Sandpoint Magazine Summer 2016

M A G A Z I N E

SUMMER 2016

SANDPOINT INSIDE: OFFICIAL SANDPOINT VISITOR GUIDE

GONE TO THE

DOGS How our town became a canine’s best friend

&

Interview with Phi Center’s Iris DeMauro, Cycling the Selkirk Loop, Food Farmers and Gardening, 50 Years of Rotary, Seven Generations of Country Gals, a September Sail, Train Depot Turns 100, Down Deep in Our Lake, Calendars, Dining, Real Estate … and so much more!

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Anytime Info

For recorded information or to speak to the listing agent, call 208.449.0071 and use the 4-digit property code.

Located in the heart of the stunning seLLe VaLLey you’ll find a distinctive log home offering old west charm with all the conveniences of modern living. There’s also a 60’x64’ barn, steel fencing, all usable land, situated on 55 acres with huge schweitzer and cabinet Mountain views. The lots are broken into six legally separate and surveyed parcels. #1592 call alison Murphy, 208-290-4567

this reMarkabLe waterfront lot is located in sandpiper shores with a level and private building pad and just over 115 front feet of sandy, low bank, deeded water frontage on stunning Priest Lake. The lot has big mountain and lake views with excellent southern exposure. water, sewer, and electric to lot. call alison Murphy, 208-290-4567

extraordinary waterfront....rare oPPortunity with this 3000 square foot family estate on 8 acres with over 600 feet of boatable river frontage. home can be sold separately on .58 acres, the remaining 7 acres sub-divided, or can be sold together. enjoy sunrise to sunset boatable waterfront living. $1,319,998. carrie 208.290.1965 or carlene 208-290-5700.

90’ of Pend oreiLLe riVer frontage ready for your instant enJoyMent! sandy level beach. existing dock.

24x34 rV cover pole building w/12x22 garage. extensive decking, brick/rock work. creek w/covered bridge. community water/sewer. #20152519 $349,000. brian harvey 208-290-2486

aMazing riVerfront setting. “The Point” at strong creek has 2 sides fronting the water. 431 ff of sandy beach & rip rapped shoreline. 3000+ sf home w/large covered patio for outside entertaining. detached 2 & 1 car garages. almost 1 1/2 acre of level property. #20152913 brian harvey 208-290-2486.

156+ acres with a 1/2 MiLe of rushing raPid Lightning creek. borders state Land. 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains. extremely private location. recreational paradise. This is as close to north idaho wilderness as it gets! #20152048 $349,900 brian harvey 208-290-2486

the ProVerbiaL a-fraMe cabin on the Lake at bottLe bay. Large deck for entertaining and covered boat slip. Power installed, bottle bay sewer and lake water system. seasonal cabin to build your family memories at the lake! #20152895 $435,000 susan Moon 208-290-5037

custoM hoMe in Moyie sPrings. 3-bedrooms, master suite, maple cabinets, maple floors, carpeting, Pella windows and natural gas. 3 bedrooms + partial finished basement for office/family room. 2-car garage and privacy on 5 acre parcel. ati #1215 #20152125 $349,500 susan Moon 208-290-5037

Lake View buiLding Lot on the hoPe PeninsuLa. nicely treed corner lot, community water available, power & phone nearby, septic permit to be renewed, community waterfront access nearby. #20160652 $175,000. susan Moon 208-290-5037

enJoy sPectacuLar downtown coeur d’aLene in this rare large single level 2100+ square foot 4 bedroom home. fantastic use of space and design with hardwood floors, fireplace, large windows, new fence, two covered patios and an open patio, formal dining room, office area, french doors, extra large double lot & full remodel a short time ago, including kitchen & both bathrooms! $259,000 dean Mcconnachie 208-651-5511

highLy desirabLe buiLding site at “the sPires” at schweitzer Mountain resort. direct ski in/ski out with a groomed ski trail system that borders your property. gently sloping building lot with ski access in from the “basin express.” ati#1245 #20153038 call Lyle hemingway 509-939-1340

great oPPortunity for a PriVate 5 bedrooM, 2.5 bath hoMe on 3.18 wooded acres. covered porch on 2 sides with an open deck off the kitchen, 20x30 insulated metal shop with concrete floor and with electricity throughout. Minutes to downtown sandpoint, Lake Pend oreille and schweitzer Mountain ski resort. springy Point Public beach, boat launch and camp ground is just 5 minutes away. #20161017 $299,000. call rich curtis 208-290-2895 or karen nielsen 208-946-9876.

© 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. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated, Except Offices Owned And Operated By NRT Incorporated. Coeur d’Alene office: 208-667-1551, 221 E. Sherman Ave., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814. Sandpoint office: 208-263-5101, 200 Main St., Sandpoint, ID 83864.

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www.Evergreen-Realty.com ~ www.SchweitzerMountain.com 321 North First Avenue, Sandpoint ID Toll Free 800.829.6370 ~ Office 208.263.6370 ~ Fax 208.263.3959 Evergreen Realty is pleased to sponsor our local Habitat For Humanity

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SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

CONTENTS

FEATURES 84

SUMMER 2016, Vol. 26, No. 2

Cover: Dog Town, Idaho

How people and their pooches have created Sandpoint’s copious canine culture 33

‘Peaking’ Our Interest

35

A Sandpoint-Boise Connection

37

A September Sail

43

Deep in Pend Oreille

47

The Sculptor Steve Gevurtz

Peaks with proper names reflect long history The Idaho Community Foundation is powered locally A peaceful excursion saves Hey Jude for another season Tales of the secrets of her depths abound Artist expresses the human condition in bronze

59

Secret Places

63

Seven Generations of Country Girls

69

Railroad Depot Turns 100

The favorite hiking getaways of a guidebook writer For 97 years, a family homesteads Upper Gold Creek Tracing a century of train station history

75

Our World Focus

80

Tending to the Crops

Marsha Lutz connects kids and cultures with photography Local small-scale farmers cultivate a growing niche

100 Cycling the Selkirk Loop

Two countries, two wheels – one sensational ride

84

DEPARTMENTS Almanac Calendar Interview Iris DeMauro

Pictured in History Photo Essay Remote Beauty

Real Estate Lovely Lakeside Living Living, Working off the Grid Downtown in Bloom Marketwatch

Natives and Newcomers

10 23

On the cover: Ranch dogs, the exuberant Border collie Roper and the personable English setter mix Riley, romp in the water at Dog Beach, while owner Danielle Schoonover of Western Pleasure Guest Ranch urges them on in this photo by the inimitable Ethan Schlussler.

27 56 96 106 106 115 120 124

127

100 Lodging Eats & Drinks Dining Guide Sandpoint of View SUMMER 2016

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135 136 148 154

On this page: Hotshot photographer Woods Wheatcroft captured adorable little Lola riding with Nicole Black on the Sand Creek trail, above, while Aaron Theisen panned a Canadian cyclist on the Selkirk Loop, left.

Dogs are the stars of this issue; see cover story package beginning on page 84. Plus, see how many dogs you can spot throughout the following pages.

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Left: Landon Otis with Riley at Dog Beach. Above: Aspen Larson captured mom Pamela Morrow with their dogs – Teq, the boxer jumping for the stick, and Zambo, the Labrador – on one of their regular summer outings to Sunnyside on Lake Pend Oreille.

editor’s note Dogs surrounded me in early childhood, when my mom raised dachshunds along with us four kids. I went dogless from junior high through college. I swore when I was done with school, I would get a dog. October 1990 ushered my return to Sandpoint; four months later I acquired a Great Dane puppy, naming her Willamina.

That March Willamina and I embarked on a road trip. For the next three months, we crossed the Sierra Nevadas, cruised coastal highways, almost died in the desert, puttered through the Rockies, headed north to Wisconsin and then all the way back to Idaho. Together we chased the sadness I was then fighting out of my life.

Such is the restorative companionship of dogs. I haven’t lived without one since. Who else could provide such affection and entertainment while helping us cope with life’s rough spots? Dogs like my Beau, left, that’s who.

With that, we dedicate this issue to dogs.

May we never be dogless in Sandpoint.

–B.J.G. 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 Assistant Editor Beth Hawkins Advertising Director Clint Nicholson

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Pete and Fiona Hicks

moved to Sandpoint three years ago after traveling around the world playing music and taking photos for the first eight years of their marriage. Writing and taking photos for “Tending to the Crops” (page 80) was a long-awaited chance to collaborate and express Pete’s deep and ever-growing respect for small-scale farmers and highlight Fiona’s passion for capturing people doing what they love. Along with raising four young children, the couple runs Sandpoint Curry in a Hurry.

Judy Meyers

and Hey Jude’s captain, Ken, retired to this area 20 years ago from careers as Washington State University faculty (Go Cougs!). They took up sailing, which introduced them to new friends and learning curves. They’ve taken sailing classes, cruised from Sourdough Point to Buttonhook Bay, and come in last at Thursday night races. Last year Meyers joined Jim Mitsui’s writing group, and her story for this issue (“September Sail,” page 37) came from her journal notes taken on a beautiful September cruise.

Charli Mills

is a born buckaroo, from riding horses to wrangling words. She often birds on Elmira Pond while her German shorthaired pointers dig gophers. Fascinated by the local dog culture, Mills unleashed her curiosity to know more (“Dog Town,” page 84). She builds community for writers, understands the importance of service above self (“50 Years of Rotary,” page 11) and knows how vital funding is to nonprofits (“ICF,” page 35). Dogs Bobo and Grendel direct her daily routine.

Art Director Laura Wahl Ad Design/Production Robin Levy, Pamela Morrow Office Manager Beth Acker Contributors Corrin Bond, Sandy Compton, Cassandra Cridland, Erica Curless, Trish Gannon, Pete Hicks, Cate Huisman, Marlisa Keyes, Heather McElwain, Jim Mellen, Judy Meyers, Charli Mills, Cameron Rasmusson, Carrie Scozzaro, Mary Terra-Berns and Aaron Theisen

©2016 by Keokee Co. Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Subscriptions: $12 per year, payable in advance. Send address changes to the address above. Visit our web magazine published at www.SandpointMagazine.com. Printed in USA

by Century Publishing, Post Falls, Idaho.

SUMMER 2016

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ALMANAC

U-pick farm is a ‘berry’ fun outing

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t’s common knowledge that eating blueberries is a healthy and delicious way to load up on antioxidants, but what Sandpoint’s residents have discovered at Shingle Mill Blueberry Farm is that picking berries has a great side effect: creating quality family time.

That’s just what the farm’s owners, Patty and Fred Omodt, wanted to nurture when the couple started the farm four years ago. “Our goal was to sell 80 to 90 percent of the berries, give 5 percent to charity, and another 5 percent to our family. We thought it would be very cool to have families get together, to come out and pick together,” Patty Omodt said.

“And that’s what we’ve seen – moms and dads, grandparents with kids, they come out and pick!”

The family aspect is important to the Omodts – in fact, the couple, who are in their early 60s, were looking for a way to be able to pass on their 25-acre Selle Valley property to their children without parceling it off when they came up with the idea of a blueberry farm. The Omodts connected with an expert at Oregon State University, who became a mentor, and they’ve been in a blueberry-growing mindset ever since.

The farm features six varieties of blueberries amongst 5,300 plants on six acres. An 8-foot wire fence keeps out deer, moose and elk, but hungry humans are more than welcome to munch as they pick. Omodt says her decision not to charge a “grazing fee” just makes business sense: “The more you eat, the more you pick!”

Besides children and families visiting the U-pick farm, the area’s senior care facilities such as Life Care and Alpine Vista bus elderly residents out to enjoy a day at the farm. “They’ve worked their whole lives, so they pick for free,” said Patty Omodt. “We had one man who came with a grocery bag, and he must have picked four gallons.”

The farm also donates blueberries to Kinderhaven and the Bonner Community Food Bank as a way to give back.

On top of running the farm, which opens for public picking between July 5 and July 15 depending on bloom time, the Omodts sell berries

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Omodt family-owned Shingle Mill Blueberry Farm enters its fifth season as a U-pick operation just east of Sandpoint. Family members Karen Dignan, left with children Sadie and Cecilia, and Fred Omodt, right, pick for Saturday’s Sandpoint Farmers Market.

PHOTOS COURTESY SHINGLE MILL BLUEBERRY FARM

along with homemade jams and jellies at the Sandpoint Farmers Market.

“I get a kick out of making that kind of stuff,” Patty Omodt said.

The Omodts have learned so much about blueberries over the course of building their farm that they presented a class this past spring for the Bonner County Gardeners Association.

Enthusiasm about their second careers as blueberry farmers keeps the Omodts going. Patty is particularly excited about the farm’s newest purchase, a tractor.

“I love the dirt!” she said.

–Beth Hawkins Shingle Mill Blueberry Farm is located at 488 Shingle Mill Road, just off of Idaho State Highway 200. More information: www.shinglemillblueberryfarm.com

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ALMANAC

50 years: ‘service above self’

‘S

ervice above self is the concept of being a part of something bigger than who you are,” said Dyno Wahl, president-elect of the Rotary Club of

Sandpoint, now celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Pierce Smith, outgoing president, passes a baton of leadership to Wahl as they reflect on the good their group continues to do after a half century. Rotary was originally a male-only club, but women now make up 35 percent of the membership. It’s a diverse group today with members ranging in ages from 32 to 95, including two original charter members, Dar Cogswell and Jack Parker.

You can see the club’s brick-and-mortar efforts in the likes of Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail’s trailhead and benches – built and installed by members - plus the Farmin Park bandshell and clock tower. A group of

Rotarians, from left, President Pierce Smith, past President Steve Verby and President-elect Dyno Wahl at a Rotary project, the Farmin Park clock tower

Rotarians have collaborated with the local Habitat for Humanity, too.

Other projects include programs that support education. The Rotary Club of Sandpoint provides books to first- and second-graders at Hope

express the concept of service beyond self. The club supports the

Elementary in partnership with the Village Green Project and Book Trust.

Sandpoint Interact Club, a group of high school students that raised

Smith and Wahl are motivated by the realization that many students don’t

$800 through a Krispy Kreme Doughnuts fundraiser and contributed

have books at home and that 50 percent of local students qualify for free

it to a Spokane ophthalmologist who performed cataract surgery in

or reduced-price lunches.

Ethiopia, for example.

“It’s hard to conceive that these kids go home to no books,” said Wahl.

Most notable about the success of Rotary International is how its

Through Book Trust, the club provides each qualifying student with a

clubs give back to their own communities and then expand that effort

monthly $7 voucher. The students pick their own books and budget to

globally. It’s a manifestation of changing the world by first changing

start a home library.

your own backyard. Friendships through high school exchanges and

In the summer, the club presents the Chafe 150 bike ride through Idaho and Montana. The gran fondo staged every June raises money to support

member exchanges also connect the Sandpoint Rotary Club to the world. It’s a 50-year legacy worth celebrating.

early intervention and education of students on the autism spectrum in the Lake Pend Oreille School District. The 2015 ride raised $100,000.

The club also contributes to education by inspiring students to

–Charli Mills More information: www.facebook.com/sandpointrotary

Author on a mission to change white men’s culture

E

very other week or so, Michael Welp, 54, leaves his Sandpoint home to sequester himself with a group of corporate, white male executives – not to conduct business but rather to change their lives. In April, the organizational consultant published a book about the process, “Four Days to Change.”

Welp also shares his psychological insight locally as a charter member, along with founder Owen Marcus, of the Sandpoint Men’s Group, and he regularly hosts “authentic-relating” events to teach people how to build trust and nurture relationships. All the while, he raises daughters Lydia and Nina, a junior and freshman at Sandpoint High School, respectively.

Welp moved here in 2003 from Minneapolis,

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Minn., with his former wife, to take advantage of the education provided by the Sandpoint Waldorf School and the area’s abundant outdoor recreation.

“It’s amazing to live in this place,” he said, where he can mountain bike, paddle and hike from his doorstep with his daughters.

“I grew up in Iowa with cornfields and hog farms. I didn’t learn much about diversity in Iowa,” he said. Now, he trains leaders of companies such as NASA, Rockwell Automation and Lockheed Martin how to thrive in a diverse world. Welp says despite efforts to create diversity in workplaces, corporate leadership is still 80 percent white men. He cofounded White Men as Full Diversity Partners 20 years

ago to help those men broaden their world view while creating more inclusive, authentic partnerships in the workplace and at home.

Participants come to workshops thinking this is about helping other people with their issues, and then they realize it has to do with them, Welp said.

“Ultimately they realize this is about ‘me’ as a leader.”

It’s his mission to help change that culture and get diversity right – and share that message here in Sandpoint.

Learn more at www.

FourDaysToChange.com

SUMMER 2016

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ALMANAC

She aims to make Kinderhaven a place to call home

W

ork doesn’t stop at 5 p.m. for the folks at Kinderhaven. Stability, security and love are the hallmarks of a good day’s work.

The child welfare nonprofit, founded in 1996, is as much a home to the youngsters under its roof as any family, from the first waking moments to bedtime. It takes a special hand to keep a full-fledged household running, and this year, Kinderhaven assistant director Jennifer Plummer took up that mantle as its new executive director.

Only a few months into the job, “I feel like we’re off to a really good start,” she said.

Already a local success story honored Jennifer Plummer, Kinderhaven’s new by the state of Idaho as a superb nonprofit, executive director. CAMERON RASMUSSON Kinderhaven doesn’t need any fixing, Plummer said. She intends to settle into her new role for the next several months, but she has her eyes on introducing new services over the coming years. Former director Phyllis Horvath will help guide that process as a Kinderhaven board member.

The move into the director’s chair was a gradual one for Plummer, who was handpicked by Horvath as her replacement. As a social worker at Alliance Family Services prior to joining the Kinderhaven team, Plummer was already familiar with the nonprofit’s operations. She familiarized herself even more over two years working side-by-side with Horvath as assistant director.

It’s a BioBlitz he University of Idaho’s former research park on Boyer Avenue crawled with counters this spring when it became the site of Sandpoint’s first BioBlitz. The blitz is a nationwide event, where university professors, local experts and master naturalists, students, and community volunteers team up to identify and count as many species as they can in an effort to get a comprehensive inventory of what lives in the counting site.

The National Park Service and the National Geographic Society have collaborated to

conduct BioBlitzes in national parks around the country for the past decade. This year, more than 100 BioBlitzes will take place – almost all in national parks.

But Suzanne TugmanEngel, director of community outreach for the local Kaniksu Land Trust, wondered whether her organization could help host a BioBlitz right here in Sandpoint. The UI research park is filling in as the site, and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the University of Idaho are joining with KLT to make the blitz happen. The scale is smaller on the park’s 80 acres, but still, “Sandpoint will be on the map as a location

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“That was all part of her plan,” Plummer said. “We spent the last two years doing all these things together. It really immersed me in the job before I took over.”

The familiarity comes in handy for a nonprofit that specializes in healing trauma. Founded by the late Marsha Ogilvie, a Sandpoint city council member and mayor, Kinderhaven provides a home for children trapped in abusive environments. To provide the stability and security kids need for a healthy recovery, the same Kinderhaven staff members are there to wake them up, greet them after school and put them to bed.

“Kids get to know each staff person and develop a healthy relationship with them,” Plummer said. “That often hasn’t been a part of their lives – that ability to feel safe.”

Get more information at: www.kinderhavensandpoint.org –Cameron Rasmusson

animal life in the park.

Additional activities will include an interpretive trail set up by Sandpoint High School students, a Story Walk, a storytelling bonfire Friday evening, and a keynote talk by outdoor educator Graham McLaren, who TugmanPlants, animals, fungi and other organisms are Engle says “weaves scicounted during BioBlitz events. PHOTO BY FIONA HICKS ence and storytelling into his presentations about that’s indexing its habitat from happiness and the human top to bottom,” says Tugmanrelationship with nature.”

Engel.

–Cate Huisman Volunteers can join teams, each led by a UI scientist or The Sandpoint BioBlitz is scheduled other expert, that will study for May 20-21. Learn more at 208various aspects of plant and 263-9471 or www.kaniksu.org.

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ALMANAC

Breathing new life into county’s economic development

P

aul Kusche is new to the Bonner County Economic Development Corporation (BCEDC), but he’s no newcomer to Bonner County business concerns. After 16 years at Litehouse Foods, he retired in January 2015.

The retirement New BCEDC Director Paul Kusche didn’t last long; five months later he joined the BCEDC as its executive director.

At the turn of the millennium, Kusche was in the midst of a 43-year career in the food and marketing industry when he was recruited by Litehouse. “They

talked me into it,” he said, when asked why he moved to Sandpoint from his home in Michigan, citing the environment, lake and ski hill.

“It is a great place to live,” he said.

The BCEDC is a private corporation established in 2000 to attract businesses to Bonner County and support them so they can stay.

Kusche has found that the companies interested in operating in Bonner County are attracted to the area for the same reasons he was: “Mostly it’s people with an interest, maybe a family history, a desire to be in our ‘work, play, live’ environment,” he said. “Every one of those companies needs a planner who knows how to use the resources of the community and state.”

For example, his office helps companies apply for Idaho Department of Commerce pro-

grams, community block grants and Idaho Gem grants. It can help growing companies interpret regional statistics and demographic and industry trends to plan for growth and to develop marketing priorities.

Recent projects include working with the county commissioners and the assessor’s office to implement the state’s 63-602NN property tax incentives for companies that invest in new manufacturing facilities and other buildings. He is also helping to drive the movement to bring fiber optic, high-speed Internet to the area.

Retirement, it turns out, is in the eye of the beholder.

–Cate Huisman See more at www.bonnercountyedc.com.

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ALMANAC

7B, the brand The county indicator on license plates, “7B” has become a local meme.

Y

ou think the most difficult part of opening a retail business has something to do with merchandise or money? Try again.

It is all in selecting the right name, said 7B Board Shop owner and sole proprietor Rory Whitney, 31. The challenge is coming up with something unique and interesting that sticks with customers and creates name recognition.

Whitney, a Sandpoint High School graduate, had worked off and on for Ground Zero from age 16 to 25. When Ground Zero went out of business, he decided to open his own shop offering clothing and gear for skateboarders and snowboarders.

He wanted a hook though, a business name that would resonate with people and bring them through the doors of his shop, which until recently was located in an out-of-theway location on Second Avenue behind the 219 Lounge and The Hive. Whitney wanted a name that would not only evoke Sandpoint but Bonner County as well: 7B fit the bill.

It’s the identifier the state uses on its license plates, where each Idaho county is identified in the first character or two of

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the number. Bonner County is “7B” because it comes seventh alphabetically among the Idaho counties that begin with “B.” For locals and Idahoans in general, “7B” paints an immediate picture: the Long Bridge, Schweitzer Mountain, City Beach, the Selkirk Mountains and Lake Pend Oreille.

Whitney’s is not the first business to use the 7B moniker, but he is the first to have a streetfront retail space using it. While his research of the name did not turn up another business using it, he later found out about 7B Skis, an Internet-based custom ski business owned by David Marx.

Whatever its genesis for businesses, Whitney quickly learned that “7B” resonates with people, including customers and others wanting to brand their own businesses.

After he hung out his shingle, the name

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began to crop up in business names including 7BTV owned by Lenny Hess; 7B Floors; and 7B Fitness owned by Jenny and Matt Mire. The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce’s women in business group formerly known as the Chamber Chicks is now going by 7B Women.

Using 7B has not lost its appeal for his customers. He can’t keep up with demand for 7B sweatshirts, hats and the ever-popular 7B sticker with the Idaho shape inset in the B, and his business has grown every year.

Watch for more 7B to come. Whitney, who recently moved his shop to the even more visible location at the corner of Main Street and First Avenue, has plans to add more 7B logo gear — T-shirts, women’s tank tops, hats and more celebrating the land of 7B.

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Discs flying at new Baldfoot Disc Golf Course

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fter kicking off operations at a new location last year, the Eureka Institute and Sandpoint Disc Golf Association (SDGA) see a bright future as they enter the Baldfoot Disc Golf Course’s second season.

Since moving from the University of Idaho extension campus, organizers have volunteered countless hours to improving the grounds

Disc golf player, Kylie LaValley comes in for the bogey at new Baldfoot course

and establishing a disc golf community within the Panhandle.

“The game is a great way to challenge your physical as well as emotional abilities, be with friends and spend time in nature,” said Kendall Pool, president of SDGA. Disc golf in Sandpoint got its start years ago when Rick Leader designed a course at the University of Idaho extension campus on Boyer Avenue.

The university property began to host additional services, such as a golf driving range and a cyclocross course; disc golfers soon realized it was time to relocate. The search for a new home ended with the discovery of a cityowned property off Baldy Mountain Road. Just one problem: To form a partnership with the city, the disc golf organization needed nonprofit status.

“Rick decided the best way to do that was join up with an existing non-

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Disc golf advocate, Eureka Institute’s Steve Holt. PHOTO BY CAMERON RASMUSSON

profit, and that turned out to be Eureka Institute,” said SDGA member Josh Delucchi.

Steve Holt, executive director of the Eureka Institute, was all too happy to help save the disc golf course. Together with SDGA members, Holt worked out a license agreement with the City of Sandpoint to utilize the property.

“If not for the dedicated work of the Sandpoint Disc Golf Association, support from the city of Sandpoint, contributions from so many local businesses and entities as well as disc golfers throughout the region, this course would not exist today,” said Holt.

The next step was readying the Baldy property for the course. That meant clearing out thick vegetation and establishing trails. Since opening the course, SDGA members have been steadily adding improvements.

“If you hadn’t seen it previously, you wouldn’t know how much work had been done,” Delucchi said.

Improvements are fueled by a $1 fee to use the course – a modest cost for hours of entertainment. Tournaments are also popular fundraisers, recently attracting up to 100 participants from Idaho, Washington and Montana.

If support continues, it could mean big things for the future of the Baldfoot course. The ultimate goal is to be certified by the Professional Disc Golf Association, Delucchi said. That status will allow for nationally sanctioned events that attract huge turnouts.

–Cameron Rasmusson More information may be found on Facebook: www.facebook.com/discgolf.sandpoint

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Bonner County Bicycles gives old rides new lives

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ne morning this spring, Dan Shook tinkered with the spokes of a bicycle wheel in the workshop of Bonner County Bicycles, having spent the winter working on inventory – quite productively.

“We literally have hundreds of bikes ready to sell for the summer,” he said.

Shook, a well-known, retired Sandpoint High School art teacher, and business partner Tim Piehl opened the business in a garage connected to Homestake Construction’s Sandpoint office in 2013.

For anyone driving by 521 N. Fourth Ave., the bicycles of different vintages and conditions lined up on the lawn outside are an instant draw.

The business has been in full gear ever since with the partners building two additional workspaces on the east side of the building last winter.

They recently brought in a third partner, Dave Reisenauer, to help since Piehl has his hands full after taking over as head of Homestake Construction for his father-in-law, Randy Thoreson.

Reisenauer, a former local Realtor, left the area for a while and worked in Portland at various high-end bike

Bringing bikes back to life is Dan Shook’s post-retirement career. PHOTO BY MARLISA KEYES

shops, earning certification as a bike mechanic.

The shop’s specialty is rehabilitating old bikes, but they also sell new; Shook said they recently added Kona bicycles for customers who want higher-end rides.

For anyone with an old bicycle they want to get rid of, the shop is a better alternative than the county landfill, Shook says. The bikes can be fixed or parted out – some are even left outside as freebies for passersby – and it keeps them out of the waste stream.

For Shook, his post-retirement job running a bicycle shop is a return to an old love.

“At one time I had an entire barn full of bike parts,” Shook said.

Now he pretty much does again.

–Marlisa Keyes

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It’s Jim Fishback’s retirement hobby

A

drive down Lower Pack River Road and a turn on Red Cedar Lane is all it takes to reach one of Sandpoint’s hidden gems – the property of Jim Fishback, which includes a view of the town, the lake and the golf course that Fishback built himself.

When Fishback first purchased the property, it was an empty 55-acre stretch of land. In the 25 years he’s lived there, he’s built a 2,500-square-foot log home, a guest house, three small cabins that overlook Lake Pend Oreille, six greens and a nine-hole golf course.

Realtor Teague Mullen, who recently listed the property for Fishback, said he was intrigued when he first learned about the golf course.

