Sandpoint Magazine Summer 2012

M a G a Z i n E

SuMMEr 2012

Sandpoint

MIgHt y OSPREy

AnD OtHER wIlD wOnDERS

inside: OFFICIAL SANDPOINT VISITOR GuIDe Interview with Physicist and Astronaut John Phillips, Our Farming Heritage, Memories of Mining, Public Art Explosion, Potters of Sandpoint, Ice Age Floods Redux, Rise of Downtown, Calendars, Dining, Real Estate and more

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S a n dpoi nt MaGaZinE

Summer 2012, Vo l. 22, n o . 2

FeAtURes 76 Mighty osprey, birds of myth and fortune

Cover: Cover: All All about about the the famed famed bird bird of of prey prey and and aa live live webcam webcam on on one one pair’s pair’s nest nest Plus: Plus: Rare Rare animals animals rarely rarely seen seen and and wildlife wildlife spotting spotting at at area area refuges refuges

35 Outdoor Connection

An institution for inspiration, the Eureka Mountain Center

37 Agricultural Heritage

County fair and a dwindling number of farmers, ranchers keep torch burning

41 Making the Town Tick

Behind the scenes with consummate volunteer Marcella Nelson

43 Going public with art Public art inventory defines the community 47 Arts and Crafts Fair

Event notches up 40 years. Plus: Meet some of the local artists.

55 The Potters of Sandpoint Three artists who practice the ancient art of ceramics. Plus: Artists’ Studio Tour

63 Cataclysms of Ice and Water New book guides readers through the Ice Age floods

65 Photographic Adventures Lensmen document Selkirk Loop Plus: Nelson, Sandpoint to bond as sister cities

69 A Million Feet from Five Dollars

The essential history of mining in the two northern counties

73 Two Guys, Three Lakes, Three Days

A Selkirks lake-hopping adventure: Harrison to Beehive to Two Mouth

DEPARTMENTS

Almanac Who, What and Why in Greater Sandpoint Calendar With Hot Picks and Festival at Sandpoint calendar Interview John Phillips, NASA astronaut, retired Real Estate Phenomenal Home: Dover Point dream house with Asian-inspired flair Northern Neighbors: Canadians boost real estate market, fuel economy Long-awaited Bypass: Stage set for downtown design transformation Marketwatch: Buyers make their move. With real estate market trends sUMMeR 2012

10 25 29 88 88 93 97 104

Photo Essay Wild and Woolly 84 Natives & Newcomers 107 Lodging 112 Eats & Drinks 113 Dining Guide 122 Sandpoint of View 130 On the cover: This dramatic image of an osprey with its catch was nailed by wildlife photographer Jerry Ferrara in northern Idaho. “By chance, the path of its flight was that perfect geometry into the lens,” he wrote. See cover story, page 76. Top: Captured along the Pend Oreille River in late August, osprey chicks challenge each other for a fish that had just been delivered by mom. “There is a lot of banter that goes on between the chicks at this point. They can play pretty rough!” wrote wildlife photographer Karen Dingerson. Above: Tim Cady shoots an image for an upcoming book on the Selkirk Loop. See page 65.

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COntRIBUtORS erica F. Curless

Ever wonder where Sandpoint Magazine’s color theme comes from? For this issue, designer Laura Wahl was inspired by local beaches, specifically this set of rocks found at Farragut State Park

editor’s note If you like wild creatures, you will love this issue of Sandpoint Magazine. It’s been 12 years since the last special wildlife issue, so it was about time. Animal lovers will certainly agree. This issue features a beloved bird of prey, the osprey, along with rare animals rarely seen by humans. As for ospreys, all of us may see these fascinating birds more often by tuning into a live webcam that Keokee helped develop at Memorial Field. See more in the cover story package complemented by a fabulous Wild and Woolly photo essay. Art shares the stage in this issue, with fine features on potters, public art, and the Arts & Crafts Fair. Then it pays homage to our farming and mining heritage as well. Only a couple dozen 100-acre-plus farms remain while no mines are active at present. Who knew that only boys could participate in 4-H in the first Bonner County Fair and that the Selkirk Mountains once yielded more than 62 million pounds of lead from a single mine? That’s what I have loved about my 21 years with Sandpoint Magazine – learning about this beautiful spot we call home. I know more Sandpoint trivia than I ever imagined I would, and that’s all right with me. In case any readers are wondering why my last name changed, I’ll just answer that right now: I got unmarried and went back to my maiden name. I was a Gerke when I started working on this magazine, and I guess I’ll be a Gerke when I quit. And for anyone wondering about its pronunciation, it rhymes with turkey – and, as my boss pointed out, quirky, jerky, perky and murky. –B.J.G. 8

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grew up in Dover riding horses, raising cows and publishing a childhood newspaper on carbon-copy paper. Writing about the history of agriculture in Bonner County and its annual fair (“Agricultural Heritiage,” page 37) brought back lots of great memories of 4-H, raising market steers and spending summers on an ol’ yellow tractor baling hay. The money Curless earned selling steers helped pay for journalism school at the University of Montana. She’s still involved in agriculture today, owning a mobile massage therapy business for horses and dogs.

Heather Mcelwain

For years, has thought herself lucky to live where wildlife, recreational opportunities and inspiration are abundant. She spends time angling words – her own and those of others – in the Turtle Bay Creative office, and then seeks refuge in the mountains, woods and water. She feels doubly lucky to receive writing assignments that send her out into those areas and reward her for time spent watching ospreys out the window. See her work in the cover series, “Ospreys: Birds of Myth and Fortune,” page 76, and “enjoy a Little R&R: Refuge and Recreation,” page 82.

Carrie Scozzaro

Teacher and artist got a history lesson for her two arts stories this summer. “Going Public with Art,” page 43, profiles Sandpoint’s wide-ranging public art program, which continues to grow. A feature on POAC’s 40th Annual Arts and Crafts Fair, page 47, reminisces about this popular event held every August near City Beach. Scozzaro has taught art full-time for Lakeland School District the past 12 years and spends her free time in the garden or the art studio. She is a member of Saranac Art Projects in Spokane, where she’ll exhibit new artwork in September.

Tyler Williams

As a child, writer gazed at the majestic Selkirk Mountains from his family’s summer home on Lake Pend Oreille. A first-time contributor, he and photographer Doug Marshall ascended into the Selkirks backpacking through diverse forests and across landscapes of granite linking together spectacular alpine lakes for the story “Two Guys, Three Lakes, Three Days,” page 73. An avid big tree explorer, kayaker, and canyoneer, Tyler has published six guidebooks, numerous magazine articles and is currently writing a guidebook to the redwoods. Details on all of his projects and books can be found at www.funhogpress.com. Sandpoint Magazine is published twice yearly, in May and November, by Keokee Co. Publishing, Inc., 405 Church St., Sandpoint, ID 83864. Phone: 208-263-3573 E-mail: inbox@keokee.com Publisher Chris Bessler Editor Billie Jean Gerke Editorial Assistant Beth Hawkins Advertising Director Clint Nicholson Sales Executive Scott Johnson Art Director Laura Wahl Ad Design/Production Christine Barrett Office Catherine Anderson & Beth Acker

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Contributors Mindy Cameron, Sandy Compton, Erica Curless, Cate Huisman, Patty Hutchens, Heather McElwain, Matt Mills McKnight, Ben Olson, Carrie Scozzaro, Tyler Williams and Amie Wolf ©2012 by Keokee Co. Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. Subscriptions: $12 per year. www.SandpointMagazine.com. Printed in USA.

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Team Laughing Dog, les femmes Team Laughing Dog 2012, from left, Arlene Cook, Julie Nye, Gina Pucci and Kathi Riba-Crane, are competing in the world’s toughest endurance race. PHOTO By KAREN KNAGGS

ere we go again. Team Laughing Dog is riding in the annual Race Across America (RAAM), a coastto-coast ride of nearly 3,000 miles. But the race has a different shape this year – at least the riders do. Following up the four men who rode across the country last year – Jacob Styer, Alan Lemire, Wayne Pignolet and Mike Murray – is a powerful group of four women plus alternates and crew racing for the same cause. Gina Pucci, 48 (her 49th birthday is the day before the race begins), Julie Nye, 49, Arlene Cook, 51, and Kathi Riba-Crane, 50, make up the 2012 team, with alternates Deb Fragoso, Suzanne Pattinson and Julie Meyer. Crew chief Judy Thompson oversees a team that includes bike guru Kirk Johnson; Team Laughing Dog founder Mel Dick; logistics guy Chris Thompson; Kim Loosemore and Cathy Gibson (fellow Schweitzer ski patrollers with Cook); Denise Alveari; and Lemire. Team Laughing Dog rides to raise awareness and funds for organizations that support families living with autism. Autism affects one in 88 children, with boys having a one in 70 chance of being “on the spectrum,” a term that reflects autism’s wide variety of severity. There is no known cause or cure, but because of the occurrence in almost 1 percent of the population, nearly everyone is affected by autism. Caregivers dealing with autism are often called to be there 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which is why Dick chose autism as the beneficiary of Team Laughing Dog racers. “Riding 24/7 for a week is easy compared to what some people face who take care of autistic children,” he said. “We have three goals this year,” said Cook. “We want to pay for

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the trip and raise $40,000. The men finished in under seven days last year. We want to do the same. And, we want to ride hard and have fun.” “Fun” is a relative term. Once started, the four women will alternate riding through whatever weather the world might throw at them in daylight, twilight and dark across the great American Midwest, where the wind is not always with you, and across three major mountain ranges – Sierras, Rockies and Appalachian. “We ride up so we can ride down,” said Pucci, who loves biking. She didn’t hesitate to answer the challenge when Dick approached her last August. “The opportunity was presented, and I called Julie, who I’ve known since fifth grade. Since then, the whole thing’s been an eye-opener – lots of work, with Judy and Mel as ringleaders. But I idolized the guys last year. We just had to go.” Go they will, beginning in Oceanside, Calif., on June 16 and riding into Annapolis, Md., a “mere” week later. In the 2011 RAAM, the men finished in 6 days, 9 hours and 28 minutes; placed 11th out of 19 fourman teams in the under-50 bracket; and raised $33,000 for their mission. Learn more and contribute at www.teamlaughingdog.com. –Sandy Compton

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On sabbatical, restoring teardrop trailers

ools? I never knew what they were!” said Debra Kellerman, that is, until she met “The Bob,” a vintage 1956 Benroy teardrop trailer. A year later, in 2010, she was quite familiar with every kind of drill and saw required to tear down and rebuild The Bob, thanks to her neighbor who mentored her through the process. Since then, Kellerman, 58, bought two more vintage teardrops; she restored a 1947 Kit and is currently restoring a 1936 Kaycraft Kampster, the first-known manufactured. In 2009, after having spent 35 years dealing with death, loss and grief in her human services profession, Kellerman realized how precious each moment is. “I hadn’t taken any moments for myself,” she said. So the former director of Bonner Community Hospice resigned and discovered a hobby that brought balance to her life. She went from being surrounded by people and their problems to a solitary life in the shop surrounded by tools. “You have to be open to the journey,” she said, remembering how the passion for her new hobby grew. “I thought, For the first time in my life, I’m going to create something with my own two hands.” Kellerman is thrilled to camp in an economic, minimalist way as she endeavors to employ a simpler life overall. The adventure of teardrop trailer camping includes meeting people who are intrigued by the idea. The trailer provides protection from the elements for sleeping, a rudimentary kitchen to prepare meals and little else. Unlike traditional RVs, the teardrop forces its owners to live outside – and that’s camping. It’s also the subject of a 2011 film by educator Mark Janke, of Spokane, Wash. His documentary film, “Historic Camping & Teardrop Trailers,” takes viewers across the country and includes a stop in Hope to interview Kellerman. Teardrop trailer manufacturing began in the 1930s and

exploded in the 1950s when World War II veterans sought a way to recreate with their young families. Today teardrop trailer clubs serve much the same purpose. Kellerman and husband Robert, who also ride HarleyDavidsons, have gone camping with them; she says it’s a fun subculture to be a part of. “But I’m truly not a groupie. When I go on the road, I like to go solo – just pull off the side of the road and camp,” she said. “No KOA campgrounds for me!”

While on sabbatical from her human services career, Debra Kellerman took up a whole new hobby: restoring vintage teardrop trailers PHOTO By MARK JANKE

–Billie Jean Gerke

With the help of a neighbor, Debra Kellerman learned how to use all the tools necessary for restoring vintage trailers. COURTESy PHOTOS

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Ruby’s Lube finds new fans, market

t began 18 years ago as a conversation about making a natural balm. One friend suggested comfrey, another calendula. Soon Tracy Gibson, 57, was growing calendula in her back yard, drying it, soaking it in olive oil, adding a few other natural ingredients and putting it in jars for Christmas gifts. “I gave it away like jam,” Gibson said. The balm was popular. Friends wanted to buy it, and Ruby’s Lube was launched. And how did she come up with the name? From an evening with friends brainstorming names that rhymed with lube. Red wine inspired the Ruby’s part. Soon Ruby’s Lube was on the shelves of a health food store in Boise and Yoke’s and Winter Ridge in Sandpoint. “It just perked along,” Gibson said, until she got a call a few years ago from Winter Ridge about some guy who needed a dozen jars of Ruby’s for a cross-country bike ride. By then Gibson was working at Panhandle Alliance for Education

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(PAFE) as coordinator of the READY! for Kindergarten program. She knew Mel Dick, who was planning a crosscountry bike ride as a way to raise money for PAFE. “So you’re Ruby’s?” Dick asked. His discovery that Ruby’s was a good product to prevent the chafing familiar to all serious bike riders was a game changer. Suddenly there was a new market for Ruby’s among serious athletes. Gibson’s entrepreneurial instincts were stirred. She began scheming a re-launch of Ruby’s Lube – new packaging, new labeling and online marketing. In March she competed in the Chairlift Pitch sUMMeR 2012

Tracy Gibson makes Ruby’s Lube in her kitchen, where she invented this natural balm. PHOTO By DOUG MARSHALL

contest at Schweitzer. Riding the ski lift with three judges, she told the story of a popular, all-natural product, a new market niche and her plans for making Ruby’s the next big made-in-Sandpoint business success. The judges liked what they heard and awarded Gibson top-pitch honors, $1,000 seed money and other assistance in the re-launch. Just what did the judges hear? Here’s a snippet: “A motion lotion for every notion.” –Mindy Cameron

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A female beekeeper rarer than hen’s teeth

oriha Yetter is a rare queen bee. This Sandpoint native is the only female, professional beekeeper in Idaho and perhaps one of only a few in the country. “I’ve never met another female commercial beekeeper,” said Yetter, 37, who started Yetter Hive & Honey in 2008 after receiving an Idaho Farm Service Agency loan. She had worked with another beekeeper for several years. A member of the state Honey Advertising Commission, she often helps local bee hobbyists get a start. The majority of her business is pollinating crops. She rents her honeybees to almond growers in California and fruit tree orchards in Washington. On average, each acre needs two hives of bees for adequate pollination. Yet, most Bonner County folks know Yetter, a 1993 Sandpoint High School graduate, best for her honey. When the bees are done pollinating apple, cherry and pear trees near Wenatchee, Wash., they return to northern Idaho for the summer. Yetter then farms out her bees to about a dozen sites in the area, where the bees collect local nectar and pollen to make the honey. Her honey is sold at Miller’s Country Store, Earth Rhythms, Peck Farm Store, Wireless Works and Kokanee Coffee. The honey is 100 percent local. Yetter said sometimes migratory beekeepers get a bad rap when people incorrectly assert the honey is made from out-of-area nectar left over from sUMMeR 2012

the bees’ winter travels. When the bees are in California or Washington, they eat everything brought back to the hive to survive and reproduce. So there is no honey surplus in the combs when they return

Shown on Gooby Road, Moriha Yetter tends to her bees that make 100 percent local honey COURTESy PHOTO

to Bonner County. In fact, sometimes Yetter has to supplement her bees with a homemade sugar and water syrup to bulk them up before they are placed in their summer homes. “It’s all Idaho made,” she said. –Erica Curless

siMPLY chocolate

or the wag who said, “A little too much chocolate is just about right,” there’s now a store for that in Sandpoint. Or make that, two stores. In April, Sandpoint Chocolate Bear opened at 204 N. First Ave. under a large sign that simply says “Chocolate.” Dennis and Carrie Powell Carrie Powell of Chocolate offer a selection of rich Bear. PHOTO By CHRIS BESSLER truffles, fudge, ice cream and more, made with recipes handed down in Carrie’s family for generations. A block away at 111 Church St., another new venture is making chocolate into art – literally. In May, artist Laura Crawford, also known as KayC, launched Hummingbirds Art Foundry. It’s a chocolate foundry, to be exact. An accomplished painter and sculptor, KayC now renders her original art in rich chocolate – paintings made with food-based pigments and sculptures cast from molds – and all are edible. She will also feature chocolate postcards, birthday and greeting Laura Crawford’s edible art cards, plus create custom pieces for weddings or events. Her slogan is, “Eat your art out,” although she admits some people like the art so much they don’t want to eat it. “Either way, you enjoy with a smile,” she said.

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Garden center blossoms with events

Tami and David Gunter of Bridges Home perform at Ponderay Garden Center’s Third Annual Chocolate Extravaganza. PHOTO By BILLIE JEAN GERKE

olks are finding out that the small world of Sandpoint doesn’t end at the corner of U.S. Highway 95 and

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Kootenai Cut-off Road. A little north of there is the Ponderay Garden Center, where a clever owner not only expects to double sales this year but is also lining up another memorable summer of concerts on the sprawling lawn. Owner Kevin Monsoor, 47, is at the heart of the profitable business – and the fun. His recipe for success includes reaching out to the public, offering up everything from popular, free garden workshops and chocolate-tasting tours, to a summer concert series and even an Easter egg hunt – so popular last year, in fact, it temporarily clogged the highway as cars filled with families descended on the parking lot. Monsoor’s creative and successful approach to the gardening business was duly noted in January when Today’s Garden Center magazine named Ponderay Garden Center as one of “The Top 100 Revolutionary Garden Centers” in the country. “It’s a huge honor for us,” Monsoor

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said. “We were the only winner in Idaho.” Monsoor and his well-trained staff – all certified nursery professionals – rarely take a rest during the busy months of April, May and June. Come July, though, Monsoor said the garden center slows to a crawl on warm, sunny weekends as folks shift their focus from gardening to enjoying the outdoors. Hence, the idea for a concert series came to fruition. The series made its debut last summer, and Monsoor is planning another round of live music beginning the first week in July and continuing weekly until Labor Day. “We want it to be fun for everyone,” Monsoor said. “We use the same equipment as the Festival at Sandpoint, and there is dancing on the lawn, plus beer and wine served out of a greenhouse. It’s been a big success for us.” Check www.ponderaygarden.com or call 255-4200 for more details. –Beth Hawkins

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take this glass and love it

erra Cressey, 37, bubbles with enthusiasm no matter what she’s doing, but when it comes to her homegrown glass recycling business, she’s positively exuberant. “It’s just been a blast to think we can create a market for material we already have,” said Cressey, of GlassRoots Recycling, a business she launched in January. It’s taken off so fast, she already moved out of Bonner Business Center into a bigger, better space in Kootenai on Highway 200. Markets for her 100 percent, postconsumer recycled glass are coming out of the woodwork, so to speak. Landscapers, contractors, sandblasters, artists and even Solar Roadways have expressed interest in her tumbled glass. Ranging in size from silver-dollar chunks all the way down to a dusty powder, the glass comes in colors ranging from the dark brown of beer bottles to the pearly blues of liqueur bottles. “This just started as backyard art

for my own use,” Cressey said. “Then people started dropping glass off on my porch. It’s amazing what you can do with glass. I see all the things you can do with it, so why not share it?” Cressey says she has collected glass her whole life and has always been into recycling. A dental hygienist who works two days a week, Cressey says she loves her day job, but she and many others in the community are recognizing GlassRoots’ unlimited possibilities. “I’m pretty excited about how ‘community’ it feels. People are helping me to create and do this for them,” she said, adding that the City of Sandpoint and Bonner County officials are supportive of her efforts to keep glass out of the landfill. Cressey admits that being an entrepreneur is out of her comfort zone, but she wants to contribute to the local economy. She says GlassRoots Recycling is not a money-maker but a town-sustainer, and if she stays true to that philosophy, she’s going to win.

Terra Cressey smiles enthusiastically behind a frame she made using her own tumbled glass PHOTO By BILLIE JEAN GERKE

“The sky’s the limit. Hold on to your hats!” she said. –Billie Jean Gerke

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Residents crowing about their city chickens

ot willing to be left behind when it comes to national trends, Sandpoint citizens are among the growing number nationally who are keeping chickens in their backyards. An inaugural “Chicken Coop Crawl” last summer enabled those considering this possibility to tour three poultry-friendly city homes while sipping chardonnay and raising money for The Healing Garden, located next to Bonner General Hospital. A major reason for keeping chickens is to have a source of fresh eggs from healthy, happy animals, but chickens also make good pets, according to Bev Kee, 56, an initiator of the crawl. She indicates her favorite is her Buff Orpington, Buffy, who is personable and follows her around her Euclid Street yard. Her Delaware, Della, is not as friendly but is a more consistent layer than Buffy. Jeremy Grimm, the city’s planning director, is partial to his

Brahmas because of their attractive and functional feathered feet. Chickens – at least hens – have always been embraced by Sandpoint city code. Roosters are less warmly welcomed, and they are not necessary for the production of eggs, just for the production of more chickens. So they more typically reside in rural locales where their audio offerings are better tolerated. Urban poultry fanciers shouldn’t get too enthusiastic about their flocks, however. Although some of Kee’s neighbors used to enjoy seeing her chickens wandering neighborhood streets while she was at work, others objected. Since then, Buffy and Della have been spending their days cooped up. Kee, a CPA at Boyle Platte & Kee, invites anyone interested in raising chickens in the city to contact her. Phone 290-4775 for free chicken advice.

Bev Kee holds Buffy, a personable and productive hen that keeps her company in the garden and gives her fresh eggs for the kitchen. Photo by billie Jean Gerke

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Zip line a sightseeing thrill ride

erri Kuntz, 37, is a bit of a daredevil, so it’s no wonder that she was the first person to ride the new zip line at Schweitzer. Someone had to make sure it was working correctly before it opened to the public on Labor Day weekend last year. “I kind of like rides and flying and skydiving, so for me it wasn’t super scary,” said Kuntz. The 800-foot zip line whizzes riders halfway down the Musical Chairs trail in about 15 seconds. Riders skim about 35 feet above ground and go over a little gulley at a 9 percent grade. “It’s kind of a cross between a thrill ride and a nice sightseeing tour. The way it’s oriented, it starts at the village level and goes down, so the views of the lake are amazing,” Kuntz said. To ride the zip line, one must be at least 8 years old and weigh between 60 and 240 pounds. The zip line features an automatic braking system

that uses a series of compressing springs, so riders merely have to get themselves into braking position. Body weight and position determine how fast a rider may go. All this is explained in a training session prior to the ride. A mountain operations adminKerri Kuntz takes the first ride on Schweitzer’s new zip line. COURTESy PHOTO istrative assistant at Schweitzer, Kuntz traveled to Whitefish, Mont., “It’s definitely something everybody to get the scoop on a series of six zip should try,” Kuntz added. lines that operates as a guided tour The zip line runs during summer there. She says there has been some (beginning June 30) and winter operatalk and excitement about adding to tions; a ride costs $10. Schweitzer’s zip line to make it more of –Billie Jean Gerke a tour, too.

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ver the course of this summer, three endurance events will link together to form the first-ever TriSandpoint – a multi-sport timed challenge that offers the three legs of a triathlon. Included in the lineup is the CHaFE 150 bike ride (June 2), the Long Bridge Swim (Aug. 4) and The Scenic Half Marathon (Sept. 16). Individual athletes and teams register for all three events to record their times, with the final cumulative times and placements announced at the end of the third and final event. “The fun idea is that it’s three events, on three different days,” said Geraldine Lewis, director of fundraising and events at Panhandle Alliance for Education. “The possibilities are wide open. A lot of participants will try all three events just for the fun of pushing themselves, though we’re expecting some serious competitors, too.” Proceeds from the CHaFE 150 benefit a local early childhood education program, READY! For Kindergarten. The CHaFE ride, organized by the Panhandle Alliance for Education, is marking its fifth year as one of the region’s premier long-distance bike rides. For the first time, this year the CHaFE will be a timed, “Gran Fondo” ride. The decision to offer timing means that the three events can coordinate to offer a “triathlon” of sorts, sUMMeR 2012

Jody Aslett pedals up one of many hills on Montana’s Highway 56 last year in the CHaFE 150, now the first leg of the TriSandpoint. PHOTO By JASON DUCHOW

spread out through the summer. “Combining them together in the TriSandpoint just adds a new element for any athlete who is looking for a heightened challenge,” said Lewis. The Long Bridge Swim’s co-coordinator, Jim Zuberbuhler, is thrilled with the collective effort. He says that while

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30 years experience Satellite TV and Broadband Internet Home Theater – System Integration design, sales, installation The Long Bridge Swim, above, and The Scenic Half marathon round out the TriSandpoint. PHOTOS By SEAN HAyNES AND COURTESy SANDPOINT CHAMBER

the swim has enjoyed a successful rise in numbers – he anticipates 800 swimmers this year – the TriSandpoint could help boost numbers even further. The swim helps fund the promotion and delivery of swimming lessons for youth and adults in northern Idaho. “The TriSandpoint increases awareness for what we’re trying to accomplish,” Zuberbuhler said. “We couldn’t be happier to be a part of this event.” The Scenic Half Marathon includes 10 km and 5 km distances, along with the half-marathon, and benefits the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce. “Aside from taking part in these unique events in the ‘Most Beautiful Small Town in America,’ participants get the satisfaction of helping our communities,” said Scenic Half Race Director Allen McClelland. The inaugural TriSandpoint is a triple dose of motivation. More information and links to registration forms for all three events are at www. TriSandpoint.org.

www.Hesstronics.com

208-255-6677

–Beth Hawkins

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SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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Skipping Stones Studio leaves no stone unturned

umans have always had a connection to rocks, from prehistoric stone tools to grandiose rock sculptures. Stones seem to speak to us. Well, Thomas Ward, 62, listens and has turned that gift into a lucrative business, Skipping Stones Studio. Ward established Skipping Stones Studio in Sandpoint 15 years ago after he sold his welding business and then spent a decade searching for the perfect career. While sitting on a rocky beach on Lake Pend Oreille, he had an epiphany and hasn’t stopped pursing his passion for rock art since. “It started out for people that lived in

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

city places covered with concrete and blacktop, and they don’t have a real connection with nature. So that’s the emphasis. We try not to change the stones. We try to present them with their natural dignity,” Ward said. Cabinet knobs and pulls, paper towel holders, floor lamps, Zen-inspired hanging art, and outdoor sculptures are just a few of the pieces that Ward and his partner, Sally Slocum, create out of the rocks and stones they come across, sometimes precariously so. “The stones themselves inspire us on what to do. We can see a stone or rock, and we can see all these different ways

sUMMeR 2012

Thomas Ward sources rocks along Lake Pend Oreille for his stone hardware. COURTESy PHOTOS

to bring it to people who aren’t as fortunate as we are to have these natural pieces around them,” said Ward. He proudly describes the custom pieces he created from rocks collected by a young girl vacationing with her family in Maine. While custom orders account for about 25 percent of the business, Skipping Stones also sells artwork at Northwest Handmade in Sandpoint and Studio 107 in Coeur d’Alene. Dealers on the East Coast and in Europe also carry the artist’s work. Visit www.StoneHardware.com to learn more and see examples of Ward’s work. –Amie Wolf

ALMAnAc

game changer Puailoa returns

atini Puailoa. Does the name (however unpronounceable) sound familiar? Anyone who lived in Sandpoint during the late 1990s and early 2000s likely remembers this Sandpoint High School football coach’s name, and his big successes – he is the one who led the varsity team to its first-ever state championship in 1997. And in 2003, Puailoa’s team finished as runner-up in the championship. Just a year later, he stepped down to pursue other opportunities in the world of professional sports and strength training. Coach Satina Puailoa with upcoming seniors Justin Puryear, left, and Nik Feyen. PHOTO By BETH HAWKINS But Puailoa, 56, is back as the school’s varsity head football coach, and he’s doing what he does best: coachas a conduit to connect with students. ing an enthusiastic crop of football 30 pounds and said that being part of “Our goal is to get kids to do someplayers. And he’s brought along many Puailoa’s program has changed his attimembers of his former coaching staff as thing they didn’t think they could do,” tude, as well. part of the energetic charge to revitalize Puailoa said. “Kids respond to discipline “Everything I do is more disciplined. and improving themselves. If you do all Sandpoint football. I’m more respectful,” Feyen said. “I say the things necessary, both physically “Our coaching staff has tons of ‘yes, ma’am’ and ‘yes, sir.’ ” and emotionally, then winning takes experience,” said Puailoa. (His Samoan As strength training continues care of itself.” surname is pronounced puh-LOW-ah). through summer, and football practices Students are excited about the “We would not have come back if there start to ramp up, what can opponents change in leadership – numbers wasn’t a lot of support in place at the expect of the mighty Bulldogs? increased by 40 to 50 players over last district level and the community level. “A lot of people who play us are in year. One of the upcoming seniors on We all enjoy being together. This is just for a shock,” Puailoa said. the team, Nik Feyen, 17, who plays left fun … it’s not work for us.” Get ready to rumble! guard, says Puailoa’s return has had a Puailoa’s coaching style is built –Beth Hawkins around his philosophy that football serves big impact on his life. He has lost nearly

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See even more events in the big fat calendars at SandpointOnline.com

June

Sandpoint Farmers Market. Open-air mar-

ket every Wednesday and Saturday through Oct. 13 in Farmin Park. 597-3355

2 CHaFE 150. Fifth annual benefit bicycle ride

through Idaho and Montana and first leg of the TriSandpoint. See story, page 20. 263-7040

2 Summer Sounds. Free concert series

sponsored by Downtown Sandpoint Business Association happens every Saturday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. through Sept. 1 at Park Place Stage, corner of First and Cedar. Wild Honey performs. 255-1876

nter

Euclid Ave.

e St.

2 Celebrate Sandpoint. Lifestyle expo, fair and party at the Old Granary with live music, food and art, noon to evening. Sponsored by Sandpoint Life in conjunction with Old Granary artisans and businesses that represent Sandpoint’s cosmo-rural community. 265-8440 7 First Thursday. Downtown businesses stay

open late with a Summer Karnival, strolling performers, live bands, sidewalk sales and restaurant specials. 255-1876

7 SHS Spring Fling. The Panida Theater hosts the Sandpoint High School Choir’s annual concert at 6 p.m. 263-9191 9 Sand Creek Paddlers Challenge.

Sandpoint Parks and Recreation sponsors canoe and kayak race, 9 a.m. from City Beach up Sand Creek and back. 263-3613

9 Summer Sounds. Devon Wade performs.

See June 2.

16 Summer Sounds. Truck Mills performs.

See June 2.

16 Danceworks Spring Show. The Panida Theater hosts spring recital at 3 p.m. 263-9191 16 Demolition Derby. Bonner County

Fairgrounds hosts event. 263-8414

22 ArtWalk. Revolving art exhibit with opening receptions at 20 or so downtown galleries; artwork remains on display through Sept. 7. 263-6139 22-23 Relay for Life. American Cancer Society benefit at the fairgrounds. 660-1445 23 Summer Sounds. The Powell Brothers

perform. See June 2.

28 Summer Sampler. See Hot Picks. 28 Yappy Hour. See Hot Picks. 29-30 “The Music Man.” See Hot Picks. 30 Schweitzer Summer Celebration.

Summer season opens with free chairlift rides, live music, family activities. 255-3081 30 Summer Sounds. Jazz in Time performs.

See June 2.

