Finally we get to ride the Hiawatha trail. Andreas joined us.
It’s an interesting backstory too. The railroad company chose that name because of a Longfellow poem. He ran so swiftly that the arrow he shot into the air landed behind him. See photo of sign.
It’s a 16 mile ride downhill and then you can ride back up, or they have a shuttle back up for $16. We rode up. The first tunnel was the longest at 1.7 miles long. It’s the longest tunnel I have been in for sure.
There are ~40 signs with some interesting backstories. Bottom line the company was a failure in part because of this westward expansion (see photo).
We decided to stretch our riding day and ride to the town of Wallace because a few people said it was cool. Indeed downtown is full of interesting old buildings. We rode I-90 from Hiawatha but hopped off and found the paved Trail of Coeur d’Alene (often abbreviated CDA).
We are in Idaho now.
Spectacular scenery out there! Enjoy. My mother-in-law was born in Osburn, ID, about 44 miles back toward MT on I-90. Her dad worked in a nearby silver mine.