Trudy and Dale Buxton
Publishers, Biggar Independent
We continue our trip up through Idaho on Highway 95, making our way up towards the Canadian border.
It has been a perfect day for riding, the temperature sits at a pleasant 80 degrees Fahrenheit – no wind – can’t ask for much more.
We had a wonderful stop in Moscow, Idaho; the city is certainly a university town.
We come upon the City of Tensed. I like how they call it a city with only a population of 84 – they lost over 50 people in 10 years, with the population once standing at 125.
The name Tensed comes from a misspelling from the post office. This community once called Desmet but had to change it because it was already taken, the community group decided to call it Temsed, but when the post office took over it was misspelled and left like that. It is your typical farming community with most of the economy based on agriculture. A nice, pleasant, clean community.
Continuing on up the road we come to the City of Plummer, slightly larger than Tensed, in fact it is the largest city within the First Nations Reservation. One of the funniest things that I have seen was that as we were coming up to this community the road crew was out fixing a huge crack in the pavement. I guess the Plummer’s crack was the only thing to see at this time.
We have come to Coeur d’Alene and time for a brief pit stop – this community is one of the fastest growing cities in Idaho. Founded in 1887 this city has around 60,000 residents and is truly a vacation destination city, with many attractions along the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Coeur d’Alene is, of course, referred to as the Lake City. Coeur d’Alene is a French word meaning Heart of Awl, referencing the French traders that traded with the local indigenous tribes around the area. There are resorts, themed parks and a very nice downtown that has 125-plus shops and restaurants, all in walking distance. Featuring a fabulous memorial for to warriors and veterans that have come from the area that sacrificed themselves in conflict.
After some further investigation one of the biggest downfalls with this beautiful community comes from the real estate prices. The average home will go for at least half a million, but they say that it is cheaper than other nearby resort cities.
Also a college town, Coeur d’Alene is home to North Idaho College and campuses from the University of Idaho. The oldest building in Idaho is the Cataldo Mission, sometimes referred to as the Mission of the Sacred Heart, built way back in 1848. Coeur d’Alene also is home to the world’s largest floating boardwalk with a length of 3,300 feet. If you like golfing then you will like this course. Not only is it one of the nicest but it has a moveable golf green.
Coeur d’Alene is also home to many famous residents who call this place their second home, the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Lance Armstrong, George Clooney, and Mark Walberg, plus many more.
What a nice hidden gem on our travels.
Stay tuned next week as we continue our way north.
Trudy and Dale Buxton are the publishers of the Biggar Independent.