“I asked him, ‘Why did you build the golf course?’ ” Mullen said. “He’s like, ‘Because I’ve never built one before.’ ” Fishback, now in his 80s, has retired and no longer runs the aircraft business he still owns. He decided to build the golf course six or seven years ago, after he retired and the property had been cleared.

“I had nothing else to do; I had a big clear spot and I had the water off the property,” Fishback said.

The golf course took about three years to build. Fishback didn’t build the golf course for profit and doesn’t charge Sandpoint community members who occasionally visit to play on the course.

Fishback, who is looking to spend winters in a warmer climate, listed the property for sale four years ago. In the meantime, the golf course remains on Fishback’s

ALMANAC property and available for anyone looking to practice their swing.

“It’s kind of a hidden golf course in Sandpoint, as far as nobody really knows about it,” Mullen said. “If you do know about it, you can play it. The only donations Jim takes are golf balls in the lake.”

–Corrin Bond

Jim Fishback and grandson on his tractor, which came in handy when he built a golf course. COURTESY PHOTO

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“She moves me not, or not removes at least affection’s edge in me.”

—from 2015’s production of “The Taming of the Shrew”

Encore for Montana Shakespeare in the Parks Shakespeare takes a contemporary turn in staging by Montana Shakespeare in the Parks in this scene from last year’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” above. At right, a player from the medieval village set up during the event.

PHOTOS BY DAN EARLE

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his August, when the king cries out “A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!” in Shakespeare’s venerable play “Richard III,” he will be in the right venue to find one.

In its second summer presentation at the Bonner County Fairgrounds, the theater troupe Montana Shakespeare in the Parks will present the Bard’s classic play – with hopes to duplicate, or even beat, the reception it received last year. Even with the smoke from burning wildfires and the threat of stormy weather, last year’s performance was an unqualified success.

“We had 1,200 people attend the performance of “The Taming of the Shrew,’ ” said Christine Holbert, owner of Lost Horse Press and the driving force behind bringing Montana Shakespeare in the Parks to Sandpoint. She hopes to make it an annual happening.

And the event is more than just the play, as it takes people back to the medieval times in which Shakespeare’s plays are set. “We’ll have the fairgrounds all set up for people to come and go through a medieval village,” Holbert said. “We’ve got tribal dancers that dance their way through the audience. There will be a playground for the children.”

This year the village set up by the Sandpoint chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism will be even larger. The U1-Fire Tribal Dancers will return to entertain during the afternoon. Attendees can bring their own picnic or dine from the on-site food vending trucks.

Ambassadors speak up for goats

T

his summer, a joint effort with Idaho Fish and Game, the U.S. Forest Service and Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness (FSPW) is putting “trail ambassadors” on Scotchman Peak Trail No. 65 to help overcome a growing problem: mountain goats – or make that humans who misbehave around goats. Although the ambassadors serve several purposes, their main goal is to educate visitors about the Scotchman goats and why it’s a good idea to avoid them.

FSPW is bringing on Sagle resident Jay Sicilia as its goat education coordinator to recruit volunteer ambassadors and train them in goat behavior, habits and body language.

“This gives us the opportunity to teach people about goats, ensuring their safety on the trail, as well as the future of the

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The event is Aug. 21; the grounds open at noon for the village, and “Richard III” is at 6 p.m.

Now in its 44th season, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks is an outreach program of Montana State University. It seeks, according to its website: “to make quality, live theatrical productions of Shakespeare and other classics accessible to communities in Montana and surrounding states with an emphasis on underserved, rural areas that would not otherwise have this opportunity.”

In the event of rain, the performance will be moved inside at the fairgrounds.

–Cassandra Cridland See www.shakespeareintheparks.org or www.losthorsepress.com to learn more.

goats themselves,” said FSPW’s Sandy Compton.

Aggressive goat behavior, caused primarily by habituation of the animals by humans feeding and approaching the goats too closely, caused Trail No. 65 to be closed for several months last summer.

“One goal is to prevent future closures with this program,” Compton said. “The other is to ‘wean’ goats off of human ‘help,’ which is really no help at all.”

To learn more or volunteer, e-mail sandy@scotchmanpeaks.org.

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Ca le nda r JUNE

Sandpoint Farmers Market. Openair market every Wednesday and Saturday through Oct. 15 in Farmin Park. 597-3355 4 Timberfest. See Hot Picks.

4 Summer Sounds. Downtown concert series takes place from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. on the Park Place stage, near the corner of First and Cedar. Sponsored by Sandpoint B.I.D. and the Holly Eve Foundation. Northern Exposure performs. 263-2161 11 Summer Sounds. Fiddlin’ Red performs. See June 4.

12 Bay Trail Fun Run. Fourth annual 5K/10K benefits the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail.

265-9565 17 ArtWalk. Browse local venues and view all kinds of art during opening receptions for the 39th annual event, sponsored by the Pend Oreille Arts Council. Exhibits remain on display through Sept. 9. ArtinSandpoint.org.

263-6139 18 Chafe 150. Sandpoint Rotary sponsors annual benefit ride on a 150-mile route through Idaho and Montana, or opt for the 1/2 Chafe at 80 miles or the 30-mile fun ride.

Chafe150.org.

18 Summer Sounds. Jake Robin performs.

See June 4.

18 Battle of the Bulls. Annual bull riding and barrel racing contest at the Bonner County Fairgrounds. 263-8414 24 Trivia Night. Stroll exhibits, then team up for title of “Best Local Historians” while enjoying snacks, drinks and prizes at Bonner County Museum, 611 S. Ella Ave. Part of Late Night at the Museum series. 263-2344 25 Summer Sounds. Truck Mills performs.

See June 4.

26 7B Sunday. Season opening celebration at Schweitzer Mountain Resort with free chairlift rides, family activities, plus beer and wine tasting. 255-3081 30 Summer Sampler. Taste fine cuisine from area restaurants, plus enjoy cook-offs and live music in Farmin Park; sponsored by Greater Sandpoint Chamber. 263-2161 30 Yappy Hour. A tail-waggin’ good time!

Bring your dog and enjoy a Panhandle Animal Shelter benefit with live music, food and beverages, and fun, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Pine Street Bakery, 710 Pine St. 265-7297

JULY

2 Summer Sounds. Mobius Riff performs.

See June 4.

See complete, up-tothe-minute calendars at SandpointOnline.com

[HOT PICKS]

Off the chopping block

After a 15-year hiatus, the Bonner County Fairgrounds is thrilled to bring back the Timberfest celebration June 4. It’s a sawdust-flyin’ great time for the entire family, and features exhibitions at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. with skill-testing events such as the cross-cut back, hot saw, axe throw, underhand cut and more. Plus, check out the wacky wrestling competitions involving gelatin, and a dance at 7 p.m. with the Devon Wade Band.

Bonner County, here’s a chance to get back to your logger-lovin’ roots!

Suds and sunshine

Chances are, enjoying a cold brew on a July afternoon ranks right up there on your summer relaxation list. If so, check out the third annual Sandpoint Beerfest from noon to 5 p.m. July 9 next to Trinity at City Beach. This afternoon party features 20 local craft brews from Inland Northwest Craft Brewers; they’ll be on hand to describe the creativity and complexity of their beers, so it’s informative and fun! Games, food and music complement this great lakeside event. Cheers to beer!

Sponsored by the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce.

Film fans, head outdoors!

Who knew the museum could be so much fun, especially at night? The Bonner County Museum, 611 Ella Ave., has been turning on the lights with its SUMMER 2016

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Calendar

Late Night at the Museum monthly event series, and this summer there’s a particularly special one called Cinema in the Park. It’s coming to Lakeview Park at 8:30 p.m. July 22, where moviegoers can enjoy a screening of the classic 1987 film “A Princess Bride” while sitting under the stars. General admission is just $2; VIP seating is $10 ($5 for museum members) and includes food and drink. View other Late Night at the Museum events at www.BonnerCountyHistory.org.

263-2344

Rainbow of fun

Schweitzer Mountain Resort amps up the summertime craziness with a Huckleberry Color Fun Run & Walk, featuring a 5k and 2.5k, Aug. 7 on the mountain.

Participants run or walk through the forest and get covered with color tossed by the forest urchins at several different zones. At high noon, meet at the race finish for the group color toss – definitely an event not to be missed!

Sunglasses provided, but safety goggles and a handkerchief would be a good idea to bring along! Register at www.Schweitzer.com.

2 states, 2 countries, 1 bike The WaCanId Bike Ride is a 370-mile bicycle tour that encircles the Selkirk Mountains of Washington, Canada and Idaho – hence the name WaCanId. This year’s sixday event, Sept.

12-17, is the 8th annual ride and features a new route on the Selkirk Loop.

Organizers say that previous riders have said the WaCanId offers the best SAG support of any ride. It’s enjoyable, scenic, and well-run! Presented

by Rotary Clubs of the Selkirk Loop and the International Selkirk Loop. Learn more at www.WaCanId.org.

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FESTIVAL at Sandpoint

The 34th annual Festival at Sandpoint, held in a casual atmosphere at Memorial Field on Lake Pend Oreille, creates a concert experience without equal. The eight performance dates fall over two weeks from Aug. 4-14. Buy tickets by calling 265-4554, tollfree 888-265-4554, or go to FestivalatSandpoint.com. Gates open at 6 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and 4:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Thursday, Aug. 4 Bruce Hornsby Grammy Award-winner singer and songwriter Bruce Hornsby’s extensive three-decade career soared early with his 1986 hit “The Way It Is.” Today, he combines rock, jazz, R&B, folk and modern classical sounds with his long-running band The Noisemakers to create a strikingly distinctive style in his newly released “Rehab Reunion.” Come early for a microbrew tasting.

4 Fourth of July Celebration.

Sandpoint Lions Club sponsors parades downtown in the morning; stage performances and a raffle follow at City Beach in the afternoon, plus a fireworks show over the lake at dusk.

263-4118 4 Silverwood Fireworks Extravaganza. Celebrate the Fourth at Silverwood Theme Park with patriotic music and fireworks at dusk. 683-3400 8-9 Classic Boat Festival. Wooden boats, water-themed activities, contests and more along Sand Creek; sponsored by Inland Empire Antique and Classic Boat Society.

263-2161 9 Sandpoint Beerfest. See Hot Picks.

9 Summer Sounds. Back Street Dixie performs. See June 4.

Friday, Aug. 5 Railroad Earth A roots and Americana-based newgrass jam band from New Jersey, Railroad Earth’s music combines diverse elements of bluegrass, rock and roll, jazz and Celtic. In fact, they’re all of this and more – even the band has trouble categorizing their sound. Just know this: Concertgoers will be charmed by Railroad Earth’s live improvisation and lyrical songwriting.

Saturday, Aug. 6 Emmylou Harris Grand Ole Opry member and 13-time Grammy winner Emmylou Harris has released many popular albums and singles over the course of her career, reaching the Billboard charts with her cover of “Mister Sandman” as well as collaborating with a long list of well-known artists including Dolly Parton, Don Williams and many others. Savor every moment of this incredible show with a legend!

Sunday, Aug. 7 Family Concert: Peter and the Wolf 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 and an Animal Petting Zoo, help round out the always-popular family concert.

Thursday, Aug. 11 Angelique Kidjo The Benin-born Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and activist Angelique Kidjo, noted for her diverse musical influences, has been called “Africa’s premier diva” by Time Magazine. Her creativity and unique musical style has captivated audiences around the world, and Sandpoint will be wowed by her music, her energy and her passion for her homeland of Africa.

Friday, Aug. 12 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Celebrating their 50th anniversary, the iconic Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is cited as the catalyst for an entire country rock and American roots music movement. Their platinum hit “Fishin’ in the Dark” and Grammy Hall of Fame song “Mr. Bojangles” keeps crowds on their feet, in addition to keeping their freewheeling sound flowing with songs from their latest album “Speed of Life.”

Saturday, Aug. 13 Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals Ben Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music, and is known for his guitar-playing skills and live performances. He’s a three-time Grammy Award winner as well, winning awards for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album, and more recently Best Blues Album in 2014.

Sunday, Aug. 14 Grand Finale: Spokane Symphony Orchestra Maestro Gary Sheldon conducts the Spokane Symphony Orchestra in a Grand Finale featuring pianist Vadim Neselovskyi. Fireworks cap off the concert, plus arrive early for complimentary wine tasting at 4:30 p.m.

10 Jacey’s Race. Competitive 5k race for runners and walkers, and 1k fun run for kids benefits local children with cancer or other life-threatening illnesses. Jaceys-Race.com.

14 Festival at Sandpoint Art Unveiling. Fine art poster for the festival unveiled at Dover Bay. 265-4554 16 Northwest WineFest. Outdoor concerts, wine tasting, plus family activities at Schweitzer Mountain Resort. 255-3081 16 Schweitzer Mountain Trail Run. Schweitzer Mountain Resort hosts 3.5- and 10-mile trail runs; 10 a.m. start time. Racers receive Patagonia race shirts. SMTrailRun.com.

16 Summer Sounds. Kathy Colton and the Reluctants perform. See June 4.

16 Bodacious BBQ. 33rd annual fundraiser features a luau at the Litehouse Beach House to benefit Hope’s Memorial Community Center. 264-5481 22 Cinema in the Park. See Hot Picks.

22-24 Northwest Yoga Feast. Eureka Institute’s 7th annual experience that frees the spirit, feeds the soul and nurtures the tummy! 263-2217 23 Summer Sounds. The Wagoners perform. See June 4.

28 Yappy Hour. At Trinity at City Beach, 58 Bridge St. See June 30.

30 Crazy Days. Downtown merchants offer big deals in huge annual sidewalk sale.

263-2161 30 Summer Sounds. Special Crazy Days show: Bidadet performs at 10 a.m.; Bridges Home performs at noon; Northern Exposure performs at 2 p.m.; Hoodoo Two performs at 4 p.m. See June 4.

AUGUST

4-14 Festival at Sandpoint. See Festival at Sandpoint calendar.

5-6 PRCA Rodeo. Evening action at the

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Calendar Bonner County Fairgrounds. 263-8414 5 Aftival: Taylor Hicks. The Hive, 207 N. First Ave., hosts annual Aftival concert series at 10 p.m. (doors open at 9 p.m.) following the Festival at Sandpoint. Ticket info at LiveFromTheHive.com.

6 Long Bridge Swim. 22nd annual 1.76-mile swim across Lake Pend Oreille.

LongBridgeSwim.org.

Part of Late Night at the Museum series.

RSVP requested. 263-2344.

26-27 Spokane-to-Sandpoint Relay Race. The 9th annual “Scenic Relay Race” where runners and walkers team up to begin atop Mount Spokane and make their way 185 miles to the finish line at Sandpoint’s City Beach.

SpokanetoSandpoint.com.

6 Summer Sounds. Harold’s IGA performs. See June 4.

27 Summer Sounds. Selkirk Society Band performs. See June 4.

6 Aftival: Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. See Aug. 5.

SEPTEMBER

7 Huckleberry Color Fun Run & Walk. See Hot Picks.

9-13 Bonner County Fair. Oldfashioned country event at the Bonner County Fairgrounds, concluding with a Demolition Derby on Saturday night to round out the fun. 263-8414

3 Summer Sounds. The Powell Brothers perform. See June 4.

3-4 Coaster Classic Car Show.

Nostalgic cars at Silverwood Theme Park.

683-3400

12 Aftival: The Revivalists. See Aug. 5.

3-5 Schweitzer Fall Fest. Annual Labor Day Weekend celebration with outdoor music festival, chairlift rides, kids’ activities and microbrews. 255-3081

12-14 Artists’ Studio Tour. 12th annual self-guided driving tour of working studios through North Idaho. ArtTourDrive. org. 800-800-2106

10 Injectors Car Show. The Injectors Car Club hosts 17th Annual Powered by the Past Injectors Car Show in downtown Sandpoint. 263-9780

13 Celebrate Life Fun Run/Walk.

13th annual Long Bridge trek assists local residents with cancer plus cancer-related organizations.

12-17 WaCanId Ride. See Hot Picks.

13 Wings Over Sandpoint Fly-In. Sandpoint EAA Chapter 1441 hosts breakfast and invites regional pilots to fly into Sandpoint Airport and display a variety of aircraft. 255-9954 13-14 Arts & Crafts Fair. POAC’s 44th annual juried art exhibit at City Beach with artists’ booths, kids’ activities and more.

263-6139 13-14 Festival of Quilts. Panhandle Piecemakers Quilt Guild of Sandpoint’s judged quilt show in Sandpoint Community Hall. 610-6048 13 Summer Sounds. Triolet performs.

See June 4.

13 Aftival: Moon Taxi. See Aug. 5.

19-21 Artists’ Studio Tour. See Aug. 12-14.

20 Summer Sounds. Mike and Shanna Acoustic Duo performs. See June 4.

21 “Richard III.” Montana Shakespeare in the Parks performance plus medieval village festivities at Bonner County Fairgrounds. See story, page 20.

25 Yappy Hour. At Evans Brothers Coffee, 524 Church St. See June 30.

26 Paint and Sip. Easy, fun art experience with step-by-step instructions plus food and wine, hosted by Infini Gallery and Bonner County Museum, 611 S. Ella Ave.

18 Scenic Half. Presented by the Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, this 8th annual event features a half marathon, plus 10k and 5k fun runs. ScenicHalf.com. 2632161 23-25 Idaho Draft Horse and Mule International. The Northwest’s largest draft horse and mule expo at the Bonner County Fairgrounds. 263-8414 29 Yappy Hour. At Eichardt’s Pub, 212 Cedar St. See June 30.

OCTOBER

Weekends in October: U-Pick Pumpkin Patch. Hickey Farms on the outskirts of Sandpoint hosts its fourth year of festive family fun with a pumpkin patch, games, local artisan products and more.

Scarywood Haunted Nights.

Silverwood Theme Park transforms into Scarywood during October with goblins and spooks galore! SilverwoodThemePark.com.

7 Banff Radical Reels. Mountain Fever presents film event at 7 p.m. in the Panida Theater. 263-9191 15 Harvest Fest. Sandpoint Farmers Market celebrates with season-ending party at Farmin Park. 597-3355 TBD Warren Miller Ski Film. Annual event at the Panida, sponsored by the Alpine Shop. 263-5157

SUMMER 2016

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Bonner General Orthopedics Enjoy everything Sandpoint has to oer this season.

Bonner General Health provides excellence in health care with our comprehensive family of services. We ensure that you don’t miss out on all of the summer activities you enjoy.

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Interview

by Trish Gannon

Iris DeMauro, Phi Center founder

I

n May of 1951, Typhoon Iris, with maximum wind speeds of 175 mph, descended on the island of Okinawa, in southern Japan. At the same time, Yoshiko DeMauro gave birth to a bouncing baby girl.

Named Iris Ann Reiko DeMauro, she would ever after be known as Iris, and would embody the energy of the storm.

Her American father, Michael DeMauro, owned a construction company responsible for rebuilding much of Okinawa after the war, and Iris and her siblings grew up with frequent access to construction sites, sparking an early interest in the process of building and creating.

She grew up in Okinawa, went to University of Tokyo, then earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California–Berkeley. Identified early as a beauty, she attended the John Robert Powers modeling school and worked as a Playboy bunny in the heyday of the franchise.

But her path began to diverge. While in college, she learned transcendental meditation. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in environmental design from the Parsons School of Design in New York City. She has worked in architectural and interior design since 1979 and, for a 10-year period, co-ran the Archetype Gallery in New York City, which specialized in artist-designed home furnishings, lighting and jewelry. She was president of Geo International, a custom manufacturer of stone furniture for designers and architects and began to design and construct quartz crystal lighting. In 2003 she designed and built a multidome-structure research center and home near Sandpoint.

DeMauro is fluent in three languages – Okinawan,

Japanese and English, along with a smattering of Spanish.

She researches and works in integrative medicine, dabbles in moviemaking with the 2000 documentary film “The Temple of Mu” that aired on Fox in Australia, and just finished a book on the metabolic cause of cancer. Most significant locally, she recently designed and built the Phi Center in downtown Clark Fork, a school for building wisdom via time-tested, traditional techniques of yoga, martial arts and meditation.

Top: Iris DeMauro inside the recently opened Phi Center, which is shown above as it nears completion. PHOTOS BY ETHAN SCHLUSSLER

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Interview Left: Iris DeMauro at age 3 when she was growing up in Okinawa, Japan.

Opposite: DeMauro, cofounder of Archetype Gallery in New York City’s Soho District, poses with Jimmy Inamine, oldest family friend and founder of “Jimmy’s” specialty food store chain of Japan, circa 1997. They are standing with lamps designed by the renowned Dez Ryan

While her design and construction work roots her firmly in the physical world, she maintains a lifelong interest in the esoteric – such as transcendental meditation and lost civilizations, as well as more outré interests such as longdistance healing (the Reconnection) and the ability of water to retain memory, as postulated by the now-deceased researcher Dr. Masaru Emoto.

As much a whirlwind as the typhoon she was named for, Iris DeMauro has

emerged from a somewhat self-imposed isolation with an intent to create positive, long-term changes in the nearby community of Clark Fork.

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Most people would respond to vandalism with calls to the sheriff’s department. What is the Phi Center, and why is that your response to the problems?

Oh, I started out by getting angry about what was happening! I believe the kinds of problems I was seeing happen when things get out of balance.

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Interview breath are used to still the turbulence of both body and spirit in order to come to a place of peace and of health. Martial arts is another aspect of that, and so is meditation. If people can come participate and learn and be relieved of their stress for even an hour a day … that fills a real need! These programs are all done at one’s own pace. This is drug free, alcohol free and totally beneficial.

We all laugh and have fun. It’s a joy!

People don’t have nearly enough joy

There was damage, to my property and others, from motorcycles and ATVs. People would come on to my property and cut trees. Young people were running over farm animals and stealing firearms. Even law enforcement believed an abandoned house nearby was being used to sell drugs. I was building mounds and trenches, and installing jersey barriers, to try to keep these problems off my property.

But that is not the person I am. I believe that when you are blessed, you must share your blessings with others.

And I am blessed: with my family and friends, with the opportunities I have had in life, and with my material situation. So the question for me is, What do I give in return?

What we were seeing comes from anger and fear, and there are few resources available for overcoming those types of feelings. So I decided to look at a long-term solution, one that might only come to full fruition in the next generation of kids in our community.

The Phi Center is a school, one that teaches the techniques of yoga, martial arts and meditation. I have found those three activities provide a powerful system for developing individual growth and wisdom. Each person has a higher self. We focus on activities that assist each person to find their own higher self and, thereby, their personal joy; no one else can do this for you.

Yoga literally means “yoke,” connecting mind and body. Movement and

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and laughter in their lives. Most of our yoga participants range in age from 50 to 70, and they are amazing, beautiful people!

There is also a practical focus. We will be offering a ladies’ rape prevention class. The teacher, Charles Morse, from Heron, (Mont.), has several black belts and is my personal trainer in kick boxing and karate martial arts. His daughter was world kick-boxing champion and a bronze medalist on the U.S. kick-

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Interview “byproduct” fringe benefit. The physical benefits of flexibility and the stimulation of organs and glands are also key.

Our programs are taught by certified teachers, and are designed to be accessible. Our meditation offerings right now involve a drumming circle, and the charge is just $2 per person. The teacher comes from Sandpoint with his car loaded with more than 20 African djembe drums!

The Phi Center is designed to be all about creating joy and building community.

Above: At age 65, and just five years past a hip replacement, Iris DeMauro still practices yoga and promotes its benefits, as seen here at the Phi Center. PHOTO BY TRISH GANNON Opposite: In her home studio, she creates custom-built crystal lamps. PHOTO BY ETHAN SCHLUSSLER

boxing team. The rape prevention class will offer some really important skills to women in our area. I’m also working with the yoga teacher at the high school to create a program to train certified yoga teachers. Presently, high school students can receive college P.E. credit for their yoga studies. A recent Yoga Journal article stated there are almost 37

million Americans doing yoga. I believe it is because the benefits of yoga are so great that once you start, you are highly reluctant to give it up – just because it makes you feel so good! Another super benefit I have discovered doing yoga is that, ultimately, it releases stored emotional memories that we may have been holding onto for many years as sort of a

So tell us, why “Phi?”

Phi is the “golden ratio,” or the Fibonacci sequence. It’s a pattern that’s found in a spiral of growth that everything in nature follows. It is the building blueprint of nature, found in pine cones, the growth pattern of sunflower seeds ... even the proportions of the human body. It is truly amazing that everything alive grows in the phi pattern. The idea behind the Phi Center is the same – growth or self-growth. We teach the

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Interview techniques for you to “grow” yourself; I suppose you could say “to grow into your higher self.”

I discovered phi when I studied architectural design, as it’s integral to both architecture and art. When this ratio is used in our creations, the human eye interprets this as beautiful and perfectly proportioned.

Your home does double duty as a research center. Can you describe your place a little bit for us?

One of the experiments I am undertaking here has to do with extending the growing season via dome greenhouse structures. This includes “sonic bloom” technology, which encourages plant growth by mimicking the sound of birds. This encourages leaves to open up their stomata and take in nutrients from the air – amazing!

I also follow the work of Dr. (Teruo) Higa regarding efficient microbes.

Microorganisms are at the core of organic health for plants, animals and us alike. We make our own concoction

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Interview of microorganisms to use in our beds. I have the crunchiest, tastiest cucumbers and vegetables that last much longer in the fridge than normal.

I moved here to work with Dr. Joseph Puleo, a naturopathic doctor who taught me to make herbal tinctures, and I am now working on my own certification as a naturopath.

The house itself is a monolithic dome. Most of the living space is open concept, with room for my 90-year-old mother, plus family and friends when they visit. There is a special room for my parrots, and I use the third floor as space for my different interests.

their squawking, there is rarely a moment to be lonely as they keep me quite occupied with their demands and antics. And as I’m learning in my greenhouses, the sounds of birds are necessary for healthy life. Studies on wild bird frequencies are in the “whistling” range, and I’ve experienced my own parrots make a purring sound to help a sick bird, or when they’re happy and calm. It is amazing.

About those parrots. Why are parrots so important to you?

It may come as a complete surprise, but Playboy bunnies were one of the groups of women at the forefront of the women’s liberation movement. Because we typically made three to four times more money than men, we soon gained our independence from the traditional roles that women had played. We were some of the first women to be free of the female stereotype of the time. The confidence the job instilled led many of us to a variety of highly successful careers.

Birds are one of the most beautiful creatures on the planet, and I am always fascinated with their exquisite coloring and iridescent feathers. They could be the closest thing to what angels look like. And honestly, I believe they are the noisiest creatures on the planet! With

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How does being a Playboy bunny fit into all these interests?

Some of your interests range pretty far from the mainstream. How did you become interested in such a wide variety of fields?

When I was young my Japanese grandmother, who was psychic, used to tell me that at death, lights would leave the body. My father, who was very Western, logical and down to earth, would tell me it was all superstition and old wives’ tales. I was so confused,

Left: Iris, center, in 1975 with other Playboy bunnies did a lot of community service; here they are pictured at the San Francisco blood bank. COURTESY PHOTO

trying to reconcile disparities between both of my cultural backgrounds. I was trying to read Freud at the age of 12! Of course, this is why I pursued the study of psychology.

Growing up in a bicultural atmosphere led me to a life-long search for truth.

At heart, I am a researcher, and when I find pieces of truth, it is one of the most rewarding things in my life. I was excited to learn that Kirlian photography (the art of photographing objects exposed to high electric voltage) supports my grandmother’s stories about the lights within humans.

I believe that things happen in life both when they need to and because they need to, and I have tried to be open to what life has brought my way.

Everything that interests me is all about bringing a positive power into your life and into the world.

Q. What do you think is the most important lesson you’ve learned from life?

This is a very profound question. I would have to say that the lasting joy found within our higher selves is far greater than any momentary thrill found in our lower selves. That joy will get you through anything. This is what I have come to find. This is why I have built the Phi Center.

Learn more at: www.thephicenter.net or www.irisdemauro.com.

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GEOGRAPHY

‘Peaking’ our interest

Place names for area mountains reflect long history and many stories

By Beth Hawkins

N

ext time you’re hiking with friends on the region’s trails, enlighten the group with your vast knowledge of the name origins of area peaks and mountains. With luck, you’ll be in a place where you can’t Google the info, making it all the more impressive!

Getting a mountain or a peak named after a person is not an easy task. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) was created in 1890 to “maintain uniform geographic name usage throughout the Federal Government.”