[Hot Picks]

Howling good time Panhandle Animal Shelter’s Yappy Hour returns for its fourth season of summertime gettogethers. Yappy Hour is just what it sounds like – it’s Happy Hour with your dog! Mix and mingle with other pet-loving people, plus help raise funds for PAS. Held on the last Thursday of each month, April through September, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the following locations: May 31, Taylor and Sons Chevrolet on Highway 95 in Ponderay; June 28 at Pend d’Oreille Winery, 220 Cedar Street; July 26, Trinity at City Beach, 58 Bridge St.; Aug. 30 at Evans Brothers Coffee Roastery, 524 Church St.; and Sept. 27 at Eichardt’s Pub, 212 Cedar St.

Best bites in town All of Sandpoint’s favorite restaurants, breweries and wineries come together for the 7th annual Summer Sampler, happening from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. June 28 at Farmin Park in downtown Sandpoint. This delicious street party offers up a perfect excuse to try out all of the delicious tastes of our area in bite-sized portions, plus enjoy the Litehouse-sponsored cooking competition where local chefs battle it out for top culinary honors. Tickets are purchased at the event for food and drink samples, ranging in price from $1 to $7. SandpointChamber.org. 263-2161 Everyone loves a musical What a summer treat! Sandpoint Onstage presents the beloved musical “The Music Man,” directed by Deborah McShane, in the Panida Theater. This popular production has entertained family audiences since 1957, and promises to do the same in Sandpoint. So come one, come all to the little Iowa town of River City; meet the endearing yet SUMMER 2012

audacious Music Man, the icy librarian he melts and comes to love, and the town that discovers he’s given them more than a flimflam scam – he’s given them a heart. Performances are at 8 p.m. June 29-30, July 6-7 and July 13-14 (with one matinee July 8 at 2 p.m.). Tickets are $15, seniors/students $12; available at Eichardt’s, Eve’s Leaves, online at www.SandpointOnstage. com, and at the door. Inspiration by the mile Saturday, Aug. 11 marks Celebrate Life’s 9th Annual Fun Run/Walk, a communityoriented event dedicated to benefiting those in the Sandpoint community affected by cancer. Participants gather at Dog Beach and walk across the Long Bridge and back. All funds raised through this simple yet inspiring event are distributed through Bonner General Hospital’s Outpatient Clinic, Home Health, Hospice and Kootenai Cancer Center at BGH. Register online at www.BonnerGeneral. org or pick up registration forms at Meyer’s Sport Tees, Sandpoint Furniture or Bonner General Hospital. 255-9628 Cheers to fall! Schweitzer Mountain Resort loves to celebrate autumn’s impending arrival – not only because it means snow is on its way, but it gives everyone plenty of good reason to raise a mug full of beer, or root beer, to toast the occasion. Schweitzer’s 20th annual Fall Fest happens Sept. 1-3, and this outdoor microbrew and music festival offers tasting tents featuring regional microbrews, wine and soda. Several bands will ring in fall throughout the weekend, and also serve as a soundtrack to the various kids’ activities taking place throughout the village. Come on up and celebrate the first signs of fall skiing and boarding won’t be too far away! www.Schweitzer.com. 255-3081 SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

cALendAR

July

See even more events in the big fat calendars at SandpointOnline.com 13-15 Sandpoint Wooden Boat Festival.

4 Fourth of July Celebration. Lions Club hosts parades downtown in the morning, followed by afternoon stage performances at City Beach and fireworks over the lake at dusk. 263-2161 5 First Thursday. Battle of the Bands; see June 7. 6-8 “The Music Man.” See Hot Picks. 7 Summer Sounds. Doug and Kim Bond per-

form. See June 2.

7 enduroCross. Competitive off-road motor-

cycle event in the arena at the Bonner County Fairgrounds. 263-8414 8 Jacey’s Race. Competitive 5k race and 1k

fun run at Sandpoint High School; benefits local children with cancer or life-threatening illnesses. 610-6480

12 Festival at Sandpoint Art unveiling. Fine art poster for the festival by painter Scott Kirby unveiled at Dover Bay. 265-4554 13 Great Sandpoint Flat Water Regatta.

Rotary Club hosts third annual canoe and kayak races up and down Sand Creek, beginning at 10 a.m. 946-6079

Classic wooden boats, water-themed activities, contests and more along Sand Creek; sponsored by Inland Empire Antique & Classic Boat Society and DSBA. 255-1876 14 Summer Sounds. Still Vertical performs.

See June 2.

14-15 Dog Days at Dover Bay. Family-fun

event includes fly ball, agility, cattle herding, and the Frisbee toss. Sign your dog up for contests, bid on handcrafted dog houses and cat trees, listen to music, learn from veterinarian Marty Becker, shop, dine and more! 265-7297

14-15 All Gravity Downhill Mountain Bike Race Series. Schweitzer hosts Northwest’s

premier downhill mountain bike race. Compete or watch the action! 255-3081

21 Mountain Music Festival. Schweitzer Mountain Resort hosts outdoor concerts, barbecue, beer garden, arts and crafts vendors, and kids’ activities. 255-3081 21 Summer Sounds. Mike and Shanna per-

form. See June 2.

21 Grease. 7B Classic Movie Night at the

Panida. 263-9191

13-14 “The Music Man.” See Hot Picks.

26 Yappy Hour. See Hot Picks, above.

13-15 Sandpoint SummerFest. Eureka Mountain Center in Sagle hosts community music, arts and culture festival with a focus on local sustainability. Enjoy yoga, kids’ crafts and more. See story, page 35. 265-4000

28 Crazy Days. Downtown merchants offer big deals in annual sidewalk sale. Sponsored by Downtown Sandpoint Business Association. 255-1876 28 Summer Sounds. Special Crazy Days edi-

Helloooo Summer!

tion: BackStreet Dixie performs at 10 a.m.; Carl Rey and The Blues Gators perform at noon; Bright Moments Trio performs at 2 p.m.; Highway One performs at 4 p.m. See June 2. 28 Bodacious BBQ. 29th annual fundraiser for

Hope’s Memorial Community Center. 264-5481

28-30 4-H Horse Show. Annual show at the

Bonner County Fairgrounds. 263-8414

August

1 First Wednesday. Foam Fest obstacle course; see First Thursday, June 7. 2-12 Festival at Sandpoint. See calendar,

opposite page.

3-5 Northwest YogaFest. The Eureka

Mountain Center hosts three days of yoga, camping, music, dance and more featuring teachers and musicians from across the Northwest. See story, page 35. 265-4000

4 Long Bridge Swim. 18th annual event and

second leg of the TriSandpoint. See story, page 20. 265-5412

4 Summer Sounds. Usnea performs. See June 2. 5 Huckleberry Festival. Schweitzer

Mountain Resort celebration in honor of the native huckleberry includes huck-themed activities such as pancake feed, crafts, hikes, music and more. 263-9555

10-12 Artists’ Studio Tour. 10th annual

self-guided driving tour of working studios throughout the region. Pick up brochures at many downtown locations, or visit www. ArtTourDrive.org.

11 Wings Over Sandpoint Fly-In. Regional pilots fly into Sandpoint Airport or Dover Bay, for seaplanes, and hold a breakfast and aircraft display. Sponsored by the Sandpoint EAA Chapter 1441. 255-9954 11 Celebrate Life. See Hot Picks. 11-12 Festival of Quilts. The Panhandle Piecemakers Quilt Guild presents Festival of Quilts in Sandpoint Community Hall, 204 S. First Ave., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. 263-1113 11 Summer Sounds. Ninjazz performs. See June 2. 11-12 Arts & Crafts Fair. POAC’s annual jur-

ied art exhibit with live music, food and kids’ activities at Sandpoint City Beach, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday See story, page 47. 263-6139

17-18 Bonner County Rodeo. Annual

rodeo at 7 p.m. each night, Bonner County Fairgrounds. 263-8414

17-18 Spokane-to-Sandpoint Relay Race.

No Hipper Styles • No Better Value • No Kidding!

Runners begin atop Mt. Spokane and make their way 185 miles through 15 cities en route to the finish line at Sandpoint’s City Beach. 509-346-1440 17-18 “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.” 7B Theatrical Productions

317 North 1st Avenue • Open 7 days • 263-2178 • Downtown Sandpoint

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

sUMMeR 2012

introduces the hilarious must-see play at the Sandpoint Events Center. 946-6553

cALendAR

17-19 Artists’ Studio Tour. See Aug. 10-12. 18 Summer Sounds. Windsome Chamber

Sounds performs. See June 2.

18 “Hamlet.” Montana Shakespeare in the Parks,

6 p.m. (MDT) in Heron, Mont. 406-847-2388

18-19 All Gravity Downhill Mountain Bike Race Series. See July 14-15. 21-25 Bonner County Fair. Old-fashioned

country event at Bonner County Fairgrounds with contests, kids’ events and entertainment. Horse events in reining, barrel racing and team sorting. Concludes with Demolition Derby at 7 p.m. Aug. 25. See story, page 37. 263-8414

Festival at Sandpoint Music under the stars, Aug. 2-12

The 30th annual Festival at Sandpoint, held in a casual and relaxed atmosphere at Memorial Field on Lake Pend Oreille, creates a customized concert experience without equal. The eight performance dates fall over a two-week period from Aug. 2-12. Buy a season pass or individual tickets by calling 265-4554, tollfree 888-265-4554, or go to www.FestivalatSandpoint.com. Gates open at 6 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and 4:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Thu., Aug. 2 Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Thu., Aug. 9 Pink Martini

See June 2.

For more than 40 years, the voices of this male choral group have married the intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native South African musical traditions to the sounds and sentiments of Christian gospel music. Opening the show is Johnny Clegg, who also hails from South Africa.

1-3 Schweitzer Fall Fest. See Hot Picks.

Fri., Aug. 3 Alison Krauss and union Station

1-2 Coaster Classic Car Show. Silverwood Theme Park hosts one of the largest classic car shows in the region. 683-3400

Soprano Alison Krauss is a bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler who, with 27 Grammy Awards, is the most-awarded, living Grammy recipient. Her recent album with Robert Plant, “Raising Sand,” won Album of the year; and her duet with Brad Paisley, “Whiskey Lullaby,” won the Country Music Association award for Best Musical Event and Best Music Video. She performs with Jerry Douglas, one of the world’s most renowned Dobro players. Opening is Kasey Musgraves.

Traveling with 12 musicians, Pink Martini – the celebrated “little orchestra” - plays a wildly diverse multilingual repertoire, and draws its inspiration from the romantic Hollywood musicals of the ’40s and ’50s with an old-fashioned symphonic pop sound. China Forbes is the band’s lead vocalist, and the group was founded in 1994 by bandleader Thomas Lauderdale to provide beautiful soundtracks for political fundraisers. Come early for complimentary microbrew tasting.

24-25 “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.” See Aug. 17-18. 25 Summer Sounds. Northern Exposure per-

forms. See June 2.

30 Yappy Hour. See Hot Picks.

September

1 Summer Sounds. Cedar & Boyer perform.

6 First Thursday. Server race; see June 7. 7-9 Harvest Party. Family-friendly activities, food sampling, wine tasting and live music at Pend d’Oreille Winery. 265-8545 8-9 Cycling for Cystinosis. 24 Hours for

Hank, a nonprofit foundation to help raise funds for cystinosis, hosts the annual 24-hour bike relay fundraiser. 610-2131

13 George Winston in Concert. The Panida Theater presents a concert at 7:30 p.m. with pianist George Winston. 263-9191 16 Scenic Half. Sandpoint Chamber sponsors

fourth annual event, a half marathon, 10k and 5k fun runs and third leg of the TriSandpoint. See story, page 20. 263-2161

17-22 WaCanId Ride. Tour two states and one

province on fourth annual, supported 344-mile bicycle ride. Sponsored by International Selkirk Loop and Rotary International. 888-823-2626 20-23 Idaho Draft Horse and Mule International. Northwest’s largest draft

horse and mule expo at the Bonner County Fairgrounds. 263-8414 27 Yappy Hour. See Hot Picks.

October

13 Harvest Fest. Sandpoint Farmers Market

closes out the season,10 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring entertainment, food booths, arts and crafts, and displays at Farmin Park. 597-3355

20 Health and Safety Fair. Annual Sandpoint

Chamber event at fairgrounds. 263-2161

27 Warren Miller Ski Film. Annual event in

the Panida Theater, sponsored by the Alpine Shop. 263-5157

Sat., Aug. 4 Barenaked Ladies

Fri., Aug. 10 Counting Crows

Dance concert features alternative rock band Counting Crows – renowned for the energetic, passionate nature of their live performances. Counting Crows gained popularity with their hit single “Mr. Jones” in the early ’90s, followed by another hit, “Accidentally in Love” that was nominated for an Academy Award in 2004 for Best Song after being featured in the film “Shrek 2.” Counting Crows has sold more than 20 million albums, and calls California home.

A Canadian alternative rock band, Barenaked Ladies is best known for hit singles, “One Week,” “The Old Apartment,” “Pinch Me,” and “If I Had $1,000,000,” as well as the theme for the situation comedy “The Big Bang Theory.” Barenaked Ladies became a topselling, awardwinning concert draw across North America and the U.K. with their frenetic blend of high-energy melodic pop and crack musicianship. Opening is LeRoy Bell and His Only Friends.

Sat., Aug. 11 Kenny Loggins

Sun., Aug. 5 Family Concert: Pinocchio

Sun., Aug. 12 Grand Finale: French Accents with The Spokane Symphony Orchestra

Round up the kids and head to the festival’s Family Concert, featuring the Spokane youth Orchestra conducted by Gary Sheldon. Fun activities for the kids, including an Instrument Petting Zoo, an Animal Petting Zoo and Birds of Prey Northwest program help round out the always-popular family concert. sUMMeR 2012

With 12 platinum albums and more than three decades as a mainstream performer, Kenny Loggins’ reputation as one of music’s outstanding vocalists is well-established. In 1980, Loggins won the Best Male Pop Vocal Grammy for “This Is It.” As a songwriter, Loggins’ accomplishments include co-writing the 1979 Grammy-winning Song of The year “What A Fool Believes” with his longtime friend Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers. In the ’80s, Loggins became the king of movie theme songs thanks to smashes like “I’m Alright” (Caddyshack), “Footloose,” “Danger Zone” (Top Gun), and “Nobody’s Fool” (Caddyshack II).

Maestro Gary Sheldon conducts the Spokane Symphony Orchestra in a French Accents Grand Finale featuring Rhonda Bradetich. Fireworks cap off the concert, plus arrive early for complimentary wine tasting at 4:30 p.m. SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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Interview

JOHn PHIllIPS,

AStROnAUt

stoRY And Photos bY MAtt MiLLs McKniGht

fter an out-of-this-world career that included three separate flights to the International Space Station and 203 days in outer space, it was time for John Phillips to proudly hang his helmet and retire from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) last year. Phillips, 61, left big city life in Houston with his wife of almost 33 years, Laura, for a more serene, mountain experience and retired to northern Idaho. His career and its path to space exploration have afforded him the opportunity to be on the forefront of human discovery for many years. He has authored some 156 scientific papers dealing with the plasma environments of the sun, Earth, other planets, comets and spacecraft. He also has earned college degrees in a variety of subjects ranging from mathematics, aeronautical systems, geophysics, space physics, and even a degree in Russian – quite an academic scholar. He holds doctorates in geophysics and space physics from the University of California–Los Angeles. Before entering NASA’s space program in 1996, Phillips lived in northern New Mexico with his wife and two children, and worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) for nine years. During the latter portion of his time at LANL, he was the principal investigator for the Solar Wind Plasma Experiment aboard the Ulysses Spacecraft as it gathered information while traveling over the poles of the sun. Phillips’ career as an astronaut with missions in 2001, 2005 and 2009, were defined by the construction of the International Space Station. The work that he and others performed beyond Earth’s atmosphere has made it possible for the continued space exploration of today. Since his retirement, he loves to share his wealth of knowledge with others; so much, in fact, he has speaking engagements booked with various schools and organizations throughout the year. So when did the Phillips’ love affair with Sandpoint begin? He remembers that it all began with a first visit to Schweitzer Mountain decades ago. What prompted your decision to move to northern Idaho?

Many years ago we started thinking about when we are done working, where would we want to end up. We first came here 30 years ago for a skiing trip and have visited off and on many times throughout the years. We figured that the best way to make sure

Retired astronaut John Phillips enjoys outdoor pursuits in Sandpoint, such as hiking and skiing

our kids visit often is to live in an appealing place. We wanted a small town with four-season recreation that had not yet gone down the path of a tourist town. We wanted somewhere with regular people working regular jobs. So we purchased land 12 years ago on Sunnyside peninsula but later decided that we would rather live closer to town rather than in the woods. And it’s everything I hoped it would be so far. It has a lot of very interesting people – longtime locals and new arrivals – that are very innovative, adventurous and creative. They give the society here a splash of excitement. When you were growing up in the 1960s, did you take an interest in space exploration?

Our space program occupied a much more prominent place in the national consciousness back then. I remember the first man launching into space just before my 10th birthday, and I thought it would be a pretty great thing to do. At age 17 when I graduated high school (in Scottsdale, Ariz.), I enrolled at the Naval Academy

sUMMeR 2012

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

Interview Spacewalking in a Russian suit, August 2005, left, and in orbit on STS-119, March 2009, opposite page. PHOTOS COURTESy OF NASA

wrote a paper that I believe still stands today as the best estimate of the planetary magnetic field of Venus, a paper that was published in 1986. And you stayed in the Southwest, studying solar winds after your studies at uCLA?

and studied mathematics. That was my first major decision on the path to becoming an astronaut, when I started training to become a naval pilot. In 1982 you enrolled in a graduate program at uCLA that allowed you to begin research involving the Pioneer Venus Spacecraft. How was that?

It made for a busy time, as I was actu-

ally still a U.S. Navy reservist. I remember a morning when I had to drive to the base about 50 miles away in Point Mugu, Calif., for annual carrier landing qualifications, and then turn around and get back to UCLA for a final exam. My thesis advisor at UCLA was an experimenter on the spacecraft, and the focus of my thesis work at UCLA studied what happens to the solar wind from the sun when it gets to Venus. We

I went to Los Alamos National Laboratory in the mountains of northern New Mexico and was fortunate enough to be part of a well-established team that had been building spacecraft instruments and analyzing the observations for many years. For my last five years there, I was heavily involved with a spacecraft named Ulysses, it went out around Jupiter and used the planetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gravity to orbit around the poles of the sun. We used instruments to study the sun from a vantage point that no one ever had before. If I lived 100 years ago, I would have wanted to be an explorer of the land or sea. But even sitting in my northern New Mexico lab, looking at new

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Interview data coming from that satellite had the feel of a jungle explorer going around the next bend of a river not knowing what’s going to be ahead. Have you thought about doing any land-based exploration?

If someone invited me to go on an expedition to Antarctica, I would seriously think about it. How did you feel on your first mission into space, sitting on the launch pad for STS-100?

I was the flight engineer, and a point of pride with me is that I am one of the few astronauts to fly as a flight engineer on three different spacecrafts. I was very busy actually, that’s true of all astronauts. We’re focusing on our job, and nobody wants to be at fault for the launch getting scrubbed. So, really, I was only nervous in that I wanted to make sure we got off the ground. Moments like that, launch and landing, we’re focused on doing our job and don’t have time to be scared. In 2003, just two years after your

first space flight, STS-107 Columbia was returning from a mission when it disintegrated upon re-entry into our atmosphere. Did you know any of the crew aboard that flight?

Three of them were in my class of astronauts, but I knew all seven, it was a very tragic moment for many of us. What it brought home to me was that the general message that was given to the American public by NASA is that space flight has become safe, routine and easy.

This showed us there is nothing routine or easy about what we do; it’s still dangerous and challenging. You were on your longest mission in space for six months, aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in 2005. How beautiful was the view of earth from there?

There are times when you have sunrise- or sunset-like conditions from space looking at the Earth for a few days at a

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John Phillips captured this image of Lake Pend Oreille from the International Space Station in September 2005. PHOTO COURTESy OF NASA

time. Sometimes we could see the auroras below us, and other times it felt like we were going right through it. During that extended period of time on the ISS, were you able to keep in touch with your family?

combinations of fresh food, freeze dried food and preserved food. On the space station, you are up there much longer and the fresh food runs out quickly, so we’re also eating MREs that can last for long periods of time without refrigeration. Some of them are quite good. If I could open up an MRE barbecue beef and wrap it in a tortilla, life was good. We eat tortillas in space because they don’t make crumbs.

We have a telephone of sorts up there; we can call out from the space station but nobody can call us. I would speak with my wife almost every day for a few minutes. The big crisis moment came in communicating with people on Earth in September 2005 during Hurricane Rita. It was predicted to make a direct hit on Houston, Texas, and of course all of the astronauts live in that area and their families are there as well. So I’m up in space looking at this beautiful sight of a hurricane filling the Gulf of Mexico; meanwhile, Johnson Space Center is being evacuated, and they are shutting down our mission control site. My wife and kids are also in a car trying to get out of Houston. We lost the ability to phone home for a few days, and that was an unnerving time – not only for me on the ISS but also for my wife as well. There was nothing I could do to help her from outer space. How was the food while aboard the ISS?

Space food is actually very good, lots of variety. On shorter missions we have 32

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sUMMeR 2012

John Phillips guest lectures to anatomy students at Sandpoint High School, one of many speaking engagements since moving to Sandpoint

When you returned on your last flight to the ISS in 2009, you installed some final segments of the station. How did you feel when you were pulling away from the station for the last time?

My first flight in 2001 was dedicated to bringing the robotic arm to the space station, assembling and installing it. That arm has been the workhorse of all the assembly flights ever since, so eight years later when I used that same robotic arm to help complete the construction of the space station it was a moment of high drama for us. When the solar power generation system was finally installed with no major problems, we had doubled the power for science on the space station. There was a crew of three when we were there; now it accommodates a crew of six. I’m very proud of that. It was great to know that I had been part of the most ambitious engineering project in the human history, but I was a little sad to know that I probably wouldn’t float in space again. What are you enjoying about retirement so far?

I am really enjoying being out of the big city. And even though I had a wonderful job, I enjoy not going to work in the morning. I can get up and do whatever I want with my day. I love skiing. This winter alone I will probably have about 60 days of downhill and cross country. My wife and I moved here last August and had some wonderful weather, so we did a fair amount of hiking and flat water kayaking as well. I have also been contributing to our community through public speaking and have spoken at several different schools and with various community groups. You once said, “A civilization that only looks inward will stagnate. We have to keep looking outward; we have to keep finding new avenues for human endeavor and human expression.”

People often ask me why should we keep paying for human exploration in space. The argument I most use is faith-based, not religious, but in the human spirit. If we are going to continue being a leader in this world, we have to be at the forefront of exploration of various types. It’s human nature to explore and improve your knowledge, and I think that as soon as you stop doing that things start to decline.

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COMMUNITY RESOURCES

Outdoor connection

By Beth

Eureka an institution for inspiration

andpoint residents and visitors alike may not realize there’s a thriving nonprofit, right here in our backyard that offers a packed calendar of outdoor adventures, weekend retreats, lively festivals and community events. It’s called the Eureka Institute – and its main purpose is to inspire folks to get out into the mountains and on the lake. The Eureka Institute was founded 15 years ago by Steve Holt, 54, who turned a vacant swath of land into a family retreat center and children’s summer camp. Holt is the owner of a design and build firm, and has always been passionate about community development. An environmental activist, he was a key figure in creating the Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper watchdog group and now serves as president of the board. So the 42 acres just outside of Sandpoint, near Lake Pend Oreille, that became the Eureka Mountain Center evolved with that same sense of passion for bringing people and nature together. Over the years, the Eureka Institute became home to Sandpoint SummerFest, an annual weekend-long music, arts and culture festival; Camp Eureka; Northwest YogaFest; and a spate of nature, music and wellness-inspired events. This past year, Eureka Institute made the giant leap from private enterprise to nonprofit status – bringing with it the ability to serve the community in a greater capacity with additional funding opportunities through grants and foundations. “Becoming a nonprofit allows us to create affordable outdoor education, recreation and leadership programs for local youth,” said Holt, the executive director. In addition to the new nonprofit status, the Eureka Institute also acquired an outfitters license from the State of Idaho. This gives the organization a green light to lead backpack outings into the Selkirks, go kayaking and camp overnight on the lakeshore, host mountain bike SUMMER 2012

Hawkins Yoga, above, is a frequent component of events at Eureka Mountain Center. Photo by Marsha Lutz.

Left, Executive Director Steve Holt and President Tracy Fox have a passion for bringing people and nature together. Photo by biLLie Jean Gerke

excursions throughout the Sagle Peninsula, and more. “With our new license we are able to invite more people to explore Sandpoint’s beautiful backyard,” said Tracy Fox, 40, the organization’s president and program director. Fox is a longtime resident of Sandpoint who knows a thing or two about the great outdoors. She also serves on the board of the Pend Oreille Pedalers, a nonprofit that works to create mountain bike SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

COMMUNITY RESOURCES trails in the area as well as promoting safe cycling routes in town. The Eureka Institute’s summer day trips are meant to appease a variety of skill and interest levels – from beginners just learning how to paddle a kayak or shift a mountain bike, all the way up to experts looking for a challenging new adventure. Eureka’s guides strive to both educate and entertain guests with their knowledge of local trivia, history and geology. Licensed guide Dennison

Webb of Selkirk Outdoor Leadership and Education brings a wealth of knowledge to the program, according to Holt. Making their way back to the Eureka Institute this year includes popular events such as the Sandpoint SummerFest, happening July 13-15. Now in its 13th season, the weekend festival features local, regional and national bands with a variety of styles of music including bluegrass, reggae, rock, blues, hip-hop and jazz, as well

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as other performers, artists, craftsmen, vendors and entertainers. With a focus on “sustainability, local and handmade,” SummerFest provides a venue for the community to celebrate and share its diversity and creativity. “SummerFest is not just a great weekend of camping and music for our community but a fundraiser for our Camp Eureka Scholarship Fund,” said Holt. The Eureka Institute also hosts the second annual Northwest YogaFest Aug. 3-5, on the heels of last year’s successful, inaugural event. The event features a diverse group of instructors from varying backgrounds and practices from all over the Northwest, in addition to several speakers and musicians. “YogaFest was the highlight of my summer,” said Sandpoint resident Holly Walker. “There were so many things to learn, and I really enjoyed connecting with new friends from the Northwest yoga community.” An entire summer’s worth of workshops and events – everything from art retreats and gardening sessions to family-friendly competitions and teen outings – adds to the lengthy list of offerings that just keeps getting longer. The Eureka Institute is also making inroads to bring a full slate of events and activities to the downtown Sandpoint core. The Eureka Annex can be found in The Old Granary Arts District, a full city block adjoining Fifth Avenue encompassing the city’s last historic grain elevator. The nonprofit opened an office and workshop space in the 5,000-square-foot warehouse. Together with other arts district businesses, it has hosted community events over the past two years – a fundraiser for cancer patients, an Eco Fair and FallFest. This summer, the Eureka Annex revs up the downtown calendar by cosponsoring Celebrate Sandpoint at the Old Granary June 2, with proceeds benefitting the Sandpoint Music Conservatory. “Creating programs and events that make a lasting impact is the best part of my job,” said Fox. “It’s these types of experiences that make summers here so much fun!” Look up www.eureka-institute.org or call 265-4000 for more information.

HISTORY

Agricultural heritage County fair and a dwindling number of farmers, ranchers keep torch burning By Erica F. Curless

he chickens froze in the winter of 1950, but the kill off didn’t stop Frank VanderSloot from continuing to farm his 40 acres along Cocolalla Creek, scratching out an existence. He eventually hired on with the railroad and farmed in the early mornings, evenings and weekends. So goes the life of a farmer in Bonner County. Animals die. Hay rots in wet meadows. Red raspberries, Christmas trees and other bursting-with-hope crops go out of vogue. “People dibble and dabble mostly,” said Michael Bauer, an extension educator with the University of Idaho Extension Office. Bauer helps people increase production on small farms. He also tries to educate the community about viable types of agriculture in an area mostly of hay fields and pastures that were once covered by trees – the true money crop for Bonner County agriculture. Yet, as it has for more than a century, agriculture chugs along, providing income and almost more importantly a great sense of pride for the folks who work the land and produce livestock. The Bonner County Fair, held nearly

every August since 1927, is the showcase of that pride and labor. The fair is a season to many – just like hunting season, ski season or boating season. Locals show off their crops, canned goods, sewing, photography and prized livestock. Most importantly they take time to visit with neighbors over a piece of homemade pie at one of the food booths. The fair, especially a traditional fair like Bonner County’s that doesn’t offer carnivals or amusement Top: Rex Tenney shows a prize-winning cow at the 1960 Bonner County Fair. Photo courtesy bonner county historicaL society MuseuM.

Left and below: Frank VanderSloot’s farm in the Cocolalla Valley is now farmed by his daughter and son-in-law Luana and Wilbur Hiebert. Photos courtesy VandersLoot faMiLy

SUMMER 2012

rides, builds a strong community where the tradition is passed from generation to generation. Last year, 24,000 people attended the fair at the fairgrounds on North Boyer. The fair, in addition to the many other activities held at the facility – from weddings and the ski swap to gun shows, sports and the Lost in the ’50s dance – generate $30 million annually in revenue for Bonner County. “I grew up at the fair,” said Luana Hiebert, who today farms the same Cocolalla Valley land where her father, Frank VanderSloot, tried to raise chickens. “It was the emphasis of the whole year. We always were looking forward to it, the culmination of everything.” Hiebert and her husband, Wilbur, returned to the property in 1999. Five years later, the couple established Heritage Farms, raising chickens on grass pasture instead of in cages. Wilbur, a retired farm mechanic, blends and grinds the chicken feed to avoid corn, soybean and other genetically modified grains. In the winter when snow covers the fields, the chickens are fed shredded hay so they continue to get their greens that the Hieberts say SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

HISTORY

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such as Winter Ridge. Until this winter, the Hieberts raised grassfinished beef that don’t eat grain. But at age 71, both Wilbur and Luana don’t have the stamina or health to move the steers to new pasture every day so they no longer sell beef. They do have help, two families who work for Heritage Farms in exchange for housing and food. Heritage Farm owners Wilbur and Luana Hiebert raise chickens and “To get the quality dairy cows on the same property her father farmed. Photo by erica curLess we have, it’s very labor intensive,” Luana said while Wilbur laughed give the eggs a superior taste. at the notion of Heritage Farms as a On the first day of spring, a snow“retirement hobby.” storm blew while the hens happily “See what farming does to me,” clucked in their warm houses – including a hut from the original 1940s chicken Wilbur said, holding up his large, callused hands. “It makes you old.” farm – that smelled of sweet grass hay. The aging of farmers, not only in The Hieberts collect about 18 dozen Bonner County but nationwide, has eggs a day, but Luana said demand is Bonner County Fair Manager Rhonda twice what they can produce. Livingstone worried. The average age of The family also plans to expand a U.S. farmer is 57. its fryer chicken sales to 1,000. These “I just don’t think youth are involved pasture-raised chickens are killed and 208-263-8414 • BonnerCountyFair@InterMaxNetworks.com • 4203 N. Boyer Rd. • Sandpoint, Idaho that much in agriculture anymore,” processed in a backyard facility. The Livingstone said, noting that at one chickens are so fresh, buyers pick them time there were more than 300 4-H marup straight out of tubs of ice water. ket steers. Now the fair is lucky to have Like most area farms, the Hieberts 40 steers at the auction. diversify. They sell hay and have seven The Bonner County Fair is the perdairy cows, milked twice Ldaily to supE SCHEDUparticipating fect promotional tool, not only to get ply raw milk in 201to2families youngsters excited about agriculture their herd share program. The custombut to provide a fun, educational expeers actually buy a share of the cow and rience for people who have no backreceive raw milk, butter and yogurt in return. Heritage Farms isn’t yet licensed ground or knowledge about agriculture and farming and how the food they eat to sell raw, unpasteurized milk to stores 208-263-8414 • BonnerCountyFair@InterMaxNetworks.com • 4203 N. Boyer Rd. • Sandpoint, Idaho

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ELUDEHCS 2 102

AG every day is produced. Livingstone said the local food movement and popularity of farmers markets is helping, but a visit to the fair provides the ultimate show-and-tell. “Half the kids who come to the fair don’t know milk comes from a cow,” Livingstone said. When she talks to children in local schools, they often drone that the fair has nothing to offer them. That’s why she works hard to include non-farm related activities, such as music, phone texting contests and a survivor-like contest to see what kid will do the grossest mission – not your old fashioned pie-eating contest. Idaho is celebrating 100 years of 4-H this year, offering more than 100 projects – and not just those having to do with agriculture and animals. Projects include everything from babysitting and robotics to leadership and crosscountry skiing. That’s a big change from the first Bonner County Fair in 1927 when only boys could participate in a single project: potatoes. During

those days, local farmers often raised seed potatoes. Livingstone also hopes that local schools restart the once popular Future Farmers of America program. She was devastated when Bonner County was forced to cancel its first ever Agricultural Week in May after Monsanto unexpectedly cut Idaho and Oregon from its “America’s Farmers Mobile Experience” tour. Monsanto, a worldwide agricultural biotechnology company, uses the traveling exhibit to educate school children and locals about modern farming. “It’s a huge, huge blow,” Livingstone said, adding Bonner County plans to reschedule Agriculture Week in 2013, in honor of the fair’s 85th anniversary. When fairs in the United States first began, Livingstone said much of the population was directly involved with animal production and farming. Bonner County isn’t an agricultural mecca, especially compared to neighboring Boundary County and the

HISTORY

nearby Palouse, but it still has important agricultural roots. Only a couple dozen 100-acre plus farms remain and many of those owners rely on forest profits. A lot of the hay fields and pastures are now owned by out-of-staters who plan to eventually retire here; until then, they rent their property to keep it in production and qualify for an agricultural use deduction on their property taxes. “Overall, Bonner County agriculture has gotten more and more specialized during the last 20 years,” Bauer said. He points to Hiebert’s Heritage Farms with their specialty chickens, and other niches like From the Heart Alpaca Ranch, and folks who raise a few sheep and swine for meat sales. Then there are organic vegetable growers and people with value-added products such as jam and bread sold at the Sandpoint and other popular farmers markets. Yet there are still a handful of large, traditional ranches that have been passed through the generations and produce a living and lifestyle for its

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HISTORY

owners. One of them is the McNall Ranch on Grouse Creek. Bill and Catherine McNall brought the first Shorthorn cattle to Sandpoint by covered wagon in 1922. Today, their great-grandson Dan works the diverse operation of cattle, sheep, hay and timber. Dan returned to the ranch last year after his father, Alan McNall, died of brain cancer at age 54. The McNalls are a Bonner County Fair institution. They have shown their flashy red-and-white shorthorns since

the beginning. In fact, last year’s grand champion market steer came from McNall Ranch. It was a fabulous tribute, since it was the first fair without Al. Al died Aug. 8, just two weeks before the fair. At his memorial, the fair was a main theme – something that the hundreds of mourners understood. The service was on a warm Friday evening. Al specifically wanted the memorial at night, so everyone had to put in a full day’s work, especially since it was haying season and people were preparing

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for fair. The Bonner County Fair is community. It’s a strong bond that binds people and the land and helps us remember and value where we’ve come from and where we are going.

