The roads less and most traveled

I’m about to break the cardinal rule of never disclosing your best place … as in fishing hole or where you pick huckleberries or morel mushrooms. You’re welcome.

My best tip of late relates to driving, specifically between Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene, and all points east and west. With Interstate 90 and the Highway 41 interchange construction paired with the additional traffic of the summer season, it can take longer to get to and from here and there, especially using the old standby of Seltice Way. Now everyone knows what was once a route that locals smugly used to bypass I-90.

A few years ago, when Poleline Avenue in Post Falls (which used to end at Huetter) was punched through and connected to Hanley in Coeur d’Alene, it became my secret go-to for hitting Ramsey, U.S. 95, or Government Way.       Hayden Avenue and Prairie Avenue are two more popular routes for going east or west. But now everyone in the whole county knows about and uses those roads. Intermittent construction on either of them can throw a wrench in the works.

I asked my village of friends to share their workaround routes for the road construction season.

Marcia Rams confirmed that there is a workaround route but chooses not to advertise it because “we know what would happen.” LOL, apologies, Marcia.

Andy Crateau says, “I drive it (I-90) every day. I look forward to watching the progress. Delays are rare and minimal unless there’s an accident then every route east and west is unworkable. Drive slow and be patient.”

Rhonda Budvarson and I likely pass each other some days, as she’s a fan of taking Hanley from Coeur d’Alene, where it morphs into Poleline, in Post Falls.

Amy Boni uses Hayden Avenue or Poleline from Post Falls to Coeur d’Alene.

Amber Malloy, Kim Haddock and Carrie Kralicek stay home, and Lynn Kohl says she stays up the river as much as possible.

Alisha Kinerson says that for necessary trips to Post Falls or Spokane, she drives the “back-ish” roads to Northwest Boulevard, where she gets on I-90.

Damon Darakjy exercises patience listening to podcasts if traffic is delayed.

Sarah Gondo skips Coeur d’Alene altogether if she can. “It takes less time (from her Post Falls home) to get to the Spokane Airport than it does to downtown Coeur d’Alene!”

Jeannie Peugh, a longtime Post Falls resident, takes the backroads everywhere she goes and has for years. “I’m a backroads kind of gal … haven’t driven the freeway for years.”

Brian Walker, Wayne Cofield and Bobby Wilhelm are counting on the Jetsons, NASA and Star Trek travel options, respectively, to solve their traffic challenges.

Since road construction is inevitable, I choose to think of it as a maze game. I also give myself extra time to get from Point A to Point B. From Post Falls to downtown Coeur d'Alene, I take Poleline or Mullan Avenue to Huetter Road, then south to Seltice and east to Northwest Boulevard. Piece of cake!

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I can’t decide if it’s my age that makes me want to slow the calendar down, especially in mid-summer.

This time of year, we seem to be evenly divided into two camps: those eagerly looking forward to cool, crisp evenings, the changing colors of the foliage, and a fire in the fireplace, and those who cling tightly to the beach towels, sunscreen, toes-in-the-sand, the aroma of fresh-cut lawns, and the lifestyle of summer. Count me among the latter.

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Happy Main Street birthdays today to Alisa Loftin-Ward (50!), Tanya Peugh and Mark Anthony. Tomorrow, Sharmon Schmitt, Dianne Ansbaugh, William Disney, Jacob Hester, Nicole Coquette, Terra Karl, Kalie Bell, Brenna Meehan and Peggy Coleman blow out the candles. On the last day of July, Patricia Richardson, Annabelle Disney, Adam Durflinger and Tab Bray celebrate birthdays. On the first day of August, Tatiana Harrison, Bev Moss, David Noordam, Duane Oliver, Patricia Kaufman, Dennis Harlan and Dodge Gonzales will be singing the birthday song. On Sunday, wish happy birthdays to Austin Viles (40!), Mandy Averill and Matt Odd. Sunday, Ronda Smithson and Jessica Hendricks put on their party hats. Amy Evans, Jennifer Custer, Ben Fairfield, Jack Glinski, Sara McDrummand, Toni Caywood, Joel Bertsch, Michele Wood, Erin Delaney and Amy Ford take another trip around the sun Monday. On Aug. 4, Kristin Kilmer, Doris Weaver, Dave Holinka, Jonathan Thomas Burnett and Danna Ziegler turn the page on the birthday calendar. 

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Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and a former publisher/editor with the Hagadone Newspaper division. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press. Kerri can be reached on Facebook or via email at [email protected].