And the process to get there is a lengthy one.

“To name a mountain or peak, they go through the histories and maps and photos,” said Sandy Compton of the Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness, a group that advocates for the preservation of the Scotchman Peaks roadless area in the Cabinet Mountains. “It takes time.”

Compton is familiar with the process, because his uncle wanted to name a mountain next to their ranch after Compton’s grandfather.

“My uncle wrote to the Geological Board that we wanted to name this mountain after my father, and they wrote back and said ‘Sorry, we’re not interested in naming anything

at this time.’ So I looked into it, and the names are done by attribution. The board looks through maps, they look through literature, they look for other names of this feature that are out there.” Twenty years later, Compton is happy that his grandfather’s name now marks the mountain on several maps.

“In fact, we were sitting down to lunch out working on a project, and a coworker said, ‘That’s Clayton Peak.’ I just started laughing.”

Here’s a much-abbreviated rundown on some of the place names of area peaks. Sources include a fascinating book, “Idaho Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary” by Lalia Boone, available at the Sandpoint Library, as well as the Geographic Names Information System, at www.nhd. usgs.gov/gnis.html.

Mount Eagen. Located between Sandpoint and Hope in the Cabinet Mountains, just above the Pack River Flats, Mount Eagen (5,281 feet) was officially named in 1928. The BGN cites in their decision: “So named on recommendation of the Forest Service for a man named Eagen, pioneer, who lived at the foot of this mountain for 40 years.”

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Mountains known as the Green Monarchs, 5,213 feet to be exact, the spectacular views from Schafer Peak of Lake Pend Oreille are unparalleled.

It was named after the nearby Schafer Brothers mine.

Jakes Mountain.

Located four miles southwest of Clark Fork, Jakes Mountain is named for Brent K. “Jake”

Top: Mount Eagen BILLIE JEAN GERKE

Middle: Mr. and Mrs. Don Eagen, early pioneers at Trestle Creek, for whom Mount Eagen was named BONNER COUNTY MUSEUM

Bottom: Eagen’s BGN “decision card”

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GEOGRAPHY

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Jacobson, a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer who was killed in the line of duty near Sandpoint in 1989. In a letter to the BGN, the Forest Service writes: “Jake frequently hiked, fished and hunted the area of the mountain to be named in his honor.

According to the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, he knew the area like the back of his hand.”

Gisborne Mountain. Named after Harry T. Gisborne, a fire control researcher who was known as a pioneer in the field, Gisborne Mountain is 5,595 feet high and located 10 miles northwest of Sandpoint in the Kaniksu National Forest. The Forest Service letter written in 1950 reads in part: “He died in the woods while studying the disasterous (sic) fire that took the lives of 13 fire fighters on the Helena National Forest last summer, in an effort to recognize and determine the conditions which caused that fire to ‘blow up,’ and thus lay the groundwork for preventing a repetition of such losses of life.”

Mount Roothaan. In the Kaniksu National Forest, east of Priest Lake and just south of Chimney Rock, Mount Roothaan is a prominent peak in the Selkirk Mountain Range at 7,326 feet. It was named by Father Pierre Jean de Smet in honor of his Jesuit Superior in Rome, Father John Roothaan. De Smet was the first of many Jesuit missionaries who set up base camps in the Priest Lake region in the 1840s.

A hiker sets out to bag Harrison Peak by bushwhacking in this 2015 photo. BILL HAWKINS

Harrison Peak. Striking a stunning profile, Harrison Peak reaches 7,292 feet above Harrison Lake in the Selkirk Mountains at the headwaters of the Pack River. Harrison Peak had no name until 1970, when an engineer with the U.S. Geological Survey submitted an application with the BGN. In the application, the peak’s distance of three-quarters of a mile from Harrison Lake – named after President Benjamin Harrison, the nation’s 23rd president who served from 1889 to 1893 – is cited.

Kent Peak. Located in Boundary County and deep in the Selkirks, Kent Peak is 7,096 feet high and was named in 1932 for “an old trapper, who was once lost in these parts.”

Butler Mountain. Down

by Cocolalla, about 10 miles south of Sandpoint, Butler Mountain stands 4,911 feet high and was officially named in the late ’70s in honor of a U.S. Forest Service employee who was killed nearby by lightning.

To research place names in our area, either talk to Forest Service archaeologists or wilderness spokespeople, or try the good ol’ Internet. Log on to www. geonames.usgs.gov and click on “search domestic names.” Who knows – you might just find a peak named after an ancestor!

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NONPROFITS

Sandpoint-Boise connection powers Idaho giving Idaho Community Foundation helps local donors give to causes they care about

C

oming from Albany, New York, Karen Bilowith is new to Idaho, but she’s a proven foundation leader.

That’s what Idaho Community Foundation (ICF) needs to make an increasing statewide impact – and that matters to those in Sandpoint for a very practical reason. In only the last five years ICF has provided nearly $975,000 in grants and scholarships to Bonner County recipients, mostly local nonprofit organizations.

The foundation manages the charitable funds donated by 29 Bonner County residents who have largely earmarked their contributions to benefit local groups and individuals. Some of those funds are the Bonner County Fund for Arts Enhancement, the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force Fund, the Junior Garnier and Bud Ashford Military Veterans Fund and the North Idaho Action Fund.

That Sandpoint has forged a significant connection with the Boise-based ICF comes in a good measure through the efforts of Sandpoint’s Bill Berg. Berg, a principal at the law firm Berg & McLaughlin here, is chairman of the board of ICF and has served on the foundation board since May of 2010. When the ICF’s president and CEO, Bob Hoover, decided to retire last year, Berg appointed the selection committee to lead the nationwide search for candidates to replace him.

The winner in that search was Bilowith, who was hired as the ICF’s new president and CEO, the position she started Feb. 1.

“We had many good candidates for the selection committee,” Berg said. “It was almost a coin toss at the end. The coin flipped for Karen

Sandpoint’s Bill Berg, chairman of the Idaho Community Foundation, meets with new president and CEO Karen Bilowith at the Flying M Coffeehouse in Boise. PHOTO BY JENNIFER OXLEY/ICF

based on what she did at the community foundation in Albany, but really we thought she and her husband would best fit Idaho’s culture.”

Bilowith, who served previously as president and CEO for an Eastern community foundation, was excited to come to Idaho to lead ICF from its headquarters in Boise. “I spent time in Colorado in grad school, and my husband is from there. I love the West,” she said. Like many Idahoans, the outdoors is a big part of Bilowith’s life – she’s a mountain and road biking enthusiast who also loves to ski. Sandpoint reminds her of

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her home state of Vermont. Only 10 weeks into the job, she had already visited North Idaho twice.

The ICF was started in 1988, through the concerted effort of an 11-person steering committee led

by John Fery and Whitman Jones of the Treasure Valley. This group of philanthropists who founded ICF envisioned it from the outset as a statewide organization serving charitable needs across the state.

That has not been easy to achieve. As Berg points out, at some 400 miles in length, Idaho is “geographically dysfunctional,” with many distinct regional cultures. He’s understood this from

By Charli Mills

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NONPROFITS

the beginning of his involvement with ICF, which first began after he and his wife Mindy Cameron cofounded Sandpoint’s Panhandle Alliance for Education in 2002. They made an early decision to place their endowment for their new nonprofit in ICF because it was Idaho-centric.

The early going with ICF for PAFE was not particularly encouraging, Berg said. “We didn’t even receive a thanks.

When Bob Hoover came on (as president and CEO), the first thing he did was show up to meet me, and I chewed him out about how to run a foundation.”

As the ICF’s new leader at the time, Hoover worked to build better statewide representation with regions more fully represented by locals. Hoover also recruited Berg to serve on the board.

New CEO Bilowith understands the importance of what her predecessor did to grow the statewide footprint of ICF, which now has regional officers in

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Falls and Twin Falls. Bilowith says she sees a platform upon which she can build to increase new partnerships with donors, municipalities and organizations. “Across the state, people are committed to the communities where they live,” she said.

ICF’s role is to help those who wish to donate to charities meet the needs of their communities or their own charitable giving priorities. “We’re like a charitable bank,” said Berg. “Up to now we have been really good at serving the charitable mission of donors. What they want, we help them get it.”

The other part of the ICF role is to connect to the groups that will effectively employ the charitable giving.

“It’s always important to serve our individual donors, but we have matured to partner with other foundations to take on important issues that transcend regions, such as education,” says Berg.

That one is key for Berg personally;

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given Idaho’s low level of funding for education relative to other states, he believes the charitable funding that ICF consolidates can help fill the gap. He’s not alone with that priority. Bilowith said a majority of ICF funding goes to education because it is what donors want.

PAFE is one of numerous nonprofits in Sandpoint that have funds with ICF to help support operations. In its first decade, PAFE built a $2.3 million endowment that has helped the group contribute nearly $1 million worth of grants to teachers and schools in the Lake Pend Oreille School District.

Other Sandpoint nonprofits with their own ICF funds include the Bonner Community Food Bank, Bonner County Historical Society, Bonner General Health, Community Assistance League of Sandpoint, Panhandle Animal Shelter, Kinderhaven and Angels Over Sandpoint.

Locally, opportunities exist for grants through ICF to support the arts, human rights, veterans organizations and access to behavioral health programs in Bonner County – all thanks to the generosity of Bonner County donors who have established ICF funds. For information on grants that serve this region, go to: www.idcomfdn.org/DA_Grants.

Even new on the job, Bilowith has shown she will be working to ensure the Idaho Community Foundation is indeed Idaho-wide. “I’m excited to be here,” she said, “and to help ICF to grow to its next stage.”

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SAILING

A September sail on Lake Pend Oreille saves Hey Jude

By Judy Meyers

T

here comes a time, sadly, in the life of many an aging sailor, when he, or the first mate, thinks, or talks, maybe aloud, maybe with sighs, about trading down to a power boat.

At age 70-plus, things start to happen. Your knees hurt when you have to scramble up onto the deck to unsnarl the boom vang. A wind gust hits the stern and things happen too quickly.

Walking along the gunnels to set out fenders, you have to steady yourself on the lifelines and shrouds. Erratic evening winds at the mouth of the bay aren’t as much fun as they are a challenge and frustration.

But just when you think you’re done with sailing, ready to give it up, a special day happens – and you’re in it for another season. This is the story of one of those magical times.

It was an overnighter actually. The two of us and our sloop Hey Jude, mid-September, on Lake Pend Oreille. We squeezed the trip into the middle of an already busy week, at the end of that long, hot, miserably smoky summer of 2015.

“If we don’t go now, we’ll have written off the whole season,” argued the captain. “Just over to Jim Lippi’s place at Beyond Hope, Ivano’s del Lago.”

“OK,” said the first mate, “Treat me to dinner there and you’ve got a deal.”

All we had to pack up and stow were warm clothes, bedding for the V-berth, one breakfast, two lunches, beer, wine and treats. Easy.

A front passed through the night before. Still no rain, but enough of a breeze to finally clear the wildfire smoke that had choked the lake, and us, for weeks. As we left Sourdough Point, the air and the lake were shimmering, prism clear. The NOAA weather synopsis on VHF channel 3 was zero percent chance of precipitation, air temperature in the mid to high 70s, light winds to 5 knots.

Around Contest Point, as the first mate noted landmarks on Chart

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At top, sailors catch the wind on Lake Pend Oreille. Above, author and captain ready their sloop Hey Jude for sailing. COURTESY PHOTO

No. 18554, we picked up a consistent light breeze, a little 5 degree lean, and glided along at 3 knots.

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SAILING

Resources: catching wind on Lake Pend Oreille Rising up out of Lake Pend Oreille, the Selkirk and Cabinet mountains and the sheer cliffs of the Green Monarchs create a stunning backdrop for our Sandpoint sailing scene. For cruisers and day sailors, the northern reaches of Lake Pend Oreille offer many opportunities to explore and enjoy unique bays, coves and vistas.

A large welcoming community of sailors enjoy the good winds and calm waters here at the north end of this 43-mile-long lake.

Beginners learn to find wind direction, race teams jostle for position to fly their colorful spinnakers, and friends out for a quiet sunset cruise all find their spot.

Sailors across the spectrum have opportunities here to learn more about their

sport. Ever wondered what it is like to be in a sailboat race? Chris Chambers, head of the Sandpoint Sailing Association (SSA) and Fred Park, Spud Cup race winner, encourage locals and visitors to come to the Windbag Marina, just north of City Beach, for Thursday Night races. At 5 p.m. boat captains are happy to welcome aboard anyone wanting to share the excitement of these informal events; no experience is necessary.

The SSA hosts a full schedule of other events, on and off the water. A variety of races welcome a full range of boats and, for competitive crews, the season culminates on Labor Day Weekend with the Spud Cup Race.

Through winter and spring, Kim

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Woodruff, Sandpoint Parks and Recreation director, organizes classes on a range of topics available through the SSA and the city. At the start of summer, lessons on their fleet of Holder 14s are available for sailors age 10 and over.

This year six new mooring buoys are planned for placement just north of City Beach, in front of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail. Steve Klatt, director of Bonner County Parks and Waterways Department, suggests boaters obtain a Bonner County boating map for location of buoys along 100-plus miles of mostly unpopulated shoreline.

Maps are available at the county administration offices on Highway 2.

For seasonal moorage, the City of

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SAILING

Sandpoint has more than 80 new slips at their two marinas, City Beach and the Windbag (cityofsandpoint.com).

North of town near Hope, Holiday Shores Marina (263-3083, sandpoint waterfront.com); Kramer’s (264-3021); and Hope Marina (264-5106, hopemarina. com) offer moorage and/or full services.

South of town, Bottle Bay Resort has a full-service marina. (bottlebayresort.com) Glengary Bay (265-2752), offers protected moorage.

There are public boat launches at parks around the lake, including Sandpoint City Beach, Garfield Bay, Trestle Creek, Pringle Park, Sam Owen Campground and others.

PHOTO BY DON FISHER

trast, green trees in the newly bright sun. Past Sandpoint and the marina.

We shared happy memories of Trinity at City Beach and the lakeshore trail.

Bald Mountain. Schweitzer, and the stark outline of bare ski runs. Said a little prayer for snow to end the drought and bring us a good ski season. The granite face of Roman Nose. Oden Bay, past Kootenai Point, watched the depth finder to keep her keel clear. Shook our heads at the ironic contrast of castles, McMansions, cabins, campers and, out there at the tip of Hawkins Point by the Pack River Delta, a lone white tepee.

About 3 p.m. we were becalmed.

The only sound was the metallic clank of the mainsheet shackle as the sail luffed. That silence, and a flock of coots, created the next chapter in the magic of this trip. The lake was an antique mirror, undulations in liquid mercury, patterns of brown and flashing silver. Fish rose to send ripples out for miles. In that setting, we glided, barely

moving, through a 2-acre crescent of coots. We shared the moment with small gestures and whispered phrases, like believers entering a cathedral.

Little white rooster tails of spray as the coots lifted off a foot or two, right next to the hull, then settled down again.

Big feet comically dangling on skinny legs as they ran across the surface.

They chirped, had a conversation, just a bit uneasy and confused by our silent presence among them. Their feathers glistened gray and black, amber eyes, white beaks with that little spot of red, closer than we had ever imagined. We were part of it.

A half hour later, out of the shadow of Anderson Point, the wind came at us, up the length of the lake from Bayview. I went below to secure the cabin and brought up beers. Sails full, 10 degree lean, 5 to 6 knots, almost hull speed. In the groove, a light hand on the wheel. Tell-tales on the jib flying perfectly horizontal. The mainsail

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SAILING

Hey Jude heads out for a magical September sail. COURTESY PHOTO

cupped, traveler adjusted. A sailor’s sweet spot. We cruised on a single tack south toward Hope. A shared clink of Coronas.

At Warren Island the wind died again. We furled the jib. Centered the traveler. Pleated the mainsail onto the boom, four blue canvas ties, one at each batten. Our well-practiced routine. We motored to Owen Bay, on the south side of Hope Point. The water was inky there, charcoal gray and smooth, little ripples like a velvet comforter shaken out and settling down. American flags, limp on their poles. Two canary yellow kayaks, brilliant in slanted afternoon sun, leaned up against a weathered gray boat house. Beach towels, bright and patterned, hung over deck rails.

We tied her up at the docks of the resort, walked in to make our reservations, and limbered up with a walk through Sam Owen Park. Then we settled in for a sunset dinner on the patio. Laughing Dog pilsner in a frozen glass. Green salad with peperoncini ribbons and Ivano’s creamy garlic dressing. Panko crusted calamari steak, butterflied, a creamy white center, all on a bed of perfect angel hair with a buttery lemon Beurre blanc sauce, the last drops sopped up with crusty sourdough.

Shared dessert, a warm berry cobbler.

We listened to and enjoyed the camaraderie of friends, all of us grateful to be in such a beautiful place.

By the time we returned to Hey Jude, there was evening dew on the cockpit

cushions. Nestled into fleece jackets and a shared WSU Cougars blanket, we were rewarded with stars in a clear night sky. Pend d’Oreille Winery’s Bistro Rouge in plastic goblets, chunks of dark chocolate with hazelnuts. Tony Bennett duets, then Dave Brubeck’s Take Five fading away. A time for reflection on the bullets we have dodged and those that have grazed but not mortally wounded us. At this age, existential musings are not idle philosophy. The cockpit of a sailboat, at night, draws out those too rare and real conversations, and works marriage magic.

We toasted ourselves, and Hey Jude, and made a pact. We’d get her out of storage early next spring. Maybe even before the lake is up to full 2,062-foot pool. We’ll have more overnighters. We’ll barbecue and take her out with friends for moonlight sails. We’ll go to Bottle Bay Marina for salmon tacos. We, of course, made a list of boat projects.

We went below, snuggled into flannel sheets, unzipped our sleeping bag. Hey Jude’s gentle rocking, fenders squeaking against the dock, was the perfect lullaby.

That overnighter, with the beauty of Lake Pend Oreille, the cathedral moment with the coots, a fabulous sunset meal at Ivano’s, red wine, dark chocolate, and couples conversation, saved Hey Jude. It kept us sailing another season.

And a final note to the captains out there. Only one small part of the experience had to do with sail trim and boat speed.

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LAKE PEND OREILLE

Deep in Pend Oreille Tales abound of the secrets held in her vast depths Story by Cassandra Cridland Photos by Allen Worst

L

ike any true lady of breeding and elegance, the outward appearance of Lake Pend Oreille’s attire may reflect her mood – but her best secrets lie hidden in the depths of her heart, beyond the reach of prying eyes.

“You have to understand,” says Tom Michalski, longtime diver on Lake Pend Oreille and former owner of Tom’s Diving Adventures in Coeur d’Alene, “Lake Pend Oreille, she’s steep and deep. … Normally, if you’ve lost something in Pend Oreille, it’s there to stay.”

The treasures she hides are as varied as the reasons she’s acquired them. For example, over the years she’s gathered trains, planes and automobiles, all delivered by a host of people crashing into her estate.

In September 1904, seven railroad cars hauling gravel tumbled into the water when the railroad trestle across the Pack River estuary gave way.

Four rail cars were later recovered, but three slipped away into the deep at the far north end of the lake.

At the other end of the lake is another example. “If you go to Bayview and look over at the slide area,” said Michalski, “you’ll see where a guy who’d just gotten done paying off his Jeep parked it while he got out to ‘ooh, aah,’ and go ‘wow’ over the view. It rolled down and tumbled in. By the time it got to a certain depth, it was all broken apart.”

However, limited road access near the lake means fewer automobiles than one might expect. “Most of the cars are on the north end of the lake,” said Gary Dagastine, who’s spent 40 years diving in Pend Oreille – much of it for the Bonner County Sheriff’s Department. “Drunks only get so far off the road before they crash.”

A Oct. 1, 1984, account in the Spokane Chronicle indicates that a Beechcraft Bonanza airplane landed and sank a quarter mile off of Mineral Point in what the paper reported as 5 to 7 feet of water.

“When I heard about it going down,” said Michalski, “I went out looking for it. I had sonar on my boat. I’m sonaring and sonaring – 300 feet, 400 feet. I’m thinking where is it?” He finally found it in over 800 feet of water. “It’s pretty much there to stay,” he added.

If they’re not crashing into her, they’re sinking Boats have been plying the waters of Pend Oreille since the first indigenous people launched a canoe. Over the centuries, a percentage of those boats have plunged below her waves never to be seen again, either by accident or through a

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At top, diver on a steamboat wreck from around the turn of the century, in 60 feet of water in Scenic Bay, near Bayview. Above, a 1932 map found rolled up in a wall at Belwood’s Furniture. MAP COURTESY WARD TOLLBOM/ HEN’S TOOTH GALLERY

deliberate scuttle. Littered across her bottom are a collection of hulls, screws, timbers, rudders, barrels once used as floats, and trolling motors from every type and shape of boat.

If it has ever crossed the lake on a boat, you can bet at least one has SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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LAKE PEND OREILLE This page and opposite, divers Matt Hoit and Rick Inman examine railroad cars that tumbled into the lake in 1904, now resting in 105 feet of water near Trestle Creek

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fallen off and been lost, including: tackle boxes, various tools, sunglasses, coffee cups, lawn chairs and coolers.

Which brings us to the distinction between trash and artifacts. The difference between the two is how long they’ve been down there.

Bayview used to serve as a dumpsite. Divers can find sinks, hot water heaters, vacuum cleaners, sewing machines, refrigerators and a host of other appliance-related debris – in short, trash. However, when divers find old bottles, pottery or other remnants disposed of by the community during the 19th or early 20th century, those are historic artifacts.

This lady also loves a man in uniform and, really, who can blame her?

The U.S. Navy has been testing unmanned model submarines in the

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ratus to raise and lower the model subs for the purpose of testing acoustics.

On Jan. 25, 1972, waves from a huge storm broadsided the Navy’s unmanned research barge, rupturing the steel pontoons on which it floated.

It sunk. The Navy confirmed that the barge, equipment and research material were valued at $2 million. A spokesman for the Navy at that time indicated that recovering the barge from 1,000 feet of water did not seem economically feasible.

The Navy is not the only one to utilize Pend Oreille for working in, on or around. Nor are they the only ones to have lost or abandoned equipment and materials.

A portion of Vista Bay Marina located in Bayview burned, losing boats docks, and various other

items into roughly 100 feet of water.

Dagastine describes the area as being an interesting place to dive.

Sawmill logs were once gathered into huge rafts and floated across the lake to mills located down river. They didn’t all survive the crossing.

Huge cranes attached to barges used for building on and around the lake have broken loose and been devoured during storms.

Thousands of pylons have been hammered into the bottom of the lake to support bridges, trestles, docks and homes. They are rarely removed. They are simply cut off below the waterline to make way for the next incarnation of building.

Speaking of the waterline, it has altered over the years, helped, in part, by the addition of two dams. Albeni

Falls Dam regulates her outflow into the Pend Oreille River, and Cabinet Gorge Dam regulates her intake from the Clark Fork River.

The changes wrought by these dams means that once productive hayfields now lie beneath her surface; as do select hunting and gathering locations important to the Kalispel (also known as the Pend d’Oreille band) and Kootenai Indian tribes.

Even portions of the Humbird Mill, which in the early 1900s clung to the lake shore and extended out into the lake, are now under water, creating a unique diving area referred to as “The Ruins.” The old mill site is just off Sandpoint’s Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail and during winter’s low pool portions of the ruins are exposed to landlubbers.

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LAKE PEND OREILLE Diver Rick Inman checks the remains of a boat believed to have sunk in the 1950s or ’60s just off the public boat ramp in Bayview

Don’t look now, the jig is up Many a criminal has desperately hoped that the lake will keep their secrets. Sheriff’s department divers are routinely called upon to do evidence retrieval – everything from weapons to stolen goods to bodies. Unfortunately, not everything or everyone is recovered.

“Next to the Long Bridge, going into Sandpoint on 95 there’s a safe,” said Dagastine, “like an old Wells Fargo safe. … It’s right alongside the bridge.

It’s like someone backed a truck up there and shoved it off. … A big safe – this thing probably weighs close to a thousand pounds.”

There are also lots and lots of bicycles – as if kids have run off with them and then realized they can’t keep them. They wind up ditched in the lake.

Rumors circulate from time to time.

Even the most gracious of ladies can’t escape from wagging tongues.

A July 15, 1996, article in the Spokesman-Review opens as follows: “An unarmed Navy torpedo, which slammed into the muddy bottom of Lake Pend Oreille 30 years ago, still rests there. It’s unreachable beneath 1,200 feet of water.”

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Possibly, but if so, how did it get there?

No other record appears to exist as to its location nor could its existence be verified beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Likewise, there are tales that claim the Navy lost a submarine. In an article written by Nicholas K. Geranios for the Associated Press, U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr.

David Pierce has laid that question to rest: “The base has never lost a model in the lake’s vast waters,” Pierce said.

“That would be a bad thing.”

Inevitably, there are stories of untold riches.

“I heard once,” said Michalski, “in Garfield Bay they used to mine gold there. There’s supposed to be a shaft that goes down and starts heading underneath the Garfield Bay area.”

If so, it remains undiscovered.

According to legend, many years ago a man did find an underwater vein of gold in Pend Oreille, where he would go chip nuggets whenever he needed money. Of course, no one knows the name of this mysterious man or the location of his treasure.

Myths and tall tales aside, far greater than all the things that people have given up to the lake are the natural wonders that reside deep in the heart of the lady, Pend Oreille. Just ask anyone who’s ever done a “wall dive” in the southern end of the lake or has come nose-to-nose with one of her resident silver-finned beauties.

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the human condition through BRONZE

Sculptor

A L AMRATNI AS CT

Steve Gevurtz expresses

By Carrie Scozzaro

T

en years into developing a passion for bronze casting, Steve Gevurtz still delights in the joy of discovery and the challenge of working with this classic material. His sculptural works capture not only his fascination with the medium but also with the human condition, from human anatomy to the expressiveness and symbolic potential of human gestures.

“With everything else in my life,” said Gevurtz, 68, “I get into it and I go and I go and I go… and then I lose interest.”

That happened with fly fishing, for example, but not so with art, which he’s been doing since around 2002. The catalyst was a trip to Burning Man, an annual happening where people “dedicated to community, art, self-expression and self-reliance” come together to inhabit the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.

“The very first night,” said Gevurtz, “I got my bike and I’m riding out on the playa and I see these magnificent 20- to 25-foot sculptures, tulips shooting fireballs.” For someone who had spent nearly 30 years of his career in traditional corporate settings, the effect was liberating. “People spent an entire year of their lives for no purpose other than to create something,” he said, of people who had prepared for Burning Man. Gevurtz, who was living in Spokane at the time, looked into formal art instruction, rekindling an interest in art from his early college days. Although he attended Lewis and Clark and Portland State University as a young adult, he didn’t complete his studies. “I’m not auditory at all,” said Gevurtz, who found that lecture-style instruction didn’t work for him; he needed something more hands-on.

“Cast Your Fate to the Wind”

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ARTIST At age 21, Gevurtz found that the hands-on learning environment in the working world embraced his inquisitive, entrepreneurial attitude. He worked his way up to the position of director of organizational development for Marriott, and at age 28 started his own consulting firm in Portland. By 1980, Gevurtz was senior vice president of Itron, a technology and services company, and in 1992, he cofounded a spin-off company, Itronix, serving as CEO and president until his retirement in 1999.

“Not once did anyone ever ask what my academic credentials were,” he said.

By 2002, Gevurtz realized that direct instruction would expedite the learning process a little. He connected with artist instructors Loretta Jenkins and Stan Miller at Spokane Art School, pursuing mostly painting and drawing. Then he tried his hand at sculpting and took a workshop with Vala Ola, a Scottsdale, Ariz., artist whose accolades include membership in the National Sculpture Society and a repeat finalist in the Art

Renewal Center’s annual exhibition for both her contemporary realistic oil painting and bronze sculpture. He queried local artists – Terry Lee, Dorothy Fowler, Sister Paula Turnbull, George Carlson – and switched from water-based clay sculpture to modeling clay.

In bronze, Gevurtz found his métier. “I like that it’s solid and permanent,” he said.

Gevurtz’s artwork has been shown at The Painter’s Chair Gallery in Coeur d’Alene and the (now closed) Brandon Michael Fine Art Gallery in

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ARTIST Santa Fe, N.M. It’s available through Primary Elements Gallery in Cannon Beach, Ore., where Gevurtz sets up a twice-yearly display, and through his website at www.stevegevurtzsculpture.com.

