Three Beautiful Things 08/06/19: Back to Coal Creek, Visiting Corrine, Athena at the Dog Pound

1. I eased into the Sube around 9:00 this morning and returned to the Coal Creek trail up the river. For the first time on a hike this summer, I brought my camera, loaded with my 50mm lens. Today promised to be a scorcher, but I know this trail has its own cool climate thanks to the generous shade, thick foliage, and the cooling effect of the creek. I meandered. I took pictures (I'll post some below). I crossed the bridge over Coal Creek at about 3/4 of a mile in and headed up the mountain, hiking farther than I'd gone before into the Coal Creek basin. It looked to me from some ruts that mountain bicyclists had used this upper part of the trail. I would find it harrowing to bike on this narrowing trail, especially because it keeps rising higher and higher above the creek, with little room between the trail and the steep and increasingly longer drop into the creek bed. Before I left Kellogg, I had texted Christy and Carol that I'd return home around noon, so my time on the trail was dictated by the clock. That was fine. I headed back to the car at the appropriate time. Before long, though, I'm going to return to Coal Creek, leave the house much earlier, and aim to hike to the trail's end. By day's end today, I had walked nearly three miles, over 6000 steps.

2. Over the weekend, I'd heard that Corrine Turnbow was now living in the nursing home across the street. I brought that news home with me and Christy, Carol, and I immediately planned a visit with her this afternoon. We found Corrine in her room, sitting contentedly in a wheelchair, reading a book. She told us that she's doing fine, that she likes her situation. We had a good visit, catching up a bit on Corrine's family news and reminiscing about the many many good times we had with the Turnbows out at Rose Lake many many years ago and the other get togethers we had over the years.

3. I was settling into the late afternoon, thinking about what to have for dinner, about to clean up the kitchen, when Cas texted me that he was pulling into the Dog Pound (Eddie Joe's) and that he'd like me to join him if I were thirsty. I couldn't resist. Sure enough, I strolled into Eddie Joe's and was greeted by two dogs, Ginger's three legged boy and the Eddie Joe's house dog, Dexter. Athena came out from behind the bar and guided both dogs away from the door, making my entry a little easier, and I spotted Cas seated where he likes to sit near the end of the bar. It was a good session. My gin and tonics refreshed me on this hot day.

Cas introduced me to Athena (he calls her The Goddess) and she told Cas and me about her experience returning to school at North Idaho College after about 10 years of not being in school. Little did she know how much I loved hearing her story and, sitting there on a bar stool in the Dog Pound, I was having a substantial chapter of my life replay in my mind as the faces of so many students, so similar to Athena, flashed in my mind. Joy swelled up inside me. Working at LCC with students like Athena was what I enjoyed most in my job and listening to her talk about her initial fears to be back in school, the way she has developed confidence, how she's been appreciative of her teachers, and how she's performed superbly in her studies elated me.

Listening to Athena was kind of like going to church. When I worship, I feel at one, in spirit, with the many other Espiscopalians who are having essentially the same experience I am across the country; today I felt at one, in spirit, with my fellow community college instructors, knowing that, for so many of us, the deepest satisfaction in our work lay in working with students who, like Athena, are making a huge step in life to return to school, aren't quite sure how they'll do, and discover their intelligence and love of learning; so many also discover hope for their future, discover the power of their gifts and talents, and find ways to do good things with those gifts and talents out in the world -- very often in service to others as social workers, counselors, nurses, teachers, and other similar work. I don't know what Athena's hopes are beyond North Idaho College, but my sense is that she'll do very well.

*Here's a sampling of pictures I took on the Coal Creek trail. I've got to go back repeatedly and take pictures here. It's very challenging. I had a lot of problems taking pictures today and I'm hoping with more visits, I can solve some of the problems I had. Here are some of the pictures that worked out pretty well:

Here are three views from the first leg of the trail:

Here are some shots of Coal Creek: