A view of  Lake Pend Oreille in Northern Idaho, from our friends, Bob & Barbara’s boat  

Sorry I wasn’t able to post much in the last couple of days – no wireless network to connect to – and I know what a difference it makes to see photos rather than just some text – otherwise I would have just posted a short message with no photos. Our other friends, Bob & Barbara, live on Hayden Lake, a town about 15 miles north of Coeur d’Alene. And yes, Hayden has its own lake that is just gorgeous. When we arrived at our friend’s home, almost immediately we took a tram down their steep incline below their home and went out on their pontoon boat for a champagne cruise. The weather couldn’t have been more beautiful if we’d ordered it. Bright sunshine, sparkling water, surrounded by a bounty of trees (mostly pine, also some cedar, I think) and steep hills and mountains. I forgot to take any photos. So sorry! I was having just too much fun.

We went out to dinner that night to a place in Coeur d’Alene, then the next day they took us north to a town called Bayview. There is a lake further north of Hayden that is gigantic – huge – with 50 miles of shoreline. It’s called Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced pen-door-ray as in French). It’s a natural lake, over 1000 feet deep in places, and has a U.S. Navy research facility there where the government tests submarines. It’s off limits, of course, but we did spot one of the odd-looking ¾-size subs they use for the research. But, in Bayview there is a community of homes as well as “floating homes.” Our friends own one of these cute floating homes. You walk out on a dock and most of the homes are about 15 feet wide (that’s a guess), and about 30 feet deep (that’s also a guess). They sit on cedar logs, have no propulsion on them, and are either one or two stories high. Bob & Barbara own a 2-story one with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a “garage” that houses the little fishing boat that sits in the water year around. So, off we went on that little boat for another hour or so cruise on just that part of the lake. It was interesting to see the variety of floating homes (there are strict laws about these homes – they’re not permitting any new ones – period – and dock vs. floating home spaces are at a premium. These homes cost anywhere from $50,000 to over a million. Imagine that! We went into a beautiful cove at the very tip of one of the fingers of the lake, also spotted a variety of mountain goats munching away on grass on the steeper inclines.

That night I sort-of made dinner – I just made the entrée – my chicken with mustard crumb topping served on a bed of onions. Barbara made a green salad and some delicious green beans. Their house sits right on the water, and watching the sunset from their home, which faces west, was just beautiful. We had such a nice visit with them.  Thank you, Bob & Barbara! They also own a home in Palm Desert, like we do, so we will see them again in a few months when they come south for the winter. As beautiful as Idaho is, the winters up here are long and dreary. The snow and ice don’t make driving very easy either.

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My DH Dave and I both l-o-v-e- fish stews. They come in a variety of names and styles – fish stew of course, fish soup, or cioppino (Italian) or the French style of Bouillabaisse. They’re all quite similar – a tomato-based stock with a variety of fish contained within. It can be whatever kind of fish you can find from your local purveyors. It’s easy, actually. I don’t know why I don’t make it more often – likely because it’s about 15 miles to our local market that offers really good, fresh fish.

Ann has her own recipe – it’s a combination of about 3 different recipes she’s used over the years. I wanted to take a picture of it that night. But, you see, I was too embarrassed to ask Ann if I could take a photo of the soup before we sat down to dinner. It’s okay to get away with that kind of behavior when I’m at home, in my own kitchen, but not very polite if you’re at somebody else’s house. Plus, I didn’t know if she’s give me the recipe (I thought she would, but one never knows!).

Ann & Harry used to be in a gourmet group we had some years ago. I was the ringleader – the one who tried to set up the dates, decided on the menus (all of them) and mailed out the recipes for everyone to make and bring. We met for a number of years, probably about 5 or so. I finally got weary of doing all of the menu planning by myself, and asked if somebody else would help. There were no takers, so the group kind of fizzled out.