The fair and farm tour The Bonner County Fair is a tradition for many people in the community and a fun, end-of-summer get-together. It highlights the area’s agricultural history and provides a great education for folks of all ages.

The Bonner County Rodeo kicks off the week’s events, Aug. 17-18. Fair exhibitors check in Aug. 19-20. The fair opens to the general public Aug. 21-25. The Demolition Derby wraps up the week, Aug. 25. Call 263-8414 or learn more online: www. co.bonner.id.us/fairgrounds. Mark your calendar for another big agricultural event. The 46th annual Bonner County Farm Tour is June 21 and will visit four sites in the Dover, Laclede and Priest River areas and include traditional agriculture, forestry and small specialty farms visits. Learn how agriculture has changed in Bonner County but remains an integral part of the economy and social fabric. The Cattlewomen’s Association hosts lunch. To RSVP or for more information contact the University of Idaho Extension Office at 263-8511.

behind the scenes

Making the town tick

Marcella Nelson, volunteer and manager of Ponderay Community Development Corporation

Marie-doMinique Verdier

Nelson datasheet

By Billie Jean Gerke ven at her diminutive stature, Marcella Nelson is hard to miss. Wearing her hair in a distinctive bun and carrying herself with elegant poise, she volunteers for nearly every major nonprofit in Sandpoint. At 83, she shows no signs of slowing down. Besides volunteering, she manages the Ponderay Community Development Corporation (PCDC) and organizes its annual Ponderay Days. Active and athletic, she works out three days a week at Sandpoint West Athletic Club – taking kick boxing, Body & Soul and STEP classes – and walks her miniature poodle twice a day no matter the weather. Luckily, she doesn’t need much sleep, she says. Nelson grew up on a farm in Boundary County’s beautiful Paradise Valley during the Great Depression. “We were so lucky to grow up there,” she said. She and her five siblings, only one a brother, did everything their Norwegian father did by hand – milking cows, running the cream separator, raising pigs and beef cattle, cleaning out the barn, pitching hay to the cows, and bringing in hay and grain from the field. She walked a half mile to grade school where she enjoyed all kinds of sports, including playing first base while her best friend pitched. “We were pretty good ball players,” she said. She went on to Bonners Ferry High,

A consummate volunteer, Marcella Nelson also loves dogs and shoes, as shown here with pet Bon Bon and a fraction of her fabulous shoe collection. Photo by

• Raised approximately $120,000 for the PCDC in eight years as manager

where she played basketball, graduating in 1947. Afterward, Nelson started working as a stenographer for the Idaho Employment Security Department. In her 37-year career, she worked her way up to program supervisor and assistant manager, and held offices in the International Association of Personnel in Employment Security, including president. “I broke lots of barriers all the time,” she said. She retired in 1984, but that didn’t last long. “After three days I couldn’t handle retirement,” Nelson said. She started her next career as a volunteer, first for the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce. She agreed to four hours a week but was soon going in every day for 20 years. The chamber suffered down times in that period. One particularly bad year, Nelson served as the executive director and held two membership drives, an auction and winter carnival, putting the chamber back in the black. For years and years, she has been instrumental in fundraising for the Festival at Sandpoint, Panida Theater and the Pend Oreille Arts Council. “We do have a generous community. That’s been a big part in fundraising for organizations,” Nelson added. She has served on the boards or is still serving for the arts council, the festival, the Panida and Bonner General Hospital Foundation. She supports Holly Eve and Kinderhaven and is a member SUMMER 2012

• Serves on the board of directors (two years as president) for the Festival at Sandpoint, has helped raise many millions of dollars over 25 years, and cochairs the annual Wine Tasting Dinner and Auction • Helped raise funds to rescue and restore the Panida Theater and later to purchase the adjoining building that houses The Little Theater; serves on the board of directors • Helps raise funds and write grants for the Pend Oreille Arts Council, where she still serves on the board of directors (two years as president, 1993-95) • Worked on the Byway Design Team Committee for seven years, beginning in 2004, to help obtain amenities built into the bypass • Raised an estimated $1 million for the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce in 20 years of volunteering and fundraising from 1984 to 2004

of the Ponderay Rotary Club, Bonner County Historical Society, Bonner County Republican Women, Girl Scouts and the Bonner Community Food Bank. Nelson’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. She received a Community Star Award from Panhandle State Bank in 2004 and was named volunteer of the year for the chamber and retiree of the year (twice) for the International Association of Personnel and Employment Security. “I don’t do these things to be recognized,” Nelson said. “I do them because there are so many worthy and necessary causes in this community.” SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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Going public with art By Carrie Scozzaro

“Art is not a thing, it’s a way.”

–Elbert Hubbard, American writer, 1869

rt is one of those intangibles that, like treasured mementoes or family photos in the home, establishes a sense of identity. The same can be said for public art, which ideally reflects what is important to its community. “Public art helps to define our community and contribute to a sense of place,” said Sandpoint Mayor Marsha Ogilvie. “It gives visual confirmation that our community values and encourages artistic expression even amidst a backdrop of breathtaking scenery.” Ogilvie is City Council liaison to the Sandpoint Arts Commission (SAC). “What each individual takes away from viewing public art is theirs alone,” said Ogilvie, “but collectively it enhances our identity as a desirable and unique place to both live and to visit.” Stephen Drinkard, the city’s project coordinator since 1999, takes it a step further. Drinkard, who in 2005 helped form Sandpoint Urban Renewal District (SURA), has written grants to secure more than $5 million for the city. “Art is an engine to drive economic development,” said Drinkard, quoting newly hired consultant Mark Rivers. CEO of Boise-based Brix and Company, Rivers’ background is impressive. He revitalized Boise’s downtown and worked with Niagara Falls to develop a European-themed winter holiday market, for example. Rivers, SURA and the Downtown Sandpoint Business Association (DSBA) are bringing innovative ideas that promote both Sandpoint and the arts. Being considered are an artist-in-residence program, arts endowment and getting artists more involved overall. “Public art especially has a way of creating connectivity and dialogue and education,” said local artist Peter Goetzinger, who has joined a committee of artists loosely led by Drinkard to develop a long-term vision for public art in Sandpoint. Goetzinger was recently commissioned by SAC to create a David

Thompson sculpture and historical kiosks for Second Avenue – a castconcrete, larger-than-life figure of Thompson seated on a boulder with the “Kullyspell” Lake map on his lap. Phase II includes regional historical figures in torch-cut steel figures from Pine to Cedar. He would also like to embed a quick response (QR) code for mobile devices, creating an interpretive walk that deepens people’s understanding of local history. Goetzinger’s proposal was one of 13 considered by SAC, which

Lynn Guier, Arts Alliance artist-inresidence, places the “Welcome to Sandpoint” mural, a partnership project with Sandpoint Charter School Photo by Marsha Lutz

The finished mural near the post office is shown below Photo by biLLie Jean Gerke

ART

is funded in part by DSBA, SURA, local nonprofits and grants. “Unlike many city art commissions,” said SAC Chair, Carol Deaner, “SAC does not get any money from the city. Five percent of each development funded by SURA is committed to public art.” That’s meant getting creative about artistic creations. Initiated in 2005, “Art by the Inch” solicits private donations to purchase public art or fund projects such as the 2007 sidewalk-mural painting featuring then-mayor Gretchen Hellar, the City’s Joan Bramblee, and local artists Lisa VanDerKarr, Nick Bopp, Rory McCambly, Tammy Farmin, Dorothy Modafferi, Heather Guthrie, and Kate and Gail Lyster. The nine-member SAC formed by

the city council in 2004 provides a process for bringing public art to the community, according to Deaner, whose past experience includes president of Pend Oreille Arts Council. Represented are artists, schools, local nonprofits, businesses, the city, and residents atlarge. SAC’s formation was prompted by gaps in public policy, such as for murals that fall outside the city’s sign code. This was further underscored by the city’s reluctance to accept the 2001 donation of David Kraisler’s “Tolerance” sculpture in response to the Aryan Nations’ threat to parade through town. While “Tolerance” was ultimately accepted by Bonner County and placed on the courthouse lawn, its dete-

Artist Nelson Boren flanked by Carol Deaner, left, and former Mayor Gretchen Hellar dedicate the Sand Creek Arch. Photos by Chris Bessler

riorating base has since prompted its removal. Meantime, the debate about public art continues. Reasoning that U.S. Highway 95’s soon-to-be-completed Sand Creek Byway would make the backside of Sand Creek businesses newly visible, SAC commissioned Nelson Boren to create a showpiece arch leading down to Sand Creek. While some questioned Boren’s use of old highway signs to create the large-scale fish for his sculptures – ironic, since the

What artwork says about us Here’s a short list of what is valued in Sandpoint, as expressed through prominent artworks, large and small: History, such as the beer-brewing narrative mural by Diana Schuppel and Leif Olsen on the west side of the Pend d’Oreille Winery building (formerly Pend Oreille Brewing). Nature and geography, “Pace Yourself” at Farmin Park such as the Bridge Street sculpture project highlighting native fish, a collaboration between Sandpoint High School and Idaho Fish and Game’s Tom Whalen. Whimsy, such as Tammy 44

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Farmin’s 2005 bronze tortoise and hare, “Pace Yourself,” in Farmin Park or the Statue of Liberty at City Beach pier – featured in the Idaho Commission of the Arts 2006 “InventStory” brochure – donated in 2002 by Lee Turner’s estate. Community, such as the 1993 memorial located at War Memorial Field at Lakeview and Ontario to honor Bonner County residents who served in the military from World War I to current day. For the latest information on public art in Sandpoint, check out www.sandpointartscommission.com. Select “Public Art Inventory” for a detailed, satellite map of Sandpoint featuring paint palettes that, when clicked on, reveal a photo and specific details about each artwork.

SUMMER 2012

ART

From top: Native fish sculptures decorate Bridge Street. The ceramic tile mosaic “Bugs, Butterflies and Wildflowers” dresses up the Jeff Jones Town Square. Photos by biLLie Jean Gerke Washington School student Emma Ferguson, a fourth-grader in Mrs. Loveless’ 2011 class, works on her pieces for “Bugs, Butterflies and Wildflowers” Photo by Marsha Lutz

project was funded in part by an Idaho Transportation Department grant – others expressed concern about public art in general. What is the role of government and such vested organizations as SURA or DSBA? Funding is another question, especially regarding taxes, and the sometimes-competing priorities for government projects. As the commission moves forward with its strategic

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plan, members continue to ponder these vital questions, just as other arts organizations nationwide do. “Sandpoint has long been recognized as one of the country’s best small arts town communities,” said Deaner. SAC projects, she says, have helped to raise awareness and to make that reputation a reality. Promoting the arts isn’t limited to agencies with acronyms in their titles. Waldorf School, for example, recently featured painter Catherine Earle, while Washington Elementary third- and fourth-graders paired with the Arts Alliance and artist-in-residence Lynn Guier to create a mural at Jeff Jones Town Square entitled “Bugs, Butterflies & Wildflowers.” At Sandpoint Charter, where Guier worked with students to create the “Welcome Sandpoint” mural on the side of Monarch Mountain Coffee, high school teacher Holly Walker and middle school’s Amy O’Hara created a public art class. Students studied public art in general and toured Sandpoint’s growing body of artwork, including Cedar Street’s teacup-topped totem and Maria Larson and Nan Cooper’s musically inspired Paint Bucket mural. Their sketches have been transformed into large-scale paintings slated for display at the post office while Walker awaits the results of a PAFE grant proposal to incorporate the students’ ideas into a permanent mural across the City Beach underpass. Artist Diana Schuppel agrees that getting youth involved in art is essential. Her creative stamp on upstate Idaho includes a mural at Sorensen Magnet School for the Arts, where her granddaughters attend in Coeur d’Alene; the “Secret Garden” mural at Sandpoint Library; a quarter-mile long historical mural in Priest River; and an evocative, exterior piece at Common Knowledge Bookstore and Teahouse. “Everyone can see it, do it, enjoy it regardless of money,” said Schuppel of public art. “In a world where we’re challenged to go fast, art in the open is a joyful necessity.”

ARTS & CRAFTS

Arts and Crafts Fair notches up 40 years By Carrie Scozzaro

rowth in Sandpoint is always a hot topic, except when it comes to a favorite event: POAC’s annual Arts and Crafts Fair. At 40 years old, the fair is comfortably middleaged between two similar regional arts shows – the 27-year-old ArtFest in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene’s 44-year-old Art on the Green. It’s small enough to feel intimate but large enough to offer great variety. And its origins are classic Sandpoint. “It all started on the lawn at Community Hall in 1972 with 10 artists booths,” said POAC Executive Director Kim Queen. “The Gay ’90s Arts & Crafts Festival (as it was called then) was cochaired by K.T. Littlefield and Irene Cook. Entertainment was provided by Geri Bergstrom and Pat Venishnick, taking turns playing the pump organ. Mayor Les Brown’s antique Buick was parked on the front lawn to attract attention. It netted the organizers $80.” Queen relayed the comments of Susan Moon, now a longtime Tomlinson Sotheby’s International Realty agent and an original organizer: “Bud (Susan’s husband and Littlefield’s brother) and I stayed up until midnight painting rocks that looked like lady bugs because we were worried we wouldn’t have enough art to sell.” The fair was the creation of the Bonner County Historical Society – both Moon and Littlefield devoted many years helping shape the museum – which during the same year as starting the fair was incorporated as a private, nonprofit organization. Three years later the fair relocated to Best Western

Edgewater Resort and City Beach, where it has remained. In 1978, the newly formed POAC took it over and has managed it ever since. “We spend a lot of time going over our notes SUMMER 2012

and feedback received every year after the fair,” said Queen, “what worked well, what can be improved upon, what elements do/don’t make sense anymore, et cetera.”

Fiber is just one of many art mediums on display at the Arts & Crafts Fair. Photo by carrie scozzaro

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ARTS & CRAFTS

Vendor parking, for example, used to be along City Beach. That area is now part of the U.S. Highway 95 bypass, and any available parking, says Queen, ought to be used by folks going to City Beach and the fair. “We were fortunate to have great partners in the area who allow us use of their parking lot downtown,” said Queen, “and we shuttle the vendors back-and-forth all weekend. It has added an expense in renting the shuttle service, but we found it the best answer.” Another change has been in food vending, which POAC managed until 2000. That meant lugging in and setting up tables, cook stations and refrigeration, doing all the food prep, service, and cleanup. “Making bean burritos in the hot sun for hours on end was not fun,” said Queen. “We realized we could more efficiently utilize our volunteers in other areas of the fair (and, they would enjoy themselves much more).” Changing food service allowed a wider variety of food and promoted local vendors. Eight available spots are juried just like arts applicants, often highlighting family-run and niche vendors like Azar’s Restaurant Greek and 48

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Above: Up to 4,000 visitors stroll through 120 artist booths at the Pend Oreille Arts Council’s Arts & Crafts Fair over the two-day event every August. Photo courtesy of Poac Children create their own arts and crafts, left, while shoppers are invited to try out some wares, such as this flute, above right. Photos by carrie scozzaro

Middle Eastern Cuisine and Roamin’ Pizza Chariot, both from Spokane. In a converted school bus – yellow with aquamarine and fuchsia – Jupiter Jane’s Traveling Café, with locals Laura Calvert Peitz and Maria Corsini, is a big hit, offering gourmet gluten-free and vegan foods. Musical entertainment at the fair has come a long way since the original organ music, although the focus continues to be local. Last year SUMMER 2012

Sandpoint High School brought the Steel Pan Band. Other performers included Monarch Mountain Band, Beth Pederson and Bruce Bishop, and Bridges Home’s Tami and Dave Gunter, whom Queen remembers performing as long as she’s been involved in the fair. Another longtime participant is Bill Klein, who spent 10 years as a POAC board member. Klein, an architect also known for his watercolors, spends the year collecting wood for kids to paint on in the kids’ art area. “That draws them in better than anything else,” says Klein of the popular family attraction that also features face-painting. The kids’ art area is free, as is entry for fairgoers; the only revenue POAC collects is from vendors in the way of booth fees and a nominal application fee. In 1996, POAC’s then-Director Ginny Robideaux reported that about

ARTS & CRAFTS

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a quarter of the 100 exhibitors were from Bonner County, the fair was drawing around 10,000 visitors and raised around $25,000 to $30,000 for POAC. It also prompted author John Villani to name Sandpoint one of “The 100 Best Small Arts Towns in America.” Although it has added about 20 booth spaces since 1996, the fair’s growth is tempered by POAC’s desire to keep it classic Sandpoint, not growing past its City Beach home. It still attracts about 25 percent to 35 percent of its exhibitors from Bonner County. “And upwards of 60 percent are from Kootenai/Bonner/Boundary counties,” Queen said. Booth fees have risen a tad but are still competitive. While Art on the Green’s three-day fee is $395 for a 10-foot-square space, a similar space at the two-day Arts & Crafts Fair is $185 and up to $280 for a two-person, 10-foot-by-15-foot space. “The money (we raise) goes right back in service to the community,” added Queen, “as POAC sponsors high quality performances, workshops, art education programs and art shows year-round.” Carrie Scozzaro

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ARTS & CRAFTS

MEEt LOcAL Arts And crAfts fAir Artists

verything you would expect in an arts and crafts fair can be found at POAC’s annual event: food, fun, music and great artwork. A lot of great arts and crafts fills 120 spaces: pottery, glass, fiber, photos, paintings, antlers carved into useful objects, fragrant soaps, handcrafted toys to be cherished for generations. When retired-teacher-turnedcraftsman Gary Quinn comes down off the trails he works on for the U.S. Forest Service during the summer, it’s to market his unique, upcycled wine barrel designs he calls The Unbound Stave. “Last year was my first time in the fair,” said Quinn, “mainly to see the response to this type of furniture. I sold Gary Quinn upcycles wine barrels into useful, beautiful outdoor furniture. Photo by biLLie Jean Gerke

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ARTS & CRAFTS all pieces made last winter, plus a few additional orders for custom patio sets.” For many artists, it is good to be amongst friends. “The Sandpoint fair ranks among the highest in terms of personal enjoyment for us,” said Daryl Baird, who has, accompanied by wife Judy, been selling his clay boxes and wheel-thrown pottery since 1997. “Lots of local friends stopped by our booth, and we met lots and lots of really nice people. We’ve been in the fair three times now, and

Left: Daryl Baird and wife Judy enjoy reuniting with fellow crafters at the annual fair Above: Shari French’s mixed media art jewelry, created under the name Southern Charm, is inspired by her mother. Photos courtesy of Poac

each time we get to reunite with fellow crafters, many who we have known for years.” Although Shari French has done shows in Portland, Seattle, California and Coeur d’Alene, she is only applying to POAC’s juried show this year, the same one she

SUMMER 2012

had been visiting for 20 years prior to moving to Sandpoint. She says the Arts and Crafts Fair just feels like home. French likes to tell the story about the little girl who approached her Southern Charm jewelry booth with a broken necklace she had gotten elsewhere. French offered to fix it and have it ready at Jalapeño’s Restaurant – Shari runs it with husband Chet – in a few days. Fast forward to Shari’s encounter with a new doctor during a family medical emergency. Turns out the doctor had just relocated his family to town and was, well, charmed by French’s thoughtfulness. It was his daughter whose necklace Shari fixed. POAC’s 40th Annual Arts & Crafts Fair is Aug. 11-12 at City Beach, Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. See www.artin sandpoint.org or call 263-6139. –Carrie Scozzaro

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ARTISTS

The Potters of Sandpoint

eramic arts have been around since early man shaped clay by hand and fired it in shallow pits. Shards of pottery have been examined by archaeologists the world over, each giving cultural clues to the people that created them. In thousands of years, the fundamental process for creating pottery has stayed much the same, despite technological advancements in the field. Despite this fact, potters continue to find new methods and creative ways to distinguish themselves in this ancient art. In Sandpoint, when one talks about potters, three names are invariably mentioned: Dan Shook, Daryl Baird and Diane Simons. Herein, they share their methods, passions and love for ceramic art.

lived in Aspen, Colo., where he studied further at the Anderson Ranch. He later received a master’s degree in ceramic sculpture in 1998. In 1984 Shook began teaching pottery in Bonners Ferry. “I got a potter’s wheel and took it up to Bonners,” he said. “I had to teach myself how to do it again. Me and the kids and one potter’s wheel, that’s where it started.” Almost 30 years later, the recently retired Shook has again embraced his passion for throwing clay with a new

endeavor, Whiskeyjack Pottery. The LLC, which he shares with business partner and former student Nicole Black, is named for his studio located on Whiskey Jack Road. Built about five years ago, the studio is a warm, homey building with big windows opening on three sides, allowing in a lot of natural light. “We’re kind of living on functional ware,” he said, laughing. “I make a few fun things, Udu drums and that kind of stuff, but mostly people buy things they can use.”

Story and photos by Ben Olson Diane Simons throws a vase at Sunnyside Pottery

Whiskeyjack Pottery Anyone who took an art class at Sandpoint High School in the past three decades was probably influenced in some way by Dan Shook. With his patient demeanor and easygoing banter, Shook will forever be known as a teacher who reached his students on a common ground. Shook first studied art at the University of Idaho, where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1973. “I was a painter mostly,” he said. “Painting and drawing, that was my major major. I took a pottery class and fell in love with it.” After graduating, Shook SUMMER 2012

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

ARTISTS Nicole Black and Dan Shook work at potter’s wheels at Whiskeyjack Pottery

The challenge, according to Shook, is to put a creative touch on common items such as mugs, bowls and butter dishes. “That’s what’s cool about potters in general,” he said. “Once you get to know the person’s work, you can really tell their hand in it, no matter what they do, or how simple something is.” Both Shook and Black are advocates for buying local and finding sustainable methods of living. Plans are in the works to install solar panels on the studio roof.

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ARTISTS Functional ware is Whiskeyjack Pottery’s bread and butter

Black sells her wares at the Sandpoint Farmers Market. “I’ve had a booth for eight years,” she said. “I started out with a henna booth, and I still incorporate the henna design on the bottom of my pottery.” Along with selling at the farmers market and various craft fairs, Whiskeyjack Pottery will host pottery art classes. “We’re offering group classes that might have anywhere from three to seven people at a time,” Black said.

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For information on taking a pottery class with Whiskeyjack Pottery, e-mail Dan Shook at dkshook@yahoo.com or Nicole Black at 1nicoleblack@gmail.com.

Daryl Baird Daryl Baird’s Lakeshore Drive studio isn’t a typical pottery studio; there is one wheel, somewhat ingloriously shoved in a corner, and a kiln nearby. The rest of the studio is more like a craftsman’s workshop, with photographic backdrops and great tables filled with creations the likes have never seen before. Frank, forthright and seemingly devoid of any ego, Baird explains how he began searching for his own niche in the world of pottery. “I got a late start,” he said. “I took pottery classes in Texas and really liked the three-dimensionality

of it, so I embraced pottery making for that reason. But I’m no artist. I’m a craftsperson.” Baird had to think about how to define himself. “If I made a bowl and took several to an art show, I was one among many,” he added. “We all have blue bowls, I thought.” What Baird began was a progression of experimental techniques that led to a new mixing of media, merging pottery, wood and metal. “I learned how to turn the lidspun bowls for the pots on a lathe, so I combined a wooden lid,” he said. “I added a twig handle and tied it on. Then I cut leaves, using snips, out of old coffee cans.” But when the creation was finished, it still wasn’t unique enough for Baird. It wasn’t until he visited a gallery in Yellow Springs, Ohio, that he began what would take his work in a wholly new direction. “Somebody there was making little square vases,” he said. “I thought, How did they make a square box on a round wheel?” It was then that Baird began experimenting with a clay extruder,

Daryl Baird employs a clay extruder to create his unique “Mountain Boxes.” courtesy Photo

a metal contraption that reminds one of a giant industrial aluminum can crusher. “A clay extruder is basically a Play-Doh factory for big people,” he said, laughing. By manipulating a die under the extruder, Baird was able to squeeze clay into any shape he desired. The wheel wasn’t necessary. One final touch Baird added to his unique clay boxes was to cut the lid in the shape of mountains. The move was both aesthetically pleasing, as well as functional in that it kept the lid firmly in place. It was this final touch that inspired Baird to call the creations “Mountain Boxes.” They sold well in galleries and crafts fairs across the country. After the post 9/11 economy forced Baird to shut down his commercial pottery business in 2003, the ever resourceful craftsman investigated other avenues. “I wanted to know more about the extruder,” he said. “I wondered

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ARTISTS

what other people were doing with it, what they were making.” When his search came up with only one book, a thin volume barely scraping the surface, inspiration struck Baird again. “I thought the idea was underserved and that I’d like to investigate it and work that into a how-to book, to find out from people what they do with the clay extruder,” he said. The result was Baird’s first literary effort, “The Extruder Book,” published by the American Ceramic Society. It is a collection of different potters and their creations used with the extruder. With a successful publication of a book, Baird began to see the potential in sharing his experimentation with others in the field. “I’m no master, no artist,” he said, “I’m a student of it. The writing of the articles and the books became one of those other irons in the fire for me. Teaching was one, making my work and selling it another. It kept me engaged.” Baird’s efforts culminated in a second book, “From a Slab of Clay,” and he also contributes to the magazine “Pottery Making Illustrated” on a regular basis. He is currently working on a second edition of “The Extruder Book,” slated to publish in 2013.

Potter Diane Simons collaborated with sculptor Dan Earle on a series of exquisite ceramic vases. courtesy Photo

Sunnyside Pottery High atop Sunnyside Hill overlooking Lake Pend Oreille, Diane Simons’ studio contains some of the most beautiful ceramic art in the area. Coming from the world of business, Simons’ foray into pottery began simply as a creative outlet.

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“I was working at the time and my job was analytical,” she said. “I was spending too much time behind a computer and not enough time expressing myself.” Curious about ceramics, Simons took a class from the late Rocky Rothwell and found she had a knack for the craft. “When the tech bubble burst, I got laid off,” she said. “The timing was perfect. My husband, a custom builder, needed office help, so we made a deal; I would do the office work and have time to do my pottery.” Sunnyside Studio was thus born, and Simons hasn’t looked back since. She makes her own glazes, creates both functional and nonfunctional pottery, and dabbles into Japanese raku ware, a type of pottery traditionally used in a Japanese tea ceremony. “Diane’s work is some of the best around,” said Petja Scheele, director of the Artists’ Studio Tour, which

Simons helped found. It was in the creation of the tour when Simons began to think outside the box, opening up a collaboration with local sculptor Dan Earle. “We were on the committee for the beginning of the Artists’ Studio Tour,” said Earle. “We had a lot of meetings and started talking about doing a collaboration someday.” “I called him up a couple years later and said I was stuck,” said Simons. “It was winter, I wanted to do something different, some kind of collaboration. So we started working together.” The result turned out to be some of the most exquisite ceramic work to come out of this area. Simons threw the vases, some up to 20 to 30 inches high and beautifully crafted, and Earle began his figurative work on the outside. The two artists blended their individual talents and came up with a 16-vase series that has continued to impress ceramics lovers.

Potters and more on Artists’ Studio Tour For the past several summers, Sandpoint area artists have opened their studio doors to the public in an event called the Artists’ Studio Tour of North Idaho. What started as the collective vision of Teddi Garner, Eileen Marcotte and Diane Simons, the tour has grown to include more than 30 artists. Mediums include oil, acrylic and water-

Celebrating our 61st Anniversary in 2012!

color painting, pottery, quilting, woodworking, photography, jewelry and more. Petja Scheele has served as director for the last four years. “When I first took over, it was just the artists who chipped in money,” she said. “There wasn’t really a director, or anything formal, just a matter of everyone getting together, making their own signs, using the collected funds to pay for advertising.”

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Scheele analyzed the tour when she began directing and found ways to improve. “I moved the dates to accommodate the Festival (at Sandpoint) traffic, which draws a lot of art lovers, and we made all the signs uniform. We made them bright yellow so you couldn’t miss them on the highway.” Participants now have all the studios listed by number on a map inside a brochure. “People

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come from all around,” said Scheele. “They love the artists, and they also love being able to buy directly, as well as requesting personal commissions.” Along with the two-weekend studio tour, a gallery located at Schweitzer Mountain features a collection of work from participating craftspeople. “Anyone on the tour can be part of the gallery,” Scheele said. “The artists share the time up

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3rd & Pine • Sandpoint, ID “There was no way I could create these vessels that Diane makes,” said Earle. “She would throw the pots, which gave me a canvas to come in and do my thing.” Earle, like Simons, didn’t begin his career as an artist until later in life and was first drawn to art via sculpture. “It was a weird feeling,” he said. “I had no background or education in art, I read a book about (French sculptor) Rodin and got this feeling that I could sculpt. I started playing with it and taught myself the techniques.” Working out of Studio Decouvrir at his home in Hope, Earle hopes to collaborate again with Simons on another project. To learn more about Earle’s work, visit www.dan-earle.com. Simons’ pottery is for sale at Northwest Handmade gallery in downtown Sandpoint, or to view online, visit www.sunnyside pottery.com.