Gevurtz’s artwork populates the Sandpoint home he shares with wife Sandra. It’s a peaceful setting on a stream-filled, partially forested cove facing Kootenai Bay that the couple purchased several years prior.

Throughout the landscape on their

property, Gevurtz’s sculptures appear like mythical forest figures, greeting both summer guests at the couple’s outdoor movie parties and visitors on the annual Art Tour Drive.

The lower level of the house is Gevurtz’s studio, full of work in various stages of completion: armatures upon which figures are built, molds made from the figure and cast (filled with bronze in editions ranging from eight to 25), and bronzes.

After they have been cast, Gevurtz

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ARTIST often retrieves figures from the foundry and reassembles them – during casting, solid pieces are cut into sections – to use as both a teaching tool and as a reminder. “When I look at the clay I remember all the work that went into it and it brings back the memories of doing it in the first place,” he said.

Although most of Gevurtz’s work is three-dimensional, he recently completed a two-dimensional plaque. “Bob Carlson: A Path to Follow, A Trail of Joy” commemorates Dr. Bob Carlson’s contributions in founding the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail. Gevurtz incorporated Carlson’s family into the scene and represented Carlson, who passed away last fall, as an oversized leaf fallen in the foreground, highly polished to shine brightly against the rest of the bronze.

Gevurtz often works from live models, taking copious notes about proportion and musculature and talking at length with each model. For One Step Home, he worked with a local woman in her 50s on the cusp of transitioning from a personal

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challenge. With one hand upraised in a halting gesture, says Gevurtz, the woman pronounced that she was “done.” She held the other hand low, palm up and open, announcing she was ready for something new.

Gevurtz saw the story in her gestures.

“My entire business career was about people – customers, employees,” said Gevurtz, who notes that at Marriott, their goal wasn’t customer “satisfaction”; it was customer delight. That meant research, talking to people, understanding them. The transfer to art from his business, he says, is that everyone has a story.

In “That’s How the Light Gets In,” the Leonard Cohen song inspired the narrative: Ring the bells that still can ring / Forget your perfect offering / There is a crack in everything / That’s how the light gets in.

While meditating at Sandpoint

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ARTIST

“The Arrival”: Princess Myrna arrives to oversee a return to sanity.

Steve Gevurtz Studio, in his Kootenai Bay home.

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ARTIST

Gevurtz sculpts in clay before casting his pieces in bronze

Sangha, says Gevurtz, the teacher quoted the Cohen verse. The next day, while skiing, Gevurtz heard the same song on his headphones. That struck a chord with the artist, who looks for balance between strength and vulnerability in his own life, which he symbolized in the sculpture by showing a strong, youthful, Atlas-like male figure that confronts his own fears by ripping open a section of the globe he’s holding. The globe will light up via an electrical component.

“That’s How the Light Gets In” signals a recent shift in Gevurtz’s process on several levels. Unlike prior works, the musculature is completely visible on the body’s exterior, a technique called écorché. To understand the complex relationship of bone, cartilage and muscle, Gevurtz pores over reference books like Paul Richer’s 1889, Female Morphology.

Gevurtz is sharing the depth of knowledge he’s gained about anatomy with oth-

“Precipice”

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“Letting Go ”

ers. He taught his first class on sculpting the torso, which ran for five weeks this spring at Infini Gallery. “Teaching is forcing me to go back and totally relook at what I know, and in the process it’s filling all these gaps about what I don’t know,” he said.

He has reached a place in his work, he says, where he just keeps rediscovering fascination and excitement about it: “There’s so much to learn.”

He add that he is willing to take more risks. Casting bronze is expensive. Gevurtz usually covers his costs by preselling two or three editions for each figure, yet for “That’s How the Light Gets In,” he’s fronting the $5,000 cost. Art is risky, he says.

“If you want to manufacture components,” Gevurtz said, “you can have predictability.”

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PICTURED IN HISTORY

Bob Marshall on the Priest

By Sandy Compton

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W

e all know the iconic Bob Marshall Wilderness Area is just south of Glacier National Park, but did you know the man it’s named after cut his teeth in Priest River?

There are more than a couple versions of Marshall’s time in northern Idaho, and none of them completely agree. The following is what has been sorted out.

The Forest Service launched the Priest River Experiment Station in 1911, but in 1921, administration for the station moved to its Region One headquarters in Missoula. In 1925, the name of the operation was changed to Northern Rocky Mountain Forest Experiment Station, of which Priest River was a unit. Also in 1925, Robert Marshall – 24 years old and a recent graduate of the forestry school at University of New York-Syracuse – arrived to work in Missoula. While there, he developed stomach problems and asked for a leave of absence. He returned to work in 1926 – at Priest River. It is said that better food and a “better atmosphere” completely cured his stomach.

Marshall’s job at Priest River was the study of Pinus monticola, Western white pine, the tree that made Idaho famous. He studied methods of cutting, reproduction, yield, reforestation and fire. His work took him to the most remote camps in the Priest, something he loved, for he was a frenetic hiker.

He once climbed 14 peaks in the Adirondacks in 19 hours. And 40 miles was a day hike.

Floyd Carson, who knew Marshall, told about a day when the telephone in the ranger station was constantly ringing. There didn’t seem to be any fires, so he

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asked what was going on. The ranger said men from other stations were calling with wagers on what time Marshall would complete his 40 miles that day.

Marshall was at Priest River for two years. In 1928, he entered Johns Hopkins University to work on his doctorate in plant physiology. In his two years in Idaho, he hiked hundreds of miles and wrote seven research reports – primarily on white pine. One study, though, was “Contribution to the Life History of the Northwestern Lumberjack,” a The indomitable Bob Marshall studied Western white pine at somewhat tonguePriest River for two years, from 1926 to 1928 in-cheek look at the habits of Idaho lumberjacks, including their propensity for profanity.

He wrote: “It transpired that an average of 136 words, unmentionable at church sociables, were enunciated every hour by the hardy hews of work.”

Marshall was from upstate New York, but he wandered all over the West in his short, eventful life. Those ramblings made him believe even more in leaving certain places wild.

In 1937, Forest Service Chief Ferdinand Silcox appointed Marshall chief of the Division of Recreation and Lands. In that position, he campaigned for reserving public lands as wilderness, setting aside a remarkable 5.4 million acres in two years. He also helped form the Wilderness Society with conservation pioneers including Aldo Leopold.

Marshall died in 1939 of apparent heart failure at age 38, only 13 years after he landed at the Priest River station. He left $500,000 to the Wilderness Society and helped plant a new idea in the American psyche, which burst into bloom at the signing of the Wilderness Act in 1964. The Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana, created by Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace on Aug. 16, 1940, is named in his honor.

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ALH M IAKNI N AG C

SECRET PLACES

Where does a guidebook writer go to get away? Here’s where.

By Jim Mellen

The author soaks in one of his secret places, a grassy meadow south of The Lions Head in the Selkirk Mountains.

PHOTO BY SANDII MELLEN

L

ying back on huge, soft tufts of grass, I would just watch the clouds float by. Totally relaxed, at peace, no worries, just being.

It was my special place. At 11 years old, I was at the perfect age: no responsibilities yet but old enough to be independent. Those days in northern Virginia were a long time ago, but there are still special places in northern Idaho that can take me back to that blissful frame of mind. I don’t mind sharing a few secrets here, though I’ll keep some for myself, of course!

Perhaps the coolest place in the U.S. Selkirks for me is The Lions Head. Situated high above Priest Lake, this is a place that almost guarantees solitude, simply by virtue of its inaccessibility. It has no official trail, and going to The Lions Head is tough at times, but it definitely is one of the most special places. The most super special place, really difficult to reach, is a small, open, grassy meadow with a deep, slow-moving creek south of The Lions Head. An oasis in the midst of granite, this is the most inviting place I can think of. (Details on access are on page 290 of “Trails of the Wild Selkirks,” second edition.)

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WILD WORDS: TRAIL GUIDES CONTINUE IN NEW EDITIONS

HIKING A bit farther north in the Selkirks, the Upper Priest River Trail No. 308, aka American Falls Trail, is a spectacular place from trailhead to the falls itself. This trail is suitable for hiking, horseback riding or mountain biking.

The 8-mile-long trail passes through one of the largest oldgrowth forests in the Inland Northwest. Massive cedars tower above the trail, and the abundant ferns are lush due to the frequent precipitation. The first part of the trail is easy, but the difficulty increases with each mile. Take your time and stay with it, because the payoff is worth it. American Falls awaits you. Spend some quality time here and, if you arrived on a warm day, take a refreshing swim. (Access details on page 102 of “Trails of the Wild Selkirks.”)

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Inveterate hiker Dennis Nicholls wrote “Trails of the Wild Cabinets” in 2003, the first comprehensive guide to our surrounding mountain ranges. He followed with “Trails of the Wild Selkirks” in 2004 after a year hiking virtually every trail in the American Selkirk Mountains more than 170.

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His friend and frequent hiking partner Jim Mellen has carried on his Trails of the Wild Selkirks South of the Canadian Border work, producing a second edition of “Wild Selkirks” inDiscov2014.

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HIKING

Above left: Hikers kick back atop Big Fisher in the Selkirks. Above: From Moose Mountain, a peek at Moose Lake in the Cabinet range. PHOTOS BY JIM MELLEN

Big Fisher Lake Trail offers spectacular views of the surrounding mountains, then drops a couple hundred rocky feet to Trout Lake, and the first special place at this destination. Near the lake’s outlet, a huge boulder rises a dozen feet from the surface with a relatively flat comfortable surface. I know a guy who fell asleep on that rock many years ago (and he resembles me). Continuing along Trail No. 41, a fine ridgetop meadow offers a welcome resting spot, but reaching the Big Fisher overlook with breathtaking views of Big Fisher Lake is unforgettable.

Instead of following the trail 600 vertical feet down to the lake, turn right at the overlook. The large, comfortable slabs of granite send out the invitation for a long break. The ridge across the lake is actually the highest point in the U.S. Selkirks.

(In “Trails of the Wild Selkirks,” page 233, Big Fisher Lake Trail No. 41 starts on Trail No. 13.)

Moose Mountain is another special place. On a warm, dry summer or fall day, the summit of Moose offers solitude and excellent views of the surrounding Cabinet and more distant Selkirk mountains. (In “Trails of the

Wild Cabinets” third edition, Moose Lake Trail No. 237 leads to Moose Mountain Trail No. 213.)

Beyond the Mickinnick. The popular Mickinnick Trail is close to Sandpoint, with the trailhead little more than three miles from city center.

This 3.7-mile hike has a lot of uphill but rewards hikers with great views of Lake Pend Oreille and the city. Few know that from the trail terminus at the overlook, an unofficial trail intended to be a phase two extension continues for about another mile before fizzling out.

Continuing on has its own rewards.

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SECRETS

Scotchmans interior. PHOTO BY JIM MELLEN

Staying on the ridge, there are sections with smooth granite, huckleberries and more stunning views. (See “Trails of the Wild Selkirks,” page 275.)

Secret Scotchmans. The trails that probe the proposed Scotchman Peaks Wilderness are really nice, but to see the most pristine and untrammeled Scotchmans, put on your big boy/big girl pants and prepare to get beaten up a bit. There are no trails to the interior of the Scotchmans, so the going is slow and rough but well worth it – with jawdropping rock formations, vast meadows of beargrass, elk wallows and solitude. Grab your backpack, lots of food and your camera. Stay a week and let the purity of nature wash your spirit.

You may never be the same!

One good jumping off point into these wildlands is the classic hike to Scotchman Peak Trail No. 65 with its splendid views from the summit.

Below the summit, traverse southward above the treeline. A few places involve scrambling but soldier on and bear to the southeast, then eastward as much as possible. After three-quarters mile, a ridge with a steep drop to the northeast provides a great view of the basin to the southeast of Scotchman Peak. The only safe way into the basin is about half mile down the ridge. Once in the basin, have fun! The fires of 2015 burned parts here, adding another dimension to this wonderland.

My special place in Virginia did not last long. It was developed and ironically, at 14, I was mowing a lawn where the wonderful tufts of grass used to be. So I love the idea of public lands – to keep our special places special.

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S E V E N G E N E R AT I O N S

Seven generations, 97 years of

country girls on Upper Gold Creek

A

s you drive up Gold Creek toward Western Pleasure Ranch, half a mile below the ranch – if you are a country kid – you might sense more than see a depression in the land on the north side of the road. If all of the second- and thirdgrowth grand fir and hemlock and white pine were cleared away, a bowl of land would be revealed.

If you look back seven generations, in the bottom of that bowl – then known as “Bonny’s Hole” – you’ll see a 10-by-16-foot shack with a tin roof surrounded by stumps and spars left by Humbird’s log crews. A skid road scribes an undulating white scar

Laura Bonny with husband Isaac. Laura is the first of the seven generations.

up the hill behind the shack to where it intersects the intermittent line marking the grade of the narrow-gauge railroad that hauled all of those missing trees away.

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seven generations of women on Gold Creek are standing near the shack, while the man who built it is leaning against a tree in the foreground.

Meet the Bonnys.

Floa (born 1893) and her mother-in-law Laura (1865) with four children each stand between the shack and a huge adjacent garden space.

Floa’s husband William Isaac “Ike” leans against the tree. He came from Colorado in 1918 to have a look at land Humbird Lumber Company was parceling out of the logged-over Selle Valley and Cabinet foothills in Grouse, Gold and Rapid Lightning creeks. Ike

By Sandy Compton Above, from left: Four of the seven generations of women who have lived on Upper Gold Creek: Virginia Hoffine Wood, Janice Wood Schoonover, Danielle Schoonover Otis, and Emily Otis. PHOTO BY AMY SAWYER

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S E V E N G E N E R AT I O N S

Left: Ike Bonny, in foreground, above “Bonny’s Hole,” where the first three generations of women pictured small stand near the shack he built, in 1921. Inset: The Bonny family, in 1927, in front of the second house they built after settling in the Gold Creek area

“Meadowood”) to what they called the Coons’ place.

Sixteen 1920s miles

bought one of these “stump ranches” and on March 13, 1919, in the midst of a spring snowstorm, he and Floa and four kids got off the train in Sandpoint. It was their 10th anniversary.

They rented a house for a brief time in Sandpoint, while Ike built the shack in “the hole.”

In a letter to her sister Pearl back in Kansas, Floa wrote, “It has been raining all day, just coming down slow and the ground is covered with snow, but it is melting day and night.” A few days later, Ike wrote to his mother Laura that they all had the flu.

Sound familiar? Maybe like 2016?

As often happened – and still does – in the westward migration of Americans, parents followed the children. Isaac Sr. and Laura, both in their late 50s, arrived in 1921; in time for Laura to be in the picture taken in Bonny’s Hole.

From “the Hole,” the Bonnys later moved to the end of what was then Rosholt’s Road (now renamed

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One of the children who got off the train with Ike and Floa was Pearl, named for her aunt back in Kansas.

The brief stay in town before moving on to Gold Creek might have been as much as she saw of the “big city” for a few years. If she wasn’t a country girl already, she soon became one.

“Sixteen 1920s miles were a lot longer than 16 miles now,” said Janice Wood Schoonover. Janice, born in 1963, is the great-great granddaughter of Laura Bonny. She and her husband Roley own that place up the road from Bonny’s Hole, now the Western Pleasure Ranch. Western Pleasure grew out of the original Wood’s V-X ranch in the 1990s. “We started doing trail rides in 1991 and built the lodge in 1996.”

Janice and Roley’s daughter Danielle, born in 1988, is the sixth generation.

She and husband Landon Otis have a house just south of Western Pleasure overlooking Gold Creek, and the best fishing, according to Danielle. Their daughter Emily Joy, vintage 2009, is the seventh generation.

The keystone generation In the middle of all these is Virginia Hoffine Wood. Virginia is the keystone generation, number four of seven, and a country girl from the beginning. Her mother was Pearl, that 9-year-old who got off the train in 1919. When Pearl grew up, she married a Gold Creek boy, Paul Hoffine, a grandfather Janice remembers well. “I was always comfortable around him. He was a fiddle player, which probably has something to do with thinking it was important for my kids to play the fiddle.”

Janice knew her grandfather, but she never knew her grandmother Pearl.

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Nor did Virginia. Pearl died of cancer when Virginia was 10 months old, and she was raised primarily by her father’s mother, Lilly Hoffine.

When Virginia was 4 years old, the Coons’ house burned and she was rescued by being dropped from the second floor porch. By then, though, she and the Hoffines were living elsewhere – “on the Rosholt place” – where she grew up until time to go to high school.

Floa Bonny, left, Virginia’s grandmother, born in 1893 – the second generation – and Pearl Bonny Hoffine, Virginia’s mother, the third generation

When she started school, there was no school in Gold Creek: “The first half of first grade, I had to go to Grouse Creek School, which sat where Grouse Creek Road and ColburnCulver come together now. I didn’t like it very much. Someone had to take us to school either by car or by sled. At Christmas, though, the Gold Creek School was finished, and I went there.”

There were not a lot of kids on Gold Creek in those days, and for the rest of her elementary school years, Virginia was the only kid in her class.

“When I started high school in Sandpoint, most of the kids who were ahead of me hadn’t gone on.

Grandma Bonny (Floa) was living in town, and I lived with her until my junior year, when she died. After that I lived with my future sister-in-law until I graduated.

Her sister-in-law wasn’t “future” very long after she got out of school.

Virginia and Jim Wood were married in 1948. She was 19. He was 18.

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S E V E N G E N E R AT I O N S came to Gold Creek as a 10-year-old boy in 1940 with the rest of his family.

During the two hours I talked female family history with Virginia, Janice, Danielle and even Emily, Jim did an admirable job of staying out of it – even though I knew sometimes he was itching to say something. Family history discussions will do that.

One of the few things he did say was that when he first met Virginia at Gold Creek School, in his 10-year-old opinion, “she was just another stupid girl.” Time changed that opinion. After 68 years, they are still together.

The missing generation The helix string of kinship in the seven generations is today 151 years long. Laura Bonny was born in 1865.

She was 56 when she came to Idaho, still trailing four kids. Virginia had a thought that they were grandkids, though, but the truth of that’s been lost.

A generation of memory was lost when Pearl died in 1928.

“I don’t know a lot about her,” Virginia said, “because she died when I was a baby. I don’t have any stories to tell about her.”

But Virginia still has stories to tell.

“My dad had three brothers. My mom had two. They were always around, and they talked a little bad sometimes. We had chickens. ‘Free range chickens.’ ” She laughs. “They would hide their eggs way back under the hay. One time when I was five, my dad talked me into going back into the hay to get those eggs. The farther I got in there, the darker it got, and I finally backed out saying, ‘Hell no! Gingy’s not going back in there!‘ “My grandpa Hoffine never drove a vehicle in his life. Saturdays were town days. One time, everybody went off to town, and Grandpa and I went to Gold Creek and caught a mess of fish. I fried up those trout and then I made gravy from the grease from the fish fry.” She wrinkles up her nose at the memory. “It wasn’t very good.”

Social life on Gold Creek centered on the school. “We always had a big Christmas program,” Virginia said, “and a last-day-of-school program. All the parents would come and have a big ball game or something. We had dances very often. Once when I was not very old, we had a dance. We were having a blast. They would dance until 2 in the morning then some. We went out to go home, and it had snowed so hard, we all had to walk home.”

Living on Gold Creek in the days of school dances was somewhat of an isolated life. Those 1920s miles kept folks at home, and neighbors were better acquainted. It is not so much isolated now, as insulated. It’s just a short drive to Sandpoint, as Janice noted, but there is a cultural difference still extant today.

Country kids “I was definitely a country girl,” Janice said, “but I don’t know that I knew the difference until I was in the ninth grade. I went to Northside until

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S E V E N G E N E R AT I O N S Janice Wood Schoonover with one of the favorite ranch horses, circa 1979

then, but we all came together at the Ninth Grade Center in Sandpoint, and there was a big difference between country kids and city kids. We always had pieces of salt in our pockets that we knocked off the salt block and took with us, something city kids would never understand. In ninth grade, we had P.E. and P.E. uniforms. The city girls said, ‘Where have you been all summer? Why are your legs so white?’

I was embarrassed, but you can’t buck hay bales in short pants. You felt like a small drop in a big pond.”

But city girls don’t have horses, either. Since the Bonnys came to “the Hole,” there have been horses.

“I learned to ride on a horse named Chub,” Virginia said. “He was a workhorse. We used horses to put up hay and everything else. We didn’t have a tractor until I was in high school.”

Of course, horses have played an important part in Danielle’s life.

Western Pleasure began offering trail rides when she was 3.

Young Emily is riding already. She has two favorite horses, Honey and DeeDee: “I like to go on trail rides to the frog pond or the apple tree.”

The reference might be obscure to someone else, but if you’re a country kid living on Gold Creek, you know exactly what and where she is talking about.

“When you’re growing up in it,”

Danielle said, “it doesn’t occur to you the coolness of what it’s like. Riding horses, playing in the dirt. Looking back on the childhood I had, I hope the same thing for my kids. It’s going really well so far.”

Danielle, who was home-schooled through fifth grade, then went to a Christian school through grade 8, and then Sandpoint High, now substitutes at a small school that somewhat echoes the Gold and Grouse Creek schools of decades ago. “That means I’m the cousin who gets called in when someone calls in sick,” she says. Selle Valley Carden School has about 40 kids preschool through sixth grade.

In another three years, it will be 100 years since the Bonnys landed in Sandpoint, and settled in Gold Creek.

That 151-year-long helix is stretching toward the future. Will generation No. 8 be taking rides to the frog pond someday? Time will tell.

For now, generation No. 7 is growing up a country girl.

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Shopping, Dining, Lodging, Arts and Entertainment, Health Care, Educational Opportunities, Professional and Personal Services, and so much more.

From A-Z, you can find it in Sandpoint’s B.I.D. A Department of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce • (208) 263-2161 • www.downtownsandpoint.com

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RAILROAD HISTORY

Railroad depot hits century mark (After 100-plus years of challenges)

By Cassandra Cridland

T

he historic depot serving Sandpoint celebrates its centennial this year, a milestone that is nothing less than a miracle when you consider the challenges city leaders faced to get the railroad to build it in the first place, followed by a string of struggles to keep it intact.

In 1916, the newly constructed Northern Pacific Railroad Depot straddled the line between the disappearing Village of Sand Point located on the east side of Sand Creek and the growing City of Sandpoint located on the west side. Today in its centennial year, sandwiched between the U.S. Highway 95 bypass and an active stretch of Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad track, the recently renovated red brick depot with Tudor Gothic ornamentation is a testament to the temerity and tenacity of the citizens of Bonner County.

The original depot built by Northern Pacific Railway (NP) in the early 1880s for the Village of Sand Point was a wooden structure modeled after Victorian lines and decorated with gingerbread trim. This functional building served as both freight and passenger depot for the NP line but soon became too small and shabby for the growing community.

The first rumblings that NP intended to make changes to the existing depot began in December 1904 in a reported conversation between Mr. Alfred Beamer, superintendent of the Idaho division of the Northern Pacific, and Mr. B.S. Deffenbach of Sandpoint, in which Beamer intimated that a new freight depot would be constructed.

By January 1905, the rumors of depot changes were confirmed. The Northern Idaho News reported in its Jan. 6 edition that “Mr. Beamer stated that his company would erect a handsome new station building here the coming summer, fitted up with all the modern conveniences.

The location he stated would be on the opposite side of the tracks from the present depot, near where now stands the Sandpoint Cedar Company’s store.”

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This meant changes, including moving existing businesses that stood in the way; however, business owners complied with little grumbling, anticipating the influx of workers spending money in town and the potential for community growth.

The fight to get it built The following report appeared in the Oct. 20, 1905, edition of the Northern Idaho News: “The Northern Pacific architect was in Sandpoint the latter part of last week drawing plans for the new passenger depot and laying out the grounds for the same. … The material for the new depot has

Top: The renovated station pictured in 2015. PHOTO BY AL SEGER Middle: The same train station around 1916.

MATT SCHMITT COLLECTION, BONNER COUNTY MUSEUM

Above: Original 1880s depot, as seen in 1912.

PHOTO BY DICK HIMES/ROSS HALL COLLECTION

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RAILROAD HISTORY arrived and shingles been purchased here for the same. It is planned by the railroad management to have the building constructed this fall, providing the weather settles.”

Between the architect’s visit in October 1905 and the building of the depot in the fall of 1916, the sentiments of the managers and owners of the NP changed. Daniel E. Willard, development agent for the NP wrote that “northern Idaho was a bit of rocky scenery over which the Northern Pacific passed as a bridge connecting Montana with Washington.”

Undaunted by the NP’s apparent change of heart, the business leaders of Greater Sandpoint launched an assault to acquire what had been promised.

Two of the area’s prominent newspapers of the time, the Northern Idaho News and the Pend d’Oreille Review, faithfully recorded the volleys exchanged between the two.

In those intervening years, members of both the Sandpoint Commercial Club and the Bonner County Business Men’s

Association pleaded in person and by letter with the NP to provide them a new depot befitting their status as both a growing community and a highvolume shipper along the NP line. They issued invitations and wined and dined members of the NP who would make an appearance. They took them hunting and showed them thriving enterprises of agriculture, timber and mining.

On the part of the NP, they countered with explanations of falling railroad receipts and cited lack of both “gettogether spirit and civic pride” among the people of Sandpoint as reasons for failure. However, the NP did pick up the existing depot, flip it around, move it to the other side of the tracks, and included a new coat of red paint.

When cajoling failed, the business community resorted to shame and guilt tactics. They reminded the management of the NP that they had received more than 415,000 acres of Idaho land as a grant from the U.S. government – land they were neither using nor allowing to be sold. In the estimation of com-

munity leaders, NP had received their largess and now they owed the people of Idaho, particularly Sandpoint, a new depot. Furthermore, it reflected poorly upon the NP that the Great Northern Railroad could furnish beautiful new stations for their locations while all the NP could offer was broken promises.

Matters escalated when NP began building new depots for two communities in Washington and contemplated a new depot in Coeur d’Alene.

The March 7, 1913, edition of the Pend d’Oreille Review reported talk of boycott: “At the meeting of the Commercial Club Wednesday evening when H.V. Williams stated that he was going to present a resolution at the next meeting of the Bonner County Business Men’s Association, asking all of the business men in Sandpoint to route their freight over some other railroad.”

Finally, the town’s crown jewel The Northern Pacific Railway management eventually saw the light and contracted with the Rounds

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RAILROAD HISTORY Fourth of July below the Cedar Street Bridge in 1933, with depot pictured when it was just 17 years old. Sandpoint’s depot is the oldest remaining passenger depot of the former Northern Pacific Railway and is Amtrak’s only stop in Idaho. PHOTO

BY ROSS HALL/COURTESY HALLANS GALLERY

Construction Company of Seattle to begin building Sandpoint’s new depot. The contractors chose to use primarily local products, buying cement from the Lakeview Cement Company and common brick from the Anderson Brick Company. The approximately 16,000 red facing bricks were purchased from a company in Spokane.

Scrapping the 1905 plan for a shingle roof, the contractors intended to use a deep red roofing tile to match the facing bricks. However, plans changed during construction and dark green roofing tiles graced the finished station instead.

Transportation delays and the misdirection of the materials intended for

finishing and furnishing the building’s interior meant that the planned October 1916 opening of Sandpoint’s new depot was pushed to the first week of November, when they resorted to using battered furniture from the old depot in order to open.

The total cost of construction came in at just under $25,000. Described as “palatial” both in terms of size and adornment, the depot made the community feel the protracted fight to have it built was well worth it.

For the next several decades, the red brick edifice stood as the crown jewel in Sandpoint’s efforts to build a thriving business community – a beacon of progress. Through those doors passed thousands of different lives: entrepreneurs and visionaries, loggers and miners, soldiers and farmers, mothers and fathers, adventurers and tourists, politicians and activists. Even President Harry Truman stopped by for a visit while stumping for the Rural Electric Administration.

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RAILROAD HISTORY Republican candidate Wendell Willkie, shown with wife Edith, on his whistlestop campaign at the Sandpoint depot in 1940. His attempt to defeat President Franklin Roosevelt was unsuccessful.