Anyway, Ann made this delicious bouillabaisse for dinner our first night in Coeur d’Alene. It, with a really tasty green salad made with some pumpkin seed oil she’d brought back from a trip to Germany a few months ago (which was really interesting – I liked it a lot), and some warm baguettes, and we were in for a treat. Ann had made the stock the day before, so the flavors had had time to meld. With halibut, cod, scallops and shrimp (oh yes, some clams too), it was good enough to lick the bowl. So the next morning Ann nicely said she’d give me the recipe and let me snap a photo of the leftovers. Here’s to the right is a photo of our friends who have been so gracious to let us stay with them for a couple of nights. Thanks again, Ann & Harry, for the wonderful visit!
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I sure hadn’t. We’re staying with our friends, Ann & Harry, who live in the country outside Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. It’s absolutely gorgeous out here. They moved from our area in California, up here to Idaho about 16 years ago. They owned a darling bed & breakfast for about 10 of those years, then sold the B&B and built a new home that is on the west side of the lake, but faces east to the foothills surrounding Lake Coeur d’Alene. It’s almost a 200 degree view of pine trees with hills and valleys. We’ve been up here to visit them before, and always enjoy the outdoors, the clean, fresh air, and the pristine view.

Ann prepared a bouillabaisse dinner for us last night, which was scrumptious. Ann has given me her recipe which I’ll share with you tomorrow. And this morning we had eggs and chicken sausages for breakfast. And out of the refrigerator came this red plastic bottle of Curry Ketchup. Ann asked “have you ever had this before?” I never had. It was SO good – ketchup with a curry flair. They buy it at the U.S. military commissary near them, but surely it’s available other places. The label is in English. It looks like American catsup (ketchup) but it has a mild curry flavor. Really good if you happen to find it somewhere, like a German deli?

I’m posting from the lovely new public library in Coeur d’Alene. With free WiFi.

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Through much of yesterday we were looking at nothing very noteworthy. Dry, deserty kinds of views, lovely distant mountains both west and east. Then we got into Idaho. And actually lots of southern Idaho is more of the same. Then we got into the mountains north of Boise. You know – the kind of two-lane roads that, on the maps, have the little dotted lines alongside them, meaning they’re scenic. By the way, I’m feeling fine today, and so is Dave. We just needed some distance (descent) from those 10,000 foot altitudes. We stopped at a nondescript log cabin kind of place for lunch, and arrived in McCall (on Lake Payette) last night. Surprise – the little motel we stayed in actually had free wireless!

We had a delicious dinner in downtown McCall, at the McCall Brewery – lots of solid home made foods. I ordered soup (a delicious beer-cheese soup I may try to duplicate once I get home) and salad with a Parmesan vinaigrette dressing. The lighting wasn’t good enough to get a snapshot.

So, the picture you see above is one I snapped beside the highway yesterday. We saw hundreds of such scenes, just different rapids, different curves in the roads, different tree landscapes. All beautiful. There’s no sign of the bark beetle here in Idaho.

I may not have internet access for the next couple of days. Our friends we’re visiting near Coeur d’Alene don’t have high speed internet service. So, stand by and I’ll be back online as soon as I can.

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Photo from the Cedar City Review, October 2005, showing the devastation by bark beetles in Cedar Breaks National Monument.  

So, a couple of days ago we saw Zion, and headed right out afterwards, taking the circuitous highway east of the Park, over the Mt. Carmel Highway. Lots of tunnels – even had to wait in line at one spot as they only allowed single file in the longest of them. The scenery was spectacular, with small bits and pieces that looked more like Bryce Canyon than Zion. Then we headed north and went to Cedar Breaks. This isn’t a place most people visit – it’s a National Monument, not a National Park. I remembered it from a trip once before and knew it was beautiful. Well, that is, until the Bark Beetles came to town. Several years ago the bark beetle made a foray in the direction of Cedar Breaks. It looks almost like a forest fire had gone through, yet none of the trees were black. We couldn’t figure it out. There were a few aspens decorated in autumn finery, but not many. We headed up. And up. And up. Finally we got to over 10,000 feet and found the hotel I’d reserved. In the winter the area teems with skiers, but summer is slow, so there’s only one hotel open. The Cedar Breaks Lodge. Had a nice dinner – I wasn’t expecting much in a remote place like that – but it was exceptionally good. And it was there we heard the story about the bark beetle and how it has just devastated the forest around Cedar Breaks. The hotel staff shared that the environmentalists won out – to allow the bark beetle to do its thing – rather than use any kind of pesticide to eradicate them.