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Artist on the studio tour, Catherine Earle

there during the summer and winter months that the mountain is open.” The ninth annual Artists’ Studio Tour of North Idaho takes place Aug. 10-12 and Aug. 17-19. For more information or to participate, contact Scheele at 503-803-5983 or visit www.arttourdrive.org. –Ben Olson

SUMMER 2012

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JOHN FOGERTY JUNE 15 RINGO STARR JULY 13 EARTH, WIND & FIRE JULY 19 KELLY CLARKSON & THE FRAY JULY 22 JOURNEY, PAT BENATAR & LOVERBOY JULY 29 DARIUS RUCKER AUGUST 4 SUGARLAND AUGUST 16 HEART SEPTEMBER 9

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Stev Ominski’s painting, “The Ice Dam,” depicts the terminus of the Pend Oreille sublobe of the Purcell Trench ice lobe. Perspective is from the north end of the Rathdrum Prairie looking northeast toward Bayview. Cape Horn Peak is at the left. (www.stevominski.com)

Cataclysms of ice and water New book guides readers through Ice Age floods

lues to the repeated, colossal Ice Age floods are written all over the landscape of the Pacific Northwest. And Sandpoint and Lake Pend Oreille are at the very heart of this fantastic geologic event. The paths of the Ice Age floods in northern Idaho and the Channeled Scabland, the features they left behind, and how to recognize them are the subjects of a new volume of “On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods” by geologists Bruce Bjornstad and Eugene Kiver. Geology fans can join them in discovering, firsthand, the wild landforms left behind by the Ice Age floods via self-guided tours provided in the book. The following is an excerpt selected from “On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods: The Northern Reaches.” ••• During the last Ice Age a massive tongue of ice crept south from Canada, burying Sandpoint under thousands of feet of glacial ice before plowing head on into Green Monarch Ridge. As the ice piled high against this ridge, it created a temporarily tight seal for Glacial Lake Missoula that backed up water for hundreds of miles into Montana. Today the glacier’s grinding action is preserved in the tall, oversteepened and beveled

north face of the Green Monarch Ridge. The lower end of this ice dam occupied the intermontane valley that now holds Lake Pend Oreille, which, of course, didn’t exist in its present form during the Ice Age. Instead the valley was filled with glacial ice approaching a mile thick, extending all the way to Bayview and beyond. Periodically, every few dozen years or so, the ice dam failed, releasing a megaflood with as much water as a couple of the Great Lakes in just three days or less. After escaping the confines of the ice dam, the floods first spread out into the upper reaches of the Rathdrum Prairie outburst plain. From here most of the floodwaters continued south toward the Spokane valley. Along the way the buildup of flood deposits blocked all of the side valleys, creating a string of lakes along the flood route, namely Spirit, Twin, Hauser, Newman, Liberty, Coeur d’Alene, Fernan and Hayden lakes. At times some of the outburst floodwater also escaped north and west via the Pend Oreille and Little Spokane river valleys past Priest River and Newport. Ultimately the flood waters rushed all the way down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. The generally rounded, lush, green, forested mountainsides and clear blue SUMMER 2012

Three flood features PURCeLL TRenCh ICe LOBe. This gigantic lobe of the continental ice sheet – forming the ice dam that created Glacial Lake Missoula – rose at least 1,000 feet above the surface of today’s Lake Pend Oreille. Envision it best from trails above the lake, including Mickinnick, Mineral Point and Cape Horn trails. GReen MOnARCh RIDGe BUTTReSS. This rocky ridge deflected the south-flowing ice lobe, effectively splitting it into two tongues. Best observed from Green Monarch Ridge and Mineral Point trails. RAThDRUM PRAIRIe OUTBURST PLAIn. This featureless, miles-wide sediment apron was formed at the southern tip of Lake Pend Oreille beyond Bayview, where floodwaters burst past the ice dam. Look over it from the Cape Horn trail.

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waters make it difficult to fathom that this idyllic setting in northern Idaho has anything in common with the barren, scarred landscape wrought by the same Ice Age floods downstream in the Channeled Scabland of eastern Washington. The striking contrast in these two landscapes exists for good reason. For one, the breakout area for the Missoula floods lies at a higher elevation and receives significantly more precipitation, and therefore is much more vegetated than the semiarid Columbia Plateau. The breakout area also lies beyond the extent of a thick pile of volcanic lava flows of Columbia River basalt. Instead, the rocks underlying the Pend Oreille region of mostly older granitic as well By the Cedar St Bridge consist as metasedimentary rocks of the Belt In Downtown Sandpoint Supergroup. These rocks were more resistant to erosional forces created by the glacial ice and escaping floodwaters and thus were smoothed and rounded by these forces, unlike its basalt counterparts in the Scabland. The fractured basalts, on the other hand, responded to BOOKS MAPS CARDS KITES ETC similar erosional flood forces via wholesale plucking of the more-cracked rock. In 2009, the U.S. Congress recognized the importance of the Ice Age floods to the Pacific Northwest and the nation by authorizing a first-of-itskind, Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail (NGT). Eventually, the NGT will be a network of marked touring routes extending across parts of Montana, SANDPOINT Idaho, Washington and Oregon, with several special interpretive centers located along the 700-mile-long route of the floods. The proposed trail will be managed by the National Park Service, which will use existing public lands and Field Guides Books Kites Cards Etc facilities to tell the story of the megafloods. This “park without boundaries” will include kiosks and signs placed on the existing network of public lands and roadways that pass through the BOAT RENTALS floods’ region. In the meantime, “On Wake/Ski/Pontoon the Trail of the Ice Age Floods: The Boats//Jet Skis//PWC// Boat Rentals Northern Reaches” provides an exhausHourly • Daily • Nightly tive resource for understanding the Ice Kayaks// Age floods in eastern Washington and Travel Trailers 195 N. TRIANGLE DR. northern Idaho. Complete Parts & Service Department

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BOOKS

Photographic adventures of Selkirk Loop lensmen Story by Billie Jean Gerke Photos by Jerry Pavia and Tim Cady

Canada i

N Idaho

Montana

rit

riends since 2001, photographers Jerry Pavia and Tim Cady of Bonners Ferry wanted to collaborate on a photographic project. While driving to Sandpoint in May 2008, they hatched an idea: a book showcasing the International Selkirk Loop. They were on their way to Keokee Co. Publishing where they had been invited to a publication party. Knowing they would see Publisher Chris Bessler at the party, they devised a plan to pitch the book to him there. Their plan worked: Bessler took the bait and was soon inking a publishing contract and directing the enterprising photographers to undertake the project. Pavia, 64, and Cady, 55, spent the next 12 months shooting fantastic scenery and a proliferation of events along the 280-mile scenic loop that wends its way around the Selkirk Mountains. “We always tried to make an adventure of it while shooting,” said Cady. The pair divided dozens of trips amongst themselves and took others

Jerry Pavia and Tim Cady, top, photograph Kootenai Falls for the forthcoming Selkirk Loop book

together in British Columbia, Canada, Washington, Idaho and Montana to document the loop and all its “Super Side Trips.” While the photographers already possessed a selection of stock images, they added countless more to their archives while logging thousands of miles around the loop that year. The next challenge was finding a Canadian writer who could contribute to making the book a truly international project. Pavia asked around for a few SUMMER 2012

referrals, and soon Ross Klatte, 77, of Nelson, British Columbia, was commissioned. The author wrote about 11,000 words on the history, flora and fauna, attractions, and features around the Selkirk Loop. The result is a photographic book with the working title “Selkirk Spectacular.” This outstanding collection of images by Pavia and Cady will join four chapters penned by Klatte, to be published by SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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Keokee this year. Of the thousands of photographs he shot, Pavia has just one image that he insists be included in the book. Taken at a Bonners Ferry parade, it shows a Shriner riding a tricycle with a dog wearing big sunglasses. “Some of my favorites are Tim’s shots,” Pavia said. “He has such a great grasp on how to deal with light.” A professional photographer for more than 30 years, Pavia has been a mentor and friend to Cady since they met. Cady, whose day job is teaching elementary school, recalled some of his most memorable moments from shooting on the Selkirk Loop. He and his wife, JoAnne, were driving on the Lake Pend Oreille Super Side Trip when they noticed a large black bear in a meadow. They stopped along the road, and the bear wandered off into some trees. Cady thought he could head him off, but the bear didn’t flush out. He started walking back to the car when he noticed some nearby horses acting skittish. When Cady turned around, he saw the bear 20 feet away standing up on his hind legs. Panic struck. “All the wisdom says ‘Don’t run,’ but I didn’t get four steps and pulled both hamstrings,” Cady said. Meantime, his wife was laughing hysterically because the bear had taken off in the other direction. In another wildlife encounter, at Kokanee Glacier Park in Canada, Cady came across a cow moose and calf bedded down in a trail. They refused to move. The photographer had to hoof it up a hill and scramble hand-over-hand on rocks to go around the obstinate ruminants. “So animals impeded shots sometimes,” Cady said. As for events they documented, Cady said he drew the short straw when it came to the Moyie Mud Bog, a raucous weekend with a reputation for too much tomfoolery.

BOOKS

Cities on the Selkirk Loop to bond in sisterly love Sandpoint’s perfect sister city, Nelson, British Columbia, even has a landmark bridge over a fantastic lake

elson, British Columbia, an anchor city on the International Selkirk Loop, is an arts community of less than 10,000 people nestled on a lake below a ski resort in the Selkirk Mountains. Sound familiar? That description matches Sandpoint exactly, and that’s why leaders in both communities believe they were meant to be sister cities. A reciprocal pass deal between Whitewater Ski Resort and Schweitzer Mountain Resort spurred the sister city idea last fall. Four Sandpoint delegates traveled Oct. 16 to Nelson, where they found a receptive audience in a meeting with several of the city’s dignitaries. They picked up the ball and ran with it, according to Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kate McAlister. “Nelson is overjoyed. They are very, very excited,” said McAlister. Her equivalent in Nelson, Tom Thomson, executive director of the Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce, confirms that sentiment. “At this point, there is certainly political will and community will to make this sister city arrangement happen in the near future,” he said. The mayor and council just need to adopt an amendment to a policy that limits Nelson to two sister cities. Nelson already has sister cities in Japan and Quebec, so Sandpoint would make three. In the meantime, Sandpoint City Council President Carrie Logan and Mayor Marsha Ogilvie

He survived the experience. Bessler had told the photographers that a perfect cover shot would be one of a blonde driving a convertible with the lake and the mountains in the background. Cady traveled to Kootenay Lake in Canada and sat for five hours at an ideal roadside location.

“It was a beautiful scene, but the blonde never showed up,” he said. Then there was a night north of Metaline Falls, Wash., when the light was so fantastic that Cady says he couldn’t fire the camera fast enough. Four years after pitching their book idea, Pavia and Cady are pleased to

SUMMER 2012

are working on making it official on this end. Nelson would be Sandpoint’s first sister city. In an April 19 letter from Thomson to Nelson’s mayor and council, he wrote, “We believe a good starting point would be through cultural and educational exchanges, tourism, and economic development exchange opportunities.” McAlister says that most sister cities are fluff, but this liaison will have real substance, improving economic vitality in the region. Representatives from Nelson and Sandpoint will meet several times a year to develop marketing campaigns and encourage trade. McAlister says an annual event, a sister city logo and contests are under consideration. “We have so much in common with Nelson,” she added. Both cities have historic theaters built in the 1920s that turned into community performing arts centers in the ’80s. Nelson’s neighbor Kaslo hosts an annual jazz festival on par with the Festival at Sandpoint. And both towns have more than their fair share of talented residents. Yes, for these sister cities-to-be, scenery, history and flair are simply genetic. –Billie Jean Gerke

see it coming to fruition. The yet-to-benamed book will be in production this summer with an anticipated publication date of fall 2012. In the meantime, learn more about “doin’ the loop” by going to the website for the International Selkirk Loop, www. selkirkloop.org.

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HISTORY

A million feet from five dollars The essential history of mining in the two northern counties

n the December 15, 1905, North Idaho News appeared this small poem: “We need no pick or spade. We need no shovel or hoe, for the gold it lies on top of the ground, out in Idaho.” After quoting the poet, the writer also waxes poetic with a glowing report on mining in the northern counties of Idaho. He plunges on, “The facts are not distorted in the above lines, and with the work already done we see but the brightest in store for those who have given their untiring efforts to the development of the properties.” The story falls off the page, then, sliced short and added to the

considerable pile of mining history at Bonner County Historical Museum. But, the mood is familiar to mining reports of the day – bombastic, optimistic, full of dubious promise and far from the mark. It didn’t take long for men on the ground, from New Rainbow at Lakeview to Golden Scepter at Copeland, to learn different. Congressman Compton I. White Jr., whose father, Compton Sr., and uncle, James E. White, were principal developers of the Whitedelf Mine near Clark Fork, would later tell the ironically funny and bitter truth. Interviewed in the 1980s, when skyrocketing silver prices SUMMER 2012

were pushing an interest to reopen some of the closed operations in northern Idaho, he said, “Most prospectors think they are five feet from a million dollars, when they are really a million feet from five dollars.” Belying his somewhat pessimistic view, White’s father and uncle ran one of the more profitable operations. Between 1913 and 1943, the Clark Fork District produced $2.5 million in silver and lead. The three most productive mines were the White brothers’ Whitedelf, northwest of Clark Fork; the Lawrence, on the northwest side of Antelope Mountain; and

By Sandy Compton Miners at M & M Company’s Lawrence Mine Portal, in the Clark Fork district: from left, Helmer Erickson, Joe Reed, three unidentified men and Angus Reed. aLL Photos courtesy bonner county historicaL society MuseuM

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HISTORY

the Hope Mine, practically within sight of the Whitedelf on the east side of Lightning Creek. These were joined in the Clark Fork District by the Alamo, Auxor, Carpie, Cady and Pier, Copper Giant and Clarinda mines, not to mention the Goat Mountain and Regal Creek prospects and dozens of others lost or covered by years of inactivity. Retired Forest Service archaeologist Tom Sandberg has visited many of these sites, nearly all abandoned, and knows, in a general way, the history of most of them. “It was miners on their way to and from the Wild Horse mines of British Columbia in the 1880s that began really prospecting this area,” he said. “My theory is that since then, this country has been nearly completely prospected.” Sandberg supposes that there are not dozens, not hundreds, but some thousands of prospects in Bonner and Boundary counties, most of which are nothing more than holes in the ground dug in promising spots where an outcrop showed a little “color” – a quartz vein or the rusty stain of mineralization. There were not as many claims filed as holes dug, but there were still hundreds of hopeful tracts marked with a “square fir post set in the ground.” In a hundred-plus years, these aggregate claims grew tens of thousands of feet of tunnels, winzes, shafts, stopes and crosscuts in search of metal; not all for naught. Between 1916 and 1964, $7.25 million in metals were produced in Bonner County. By comparison, though, in 1979 alone, the Silver Valley produced $260 million, and Silver Valley magnate Harry Magnuson noted that Silver Valley production since 1883 had been nearly a billion ounces of silver. Bonner County produced just 4 million ounces of silver between 1916 and 1964, at which even the all-time-high January 1980 price of $49.45 per ounce would represent only $200 million. In 1943, when the Whitedelf ceased nearly two decades of steady mining that produced more than 658,000 ounces of silver, the 70

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price was a measly 45 cents an ounce. (On April 13, 2012, silver was selling for $32.36 an ounce on world markets.) Very little gold has been found in the two northern counties (only 8,000 ounces in Bonner County between 1916 and 1964), but it was the search for gold that drove one of the best-funded and least productive efforts of the era, Idaho Gold and Ruby Company. IG&R (the “R” originally stood for “Radium”) was at Leonia on the Kootenai River east of Bonners Ferry. Capitalized at $2 million by president and consummate promoter John Schnatterly, IG&R over the course of several years diverted Boulder Creek by steam-shovel into a 6-mile ditch to pressurize “monitors” – 8-inch water cannons – that carved gigantic sections of supposedly gold-rich gravel into huge sluices. A 1912 publication, “Spokane and the Inland Empire: History of the City of Spokane and Spokane County Washington,” trumpeted, “The placer properties of the Idaho Gold & Radium Mining Company consist of … one of the most perfect auriferous deposits of the northwest, rich in gold … and the company plans to work it with hydraulic pipes and giants under a four hundred and fifty foot head. The company has everything to their advantage.” Except that there wasn’t enough gold to pay for the first quarter mile of ditch. Placer operations began, finally, in 1919. In 1923, Schnatterly died, and by 1925, IG&R was no longer placer mining. SUMMER 2012

A lack of ore forced the Ponderay Smelting and Refining Company into bankruptcy by 1922

No significant amount of gold has ever been found in Boulder Creek, even though rumor has it that the canyon contains a missing gold mine, lost when a fire in 1910 so altered the landscape that the miner couldn’t find it again. Twenty years before Schnatterly began his ditch, it was another rumor that filled the south fork of Gold Creek near Lakeview with miners, at the south end of Lake Pend Oreille. A disgruntled packer from the Silver Valley, put out of the freight business by a narrow gauge railroad, told a bit of a white – well, really golden – lie to papers in San Francisco about riches to be had in oddly named Chloride Gulch, and the rush was on. The joke was on him – sort of. Hundreds came, and a few claims actually made good, notably the Swastika and Venezwela, which, under the name of Idaho-Lakeview, is still in operation today. Across the ridge from Chloride Gulch, though, were the claims that put Lakeview on the map. John Weber’s mines, the Weber and the New Rainbow, were marked out in 1888, after a sample of ore Weber had assayed in Spokane showed more than 450 ounces of silver to the ton. Legend has it that Weber hired every steamboat in Bayview on his way home to stop

They’re already lining up for… the influx of hungry prospectors long enough to stake his claims, but the beach at Lakeview was full of boomers the next morning anyway. “The thought of the day,” Sandberg said, “was that Lakeview would be the next Butte and Spokane would be the next Denver.” The excitement continued, with the press egging it on, for the next three decades. A ground-floor opportunity seemed to be a smelter, and Pan Handle Development Company built one on the north end of the lake next to the Northern Pacific Railroad. Begun in 1903, Pan Handle Smelting and Refining reformed as the Ponderay Smelting and Refining Company in 1912. Though it owned several mines at one time, including the IdahoLakeview, the company was bankrupt by 1922, a failure forced by an insufficient supply of ore to melt in its two furnaces. What’s left of it is locally known as Black Rock, a smallish slag pile on the lakeshore at the north end of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail. The other legacy is the city of Ponderay, which was platted as a company town for hundreds of smelter workers that never came to work. Other claims developed at Lakeview included the Keep Cool, Vulcan, Hidden Treasure, Conjecture and Silver Leaf, but the most successful and long-lived have been the Weber, New Rainbow and Idaho-Lakeview, situated at the head of Chloride Gulch. Since it was the Venezwela, the IdahoLakeview has been owned or leased by many individuals and corporations, including giants like Consolidated Mining and Smelting of Canada (Cominco) and Sunshine Mining Company of Wallace. Since 1980, though, the Idaho-Lakeview, Weber and New Rainbow have been operated by Shoshone Silver Mining Company, which continues to improve and expand its operations, including a flotation mill at the Idaho-Lakeview site. Shoshone has also come to own the Auxor in the Clark Fork district, and a

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HISTORY

number of claims at Talache, 15 miles northwest of Lakeview and on the other side of the lake. Notably, they control the Lucky Joe, which was part of the B F & H Mine in the 1900s. This complex came to be called the Blacktail mines, which H.M. Armstead began to develop in 1917. The Talache Mine, renamed from Armstead, was a combination of some 40 claims with 30,000 feet of underground work. It began production in 1922. In that era, a village and a mill were built on the site, which is near where Mirror Creek empties into Lake Pend Oreille. In four years, the operation produced more than $2 million, most of it silver and a bit of gold, but in 1926 falling metal prices closed the mine. Forty years later, in 1964, Silver Butte Mining undertook 2,300 feet of tunnel construction and a diamond drilling exploration, then leased the mine to Cominco, who gave up the lease in 1971. Another “mine” on the west side of the lake was the Midas, a tunnel that shyster James McNichols “salted” with rich ore in order to bilk investors before absconding to Oregon. Midas has been replaced as a geographic name by Garfield Bay. Some of the names alone are an entertainment, reflected personal favorites, whimsy, and the fickle and feckless nature of the beast: Blue Bird, Brown Bear, Black Jack, Hope and Faith, Stemwinder and Catherine populated the Talache area. Boundary County pioneer and mine owner Albert “A.K.” Klockmann was not so whimsical when he named his claim in the Selkirk Mountains. Klockmann, a German adventurer who fell in love with Idaho when he arrived in the late 1880s, gave his property a sensible and grand name, The Continental. The Continental Mine became one of the most productive and long-lasting mining projects in the northern two counties. The Continental claims sit at about 6,000 feet near the Selkirk Crest a mile and a half northwest of Trapper Peak. Klockmann, who wrote up his adven72

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Talache Mine combined some 40 claims with 30,000 feet of underground work

tures in a memoir in 1940, was led by American Indian tales of lead ore pure enough to cast bullets out of to go looking for what would become the Continental. He didn’t find it, but by pure serendipity, learned that someone else had. He bought Fred Sutter’s interest in the claim in 1892. Sutter’s partner and fellow prospector, the inimitable Billy Houston, had found the vein and then survived the winter of 1891-92 in a crude caribouskin hut on the Selkirk Crest, where he stayed to protect the claim. (“The Klockmann Diary” was published by Keokee Co. Publishing in 1990 but is now out of print.) The Continental deposit was a “brilliant and unoxidized galena ore,” according to the 1926 report of geologists Kirkman and Ellis, revealed by “relatively recent scalping by continental mountain-riding ice sheets.” It was a huge find, some 3,500 feet long, and another vein was discovered hidden below in the rock. After some 10 years of nearly solo development, including 1,000 feet of tunnel, Klockmann incorporated The Idaho Continental Mining Company in 1902. By 1913, he and his investors had built a road into the mine and constructed a 200-tons-per-day mill and a “camp,” which more resembled a village. In 1919, the mine employed 139 SUMMER 2012

men. There is a report of up to 200 men working there in 1917. For the next 50-plus years, the mine went through alternating periods of production and lying fallow, driven by metal prices and the extreme weather. Because of the elevation, most work was done between July and October. When Klockmann died in 1942, he had been involved in the Continental Mine for 50-plus years. His widow, Martha, continued the family involvement until her death in 1957. By best estimate, between 1904 and 1971 the Idaho Continental yielded 160 ounces of gold, 1,326,223 ounces of silver, 122,250 pounds of copper and an incredible 62,313,000 pounds of lead, the material that led Klockmann to go looking in the first place. Though the poet who wrote those lines about gold “out in Idaho,” was evidently not telling the whole truth, Klockmann’s Continental did, at least match the “on top of the ground” description of mining in Bonner and Boundary counties. But, the name “talache,” might better synopsize the general fate of those hundreds of holes in the ground that have been dug since the Wild Horse strike brought prospectors through here. It is a native word from Mexico, the name of a small pick used by Indians to grub silver out of the ground by hand.

HIKING

Two guys, three lakes, three days A Selkirks lake-hopping adventure

By Tyler Williams Photos by Doug Marshall

s we crested the ridge, the lake burst into view, as if rising up to greet us from a thousand feet below. The dark, royal blue water was so striking that it seemed out of place, like a parcel of the Mediterranean had been scooped up and plopped incongruously amidst gray granite and forest green, here in the high Selkirks. The mind-bending bank of blue was called Harrison Lake, source of the Pack River and a popular place to camp just a few miles past the end of the road. For most, the sight of Harrison Lake means a destination reached. For photographer Doug Marshall and me, it was one more beautiful sidelight in a string of watery stopovers. Lake-hopping is a perfect pastime in the high Selkirks. The lakes are plentiful, the routes between them are relatively simple, and the backdrops are high-mountain-splendor-gorgeous. The Selkirks have the most expansive, clean granite of any mountains in Idaho, featuring glacially scoured white-gray slabs along the entire backbone of the range. The rock dominates the landscape, reminiscent of the iconically granitic Sierra Nevada. In both ranges, open mountainsides of bedrock make cross-country hiking a breeze, except when a steep-sided basin interrupts the flow, like here at Harrison Lake. We scanned the cirque above the lake. The mountain had been bowled out, like a giant ice-cream scoop had shoveled a dollop of

bedrock straight out of the ridge. The most reasonable way across led through a maze of boulder fields and boggy alpine terraces and tangled clumps of brush. It all looked daunting, and we advanced carefully. Stopping every 20 strides, we looked ahead at the next 100 feet, 500 feet, 1,000 feet, constructing a jagged route where our progress might continue. An hour later as we looked back on the scene with the benefit of hindsight, it all looked so obvious. Turning, the next forest basin unfolded. No lakes here, just line after line of stately firs growing among openings of talus and moss-hung granite shelves. It looked like bear country, and it is. Although grizzlies were killed out of Idaho and most of the continental United States within the last century, the great bears have retained a foothold in the Selkirks. This is mainly because the mountains are linked to

The author picks his way through the giant, granite boulders in the cross-country route from Beehive Lake to Harrison Lake

SUMMER 2012

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

HIKING

wild country north of the border, and for grizzlies, linkage is key. Bears and other large mammals need to intermingle with neighboring populations to maintain genetic diversity and thrive. Once a mountain range is an island in a sea of human development, large mammals are essentially trapped on that island, forced to reproduce with genetic relatives, in human terms, cousins and siblings. This destroys a population. If, however, animals can find a bridge to the next parcel of wilderness, and potential mates, the species can flourish. Idaho’s Selkirk grizzlies run a precarious balancing act in this regard, able to migrate north and only north. Studies have found a 15 percent loss in the genetic diversity of Idaho’s Selkirk bears. Not an imperiling statistic, but troubling. If a travel corridor were maintained across U.S. Highway 95 connecting the Selkirks to the Cabinet Mountains, the bears’ odds would improve. Ultimately, it comes down to whether or not we humans want to keep the wild in our wilderness. Having predators in the Selkirks adds an element to the backcountry experience. Even though the chances of encountering a griz are slim, I found myself paying attention to my environ74

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

ment just a bit more keenly than if they weren’t present. I smelled, I listened, I prepared myself for an encounter, running through daydream scenarios in which I would avert my eyes, stand my ground, and stoically avoid the role of desirable prey. Most close grizzly encounters I’ve experienced have followed this scenario, with the bears promptly walking or running in another direction. It’s almost a relief to finally see one, and realize that I am of little interest to the wild creatures. Sitting alone by the campfire on our second night out, I heard branches snap in the woods nearby, and it made me edgy. I stoked the fire, and eased into my sleeping bag on alert, a can of pepper spray nearby. This wild edge is present in the high Selkirks despite the range’s proximity to the bustle of Sandpoint. Just 20 minutes from Cedar Street, Doug and I had left the highway at a country store, curving past rural homesteads on Upper Pack River Road. The Pack River of early September crawled golden through a bed of rounded boulders below the road. The forest held a dull sheen of almostautumn, riverside cottonwoods on the cusp of yellow brilliance. But this forest is unique, holding one of the most diverse combinations of conifers on SUMMER 2012

the continent: Cedar, larch, hemlock, spruce; white pine, lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine; grand fir, alpine fir and Douglas fir all intermingle in a mosaic of different shades and shapes. By the time we had reached our first lake at elevation 5,000 feet, the multilayered canopy had homogenized almost to a single species, subalpine fir. Even this ubiquitous, high-mountain tree takes on a special, uniquely recognizable form in the Selkirks, manicured into a trimmed, spire-like shape. We pitched camp as the sun slid between twin peaks rising over Beehive Lake, the first water stop of our tour. Racing impending shade, I dumped my pack and launched belly first into the crystalline mountain water, shedding grime from the three-mile uphill slog that got us here. Refreshed but chilly, I started a small warming fire as the sun set. In the morning, we ascended a ridge that knifed between Beehive Lake and the next basin to the north. Strolling across granite walkways atop the airy spine, I stole glances outward to surrounding ranges – the Cabinets, Purcells, Kettles. To the north, high bald peaks of the Canadian Selkirks loomed, the most majestic of all. The Selkirks are one of the longest

HIKING

Above: The early morning light inspires the author at Two Mouth Lake. Left: Soaking in the last rays of sunshine at Beehive Lake

ranges in the Rocky Mountains, formed as the continent has made a slow but inexorable grind into the Pacific Plate far to the west. The rounded dome of Mica Peak near Coeur d’Alene is the southern extent of the Selkirks. The obvious range crest north of Sandpoint where Marshall and I lake-hopped is the next segment north, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Most of the range resides in British Columbia, extending north for more than 300 miles. Geologists tell us that the odd amalgamation of landforms that make up the Selkirks were all created from a singular body of core rock thrust skyward together, just eroded in different ways. For off-trail cruising on Idaho’s Selkirk crest, the erosion happened perfectly. Walking here is surprisingly simple due to the broad terraces of granite and a relatively open timberline environment. Just a few hundred feet lower, alders, ash and huckleberry bushes 6 feet tall make for some of the toughest bushwhacking anywhere, but at the top of the range, we traveled with ease, down slick rock domes scoured clean by winter avalanches and polished smooth by ice age glaciers 14,000 years past. During the height of the last ice age,

the peaks of the range barely poked above an Antarctic scene of snow and ice. As that ice receded, it gouged at the mountain slopes and created cirques, now filled with winter snowmelt known as tarns. The result is a series of picture-perfect mountain lakes, perched in amphitheaters of granite. It was only when we got off that granite that the going got tough. Tired and impatient to reach our final lake destination, we started off on a beeline toward a low pass. That was a mistake. Having spent much of my life wandering in trail-less backcountry, I should have known better: avoid side-hilling, stick to ridges, look for game trails, find open ground, stay out of drainages. Rather than looping to the next rocky spine where we could have strolled on smooth slabs to water’s edge, Marshall and I succumbed to the idea of the shortest route and dropped into the woods straight toward Two Mouth Lakes. Huckleberry obscured our footing and clawed at our legs. The forest closed in and created an uneasy sense of Where-the-hell-are-we-going? When open granite beckoned at the edge of the woods, it was like spotting an old friend. We veered for the familiar rock. Minutes later, the welcome sight of glass-smooth water furtively peered beyond the treetops. Moose tracks sank deep into mud at the water’s edge. The southern Two Mouth Lake was shallow, and relatively warm, with rocky bluffs forming small peninsulas and bays along the western shoreline. Backpacks were luxuriously off-slung. Tired feet were soaked. A trail led away from the far shore, and this is what we followed on the final day of our alpine lake tour. It dropped out of the granite, into the forest, following wooden boardwalks that hovered above boggy seep meadows. I was glad to have the trail now, to move without constant route-finding, to gaze across an emerging valley, looking past fat white pines that grew high enough to have escaped the saw, toward granite monoliths that rose starkly from the dark forest, guarding a land where rocks rule, trees are merely decorations, and each new basin holds a clear, perfect Selkirk lake. SUMMER 2012

Three lake hikes in the Selkirks You don’t have to hoof it cross-country to reach these three fabulous lakes in the Selkirk Mountains. Harrison and Beehive, two popular destinations, may be reached via separate trailheads about a mile and a half apart on Upper Pack River Road. Two Mouth Lakes are accessed on Myrtle Creek Road in Boundary County. In his book “Trails of the Wild Selkirks,” Dennis Nicholls describes Harrison Lake as a stunningly beautiful alpine cirque ringed by granite cliffs and peaks, including the dramatic hooked summit of Harrison Peak. Trail No. 217 is a relatively short 2.3 miles and is rated moderate. Beehive Lakes Trail No. 279 is rated difficult and climbs 4.4 miles to the upper lake as fabulous views unfold. At the slab rock, cairns mark two routes; head uphill across vast exposed granite to find the upper lake. Nicholls writes, “The north Twin rises starkly above the pristine waters of the lake, sheltering a basin that looks and feels as wild as any place on the continent.” Trailheads: Drive 13 miles north of Sandpoint on U.S. Highway 95 and turn west on Upper Pack River Road No. 231. Travel about 19 miles to a spur road branching off to the left; drive a couple hundred yards to the Beehive Lakes trailhead. To reach the Harrison Lake trailhead, continue on Road No. 231 to nearly the end. Two Mouth Lakes Trail No. 268 affords excellent views of Harrison Peak before descending into the lakes’ basin. Go right at the fork to reach the lower lake, “one of the most exquisite jewels in the Selkirks,” according to Nicholls. The lakes are connected by a series of meadows full of wildflowers and a stream, perfect habitat for moose. The trail is four miles and rated difficult. Trailhead: From Bonners Ferry, turn off U.S. Highway 95 onto Riverside Road to the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge. Bear right past the refuge headquarters and go 1.3 miles to Myrtle Creek Road No. 633. Turn left and travel just over 12 miles to the trailhead. Check trails conditions with the Sandpoint or Bonners Ferry ranger districts, and pick up a copy of “Trails of the Wild Selkirks” at local retailers or at www.keokeebooks.com. –Billie Jean Gerke SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

Ospreys

Birds of myth and fortune

By Heather McElwain

certain storied mystique shrouds ospreys. Though the birds of prey are found on every continent but Antarctica, they still inspire, amuse and awe anyone whose interest they capture. For centuries, they have been praised in literature. Written 2,500 years ago, China’s oldest, most celebrated poem, “Guan ju,” begins “Guan guan trill the ospreys on the islet in the river.” The Corps of Discovery expedition team recorded them, Lewis noting a “white-headed fishing hawk,” and Clark describing “the Crown of the head white, and back of a milkey white.” Even the ospreys’ various names have inspired much pondering: The genus Pandion is perched in the Greek mythological family tree, from King Pandion of Athens whose two misled daughters and devious son-in-law, Tereus, were all turned into birds – the daughters into a nightingale and a swallow, and Tereus into a hawk. Many bird enthusiasts think designating ospreys as Pandion (rather than Tereus) was a bird-brained move by orni-

PHOTO BY TIM CHRISTIE

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SUMMER 2012

An osprey dives feet first in pursuit of its prey and will sometimes completely submerge itself, as shown below. PHOTOS BY JERRY FERRaRa

thologist Jules-César Savigny in 1809. The species name (haliaetus) – from Greek halos (“sea”) and aetos (“eagle”) – is also a misnomer: “Sea hawk” seems more appropriate. And the etymological tracings of osprey are also disputed. The most accurate label is “fish hawk,” as ospreys are the only raptors that almost exclusively eat live fish. Despite nomenclature uncertainty, the return of ospreys to area shorelines each mid-March to early April assures spring’s arrival. In many places, their homecoming or a nearby nesting pair symbolizes luck. Here, we are fortunate to have one of the largest osprey breeding populations west of the Rockies. They have thus become mascots of sorts, catching people’s attentions with their distinguished white underparts and head, M-shaped wingspan that can reach 5 feet, and dark stripes that extend from their eyes down the cheek. Their luck and notoriety also apparently secure them frontpole seats at the annual music extravaganza that turns 30 this year: According to Festival at Sandpoint Board Member Marilyn Sabella, the ospreys have been the Festival’s biggest annual supporters – and crowd-pleasers. “People are always delighted the first time they see and hear them. They point up at them and make sure their friends and neighbors see them,” Sabella said. Festival Executive Assistant Toni Lund said, “People ooh and ahh, especially on symphony night, (the ospreys’) favorite night.” Sabella agreed: “They seem to love classical music. They swoop in time to the music and sing along.” They “show off,” displaying their catch, trilling their distinct

shrill kyews (or guan in Chinese, apparently), and then take in the show atop a pole, often receiving as much adoration as main-stage acts. This fact hasn’t been lost on festival poster artists: An osprey takes center stage on Ward Tollbom’s 1988 poster; a cartoony Pandion perches on Moozart the Moose’s antlers in Bonnie Shields’ 1997 poster; and one swoops to the music in Carver Kearney’s 2010 poster. These birds may soar to even higher celebrity with installation of a webcam – placed under guidance of Keokee Co. Publishing, Inc. and the City of Sandpoint above one of two new nesting platforms erected as part of a Memorial Field restoration project. Inspired by the Eagle Cam in Decorah, Iowa, which has drawn millions of viewers, the osprey webcam will give people a glimpse into the behaviors and biology of these fascinating birds.

