Monday, May 28th - Mining Country

Ken and Jan picked us up at 10am and we drove east to their old hometown of Cataldo, Idaho. We stopped to visit the Old Mission State Park where the oldest standing building in Idaho is located. Once named the Mission of the Sacred Heart , it was built by the Coeur d'Alene Indians under the guidance of a Jesuit priest 1848-1853. The building was abandoned in 1887 when the mission moved to DeSmet, Idaho.

We drove over to the town of Cataldo and saw the property that was formerly owned by Ken and Jan. In 1996, the area was flooded by waters from the Coeur d'Alene River. In 2001, they negotiated a buyout with the federal government and they became full-time RV'ers at that time.

We stopped for lunch at the Enaville Resort and Snakepit in Enaville, Idaho. The building housed many business in its day, including a bordello (mining the miners).

Later we drove further east to the town of Kellogg, Idaho, home to the now closed Bunker Hill Mine Company. Silver, Zinc, lead and a little gold were mined and smelted in this area. It has been one of the top targets of EPA clean-up initiatives.

On the way back to our camp, Ken spotted a moose wading in a pond about 200 yards off the highway.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time here in Spokane and Coeur d'Alene with Ken and Jan! We hope to see them in July when we are in Lake City, Colorado.