Black Bay's a beauty
A grass-widow, otherwise called purple-eyed grass, gleams in the sunshine while contributing its vibrant violet to the natural beauty at Black Bay Park in Post Falls.
DEVIN WEEKS/Press
A peaceful Black Bay in Post Falls reflects a cloudy sky on Saturday.
A lone picnic table sits by a rock retaining wall at Black Bay Park.
A grass-widow (Olsynium douglasii) is ready to burst open at Black Bay on Saturday.
Buttercups are everywhere on the hillsides of Black Bay Park in Post Falls.
POST FALLS — Just south of Seltice Way, tucked behind neighborhoods and a tennis court, a looped trail leads to panoramic views of the Spokane River and takes its wanderers to Black Bay.
It’s tranquil in the winter and early spring, before the river is purring with boats and the bay is filled with giggling teenagers catapulting off a rope swing.
On Saturday, before a gusty Sunday, the waters were still. Mallard duck couples and lone Canada geese leisurely glided across the watertop, refusing to acknowledge nosy onlooking humans.
Black Bay Park encompasses 56 acres at the 1200 block of east Third Avenue. Its paved foot and bike paths tie into the North Idaho Centennial Trail. Visitors have plenty of room to roam as they walk their dogs, go fishing or enjoy a jog in a woodsy setting. It’s also a fine locale for sledding and making snowy memories that last long after winter’s chill fades.
Looking across the river near the bay, spectators will spy the “Amway House,” a 28,000-square-foot mansion that was built by Ron and Georgia Lee Puryear, who made quite the living through Amway, a multi-billion dollar company.
Tall pines and grasses and rocky outcroppings are everywhere at Black Bay Park. Right now, springtime wildflowers like buttercups and grass-widows have sprinkled the hillsides with purples and yellows.
Don’t wait too long to see them for yourself. Just like a North Idaho spring, those wildflowers won’t last long.
Info: www.postfallsidaho.org