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Ospreys raise two to four young, feeding them fresh fish and teaching them how to catch their own prey at age seven or eight weeks. PHOTO BY JERRY FERRaRa

Janie Fink, a raptor biologist and Birds of Prey Northwest (BoPNW) executive director, serves as a webcam consultant. She believes the camera will help viewers understand all the complexities and intricacies of nest building, breeding, and raising young. Fink became involved in the webcam project due to BoPNW’s conservation efforts and involvement with Avista in resolving nest issues. Founded in 1993, BoPNW’s mission is to promote “stewardship and conservation of raptors through educational programs with live birds of prey … (and) provide medical treatment and rehabilitation to injured birds of prey with the ultimate goal of returning them to the wild.” Fink hopes people will be fascinated by ospreys’ biology and their uniqueness. In her words, “There’s nothing else like the osprey.” And indeed, they are singular enough to be the only bird in the Pandion genus and Pandionidae family, truly one of a kind. Having dedicated much of her career to handling raptors, Fink spent five years working with Wayne Melquist, a retired northern Idaho nongame manager and prominent osprey expert. Fink worked with Melquist during the 2000s, capturing almost 100 ospreys from the Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene basins for reintroduction into South Dakota, where ospreys were threatened. According to Fink, Melquist spent 30 years scaling trees, climbing ladders and being lifted in bucket trucks, all to band birds, establish informational databases, track migratory patterns and reestablish threatened populations. What is the ospreys’ most distinct characteristic? “Clearly, it’s how they hunt for fish and crash into the water at 30 mph,” Fink said. To see ospreys’ artful angling is to watch piscatorial perfection. They hover and soar in search of fish near the surface. They dive, feet first, from as high as 120 feet, sometimes completely submerging. Fink says their dense plumage, dislocat78

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able shoulder joints, underwater vision and fleshy nostrils that close allow them to plunge unaffected and then immediately fly with their catch. Their success is nearly certain, largely due to spiky scales on their talons and an opposable toe they can rotate to allow them a two-toed grip on either side of a fish. They will carry fish weighing half their weight, rotating the fish so its head faces forward for streamlined flight. Ospreys nest atop trees or manmade structures like utility poles, buoys, bridges or any high spot away from predators. Their nests can resemble 400-pound, found-object art installations crafted of sticks, moss, bones, toys and, quite possibly, lost sandals. Unfortunately, ospreys also gather trash such as six-pack carriers, twine and fishing line, which can cause strangling or starvation of birds. And because they are loyal in returning to the same nest – and the same mate – each year, ospreys may add so much material that nests can potentially collapse under their own weight. Come April, females lay two to four brownish mottled eggs. Although either parent will sit with the eggs, females do most incubation, typically for a month, leaving the males to provide half-digested fish bits. Although young ospreys typically fledge and begin fishing after seven or eight weeks, ospreys have had to resort to denying food to resistant fledglings that sometimes “run away” to a nearby nest. Once grown, the sexes have few distinguishing characteristics in appearance, except that females can weigh twice as much. Thanks to Melquist’s research, we now know that, like other area snowbirds, northern Idaho ospreys begin their southward journey in September and into early October. Melquist’s banding helped trace them as far south as the Pacific coast of El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica – a journey of up to 4,500 miles in about a month. In an average life span of 15 to 20 years, ospreys can wing potentially 160,000 or more migration miles. Fink says young birds make their first journey to southern wintering grounds, where they remain until reaching sexual maturity in their second year, and then head north again; unpaired males begin nest preparation and await a female who reportedly chooses her mate based on the quality and location of his nest. Although northern Idaho has been a stronghold for ospreys, numbers everywhere plummeted in the mid-1900s, due to human use of DDT and other contaminants in agriculture. These pollutants trickled from farmlands to waterways; they then traveled the food chain, eventually causing reduced reproduction and eggshell thinning in ospreys – as well as bald eagles, peregrine falcons and songbirds. DDT use was banned in the United States in 1972, and osprey recovery has been steady since. However, avian biologist Colleen Moulton of Idaho Fish and Game says that, due to continued use in wintering grounds, DDT is still being detected in ospreys’ blood and eggs in the Pacific Northwest, although levels are not enough to cause significant problems. Ospreys were never placed on the national endangered

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mighty o s p r e y

Lights! Action! Ospreys! New webcam gives peek into osprey nest

Looking distinguished with their white underparts and heads, ospreys have M-shaped wingspans that can reach 5 feet. PHOTO BY BIll SCHaudT

species list, but they are still endangered in Ohio and threatened in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Indiana. Within the past five to 10 years, ospreys have been removed from many other states’ lists, particularly in North Atlantic coast and Great Lakes regions where they were most affected. Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists ospreys as a species of special emphasis. They are also considered an indicator species that informs us of environmental imbalances, and are protected by the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which defends them from being pursued, captured or harmed in any way. Moulton says that populations have now either reached or exceeded historic numbers in most locations – numbers the National Audubon Society estimates at around 460,000 globally, with North American populations around 211,500. Moulton says recovery has largely been due to the DDT ban, the installation of artificial platforms, reintroduction efforts and heightened awareness of the sensitivity of nesting birds. Maybe their innate fortune even aided the comeback. And so, the fish hawks’ story continues. Each sighting along the lake, each kyew heard on the wind and each click onto live-streaming nesTV will likely inspire more poetry, mystique and amusement – especially for those of us lucky enough to live among the abundant one-of-a-kind raptors.

he much-loved ospreys of Sandpoint’s Memorial Field have a brandnew home – and are also stars in a reality show, thanks to a webcam installed at one of the new nests. The webcam provides real-time, live video streamed onto Sandpoint Online, the community website produced by Keokee Publishing, at www.sandpointonline.com/ospreys. With an osprey pair adopting the nest as of late April, their entire nesting cycle – nest building, egg-laying, hatching and fledging chicks – will be live on camera all summer. The cam was installed in the first in a series of improvements planned for Memorial Field, the lakeside park that’s home to Sandpoint football, baseball and soccer games and the Festival at Sandpoint. With support from the Friends of Memorial Field, the city is undertaking a $1.375 million capital campaign for upgrades, including replacement of the field’s aging grandstand. Last fall the city removed the field’s old, decrepit lights and installed new light standards. Two of the old light poles held osprey nests, and in replacing those, the city erected nest- Thorco Electric crews ing platforms above the lights. place Memorial Field Staff at Keokee saw an opportunity, and posed lights with nest platit to the city: How about installing a webcam at form and webcam above one of the nests? Sandpoint Parks & Recreation Director Kim Woodruff embraced the idea; as it gained steam, Avista and Northland Communications offered support, and biologist Janie Fink from Birds of Prey Northwest agreed to consult. The webcam promotes osprey education and conservation while helping publicize the Memorial Field project. “We hope people who hit that page will see how Memorial Field is such a huge part of what makes Sandpoint tick,” said Woodruff. Fink predicted osprey fans will be delighted by this chance to see all the complexities of nest building, breeding and raising young ospreys. “Ospreys are unique birds of prey,” she said.

Ospreys a high note at festival

ver wanted to see an osprey eye-toeye? Ospreys, and other raptors, will be a high note at this year’s Festival at Sandpoint at Memorial Field. As part of the Family Concert with the Spokane Youth Orchestra on Sunday, Aug. 5, raptor biologist Janie Fink of Birds of Prey Northwest will present a half-hour program on Idaho raptors with several Biologist Janie Fink and osprey live birds, including a hawk, falcon, owl, osprey and eagle. Fink’s organization, based in St. Maries, Idaho, holds U.S. Fish and Wildlife permits for rehabilitation of injured raptors. For children and adults alike, the program will cover the raptors’ unique biology and offer a chance to see wild birds up close. See more about the Festival at Sandpoint on page 27.

SUMMER 2012

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Rare animals rarely seen Story by Cate Huisman Photos by Tim Christie

n 1888, when Teddy Roosevelt shot the caribou whose antlers hung for years in a bar in Bonners Ferry, herds of these animals were taken for granted across the northern tier of the United States. Now they are extremely rare, and, as with other uncommon animals, they survive here only because the northern panhandle has some of the last large stretches of wild, uninhabited land in the Lower 48. Human inhabitants may come here because they treasure this wildness and the freedom it engenders, but these animals live here because they depend on it. Rarely do they make their presence known to humans. One such elusive inhabitant is the wolverine, an animal much studied the past two winters by Idaho Fish and Game with assistance from Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness and other volunteers. Wolverines have oversize, bear-like paws that enable them to travel with remarkable rapidity on snow. In fact, a wolverine named M3, involved in a study at nearby Glacier National Park a few years ago, has become famous among wolverine aficionados for climbing the 4,900 vertical feet to the summit of Mount Cleveland in 90 minutes. Although they were once trapped for their fur, this is no longer legal in Idaho, and humans who have encountered them suggest that they will meet such interaction with fierce resistance. Wildlife educator and tracker Brian Baxter has live-trapped them for study, and he recalls one wolverine who made its attitude toward him clear as he approached the trap. “There was nothing but saliva and claws and a tenacious, serious, obvious, guttural warning,” said Baxter. Wolverines don’t attack humans, although Baxter did decide to wait for assistance before he tranquilized and collared that one. They are, however, happy to go after unsecured human habitations when the humans aren’t around, and with their big claws, they are well-suited to tearing things apart. They also leave a smell behind that Ben Gadd, a Canadian naturalist, calls “Eau d’Unbearable.” Equally elusive and also once prized for its fur is the Canada lynx, a rare mountain cat. Like wolverines, lynx rely on oversize feet to travel over snow; the lynx’s feet are as big as those of its distant cousin the mountain lion, a much more common animal two or three times its size. The same advantage applies to the snowshoe hare, which is the primary prey of the lynx; populations of these two species are closely tied to one another.

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Lynx are similar to bobcats, but they are much less often seen. “If you see something darting across the road and it moves like a house cat, it’s usually a bobcat,” said Baxter. In contrast, the lynx has a stooped appearance and sometimes moves likes its favorite prey, with what Baxter called “almost a semi-bunny kind of jump.” It also has distinctive ear tufts, wisps of dark fur that stick straight up off the tips of its ears. The function of these tufts is unknown, although Baxter said there are several theories about them: They might have something to do with providing camouflage, sensing wind direction, locating prey, or making the animal look more intimidating. The remnants of the woodland caribou herds that Teddy Roosevelt hunted survive only at the northernmost edge of the panhandle. Like the other survivor species, they have large feet – famously large, snowshoe-like hooves that enable them to navigate over snow in winter to eat the lichens off trees. They were so common at the time Roosevelt visited that early European settlers depended on them for food, and a prospector named Billy Houston counted on them for even more: He is said to have spent the winter of 189192 high in the Selkirks, guarding his mining claim while camped in a caribou-hide shelter, clad in caribou-hide clothing, and eating – as the last of his supplies gave out – nothing but caribou meat. Currently the herd includes only 20 to 35 animals that range back and forth across the border between the United States and Canada near Stagleap Pass. Efforts to enlarge this herd in the 1980s met with mixed success, and a 20-year

SUMMER 2012

moratorium on harvesting old growth to provide a “recovery zone” for them did not endear them to local loggers. More recently, designation of critical habitat for caribou has led to the closure of snowmobiling areas around Priest Lake, and this hasn’t made snowmobilers any happier than the loggers were. Efforts to resolve the resulting impasse are ongoing. Perhaps the most famous of northern Idaho’s rare, wild animals is the grizzly bear. Larger than the far more ubiquitous black bear, the grizzly’s fur color varies, while white tips at the ends of each hair give it its grizzly appearance. Its footprints are alarmingly huge, but grizzly bears themselves are large animals, ranging up to 800 pounds for the largest males. In the last year or two, grizzlies here and elsewhere have had a few unfortunate interactions with humans. “Most of the time they don’t want anything to do with people,” said Brian Johnson, an Idaho Fish and Game habitat biologist. They sit at the top of the food chain and, like wolverines, are “opportunistic omnivores.” “Our bears are primarily huckleberry bears,” Johnson said. “Ninety percent of a north Idaho bear’s diet is plant matter, and when we get a bad huckleberry year, that’s when we have a lot of bear problems.” Grizzlies were hunted almost to extinction before they were designated a threatened species in 1975. Since then, their numbers have been slowly growing, but humans still rarely encounter them. Hikers in late summer and fall are far more likely to come across piles of what bears have left behind, and these piles provide ample evidence of the grizzly’s fondness for huckleberries. If the grizzly is the most famous of rare panhandle residents, the gray wolf is perhaps the most infamous. These animals once roamed most of North America, but they preyed on livestock and were almost completely eradicated in the 20th century. “The wolf is the king of long-distance travel,” said Johnson. “They can travel hundreds of miles to find a new pack and a new territory.” Wolves wearing radio collars have gone from Alberta to Colorado and from Boise to Saskatchewan. In an attempt to protect them from extinction, wolves were reintroduced in central Idaho in 1995. Because they are such great travelers, and because “they crank out a lot of puppies,” as Johnson put it, they have spread widely and successfully, including into the northern panhandle. It is legal to hunt wolves in Idaho now, and Johnson said their population has stabilized. Even though wolves are no longer considered rare, human visitors

aren’t likely to see them. Humans might see the scat – like a dog’s but full of hair from the wolf’s prey. And they might see tracks. Wolves have very large feet – a typical 90-pound male leaves a dog-like track, but it’s closer to the size of a small human hand. Like the gray wolf, which can be said to be rare most everywhere but here, the bull trout has been eradicated from most of North America but flourishes in Lake Pend Clockwise from above: Gray wolf, bull trout Oreille and its tributaries. (Ward Tollbom illustration), Canada lynx, wol“When we talk about bull verine, woodland caribou and grizzly bear trout, we talk about water quality,” said Tom Whalen, Idaho Fish and Game senior conservation officer. Bull trout flourish in our lake because our water is so pure. Mining pioneer A.K. Klockmann wrote in his diary that near the turn of the last century he caught a “char” so big that when the fish was slung over his buddy’s shoulder, its tail dragged on the ground. Klockmann also wrote, “I have regretted ever since that we did not take the time to skin him and have him stuffed.” Whalen believes this was likely a bull trout, but in the absence of any record of the catch, the bull trout that now holds the world record is a 32-pounder, caught in Lake Pend Oreille in 1949. Bull trout are featured on the Bridge Street pedestrian bridge; they’re the steel fish with the pink glass spots attached to the railing. These fish are part of Whalen’s public education efforts; he enlisted the help of students in Yogi Vasquez’s welding class at Sandpoint High School to cut the fish and arranged with local glass artists Bryan and Zabrielle Dillon to make the spots. Such artwork, along with a plethora of stories and photos and historic records, show that the human population of the panhandle values these rare fellow residents. Keeping them as neighbors will continue to require planning and effort, and even some small sacrifices of our own freedom to roam the wilderness. You can bet that they hope we think it’s worth it.

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Enjoy a little R&R

Refuge and recreation

daho Fish and Game (IFG) manages more than 370,000 acres of land, including 32 wildlife management areas (WMAs) that support more than a million daily users. Bonner and Boundary counties are home to three such WMAs, plus Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge. All are situated along the Pacific Flyway, an important West Coast travel route that spans from Alaska to Patagonia. Every spring and fall, thousands of migratory birds travel parts or all of the flyway in search of food, breeding grounds or overwintering sites. These lands were set aside to provide refuge for numerous waterfowl and other birds, as well as mammals such as white-tailed deer, bears, elk and moose, and to provide people with recreational opportunities – to hunt, toss a line, paddle, pedal, stretch the legs, watch wildlife, check off “life list” birds, and capture natural beauty with pixels or paint. The following highlights what you might see and do as you explore what IFG Biologist Colleen Trese calls an “important chain of wetlands” – the WMAs and national refuge of Idaho’s northernmost counties.

Pend Oreille WMA, Bonner County The 6,300 total acres of Pend Oreille WMA are made up of more than 25 noncontiguous land tracts that dot Lake Pend Oreille and the Pend Oreille River, the first of which was established in 1956. The largest parcels include the Pack River Delta (1,994 acres) and the Clark Fork Delta (1,728 acres). Each site hosts different species of interest. Walking the delta parcels come spring or fall, you might spot a great blue heron rookery, nesting eagles and ospreys, and waterfowl in the thousands; among them, tundra swans’ high-pitched honks and common loons’ siren songs will likely stand out. Paddling Denton Slough, you might spy Western grebes in a seemingly synchronized courtship ritual. Morton Slough, one of many parcels along the Pend Oreille River, occasionally offers sanctuary for double-crested cormorants. And south of Sandpoint, Westmond Lake area provides nesting habitat for the largest black tern colony in northern Idaho. 82

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By Heather McElwain Photos by Cady, Jamsa, Pavia Photography

Some parcels have nonmotorized trails on which to explore, and some have improved and unimproved boat ramps for waterway voyaging.

McArthur Lake WMA, Bonner & Boundary counties Traveling northward, outdoor enthusiasts can easily access 1,238-acre McArthur Lake. Established in 1942, this WMA was Idaho’s first and was founded to boost low Canada goose populations. According to Trese, who manages the two northern WMAs, McArthur Lake is a rest-and-refuel stop for many common waterfowl species, including white pelicans that stop yearly around June or July and red-necked grebes that visit occasionally. Deer, elk and moose can also be spotted on the site. A paved launch offers boating access.

Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge (KNWR), Boundary County Twenty miles south of the Canadian border, the KNWR was established in 1964. Unlike the state-run WMAs, 2,774acre KNWR is part of the federally run refuge system founded by President Theodore Roosevelt. According to Refuge Manager Dianna Ellis: “The Kootenai River Valley was once the largest wetland complex in northern Idaho. (Farmers) realized the fertility of the soil and built dikes along the river and tributaries to facilitate farming. In 1964, the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC) realized a pressing need for waterfowl habitat because so many of the wetlands had been drained.” In response, the land was purchased entirely from duck stamp revenue. In fact, 98 cents of every dollar spent on duck stamps is reserved to purchase lands for wildlife. Now the refuge hosts more than 300 different species. According to KNWR’s Talina Richards, the refuge offers countless wildlife-watching opportunities: In summer, you might see three species of hummingbirds (rufous, blackchinned and Calliope) that nest and breed there. In spring, you might spot moose foraging marshlands, a herd of 150-

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plus grazing elk and the mountain bluebird, Idaho’s state bird. Migrating waterfowl numbers can be staggering, with peak duck populations reaching between 25,000 and 40,000 in the fall, and Canada geese reaching 3,500 to 4,000. You may see them in farmed fields of winter wheat, barley and millet left standing for fly-by-night diners. KNWR staff also occasionally spy off-course species, such as white-faced ibises typically found farther south. The refuge offers environmental education and interpretation programs at the Environmental Education Center; a 4.5mile Auto Tour Route for motorists, bicyclists and hikers (or skiers and snowshoers on the unplowed route in the winter); five maintained trails including one that leads to 100-foot-tall Myrtle Creek Falls; and a serene photo blind. The headquarters, Chickadee Trail and Cascade Pond Overlook are all wheelchair accessible.

Boundary-Smith Creek WMA, Boundary County With a really good arm, you might be able to throw a stone across Boundary Creek into Canada from Idaho’s northernmost WMA. This 1,401-acre parcel was also agricultural land, but it was placed into a Natural Resources Conservation Services wetland reserve program that restored the property to its historic wetland condition before WMA designation in 1999. In addition to waterfowl in the wetlands and mourning doves that nest along Boundary Creek, the land is also prime big game habitat. The site offers a network of nonmotorized trails, a picnic area and an overlook.

Clockwise from above: Myrtle Creek glistens at Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge; a great blue heron casts a wary eye; a cow moose and calf make a water crossing; Boundary-Smith Creek Wildlife Management Area lies near the Canadian border; a sunrise illuminates Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge; and the largest flyway stop is Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area in Creston, British Columbia.

Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area, Creston, British Columbia Thirteen miles north of the Canadian border in the Kootenai River valley sits the largest of the flyway stops – 17,000 acres of provincial wetland habitat, preserved in 1968 with support from Ducks Unlimited, BC Hydro, wildlife organizations and government grants. The WMA supports numerous bird, mammal, fish, reptile and amphibian species, including the rare Coeur d’Alene salamander and the province’s only known breeding populations of Forster’s terns and northern leopard frogs. In addition to hunting and fishing opportunities for which the WMA was originally preserved – the 3,700-acre Duck Lake is known for its largemouth bass fishing – Creston Valley offers numerous other activities, including naturalistguided tours in voyageur-style canoes around waterways near the Wildlife Interpretation Centre and 19 miles of trails to explore. The Interpretation Centre and part of a boardwalk are wheelchair-accessible. Now, with all this out the backdoor, the only challenge should be finding time for a little R&R.

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SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

Wild & Woolly

photo essay

Sally Sutherland :: Cougar in the Yaak

Doug Marshall :: Mountain Goat in Northwest Montana

Cady, Jamsa, Pavia Photography :: Otter at Kootenai Refuge

Jump!

Doug Marshall :: Marmot in the Selkirks Cady, Jamsa, Pavia Photography :: Coyote pup at Kootenai Refuge

photo essay Jump!

Jerry Ferrara :: Eagles at Granite Creek

Real Estate

R _ E

Dover Point

DREAM HOUSE

By Beth Hawkins

Guided by Friends, Couple Creates asian-inspired lake home

avid and Jeanne Cousino’s summertime love affair with Sandpoint started in the 1970s, after friends had invited the couple up from California to check out their condominium at Condo del Sol – situated on the pristine shores of Lake Pend Oreille. The couple was immediately charmed with the area. “We just fell in love with Sandpoint,” Jeanne Cousino said. 88

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The Cousinos decided to purchase their own condo in the same building, in fact, just two units down from their friends. And a beloved tradition was established for decades to come. “Our family has been vacationing in Sandpoint every summer since,” she added. “It’s a beautiful place to be.” In the beginning, the Cousinos would bring their children up from their primary home in Petaluma, Calif., for a week every summer

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PHENOMENAL HOME

Real Estate Photos by Marie-Dominique Verdier Above, left: The architect used an insulated skylight material called Kalwall to give the look of glass while allowing light in Left: The grandeur of the house is hidden in the low maintenance landscaping

while he was still working as an orthopedic surgeon and she was running preschools. The family gradually started extending their stay a little bit longer every year as commitments freed up and children grew older, until finally the couple would find themselves spending their entire summer – and even an additional month in the winter – in Sandpoint. Many years later, it was another

friend who led the Cousinos to discover the location for their future home site in Dover Bay that overlooks the Pend Oreille River and the Long Bridge. Ralph Sletager, a friend and former handball partner of David Cousino, told them he wanted to turn the old sawmill site in Dover into a community. “I told him that I thought he was crazy,” David Cousino said. “But after several years, he did it.”

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the stairs to the He added that the famentrance. “Along ily often took boat jaunts the way you look downriver from Condo del over the cliff to the Sol to the Dover Point area lake below, and then in search of calmer wateryou cross a covskiing water. “We passed ered bridge over a that point 100, 200 times Japanese-inspired in our boat and never paid stream,” he said. any attention to it,” he said. David Cousino As Sletager’s bustling jokingly refers to Dover Bay started to take the stream – a magshape, another friend connificent water feature vinced the Cousinos to that traverses large, check out the construction native boulders and there. The group arrived, Jeanne and David Cousino. Courtesy photo wraps around the front of the home – meandered around and then decided to as “the ditch” but says it’s his favorite drive up the hill to see the lots at the top of feature of the home. Jeanne Cousino is Dover Point. wowed by the stream as well. “It’s pretty special; when you “My friend looked at Lot 8, and Jeanne and I went to Lot walk over the bridge, you hear this roaring water going along 6,” David Cousino said. “We sat there on a rock and looked under you,” she said. at the view. We had always said owning a condo was easier, The 3,600-square-foot home, finished in 2009 by Pete but when we saw that view – that was it.” Gauthier and Hope Builders, is a well-thought-out fusion of The couple made an offer and purchased the lot. David native wood and rock and subtle Asian inspiration. The main Cousino now chuckles about the fact that the friend who first convinced him to look at the property didn’t make a pur- floor of the home includes an open-concept living area with a gourmet kitchen, living room and dining area – all designed chase, but “He comes up to visit us quite often!” for easy entertaining – with sweeping views of the Pend First things first, the Cousinos employed the exceptional Oreille River, the Long Bridge and the Cabinet Mountains to talents of Sandpoint architect Jon Sayler to design a home the east. The master bedroom is also on the main level (perthat would embrace the breathtaking views. The steep slope haps one tiny nod to senior accessibility) with a private deck of the home site was certainly daunting, and in the preliminary planning stages, the semi-retired couple brought up the and hot tub. On the lower level is a family room complete with a wet idea of incorporating senior-friendly features such as handibar and wine cellar, which David Cousino built himself with capped accessibility into the home. David Cousino recalls hexagon-shaped tiles. “It was my best invention,” he said, saying to Sayler: “We’re old people. We’ll have to sell the of utilizing the tiles’ shapes to strategically hold the wine house by the time it’s built.” bottles. Two additional bedrooms and bathrooms on the lower But Sayler quickly put those thoughts aside. level accommodate summer visitors, including the couple’s “Jon asked me if I was there yet (needing handicapped seven granddaughters (with another grandbaby on the way), accessibility) and I said, ‘No.’ Jon said simply, ‘Well, when who range in age from 4 to 21 years old. you get there, then you sell it.’ ” “It’s a pretty packed house for a couple of weeks,” Jeanne With a steep driveway, several sets of stairs and a windCousino said. ing path down to the water’s edge, there’s not a seniorFrom the outside, notable architectural features of Sayler’s friendly feature in sight. David and Jeanne decided to heed alpine variation on an Asian-style home include the use of the architect’s advice: “It’s a one-of-a-kind view, so we simple gable roofs, large overhangs, and panel-and-batten needed a one-of-a-kind house,” David Cousino said. gable siding that closely mimics the Japanese panel-andThe steep slope did present its own set of challenges, batten. A vivid red color is used on the window sashes only, but it’s an area of expertise for Sayler and his design firm. to give a slight burst of color against a dark wood and stucco Particular attention was paid to the fact that the home exterior that blends into the site and flora. needed to be accessible both summer and winter. The couOn the interior, Sayler infused more Asian inspiration ple now spends time in Sandpoint during the snowy months to play at Schweitzer Mountain Resort. So instead of running when confronting the issue of big, main-view planes from the home’s great room area that faced directly into the the driveway down toward the main part of the home, Sayler morning sun. designed a parking area and a garage built above a guest “No roof can protect you from the east or west sun, apartment, with stairs leading down to the home’s front door because the sun is too low in the sky,” Sayler said. To help one level below. alleviate the heat gain each morning, Sayler used an insuSayler points out that it’s a scenic journey down SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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lated skylight material called Kalwall to give the look of glass while allowing light in. “It also keeps out the direct glare and saves the heat gain and heat loss that would occur using regular glass. This material also closely resembles shoji screens.” Despite having a flair for a place far from Idaho, the Cousinos’ home only uses woods that are grown in the local area. The floors, doors and windows are clear fir – perfectly complemented by a high ceiling of clear Western red cedar. The beams are made in Idaho of Douglas fir, and the hardwood cabinets are American cherry. Jeanne Cousino’s favorite feature of the home (besides the view, of course) is the hand-stacked rock, installed by Cabinet Mountain Rock, that flanks an entire wall in the stairwell leading from the upper level to the lower level. Friends of the couple helped guide their interior design choices, swooping in just as they were inundated with decisions on flooring, granite, colors and more. They spent “too many hours” making selections before a daughter of a friend from the East Coast – who works at a design business – made a visit to Sandpoint. “She looked at what we had chosen and said we’re on the wrong track,” David Cousino said. “She threw it all out – she said that all of our choices were contemporary, and it would go out of style quickly. She wanted it to be classic, and she steered us in the right direction.” It has been friends and acquaintances who have helped navigate the Cousinos toward their dream lakehouse; Sayler is one of them who appreciates the couple’s warmth, humor and genuine kindness. He recalls the first summer after completing the Cousinos’ home, when he was taking a few friends on a boat tour of the lake. “We went by the Cousino house,” Sayler said. “I saw Jeanne on her dock and being the wise guy, I yelled out, ‘What a beautiful house! Who designed it?’ She replied, ‘A friend!’ My eyes flooded with tears.”