PHOTO BY ROSS HALL/COURTESY HALLANS GALLERY

Politics and problems The first hint of new trouble coming for the Northern Pacific depot occurred as railway traffic gave way to increased automobile traffic. A clamor arose in Sandpoint for better highways and improved secondary roads. The July 11, 1957, edition of the Sandpoint News-Bulletin urged citizens to attend the upcoming July 17 public hearing of the proposed Highway 95 bypass being planned for the east side of Sand Creek.

A downplayed blip occurred in 1958.

The state of Idaho promised the railroad that in the event of a highway bypass, they would build the Northern Pacific a new depot somewhere else.

By 1970, every year that the depot remained standing was a gift.

On March 1, 1970, various railroads

merged to form Burlington Northern (BN), and the new conglomerate worked to consolidate its holdings. On May 1, 1971, BN leased the depot to Amtrak for passenger service. In 1972, realizing that it didn’t need two depots in Sandpoint, BN closed the newer Great Northern depot and retrofitted the 1916 Northern Pacific depot as it sat along the main line.

In 1971, Mrs. Don Samuelson, former first lady of Idaho, forwarded a letter from the Bonner County Historical Society to Dr. Merle W. Wells, the state’s historic preservation officer, requesting his assistance in preserving local landmarks.

That led to the placement of the depot on the National Register of Historic Places, July 3, 1973, which generated little fanfare at the time.

Within the “statement of significance” on the National Register’s nomination form it states: “The Sandpoint station differs from the rather routine designs assigned to scores of other small towns along Idaho’s railway lines.

Rather than merely fulfilling a formula,

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RAILROAD HISTORY it was designed to have a distinctive character of its own. It is the state’s only Gothic-style railway station. …

The Sandpoint depot has unusual historic significance at present in that it is the only depot in the state of Idaho being used for passenger traffic.”

An article appeared in the June 17, 1974, Sandpoint Daily Bee, titled “BN Depot Stalls Highway Bypass”: “Merle Harding, regional director for the state highway department, told local citizens that until or unless the depot is removed, the highway department cannot proceed with its bypass plans. … Bud Moon, president of the Bonner County Historical Society, said his group took no great action in the first place to have the depot placed on the federal register and that it was not a priority item with them. Harding suggested the group try to keep the transportation corridor intact, and that the depot, vintage 1920s, is possibly not that historically significant anyway.”

Until 1998, the general consensus

focused on delisting the depot from the National Register and leveling it to make room for the bypass. The fact that the building qualified for a listing as historic made removal problematic.

Murmurings of reutilizing the depot for another purpose came to naught.

Unfortunately, years of sitting by a busy railway with little regard for upkeep had taken their toll. The once hard-won beauty of Sandpoint fell into disrepair. Her gable ends were removed and vandals absconded with bricks, mirrors and fixtures. In short, she had become an eyesore.

In 2009, Amtrak closed the building and planned to abandon the depot, using the $922,000 in bypass mitigation funds provided by the Idaho Transportation Department to build a new rail stop outside of downtown.

Redemption at last Local website designer Aric Spence leapt into action to save the depot, launching www.sandpointtrainsta-

tion.com to garner public support.

He worked with the city’s Historic Preservation Commission and then-city councilwoman (and soon-to-be mayor) Carrie Logan to convince the city to open negotiations with Burlington Northern Santa Fe to restore the depot.

After more than a year of negotiations, city officials brokered an agreement in June 2011 to restore the depot.

Idagon commenced work in 2014, and the historic depot reopened to shelter Amtrak passengers in May 2015.

The outside of the building was restored, essential structural elements were rebuilt and modernized within the walls, and a small waiting room at the south end was refurbished to allow passengers to experience a taste of the station’s former glory.

One hundred years on, Sandpoint’s depot remains a vital part of the town.

The Sandpoint Historic Preservation Commission is currently developing plans for the depot’s centennial. Find updates at www. cityofsandpoint.com/your-government/news.

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C U LT U R E S

Bringing the world in focus for kids Marsha Lutz’s passions unites kids, cultures

By Sandy Compton

M

arsha Lutz knew early what she wanted to be when she grew up. At age 15, she acquired a Pentax K1000, a heavy beast of an all-manual, single-reflex 35-millimeter – her first camera.

“My dad was a photographer,” she said. “He always had a camera. We would spend hours poring over his pictures. I was enamored of it.

Students take “partner portraits” in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photographer Marsha Lutz volunteered for a month to work with these and other girls in a foster home there

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“I learned how to load my own film.

None of this plugging in a data card; you had to be careful. It was heartbreaking to realize after 40 shots the film hadn’t been advancing.”

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C U LT U R E S

In her hometown of Elkhart, Ind., she and her best friend Jenny built a darkroom in Jenny’s bedroom closet – with no running water; they had to bring their own. But, as a senior in high school, Lutz was able to take a continuing education photography class at the new Elkhart career center. “We were really lucky,” she said. “It was a brand-new building with a beautiful darkroom setup.”

The career center was aptly named, for photography has ever since been Lutz’s career. She left Elkhart within two weeks of graduating high school, landed in 76

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At left, students from A New Day Cambodia in Phnom Penh. Below, Cambodian students, on left, paired with Amy O’Hara’s class at Forrest Bird Charter School, on right

Jackson Hole (to take pictures of the Tetons), and then went to the Colorado Institute of Art in Denver to learn more about her chosen path.

Home, home on the road Back in Wyoming after college, she married a cowboy. They had two kids, Amber and Dustin. They moved from Wyoming to Plains, Mont. From Plains, she visited Sandpoint. “I knew immediately that was where I wanted to be.”

The cowboy, not so much. He went back to Wyoming, and she has been here ever since.

Well, almost ever since.

“I love to travel,” the 54-year-old

said. “Moving around the larger world gives us perspective we don’t get if we just stay home.”

Thereby hangs the tale of Our World Focus, which Lutz formed a few years ago to combine travel, public service and, of course, photography.

She said: “A number of years ago, I traveled to Nicaragua, and I wanted to do something to make a difference while I was there. I went with a friend who turned out not to be into volunteering, but I realized that the traveling part for me should be in service.

“We saw how difficult it was for people living in poverty. When I got home, I found a small nonprofit that takes books, computers and toys to small rural towns

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C U LT U R E S

Above left, Marsha Lutz takes students in Phnom Penh on a field trip; on right, students pose with a younger sibling while on their walkabout photo excursion

in Nicaragua,” she said. “We’d gone through some of those communities. I contacted the organization and did a slide show benefit and sent them the money. That was my very first project.”

Helping kids by helping dogs The trip that formed the concept of Our World Focus into a seed and planted it was a journey early in 2009 to Thailand with Heather Carleton, a veterinarian from Jackson Hole. “Heather said she’d go to Thailand with me if I found a place she could do volunteer work with animals. We found Soi Dog Foundation, a spay and neuter clinic in Phu-ket.” But before they left, Lutz had an inspiration. She asked her coworkers at Coldwater Creek to donate used digital cameras so she could do photography with kids in Thailand. Soon she had eight donated cameras and her own.

Once in Thailand, though, she didn’t know where to find the kids. Enter serendipity.

“At Soi Dog Foundation, I was assisting Heather and photographing her work. A guy with the local paper came to interview Heather. I sat down next to 78

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his girlfriend, and I told her about wanting to do photography with kids. Out of nowhere, she said, ‘I have the kids.’ It turned out she worked with a nonprofit teaching English in a big orphanage.”

This led Lutz to teaching an afterschool photography class each day for a week at the orphanage. “I fell in love with these guys. They put on an art show that raised a lot of money for the school. That’s when I really knew that I wanted to be working with kids – especially kids who don’t have a lot of opportunity.”

Meanwhile, back in the U.S. She also wanted to engage kids from her own community, Sandpoint. Once she made that decision, Our World Focus was born. She came up with the concept of “Sister Classrooms” and found a willing partner in Amy O’Hara at Forrest Bird Charter School. They teamed up to match O’Hara’s digital photography class with kids sponsored

by A New Day, Cambodia (ANDC).

ANDC is a nonprofit in Phnom Penh that sponsors children from severe poverty situations to go to local schools,

providing a place to stay, three meals a day and computer and English classes.

Marsha found ANDC online and contacted Annette Jensen, who was then executive director.

“When she got my e-mail, she did everything she could to help me,” Lutz said. “Many of their kids are from families that live around the dumps scavenging. The ANDC program allows the kids to stay in touch with their families, and yet still find a way out of that life.

These kids were so gracious, appreciative and incredibly bright.”

Lutz finds all of this incredibly satisfying but not very lucrative. Much of this happens on her dime, you might say. Other funding comes from grants she writes, occasional support from partnering nonprofits and donations.

Tapping social networking Her website, ourworldfocus.org is a limited-edition social networking site.

The kids who take part in the “Sister Classroom” photo lessons are invited to join the network and post pictures; other members can view and add comments.

Categories of photography include “Fine

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C U LT U R E S Art,” “Best Shot,” “Everybody Loves Food” and “Hero Portraits.”

Children from all over the world – Turkey, Costa Rica, Cambodia, Thailand, the United States – post their photographs. The “Sister Classrooms” get to know each other, and then the site is there for them to continue their relationship.

“My goal,” said Lutz, “is to introduce kids from different cultures, to encourage respect, tolerance and acceptance for cultural differences and to create lasting relationships that might not otherwise be possible.”

Since the initial pairing of O’Hara’s class and the students from Phnom Penh, Lutz has facilitated “sister” matches with classes at Lake Pend Oreille Alternative High School and Sandpoint High and classes in Turkey and Costa Rica.

She said: “Linda Spade from LPOHS got really excited when I shared the project with her. She was very interested in bringing the program to her class at LPOHS and encouraged and supported me to find an international class to match with hers. She also helped me find some funding. We worked together to match her class on careers and development with an English class in Bergama, Turkey.”

That same year, Sandpoint High teacher Conor Baranski’s cultural anthropology class was matched with a second class in Bergama. The latest match has been two of Baranski’s classes with classes in Costa Rica.

What comes next The next project is yet to be determined, as Lutz needs to secure more funding. “I think what we have been able to do so far is quite powerful, and I’m presently deciding the direction I want to take things,” she said. “What I would really like to do is to engage our kids in Sandpoint more fully, and maybe allow them the opportunity to travel also. Travel gives me perspective and takes me out of my little world. I would like to see local kids also have that opportunity. That’s when the real change comes.”

Heather Nucifora Chef/Owner

Learn more at www.ourworldfocus.org.

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farming

TENDING to the CROPS Small producers find a growing niche STORY BY PETE HICKS • PHOTOS BY FIONA HICKS

‘T

his was Carson’s first food – pears from my garden,” says Pat VanVolkinburg, 57, the owner of Bountiful Organics, along with husband Paul. Her eyes were a little misty as she remembered the boy, a young neighbor she’s close to, and that experience.

The couple bought a 5-acre piece of property near Shepherd Lake in Sagle in 1984, where she had always had a small garden. After an injury at her job and multiple surgeries, Pat VanVolkinburg found that gardening was not only good for her body but also for her mind and spirit. Her small garden grew to a farm. She took classes and taught courses in the local Master Gardener community. Now, after more than 30 years of working her land and 20 years providing Bountiful Organics produce at the Sandpoint Farmers Market, she loves to share her love of the land.

“Providing certified organic produce and seed to my community is an honor that I cherish. The local support is vital to the future of my farm,” she said. “Sure, there are days when every inch of my body is begging me to stop, but then there are the days that make all that a distant memory.”

VanVolkinburg goes on to tell a couple of stories that have encouraged her to continue. She tells of a neighbor’s son who helped her dig out carrots and his excitement of playing in the soil with his bare hands. She shows me a picture of baby Carson’s face covered in pureed pears. She added, “We must all think more like this. Buying from our neighbors and the neighbors of friends. Eggs, milk, cheese, meat, produce, fruit and seed, are all things we can buy local. How very blessed we are to have these things available to us.”

This summer, VanVolkinburg starts a new chapter for Bountiful Organics, a farm stand at her property, 517 Shepherd Lake Loop, to be open limited hours.

I had the pleasure of working alongside VanVolkinburg and daughter Jenn when I first moved to Sandpoint. She would walk through the garden with me and tell stories of the different plants as if they were friends or family members. She remembers hard seasons where there was too much rain, or not enough, but she doesn’t remember them with bitterness. She remembers the lessons and how they prepared her for the next time. The amount of knowledge farmers hold about their plants and soil is staggering.

By the end of my first season of pulling weeds, trimming tomato plants and pulling garlic, my initial infatuation with Kelsey Racicot and Alan Wright turned this open field into Rugged Roots Farm

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farming

farming had graduated into a realistic sense of awe.

Running a small farm profitably is a deeply involved endeavor. It starts well before the earth thaws with planning out the rotation of crops, determining which varieties of crops to grow, ordering the seeds and numerous other foundational details that the whole season will grow on.

Once those steps are taken, then comes planting and caring for the season’s “starts.” Again, each variety has special needs. If your starts survive and are robust enough to transplant, the next step is to put them into the garden and pray the last freeze has come and gone.

After months of watering, weeding and trimming, the first fruits of the season blossom. Then the job of selling vegetables comes. In Sandpoint, we are blessed to have a thriving Farmers Market that is well managed and supported by the community at large. The farmers support each other with a clear vision for a healthy community.

Emily LeVine, 32, of Red Wheelbarrow Produce, puts it this way: “(Sandpoint farmers) give open arms to each other. They’re like, ‘Oh, you’re a farmer? Come on in! Let’s build it together!’ ” she said. “If I run into a problem with something I can’t fix or an issue with one of my crops, I can reach out to the community and get help.” LeVine spent a year in Minnesota, in 2005-06, at White Earth Indian Reservation running a community garden. It was during this time that she felt the draw of connection to the soil. Her journey toward farming began. When she arrived in Sandpoint in 2006, she worked with Diane Green of Greentree Naturals and then connected with Dave Brown and started Red Wheelbarrow Produce in the Selle Valley.

Each season brings its own challenges, whether in too much water or too little, or some new critter that wants to eat her plants, but LeVine feels rejuvenated when she closes the gate at the end of the day. It’s her chance to take a step back and see the bigger picture of beautiful produce and know that she is offering her community healthy and delicious food.

LeVine shares a short reflection on her life as a farmer: Why do I do it, you ask?

It’s the evenings.

Evenings like these, When I go to do the “chores” How could a chore be a chore When the ducks fly overhead Wings whistling Quacking the day’s doings to each other Why doesn’t everyone do this?

From top left: For 20 years of Bountiful Organics, Pat VanVolkinburg of Sagle shares her love of the land with organic produce and seeds. Emily LeVine of Red Wheelbarrow Produce farms and prepares food she grows, ratatouille for a Yoga Farm Dinner, at her farm in the Selle Valley.

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farming

Alan Wright, 28, and Kelsey Racicot, 27, grew up in Olympia, Wash., and Federal Way, Wash., respectively. They met at the University of Washington in Seattle. Their common quest for sustainable living took them to Virginia where they worked for two growing seasons at a permaculture farm.

Three years ago, they purchased 20 acres of land in Bayview and used their vision, knowledge and experience in sustainable agriculture and permaculture to turn an open field into Rugged Roots Farm.

“We really were into permaculture,” said Racicot. “That was kind of what got us kickstarted off on everything. Then the reality of what permaculture actually looks like and how to do it became very blurry. We had to make money.” Racicot and Wright are interested in a sustainable life, that elusive line that runs between a deep love for the land and the need to build a future where there is no lack either in energy or finances. Wright added: “We are trying to find this balance between production and sustainability. One of the main things that keeps us coming back now is the spiritual connection that is cultivated through growing food.” On their website, www.ruggedrootsfarm.com, they say, “Our farming journey has brought us much healing, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Reorganizing our lives around the seasons and committing our energy towards growing nutritious food has brought us more than we could have imagined.”

Wright and Racicot call Wendell Berry one of their prophets. Berry’s essays on the sour fruit of the industrialized small farm and the victory of corporate profit at the expense of family and earth sustainability are sobering and yet Berry does not deliver the facts as a death knell but rather as an invitation. He invites us all to join in the rescue, the redemption of the Earth and ourselves. While technology moves forward in

Gobs of gardening: classes, courses, clubs and more Whether you are a novice or expert gardener, are new to Bonner County or have been around the area for years and want to plant a vegetable garden or have an interest in learning about local flora and fauna, there are many resources for digging out this information, says Jan Griffitts, a hiker, gardener and community activist.

The best place to start is by seeking out the advice of locals, whether it be by taking a spring or fall home horticulture class offered by the Bonner County Gardeners Association or talking to employees at the area’s small, long-time nurseries.

“If people need help with gardening or an arborist, really ask around. Locals will tell you who is good,” she said.

The side benefit of getting involved in the area’s gardening community is making new friends and relationships, said Bonner County Gardeners Association member Janae Dale.

A retired school teacher, Dale enrolled in the Master Gardener program in 2003 to learn more about gardening in Bonner County after moving to the area from Snohomish, Wash.

“This was such a great group of people,”

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Dale said. “Income, occupation, political preference, religion, background. It didn’t make any difference. The commonality of a passion for growing things was our bond.”

The Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society, which was germinated from a love of native plants by the late Lois Wythe while taking a Bonner County Master Gardener course, also boasts a robust and active membership.

Rae Carlson, the organization’s president, said the group has 126 members at present and attributes the club’s “shared sense of mission and enjoyment” for its growth.

A 2005 graduate of the University of Idaho’s Master Gardener (MG) program, Griffitts, 71, also earned her stripes through the Idaho Fish and Game’s Master Naturalist program, is a member of the Bonner County Gardeners Association, and a hiker who spearheaded the planting of native plants at the base of Mickinnick Trail and creation of Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail.

She emphasizes the importance of asking lots of questions; locals are not only willing to help but often examine people’s yards and gardens to provide the best help.

By asking Daily Bee garden columnist and

Master Gardener Valle Novak about climate zones, Griffitts learned Bonner County has four climate zones, not the lone one zone listed by Sunset magazine.

Novak, a local who grew up near Chilco in Kootenai County, tells people to plant a vegetable garden either when the snow is off Bald Mountain or June 5, as Memorial Day weekend is often wet and cold. Griffitts said by using Novak’s advice, she has never had a problem growing vegetables.

Do not be fooled by 65- and 70-degree days in March or April, Griffitts said. Plant too early and you risk seeds rotting or getting washed out by rain or freezing tender plants.

The Bonner County Gardeners Association meets at 9 a.m. the first Wednesday of each month upstairs in the Ponderay Events Center. While this is a fairly new organization, it is a robust, 80-member group. It includes many graduates of the Bonner County Extension’s Master Gardener program.

The group holds education classes for its membership and a spring and fall Home Horticulture Workshop Series for the public.

This past spring’s topics included raising

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farming solving the growing crisis, Berry advocates for a change of heart through re-engaging the Earth with respect and thanks.

More than dogma or a revolution of environmentalism, this is about building a life that is both sustainable and rewarding.

It’s about finding connectedness, understanding, reintegration and relationship both with the Earth and with our neighbors. Every seed they plant and nurture for months on end, every market stall set up and taken down, our farmers offer us their passions, their heart, their sweat, fears, early evening laughters and more than a couple tears.

Perhaps the greatest gift they bring us is the simple invitation to join them in making the world a better place by changing food from a commodity into a relationship.

In his poem, “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front,” Wendell Berry writes: blueberries and fire/storm safety for landscaping.

The organization’s members volunteer with a variety of garden-related activities, including spearheading a school vegetable garden project.

Master Gardener courses begin in late winter. Those interested should contact the Bonner County Extension, 263-8511, no later than early December about filling out an application. Classes are held Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Cost is $75 which covers course materials and a binder. Classes are taught by local experts and University of Idaho employees. Boundary County Extension also offers a course; 267-3235.

IFG MASTER NATURALIST

The Idaho Fish and Game course takes place in late winter and early spring. To learn more, look for articles in local media or go to http://bit. ly/1VMCRQn.

KINNIKINNICK NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY

This group meets at 9:45 a.m. the fourth Saturday of the month at Sandpoint Community Hall, with the exception of July, August and September. A short business meeting is held followed by a speaker. The Native Plant Arboretum in Lakeview Park is also an offshoot of this organization. The group works to educate people about using native plants for landscaping their own yards. Membership is open to anyone.

The organization hosts an annual Arbor Day event at the Arboretum.

This 2016 event is Saturday, June 4 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A mural by Marilyn McIntyre is being unveiled. A native plant sale and tours for local school children occurs the week before the event.

Info: www.nativeplantsociety.org

FRIENDS OF SCOTCHMAN PEAKS WILDERNESS

While the organization’s primary focus is getting official wilderness

Invest in the millennium.

Plant sequoias.

Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant, that you will not live to harvest.

Say that the leaves are harvested when they have rotted into the mold.

Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.

Put your faith in the two inches of humus that will build under the trees every thousand years Our small-scale farmers help us pioneer a new way. The old way. The way of leaving something for the Earth and for our children. And while we do this we support each other and celebrate life together. designation by the U.S. Congress, it also schedules regular hikes into Bonner County and Montana. They have been known to offer hikes that focus on the area’s vegetation.

Learn more at www.scotchmanpeaks.org.

SANDPOINT FARMERS MARKET

Located in Farmin Park at Third Avenue and Oak from the first Saturday in May to mid-October, the market takes place Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Early market offerings include vegetable and herb plants for gardeners, greens, crafts and more. During the season you can find locally made food and art and enjoy music on the park lawn.

Info: sandpointfarmersmarket.com

PLACES TO VISIT

SANDPOINT HEALING GARDEN is located on the grounds between Bonner General Health and Bonner Community Hospice. The garden is managed by volunteers. This beautiful little hideaway has been the site of several weddings and provides solace to many. It boasts a beautiful chapel, gazebo, children’s area, and lovely plants and paths.

WATERLIFE DISCOVERY CENTER, owned by the state of Idaho and managed by Idaho Fish and Game, is located on Lakeshore Drive. The 3.5-acre site is an outdoor classroom with trails and interpretive signs.

NORTH IDAHO NATIVE PLANT ARBORETUM celebrates its 20th year this year. It came about because of a dream by the late Lois Wythe to show people what can be done with native plants. Wythe owned The Peaceable Kingdom and was instrumental in founding many local organizations, including several related to the arts. The arboretum is located in Lakeview Park in Sandpoint just off Birch and Elm streets.

–Marlisa Keyes

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Dog Town

People and their pooches have created a canine culture here

By Charli Mills

Some dig clods of dirt to rid our fields of gophers, and others pace faithfully by our sides. We take them out for beer at local taprooms, on our boats and all around town.

When the sun coaxes us outside, one stroll through downtown Sandpoint reveals the obvious: We love our canine companions.

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t’s a sunny Friday afternoon on Cedar Street in Sandpoint, and Cathy Schuller and Max walk out of Idaho Pour Authority. She clips a growler to a holder on her bicycle. A special rod extends from her bike and she attaches Max, a boxer, to it with a lead.

Whether or not Max realizes he’s a lucky dog, he is. He lives in a town that allows him to accompany his owner to a premier bottle and taproom. If he gets thirsty on his trot home, other businesses have set out bowls of water for dogs just like him.

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The local dog culture and Sandpoint’s active lifestyle are embodied well by Max, an energetic boxer, and his owner Cathy Schuller, shown here and at right, playing along Sand Creek (PHOTOS BY ALAN BARBER )

Photo montage, right, captures the life o’Max PHOTOS COURTESY OF CATHY SCHULLER AND DON OTIS

Max and Schuller pedal past MickDuff’s Brewing Company Beer Hall and Tasting Room where several people bask in fading sunshine, sipping ale in the grassy outdoor patio. Sammy, a wizened golden lab with a white face, watches other passing dogs. His owner chats with a friend who puffs a pipe. What could be better? A puppy. On cue, a 5-month-old husky peeks from under a table with lolling pink tongue to complete the picture of a dog-lover’s haven.

As Max and Schuller continue on their way home, they pass several dog walkers on the streets of Sandpoint. One man walking his basset, Grace, on the sidewalk along Oak Street pauses for a photo of his dog. Matt Petersen has spent the day hiking to the falls on the Kootenai River and looking at property to relocate from his home state. He says he had no idea Sandpoint was so dog friendly, and for him that’s a factor to move here.

Max, and the other canines in Sandpoint, are at

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Above: After-hike break at Laughing Dog Brewing. CHARLI MILLS Left: Enjoying the java at Evans Brothers Coffee. DOUG MARSHALL

their leisure in town – and all around town, too, as dogs are often out on weekend activities with their owners.

Schuller’s nickname for her pet is “Mad Max” because, she says, he has the energy of a warrior; he recently summited Scotchman Peak, the county’s highest, with Schuller.

Canines kayak, trot alongside horses in the backcountry, sleep in tents pitched in the campgrounds, and splash in mountain creeks. Some even snitch huckleberries.

Dogs share the unique lifestyle of the area.

Dog-friendly biz Because so many businesses are dog friendly in Sandpoint, a dog can rack up the treats in a single day of running errands. Pick up a coffee at a drive-through, deposit money at the bank, or visit the dump, and dog treats abound.

Jon Hagadone and Vicki Reich, owners of Idaho Pour Authority, welcome dogs as long as they remain leashed and with their owners when visiting the pub. Hagadone says it’s rare for one dog to scrap with another. “Most dogs are (well) behaved. Sometimes a new dog enters and starts to show aggression and that owner promptly leaves,” he said. For the most part, the people participants understand they are as lucky as their dogs to enjoy the welcome at dog-friendly businesses.

Visit the taproom at Laughing Dog Brewing often enough and the staff will know which beer you prefer in your mug and what tricks your dog will do to earn a biscuit. In fact, it’s a business based on a dog – Ben. He’s the Laughing Dog mascot on the label, and after being in the brewing business since 2006, he’s 91 in dog years. Many craft beers at Laughing Dog have dog-inspired names, like the Alpha Dog Imperial, 86

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the Rocket Dog Rye and the Dogfather Imperial Stout.

Except for service dogs allowed under the Americans with Disabilities Act, pets are not permitted in businesses with commercial kitchens governed by a food license. Although the Laughing Dog Brewing taproom recently opened a kitchen for food, including flatbread called the Yellow Lab, dogs are still welcome on the patio. Plans are under way to install heaters outside for year-round, dog-friendly seating in compliance with health codes. The company’s affection for dogs extends to philanthropy, too. Owner and brewer, Fred Colby, is dedicated to animals and serves on the board at the Panhandle Animal Shelter.

Idaho Pour Authority, meantime, serves cheese, cold-cut meats and chocolate. They selected beer food that wouldn’t require a licensed kitchen. MickDuff’s Beer Hall on Cedar Street is bring-your-own-food friendly (popcorn is provided free) and dog friendly, as it doesn’t have a kitchen, unlike its parent MickDuff’s restaurant on First Avenue.

Panhandle Animal Shelter racks up support In a community of dog-lovers, it’s only natural to expect that its shelter would be a key institution for the town – and Panhandle Animal Shelter is. The shelter exists to reunite lost pets with owners and to diminish the number of abandoned, neglected and abused pets in the region. One foot (or paw) through the front door and you realize this is no ordinary shelter; it’s a comfortable place for both people and the pet residents. Education and support begins with staff and volunteers and ends with those adopting or in need of surrendering a dog.

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The story of Buddy: The staff at Panhandle Animal Shelter gave it their best to find Buddy a home. They dressed him up and posted selfies on the shelter’s Facebook page, with comments such as, “Anyone need a reading partner? Walking pal?” and “Maybe someone will take me home if I look different.” Finally, on April 17, the post spread the good news: “Buddy has been adopted ... Happy Dance.”

Socialization of a dog is set by age 2, according to Devin Laundrie, shelter manager, who understands the importance of exposing a dog to social situations from a young age. She said dogs need structure, exercise and discipline to know what is acceptable.

The shelter’s regular Yappy Hour event helps provide that for shelter animals, plus is an outreach to raise money and awareness. The Panhandle Animal Shelter puts on Yappy Hour monthly from April through September with partnering businesses that include Laughing Dog, Pine Street Bakery, Taylor & Sons Chevrolet, Evans Brothers Coffee Roasters and Eichardt’s Pub. Between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on the last Thursday of the month, the venues offer food, drinks and live music for all the town’s dog owners and their pets to gather and socialize. Shelter staff bring some of the adoptable dogs from the shelter, and often bring their own dogs as well.

