Bearable Bob: Spokane occupies a barely visually acceptable transition zone of sparsely wooded ponderosa pine forests and an average river between the shockingly dull channelled scablands of Central Wa and the clearcut meadows of the weak Rocky Mt foothills of North Idaho. The entire area (Spokane to Coeur D'Alene megatropolis) is the scenic equivalent of a 92 Subaru Outback Wagon. Not ugly. Not sporty. Functional. Forgettable. And please ... Coeur D'Alene is spectacularly overrated for beauty...it's a lowland lake surrounded primarily by dry forests carpeted with astringent, crunchy pine needles. Go north, young man, for real beauty.

Keithincda: Try again, Bob; Subaru did not make the Outback model until 2000. How about the '92 Hyundai Sonata instead ... :)

Question: On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being absolutely viewtiful), how would you rate Coeur d'Alene and/or Spokane? (HBOers living elsewhere in North Idaho can rate your town against either Coeur d'Alene or Spokane.)

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