Not with us - Debt collection on site in Coeur d'Alene / Idaho

Our journey further into the western United States initially takes us to Kellogg and then to Coeur d'Alene. Here we had a very special "appointment".

During our initial planning phase in the summer of 2022, we had booked and paid for a night at the "Lake Coeur d'Alene Inn" motel, which could be cancelled free of charge in July 2023. Later, we revised our plans and no longer needed the room. In December 2022, we cancelled the booking and requested a refund of the already paid overnight rate.

For a long time, the money did not arrive in our account. Our many and repeated emails over several months to the manager, the front desk, or filling out a form for a refund went unanswered. When it became apparent that we would pass by Coeur d'Alene on our final trip, it was clear that we would personally collect the money.

Our arrival at the motel complex today was initially not promising. The office was empty and there was only a note on the door saying that they would be back at 6:30 PM in the evening, otherwise there was a phone number to call. Great, we thought, if this doesn't work again and everything was in vain?

Fortunately, there was a doorbell, which we pressed, and a motel employee came out in front of the office. We explained our mission and the young man made a call to the manager and explained what we wanted. After a few minutes, the manager actually arrived. He dismissed our statement that we had used so many ways to get our money back by saying that he is getting older and therefore does not always follow all emails, we could have called ... Joker! We call from Germany and by the time we explained what we wanted, we had spent the overnight rate on phone calls ... So somehow we had the impression that he wanted to appease us with a few casual stupid remarks. But in the end, he arranged for the refund of the overnight rate and that was what we wanted.

Once in Coeur d'Alene, allegedly one of the most beautiful towns in the USA, we also wanted to take a look around and visit the lake of the same name. This lake has the longest floating boardwalk in the world, and we walked along it. It was quite a swaying affair due to the movement of the boats.

The town is indeed very beautiful, with clean and well-maintained houses. However, the town officials' building concept did not seem quite coherent to us. There was no structure, at least in the city center, that we could recognize.

After a short walk, we got back in the car and continued on to Omak, Washington. So we are heading further west. The drive through this country is very monotonous. We couldn't use the freeway and had to meander along country roads, passing by huge fields. Apparently, Washington is one of the grain bins of the states, just like Idaho is the land of potatoes or New Mexico is the pistachio country.

Later, the landscape became somewhat hillier and more varied. Along the way, we also passed by the Grand Coulee Dam. A huge dam, which is also one of the largest concrete structures. With the concrete used here, you could build a 2-meter wide footpath around the equator, or a highway from Seattle to Miami ... Impressive!