Hello all!
As many saw on Facebook, I spent part of last week in Idaho on a business trip. My colleague Lindsey and I are were flown out by our author, Michael B. Koep, for the hometown launch of his second book Leaves of Fire.
Coeur D'Alene, his hometown, is a resort town on a gorgeous lake. It's very artsy and affluent and full of just about the nicest people you'll ever meet. There was nary a person who didn't say hi to us or smile at us. We arrived early morning Wednesday and had three full days ahead of us before the launch to do what we wanted. Our first day, after settling into our hotel and grabbing coffee and a bite to eat, we hiked up through the woods that over look the lake. It had stunning views all around and turned into a 4-mile excursion. We ended the evening with dinner and foosball at a local tap house.
We were still required to work while out here so we spent the mornings working at local cafes and then the afternoons hiking. Each day we hiked about four-five miles. The terrain is rather easy, as it's pretty flat, but the length felt like a great workout. Thursday night we joined our author, his wife and son, his publisher and his wife for a lovely dinner at a favorite local tapas spot. Friday night was the hometown launch in a done-up abandoned building. Michael is an artist and a musician in addition to a writer so the party featured his artwork, local musicians, and plenty of imbibing. Michael did an fantastic reading of an original essay in addition to a chapter from the book, part of a trilogy about art coming to life and changing the past.
Saturday morning we took a short cab ride over to Post Falls, Idaho where we would be staying for our last night. While Coeur D'Alene is a scenic resort town, Post Falls is pretty much the opposite. The mountains in the background and the area around our hotel were lovely but the town itself was rather dull and lifeless. As the hiking wasn't up to our speed we decided to instead borrow bikes from our hotel and take the Centennial Trail (a paved trail that runs through Idaho and Washington; we hiked part of it in Coeur D'Alene) over to Liberty Lake Park in Washington. It's normally an 11-mile ride each way but we went way off path after losing the trail near Liberty Lake the town. As such we ended up walking our one-speed bikes up a mountain. But we made it to the park and managed to bike about 3 miles in it before deciding to turn around and head back. We were exhausted once back in Idaho but the feeling of having succeeded in that ride was incomparable. Remarkably we weren't too tired to wake up the next morning and hit the hotel's fitness center.
I arrived home safe and sound late last night, high off a wonderful experience. Lindsey and I are already good friends but it was amazing to spend the past five days with her. Not many of my colleagues would have been up for all the activity.
Coeur D'Alene isn't easy to get to (almost no direct flights and the return trip takes about a whole day) but I highly recommend a visit if you ever have the chance. It's a spectacular town and well worth the trip. And many thanks to my amazing parents for watching my dog while I was away!
Love, Johanna
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