it. Well. There was a marker. A full on boulder placed to mark the spot. Kind of hard to miss that.


Goodbye, Washington! Hello, Idaho!


Idaho is now state two for our journey. I don't think we'll be here long as we're going across the panhandle part, but for now I will enjoy. It's been interesting to me seeing how the signs and markings of roads and trails change as you head into a new state. Green with white silhouettes of George Washington are now replaced with Black and White squares of Idaho.


Coeur D'alene was our next major metro area to hit. I guess this is a major tourist town with the lake and river system being major draws. Really didn't spend a ton of time here as there was still 20 miles to go. But was there long enough to have a fantastic burger loaded with veggies. I'm finding as we're going along that I'm craving more fruits and veggies. Sure burgers are nice, but I can't eat them every day. It's a little tricky at times when traveling to smaller cities, but I'm doing my best to try and vary my diet and keep me fueled.


Speaking of fueling. Coeur D'alene was to be our last known food stop for the next day and a half or so. A quick trip to the grocery store and I had cans of soup, instant noodles, oranges, and canned fruit ready to go! Off to the campground!


Beauty Shores National Park campground was the plan for the evening. Right in the foothills of our next mountain climb. By the time we got there though, they were full for the evening. Now we've been playing our schedule largely by ear. We're on no specific timeline though we are running on a basic itinerary.


Well. There wasn't much else to do but continue. We filled up our waters with a hand pump (last chance) and began climbing into the national forest. Camping is legal in the forest I guess. The spot we found was just about as fantastic as you could get. Open largely flat and along a beautiful creek. Some of the trees there must have been hundreds of years old. Supper was a can of chili some fruit and by then. Ooof. It was time for bed.


'till next time

-Matt


Miles Ridden Today: 57.54

Total Miles Ridden: 588.57


Feet Climbed: 1,706

Total Feet Climbed: 25,163




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