After a long day of driving we were tired and went to bed early. I didn’t sleep well, however. Actually got up and played games on my laptop from about 3 – 6 am. I mean it’s really bad when you play solitaire on your laptop in a hotel room. My DH was awake too some of the time, and we finally figured out we were suffering from altitude sickness. He ended up doing most of the driving the next day because I really didn’t feel all that great.

Here’s what we learned about altitude sickness:

• It’s a good idea for the first 24 hours to take it easy (well, we did, sort of)
• Exertion of any kind is not recommended, like carrying suitcases up a flight of stairs (oops)
• It’s a good idea to eat lightly (oops – it was so good, we cleaned our plates)
• It’s not a good idea to drink alcohol for the first 24 hours (oops, we both had wine with dinner)
• It’s a good idea to stay hydrated (oops – we couldn’t figure out why there were humidifiers in every room – finally at 2:30 am I filled it up and turned it on – that helped plus the tall glasses of water we both drank at about 3:00 am)
• Dizziness and headaches are common effects of altitude sickness (uh, yep, had both of those)
• Nausea is also a common effect (uh, yep, had that too, and the other one we won’t go into here)
• Sleeplessness, or other sleep disorders are also common (oh yea, had that big time)
• And maybe most important: it’s a good idea to take any pictures you want before you get sick because later – like the next day – you won’t feel like it.

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Traveling certainly is a mixed bag of internet service. I was supposed to have service at last night’s hotel, but my computer would not connect. Just wouldn’t. But, they charged me $9 anyway. I’ll have to phone THAT place and give them a little piece of my mind.

We did, finally, leave Las Vegas and headed northeast toward Zion National Park in Utah. Took longer to get there than planned, but made the afternoon tour bus in the Park. That place is just so awesome. The only word that comes to mind is majestic.

In case any of you haven’t been to Zion in awhile (yep, that’s me) you can no longer drive into Zion in your own car. For some years now they have been using propane powered buses to take visitors up the 6 miles in, and 6 miles back. There are lots of stops along the way where you can get off and hike (short, long, strenuous or not). We heard a really interesting story along one section. . . About halfway into the park there is a Lodge. If you have reservations, you get the coveted red pass that allows you to drive your car that far. (I tried to make such reservations several months ago, but they were booked up.) I don’t remember the year the incident happened, but during the night a rock slide occurred (not common, but it happens sometimes). It wasn’t until someone started up the narrow road did they discover it was completely obliterated. The river that runs alongside the two-lane road was dammed up too, although it post haste found another route to divert. There were 300 people at the Lodge that night (guests and employees). None of them could get out. Somehow, within about 24-48 hours they were able to get everyone evacuated. The only problem was, everyone there had cars. The cars stayed at the Lodge for six more weeks while they bulldozed and dynamited a new creek bed and road. Funny thing: most of the cars were rentals. Can you imagine the bills those tourists had to pay after that escapade?

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A view of the Paris, Las Vegas resort from across the street at the Bellagio, with that resort’s lake in the foreground  So, what did we do on day two in Las Vegas?

We had lunch at Emeril’s in the MGM Grand. It was scrumptious. I’m not a very big fan of his (at least I don’t like his cooking show style) but I thought the food was outstanding. We relied on the server to tell us what to order – my DH had scallops with an Asian cabbage and mushroom side vegetable. I ordered their (fish) Pan Roast with shrimp jambalaya. The pan roast was delicious mahi-mahi and shrimp, both highly seasoned and blackened. Then the server said we just had to order the banana cream pie. Moi? Oh, yea. I did. She told us it takes over 20 bananas to make a whole pie, and over 18 hours to make. Haven’t yet figured out how or why so many, but I ate most of it myself. DH had a few bites, but I’m guilty of eating way too much of it. Outstanding, and worth ordering again.

Took the east-side monorail from one end to the other.

