| Piles
of mine waste for miles. Most of it being mitigated in some
way. Trees planted, runoff captured. There were several
things that looked like sewage plants. Settling ponds, aeration
systems. A showcase of environmental science. Top of 2005 trip Next Water in the rivers that empty to Lake Coeur d'Alene is getting cleaner. Trail passes through towns along the way. Cataldo, Smelterville, Osburn, Kellogg, Wallace, Mullan and a few more. In Kellogg someone recognized me as I stepped into the bike shop. He remembered my web site and a talk I gave in Bellingham. He was driving through Kellogg and stopped into the shop to ask, "why are so many cars parked around Kellogg?" It's the sales lots for Dave Smith Motors. Big Internet based car sales company. |
 Trail heading into Kellogg.  People are friendly when you do see them, but much of the trip was solitude.  Just trying to imagine what social life in small towns is like. Folks who listen
to radio, in the northwest, are
bombarded by Dave Smith advertising. They come from all over, to
Kellogg, Idaho and buy a car.
It seems like hardly anyone was using the bike path much of the way, but, of course, this is still a sparsely populated area. As usual, people were friendly when I did see them. |