Taking on Tubbs
<p>Ruth Thomas hiking Tubbs Hill. She will celebrate her 90th birthday on the trail Sunday.</p>
Even as she approaches 90, Ruth Thomas of Coeur d'Alene still walks Tubbs Hill five days a week.
She typically does not walk on Sundays, but this week she plans to make an exception.
Thomas' 90th birthday is this Sunday and she is going to celebrate the afternoon with a hike on Tubbs and would enjoy some company.
"She is determined to be there no matter what the weather is on Sunday," said Linda Wolovich, Friends of Tubbs Hill board member.
Wolovich said Thomas fell on Monday and drove herself to the emergency room to patch up a gash that ran from her eyebrow to her cheek bone. By Thursday, Wolovich said a friend of hers spotted Thomas walking the Tubbs trails again.
Thomas is a retired Kellogg Junior High teacher. In 1998 she began a tour to visit the smallest incorporated town in every state with her bicycle. She finished the tour in 2006 and settled down in Coeur d'Alene. She has been a regular on the trails of Tubbs ever since.
Thomas told Wolovich she enjoys the spring flowers, the fall colors and the fresh snow in winter on Tubbs, but she does not appreciate the smokers who leave their cigarette butts and the people who don't pick up after their dogs.
She begins her walk each day at the 10th Street parking lot. She strolls along the asphalt path through McEuen Park before entering the wilderness of Tubbs, walking along the lake until she makes her way full circle, exiting near her car on 10th.
Her walks usually last from 90 minutes to three hours, depending on how many people she meets and chats with along the way.
Thomas will arrive at the 10th Street parking lot Sunday at 1 p.m., and Wolovich hopes some people will be there to sing Happy Birthday and help Thomas celebrate the beginning of another year of taking on Tubbs.