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Canadians flock south, fuel local economy

By Patty Hutchens

ver the last year, Rand McNally has named Sandpoint both the most beautiful small town and the No. 1 ski town in the United States. And as word continues to spread about this year-round resort community, the economy reflects that people are listening. Nearly a decade ago, the influx in real estate sales was credited to retirees from California, but that is no longer the case. Motivated by both the beauty of the area and the strength of the Canadian dollar, the recent upswing in this town’s economy, in both real estate and retail sales, can be credited in large part to Sandpoint’s neighbors to the north. Margie Stevens, a real estate broker Brandon and Abby Terry of Lethbridge, Canada, recently bought property near the Long Bridge, their and agent for Century 21 Riverstone in home base for holidays with their daughters, Arianna, left, and Denali. Courtesy photo Sandpoint, said she has seen a steady increase in Canadian residents purchasSandpoint quickly became a second Places south of Sandpoint may ing property in Sandpoint, especially home to the Terry family, and over the also have lakes and mountains, but during the last three to four years. years they established close friendships Canadians only have to travel 60 miles “As soon as the Canadian dollar with locals. Those relationships have into Idaho before arriving in Sandpoint. started getting stronger and stronger, When they do, they are frequently struck influenced the Terrys to make many they (Canadians) started buying more,” more trips here during other times of by the town’s beauty and friendliness. said Stevens. the year. “So why go any farther?” Stevens Stevens said most of the Canadian As working parents in their mid-30s, asked. purchasers she has encountered have the couple was looking for a place where Evergreen Realty’s sales associchildren living at home or are empty they could get away and relax with their ate Charesse Moore said that she, too, nesters still in the workforce and looktwo daughters, ages 10 and 8. They also has seen an increase in inquiries from ing for a good investment. desired a place with year-round beauty Canadians over the last few years. “They are looking for second homes “I would say about 15 percent of peo- and activities. Sandpoint was it. or recreational property,” said Stevens, “Growing up in northern Manitoba, ple who contact me are from Canada,” who adds that Canadians are purchaswe are used to spending time in thick said Moore. ing homes and property ranging in forests and being around water in the Moore’s clients, Brandon and Abby price from $100,000 to more than a milsummer,” said Abby Terry, adding Terry of Lethbridge, Alberta, first came lion dollars. that their current town of Lethbridge is to Sandpoint in 2001 for a camping A majority of Stevens’ Canadian clisparsely treed and windy. “Sandpoint ents are specifically looking to purchase trip. They purchased real estate here in has beautiful lakes, mountains, trees September 2011. property with easy access to the lake and a small-town feel that we like.” “In 2004, we discovered Springy and all the recreational activities it has Because both Brandon and Terry to offer. Their decision to purchase here Point campground and have been Abby work high-stress jobs, he for the camping every summer in Sandpoint is primarily driven by the value they City of Lethbridge Police Department since,” said Abby Terry. “And since receive for their dollar, the weather and then several more friends have joined us and she as a registered nurse, the all of the summer activities. family appreciates unwinding in as well to enjoy all that Sandpoint has “But more than anything it’s the Sandpoint’s beautiful surroundings. to offer.” lake,” said Stevens. summer 2012

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Northern neighbors boost real estate market

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o Canada “When we are ready to enjoy the multiple recreational activities in the area, Sandpoint is a mere 10 minutes from our door,” said Abby Terry. “We enjoy time on the beach, boating with friends, biking, skiing, day trips and shopping.” The Terrys purchased a little more than 5 acres on a small, spring-fed lake with a 360-degree view southeast of the Long Bridge. The parcel includes a trailer house they will eventually remove, as they plan to build a modest residence someday. “It’s super quiet and secluded, and that’s why we like it so much,” said Abby Terry. The economy influenced their decision to purchase property in the United States. “The strength of our (Canadian) dollar was a major factor in being able to go forward in the purchase,” said Abby Terry. Moore said the Canadian market has not made a significant impact on her business, but it has definitely helped. “And it (Canadian traffic) is not just

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beneficial to the real estate market but also to restaurants and hotels,” she said. Melody Circo of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce’s visitor center has noticed a significant increase in Canadian tourist traffic over the last three years. “It increased so much that last summer, at least 50 percent of our traffic was from Canada,” said Circo. While Canadians, primarily from towns just over the border in British Columbia, have frequently come to Sandpoint for school shopping, Alberta shoppers increased significantly last year, according to Circo. Both retail and hospitality industries have seen a significant increase in Canadian traffic. Tawnie Sleep, who along with husband Brent own Sleep’s Cabins, said over the last three years the percentage of Canadian guests who rent cabins have increased to about 40 percent last summer. “They are also staying longer,” said Tawnie Sleep. Many of her Canadian guests are

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also looking to purchase real estate; many also come with trailers and fill them with everything from groceries to school supplies, taking advantage of the strength of the Canadian dollar. “A lot of our guests bring their boats so they are buying gas and eating (at restaurants) on the lake as well,” she added. She said many of her Canadian guests save their vacation time to come to Sandpoint at various times throughout the summer for events such as Lost in the ’50s, the Fourth of July, the Long Bridge Swim and the Festival at Sandpoint. “They absolutely love it here,” said Tawnie Sleep. “Many even go up to the mountain in the summer and mountain bike.” Steve Meyer, owner of Pend d’Oreille Winery in downtown Sandpoint, said his business too has experienced a significant increase in Canadian visitors over the last two years. “A reasonable estimate is that we have had a four-fold increase in visits to

O canada Sandpoint, has allocated more of its advertising budget to the Canadian market to attract them. “It’s been very effective,” said Meyer. Bonnie Eng, the general manager at La Quinta Inn in Sandpoint said 2011 showed a significant increase in Canadian visitors, and the numbers so far in 2012 signal even more of an increase from last year. “Our Canadian friends are very important to us,” said Eng, who adds that the number of Canadian license plates traveling through town is an indication of that. Real estate agent Terry Cooper, of Lakeshore Mountain Properties in Sandpoint, has had several clients from the Calgary area over the years. He said a majority of them made money in the oil industry and are primarily looking for waterfront property. “They are doing well in the oil industry, and they are looking for bargains,” said Cooper. “And our waterfront is very affordable.” Cooper said his Calgary clients have

remarked at how much less traffic there is on Lake Pend Oreille than the lakes in their area. Cooper agrees that there is much to be said for the value of the Canadian dollar, but he also attributes the rise in sales to the media exposure that Sandpoint has received. “The word is out that we are becoming the place for retirement and second homes, especially for people who like to be active year-round,” said Cooper, adding that business was extremely busy the first few months of this year. Moore agrees. “We are still the hot spot,” she said. For Brandon and Abby Terry, no place compares to Sandpoint. “Sandpoint has retained the smalltown feel even with the swelling of tourists over the summer months. There are not many places that have year-round attractions and year-round relaxation,” said Abby Terry. “As soon as we hit the city limits of Sandpoint, we’re home. And every time we leave, we are already planning our return.”

Real Estate

the winery from Canadians over the last two years,” said Meyer. While they are limited in the amount of alcohol they can bring back to Canada, the visitors from the north definitely enjoy the winery. Meyer recently spoke with one Canadian couple who would previously stop in Sandpoint for lunch on their way to Coeur d’Alene. This time though they decided to stay here. They took in a play at the Panida and said they were drawn here by not only the beauty but also the friendliness of the community, something Meyer said is a common theme he hears from the Canadian visitors. Many neighbors to the north say the friendly experience, milder weather, beauty of the lake as well as the arts and culture are all reasons why they like Sandpoint, according to Meyer. Canada’s prosperous oil industry may be one reason for the economic bump the Canadians give the local economy. The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, through Visit

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Downtown revitalization

Real Estate

Long-awaited bypass opening Stage set for transformation in downtown design, transportation By Cate Huisman

hortly after this issue of Sandpoint Magazine hits the newsstands, the Sand Creek Byway will finally open to traffic – maybe. Although the new roadway was scheduled to open Memorial Day weekend, some issues with settling appeared to be forcing a delay. Whenever it happens, the opening will be momentous. This long-awaited project follows three and a half years of construction and half a century of sometimes heated debate over whether it would prove to be a boon or a bane for Sandpoint. It may take awhile to reach a conclusion on that, but even on the first day, one advantage will be obvious: “There will no longer be any U.S. 95 truck traffic in town,” said Kody Van Dyk, public works director for the City of Sandpoint. Far fewer conversations will come to a halt on First Avenue as 18-wheelers work their way through their gears after stopping at crosswalks and dancing clumsily around the 90-degree turn at First and Cedar. Through-traffic on Fifth, First, Pine and Cedar will be limited to U.S. Highway 2 travelers, as those traveling U.S. Highway 95 will move up to the bypass.

Aerial photographer Jerry Luther has documented construction progress since the bypass project began. Photo above shows progress as of April 22

As vehicle traffic diminishes downtown, new opportunities will open up for walkers and cyclists. In addition to quieter downtown streets, they will have access to both a newly extended walkway on the west side of Sand Creek and a new bike path on the east side. These new routes will provide a perspective on the city from its long unappreciated and underused creekside waterfront. The walkway, which has now been completed from the Sandpoint Marina to the end of Main Street, includes plenty of cleats so boaters can tie up for a few hours while dining or strolling the town, or resting on one of the unique stone benches created by concrete artist John Siegmund. A floating kayak dock will soon be attached to the north end of the walkway behind the Panida Theater. Across the creek, the bike path built with the bypass will

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Downtown revitalization

carry two-wheeled travelers all the way north to Ponderay. For the moment, that path ends abruptly near the train trestle, but Ponderay City Planner Erik Brubaker anticipates it will be extended when U.S. Highway 95 is upgraded through his town this summer. The “popsicle connection,” as he calls this extension, will enable cyclists to connect with the path coming off the Popsicle Bridge from North Boyer Avenue and to the commercial delights of Ponderay with the aid of a traffic light and crossing at Bonner Mall Way. Motorists on the bypass, raised above city streets, will have a view of all this activity and will be able to see all three of the city’s marinas and its beach. They will see strollers walking a new, all-abilities path to the circular bench at the end of the jetty around Windbag Marina, and they will have a direct view into the backside of First Avenue businesses. Downtown Sandpoint Business Association Manager Marcy Timblin says her mem-

bers are acutely aware of this coming new perspective on Sandpoint, and they are in the process of considering how best to capitalize on it. On the other side of First Avenue, the front of the Panida Theater has gotten a fabulous facelift that returns it to the glory its builder, F.C. Weskil, must have intended. Its refurbished

The Curve will ease the passage of traffic on U.S. Highway 2 through town and allow the city to reclaim its streets for local transportation

marquee is best appreciated at night, when the flashing pink and blue lights draw theatergoers like moths to a flame. Ongoing improvements are planned

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summer 2012

Downtown revitalization

for the theater, but the current top priority for Panida funds is functional rather than visible: It’s time to stabilize its 85-year-old infrastructure and add a sprinkler system. Eventually, when

funds allow, the Panida may get a creekfront mural on the back of the high wall behind the stage. Another invisible but significant change to downtown has arrived in the form of ultra-high-speed fiber optic Internet service, the result of efforts by the city and Bonner County Economic Development Corporation and a half-

You’ve thought about it... You’ve visualized it...

Real Estate

Winemakers Steve and Julie Meyer have big plans for the historic Belwood’s Building

million dollar investment by Northland Communications. City Planner Jeremy Grimm anticipates that the availability of Internet speeds of up to a gigabit per second will be “a game changer” for downtown Sandpoint, helping to attract businesses and fill offices in a way that throughhighway traffic never could. While the opening of the bypass is in itself significant, this change is really the harbinger of other, even more far-reaching changes coming to downtown. Most significantly, within a few years the city will “get its streets back.” The state – not the city – still owns the downtown streets that have, until this spring, been traversed by U.S. Highway 95, and the state won’t relinquish them on the day

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the bypass opens. Those streets won’t revert to the city until after the next big highway change – The Curve – has been put in place. The Curve is where U.S. Highway 2, coming down from the north along Fifth Avenue, turns west at Pine Street briefly before heading southwest out of town. It will eventually handle twoway traffic, as vehicles now routed on the one-way loop down to First Avenue and back will instead travel both ways on Fifth. A year of planning and public input has gone into the design of this arc, and the fruit of this effort is a design called The Couplet. This novel approach will part traffic for a couple of blocks, sending eastbound traffic down Pine to Fifth, while westbound traffic follows the old railroad alignment that is now a bike path. Construction of The Curve, however, is still at least a year or two away, as it awaits funding from the Idaho Transportation Department. So Pine, First and Cedar will remain one-way streets, under the control of the state, for several more years. Those years present a significant planning opportunity for Sandpoint, and for this, the city has contracted with an urban design and planning firm, SERA Architects, Inc. of Portland, to solicit public input and come up with possibilities. “SERA has an extremely good resume for public involvement and multimodal transportation in downtowns,” said Van Dyk, and residents should be starting to hear about their meetings by the time they’re reading this magazine. The public has already voiced its opinion on plans for Main Street, which traverses the city from east to west, connecting the downtown with Division Avenue. Once a corridor for a streetcar that connected two train stations, the street is not nearly as “main” as it once was. Two plans are under consideration: a Greenway option that emphasizes use of Main by walkers and cyclists, and a Circulation option that maintains Main Street as a thoroughfare. A public workshop in January elicited about equal interest in the two, and at press time the city was still waiting to hear from several constituencies summer 2012

before making a decision. Even though two-way traffic is still several years off, Pend d’Oreille Winery owners Steve and Julie Meyer are already anticipating the potential of a two-way Cedar Street, which will bring visitors into town from the north as well as from around the corner to the south. They have purchased the old Belwood’s Furniture store kitty-corner from their winery and tasting room with the intent of developing it into the kind of multiuse property envisioned in Sandpoint’s Comprehensive Plan. The centerpiece of their purchase is the brick building, at 301 Cedar St., that over the past century has housed not only Belwood’s but also Jeffries Furniture and, before that, a pool hall, cigar shop, mercantile and the St. James Hotel. The Meyers are looking both to appreciate the building’s history and to create an environmentally responsible building that will have LEED gold certification. They saved and reused as much material as they could while they reconstructed the interior, including hundreds of feet of vertical grain Douglas fir flooring, which has been planed down to remove decades of adhesives and coverings. Steve and Julie anticipate a retail endeavor on the ground floor and four apartments upstairs that will have views of the Selkirks and Cabinets. Although the building will not be ready to house new tenants until the fall, summer visitors will notice the newly sandblasted brick walls. “We’re trying to peel back the years to reveal the original look of the building,” said Steve. Their purchase also includes three additions that have been tacked on to 301 Cedar over the years. Within the structure on the east side, they hope to re-reveal the sign painted on the brick wall that once advertised Jack Parker’s OK Chevrolet used car lot. In the building to the south, which faces Jeff Jones Town Square with windows and a courtyard, they envision a café, coffee house, or even another wine bar – an ideal gathering space adjacent to the Farmers Market. Across Cedar Street from the Meyers’ new purchase, an entire city

Real Estate

block remains empty where TaylorParker Motor Company stood for decades after it moved across the street from its lot west of 301 Cedar and before it moved to Ponderay last year. This property now belongs to Bonner General Hospital, which intends to use it for parking and to consolidate its far-flung offices, currently spread out among several buildings in the north end of downtown. At the far end of Cedar and across Sand Creek, a facelift and reopening of the Sandpoint Train Depot are in the offing after the city, Amtrak and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad reached an agreement on how to save the historic structure last year. Built in 1916, and the only structure remaining from the town’s original site east of Sand Creek, it will continue to serve as Idaho’s only Amtrak station. Funding is in place for repairs to counteract the effects of decades of neglect, but a date for its reopening had not yet been set. Finally, it’s a rare discussion of downtown development that doesn’t include parking, and the Sandpoint Urban Renewal Agency (SURA) moved beyond talk this spring to propose redeveloping the city parking lot on Third Avenue. SURA envisions a development that would include a parking garage as well as residential and commercial space. The plan has received mixed reactions, with some concerned about turning over control of the city’s lot to SURA, and some, as usual, wondering whether there is truly a need for more parking spaces anyway. In the last few years, citizens have put a lot of effort into planning for Sandpoint’s future, and the bypass’s opening gives them opportunities for more. Eric Paull, SURA’s chairman, assured the city council that there would be ample opportunity for community involvement in the design of its parking lot project. And SERA will soon be casting about for citizen opinions on how the new/old two-way streets should be configured. Despite the city’s laurels in the national press recently, it’s evident that the time has not yet come for its residents to rest on them.

http://www.sandpointrestore.org

Because

life more to there’s

than bad

Because there’s

A News

E Worth

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Because there’s more to life than bad news

news

Wading

more to life

than bad news

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Because there’s more to life than

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August

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iverJou

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Your monthly source for the news and events of the Clark Fork River Valley.

www.RiverJournal.com P.O. Box 151, Clark Fork, ID 83811 • 208-255-6957 • info@riverjournal.com

spt mag a.indd 1

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We Know It’s More Than A House... It’s Your Home

R _ E

• Efficient • Sustainable • Affordable • Certified summer 2012

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

101

Cocolalla Creek Ranch

A picturesque view of the mountains, surrounded by lush pastures, verdant trees, and thriving wildlife – such a place makes you feel at home with nature. Here at Cocolalla Creek Ranch, let your passion for the outdoors become the lifestyle you have always wanted! Cocolalla Creek flows out of the mountains and through this fully equipped 240 acre working horse ranch. Spend the afternoons riding on the many miles of trails both on and off the property, or enjoy watching the elk graze at twilight in the fields. Cocolalla Creek Ranch is located between Sandpoint & Coeur d’Alene and is an hour away from Spokane. Offered at $1,900,000. Anytime Info 208.449.0071 #11891

Sleep’s Cabins Relax and enjoy the Sandpoint waterfront lifestyle without any of the hassle and maintenance! This brand new cabin community offers a unique opportunity for a select few. Five new cabins will be built on this outstanding piece of property with common area maintenance & landscaping included. Each cabin will have 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, a den, and a garage stall. Community waterfront and dock afford access to the river and lake while the Selkirk Mountains provide the backdrop. Close to Coeur d’Alene, Spokane & Canada. Prices starting at $395,000. Anytime Info 208.449.0071 #15011 © MMVII Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Claude Monet’s “Red Boats at Argenteuil,” used with permission. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a licensed trademark to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc.

Rich Curtis 208.290.2895

Karen Nielsen 208.946.9876

Josh Ivey 208.946.7355

Granite Creek Estates

A completely private, gated 78-acre estate artfully situated and surrounded by Granite Creek. This custom cedar sided home with an all copper roof, boasts over 5,000 square feet of immaculate craftsmanship and views of the water from virtually every room. Interior amenities include a gourmet chef ’s kitchen, grand entry with custom cherry staircase, formal dining room, piano room, and second floor master suite with an elegant marble bathroom. Amazing wildlife… elk, moose, deer, and your own private trout stream. Comes complete with two maintenance buildings and a caretaker’s cottage. This property is surrounded on two sides by National Forest. It is truly one of the most unique estates ever offered in all of North Idaho! Only three miles to Priest Lake. Offered at $4,200,000. Anytime Info 208.449.0071 #15231

Salishan Point Moonridge Estates

Affordable luxury, exquisite scenery, old world craftsmanship… Welcome to Salishan Point on the Pend Oreille River! Comprised of 9 riverfront, 5 creekfront, and 10 wooded secondary home sites across 50 acres, Salishan Point is an exclusive gated community designed for those who cherish the natural beauty found in North Idaho. Amenities include a four-acre beachfront peninsula equipped with bathhouse, pavilion, sandy beach, and playground. Launch a boat from your private dock or from one of the included boat slips in the marina and experience the tranquility of waterfront living at Salishan Point. Prices starting at $59,000. Anytime Info 208.449.0071 #13661

Moonridge Estates

Relish the carefree life in Moonridge Estates and enjoy the most unique neighborhood in Sandpoint! Built for those who appreciate classic American architecture, attention to detail, and a sustainable lifestyle, these one and two story bungalow homes are reminiscent of a simpler time. Complete with amenities such as paver walkways, a reflection pond, a peaceful sitting area, and beautiful landscaping. Homeowners can enjoy afternoon strolls on the bike path or neighborly conversation from their front porch. Moonridge promises to provide a close-knit neighborhood with only twenty new bungalows to be built by DSS Construction. Prices starting at $239,000. Anytime Info 208.449.0071 #13881 An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated, Except Offices Owned And Operated By NRT Incorporated. Sandpoint office: 208-263-5101, 200 Main Street, Sandpoint, ID 83864.

Real Estate

R _ E

marketwatch

Marketwatch: Buyers make their move in local real estate market

s Bonner County real estate prices

“It used to be you could go on vacation,

continue to drop, more real estate

come back and the house you had your eye

shoppers decided it was time to

on would still be there,” Chambers said.

appears to be within the city of Sandpoint,

“That’s changing now.”

where sales increased a whopping 41 per-

step up and make their purchase during the

interest, and there are more closed sales.” The most popular area for home buying

latter part of 2011 and early 2012, as com-

Chambers said a good way to explain

pared to the same time period a year before.

what’s happening is to visualize the letter

a 33 percent increase in the number of

U. If you are someone who buys a house

sold listings.

The number of listings sold increased 16

cent. The Hope/Clark Fork area experienced

percent from late September 2011 through

following the downward slide towards the

Looking ahead, a strong indicator of a

mid-April 2012, with 339 properties chang-

bottom of the U, you don’t buy at the low-

positive future for the area – and the field

ing hands. The previous year’s number of

est price but you get your pick of the litter.

of construction – is in the increased number

sold properties was 292.

After the market has bottomed out and

of vacant land sales, Chambers said.

Is this a sign that Sandpoint’s real estate industry is making a comeback after years of recessionary weakness? “We’re selling a lot more homes, but they’re cheaper,” said Chris Chambers, MLS president. Chambers said the number of REO (bankowned) properties continues to be a factor in the decreasing sales price, but potential

starts going up again, inventory goes away and more buyers enter the market.

And Barta maintains a positive outlook when sizing up the local real estate mar-

“That’s kind of what it feels like right

ket. “Are we through the worst? Yes. Have

now,” said Chambers. “People are feeling a

we hit bottom? Yes. Is this a good time to

little bit of pressure. These properties are

buy? Yes.”

moving and selling; it tends to create a sense of urgency in the market.” Selkirk Association of Realtors President

buyers are starting to notice that homes they

Raphael Barta concurs: “This year is proceed-

have been watching are now selling.

ing better than last year. There is more buyer

Log & Timber Crafters

Two notable exceptions to the rule are Schweitzer and Priest River. Sales are down and prices are down – so all of you bargain hunters, get shopping! –Beth Hawkins

CaribouCreek.com

wherever happy place your home. 104

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2012

market trends Residential Sales By Area

All Areas

Schweitzer 2010/2011

2011/2012

% Inc/Decr

2010/2011

2011/2012

Sold Listings

292

339

Sold Listings

% Inc/Decr -14

Volume - Sold Listings

$73,817,221

$75,726,841

Volume - Sold Listings

$6,339,335

$5,373,700

-15

Median Price

$189,000

$165,000

-13

Median Price

$275,000

$232,500

-15

Average Sales Price

$252,798

$223,383

-12

Average Sales Price

$301,873

$298,538

-1

Average Days on Market

178

167

-6

Average Days on Market

283

273

-4

% Inc/Decr

Bonners Ferry

Sandpoint City 2010/2011

2011/2012

% Inc/Decr

2010/2011

2011/2012

Sold Listings

Volume - Sold Listings

$9,565,301

$15,387,600

Volume - Sold Listings

$7,256,775

$10,463,718

Median Price

$175,000

$155,000

-11

Median Price

$125,000

$146,903

Average Sales Price

$195,210

$223,008

Average Sales Price

$145,135

$166,090

Average Days on Market

129

136

Average Days on Market

175

167

-5

2010/2011

2011/2012

% Inc/Decr

2010/2011

2011/2012

% Inc/Decr

Real Estate

Selkirk Multiple Listing Service Real Estate Market Trends

Hope/Clark Fork

Sandpoint Area Sold Listings

178

217

Sold Listings

Volume - Sold Listings

$50,905,284

$54,961,965

Volume - Sold Listings

$2,043,250

$2,375,500

Median Price

$217,250

$187,000

-14

Median Price

$174,000

$224,500

Average Sales Price

$285,984

$253,280

-11

Average Sales Price

$227,027

$272,958

Average Days on Market

175

Average Days on Market

315

182

-42

Based on information from the Selkirk MLS© for the period of Sept. 29, 2010, to April 20, 2011, versus the time period for Sept. 29, 2011, to April 20, 2012. Real estate statistics for Bonner and Boundary counties. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed!

Welcoming Families to North Idaho for Over 35 Years A Name You Can Trust

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Full Service Real Estate. 25 agents, 3 locations. Specializing in • waterfront • land • commercial • residential • farms & ranches • ski condos

SANDPOINT 202 South First Avenue Phone: 208-263-6802 Toll-Free: 800-544-1855

BONNERS FERRY 6606 Lincoln St. Phone: 208-267-8575 Toll-free: 866-375-8575

SCHWEITZER 155 Village Lane Phone: 208-263-9460 Toll-Free: 866-673-2352

R _ E

www.cbsandpoint.com summer 2012

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

105

Building Services SANDPOINTECOBUILDER.COM Green building, small homes, custom finish, remodels, additions, outbuildings, decks, gifts from wood

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Ted Bowers, LEED A.P. Certified Member of the Northwest Ecobuilding Guild & N.C.H.H.

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a design n build company combining nature, handwork, & the craft tradition designing & building awe-inspiring homes since 2003

Your hometown mover and handyman Professional Movers/Licensed Contractor 208.265.5506 • rlmsandpoint@gmail.com 106

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2012

1326 Baldy Mt. Rd. Sandpoint, ID 83864

Natives and newcomers

Natives and newcomers By Amie Wolf Photos by Marie-Dominique Verdier This edition of Natives and Newcomers, a department that offers the viewpoints of two native residents alongside those of two fresh transplants, profiles individuals with some pretty diverse interests – from French cooking, to horse roping, to flying airplanes, to racing electric cars. The interviewees all seem to have a unique zest for life, which they plan to make full use of during the summer months in Sandpoint. Enjoy getting to know them, and maybe get inspired to try something new along the way.

must-do list here during summer?

Natives

If you could change one thing about Sandpoint, what would it be?

Nichole Burnett Nichole Burnett, 33, has lived in Sandpoint her whole life besides time spent attending college in southern Idaho and in Lexington, Ky. The owner of Burnett Quarter Horses, she spends most of her time working with horses, doing training, teaching, shoeing and breakaway roping. The daughter of Lee and Alison Burnett, she also enjoys camping and exploring in the surrounding mountains. While she has worked Courtesy photo

for 12 years as a farrier, a skill she feels blessed to have, Nichole hopes to attend veterinary school. How did your family wind up in Sandpoint?

My grandparents Art and Myrt Burnett moved here from Coeur d’Alene in 1943 to farm and ranch in the Gold Creek area, then later moved to the Oden area where they raised seven kids, ran a dairy and later ranched registered Angus cattle. Ever been tempted to relocate somewhere else?

Yes, I’m a warm weather person, in love with wide open spaces. I was born into a climate where six months of cold weather isn’t uncommon and a community that is getting more crowded every year, and every hobby I love is built around the summer weather. But I’m still here. It’s home. What’s

sUMMeR 2012

your

My horse sports team, roping competitions, exploring the backwoods on horseback. The best adventure I ever had was a nine-hour trail ride from 7 at night till 4 in the morning with my best friend. Most said we were crazy – maybe we are, for two women alone, in the mountains, in the dark, but to us it was a lifelong memory. And we try and do a trip together every year. Some of my favorite things may be considered “work” to others – putting up hay, building fence. They’re “fun” to me.

Return it to a smaller community with no land developments (not possible, I know) where everybody knew their neighbor and there wasn’t so many “keep out” or “no trespassing” signs. We’ve lost some of our small-town trust, values and personal friendliness.

Shawn Riffe

Born and raised in Sandpoint, Shawn Riffe, 40, has worked at Encoder Products Company as a mechanical engineer for 14 years. He and his wife, Stacie, have two teenage daughters, Nicole and Kyler. Shawn enjoys snow skiing, riding motorcycles, golfing, fishing and playing basketball, and is known as a “dog whisperer.” While attending the University of Idaho, the hot rod and electric vehicle enthusiast set the land speed record with a hybrid electric race car at the Phoenix International Raceway. His parents are Larry and Judy Riffe. How did your family wind up in Sandpoint?

My grandparents, Norman and Barbara Riffe, began taking summer vacations with their family in the 1950s at Sam Owen campground in SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

107

natives aND NewComerS

Ever been tempted to relocate?

Hope. They liked it up here so much that they purchased land, and the family built the house that still stands out on the point of the Hope Peninsula.

While in graduate school I worked for a company in Santa Clara, Calif., and was considering continuing my career there. I found myself riding my motorcycle out to Santa Cruz every chance I had, just to get away from the swarms of people. I was surprised at how bored I became with week after week of Santa Clara’s “perfect” weather. Although the weather changes in northern Idaho can be rather abrupt, I enjoy the change of seasons and the variety of outdoor recreation it brings.

What’s on your must-do list here during summer?

Get on or in the lake whenever possible. The beach and trails out in Green Bay are a great place to play and take in the beauty of the lake and mountains. There are a number of fantastic restaurants on the water in the area, such as Dish at Dover Bay where you can enjoy a great meal while watching the sunset over the water. If you could change one thing about Sandpoint, what would it be?

It would be nice if there were more technology and manufacturing-based companies in the area. On a national level, manufacturing and innovation are the backbone of our economy. Sandpoint is a fantastic resort town, but the service-type jobs that come with a resort-driven economy do not provide adequate wages for the majority of locals to make a comfortable living.

HEAltHfUlly SaNDPoiNt Bringing out the Green.

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Shop Outside the Box 7 days a week!

• Organic deli with gluten-free & vegan selections • Fresh juice &

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thewildflowerdayspa.com 219 Cedar Street, Suite B Sandpoint, ID 108

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

208.263.1103

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703 W. Lake at Boyer St. 208-265-8135 Signature www.winterridgefoods.com

• Organic produce • Beer & wine • Supplements Date • Bulk foods

A signed proof releases Keokee Publishing, Inc. from any reponsibility for error on copy. Please read all copy and check this job carefully. Thank you s u m m e rfor2 your 0 1 2participation in ensuring your product is the best we can make it. Please note: This color comp is produced by an in-house printer and is not indicative of the quality of the final printed piece. This proof may not accurately reflect the colors.

natives aND NewComerS

neWComers

Hal Gates

Hal Gates, 25, moved to Sandpoint in December 2010 with his fiancée, Audrey, from Atlanta, Ga. An engineer at Tamarack Aerospace Group, he likes to spend his spare time flying airplanes, hiking, building bikes – basically anything that involves movement. Hal tries to learn something new every year, from learning to knit to adding an instrument rating to his pilot’s license; he aims to add skills he can combine into a larger plan, such as learning to weld to build bikes or learning to fly the plane he wants to build. How did you wind up in Sandpoint?

After I graduated college, I worked in a coffee shop while I looked around for an engineering job. One of my regulars had a cousin who had an engineering company out here. When he came to Atlanta for a convention, I met up with him and wound up moving out here.

pROfESSiOnAl ServiCeS Life, Disability, Individual, Group Health and now Home and Auto too! Specializing in making your life easier

SCOTT ALBERTSON, AGENT TYE BARLOW, AGENT Old Power House Building 120 E. Lake Street, Suite 203 Sandpoint, ID 83864

Taxes, Payroll and Accounting Services, Financial and Tax Planning Now in Two Locations

Sandpoint

Phone: 208.265.6406 Fax: 208.265.2477

Life, Disability, Individual, Group Health and now Home and Auto too! Specializing in making your life easier

SCOTT ALBERTSON, AGENT TYE BARLOW, AGENT Old Power House Building 120 E. Lake Street, Suite 203 Sandpoint, ID 83864

BRIAN C. JENSEN, CPA PA

Phone: 208.265.6406 Fax: 208.265.2477

Bonners Ferry 208.267.1665 208.263.5154 520 Cedar Street, Suite A 6811 South Main Ste. B Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 Bonners Ferry, ID 83805 www.briancjensencpa.com

Dale J Reed Agent

302 Main Street, PO Box 1872 Sandpoint, ID 83864-0904 Bus 208-263-4264 Fax 208-263-8381 www.dalereedagency.com

Approved Providing Insurance and Financial Services.