The Panhandle Animal Shelter typically receives few returns of adopted animals; Laundrie says this reflects the effort of the staff to screen and match adopters and adoptees.

Staff try to learn as much as possible about the dogs in their care, their temperaments and behaviors. “We want to be able to disclose everything we can to set up for a successful adoption,” she said. Part of the adoption process introduces potential owners to dogs in “showrooms” where the dogs reveal more of their true personalities.

Buddy, a cross-eyed male in the shelter, has trouble seeing. He’s nervous because of his visibility impairment and reacts strongly to newcomers, even in the showroom. But get him out of that space, and he’ll happily accept a back rub or even settle into the laps of volunteers and staff. He can sit and follow commands for treats. He’s a sweetheart who most likely needs a single-dog home, but dogs like him are difficult to adopt. Undeterred, over a period of months Laundrie and staff continued to work with Buddy, plus educate potential adopters – and finally found a good match, and home, for Buddy.

A common reason for pet owners to surrender their dogs is hardship. Even the most dog-loving of families can fall upon hard times through a job loss, unexpected move or medical crisis. The shelter has programs to help.

“Just because you can’t afford to feed your dog, you don’t have to give it up.” Laundrie says. “We are here to help.” The shelter can provide free food, access to behavioral training and even temporary foster care; dog owners who have those needs are encouraged to ask.

Dogs on the go Asking about pet policies and respecting them keeps the area dog-positive, especially when it comes to vacation

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the advocacy of dog owners – as well as responsible behavior by dog owners and their pets. As Mandy Evans, executive director of Panhandle Animal Shelter, said: “Over the course of eight years, Sandpoint has gotten a lot better and is the main reason we do Yappy Hour. People here love their dogs.”

For locals, dogs like Max become as recognizable as friends we see on the street. Schuller knows that having a canine in her company helps her connect, as well as gets her out of the house. “Having a dog is a conversation starter,” she said. “It makes you more approachable.”

It also makes Sandpoint a doggone good place to live and visit with our four-legged friends.

Standards for

good dog

Dogs on vacation: Rocket on the trail with Kevin and Kristine Battey at Schweitzer Mountain Resort, above. WOODS WHEATCROFT PHOTO Clara around the fire pit at Twin Cedars’ camping cabin, above right

lodging. Many local hotels have pet-friendly rooms set aside, sometimes for a nominal extra fee. Billie Jean Gerke, of Twin Cedars Camping and Vacation Rentals, makes dogs a priority at her vacation rentals that include a tepee, camping cabin, RV sites, and her and her partner’s homes.

“We love taking our dogs on vacation with us, and we want to give people that option, too, when they come to Sandpoint,” she said.

Of course, Gerke has rules: dogs on leashes; friendly and well-behaved dogs only; no scratching doors, woodwork or lounging on beds; no dogs left unattended inside rentals. “I like to tell my guests that the rules I ask their dogs to follow are the same rules our own dogs follow,” she said.

To a dog, a park outing is like a visit to an amusement park, and Sandpoint has several dog-friendly parks. Dog Beach along the north side of the Long Bridge, Balto Dog Park at Dover Bay and Pend Oreille Dog Park next to the Pet Lodge in Ponderay are all designated as dog-friendly, and the first two give dogs water access. Dogs are allowed at some other city parks if on leash.

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owners

Owners can learn a trick or two from each other. Sandpoint dog lovers helped compile this list of useful dog etiquette: Theory of poop and scoop. It’s simple: If your dog poops, clean it up. Many public areas where dogs are welcome offer bags and means of disposal. Always carry bags.

Friendly or grumpy. Some places accept friendly dogs only.

Be aware, in control and remove a grumpy dog if it becomes assertive toward others.

Share the trail. Just as hikers, runners and bikers share the trail, think of your dog as an extension of you. Be mindful of sharing paths and narrow trails with others.

Look, a squirrel! Be safe in the backcountry and don’t let your dogs chase wildlife. That squirrel you thought your dog dove into the underbrush to chase might be a bear.

Beer and bladders. If you go to a dog-friendly taproom or outdoor seating, empty your dog’s bladder first. And if you have to empty yours, don’t leave your dog unattended.

Water is good for everyone. You need to drink more water. So does your dog. Carry water or know where to find it for your dog.

Always ask rule. Not all dogs want to be touched or sniffed. Not that you will sniff another dog, but ask first before allowing your dog to approach and sniff another. Before you pet a strange dog, ask its owner.

Dog dating is a private matter. A female in heat can stir up trouble. Keep her at home.

Public dog grooming. Some dogs “stress shed.” If you groom the hair or have a husky in explosive shedding mode, gather the fibers and place in the trash.

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WORKING DOGS

Have Nose, Will Search

By Mary Terra-Berns

M

eet Hudson: young, energetic, blonde hair, brown eyes, big nose and four paws. Hudson is a yellow Labrador retriever and has completed a Human Tracking and Wildlife Detection K-9 program with his handler, Idaho Fish and Game (IFG) Senior Conservation Officer Matt Haag.

Haag and Hudson recently graduated from a rigorous, nine-week course in French Lick, Ind., at one of the country’s foremost K-9 training facilities.

Indiana hosts dogs and their handlers from agencies across the country. Training includes searching and locating hidden wildlife or wildlife parts, locating firearms, detecting gunpowder and tracking people.

The program costs $12,000 per dog; a grant from Safari Club International paid for Haag and Hudson.

Indiana’s K-9 program has chronicled successes

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for 19 years, and state fish and wildlife agencies across the country have taken notice. IFG initiated a K-9 pilot project in 2011, when Senior Conservation Officer Jim Stirling and his black lab, Pepper, attended the Indiana program. Pepper quickly proved his worth by tracking wildlife violators and, most importantly, when he located a lost 2-year-old boy who had wandered two miles from home.

The results of the pilot project have shown the benefits of skilled K-9 teams, and two more teams were added to the program.

When IFG announced that additional K-9 teams were being added, Haag eagerly put his name in the hat. He is a dog lover and has always been amazed by their abilities, especially when they have a job to do. “Working with a canine partner will be a chal-

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after they initially register it.

Dogs track humans by focusing on skin cells. Humans shed approximately 30,000 skin cells every minute, even when fully clothed – that’s some 43 million a day. When tracking, Hudson not only follows all of those sloughed-off skin cells but he also picks up other details like disturbed ground and broken blades of grass. Moving his nostrils independently allows him to determine what direction the scent is coming from, and by scanning for negatives – where the scent declines – he determines his search direction.

In order to be effective, Hudson needs to get a scent before it has been disturbed or contaminated. Otherwise he may connect with the wrong scent Conservation officer Matt Haag follows Hudson on a field search. PHOTOS COURTESY IDAHO FISH AND GAME and track the wrong person.

Thanks to the scent trails that people leave behind, with Hudson’s awesome sniffing and scent lenging and rewarding opportunity,” Haag said. memory he can search and locate firearms, illegally taken An IFG conservation officer for 13 years, he is well known locally through community outreach activities as well wildlife and any evidence that humans may have handled. as through a regular column he wrote for almost a decade for Plus, he is learning other animal smells; while in Indiana, he The River Journal. Haag and his wife, Becky, both graduated learned what white-tailed deer, wild turkey, and waterfowl smell like, and he is in the process of learning the scent of from the University of Montana in Missoula with degrees in nine other mammalian game species as well as fish. wildlife biology. Haag has also owned and trained hunting Like the search dogs, the handlers are a breed with parand pet dogs for years. He and Pete, his German wirehaired ticular traits as well. Conservation officers in the K-9 propointer, spent many rewarding days in the field bird huntgram are typically highly motivated self-starters. They must ing before Pete aged and passed on. Now the Haags have also work hard to maintain their fitness; field searches are a Labradoodle named Maggie, who has made room for the fast-paced and can go for hours and miles. addition of Hudson to the family.

On a typical day Haag and Hudson work their patrol Hudson is a rescue dog that was surrendered by his origarea and also dedicate time to training and fitness. That’s inal owner who thought him high-strung and untrainable. true, Haag says with a grin, “until the phone rings” with a Fortunately Hudson is still a youngster and has completely special assignment. Although based in Bonner County, they imprinted on Haag, important to all canine-handler teams. are the K-9 detection team for IFG’s entire Panhandle and Hudson needs to be able to understand and follow direction Clearwater region and support other law enforcement agenfrom Haag; and, as handler, Haag has to learn how to read cies as well. Hudson is certified for searches and tracking by Hudson and pick up on even the slightest of cues. the Idaho Police Officer Standards and Training Academy, Hudson’s breed makes him well suited for the job. where state law enforcement, including IFG officers, are Labrador retrievers were selected for the IFG program for trained and certified. their intelligence, steady temperament, ability to learn, While he is still in training for search and detection, superior sense of smell and high play drive – all traits ideal Hudson has another job to fill, too: meeting and greeting the for search and detection. In addition, they are good with children and have a friendly and outgoing nature, which is a local folks. Haag considers community connections one of the most important aspects of his job. benefit at public events and school programs.

“Outside of enforcement work, I have always prided Labradors also have an intense single-mindedness; they myself on community outreach and building positive, workwill work for long hours under difficult conditions and will ing relationships with the good people of Bonner County,” stay with almost any scent until they find the source. he said. “I’m excited about what K-9 Hudson can bring to A phenomenal sense of smell is the super power shared that table and it truly makes me feel good that I can walk by all breeds of dogs used for search and detection. Dogs “visualize” their world through their olfactory abilities. A dog into a school, or do a public relations event and make people happy with the dog and build new positive relationships.” has 125 million to 300 million scent receptors in the nasal This summer, if you are out and about and bump into cavity; humans have a mere 5 million. Not only can they Haag and his tail-wagging partner, stop and say, “Hi.” And smell acutely, they have an incredible scent memory. Dogs remember, Hudson will know you by your smell. can remember what smell goes with whom or what, long

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WORKING DOGS

Herding dogs herd anything

By Erica Curless

M

y angst-filled, teenage face reddened as a tirade of swears and cusses gushed from my mouth, aimed directly at my old man standing in the hayfield ordering me to do some blasted ranch chore that was interfering with my time at the lake with my friends. Friends who didn’t have to hay, fix fence or herd cows.

The dog trapped me, circling my legs, growling and snapping if I moved, before my tantrum could gain its explosive speed. I hissed another swear at Dad to call off the damn dog. The loyal ranch dog, who was my friend and playmate, snapped closer to my leg, as if I was a nasty momma cow. I cried. Dad laughed so hard, he had to sit down before he could call off the killer beast.

This is how I learned the power of herding dogs and the great talent my dad, Randy Curless, has for training them to work cows, sheep and even the occasional pigheaded teenager. Today, his influence is reflected in my business massaging the muscles of these hard-working canine athletes who help livestock owners do the work of four people. They have to stay fine-tuned to take on herds of sheep and cows every day, all year long.

Dad’s latest project, besides giving herding lessons at his Dover ranch twice a week to dogs and their handlers who come from across northern Idaho, Montana, Washington and Canada, is using his dogs to rid City Beach of the pesky Canada geese who leave fecal droppings all over the grass and sand.

Sandpoint hired him last year to use his Border collies to herd the geese off the popular beach that is downtown’s public jewel. Parks and Recreation Director Kim Woodruff said the dogs – black-and-white Borders Nicki, Tip and Keen – make a difference and improve the cleanliness of the beach, but he added that it’s a long-term process.

Woodruff said Dad was a great fit because he not only owns trained dogs but also had served as the mayor of Dover for 19 years and understands city business.

Geese are smart. Sometimes they leave when they see Dad’s old Ford diesel rumble across Bridge Street. Others fly off at the sight of the dogs. Some like the drama and force the dogs to work to get them to leave. It’s an amazing dance to watch the dogs spook the geese from the beach and then crouch low and eye the birds, putting pressure on them with an intense stare, daring them to return. They don’t, at least not until the dogs are long gone.

Borders are intelligent with a natural instinct to herd yet

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Ridding City Beach of pesky geese, Randy Curless and one of his faithful, hardworking Border collies. PHOTO BY ANGELA DAIL

not harm the geese or livestock. They can reason situations and make snap judgments and choices on how to do their jobs. They are also intensely loyal to their handlers.

Besides giving lessons and clinics, Dad likes to compete in herding trials where the skills are shown off in competition.

Nearly 20 years ago, a rancher offered Dad $10,000 for his prized male, Hank, who is the bloodline of most of today’s Curless pups. Hank had saved Dad’s life, protecting him from a charging bull. No deal. The loyalty of a dog is priceless.

Erica Curless grew up in Dover with Border collies, cows and horses. Besides working as a journalist and cow hand, she owns Dog and Pony Show Bodywork – a mobile massage business focusing on helping horses and dogs move better and prevent injury. She has a 6-year-old daughter, two horses and a Siamese cat but no Border collies because she’s on the road too much to do them justice.

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DOG THERAPY

De-stressing with dogs Providing a paw-sitive presence

L

By Corrin Bond

aura Maas, a math and computer science teacher at the Forrest M. Bird Charter School, believes that every little boy should know dogs have whiskers.

Maas said she came to this conclusion her first year teaching at the school, during which a quiet, withdrawn student was enrolled in one of her math classes.

The student, who came from a troubled home environment, struggled with social and academic anxiety.

That same year, Maas began taking her long-haired dachshund mix, Widget, with her to class.

After the student spent time with Widget over the course of her many class visits, Maas said she began to see a change in his behavior.

“He really started to open up and talk with me; she to work with me,” Russell said. helped him with his anxiety,” “Everyone at work is so laid-back Maas said. with animals; we all kind of see As the student continued to them as therapy for the kids. grow more comfortable in the Some days, they can calm a sixthclassroom, Maas said she realgrade boy who’s bouncing off ized the importance of allowthe walls or a kid who’s having a ing dogs to be a part of the rough day. A dog just seems to school’s learning environment. bring a smile.”

“One day, I was standing Since she first began visiting next to him and he was sitthe school, Wanda has helped stuting on the floor with her. He dents feel more at home in their reached down and said, ‘Ms. learning environment. She’s also Maas, I didn’t know dogs had Dogs Widget, the dachshund mix above right, and Wanda, the whiskers,’ ” Maas said. “It just golden retriever mix above, provide a sense of ease and add joy helped some students overcome their fear of dogs. tugged at my heartstrings. to some classrooms at Forrest M. Bird Charter School. PHOTOS BY “I had one kid who was very I was sitting there thinking, ETHAN SCHLUSSLER AND COURTESY SCHOOL STAFF scared of dogs and my dogs are Every little boy needs to know so mellow that now he seeks Wanda out,” Russell said. dogs have whiskers.”

“One kid who actually cowered when he saw dogs; once Widget isn’t the only dog helping students feel more I introduced him to the dogs and he saw how gentle they comfortable and overcome anxiety at the charter school, were, now he likes them.” either.

Russell said Wanda’s popularity extends beyond the Janenne Russell, who teaches physical education and classroom. health classes, brings her golden retriever mix, Wanda, to “I had one kid ask her to the dance,” Russell said. “He class with her most days.

Russell, who used to have a second dog, first decided to said, ‘Can Wanda be my date to the dance?’ and I said, ‘Well, I don’t know about that,’ but they really connect bring her pets to work because she felt bad leaving them with the dogs.” home alone for a large portion of the day.

When Jennifer Greve, the principal of the middle school, “They were home alone and they’re such social dogs was an English teacher, she brought her dog Nahe with that I thought they would get a lot more out of coming

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ENTER YOUR DOG FOR

N

S A N D P O I N T

Does your pooch have the chops to be Sandpoint’s first Ambassadog?

AMBASSADOG I

D A H O

Let’s find out! This summer Visit Sandpoint and the Panhandle Animal Shelter are launching a tongue-in-cheek contest to name an Ambassador Dog for Sandpoint – that is, our Ambassadog.

In this coveted role, the Sandpoint Ambassadog will represent the spirit of our most beautiful small town in America. And the contest will raise awareness and money for Panhandle Animal Shelter.

The Ambassadog will have select official duties over the year of his or her reign, including appearances at some of the animal shelter’s Yappy Hour events, marching in local parades, and proudly representing Sandpoint to the world.

The Ambassadog will also win a two-night getaway to Western Pleasure Guest Ranch with his or her humans of choice, along with a gift basket stuffed with delightful goods for both dog and owner.

Here’s how it works: 1. Nominate your dog. Go to www.SandpointAmbassadog.com to submit a photo or video and a paragraph extolling your pet’s virtues and qualifications to represent our fair town, along with a $5 donation for Panhandle Animal Shelter.

2. Tell your friends (and your dog’s friends). Five finalist dogs will be chosen in a random drawing among all the nominees – but there’s a voting component, too. For every vote your dog gets from the public, he or she will get an additional entry in the drawing. The more votes your dog gets, the better the chance to be a finalist. There will also be an opportunity to help raise money for Panhandle Animal Shelter – because, remember, this is a fundraiser.

3. Go to Yappy Hour. Nominate your dog now to give him or her the best chance to collect votes. The five finalists will be drawn September 15, 2016. Then, at Panhandle Animal Shelter’s September 29 Yappy Hour event, the finalists will go before a panel of celebrity judges, who will choose Sandpoint’s first Ambassadog.

★ Details and Enter at ★ www.SandpointAmbassaDog.com

Bentley

--AM BAS SAD OG SAM PLE ENT RY--

5-year-old miniature Schnoodle nominated

‘

by Beth Hawkins

Don’t let his small size and general fluffiness fool you: Bentley is a country dog through and throu gh, raised in the woods on Sunnyside Peninsula. He’s tough as nails, returning home after a one-week dognapping and surviving an attack by two neighbor dogs. But his doggone tenacity for the finer things in life shines through – paddleboarding on Lake Pend Oreille, being the beloved ‘granddog’ while his family is away and sniffing out all the perks of living in Sandpoint! Bentley for Ambassadog!

’

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S A

AMBASSADOG DOG

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her to class on days when she knew the lesson plan required a great deal of focus.

“I did it predominantly on reading days,” Greve said. “It helped, especially the boys, I don’t know why it was the boys, but they were able to lay on the ground and pet her and focus for longer periods of time.”

While Nahe provided a positive presence for students on reading days, not every dog is allowed at the school.

Greve said her current dog is too highenergy to be placed with the students.

Dogs with poor temperaments or behavioral problems are also not allowed to be brought to the school.

Although Forrest M. Bird Charter School consists of a middle and high school, Greve said the middle school teachers are currently the only ones who bring their animals to class.

“We don’t have the right animal personality set yet for the high school,” Greve said. “We try to pay really close attention to that – that the animal is the right animal and our high school staff, either they don’t have a pet or the animal they do have they recognize as one they shouldn’t bring.”

If a faculty member believes their pet will do well in the classroom, Maas said the teacher ensures none of their students have pet allergies, and the dog is then reviewed by the administration.

“The dogs have to go through an interview process, almost, with the principal to see if they’re suitable,” Maas said. “We keep records to make sure they’re up-to-date on their shots too.”

Teachers have been bringing their dogs to the school for about five years and while some parents have questions about the process, Greve said she has never received any complaints.

Russell said the positive impact the dogs have upon students is undeniable, and that the unconventional classroom pets provide them with a special kind of joy.

“They’re used to a class pet like a lizard or turtle or something, but to have a dog, they kind of get this Christmasmorning look on their faces,” Russell said. “It’s a really happy, pleasant thing for them.”

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DOG PROFILE

Weiner Wonders

Nothing small about the personality of these little dogs

By Cate Huisman

Zip

Z

ip, aka Zipper, aka Zipperlee (her formal name for AKA registration), is the awesome, sausage-shaped adventure companion of perennial hiker Mary Franzel. This 9-year-old, 9-year-old, long-haired mini dachshund, who weighs in at an impressive 8 pounds, may change forever your conception of outdoor dogs.

Although Zip stands barely 8 inches high, she was once the tallest dog in Bonner County, when she summited Scotchman Peak, having hiked the whole four miles and 4,000 vertical feet herself. She even had an important role in a PBS television show about the area: Zip demonstrated appropriate behavior with a local mountain goat, keeping her distance but straining at her leash while sniffing furiously at the Scotchman native.

The leash is essential, says Franzel. If she took it off, “Zip would run after anything and probably try to take an elk down.” Despite this constant constraint, Zip has a talent for finding sheds. “She would do anything for food,” said Franzel, and ungulates’ castoffs fill the bill. She likes to chew on antlers she finds while hiking, and she doesn’t mind if they are much larger than she is.

Zip is a water dog, too. She often falls off her favorite spot on the bow of Franzel’s kayak, because, as Franzel points out, “My kayak gets kind of steep and pointy at the end.”

But this doesn’t faze Zip, who likes to jump in anyway to fetch floating items.

In addition to being gnarly, Zip has a softer side, and can provide a kind of companionship those bigger dogs can’t: Come the end of the day, says Franzel, “She’ll climb up on anybody’s lap.”

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Heidi

H

eidi, aka Her Imperial Dogness, is a short-haired mini dachshund. At age 16, she is the dowager empress of the dog world.

Heidi likes being at home and sleeping. For occasional exercise, she barks at the dog next door. She refuses all treats offered by friendly drive-by bank tellers and baristas.

She hates almost everyone, and if you come to visit, she will throw her eight pounds at your ankles, teeth first. Fortunately for you, she’s lost quite a few teeth.

Her humans’ outdoor pursuits are an ongoing annoyance.

Despite her preference for perpetual sloth, Heidi has been up Scotchman Peak twice, and on both occasions she had to walk portions of the route herself. If pressed, she will deign to go sailing on her humans’ 20-foot boat or ride in a bike basket. But she draws the line at skiing. When it’s snowy, she insists that someone shovel a space for her before she will even consider going outside.

To what does she attribute her longevity? Being cute. When she’s away from home, Heidi drops the fierce façade and attracts oohs and aahs from adoring strangers. They have no idea who they’re petting.

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DOG ESSAY

A dog’s Life

By Heather McElwain

Dogs like “Houdini,” an escape artist and wanderer, are made for the small-town, country life

I

arrived in Sandpoint with a chocolate Lab riding shotgun. It was fall, and I was following a dream and a new love. We planned to settle in for winter. The dog had different plans: He craved adventure, new places and new people. Leashes and enclosures were no match for “Houdini’s” rambling ways.

Despite our best efforts to be responsible canine stewards, the intrepid escape artist needed just a split second for a quick twist and sleight of paw to wriggle free of his collar – name tag and all – and be off sniffing out a good time.

Roaming undercover, he kept us searching back roads and private drives, showing us areas of Sandpoint we otherwise would have missed.

As we encountered new sights and people, winter rolled into summer. And the dog continued his breakout tricks.

We’d find him swimming with a gang of kids, plying his brown eyes for stick tosses or wooing strangers for tidbits.

Once, after a restless night, we found him napping on a cabin porch two bays down, tired after a sleepover with a 6-year-old.

If he broke away wearing his collar, he was at home when strangers called him by name. We often met new people who’d already met him. While we canoed the Pack River one spring, a man outside the old Hidden Lakes Clubhouse waved his arms and shouted the dog’s name. We could only shrug and wave back as we paddled past, imagining Houdini’s secret life.

He continued to introduce us to more “neighbors” – basically anyone within a few-mile radius of home. He was all about “more” – more friends, more adventure, more pleasure.

He arranged more up-close encounters with wildlife – a bull moose he led into the yard while dashing behind my knees, or skunks and porcupines he doggedly hounded. He also

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stirred us to explore more – even in drizzle, flurries and fog.

That’s the way with many dogs: They inspire us to get out earlier, go farther, stay out later, do more. Houdini escaped less as he grayed, and we began to see he wouldn’t have many more hikes. The last was a hazy, late-summer slog in the Cabinets, where he scarfed more huckleberries than ever before.

I’ve met similar dogs over the years. A few summers back, a sweet black Lab left a shoreline fisherman to walk beside me.

The man told me he didn’t know the dog’s name but said they’d hung out regularly for a couple years. The dog walked me all the way home, happy to have a new friend and to see a little more scenery.

A new pup is now reminding me how dogs are made for small-town, country life. They want to know not only the neighbors but also everyone they meet on trails, at the lake, in the Schweitzer parking lot. They want adventure and good company – like the lap dog we met who rides area trails horseback with his friend, or the dog who pulls his pal down Division on a skateboard. The tongue-wagging dog I saw in a fishing boat. Being pulled down Sunnyside. By a guy on a four-wheeler.

That’s a dog’s life. Being a dog no longer means scraps and a cold dirt bed but rather dog park playdates and Yappy Hour hookups. Dogs have an enviable existence. Who doesn’t want to cruise around with their head out the window, explore more, and lounge on a dock memorizing the horizon? I was led here with a dream of that life.

Sure, sometimes small-town Northwest life can mean hardship, with gray drizzle for days and occasional lean times of cutting back on everything (except dog food, of course), but when we see that horizon, with room to roam more in every direction, we know we all live a dog’s life.

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PHOTO ESSAY

REMOTE BEAUTY Herein, this “Remote Beauty” photo essay shares images from waaaay out there, in remote spots hard to reach. where the backcountry shines in all its glory

Jerry Pavia :: Creek in Long Canyon

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Chris Bessler :: Myrtle Peak Panorama

Will Venard: : Kent Lake with Long Canyon

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PHOTO ESSAY

REMOTE BEAUTY

Jesse Hart :: Milky Way Leland Howard :: Upper Priest Forest Light

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Ethan Schlussler :: Upper Priest Lake Campsite

Al Seger :: Roman Nose Sunrise

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two wheels, Cycling the Selkirk Loop Two countries,

one ride:

Story and photos by Aaron Theisen

I

consider myself a strong cyclist, but, despite my best efforts, the trio of Canadian cyclists who have volunteered to show me the highlights of road biking in the Canadian Selkirks are casually lapping me. The tiny alpine community of Rossland is one of the highest-elevation towns in Canada, and, although it’s better known for world-class mountain biking, its road-cycling aficionados have plenty to celebrate: low-traffic roads, a nice mix of mellow valley and strenuous mountain roads, and phenomenal scenery in the heart of the Canadian Selkirks. My Canadian hosts were too polite to point it out, but the same terrain that breeds fearless freeriders also shapes steel-calved climbers.

My hosts were also fortunate enough to live and ride on the International Selkirk Loop, which should be on any skinnytired cyclist’s life-list. The continent’s only international scenic byway, the International Selkirk Loop winds 280 miles through Washington, Idaho and southern British Columbia, showcasing valley-bottom riding past glacier-carved lakes and the lofty peaks of the Selkirks, with a hefty dose of history on the side.

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Kootenay Lake. Cyclists then cross the lake on the world’s longest free ferry before proceeding to the artsy community of Nelson.

From there, a quiet highway winds south through the Salmo River valley and across the border to Metaline Falls. Cyclists parallel the north-flowing Pend Oreille River back into Idaho. Six Super Side Trips add another 450 miles of pavement. Despite the abundance of strong cyclists who live and ride along the Selkirk Loop, it’s mostly mellow valley-bottom cycling on the main route.

Besides, there’s plenty to keep riders’ minds off saddle-sore legs: Wildlife-watchers can scout for bighorn sheep, mountain goats and birds, and history buffs can tour the many interpretive sites showcasing the region’s pioneer history. All will admire the sky-scraping Selkirks mirrored in the myriad lakes and rivers on the loop.

San Diego-based cyclist Creed McPherson has been long-distance touring for 15 years and guiding trips for the Missoula-based Adventure Cycling Association for the last three.

McPherson cycled the Selkirk Loop last year – he just didn’t know it when he first clipped into his pedals.

“I had some friends who lived on Sacheen Lake with whom I was staying, so I took my bike up into Canada and ran into some

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1 The Selkirk Loop and its Super Side Trips boast hundreds of miles of scenic, lightly traveled roads on both sides of the border

Nelson

CANADA

2

N Creston

WASH.

IDAHO Bonners Ferry

3

Sandpoint

Newport

3 GREAT SECTION RIDES ON THE LOOP Don’t have the time – or the quads – to ride the entire 280-mile Selkirk Loop in one go? Below and on the following pages, three rides showcase the best the Selkirk Loop has to offer two-wheeled tourists.

