We spent a night at the Coeur d’Alene Resort and hiked the three mile Mineral Ridge Trail above Lake Coeur d’Alene. The Resort is quite fancy and expensive, but we had a gift certificate for the night’s stay and an excellent dinner. Lucky us! The Mineral Ridge Trail is a 3.3-mile loop that offers outstanding…
Blog
Banks Lake and Northrup Canyon
Banks Lake is located in a very unique geological area in eastern Washington dominated by an ecosystem called shrubsteppe. Shrubsteppe is an arid ecosystem found here and in other western states dominated by rolling, grassy plains, or “steppe”, with an overstory of sagebrush and other woody shrubs. Shrubsteppe landscapes contain many habitat features, including streams,…
South Channel Spokane River
We visited Q’emiln Park (pronounced “ka-mee-lin”) in Post Falls yesterday and hiked along the Spokane River below the South Channel Dam. Lots of ups and downs over large boulders added a bit of difficulty to these old bones, but the scenery was well worth the effort. I will have one or two of these for…
Nature Walk
It definitely has been a season of firsts! Yesterday we took a nice walk along the river, through the wetlands and into the forest…in mid January! (hover over photo for description)
Pine Siskins
Invasion! We have been invaded by a large flock of spinus pinus, or pine siskins. Literally dozens (over 100?) hang out by the bird feeder and pond for much of the day. We’re not the only place to be invaded…check out this article: https://www.audubon.org/news/-pine-siskin-finch-irruption-fall-2020