Took a nap

Went to the Bellagio to watch the water show (three times)

Had dinner at Circo (pronounced cher-co), a Mediterranean upscale restaurant in the Bellagio. Overlooks the lake so we got to see the water show more times. After my big lunch I wasn’t all that hungry, but we both managed to eat a light dinner. A nice green salad with a bagna cauda dressing. I ordered the restaurant’s signature dish, ravioli stuffed with goat cheese, Swiss chard, and swimming in a delicious sage and butter sauce. My DH ordered a rabbit dish stuffed with sausage and the same salad. He ordered dessert this time – a bowl of four scoops of gelato. That I probably wouldn’t order again (I had a few bites), but the rest of the meal was worth every penny. The restaurant is pricey, no question, but we had window seats and the service was impeccable.

Then, the highlight of the day, we attended the show O at the Bellagio. It’s the Cirque de Soleil that’s been playing there for about 10 years. Amazing. Spectacular effects with a huge pool. Most of the performers swim – some of it synchronized, some acrobatics. It was fabulous. We had 2nd row seats – well worth the extra cost. And then we walked back to our hotel – about 3/4 of a mile or so (we felt virtuous, like we’d walked off all those calories we consumed today).

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I spotted you as I walked by in the casino yesterday. You were dressed up in the kind of 4th of July garb my mother was fond of. She was a lucky gambler. She would walk up and down a few aisles to find just the right one with red, white and blue embellishments on your face. You were a 25 cent machine. Not up there with the high rollers, but certainly not the low-lifers like your nickel friends. My mother was very circumspect about having a relationship with any of your kind before she’d even spend a few minutes in your company. So, as you sat there blinking your lights at me, I wasn’t sure, but I mentally communed with my mother before I decided to sit down and begin a relationship with you. I carefully removed just one single dollar bill from my wallet. No going out on a limb with someone until you know them better. I thought I’d invest just that much before you and I had any further congress.

So, with trepidation I decided to just barely put my toe in the water, giving you a mere quarter to spin your sparkly rolls. My husband was standing beside me for this venture, to make sure I didn’t do anything too rash. I pushed the button. Up came a 7. Another 7. Oh, and yet another 7. Your lights went into overdrive. You voice went into a giggle of tinkling tones. I think you were very excited about having me converse with you. Were you trying to impress me? Or lure me?

So what did you do? You just handed me $20. Just like that! You must not have liked the last friend you had and you hoarded your loot. I just sat there, staring at you – looking deep into your eyes. Trying to see your soul. I couldn’t quite tell what you were thinking, though. I wasn’t sure. My mother gave me a sign. You see, she knew you better than I do. She said take it and run. I did.

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A bit of family trivia: my mother, who died in 1997, bless her soul, loved to gamble. She maybe visited Las Vegas once or twice a year. Originally it was the penny machines she and my dad played. Finally she moved up to the nickel machines and won. Then she really moved uptown to the quarter machines. They were her favorite, I think. She and my Dad played Keno too. She won regularly. Now, I’m not talking big money here. But on her last trip to Las Vegas (my Dad had died earlier that year, and my DH and I brought her here in 1996) she won several hundred dollars. She wanted so much for me to enjoy the slots as much as she did. She’d hand me $20 here and there to keep me playing. The $50 I’d “given” myself to play disappeared in a flash. On one trip I recall she won about $1,000. She got this cute grin on her face when she’d tell the story. I knew she kept her gambling winnings in a little bag in her lingerie drawer. After my mother died in 1997, some friends of mine came to help me sort through all the stuff. Darlene came to find me with a small drawstring cloth bag in her hand. She said, “Carolyn, I found this in one of the drawers.” Sure enough, there was about $500 in the bag – bills and whole dollar coins. I cried. It was just waiting for her next trip. Thanks, Mom. So far I’ve only invested a quarter of it.

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The back side of the Strip, through tinted windows of our hotel, The Signature. We’re on the east side of the Strip between Harmon and Tropicana Streets, fyi.