1 SILVERY SLOCAN LOOP Riders looking for a shorter itinerary can sample the Silvery Slocan Side Trip on an 80-mile roundtrip from Slocan Park to New Denver. From Slocan Junction between Castlegar and Nelson, ride winding Highway 6 along the slow-meandering Slocan River, shaded with cottonwoods and surrounded by small farms. Pass through the funky artists’ enclave of Winlaw and climb above Slocan Lake on the eastern edge of Valhalla Provincial Park’s lofty peaks. Descend to Sandon and New Denver, with their rich mining history and smalltown charm on the shores of Slocan Lake. Narrow, winding pavement demands concentration, so plan for plenty of stops to properly enjoy the views, some of the best in the west Kootenays.

Kootenay Lake is a constant companion to Selkirk Loop cyclists. This shot of Kootenay Lake is from the Silvery Slocan Side Trip, just west of Kaslo on the way to New Denver

people doing the loop,” he said. McPherson kept going. And going. And this year, he’s planning to go back.

On the phone at the end of a bike tour through New Zealand, McPherson, who’s led trans-America tours and cycled throughout the world, said the Selkirk Loop stacks up favorably with tours around the globe.

“The scenery on the Selkirk Loop, for one thing, quite truly reminds me a lot of New Zealand. Riding along the lakes and rivers is gorgeous,” said McPherson. The fjord-like lakes and fogenshrouded peaks comprising the Selkirk Loop, more than other places, have been shaped by ancient but restive geological forces: some of the continent’s oldest rock; deep, glacier- and floodgouged lakes; vast veins of ore; hidden geothermal hot springs.

The dramatic landscape belies a lightly traveled, well-paved road system that attracts skinny-tired cyclists from around the world. The same landscape that inspires cyclists inspires

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The International Selkirk Loop has sample five- and 10-day itineraries that break the ride into logical, manageable chunks. But there’s an appeal to an open-ended itinerary, the vast landscape of the Selkirks ideally suited to the pace of 700cm wheels.

“You don’t have to ride all day,” said McPherson. “I recommend getting off the bike for a day and doing something different.”

McPherson remembers in particular a sunrise stand-up paddleboarding session on Kootenay Lake and plentiful berry-picking in the Salmo River valley. For cyclists with wider tires, McPherson also recommends checking out some of the primitive side roads throughout the loop. Around Metaline Falls and north into the Salmo River valley, McPherson explored some of the dirt roads paralleling the main route, where he said he felt like he was “the only person for miles.”

He was not the only living creature, though, as he discovered when he startled a black bear sharing the same berry-picking bounty as he was.

“Riding on a bike anywhere, you see – and smell and hear – things you don’t experience in a car,” said McPherson. “You can hear waterfalls from the road and then get off the bike and go search for them through the trees. Your senses are awakened, and you’re going slow enough that you can see the things people miss in a car.”

McPherson has been cycling enough that his definition of a “slow pace” may differ from the average cyclist’s, but it seems the Selkirk Loop inspires idling. His must-have piece of gear on his next trip? A fly rod.

2 WANETA / COLUMBIA GARDENS

Local cycling clubs revere this network of cycling routes along the Columbia and Pend Oreille rivers. The scenic and mostly flat riding suits beginners, too. Starting in the tiny community of Waneta east of Trail, trace the contours of the Columbia River along the virtually flat Waneta highway. Strong climbers should continue out to Seven Mile Dam southeast of Waneta, where a 1.5-mile granny-gear ascent rewards riders with spectacular scenery along the Pend Oreille River. For a rolling route through idyllic farmland, follow Columbia Gardens Road out toward Fruitvale. Combine the two for a showcase of the west Kootenays’ best riding. Come autumn, larch enliven the steep hillsides above the river while the reds and oranges of orchard trees grace Columbia Gardens Road.

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Three Rossland-area cyclists pedal the orchard roads of the Waneta / Columbia Gardens ride

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Photo: Nelson, BC, Dave Heath

artisans in funky communities from Boswell to Winlaw; Nelson is ranked the No. 1 small arts town in Canada, and signs for various studios line the loop.

Creed McPherson photographed his bicycle as he “When I got to hitched a ride across Kootenay Lake Balfour (on the west side of Kootenay Lake), I took the ferry across to Crawford Bay, and there was a medieval festival going on; I camped right there in the middle of it,” said McPherson, who recommends that cyclists look into the festival schedule for their route to catch Selkirks culture.

Pre-planning also mitigates the sometimes long distances between communities in this sparsely populated part of the region; McPherson notes a particular 50-mile stretch on the east shore of Kootenay Lake from Crawford Bay all the way south to Porthill where he had no access to food.

“When you’re done riding for the day, you don’t want to get on your bike and go back for food, so plan ahead and stay in towns or pick up food en route.”

McPherson camped and stayed in Airbnbs on his way around the loop; for cyclists looking for cushier accommodations, he recommends searching Airbnb.com.

S

Photo: Nelson, BC, Dave Heath

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RIDE IT YOURSELF: LODGING, SHOPPING, FOOD AND FUN FOR CYCLISTS Cyclists planning a Selkirk Loop itinerary need not reinvent the wheel, so to speak.

“The International Selkirk Loop has been a popular destination for cyclists for a number of years,” said Stephanie Sims, executive director of the Selkirk Loop. A 2014 traveler survey compiled by the Selkirk Loop found that cycling was the second-most popular mode of travel around the loop, even ahead of motorcycles and RVs. Because of the popularity of cycling the Selkirk Loop, “businesses are used to catering to cyclists,” said Sims. “Bikes are allowed in hotel rooms, businesses ship purchases home so you don’t have to carry them, and restaurants are willing to make meals ahead to take with you.”

Four tour organizations offer five different tours ranging from six to 21 days. For self-supported riders, the Selkirk Loop website also offers suggested five- and 10-day itineraries, complete with elevation profiles for each segment.

“Our 10-day itinerary was designed for the self-supported rider,” said Sims. “The camping locations have restaurants on-site, or dining options are within a short walking distance, as well as picnic tables, showers and laundry on-site.”

Cyclists who carry their own food – or who don’t mind cycling back into town after a day in the saddle – will pass by several provincial parks and national forest campgrounds, including Kokanee Creek Provincial Park east of Nelson, Crawford Bay Provincial Park on Kootenay Lake, and Sullivan Lake near Metaline Falls. They’ll be rewarded for their efforts with some of the finest public lands camping in the region.

Cyclists who prefer plusher accommodations can find lodging listings on the Selkirk Loop website; McPherson also recommends looking into the plentiful Airbnb offerings on the route.

Although pannier space is at a premium, tourists should consider saving space for – or having shipped – artwork that they might find on the loop. Crawford Bay, in particular, is famed for its handmade wooden brooms; the Selkirk Loop has clearly marked the studios of many artists on the route with roadside signs.

Touring cyclist Creed McPherson SUPs on Kootenay Lake

Sandpoint and Nelson, British Columbia, the largest communities on the loop, both have plentiful accommodations and clean, quiet and safe campgrounds. Sims said both towns are suggested overnight stops for all travelers. A bohemian enclave in the Kootenays, Nelson has a lively nightlife scene and dining to accommodate every appetite, from vegan to carnivore. Here and in Sandpoint, cyclists will find good coffee shops and all-important free Wi-Fi. More importantly, both towns have thriving craft-beer scenes, because a cold pint on the brewpub patio is perfect reward for the exertion of cycling, whether it’s a Sunday cruise or 10-day tour.

–Aaron Theisen

3 LECLERC ROAD This farm-to-market backroad alternative to Highway 20 from Newport north past Usk passes among lily pad-bedecked ponds and the pine-dotted foothills of exposed rock that comprise the southernmost Selkirks. Past Usk, the route follows the Pend Oreille River through the Kalispel Reservation. Cyclists looking for a leg-stretching stop should explore the Manresa Grotto. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and open to the public, the natural cave system at Manresa Grotto was the site of early Catholic missionary efforts in the region. A gentle path no more than 100 yards long approaches the main cave, where rows of flat rocks arranged as seats face a simple altar of mortared rock. McPherson notes that LeClerc Road has a high density of Airbnb accommodations, making it particularly attractive to cyclists looking to sleep on a real bed.

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The Pend Oreille River as seen from LeClerc Road

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anches @

iverbend

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R E Real Estate

Perfect timing

Couple’s home a carefully crafted blend of new, old Story by Beth Hawkins Photos by Karl Neumann

T

ouring the western United States for several years in their Airstream travel trailer, Jim and Leslie Finn had just finished checking out Montana’s Flathead Valley for a “someday” retirement spot before they drove through Sandpoint on their way back home to San Diego.

It was love at first (well, technically second) sight: “We had that Long Bridge moment that everyone talks about, even though we were coming from Clark Fork,” Jim said with a laugh. “But we still had it!”

After the Finns returned to their busy lives in San Diego, where Jim had lived most of his life, Leslie took matters into her own hands and started researching all that she could about Sandpoint. One day, she pulled up an online classified ad website on her computer and discovered a building lot on Lake Pend Oreille listed for sale. Good timing was everything; they bought the lot and ultimately made their decision of where to retire. Now that they had answered the question of “where,” it was on to the “how” and the “what.”

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PHENOMENAL HOME

Real Estate R E The Finns’ “rustic farmhouse” style home on Lake Pend Oreille, designed by architect John Hendricks

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Real Estate Estate Real

R E The Finns hired Sandpoint architect John Hendricks to design a “rustic farmhouse” style home on their newly purchased piece of land, located in the Oden Bay area east of Sandpoint. From the beginning, Leslie was involved and hands-on with the process. “Leslie would send me rough sketches as we went back and forth on things,” Hendricks said. “They were actually better than what most of our clients would ever send, and we made these rough sketches work in the overall feel of the house.”

Hendricks said designing the lakefront home was a challenge, as the property is a narrow parcel. A steep hillside adjoins the property, directly above the house, which created a tricky building space. Hendricks added: “The master bath on the main floor drew the tightest fit, and had to be elongated to work, with the master closet at the end dug into the hill.”

Looking out the east-facing windows of the main floor’s great room, with its

expansive views of Lake Pend Oreille and the Sunnyside Peninsula in the distance, it’s as if the Finns’ home has all the room in the world. Indoors, the rooms are airy and open, with a massive stone fireplace separating the great room from the kitchen and gorgeous beam trusses. Jim Finn said the home

Above: A massive stone fireplace separates the great room from the kitchen and dining area Opposite page: Antiques acquired by Leslie Finn add charm to the home’s kitchen and master bathroom

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has a “Mexican ranch house” feel with its large spaces.

While the Finns incorporated many local elements into the home, such as the custom-built hutch by Selkirk Craftsman Furniture in the master bath, there are a few things that they brought from the San Diego area including strik-

ing Mexican tile and other antiques that would give the newly built home some “lived-in” character. Leslie’s pièce de résistance that she greatly adores is a white, porcelain 1953 O’Keefe & Merritt cookstove; she purchased it for $175 from a woman who had cooked on it for 60 years. “It was the first thing

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we bought for the house,” Leslie said. They tore the stove apart, replaced some of the parts and had it restored, and it now stands as the gleaming centerpiece in the Finns’ new kitchen. As an avid cook, Leslie is sure to enjoy many years of use on the vintage appliance.

Leslie’s eye for creating the home’s interior, along with her great treasure-hunt finds, give the home a much more livedin feel than most newly built spaces. “We wanted the house to have character and not feel industrial,” said Leslie. The oak floors are reclaimed, as is the barn wood used for the handbuilt kitchen island. An antique cast iron sink in the upstairs bathroom was purchased for $45 and then restored; in the kitchen, a long wooden cabinet was repurposed with a sink and turned into the wet bar.

That love of old things incorporated with new also carried into the home’s construction methods – without letting the budget spin out of control. To keep costs in check, the Finns 110

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Retirees Jim and Leslie Finn, above, feel embraced by the Sandpoint community and love the local celebrations – especially Lost in the ’50s. PHOTO BY BETH HAWKINS

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decided to use new beams rather than more expensive reclaimed beams in the great room and kitchen ceilings.

To make them appear older, the Finns treated them with just the right stain. (“I love the folks at The Paint Bucket,” Jim mentions). The Finns are thrilled with the exceptional work performed by a largely local group of craftspeople, builders and subcontractors they employed while building their home, along with the home’s contractor, Barry Fisher Construction.

Leslie admits she kept rather close tabs on the construction of the home, stopping by for daily visits to check on the progress. “But we brought coffee and cookies, so we made up for it,” she said with a smile.

While the main level of the home is where Jim and Leslie spend most of their time, there are two additional guest rooms for their four visiting sons and a fun bunk room behind sliding barn doors for the Finns’ three young granddaughters. The bunk room makes for perfect accommodations for the visiting girls with its school-style storage lockers that house their belongings (including, on occasion, the random collection of rocks culled from the lake’s shore by their youngest granddaughter).

Next to the upstairs bunk room is what Jim calls the “Smart Grandparents Room” – a media room with a kitchenette that’s stocked with cereal and other breakfast foods to feed hungry granddaughters. “Leslie loves to cook, but this makes it easy for the girls to get up and eat when and what they want.” The “smart” room is also a family hang-out with its large-screen TV: “This is where I come to watch my Chargers get beaten,” Jim said of his favorite NFL team.

Growing up in San Diego, Jim said the Sandpoint of today reminds him of his former hometown back in the ’50s when “everyone helped each other out.”

Jim recalls his youth of surfing on the beaches and now looks out on a lake that’s just ready for more play time – and a dock that’s begging for more

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toys, all in due time: “We don’t have a boat yet, but we do have a Jet Ski.” The Finns are embracing their northern Idaho retirement. “We love the four seasons,” Leslie said. “The best part was Christmas, and getting a tree in

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the forest. It’s a lovely change.”

The couple stays active in winter, skiing at Schweitzer (Jim more so than Leslie, who was spooked by an unexpected black diamond run this past winter). And what’s truly won the Finns over is the Sandpoint community’s friendliness and hospitality; the couple was a bit uncertain about how local folks would react to the fact that they had moved here from California, but they continue to be amazed at how welcoming people have been.

“We didn’t expect it,” Leslie said, of the warmth and kindness she’s encountered. “It’s so refreshing and has exceeded everything we hoped for.”

Leslie joined the Community Assistance League as a volunteer, and the couple also assists with the local soup kitchens. One of their favorite local

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The morning view from the Finns’ covered deck on Lake Pend Oreille.

events is Lost in the ’50s in May, when the entire town celebrates retro-style with car displays and music shows. Jim is wowed by the entire affair, with its great entertainment and nostalgic, fun atmosphere.

Leslie, on the other hand, describes herself as a homebody and enjoys the simple pleasures of being at home. In fact, her favorite feature in the house is nothing more awe-inspiring than the appliance closet that was built off the kitchen. “It just keeps the whole kitchen organized!” she said.

As for Jim, his favorite feature is that upstairs “smart” room – as it’s a place filled with future promise: “I know that some day my Chargers will win!”

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Magnificent Lakefront estate with endLess views of sandpoint and the purceLL vaLLey. This stunning home was designed and built to the highest standards. The design allows for you to comfortably enjoy elegant main floor living with a lakefront formal dining room backed by a chef’s kitchen and second catering kitchen. outdoor entertaining is a key design element with a sunken bar that opens to an outdoor patio large enough to host several families with room to spare. sited on just over 2 acres, this very private setting enjoys 154 front feet of pristine lakefront, professional landscaping and is connected to full services. MLs #20160513 chris chambers 208-290- 2500

32 greatwater circLe, sandpoint 83864 very private idaho club property on top of Moose Mountai n with easy paved access.

6461 sq. ft., 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms. 21 foot living room ceiling with stone fireplace and south views of Lake pend oreille and mountains.

Massive timbers and huge windows. dining room surrounded on three sides by glass. covered balcony deck off dining room for outdoor dining with an outdoor gas fireplace. Large workout room and huge family room with fireplace. interior sprinkler fire suppression system.

MLs #20153467 $1,250,000 chris chambers 208-290- 2500

43 osprey roost Lane, sandpoint 83864 absolutely fabulous waterfront location in sunnyside. with over 250 feet of Lake pend oreille frontage, a boat house and a new dock, this property is ready to go! extensive work has been done on the waterfront area with several retaining walls to create a very private setting that is easily accessed. the boathouse is perched over the water, is fully enclosed and can be used as a day cabin. there is a great level building site above the beach with expansive views to the east/south/west. a well and septic have been approved and installed so this property is turnkey.

MLs #20161193 $499,900 chris chambers 208-290- 2500

Lots of water on this 68 acre estate property. remodeled 5 bedroom/3 Bathroom country home. springs, creek, supply water for the pond, stocked with Bass & trout. finished 60’x60’ shop. Moose, deer, geese, duck, grouse, & turkey call this home. see more pictures at www.Moosebuttranch.net. #1341 #20141713 $599,000 Jim shifler 208.610.4297

custoM hoMe in goLf coMMunity 4 bedrooms – 3.5 baths – 3038 square feet on two lots – two master suites – outdoor fireplace www.idahoclubLodgehome.com #20150179 cheri hiatt 208-290- 3719

waterfront access in kaniksu shores – 4 bedrooms – 3 bathrooms – 3364 square feet contemporary updates in 2014 – natural light – private and quiet www.Lakependoreilleaccess.com #20161043 cheri hiatt 208-290- 3719

Lake and Mountain views froM the BLdg site on this BeautifuL usaBLe 8 acre parceL are protected by a view easement. electric and phone are on the property. nicely treed subdivision is close to both town and the amenities of Bottle Bay Marina. #1291 $98,500 Bill schaudt 208-255-6172

weLL-known “sundance Mountain Lodge” estate located on 37 acres bordering chase Lake & forest service land.

Miles of trails right out your door. privacy and unbelievable views. Lodge boasts beautiful craftsmanship. high efficiency geothermal heating/cooling system. huge chefs kitchen. 3rd level guest suite. full lower level walkout is setup for future theater room, bowling alley, bar and more. 10k+ sq ft of living space. additional acreage available. currently run as a business but could easily be converted to a single family home. Lauri coopman 630-222-0722 & Bonnie chambers 208-946-7920

forest knoLLs at the edge of sandpoint. Beautiful 5 parked out acres with mountaintop views. almost 3500 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, office, first floor master, beautiful beaming, granite counter tops, wood flooring, bonus room, covered front porch, large fenced garden, slate patio. This property has it all and won’t disappoint. $639,900.00 #20160676. Bonnie chambers 208-946-7920 & Lauri coopman 630-222-0722

gorgeous Lake pend oreiLLe view 5-ac parceL at sourdough. community water, power & phone nearby. septic system to be installed by buyer. Boat slip reserved for 2016-2017 construction. use of all common facilities, marina, boat launch, tennis court and recreation island. MLs #20161134 $150,000. susan Moon 208-290-5037

© 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. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated, Except Offices Owned And Operated By NRT Incorporated. Coeur d’Alene office: 208-667-1551, 221 E. Sherman Ave., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814. Sandpoint office: 208-263-5101, 200 Main St., Sandpoint, ID 83864.

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OFF THE GRID

Choosing alternative property for

living ‘off grid’ Story by Cassandra Cridland * Photos by Ethan Schlussler

The Hutto family lives and runs a business from their off-the-grid home above Clark Fork

N

ot so long ago – say, 10 or 20 years ago – living “off the grid” carried a certain stigma. The people who disconnected or failed to connect to the traditional electrical power grid were either dirt poor or considered extremely fringe in their

world views.

These days, as more people discover the benefits of alternative power sources, that false perception evaporates as rapidly as morning dew off a solar panel.

“I really think that if more people knew what off-the-grid really was, more people would be doing it everywhere,” said Jiwan Riple, a Realtor at Century 21 Riverstone in Sandpoint.

Based on conversations with local agents, less than 10 percent of buyers in Sandpoint’s real estate market are actively seeking a solely alternative-powered home. However, a much larger percentage of people in this market are willing to con-

sider these properties when presented with the opportunity.

The demographic of those seeking off-the-grid properties runs the full spectrum: everything from twentysomethings looking for a more sustainable lifestyle with a greener footprint, to couples in their 30s who want to raise their children away from the electronic buzz that seems to fill up our days.

There are singles who want to escape the craziness of the cities, improving their quality of life by living closer to their favorite outdoor adventures, and there are retirees who don’t want to miss their last chance to prove they possess the same pioneer spirit and resilience that their ancestors did.

Christine Dick, co-owner with her husband, Tim, of their off-the-grid venture Huckleberry Tent and Breakfast, explains her view: “We need to encourage people that this really is a viable lifestyle. The neat thing about now is that you can pick your poison, so to speak. You can go full-bore Little House

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on the Prairie, hand pumping your The Dick family lives off grid water, using kerosene lamps, and and shares their lifestyle milking the goat. Or, you can be on with guests at Huckleberry the Internet, telecommuting from Tent and Breakfast home with your espresso machine and microwave. You can pick anywhere along that line. We’re at the magic moment where technology is kind of crossing over into that sweet-spot with living out.”

In the last 15 years, the technology related to alternative energy sources – solar, hydro, wind and even propane or diesel backup generators – has advanced exponentially and

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resulted in more mass-produced components, which means the cost of purchasing these systems for the individual has dropped considerably. Meanwhile, additional government regulations related to environmental concerns have driven the cost of grid power up and up.

Brent Stevens, Realtor and owner at Century 21

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Riverstone, explained that startup costs can also affect people’s choices: “While it’s feasible to get power to a property, given the expense, a lot of people choose to go the alternative route.”

Compare the rates for the local rural electrical cooperative listed on the Northern Lights, Inc. Single Phase Power

application with the rates listed within the Planning Guide & Catalog of Backwoods Solar, the local company that has made a big name in the alternative energy market.

Northern Lights (NLI) initially charges $3,355, which covers the application, engineering fee, mobilization fee and the hookup/impact fee for one meter. From that point, the rate to run the electrical power becomes $9 per foot plus any additional applicable fees or costs for permitting, easements, road bores or pushes; extraordinary construction for terrain or obstructions; any engineering time over eight total manhours; poles, junction huts, or additional transformers; plus any number of other items that may alter an installation. In short, if you need to bring power a mile to reach your home, you’ll spend in excess of $50,000 – plus thereafter, you’ll pay your monthly electric bill.

These installation costs are all due prior to the job being released for construction. According to Alirene Mulliner, member service specialist with NLI, a customer with a new installation is paying all the actual costs to bring power from the best available point on the line to their location. The rebates and plans that existed over a decade ago to help mitigate these expenses are no longer available.

By comparison, according to the examples provided by Backwoods Solar, the components necessary to build a solar system capable of providing energy for a large home/small business cost between $28,000 and $40,000. One caveat to

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consider is that with solar in this area you’ll need a backup generator, and that adds another $3,500 to $10,000 to your startup cost. However, while you will experience fuel costs for the generator and routine maintenance on your alternative energy system, in the long-term these will run far less than the monthly electric bill from the utility company.

“Solar is modular,” said Tim Dick, which means you can start with less and build as your need increases. The two big decisions for solar at the outset will be the type, size and number of batteries required and choosing the appropriate equipment you will need.

Miles-upon-miles of overhead power lines attached on poles are susceptible to storms, falling trees and other acts of nature, but you know when the power goes out, someone from the utility company will be out in even horrendous weather to get things up and running.

If you are using alternative energy, the responsibility to monitor the system hits closer to home. “If the power is out, it’s on you,” said Tim Dick.

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trend occurring locally: “What we see a lot now is the backup: backup generators, solar power, those types of things.

People have (grid) power, but a lot more people have backup solutions than there were 10 years ago.”

The demand for off-the-grid properties is growing in this market, but traditional lenders in real estate financing have failed to keep pace.

Rachel Nordgaarden, sales associate with Coldwell Banker Resort Realty in Sandpoint, pointed out: “Already set up, that’s a plus. The minus on that is the financing. Financing things like that is usually almost impossible, unless you work with a private lending firm that will buy and sell notes to carry it. It would be almost like an owner-carry.”

On the other hand, she said, “If you get vacant land, you can get a vacant land loan and build from scratch.”

The Dicks purchased their vacant land in 1992 while living and working in Lewiston. Christine said: “We have this interest in the old-fashioned ways of doing something just for the historical and art aspect of it. It’s amazing how

Eddie and Rosanne Hutto also live and run a bedand-breakfast business off grid above Clark Fork

much information has been lost.”

It took three years of weekends and summer vacations for them to clear the land and prepare to build before they could move and live full time on their property above Clark Fork. It was another 11 years of bone-jarring work before they made plans to open a business on the property.

During that time, they’ve seen a lot of people make the leap to off-the-grid living, usually going the vacant land route.

“Less than half make it,” said Christine. She and her husband tell people that “the big thing is to stay out of debt as much as possible, because you’re not going to make the big bucks up here. Number two is be willing to change and adjust, so you can keep things fun. Number three – see the big picture and have a goal at the end. So when you hit that little rough spot, this really is still worth it.”

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Thank you to the Schweitzer Team...

it has been fun working on the Summit Lodge together!

Eddie and Rosanne Hutto, owners of Hutto’s Highland Haven, an off-the-grid bed and breakfast that caters to couples, put it this way: “It’s not an easy life to live. It’s simple in a lot of ways, but not necessarily easy.”

If you’re aiming for off-the-grid, self-sufficient living, prepare for the steep learning curve by gaining the skills you will need – such as canning, gardening, animal husbandry, carpentry and basic mechanics. Build a nest egg and begin stockpiling tools. Meet with people who are living the life you want to acquire. If you don’t know anyone, consider staying at an off-thegrid property for a few days such as Huckleberry Tent & Breakfast (www.

HuckleberryTentAndBreakfast.com) or Hutto’s Highland Haven (www.huttos highlandhaven.com).

Here’s some parting property advice from some folks who have lived the offthe-grid life in Idaho for more than 20 years.

• “The land is the important part.

If you don’t like the house, you can always remodel the house. You can always replace the house. You can do something with the house, but if you don’t like your land, you’re kind of stuck.” –Christine Dick • How much land to be sustainable?

“Six acres or more, because you want that timber (tax) exemption – that’s what keeps it economical. … It keeps your taxes so reasonable.” –Christine Dick • Always consider your elevation, growing season and fertility of the land.

“You could have a hundred acres … but, you need to be able to get something to grow out of the ground.” –Eddie Hutto • “Start cutting back on your consumption of electricity. See how low you can get your power bill comfortably in your current home, and then it’s easier to transition over to solar.” –Tim Dick • Finally, remember, the best part of living on off-the-grid property: “It helps you keep life in perspective.” –Rosanne Hutto

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Downtown blooming Kochava, BGH investments spur vitality

By Chris Bessler

I

t’s a trend that has decimated the downtown cores of too many rural towns: The advent of big box stores and changing consumer patterns have made business for the retailers in small downtown districts difficult if not impossible.

Those market forces have produced high vacancy rates in hollowed-out downtowns across the country. It’s true here, too; the arrival of Walmart, then Home Depot and Staples in Ponderay plus the draw of many other big discounters in Coeur d’Alene took a toll on the downtown’s vitality and increased vacancies.

But in Sandpoint a combination of deliberate planning and effort by city leaders and the commitment and investment of individual businesses seemingly has the downtown on the cusp of a new era.

That’s a bet that Charles and Kimberly Manning are making in the purchase and renovation of the former Bonner Building at Church Street and Second Avenue, as headquarters for their fast-growing mobile analytics company, Kochava.

Kochava is no retailer; it develops high-tech software and employs some 55 developers, designers, engineers, marketers and analysts locally. But by locating in the downtown, Kochava brings all those workers into the core each day, where they inevitably shop the stores, frequent the cafes and coffee shops and patronize the service providers.

The Mannings have actually kept their business in the core for 10 years now. The couple came to Sandpoint from Washington, D.C., and Charles launched a gaming software company called PlayXpert in 2006. Kimberly, a graphic designer, ran her own 116 Design studio. They worked from a small building on Second Avenue.

Manning wound up selling PlayXpert as the recession took hold; his company shrunk into contracting to build mobile apps for brands and agencies. In that work he discovered a market need for analytics to measure media advertising on mobile devices. He founded Kochava in 2011, and as the company began growing, it moved first to Sand Creek Landing on First Avenue and then to the Columbia Bank building on Church Street, where Kochava currently occupies 13,000 120

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Kochava crew at their new home, above, prior to renovation. At top, rendering of planned renovation of the building at the corner of Church and Second

square feet.