Approved with changes Changes; please provide another proof

summer 2012

Approved

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Date

109

natives aND NewComerS

How does Sandpoint compare to other places you’ve lived?

I grew up in Jacksonville, Fla., and went to school in Atlanta. I won’t say I don’t miss some things about bigger cities, but I definitely don’t miss the noise or the traffic or the cookie-cutter houses. It just gets old after a while. Sandpoint is great: Everything is biking distance; the people are friendly; there’s no shortage of places to explore if you have good hiking boots. We’re very happy here. What’s on your must-do list here in Sandpoint during the summertime?

Hiking the mountain trails with Audrey and flying – as much of both as possible. And Lost in the ‘50s. I’m a bit of a gear head. If you could change one thing about Sandpoint, what would it be?

I think Sandpoint would make a

Morning Coffee…

really great backcountry flying base if we put a bit of work into it. We’ve got an airport with easy access to the town commercial center and a huge lake. We’re central to a bunch of really amazing wild territory, and we already have a tourist infrastructure built.

Susan Wentz, in her 50s, moved to Sandpoint from New Orleans with her husband, George, and youngest of five children, Rob, in summer 2011.

3rd & Pine • Sandpoint, ID MEYER’S

We’re There. Perk up with informative articles on Sandpoint and the surrounding area. For home delivery call (208) 263-9534

Susan Wentz

New • Used • Rentals

EES T-shirts • Hats • Hoodies

School Merchandise • Team Sports Apparel Business &Repairs Commercial • Custom• Decals • Accessories and More Located in the Bonner Mall - Ponderay

www.bonnercountydailybee.com

110

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

GreasyFingersBikes.com • 208.255.4496 nmeyer@sisna.com • 263-6790 summer 2012

natives aND NewComerS Sandpoint’s Complete Family Fitness Center Although she owned a French restaurant for 15 years, Wentz has always had a passion for theater and film. She currently produces a children’s animated series for television along with her writing partner, Becky Rivas. Sandpoint is just one of many worldly locales she has called home. Wentz has also resided in Miami, Washington, D.C., Switzerland and Germany. How did you wind up in Sandpoint?

I first came to northern Idaho to visit my dearest friend, Dawn Wiksten. I brought my husband here to visit, and he fell in love with the area, too. We were living in New Orleans when hurricane Katrina hit, and after the devastation of the Gulf area we always felt a little on edge there. We found a summer camp on Lake Coeur d’Alene and came every summer to bring our son. Then we made the drive to Sandpoint to do some exploring, and as soon as we crossed that bridge, my husband said this is where he wanted to live. We started looking for a summer rental on the Internet the following year, and boy did we find the best rental and the best landlords, Royal and Jana Shields. This past summer we just stayed.

months in Switzerland this past spring, and the beauty of northern Idaho is right up there with Switzerland. What’s on your must-do list here in Sandpoint during the summertime?

What we most want to do is hike and enjoy the lake. We just moved to a house with a water view and can’t wait to cook out and have friends and family over. I plan to cook up some mighty good gumbo made out of venison sausage and give our Sandpoint friends a real treat.

25 Meter Pool Personal Training Hot Tub & Sauna Group Exercise Classes Racquetball Nursery Massage Therapy

Sandpoint West Athletic Club DAY PASSES

and short term membership available

If you could change one thing about Sandpoint, what would it be?

There is nothing that needs to be changed in Sandpoint! But I do hope to see more stores open up in town. I know that the economy has really affected the stores, and it is sad to see so many empty storefronts on First Avenue.

1905 Pine St.

263-6633 www.SandpointWest.com

How does Sandpoint compare to other places you’ve lived?

We have lived all over the world and loved many places but none like Sandpoint. The natural beauty is unbeatable. Every day is still stunning for us. And the nicest people we have ever met are right here. We spent two

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Meeting Rooms

Gorgeous lakefront homes with flat lawns, sandy beaches that sleep 2-25. Family reunions, weddings, clubs, church retreats. Enjoy your vacation and Lake Pend Oreille at its best. Boat, jet ski rentals. www.adayonthelake.com

Archer Vacation Condos

Beautiful 3-bedroom, 2-bath waterfront condos on Lake Pend Oreille in Hope. Discount ski and golf tickets available. See ad, page 45. www.10kVacationRentals.com/sandpoint/

Best Western Edgewater Resort

Dover Bay Bungalows

GuestHouse Lodge

Holiday Inn Express

La Quinta Inn

Lodge at Sandpoint

Pend Oreille Shores Resort

Sandpoint Quality Inn

Sandpoint Vacation Rentals

Selkirk Lodge

167

Sleep’s Cabins

Sweet Magnolia Bed & Breakfast

Beautiful Victorian home with unique rooms and antiques. Located in downtown Sandpoint. Within walking distance of many local shops and businesses. See ad, page 15. www.SweetMagnoliaBandB.com

Sandpoint bed and breakfast on 30+ acres with spectacular mountain views less than 2 miles from downtown. A chic, elegant setting for a romantic couplegetaway, reunion or corporate meeting. www.SandpointRetreat.com

Luxury lakeside homes, cozy mountain cabins and lovely condominiums in the heart of Sandpoint. See ad, page 61. www.Vacationville.com Deluxe spa suites with private, jetted tub for two in bath. Gas fireplace, AC, kitchenette, free wireless Internet. www.WaterhouseBedandBreakfast.com

Kitchen

Pool on site

Bar or Lounge

Spa or Sauna

A Day on the Lake Vacation Homes

Restaurant

No. of Units

Lodging

Lodging 208-687-1450 or 208-755-4958

877-982-2954 / drarchers@msn.com

208-263-3194 or 800-635-2534

Waterfront bungalows at beautiful Dover Bay in Marina Village. Fully furnished with lake and mountain views. Fitness center, marina and hiking/biking trails. See ads, page 52-53. www.DoverBayBungalows.com

208-263-3083

Free breakfast with waffles. 24-hour hot tub, free wireless Internet. Family suites. Schweitzer ski packages. At the base of Schweitzer Mountain, two miles from Lake Pend Oreille.

208-263-2210

The newest hotel in Sandpoint. 100 percent smoke-free. The Ponderay location is at the base of Schweitzer Mountain next to the new location of Sweet Lou’s, close to Walmart. See ad, page 16. www.HIExpress.com

Downtown location, high-speed Internet. Free breakfast, themed spa suites. Silverwood, ski and golf packages. Kids stay free. See ad, page 32. www.Hotels-West.com

Accommodations for weddings, retreats and banquets. Lakeside with swimming and docks. Views of lake and mountains for an unforgettable Idaho vacation. www.LodgeAtSandpoint.com

Fully furnished condos and on-site athletic club on Lake Pend Oreille. Stay and play packages. See ad, page 64. www.POSResort.com

Indoor pool and hot tub. Close to downtown Sandpoint. 5th Avenue Restaurant and Mitzy’s Lounge on property. Kids stay and eat free. www.SandpointHotels.com

75 luxury homes and condos in Sandpoint and on the lake. First-class properties at affordable rates. Plan your perfect vacation. Boat rentals, tee times. See ad, page 5. www.SandpointVacationRentals.com

Mountain accommodations, stay-and-play packages. Spectacular mountain and lake views. Outdoor heated pool and hot tubs. See ad, page 131. www.Schweitzer.com

208-255-4500 / Fax 208-255-4502

208-263-9581 or 800-282-0660

208-263-2211

208-264-5828

208-263-2111 or 866-519-7683

208-263-7570 or 866-263-7570

208-265-0257 or 800-831-8810

On beautiful Lakeshore Drive. Sleep’s Cabins consists of six log bungalows decorated with original furnishings and collectibles. See ad, page 58. www.SleepsCabins.com

208-255-2122 or 866-302-2122

208-265-2425

Talus Rock Retreat

208-255-8458

Vacationville

Waterhouse B&B

Western Pleasure Guest Ranch

Private cabins sleep 2-8. Lodge rooms with private baths, rec room, horseback riding and meals available. See ad, page 60. www.WesternPleasureRanch.com

New accommodations, stay-and-play packages. Spectacular mountain and lake views. Outdoor hot tubs, access to heated pool. See ad, page 131. www.Schweitzer.com

208-255-7074 or 877-255-7074

208-263-0828

208-263-9066

White Pine Lodge

208-265-0257 or 800-831-8810

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Downtown Sandpoint on the lake. Indoor pool, sauna, fitness room, hot tub. All rooms with lake view. Dine at Trinity at City Beach. Also 22-site RV park. www.SandpointHotels.com

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2012

EATS & DRINKS

Breakfast

The most important meal By Beth Hawkins

ome folks are happy members of the traditional bacon-and-eggs club. Others are more adventurous, kicking their mornings into gear with spices and trendy concoctions. Adventurous or not, breakfast lovers will find lots of variety – and good ol’ home-style cooking – with a visit to one of Sandpoint’s breakfast hot spots. You’ve probably passed by Connie’s Café, 323 Cedar St., many times in the search for a breakfast spot, not realizing that the eatery’s wholesome, made-fromscratch menu is filled with mouth-watering breakfasts. The most popular, and renowned, item on the menu is Rick’s Special – custom designed by owner Dave Libbey after a customer, named Rick, back in 1986 kept requesting this unique blend of ingredients for breakfast. Rick’s Special starts with a pile of home fries, which Libbey describes as “a lot of work” as they are made from real, red-skinned potatoes. The home fries are grilled, then topped with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, ham, cheddar cheese and two eggs. Another café favorite is the Eggs Benedict, where only homemade Hollandaise sauce will do. As Libbey said, “We’re a coffee shop with dinner house quality.” For a delicious, indulgent spin on the classic French toast, take your sweet tooth over to Trinity at City Beach, 58 Bridge St., for the unforgettable French Toast Combo. It’s made with sourdough French bread that’s covered in Chantilly cream, candied pecans and caramelized apples. “It’s the toppings that make it stand out,” said Trinity chef Thane Jenness. The French toast is accompanied with two eggs and your choice of sausage or bacon. Does break-

Rick’s Special, the most popular breakfast dish at Connie’s Café. photo by beth hawkins

fast get any better than this? Everyone’s heard of a Sunday brunch, but what about a Saturday brunch with a refreshing twist on local fare? Market Day at Tango Café, 414 Church St., is a new foray for owner Judy Colegrove, joined by former owners Carol and Barney Ballard, as they introduce this brunch-themed event every Saturday during the Sandpoint Farmers Market season (May through early October). Colegrove says the idea is to use local market fare and incorporate it into the brunch menu, which will include frittatas, Eggs Benedict (with meats from local vendors), and a revolving list of other items such as pancakes and more. A full coffee bar will be in operation, as well – making Tango a welcoming respite during morning markets. Market Day at Tango Café will be open from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., Saturdays only. A somewhat unconventional breakfast place is Evans Brothers Coffee, 524 Church St. This local coffee roaster is well-known in the area for its excepSUMMER 2012

tional coffees and now offers locally made pastries and gluten-free, organic breakfast burritos – stuffed with a variety of savory ingredients such as eggs, cheese, black beans, fresh vegetables, sausage – you name it. Of course, coffee purists will still find their premium espressos and top-quality micro-latte coffees at Evans Brothers. Owner Rick Evans says the roaster is known for their “latte art.” The coffee bar is continuously getting busier – now heading into its second summer of operation – and will open up the big sliding doors this summer to accommodate even larger gatherings. Coffee bar opens at 7 a.m., Monday through Saturday. For simplicity and service – plus the freshest cinnamon rolls ever – check out Miller’s Country Store, 1326 Baldy Mountain Rd. Made daily on-site, the pastry selection includes gooey, delicious cinnamon rolls as well as Danishes and more. Hungry yet? If so, remember that you’re doing yourself a favor by enjoying a hearty breakfast – it’s the most important meal of the day! SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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Serving Sandpoint & Drinks

Chef Q&A with Matt Spence and Thane Jenness

Eats

Even though Matt Spence, 31, of MickDuff’s, and Thane Jenness, 34, of Trinity, grew up in different parts of the country, they’re both big fans of seafood. Spence is a Sandpoint native but visits Seattle and San Francisco just for the seafood. “It’s as fresh as you can get it,” he said. Jenness, from Vermont and then New Mexico, notes that his past experience at a crawfish restaurant influences his Northwest seafood cooking. Who do these two local food experts idolize? For Jenness, it’s Anthony Bourdain – “I love his passion for food. It’s how I feel.” And Spence looks up to Martin Yan, catching up with his Chinese style of cooking on “Yan Can Cook.” –B.H. photos by beth hawkins

Background

Advice for would-be cooks

What they do when not cooking Alternate career interests

Matt SPeNce

thaNe jeNNeSS

Born in Sandpoint, Spence has worked at many of the area’s well-known restaurants including Ivano’s, Arlo’s, Swan’s Landing (which is now Forty-One South), Trinity and others. Spence’s career in the food industry began as a dishwasher, and at the age of 18, he made his move into the realm of preparing food. “One of the cooks didn’t show up, so I stepped up.”

Jenness got his start at age 14 as a dishwasher at a New Mexico golf course, and after high school enrolled in culinary school in Portland, Ore. Jenness has worked at notable places around the West including Jake’s Famous Crawfish in Portland and the Grand Canyon resort El Tovar. Jenness has lived in Sandpoint for a little over two years now, and incorporates a lot of the chilies and spicier seasonings he used in New Mexico into his dishes.

For Spence, it’s all about finding your passion. “Try to love what you do,” Spence said. “If not, cooking can be kind of rough.”

“Don’t give up – it’s hard, it’s tough,” advises Jenness. He says the long hours and lack of time off can take a toll, but going to culinary school definitely opens doors for aspiring chefs.

Spence enjoys an escape. “I love the outdoors: hiking, kayaking … any excuse to play in the sun.”

Jenness loves spending time in the garden, and plants “the normal stuff – tomatoes, squash, nothing too unusual.” Coming from New Mexico, he’s thrilled with the area’s incredibly rich soil.

“I would love to open a performance auto shop.”

“I love gardening and plants so maybe something in horticulture.”

IngRedIentS 12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined 6 oz. mixed salad greens 6 strawberries Red onion

Honey lIme vInaIgRette 1 cup rice vinegar 3/4 cup honey 1/4 cup dijon mustard 2 tbsp. lime juice 1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil 1 cup salad oil Salt and pepper to taste

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SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

Chef Recipe Grilled Shrimp Salad with Strawberries and Honey Lime Vinaigrette to make the vinaigrette: Put the vinegar, honey, mustard and lime juice in blender; pulse until combined. on low speed slowly add the salad oil and sesame oil until emulsified. to make the salad: grill the shrimp with a sprinkle of salt and pepper until just done, then set aside to cool slightly. Slice the red onion into nice rings, clean and quarter the strawberries. In a large salad bowl, toss the greens and strawberries with 1/3 cup of the honey lime vinaigrette or more depending on your taste. top the salad with the grilled shrimp and onion slices; serve and enjoy!

–Thane Jenness, Trinity at City Beach SUMMER 2012

& Drinks Eats

Burgers, the classic and the cool One sandwich fulfills just about everybody’s basic need for beef: the hamburger. A delicious, mouth-watering patty, topped with veggies and sauces, nestled in a bun. Mmmmm … it’s an all-American classic, for sure. So where’s the best place to find one? Sometimes burgers are discovered in places you wouldn’t expect. One restaurant that fits the bill is Joe’s Philly Cheesesteaks, 102 Church St. The eatery’s revised menu not only includes delicious burgers but other family-favorites such as hot dogs and hard ice cream milkshakes. Burgers appear on the “Daily Special” board Saturdays and Mondays, and customers can order optional items such as grilled onions, mushrooms, double or even triple patties, plus fries or onion rings on the side. It’s all about local when it comes to the abundant varilocally raised elk burger is featured on the menu at eichardt’s. photo by beth hawkins ety of burgers dished up at Di Luna’s Café, 207 Cedar St. That’s because owner Karen Forsythe ensures that all meats burger served with Baja slaw. The dish are local – Wood’s Meats, Pack River Yak, and even a lamb is topped with grilled red onions and burger supplied by two ranches. Forsythe says the yak burger is especially healthy, toasted sesame aioli. and she seasons the lamb patty with special herbs and finely minced onion. The por“It’s all the rage to do these exotic tabella burger satisfies veggie lovers, and all buns are grilled. dishes, and it’s definitely new to Another taste of the unusual can be found at The Dish at Dover Bay, Sandpoint,” said proprietor Gary Peitz. 651 Lakeshore Ave. in Dover, where chef Eddie Sneva has created a wild boar Veggie lovers looking for the big mac daddy of the non-meat burger world should head directly to Trinity at City Beach, 58 Bridge St., for the Root Vegetable Burger. Created from seven different roots, walnuts and spices, the burger is breaded and fried before landing on a toasted Kaiser roll with jalapeno mayonnaise, pickled red onions, spinach and gouda. And when you think “burger,” it’s likely that the Pend d’Oreille Winery, 220 Cedar St., does not come to mind. That is, unless you’ve already tried the lamb slider with feta cheese, roasted red pepper and Greek olives, accompanied by oven-roasted fries. The winery is open for lunch beginning at noon. An extensive burger menu at Eichardt’s Pub and Grill, 212 Cedar St., includes Wood’s beef, tofu, chicken, veggie or local elk patty – topped with an assortment of options such as the Teriyaki with grilled pineapple, Swiss cheese and teriyaki sauce; or opt for the extra-intense garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. So many burgers, so little time! –B.H.

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SUMMER 2012

Eats

Savor Sandpoint Savor Sandpoint boosts foodie-town image

& Drinks

boosts foodie-town image

Sandpoint’s plethora of fine restaurants always astounds visitors and residents alike. You’ll hear things such as “For such a small town, there sure are a lot of great places to eat.” And a new effort launched by the community’s Sandpoint Forward group aims to boost our foodie-town image even further along – it’s called Savor Sandpoint, a creative initiative meant to share the products, stories and experiences of our community’s own cottage industry and destinations in food, wine, beer and more. Initiatives include the launch of Wheelbarrow Wednesdays, a unique event coming this summer that offers the ultimate farm-to-fork experience. On three Wednesdays this summer (July 11, Aug. 8 and ), 24 guests will join two chefs and a wheelSept. 12), barrow to shop Sandpoint Farmers Market for fresh products prepared for an exclusive alfresco dinner at Pend d’Oreille Winery. But first, they will enjoy a tour of downtown foodie stops. Organizers have secured Beau MacMillan, a regular on the Food Network, as a celebrity chef for a different program. Tickets and more details are available online at www.SavorSandpoint.com. Another exciting item in the Savor Sandpoint effort is the development of a regional cooking school. Leaders are striving to attract a culinary education program to Sandpoint that would offer vocational and experimental casual cooking classes and seminars. The goal is for a kick-off program in August and September. “This is a dynamic recipe to combine the ingredients of Sandpoint’s foodie industry into a delicious dish for community vitality, the growth of the locavore movement and an elevation in our visitor economy,” said Mark Rivers, the Sandpoint Forward consultant for the city’s downtown and economic development initiatives. “The foundation is here. The wonderful assets are here. It’s time to trumpet the story and grow it in a way that is uniquely Sandpoint.” Read more about the debut of the Savor Sandpoint initiative on the website, www.SavorSandpoint.com. It’s an online resource of the “foodie” world in Sandpoint, including a guide to destinations and dining and a one-of-a-kind magazine of recipes, lifestyle and features. –B.H.

Cyber restaurant guide What’s cooking around town? Find the right food to hit the spot online in

Sandpointonline.com’s database-driven restaurant and nightclubs guide at www.SandpointDiningGuide.com. there you’ll find every local establishment – more than 100 restaurants, nightclubs and taverns. the guide is searchable by a tasty menu of criteria: type of cuisine, typical cost and amenities such as live music, kids menu, meeting room, waterfront dining, etc. give it a click. SUMMER 2012

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& Drinks Eats

Sweet Lou’s, times two When Chad and Meggie Foust made the transition from owning one restaurant – Sweet Lou’s in Hope – to two with the acquisition this spring of the former Slates in Ponderay, you would think it would bring double the workload and double the stress. But the opposite has been true for these energetic parents to 2-year-old son Lou, namesake of the family business. “Running two restaurants forced me to hire a management team,” Chad Foust said with a smile. “It actually made things easier.” No doubt, the process is also running smoothly because the Fousts are replicating the success they found in Hope by placing an emphasis on handmade quality. The staff at both locations prepares in-house barbecue sauces, hand-cut French fries and handbattered fish and chips. And they follow a simple formula for the popular menu

filled with things like smoked St. Louis ribs, chicken fried steak and huckleberry cobbler. “Everything we serve are things that we like to eat,” said Meggie Foust. Building upon their restaurant presence comes naturally for Chad Foust, whose parents were also in the food industry. The couple moved to Sandpoint nearly two years ago from Seattle – seeking a more peaceful environment for their family. And since opening the first restaurant in 2011, they have developed a fond affinity for both the Hope area and the people – charmed by the small-town feel of running a restaurant where everybody knows your name. Their ultimate goal is to impart that same hospitality into their Ponderay venture, giving it a “family sports bar”

their young son, lou, inspired Chad and meggie Foust to name their restaurant Sweet lou’s, now at two locations. photo by CLint niChoLson

vibe by celebrating the community with local logging photos and high school sports memorabilia adorning the walls. “Lou will be there someday,” Chad Foust said, with a nod toward his son. And perhaps Lou will also follow in Dad’s footsteps when it comes to careers. How could he not with his name at the top of every menu? –B.H. Sweet Lou’s in Hope is open seasonally, from the beginning of May through Jan. 1. Sweet Lou’s in Ponderay is open yearround, daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

IT’S ALWAYS FINER AT THE 219ER! Full service bar serving Sandpoint and North Idaho for over 75 years

2 0 2 N . 2 N D AVE .

SSandpoint’s Sandpoint andpoint dpp i s Best B s Thai Food

A Five Star Dive Bar A S l ice of N ew YoR k Open 7 DAys A WeeK

208.265.7992 Follow us on 219 First Avenue enue Sandpoint | 208.263.9934 118

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BEER & WINE

coRNER of HWY 2 & DIvIsIoN SUMMER 2012

• Now Catering • Peanut sauces T 65-414 • Wine and beer 208 2 • Stir frys and soups • Our famous curries • Gluten free available • Wide Selection of Vegetarian choices

t ake ou 9

Summer Sidewalk Dining

News and events foodies need to know

& Drinks

ushi lovers finally have not one, but two, places to get their fix of temaki and other Japaneseinspired delicacies with the openings this spring of two sushi bars. Out at Forty-One South, the new Shoga (it means “ginger” in Japanese), 41 Lakeshore Dr., Sagle, is located next door to the well-known restaurant, and is housed in the Lodge at Sandpoint. With views spanning the Pend Oreille River, Sandpoint and the mountains, guests would be pressed to find a more dramatic location. Shoga specializes in high-quality ingredients, and also offers non-sushi items as well, such as chicken teriyaki and Kobe beef burgers. The second sushi bar opening in Sandpoint is the Big Tuna, 124 S. Second Ave., located adjacent to the Mediterranean-inspired restaurant The Little Olive. This new sushi spot, slated to open by the end of May, is all about casual convenience. Owner John Akins said the motto is “roll with it” – and customers can choose a sushi roll off the menu or build their own by selecting their wrap, fish, toppings and more. John and wife Tullaya were inspired by this laid-back approach while on a vacation; they came back home to Sandpoint and implemented this “fast casual” idea with a walk-up ordering counter and small patio. New ownership at Monarch Mountain Coffee, 208 N. Fourth Ave., brings the welcome addition of fresh, homemade soups served daily. Two varieties are always on the menu, and one is a vegetarian option. Sherrie and Leonard Wilson, who purchased the cozy coffee shop, plan to maintain the tradition of roasting all of their coffee in-house, as well as tempting taste buds with things such as the half-pound breakfast burritos and Italian sodas. The couple is looking forward to opening up the sidewalk café this summer – take a break, cool off, and enjoy one of the café’s all-fruit smoothies. Yummmm!

Eats

The Local Dish

Shoga is one of two new sushi bars in the

Sound the foodie alert for this next Sandpoint area. photo by beth hawkins news item: Eichardt’s, 212 Cedar St., is now smoking salmon and incorporatThe wine bar also serves lunch and dining it into several exciting new items ner fare; the panini are built to order added to the menu, including the smoked salmon penne (tossed with gar- with a fine selection of meats, cheeses, veggies and condiments. Happy Hour lic, capers and more fresh ingredients) from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. nightly includes as well as the salmon ranchero (topped $5 wine-by-the-glass and $5 appetizer with ranchero sauce and served with specials. Buy a bottle of wine during roasted red-pepper polenta). The popuFriday’s Happy Hour and receive a 20 lar pub and grill is also incorporating percent discount. more gluten-free options into the menu, Everyone loves Babs’ Pizzeria, available at the request of customers. The Coldwater Creek Wine Bar, 311 First Ave., added a variety of sizing options to the popular appetizer menu, allowing patrons to order their nibbles for one, two or four people. A must-try is the Gourmet Cheese Plate – choose from a selection of three cheeses to accompany the sliced Italian cured meat, fresh fruits, candied nuts, the new three meat Pepper grinder is a big hit at Babs’ Pizzeria. olives, flatbread and photo by beth hawkins special balsamic glaze. SUMMER 2012

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& Drinks Eats

Carolyn’s Special is a local favorite at Second avenue Pizza. photo by beth hawkins

1319 Highway 2, for scrumptious pizza, and now there’s another reason to adore this spot even more with the rollout of hot, melt-in-your-mouth sandwiches. Owner Babs says they’re already a huge hit with customers; all three are served on Italian rolls with melted provolone and mozzarella cheese and come with a bag of chips. Choose from the Chicken Aioli sandwich (chicken breast with fresh tomatoes and a lemon/pesto aioli sauce), the Hawaiian chicken sandwich (chicken breast, pineapples, onions, bar-

becue sauce and a side of mayonnaise), or the Three Meat Pepper Grinder (ham, pepperoni, salami, bell peppers, pepperoncinis, jalapeños and roasted red peppers). Quench your thirst with an Italian soda, available in a variety of unique flavors such as blueberry and tangerine, as well as sugar-free options. Second Avenue Pizza, 215 S. Second Ave., is another hot spot for pizza lovers, where the Carolyn’s Special appeases fans with its piledhigh assortment of spinach, olives,

Bulk FooDS-Deli-BakeD GooDS Breads Scones Pastries Cookies Pies Cinnamon Rolls Coffee Teas Canned Goods Spices Beans Rice Pasta Flour Nuts Dried Fruit Christian Books Housewares

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mushrooms, garlic, Canadian bacon, pesto, artichoke hearts and fresh tomatoes. If you’re hungry from the moment you arrive, place an order for garlic bread – which is really a pizza-sized appetizer that’s served with a side of meat sauce. The gorgeous setting out at The Floating Restaurant, on Idaho State Highway 200 in Hope, is reason enough to make the drive – or arrive by boat. Open seasonally from April through October, the restaurant added several innovative items to the menu including a Buffalo Chili Colorado, which is a medium-spicy dish featuring braised buffalo that’s served in a red chili sauce, and accompanied by sweet potato fry bread. Another addition – perfect for vegetarians – is the gluten-free Curry Coconut Quinoa Rice Cake. How about getting your salad all wrapped up in a roll? Bangkok Cuisine, 202 N. Second Ave., is pleased to bring back popular Fresh Rolls for the summer – basically, it’s a tapioca-skinned wrap that’s filled with a choice of ingredients such as shrimp or even tofu, veggies and more. They’re on the appetizer portion of the menu, but they make a great light lunch during the warmer months. Enjoy the patio seating, as well! If you love dining out with your significant other, and tend to order the

Wines by the glass & the best ambiance in town

Hours: M-F 8:30-5:30 Sat. 8:30-2:00

Happy hour Monday – Thursday, 5-7 Live music every Friday and Saturday Gourmet appetizers every day

Join us on

208-263-9446

1326 Baldy Mt. Rd., Sandpoint, iD 83864

MillersCountryStoreSandpoint.com

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2012

WINE BAR Mon-Thurs 11-9 Fri & Sat 11-11 Sun 12-5 208-263-6971

Upstairs at 311 N. First Avenue, Sandpoint

While in Ponderay, stop by Pend Oreille Pasta, on U.S. Highway 95 north in Ponderay, which periodically hosts wine tastings in the shop and has extended these events to private homes. Owner John Albi says customers appreciate having an informative wine tasting with friends and trying out unusual wines that they may not be used to. The shop carries several new wines including Clearwater Canyon from Idaho, and Raymond Winery organic wines from California. To stay informed on Pend Oreille Pasta’s events, e-mail albi_pop@ frontier.com. SUMMER 2012

Locatio 3 Now

Serving Sandpoint for over 27 years

Dinner served 7 nights a week Corner of First and Pine

& Drinks

hormones, and many of the ingredients are organic. New this summer, Winter Ridge is offering up catered picnic baskets. Customers can call ahead and preorder, with a choice of four or five different themes such as a wine and cheese basket, filled with fresh bread, cheeses, wine and more, or the sports basket that’s filled with homemade sandwiches and chips. It’ll be ready to pick up when you arrive at the store. Summer’s here, and the livin’ is easy! For a refreshing stop this summer, drop by Jalapeño’s, 314 N. Second Ave., for the super-popular fruit smoothies. Jalapeño’s owner Shari French said the restaurant is selling hand-painted margarita glasses, so customers can sip their pink grapefruit margarita from an artistic keepsake. Jalapeño’s added huevos rancheros to the menu, and French said it’s been a well-received addition. Just down the road, the 219 Lounge, 219 First Ave., is an iconic dive bar that keeps patrons’ thirsts quenched with plenty of drinks on tap. And make a drive out to Ponderay for a visit to the Tap Room at Laughing Dog Brewing, 1109 Fontaine Dr., for a taste of distinct craft brews including Huckleberry Cream Ale and Dogzilla IPA.

g an dinin

Eats

same meal, try the Family Style option at Ivano’s Ristorante, 102 S. First Ave. By adding a $10 or $15 charge (depending on the meal), you both enjoy soup or salad, and dinner is served on a family-style plate to be dished out as you choose. The best part is that it also includes a dessert of the day! And speaking of sharing, Ivano’s martini bar located across the street – La Rosa Club, 105 S. First Ave. – serves up an eclectic menu of tapas in both small and large plate sizes. Tapas are basically plates of food that are meant for sharing. Try the sweet breads with honey and crushed red peppers, or the fried, smashed baby red potatoes with rosemary and truffle aioli. Decadent, to say the least (good thing you’re sharing!). Open for the season, seven days a week, The Dish at Dover Bay, at 651 Lakeshore Ave. in Dover, features an American grill menu with Pacific Rim influences. “We are bringing back some of the favorites from the old Dish menu, such as the buffalo meatloaf and the black bean and sweet potato burrito,” said Gary Peitz, proprietor of the restaurant. New additions making their debut include a chicken lettuce wrap appetizer. Summers are leisurely out at Dover Bay, and evenings are particularly enjoyable. “It’s waterfront dining with absolutely the best sunset in the area, right on the river facing south,” Peitz said. Back in downtown Sandpoint on Sand Creek, Spuds Waterfront Grill, 102 N. First Ave., introduces a new dinner menu for the summer season that includes Mongolian pork chops, sole meunière, sweet roasted tri-tip and other savory dishes. If you’re looking for something on the go, Spuds features take-home dinners as well. Just call ahead and the restaurant’s staff will get everything ready. The Grab and Go Bar at Winter Ridge Natural Foods, 703 Lake St., continues to grow in popularity, featuring hot dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. All food is priced at $7.99 per pound; there are always two soups, six or seven entrée items such as meatloaf, enchiladas and egg rolls. All of the meat is natural with no antibiotics or

Itali F in e

208-263-0211

www.IvanosSandpoint.com Join us at Beyond Hope during Summer

105 S. First Ave.

Di Lu n a ’s CAFE

American Bistro Dining & Catering For delivery call

208.263.0846

www.DiLunas.com 207 Cedar Street SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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& Drinks

Downtown Sandpoint DINING Map To Bonners Ferry Canada

Map not to scale!