So, as I announced yesterday, we’re on a road trip. First stop: Las Vegas, where we haven’t been in 12 years. Oh, how it’s changed. The Strip is just jammed with people and cars (on the surface, no sign of a recession here!). We checked into The Signature, a lovely non-gambling hotel that’s connected to the MGM Grand. Our neighbors own two units in this sort-of resort. Don’t know exactly how it works – if they reserve their unit (a small suite), as their guests we can stay in it very inexpensively. About half the going price. Nice. It’s a beautiful suite (with a small kitchen, even) and sitting area. When our neighbors aren’t using it, the hotel rents it out.

On recommendation from Rachel, a good friend who comes here a lot more often than we do, we ate lunch at Wolfgang Puck’s Bar & Grill in the MGM Grand. I didn’t take pictures (sorry), but my DH had Wolf’s own pork bratwurst with mashed potatoes and cooked red cabbage. I had a lamb Panini with couscous. Both dishes were delicious, per our respective mmm’s. My DH enjoys his Diet Coke a lot. They refilled his glass twice. $10.50, thank you. I had two glasses. That was $7.00. Total bill for lunch $64.00. Now we know to savor the first glass and forget the refills. Naturally, they didn’t mention the extra charge. Our lunches were $22 (his) and $16 (mine). It was a bit of a hike to get there, too. My DH, who is a double amputee, can walk about half a mile without any difficulty, but more than that and his legs begin to hurt. So after lunch and walking out to Las Vegas Blvd, we exited stage left and returned to our room for a little rest! A very helpful MGM Grand employee told us how to return to the hotel and bypass most of the casino portion, by way of a shortcut.

Last night we went to see Stomp Out Loud, the show that is “music” by odd instruments like metal trash can lids, plastic and metal trash cans, push brooms, sticks, boxes filled with noise-making pellets, whisk brooms and shovels. We saw Stomp many years ago and just loved it. This one, Stomp Out Loud, is a special show created just for Las Vegas. It was so unbelievably fun and entertaining. The actors (musicians cum dancers cum drummers), do a lot of moving around the stage (dancing, jumping, running and stamping of their feet) with their oddball instruments, banging them in every which way possible to create the rhythm and the show. The oddest “song,” if you will, was done with flexible rubber hoses. Depending on the length of the hose, and diameter, when it’s popped on the floor, it makes a tone. The lead dancer/drummer of the show (probably in his 30’s) got a scholarship in drumming at the University of Nevada. I didn’t know they HAD degrees in drum, let alone that somebody would fork up a scholarship for one. He was SO good at it, though. He was a master at creating music and rhythm with clapping, slapping and hitting his chest and legs. With the exception of a few grunts, “eh’s” and one or two “oi’s” there was no speaking for the entire performance. Amazing. All the performers were slim and trim (they get a good cardio workout in every performance!). If you’ve never seen any of the Stomp shows, I highly recommend it. Until I did a search just now, I didn’t know they had a DVD out (not of the show but other similar Stomp acts). If you click here, you’ll go to YouTube – watch part of one, and there are other similar videos down the right side of the YouTube screen. If you don’t know anything about rhythm and music made in such ways, you’ll be wildly entertained. The show plays in its own theater in Planet Hollywood, just a few blocks from our hotel.

Today we’re going to explore a bit more – maybe I’ll take a walk on my own. I definitely want to see the outdoor water show at the Bellagio. Because of going to Stomp Out Loud, we didn’t go out to dinner, but after the show we went to Yolo, a little restaurant and bar in Planet Hollywood and ordered freshly made guacamole and house-made chips. That was “dinner” and it hit the spot. By looking at the menus, dinner prices are off the charts expensive. Years and years ago we used to do the buffets here in Las Vegas, and Lake Tahoe (my mother and father were huge fans of buffet restaurants), but we eat too much. So we swore off of them long ago.

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For the next few weeks, my DH and I are going to be on a road trip. We decided last Fall that we’d make this a domestic vacation year. My laptop is going with me, and assuming I can get internet access, I’ll be posting a few things. Likely no recipes, as I don’t think I’ll be doing much, if any, cooking on this trip. I have a few corny trivia things I can post if I have nothing to share. But probably I’ll give you some photos here and there, and likely a bit about the road food. So, stay tuned. . . first destination is Las Vegas where we’re going to see O, and Stomp Out Loud. Then we’re off for some sightseeing.

image from www.freefoto.com

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