Cataldo Mission

On a hill overlooking the Coeur d'Alene River and valley sits the oldest building still in use in Idaho. A mission built by the Coeur d'Alene Indians after they journeyed east to find medicine men in black robes and carrying spiritual books. And the black robes, Jesuits, came. Originally it was built along the St Joe River, but the area was prone to flooding, so the Jesuits found a new home for what was named the Mission of the Sacred Heart. The mission became a place of worship and learning for the Coeur d'Alenes and later a wayside for miners and settlers.

The mission is now an Idaho state park and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

I had the opportunity to visit the mission on a recent road trip to Montana. I had been driving past the park for several years and thought "I should stop in and see what this is all about." But I always felt too rushed to stop, which is silly since I like to take road trips so I don't feel rushed and can stop by little wayside gems like these.

This trip though, as I drove past to get to my destination in Montana, I told myself that on the way home I will stop. And so I did.

After watching the informative video and meandering through their exhibits, I made my way in the mid-day heat to the mission and parish house on the hill. It took the Coeur d'Alene 3 years to build the mission with the materials they had on hand - not a single nail was used in the construction. The chandeliers were made from tin cans and the wallpaper was either cloth from the Hudsons Bay Company or newspapers with painted designs in blue. The blue paint was actually stain made from crushed huckleberries.

You could almost feel the love in the craftsmanship of the Coeur d'Alene - the hand hewn flooring, the cut tin, the carvings on the alter. I laid on my back admiring the colors of the ceiling, the large center panels stained in huckleberry juice. Such care for an adopted religion that, for better or worse, brought education and civilization to the frontier and beyond.

The mission and parish house are simple buildings built on on a hill that was at one time beyond the edge of civilization. Now an interstate runs past it leading cars and people to other places at high speeds.

So while on your next trip, why don't you slow down for an hour or two and visit a quiet wayside for history or nature or for peace.