Schweitzer Cut-off Rd

To Schweitzer

f Baldy Mountain Rd.

vans Brothers Coffee 1 Evans onarch Mountain Coffee 2 Monarch iller’s Country Store & 3 Miller’s

Sand Creek Byway Open 2012

Fir

Poplar

Bonner General Hospital

Alder

Main

Cedar St.

p s tPanida Theater

h i6 ] Bridge St. q o d

Pine St.

[

S. Second Ave.

Lake St.

First Ave.

2 Visitor Center

S. Fourth Ave.

Pine

Main

Third Ave. PARKING

Church

Fourth Ave.

Oak

Fifth Ave.

Cedar Street Bridge

Second Ave.

Cedar

Division

Larch

Boyer

Deli ojo Coyote at Schweitzer 4 Mojo inter Ridge Natural 5 Winter Foods oe’s Philly Cheesesteaks 6 Joe’s himney Rock Grill 7 Chimney Connie’s onnie’s Café 8C 9 Di Luna’s Café ish at Dover Bay 0 Dish loating Restaurant - Floating = Forty-One South q Spuds Waterfront Grill weet Lou’s w SSweet rinity at City Beach e Trinity r Eichardt’s Pub & Grill t MickDuff’s Brewing Co. ango Café y TTango u Babs’ Pizzeria angkok Cuisine i Bangkok o Ivano’s Ristoranté & Caffè p Jalapeño’s Restaurant [ The Little Olive end Oreille Pasta and ] Pend Wine econd Avenue Pizza \ Second hoga @ Forty-One South a Shoga oldwater Creek Wine Bar s Coldwater d Laa Rosa Club aughing Dog Brewing f Laughing end d’Oreille Winery g Pend 19 Lounge h 2219

Elks Golf Course

Bonner Mall

]

e City Beach

Marina

u =a To Sagle

To Dover 0 Priest River 122

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Coeur d’Alene

SUMMER 2012

LAKE PEND OREILLE

Kootenai Cut-off Rd

Pend dʼOreille Bay Trail

Eats

To Hope Clark Fork w

Bangkok Cuisine

Coldwater Creek Wine Bar

Connie’s Café

Chimney Rock Grill

DINING GUIDE Restaurant index by type of cuisine Locate alphabetically in listings BAkERIES, COFFEE & DESSERTS

DELICATESSEN & MARkET

1 Evans Brothers Coffee

3 Miller’s Country Store & Deli

524 Church St. artisan coffee Roaster offering the highest quality organic and direct relationship coffees, roasted daily on-site. neighborhood espresso Bar features the region’s best baristas, latte art and limited Roaster Reserve coffees dripped to order on the pour-over brew bar. local and gluten-free pastries and burritos. Studio 524 lounge features art, eco-clothing and retail. a truly unique open-air setting by the historic granary tower. www.evansBrothersCoffee.com. 265-5553.

2 Monarch Mountain Coffee

208 n. Fourth ave. Sandpoint’s original coffee roastery serving Idaho’s freshest coffee since 1993. Bring all your friends for the very best espresso drinks, real fruit smoothies made with all-natural ingredients, handcrafted milk shakes, granitas, iced or hot tea, yerba mate, and fresh lemonade. enjoy monarch mountain’s half-pound breakfast burritos or homemade soup. monarch mountain Coffee is the community gathering place, with a relaxed environment, summertime sidewalk café and free wireless. located in the heart of Sandpoint, next to the post office and open daily at 6 a.m. monarch is a specialty and gourmet coffee roaster, offering the finest, topgrade beans from all around the world for retail or wholesale. expect a perfect cup every time. 265-9382.

1326 Baldy mountain Rd. Wholesome goodness is what miller’s Country Store and deli is all about. Check out the selection of fine deli meats and cheeses, extensive selection of bulk food items, and delicious fresh-baked pies and breads – or bake your own pies at home with miller’s pie fillings. miller’s is sure to be a favorite new store in town! Sandwiches-to-go have become a local favorite. 263-9446.

4 Mojo Coyote at Schweitzer

10000 Schweitzer mountain Rd. located inside the Selkirk lodge. enjoy a fresh tully’s espresso and treat your sweet tooth to a warm scone. the menu features fresh-baked pastries, breakfast burritos and lunch specials as well as beer and wine. www.Schweitzer.com. 263-9555.

5 Winter Ridge Natural Foods

703 lake St. Since 1997, locally owned Winter Ridge has provided Sandpoint and all of northern Idaho with the finest natural and organic foods, local free-range meat, and a diverse selection of supplements. Winter Ridge natural Foods is not only a natural foods grocery store but a great place to pick up a hot meal at the grab and go Bar featuring hot dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. meat dishes are all-natural, with no antibiotics or hormones, and many of the ingredients are organic. open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. www. WinterRidgeFoods.com. 265-8135.

Dining Guide

Babs’ Pizzeria u

6 Joe’s Philly Cheesesteaks

102 Church St. Joe’s proudly serves authentic Philly cheesesteaks and moRe. each cheesesteak is made from a generous portion of grilled steak and your choice of onions, peppers and mushrooms with choice of cheese from Whiz to pepper-jack, all served on an amoroso roll from Philadelphia. In addition, Joe’s expanded its menu to include hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, Blts, vegetarian options, grilled-cheese sandwiches, smoothies and hand-scooped, old-fashioned milk shakes. new this year – fresh-made salads. open monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Call ahead for carryout. a complete menu is available at www.JoesPhillyCheesesteaks.com. 263-1444.

ECLECTIC OR FINE DINING

7 Chimney Rock Grill

10000 Schweitzer mountain Rd. enjoy the warm fireplaces, comfortable lounge-style seating in the bar, and a diverse selection of cuisine – from high-quality steaks and hearty pasta dishes to scrumptious salads and exquisite seafood. located inside the Selkirk lodge at Schweitzer mountain Resort. www.Schweitzer.com. 263-9555.

8 Connie’s Café

323 Cedar St. Historic hospitality! Connie’s Café, the landmark Sandpoint restaurant, reopened its doors after a comprehensive remodel. new owners dave and Penny libbey are proud to lovingly restore this northern Idaho icon to its former glory. their approach is to maintain Connie’s legacy of a 1950s coffee shop with breakfast, lunch and dinner offerings that are of the highest quality while highlighting the quirky nature of this long-standing eatery. enjoy made-from-scratch dishes using only fresh ingredients – nothing frozen! 255-2227.

= number on Dining Map (p 122) SUMMER 2012

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Dining Guide

Di Luna’s Café

Dish at Dover Bay

9 Di Luna’s Café

207 Cedar St. di luna’s is an american bistro café offering hand-cut steaks, homemade soups and vegetarian cuisine. open for breakfast and

~ Eichardt’s Serves up the Best of Northwest Microbrews, Food and Local Live Music ~ Full Lunch and Dinner Menu 16 Micros on Tap • Oak Cask Red Wines Upstairs Game Room Open Daily From 11:30 am

212 Cedar St. • Sandpoint • 263-4005

Artisan Coffees Roasted Daily

The roastery and

studio 524 coffee lounge 524 Church, Sandpoint OPEN 7am–5pm Monday–Friday; 8am–4pm Saturday

Eichardt’s Pub & Grill

Evans Brothers Coffee

lunch, tuesday through Sunday, serving breakfast all day. Working with local farmers, di luna’s prepares Farm to table dinners every month. the restaurant also houses a gift shop with items from local artisans and craftsmen. Specializing in themed catering menus, di luna’s catering staff works with customers to take the hassle out of special events so they can enjoy the experience along with guests. at di luna’s they love good music, so they host dinner concerts and bring in the best acoustic musicians from around the country. www.dilunas.com. 263-0846.

0 Dish at Dover Bay

at dover Bay. Fine dining on the water. the dish at dover Bay is open for the season, serving lunch and dinner seven days a week, with Saturday and Sunday brunch served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Proprietor gary Peitz and awardwinning chef eddie Sneva offer an american grill menu with Pacific Rim influences. Favorites include the buffalo meatloaf and black bean and sweet potato burrito, plus a new chicken lettuce wrap appetizer. Full liquor bar with several venues for private parties. www.dishatdoverBay. com. 265-6467.

-Floating Restaurant

on Lake Pend Oreille

brothers

EvansBrothersCoffee.com | 208-265-5553

Great Mexican Food Awesome Atmosphere 314 N. Second Avenue Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 Phone: 208-263-2995

Highway 200, east Hope at Hope marine Services. located 20 minutes from Sandpoint in beautiful east Hope. the lake’s only floating restaurant and lounge offers spectacular views from

Floating Restaurant

= Forty-One South

41 lakeshore dr., Sagle. Upscale, waterfront dining located at the south end of the long Bridge near Sandpoint. an elegant lodge setting and exquisite service paired with innovative, classical cuisine make for one of northern Idaho’s premier dining experiences. a popular spot for locals, tourists and business travelers. Forty-one South has a beautiful outdoor patio overlooking the pristine waters of Pend oreille and stocks a full bar and extensive wine list. Check the website for the live music schedule. open for dinner seven nights a week and brunch Saturday and Sunday. Private dining room and off-site catering available. Reservations highly recommended. 265-2000. www.41southsandpoint.com

q Spuds Waterfront Grill

102 n. First ave. located on the beautiful Sand Creek, Spuds Waterfront grill (originally Spuds Rotisserie & grill) offers the freshest of lunch and dinner entrees specializing in american regional recipes. Featuring both inside and outside patio seating overlooking the marina

(208) 597-7499 www.littleolivefood.com

JoesPhillyCheesesteaks.com

124 S. 2nd Ave, Sandpoint eat me

Big tuna sushi

BIG TUNA Sushi

'just roll with it'... sushi your way

NEXT DOOR TO LITTLE OLIVE

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two decks or a cozy dining room. Regional fare, fresh seafood and local products fill the menu along with handmade breads, desserts, soups and sauces. a full bar and outstanding wine list complements your experience. Children’s menu, too! open april through october serving lunch, dinner and Sunday Brunch; accessible by boat or car. www.HopeFloatingRestaurant.com. 264-5311.

Hoagies, Hamburgers, Fries Shakes, Fresh Salads & more

102 Church St. Sandpoint. 263-1444

Ivano’s Ristorante

Jalapeño’s

Joe’s Philly Cheesesteaks

La Rosa Club

= number on Dining Map (p 122)

two locations! In Hope, 46624 Highway 200, overlooking lake Pend oreille in the Holiday Shores marina, open tuesday through Sunday (and all summer holidays), 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. 264-5999. In Ponderay: 477272 U.S. Highway 95, open every day 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., 263-1381. Sweet lou’s proudly serves hand-cut steaks, freshly ground burgers, wild salmon and smoked ribs. Come in to quench your thirst after a day on the lake, or feed your hunger with a grilled PB & huckleberry jam. Both locations offer a familyfriendly environment, full bar and tasty items for everyone to enjoy. Come hungry, stay late, eat well. www.sweetlousidaho.com, www. facebook.com/sweetlous

e Trinity at City Beach

58 Bridge St. enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner on the shore of lake Pend oreille. Waterfront dining with an outstanding view and menu featuring seafood, steaks, salads and appetizers. Full bar serves an extensive selection of wines, beers and cocktails featuring a daily happy hour. enjoy your drinks and meal on the newly remodeled

PuB-STyLE

r Eichardt’s Pub & Grill

212 Cedar St. a comfortable pub and grill, eichardt’s is located downtown in a charming, historic building. this relaxing pub mixes casual dining with seriously good food. there’s something for everyone – more than a dozen beers on tap, good wines including oak cask local red wines, and regional touring live music. Upstairs you’ll find a game room with a pool table, darts and shuffleboard. eichardt’s has been nationally recognized and locally supported since 1994. open daily at 11:30 a.m. for smokeless dining. 263-4005. www.eichardtspub.com

more at this cozy brewpub located in downtown Sandpoint. www.mickduffs.com. 255-4351.

sausages • ravioli • gourmet sandwiches

International Wine Selection Artisan Cheeses & Breads Fresh Pasta Dinners To Go Gourmet Deli

www.pendoreillepasta.com 476534 Hwy 95 Sandpoint • 208.263.1352

Complete carry-out fresh pasta dinners

Rice crusts & soy cheese now available

“Out of this W orld”

t MickDuff’s Brewing Co.

312 n. First ave. enjoy mickduff’s fine handcrafted ales in a family dining atmosphere, offering a variety of top-of-the-line beers ranging from fruity blonds to a seasonal porter. mickduff’s also brews a unique-style root beer for those young in age or at heart. the menu is packed full of flavor with traditional and updated pub fare. you will find toasted sandwiches, hearty soups, gourmet hamburgers and much

fresh baked breads • cheeses • olives

w Sweet Lou’s

deck overlooking lake Pend oreille. open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. located at the Best Western edgewater Resort adjacent to Sandpoint City Beach. www.trinityat citybeach.com. visit trinity on Facebook and twitter. 255-7558.

wine • beer • gift baskets • catering

next to Starbucks – with boat access! the Waterfront grill has been a landmark restaurant in Sandpoint since 1995. lunch 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. dinner 4:30 p.m. to close. For updates, visit www.spudsonline.com. 265-4311.

Dining Guide

Forty-One South

• Delivery • Sandwiches • Calzones • Specialty Salads • Homemade Dough • Beer/Wine • Take & Bakes

The Carolyn

215 S. 2nd Ave.

263-9321 FARMERS MARKET DAY

Saturday

Space available for private parties

208.265.9382 • Open Daily 208 N. 4th Avenue • Sandpoint, ID

SUMMER 2012

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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Dining Guide

The Little Olive

[

MickDuff’s Brewing Co.

y Tango Café

414 Church St. located in the atrium of Panhandle State Bank. tango has become a favorite among locals for breakfast and lunch creations, including signature omelettes and original lunch specials. other highlights include fresh salads, scrumptious baked goods and a full barista bar featuring evans Brothers Coffee. In addition, tango has a dinner takeout menu. new this year from may through october, the “Farmers market day @ tango Café” features brunch served from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. tango also offers extensive catering for that special event. Wi-Fi connected and space for private meetings. open monday to thursday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Fridays 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. 263-9514.

REGIONAL/EThNIC

u Babs’ Pizzeria

1319 Highway 2. In a great location at WestPointe Plaza, Babs’ Pizzeria bakes new york-style pizza in an open kitchen with dough hand-made fresh daily and four sauces to choose from. try Babs’ signature appetizer, Raspberry Chipotle Wings, or sample the Stromboli, a pizza pocket of sorts. Babs’ also serves specialty sandwiches on homemade bread, soups, salads, desserts, beer and wine. now offering gluten-free pizza, pasta and desserts. or take and bake your own. open seven days a week. Some outdoor seating available. 265-7992.

Miller’s Country Store & Deli

Monarch Mountain Coffee

i Bangkok Cuisine

202 n. Second ave. enjoy authentic thai food in a welcoming atmosphere. all of Bangkok’s dishes, including a wide variety of vegetarian, are cooked to order using the freshest ingredients with no added mSg. Bangkok offers a fine selection of wine and beer as well as thai tea and coffee. all desserts are made on-site. takeout also available. enjoy your meal on the sidewalk dining area. open for lunch monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner monday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Closed Sundays. 265-4149.

o Ivano’s Ristorante & Caffè

102 S. First ave. Serving the community for more than 27 years, Ivano’s Italian dining accompanied by classic wines and gracious atmosphere add to the enjoyment of one of Sandpoint’s favorite restaurants. Pasta, fresh seafood and steaks, veal, chicken and vegetarian entrees round out the fare. gluten-free menu. dinner served seven nights a week starting at 4:30 p.m. off-site catering is available for weddings, family get-togethers and large gatherings. now open on the Hope Peninsula, too, for the summer season. www.IvanosSandpoint.com. 263-0211.

p Jalapeño’s Restaurant

314 n. Second ave. authentic mexican food in a fun and friendly environment serving traditional and unusual south-of-the-border specialties, plus even a few gringo dishes! this popular din-

Sandpoint’s Landmark Restaurant

Pend Oreille Pasta

]

Second Avenue Pizza

ing establishment also boasts a full cantina bar with traditional frosty margaritas that complement any dish. the banquet room seats up to 35 of your closest friends. and when the weather’s warm, Jalapeño’s invites guests to dine on the outside deck. Conveniently located in the historic elks building in the heart of downtown Sandpoint. 263-2995.

[ The Little Olive Mediterranean Restaurant

124 S. Second ave. one of Sandpoint’s newest restaurants welcomes its guests to enjoy mediterranean cuisine. enjoy lunch and dinner in a quaint, comfortable setting. the menu is a mix of greek-inspired dishes that are made with the freshest ingredients available. dressings and sauces are made in-house daily. the beer and wine menu is one of the most extensive in the area, featuring more than 45 beers. enjoy half off a bottle of wine every monday night. Patio seating is also available. www.littleolivefood.com. 597-7499

] Pend Oreille Pasta and Wine

476534 Highway 95 (one block south of Walmart). John and valerie love to help their customers select from their outstanding selection of fine wines and artisan cheeses. market food items include international wines at competitive prices, ravioli and olives, and many gourmet grocery items. Fresh homemade pastas and sauces made on-site may be purchased as part of a complete dinner package including salad and fresh, daily-

LunchxDinnerxTake-out

Newly Remodeled & On the Water in Dover Bay Lunch and Dinner served 7 days a week 11- 9 Sat and Sunday Brunch 10-2 Full Liquor Bar Several venues for private parties

265-6467

Gary Peitz Proprietor Award winning Chef Eddie Sneva

Serving American Regional CuisineFor over 16 Years! WALK • BOAT • DRIVE

102 N. First Ave, Downtown Sandpoint

SpudsOnline.comx265-4311 Overlooking Sandpoint’s Largest Marina

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SUMMER 2012

Sweet Lou’s

Spuds Waterfront Grill

baked artisan bread. Custom quality catering for large and small events. Also offering custom wine tasting at your home paired with delicious appetizers. www.PendOreillePasta.com. 263-1352.

Tango Café

s Coldwater Creek Wine Bar

311 N. First Ave. An upscale wine bar with more than 35 wines by the glass, gourmet appetizers, lunch, scratch-made desserts and soup, full coffee bar, local and regional microbrews and free Wi-Fi. A cozy atmosphere with a central fireplace and great views of downtown Sandpoint. Live music every Friday and Saturday night. Located right above the Coldwater Creek clothing store on First Avenue. 263-6971.

d La rosa Club

105 S. First Ave. La Rosa Club is a casual gathering place featuring craft cocktails and martinis along with an innovative food menu with plates and bites designed to be shared among friends. La Rosa utilizes fresh, seasonal, local ingredients, and offers the perfect social environment to kick back and relax in a comfortable setting. With a unique beer list and approachable wine list, La Rosa is open Tuesday through Saturday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. www.Ivanos-Sandpoint.com/larosa.html. 255-2100.

a Shoga @ Forty-One South

41 Lakeshore Dr., Sagle. Sandpoint’s premier sushi restaurant, located adjacent to Forty-One South at the south end of the Long Bridge. Sushi bar and outdoor seating with magnificent sunset views overlooking Lake Pend Oreille. Offering delicious nigiri sushi, traditional and signature rolls, as well as Asian-inspired entrees. Open for dinner seven nights a week and lunch Monday through Friday. Boat up take-out available. www.41southsandpoint.com/shoga. 265-2001.

Trinity at City Beach

Wine BArS & LOungeS

\ Second Avenue Pizza

215 S. Second Ave. Try the piled-high specialty pizzas at Second Avenue Pizza loaded with fresh ingredients on homemade dough, or one of the excellent calzones, specialty salads and sandwiches. Beer and wine also served. Rice crusts and soy cheese now available for specific dietary requirements. Take-and-bake pizzas also offered. For an out-of-this-world pizza experience, come to Second Avenue Pizza! Open Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Free delivery available 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Complimentary Wi-Fi. www.SecondAvenuePizza.com. 263-9321.

f Laughing Dog Brewing

= number on Dining Map (p 122)

1109 Fontaine Dr., Ponderay. Take a tour and taste handcrafted, award-winning ales at Laughing Dog Brewing. Open Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The brewery produces ales, IPAs, stouts and many more, including the hoppiest beer you’re

Winter Ridge

g Pend d’Oreille Winery

220 Cedar St. Sandpoint’s winery produces local, award-winning wines. The tasting room is open daily, plus a gift shop with items for home, garden and life. Quality and elegance in vinting is the trademark of Pend d’Oreille Winery – Idaho’s 2003 Winery of the Year. The winery hosts frequent special events, has live music on Fridays, and offers its new Bistro Rouge menu daily. www.POWine.com. 265-8545.

h 219 Lounge

219 N. First Ave. Full-service bar offering beer, wine and cocktails. No trip to Sandpoint is complete without a visit to the historic 219er, a “locals” favorite, proudly serving Sandpoint for more than 75 years. Enjoy a cocktail or frosted cold glass of national award-winning “219er beer” brewed by local brewery, Laughing Dog Brewing. Open seven days a week, 365 days a year from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Pool table and flat screen TVs. Stop in for a coffee, a drink, a game of pool, good times and experience Idaho’s only “5 Star Dive Bar.” 263-9934.

• Organic deli with gluten-free & vegan selections • Fresh juice & smoothie bar • Local meat, eggs, veggies & more

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going to find anywhere, Alpha Dog. During spring and summer, enjoy the Huckleberry Cream Ale. Join Laughing Dog on the first Friday of every month for “Firkin Friday” to taste a specially fermented flavor of beer. Sample all the ales on tap and view the 15-barrel PUB brewing system. www.LaughingDogBrewing.com. 263-9222.

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THE INTERNATIONAL

219 Lounge

Dining Guide

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www.winterridgefoods.com SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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Advertiser Index advanced Dental Care air idaho Charters albertson / barlow insurance all seasons Garden & Floral anderson, Dr. steven DDs anderson’s autobody a new attitude archer Vacation Condos artists’ studio tour artworks Gallery barry Fisher Custom homes bill Jones Distributing bird aviation blue sky broadcasting bonner County Daily bee bonner County Fair bonner General hospital Caribou Creek Log homes Century 21/Riverstone Cisco’s Co-op Country store, the Coeur d’alene Casino Coldwell banker D.a. Davidson–Jim Zuberbuhler Dan Fogarty Custom builder Davies, Dr. tom DDs Dover bay Dss Custom homes Dss home preservation services eve’s Leaves evergreen Realty –Charesse Moore Family health Center Farmers Market Ferrara wildlife photographer Festival at sandpoint Finan McDonald Clothing Company Florascape nursery

22 49 109 56 59 36 108 45 56 56 95 60 14 46 110 38 31 104 13 54 39 68 105 40 106 50 52-53 92 109 14 6 96 18 59 57 71 66 106

Fritz’s Frypan Greasy Fingers bikes ’n’ Repair hallans Gallery hesstronics holiday inn express hope Marine services horizon Credit Union idaho sash & Door international selkirk Loop James hann Design Janusz studio by the Lake Jensen, brian Cpa keokee books koch, Dr. paul e., walmart Vision Center Lake pend oreille Cruises La Quinta inn Laughing Dog brewing Litehouse Foods Maps & More Meadowbrook home & Gift Meyer’s sport tees north idaho College northern Quest Casino northwest handmade paint bucket, the panhandle state bank pend oreille shores Resort pend d’oreille winery petal talk ponderay Garden Center pucci Construction Redman & Company insurance Restore habitat For humanity sandpoint building supply sandpoint business & events Center sandpoint Magazine sandpoint Marine Motor sports

49 61 57 21 16 42 21 94 127 98 56 109 128 108 61 32 18 19 64 17 110 58 62 34 100 28 64 60 71 38 91 33 101 99 24 52 64

sandpoint Movers.com & handyman services 106 sandpoint online 129 sandpoint photo 57 sandpoint property Management 30 sandpoint sports 71 sandpoint storage 91 sandpoint super Drug 36 sandpoint Vacation Rentals 5 sandpoint waldorf school 22 sandpoint west athletic Club 111 sayler architects 100 scherrhaven studio 57 schweitzer Mountain Resort 131 sears 51 seasons at sandpoint 9 selkirk property Management 33 selle Valley Construction 101, 106 sleep’s Cabins 58 stCU (spokane teachers Credit Union) 15 state Farm–Dale Reed 109 subscribe 111 summit insurance 20 sweet Magnolia bed & breakfast 15 taylor insurance 23 ted bowers Construction 106 the Local pages 111 the River Journal 101 the sand stallion 32 timber Frames by Collin beggs 106 tomlinson sandpoint sotheby’s 2, 3, 132 –Rich Curtis, karen nielsen, Josh ivey102, 103 Vacationville 61 western pleasure Guest Ranch 60 wildFlower Day spa 108 winter Ridge natural Foods 108 Zany Zebra 26 Zero point 45

Go Exploring with Keokee Guide Books 800-880-3573

www.SandpointGeneralStore.com

NOW IN PRINT!

$26

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Marketplace Ace Septic Tank Service “Where a Flush Beats a Full House.” Portable toilet rental, construction/all occasion, permanent or temporary. Septic tank pumping, residential and commercial. 263-5219

A marketing communications firm providing Web design and hosting, search engine optimization and marketing, graphic design, public relations, editorial and media consultation. 405 Church St., 263-3573, 800-880-3573. www.keokee.com

Your Buick, GMC truck dealer. New and used sales and leasing. Full service, parts and body shop. Highway 95 N., Ponderay, 263-2118, 1-800-430-5050. www.AlpineMotors.net

North Idaho Insurance

The best skin care Sandpoint has to offer! Extensive menu of facial and body treatments. Full-body waxing. Serene, relaxing environment. Geneé Jo Baker, certified esthetician. sugeeskincare@yahoo.com, 324 S. Florence Ave., 263-6205.

Over 30 years of rental management experience. Tenant screening, rent collection, accounting, maintenance and marketing. Friendly, prompt service. 204 E. Superior, 263-4033. www.RLPropertyManagement.com

See what life is like with alpacas! Shop for wonderful alpaca fiber hats, scarves, sweaters, rugs, throws and yarn. Open year-round, closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. 1635 Rapid Lightning Rd., 265-2788. www.FromTheHeartRanch.com

A full-service, independent insurance agency serving northern Idaho since 1978. Business or personal risks: property, liability, workers comp, bonding, home, auto, life and health. 102 Superior St., 263-2194. NorthIdahoIns.com

Scandinavian countries represented in this specialty shop. Kitchen items, table tops, candles, electric candleholders, books, cards, rugs, pewter Vikings, mugs, Danish iron candleholders and year-round Christmas. 319 N. First Ave., 263-7722. Free pickup for quality furniture donations. Find treasures, weekdays 10 to 5, Saturdays 10 to 2. Proceeds benefit LPOHS students, senior citizens. Volunteers welcome! 101 N. Boyer, 263-3247. Special gifts for special people. Vera Bradley bags, Big Sky Carvers, Baggallini, and BeanPod candles, souvenirs, balloon bouquets, Hallmark cards, books, gift wrap, stationery. 306 N. First Ave., 263-2811.

A Day on the Lake Vacation Homes – Sandpoint 208-687-1450 or 208-755-4958. Offering gorgeous and comfortable lakefront homes that sleep 2-25. Family reunions, weddings, ski clubs, scrapbook parties, church retreats, flat lawns, sandy beaches, 5,000-square-foot homes and smaller. Enjoy your vacation and Lake Pend Oreille at its best. Boat and jet ski rentals available. www.adayonthelake.com

Offering the latest bestsellers, office supplies, machine supplies and free delivery in Sandpoint. Order online. 201 Cedar St., 263-2417. www.Vanderfords.com

Go to www.shopsandpoint.com, for web links to trusted services, merchants, artists, craftspeople, farmers and green building. Fun reading about government, recycling and more! Complete local information source with no pop-up ads.

Get in the Marketplace! To advertise here, call or e-mail: 263-3573 ext. 123 or adsales@keokee.com

... there’s a lot goin’ on! Log on to Sandpoint’s

remarkable community web site Events • Visitor Guide Movies • Lodging & Dining Recreation • Job Center FREE classified ads Weather & Travel Info • News Sandpoint Q&A Forums

Click to

www.SandpointOnline.com SUMMER 2012

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Sandpoint of View

Peppermint oil, paper routes and perspective

By Sandy Compton

nce a Sandpointian, always a Sandpointian. This place caught between lake and mountain draws people back. It is a fine thing to have gone away, for then we can come home and see what we have been away from – and, where we have been. When I was 3, we moved into Mrs. Dolf’s house on Fourth Avenue. Mrs. Dolf was a masseuse, and the place smelled of peppermint oil. While we lived in an apartment there, my brother lost a tooth by embedding it in a wooden bed frame and my parents found friends for life in Tess and Jim Gallagher, who lived next door. When I was 14, we moved into a big house on Sixth: mom, dad, four kids, maternal grandmother and miscellaneous pets. I had my own room. Charlie Stidwell taught me that fisticuffs were frowned upon in his school. I learned the difference between Cedar Chips and Cedar Post, that Coeur d’Alene was an archrival in anything, and that Mr. Sodorff ran the high school with the same authority as Charlie but with a much different style. Paper routes made me intimate with early morning streets. Mayor Gray lived on North Third and tipped in theater tickets. A favorite place in my world morphed from the Panida on Saturday afternoon into the Autoview on Saturday night. And, a job we brothers shared was cleaning clinkers out of Mrs. Dolf’s furnace. Her house still smelled of peppermint oil. I take comfort in parts of Sandpoint left from that time, in lightly changed Mill Town streets I walked on early

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photo by MaRie-DoMiniQUe VeRDieR

mornings in the company of dogs escaped from various yards along the way; in the alley between First and Second where we raced our bikes on summer nights; in Memorial Field’s homegrown teams. The crack of a bat, cheers and the glow of stadium lights still give cause to walk down to the park. These are things left from when I was 4 and 14 and, then, 24, when my Sandpoint High sweetheart and I leapt off the edge of the known world to live elsewhere. Much else has changed. Sandpoint has been changing since I got here – the first time. Booms accelerate the process. Slow times put the brakes on. It is the nature of life in America. If you wish to stop the change, my advice is to never sell anything to anyone who hasn’t lived here for X number of years. But, you will have to convince all your neighbors – who pass the test of having lived here X number of years, of course – to do the same. Good luck. SUMMER 2012

During the decade that separated my family’s first stints in Sandpoint, we lived in Montana. When we returned for my eighth grade, by my own nature and nature’s timing – friendships are made easier at 10 than at 14 – I was an outlander. In some ways, I still am. But being an outlander has some advantages. One might be perspective. Even though a majority of my friends – and acquaintances – live in or around Sandpoint, I live in Montana. I work in Sandpoint but not exclusively. I play in Sandpoint but not exclusively. I love Sandpoint but not exclusively. There are other places in the world that I love, too. But, I don’t love her any less for not being those places, any more than I love her less for not being exactly what she used to be. Mrs. Dolf’s house is still there, though it doesn’t smell of peppermint oil anymore. And, I’m still coming home to Sandpoint – sometimes several times a week.

San

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Visit us at tssir.com or tnisir.com Mobile app. download Sandpoint Branch 200 Main Street Sandpoint, Idaho 208.263.5101 800.282.6880

Coeur d’Alene Branch 221 E. Sherman Avenue Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 208.667.1551 800.621.3163

© MMVII Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a Licensed Trademark to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated, Except Offices Owned And Operated By NRT Incorporated. Sandpoint Office: 208.263.5101, 200 Main Street, Sandpoint, ID 83864. Coeur d’Alene Office: 208.667.1551, 221 E. Sherman Ave., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814.