The company wants to provide for future needs now.

When it moves into its new two-story building this summer, Kochava will have some 30,000 square feet available after two phases of construction.

“It allows us to have measured growth without having to worry about disjointed teams,” Manning said. “You start to split it up, and all of a sudden you have an ‘us-and-them’ and people working in these pods. So we are trying to be intentional about how we continue to maintain community.”

The new building will also allow Kochava to incorporate flourishes for its employees. There will be an 80-occupant amphitheater for company gatherings, a kitchen and “Red Star” lounge, sleeping pods and showers for developers who often work long and odd hours. There’s an adjoining parking lot with bike garage for staffers who ride to work. The exterior design will utilize a piping motif, symbolic of the flow of data that is integral in the software business.

To attract and retain employees, high-tech firms like Google and Microsoft have extensive campuses loaded with perquisites for workers. In Manning’s view, the downtown can match that – and more.

“I’ve always talked about how the town is like our Googleplex,” he said. “We can leverage the town as our campus.” With the many restaurants, shops and services within

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just blocks, plus the amenities of City Beach, the Sand Creek trail, a vibrant community and outstanding natural surroundings, Kochava can offer potential hires more than just a neat campus. It pitches a complete lifestyle, and Manning uses what he calls “Life 2.0” as a recruiting tool in his business travels.

“It’s shocking the number of people who approach me and say, ‘Hey, been thinking about making this Life 2.0 change that you always talk about,’ ” Manning said. “ ‘Have any openings for me?’ ” His reason to keep it downtown? “Love it here,” he said.

“You could decide, yeah, it’s cheaper if you get a steel building and put it five miles out. Or you start building a campus out because you have a plan to grow significantly. The problem is that now you have to recreate all these services that we really enjoy here.

“It would be better if we do it here and you let the ecosystem build those services for the community that we’re building. It becomes very symbiotic,” Manning said.

Four blocks north, Bonner General Health wrestled with the same questions of where best to locate its growing campus just a few years ago. After more than a half century downtown, BGH officials weighed a possible move to more open spaces in Ponderay, and surveyed its staff, customers and residents.

“The community didn’t want it anywhere else,” said Terri Fortner, BGH’s community development director.

“And employees love it. You can run anywhere in town on a 15-minute or half hour lunch break. You can take a walk along

Public progress City, SURA continue projects

A

spate of large infrastructure projects by the City of Sandpoint and Sandpoint Urban Renewal Agency kick off or continue this summer, as those public entities work to make downtown Sandpoint an inviting environment for businesses to locate – and their customers to visit. Mayor Shelby Rognstad ticked off a list of projects that will have a big impact on the downtown.

FIBER INTERNET: After more than 10 years of fitful effort to bring a fiber optic Internet provider to Sandpoint, the city undertook laying conduit last year and will light up at least City Hall and the county administrative building this summer. Rognstad believes consumer providers will be able to offer the high-speed service to residential customers and businesses in the downtown by late fall. Rognstad believes a fiber optic network 122

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Sand Creek, or go pick up a birthday card.”

So Bonner General stayed put, acquiring the adjacent block and partnering for construction of its new Health Services Building that provides 40,000 square feet for the hospital and health care campus. The expansion opened last summer.

No question the decision to stay was a major boon for the downtown. BGH has about 425 employees between full- and part-time staff and contractors. Even more, the hospital and clinics generate large traffic into downtown by patients. In 2015 BGH averaged 5,604 outpatient visits per month. That’s well more than 200 people per business day drawn in to the retail district.

And the trend is clearly to much more growth. “The shift in health care has definitely gone from in-patient to outpatient care,” Fortner said.

Other “anchor” draws that help spur retail activity in the downtown, including two major grocery stores just adjacent, are the Panida Theater, the splendid Sand Creek waterfront and City Beach. Vacancies persist, but with other businesses making major renovations the past few years – among them the Pend d’Oreille Winery’s Belwood 301 building, the Heartwood Center at 615 Oak and The Hive live music venue on First Avenue – plus the city and urban renewal agency in the midst of major infrastructure improvements, Sandpoint’s downtown just may be poised for its own version of Life 2.0.

can play a large role in Sandpoint’s ability to woo businesses. “High speed Internet today is one of those essential amenities,” he said.

STREET REDESIGN: Rognstad said work will start the day after the Festival at Sandpoint concludes its season Aug. 14 on a major overhaul of traffic flow in the downtown. Following years of work, kicked off by the completion of the Sand Creek bypass, all one-way streets will be reverted to two-way traffic. A new stoplight will go up at Fifth and Church, but Rognstad expects no hardscape changes other than restriping and signage.

Eastbound Highway 2 traffic that is currently routed down Pine, First and Cedar will now simply turn down Fifth Avenue. That in turn will open the door next year to a major redesign of First and Cedar to include wider sidewalks and additional diagonal parking.

PARK IMPROVEMENTS: The city has purchased the Farmin’s Landing property where Main Street terminates at Sand Creek.

It intends to develop a separated multimodal

path that will help bicyclists and pedestrians get from Main to Bridge Street without running the current parking lot gauntlet. The city is engaging a consultant to design the waterfront; at the same time, Rognstad said he wants the city to create a master plan for City Beach to consider other potential uses including possibly a covered ice rink: “Certainly in the winter it’s underutilized.”

SOLAR SIDEWALK: In a project that is part high tech, part art installation, the city landed a state grant for local company Solar Roadways to install a demonstration project of its modular paving solar system at Jeff Jones Town Square. The grant will be matched by a $10,000 contribution from the Sandpoint Urban Renewal Agency. Judging by interest in Solar Roadways – whose Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign broke records and raised more than $2 million – Rognstad believes the project will be a hit. “It’s going to be a huge tourist draw,” he said. “And it adds a very interesting aesthetic element.”

SUMMER 2016

5/10/16 3:22 PM

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Real Estate

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Marketwatch: Buyers shift their focus to building With a low inventory of homes available, and lenders easing up on construction loans, it was just a matter of time before Sandpoint entered another building boom.

“The biggest thing that’s going on is a tremendous increase in land sales,” said Cindy Hunter, Realtor for Century 21 RiverStone and president of the Multiple Listing Service. “There’s a lot of building that’s started, or about to begin. A lot of it had to do with lending, because it was difficult to get a construction loan.”

Vacant land sales in Bonner County, which have been fairly stagnant for the last couple years, increased 37 percent in the last quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016, compared to the previous year. What’s more, prices for vacant land sales rose 21 percent.

Meanwhile, residential sales in the Sandpoint area have increased 16 percent, with the median price down by 4 percent. “We have the lowest

inventory of homes on the market in several years,” said Hunter.

She said continued low interest rates have brought buyers into the market, and they are concerned about what rates are going to do as the year progresses. “A lot of folks who are seeing unbelievably low interest rates say it’s time to pull the trigger. The market has quickened, people are making offers.”

The timing is also ideal for sellers, at least those within Sandpoint city limits, because pricing is up due to that lower inventory. “It’s really one of those perfect storm kinds of things,” said Hunter.

Carrie LaGrace, Realtor at Tomlinson Sotheby’s International Realty and president of the Selkirk Association of Realtors, concurs with Hunter that the timing is ideal for everyone who’s entering the real estate market.

“Lenders are lending on land again, and there’s a good consumer confidence around right now,” LaGrace

said. “Seattle, Spokane – they’re on fire. People are feeling good about real estate.”

LaGrace advises sellers, however, that even in a hot market to price property correctly. “If you want to sell, price it right,” she said. “If you overprice it, you’re not doing yourself any good. It could sit there all summer.”

She notes that prices in the Bonner County area are still a good value, and she looks forward to the busy season ahead.

“It’s going to be a good selling market, and a great summer for real estate,” LaGrace said.

And with the real estate market firing on all cylinders, it’s not just buyers and sellers who are jumping into the fray.

With more land sales, people are ready to build homes. “The builders are already busy; they’ve got projects lined up,” said Hunter. “It’s a pretty positive marketplace.”

–Beth Hawkins

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All Areas

Lakefront - Pend Oreille & Priest lakes 2015

2016

% Inc/Decr

567

504

-11

Sold Listings

$164,871,575

$145,616,790

-12

Volume - Sold Listings

Median Price

$225,000

$239,500

6

Average Sales Price

$290,778

$288,922

Average Days on Market

163

Sold Listings Volume - Sold Listings

Volume - Sold Listings Median Price

2015

% Inc/Decr

90

75

-17

$38,352,250

-27

Median Price

$440,000

$465,000

6

-1

Average Sales Price

$583,168

$511,363

-12

145

-11

Average Days on Market

143

8

2015

2016

% Inc/Decr

90

85

132

Vacant Land Sales - Bonner County $19,712,985

$21,049,731

$191,250

$218,000

-6

Sold Listings

7

Volume - Sold Listings

14

Median Price

Average Sales Price

$219,033

$247,643

13

Average Sales Price

Average Days on Market

147

116

-21

Average Days on Market

2015

2016

2015

2016

152

175

15

$15,518,850

$21,234,875

37

$62,000

$75,000

21

$102,097

$121,342

19

275

31

2015

2016

% Inc/Decr

19

12

210

% Inc/Decr

Commercial Bonner County

Sandpoint Area Sold Listings

2016

$52,485,162

Sandpoint City Sold Listings

160

% Inc/Decr

186

16

Sold Listings

-37

$47,215,433

$48,719,359

3

Volume - Sold Listings

$7,380,000

$2,571,250

-65

Median Price

$234,900

$225,000

-4

Median Price

$145,000

$101,500

-30

Average Sales Price

$295,096

$261,932

-11

Average Sales Price

$388,421

$214,270

-45

Average Days on Market

132

155

17

Average Days on Market

280

-3

Volume - Sold Listings

Real Estate

Selkirk Multiple Listing Service Real Estate Market Trends Residential Sales By Area

290

Based on information from the Selkirk MLSŠ September 10, 2014, to April 20, 2015, versus September 10, 2015, to April 20, 2016 - Real Estate Stats for Bonner and Boundary counties.

Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

R _ E

Idaho Contractor RCE - 32397

208-691-2042 SUMMER 2016

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danaconstructionco.com SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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5/10/16 3:22 PM

HELP US

PREVENT A SANDPOINT

MINING DISASTER. Our lake is at stake.

Raise your voice to stop this mine.

O

nce again, a mining corporation wants to construct a massive copper/ silver mine just upriver from Lake Pend Oreille.

Once again, they say it will do no harm despite a perpetual discharge of heavy metals into the Clark Fork River.

Once again, they contend their massive tailings pile poses no threat even though it would be big enough to cover all of downtown Sandpoint under 300 feet of sludge.

So, once again, it’s time for businesses, homeowners, visitors and friends to unite or this time, the mine could be built.

105-134_[RE]SMS16.indd 126 16 04-20 rockCreekAlliance-S16.indd 1

Which would truly be a disaster.

Contact us for more of the depressing details or to become a member of our alliance. And, above all, please...

Write or call: Leanne Marten, Regional Forester, lmarten@fs.fed.us (406) 329-3315 Urge her to deny this permit.

Sandpoint has everything to lose and absolutely nothing to gain from this monster of a mine.

Rock Creek Alliance 208-610-4896 www.rockcreekalliance.org

R O C K CR EEK ALLIANCE

5/10/16 10:47 3:22 PM 4/28/16 AM

0:47 AM

NATIVES AND NEWCOMERS

Natives and Newcomers Story and photos by Billie Jean Gerke

This ever-popular department contrasts and compares the thoughts of two native residents and two relative newcomers. Our natives grew up in Sandpoint four decades apart, yet both recognize big changes in our town. The newcomers both appreciate the small-town vibe and friendly people. Enjoy comparing their varying perspectives on living here.

NATIVES Shannon Abromeit

Shannon Abromeit, 64, was born at Bonner General in 1951, in the original hospital building that had been barged to Sandpoint from Farragut. Her great-

grandparents, George and Nellie Powell, came to Sandpoint in 1904 and lived in a houseboat at the end of City Dock.

George had worked for the railroad and fell in love with Sandpoint after crossing the bridge over Lake Pend Oreille. In Sandpoint, he worked as a steamboat navigator and captain who delivered mail to towns around the lake.

The daughter of Bill and Marie Garvey, Shannon Abromeit grew up at City

Beach with five siblings. She loves the outdoors – hiking, bicycling, sailing and cross-country skiing – and spending time at the family cabin at Bottle Bay. She and her husband, Duane, raised two children: Erin Bass, a nurse practitioner at Kaniksu Health Services in Sandpoint, and John Abromeit, a professor at SUNY Buffalo State in New York.

Any secret tips for getting the most out of living here?

Well, it’s no secret, it’s just getting outside, enjoying the lake and the mountains summer and winter but in the summer especially.

What’s your favorite locally owned business and why?

I really like Ivano’s because of all their community service. Jim and Pam Lippi are just awesome.

If you were the mayor or a county commissioner, what would you want to accomplish in office?

I would want to keep the streets safer for pedestrians and people on bicycles.

I would also like to change the name of Dog Beach back to the real name, Sandy Point. When the archaeologists did the dig for the bypass, they had to make some new maps for the dig. They couldn’t bear to call it Dog Beach, so they renamed it Indian Island. When we told them it had been called Sandy Point, they said they wished they had known that because they would have used that. They also said that if it had been called “Dog Beach,” then this would be “Dogpoint, Idaho.” That’s my pet peeve. It’s so stupid.

What has gone unnoticed that Sandpoint should be recognized for?

(The city) has done a great job on the parks. When I was growing up, the parks were nice, but they weren’t developed. The parks are very nice now. Also Sandpoint’s always been a SUMMER 2016

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NATIVES AND NEWCOMERS real crossroads. It’s not just some podunk logging town. For thousands of years, it’s been a crossroads for Native Americans (and others). It’s more than a tourist town. It’s always been a beautiful, friendly place.

How has Sandpoint changed since your childhood?

It’s gotten bigger and busier. The housing inside the city limits has become so dense. When I was growing up, we lived at the bottom of South Second, sort of across from Second Avenue Pizza. We had a big house with five bedrooms and a lot on the other side with a big dirt pile where we could play. There aren’t very many empty lots anymore. There’s not as many logging trucks. The logging industry has changed so much. When we were little kids, we could go anywhere by ourselves. I used to think it was really safe, but now I don’t know if it’s the safest

place for kids. Everybody used to know everybody and where they lived. But I think a lot of the changes are good, and I still love living here.

Any advice for people who want to move here?

You’re welcome to move here, but don’t try to make it into the place where you came from. Get involved.

Bring the best of yourself and make this a better place.

Don’t just assume because people have lived here a long time that they don’t know anything. When we were little kids, we used to make fun of the farm kids that came in from Sagle and Selle. Then you find out they’ve grown up to be some of our community leaders.

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Poppy Bond

Jonathon “Poppy” Bond, 26, graduated from Sandpoint High School in 2007 and has worked in a variety of jobs and businesses here, in addition to a stint in Alaska managing a bar and restaurant for a heli ski lodge. He currently works at Pend d’Oreille Winery; buys, renovates, sells and rents homes; and makes custom-built PCs. He enjoys tinkering with and building mechanical things, such as an electric scooter he refurbished recently. A food and drink connoisseur, Bond has an affinity for fine dining and drinking and has developed a palate for single-malt Scotch, wine and Kentucky bourbon. The son of Kim Bond and the late Craig Bloom, both Sandpoint High graduates, Poppy Bond ran cross-country and took advanced computer and technology classes in high school, after which he traveled in Europe for months before returning to live in his hometown.

Any secret tips for getting the most out of living here?

Make sure to leave once in a while,

SUMMER 2016

5/12/16 9:27 AM

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Soul Kitchen, the food bus, and Kochava. Soul Kitchen (by Evans Brothers) because it’s literally the only place that’s food-truck style that has high-quality food that’s made to be healthy and really good and not super expensive. And Kochava is bringing the modern

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What has gone unnoticed that Sandpoint should be recognized for?

The amount of industry we have. We have a lot of manufacturing industries, and they’re kind of hidden – Quest, Tamarack Aerospace, Litehouse Custom Printing. It’s kind of interesting to see how we’ve adapted from a logging town to a place that does naval research and builds airplanes and does it without ruining the smalltown feel.

Any advice for people who want to move here?

Try to realize you don’t need to live off as much money here. You can have a lifestyle that’s more minimalistic. You can find niches here to live cheaply.

Learn to live simply and enjoy the S elkirks place you have. And leave every now and then. It’s a great place to have a BUSnest, ROUTES but it can seriously lack in things you can experience in the big cities.

City Beach

S P

Memorial Field

Y2 130

I’d try to keep us going in the direction – we’re doing a good job already – to make it easier for companies like Kochava and higher education institutions to make spaces here. Also, keeping our zoning policies to a point where our town won’t develop to be like Coeur d’Alene.

It’s gotten more professional looking.

It’s cool to see people renovating old buildings, like what the Meyers have done with the Belwood’s building and the Kubiaks have done with the old Catholic church. There are definitely more housing spaces.

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If you were the mayor or a county commissioner, what would you want to accomplish in office?

How has Sandpoint changed since your childhood?

SPRUCE

MAIN

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SUMMER 2016

5/12/16 9:30 AM

NEWCOMERS

NATIVES AND NEWCOMERS

Liz Morris

Elizabeth “Liz” Morris, 29, moved here in June 2015 with her husband Taylor Morris, who grew up in Sandpoint and returned to take a job at Kochava. Liz works as an occupational therapist for Bonner General Health and in her own practice as a massage therapist.

She grew up in the Finger Lakes area of New York on Owasco Lake, the oldest of two girls. She graduated with a master’s in occupational therapy from Ithaca College in 2011 and completed her training and licensure as a massage therapist in 2007. She moved to San Diego in 2012 to pursue a life in the sun with Taylor, whom she married in 2014, the same year she completed her certification program as a health coach from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. She enjoys hiking with her Bernese mountain dog, Rocky; being on the lake, trav-

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NATIVES AND NEWCOMERS eling with her husband, cooking and entertaining, and attending live music events at small venues.

Any secret tips for getting the most out of living here?

Get outside. For such a small town there are so many activities and events going on. What’s been helpful for me is looking up what’s available on Facebook through Sandpoint groups, joining them and being in the loop on events that have been posted and going to them. I’ve met a lot of great people on my own that way, and it’s been really fun.

What’s your favorite locally owned business and why?

The one I go to most often is Evans Brothers. I like the atmosphere there.

Every single time I’ve been there, I’ve had great customer service. I can bring my dog. It’s a great place to go do work and catch up with friends.

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If you were the mayor or a county commissioner, what would you want to accomplish in office?

I would want to continue to support the creation of jobs in this area, especially for young professionals, to grow the local economy and make this town as great as it can be. I would also want to create incentives to work, possibly for people who maybe haven’t created a skill set yet that works for them.

What has gone unnoticed that Sandpoint should be recognized for?

Just how beautiful it is here and how clean it is. I wasn’t expecting what I got when I came here. Being from New York, when I think of Idaho, I think of potatoes.

All my friends made comments like “Are you living in a potato field now?” and I send them pictures of these gorgeous mountains and incredible lake. It’s been eye-opening for people who have never been here to truly recognize how beautiful it is here. It’s a great community, and everyone is really welcoming.

What surprised you most about living here?

How small it is. It’s a blessing and a curse in that you go somewhere, you almost always see someone you know … and then you go somewhere, and you almost always see someone you know (laughs). It’s really nice because in San Diego, which is where I lived the last three years, you never ran into anyone you knew. It was tons and tons of strangers all the time. But here, it feels like home. Every time you go for a run, and you’re in your sweatpants, then it’s not so great.

Would you recommend living here to a friend? Why or why not?

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I would but only if that friend were looking for a slower-paced life and wanted to start a family. If you haven’t quite found yourself as a person yet, or if you’re still looking to figure out what you want to do career-wise, I don’t know if I would move here just yet. But it’s a really good place to come if you have a solid foundation.

SUMMER 2016

5/10/16 3:22 PM

NATIVES AND NEWCOMERS

FesTival aTsandpoinT The

augusT 4 - 14, 2016

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To order tickets or for more information visit us at:

FestivalAtSandpoint.com or call: (208) 265-4554

Any secret tips for getting the most out of living here?

Spend a day in town, walk around and go shopping, visit shops and don’t drive anywhere, either walk or bicycle.

When you’re going 25 mph down the street, you don’t really get to enjoy Sandpoint. It’s a lot more fun to walk around and take it slow.

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Nate Dillon, 17, is a senior at Sandpoint High School who’s bound for the University of Idaho this fall to study mechanical engineering. He moved with his parents, Jason and Stephanie, and three siblings in January 2015 from Grants Pass, Ore., as they founded Panhandle Cone & Coffee on First Avenue. He works in the family business and competes in shot put and discus at school. A self-described nerd, Dillon enjoys doing math and physics problems on his “nerd board” at home.

Because there’s more to life than

What’s your favorite locally owned business and why?

Joel’s, for sure, Thai Nigiri and MickDuff’s are the food places we go to all the time. Joel’s is ridiculously good, but it’s not open for dinner. Thai Nigiri is right across the street and has such good sushi and it’s not expensive.

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SPAWN

• Politics • People • Hiking • Veterans • Humor Local News • Environment • Opinion

al.com October 2010 | FREE | www.RiverJourn

A news magazine worth wading through

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

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The River Journal

10/17/2010 11:11:04 PM

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NATIVES AND NEWCOMERS MickDuff’s has incredible burgers and sandwiches and fries.

Website design & hosting Marketing & consulting Logo design, brochures, ads

am a rk e tin

g com m u n ic a t io n s fir m

405 Church St. Sandpoint 263-3573 • keokee.com We Publish Sandpoint Magazine • SandpointOnline.com

If you were the mayor or a county commissioner, what would you want to accomplish in office?

I would fix these one-way streets (laughs), and I would redo all these roads as you go that way (west side of town). Between here and school, they’re a little rough. I would expand downtown more. It’s like there’s a barrier. Over here, it’s nice, but over there, it’s not as nice. And sidewalks, that needs to happen.

and your seat, people would take one of them, just for fun. And here, people just don’t even lock up their bike, because they don’t think someone will take it.

It’s not perfect, but it’s a lot better than what I was used to.

What surprised you most about living here?

How nice people were. People have this idea that small towns are tight-knit communities and they don’t like outsiders. And how perfect the temperature of the lake is. In Oregon, the (Rogue) River was 30 degrees year-round.

What has gone unnoticed that Sandpoint should be recognized for?

Would you recommend living here to a friend? Why or why not?

The food is crazy good. My old town was three times this size, and there wasn’t a single restaurant that could beat Joel’s, Thai Nigiri, MickDuff’s, La Rosa Club, Ivano’s. The people here are ridiculously nice, too. At my old school, if you didn’t lock up your bike, your tire

Absolutely. One, so they could be close to me. And I haven’t been anywhere I like better. I’ve lived in some pretty great places, northern California and Grants Pass. But Sandpoint, I haven’t been anywhere that’s prettier, and you can get just about anything here.

Head over Heels Lodging only 1 mile from Downtown Sandpoint [ TALUS ROCK RETREAT \

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Meeting Rooms

Pool on site

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Spa or Sauna

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No. of Units

Archer Vacation Condos

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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

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From rustic elegance to Manhattan chic, you’ll find a room that suits you along with a casino that boasts the area’s most machines, and the most winners. See ad, page 77. www.CdACasino.com

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Sandpoint’s luxury vacation home rentals, with properties on the lake and in the mountains. See ad, page 67. www.DM-Vacations.com

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208-263-3194 or 800-635-2534

Coeur d’Alene Casino 800-523-2464

DM Vacation Rentals 208-263-3083

Dover Bay Bungalows

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 58. www.DoverBayBungalows.com

208-263-3083

GuestHouse Lodge

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

Holiday Inn Express

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The newest hotel in Greater Sandpoint. 100 percent smoke free. The Ponderay location is at the base of Schweitzer Mountain next to Sweet Lou’s. See ad, page 50. www.HIExpress.com

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Downtown location, high-speed Internet. Free breakfast, themed spa suites. Silverwood, ski and golf packages. Kids stay free. See ad, page 34. www.Hotels-West.com

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

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Fully furnished condos and on-site athletic club on Lake Pend Oreille.

Stay and play packages. See ad, page 72. www.POSResort.com

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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

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75 luxury homes and condos in Sandpoint and on the lake. First-class properties at affordable rates. Plan your perfect vacation. See ad, page 13. www.SandpointVacationRentals.com

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Mountain accommodations, stay-and-play packages. Spectacular mountain and lake views.

Outdoor heated pool and hot tubs. See ad, page 155. www.Schweitzer.com

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

La Quinta Inn

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208-263-9581 or 800-282-0660

Lodge at Sandpoint 208-263-2211

Pend Oreille Shores Resort

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208-264-5828

Sandpoint Quality Inn

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208-263-2111 or 866-519-7683

Sandpoint Vacation Rentals 208-263-7570 or 866-263-7570

Selkirk Lodge

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208-265-0257 or 800-831-8810

Sleep’s Cabins

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On beautiful Lakeshore Drive. Sleep’s Cabins consists of five log bungalows decorated with original furnishings and collectibles. See ad, page 73. www.SleepsCabins.com

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

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Experience an extraordinary Idaho bed and breakfast escape. One mile from Sandpoint. See ad, page 134. www.TalusRockRetreat.com

208-255-2122 or 866-302-2122

Sweet Magnolia Bed & Breakfast 208-265-2425

Talus Rock Retreat

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Private cabins sleep 2-8. Lodge rooms with private baths, rec room, horseback riding and meals available. See ad, page 65. www.WesternPleasureRanch.com

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New accommodations, stay-and-play packages. Spectacular mountain and lake views. Outdoor hot tubs, access to heated pool. See ad, page 155. www.Schweitzer.com

208-255-8458

Twin Cedars Camping and Vacation Rentals

A lakeside rental from Sandpoint Vacation Rentals

Beautiful 3-bedroom, 2-bath waterfront condos on Lake Pend Oreille in Hope. Discount ski and golf tickets available. See ad, page 60. www.10kVacationRentals.com/sandpoint

877-982-2954 / drarchers@msn.com

Best Western Edgewater Resort

The swimming pool at Schweitzer’s Selkirk Lodge

LODGING GUIDE

The Lodge at Western Pleasure Guest Ranch

Bar or Lounge

Lodging

Owner-managed vacation rental homes and camping cabin; RV sites on Lake Pend Oreille and Selle Valley; tipi on beach (in summer). Horse/dog friendly. On Facebook and www.airbnb.com

208-920-1910

Western Pleasure Guest Ranch 208-263-9066

White Pine Lodge 208-265-0257 or 800-831-8810

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BIKING for BREAKFAST

three destinations worth the pedal Story by Cate Huisman Photos by Doug Marshall

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t’s easy to find out about road rides around Sandpoint. The Pend Oreille Pedalers (POP) website at pendoreillepedalers. com has concise descriptions of some of the best (click on the “Rides” tab and scroll down to see the road rides below the mountain bike rides). Bike shops can fill you in, too; Brian Anderson at Greasy Fingers Bikes ‘N’ Repair notes, “We ask people what they normally ride and what they’re looking for, and then match them up with a route.” He hands out short route descriptions, printouts of those on the POP website. The Visitor Center next to Sand Creek just north of downtown hands out maps with the same descriptions.

Friends, opposite page from left, Scott Rulander, Charles Mortensen and Jason Meshberg, cycle the Selle Valley to reach the Pack River Store, above, for a fabulous bicyclist’s breakfast packed with protein and carbohydrates

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But none of these guides answers the all-important question: What about breakfast? Many of Sandpoint’s most popular road rides lead cyclists to awesome options for morning repasts. You can fuel up at home with an early morning cup of coffee and a gerbil-food bar, ride hard enough to earn your eggs, and take a more leisurely pedal back home.

The easiest option won’t even require the gerbil-food bar. DISH at Dover Bay is so close you can get there on just a cup of coffee – from downtown Sandpoint, it’s a flat, 3.5-mile leisurely pedal down the bike path next to U.S. Highway 2. Weekend brunches are back this summer by popular demand; owner Gary Peitz says the frittatas and French toast were two items patrons missed most when brunch wasn’t offered last year.

A longer ride along the 30-mile, mostly flat ColburnCulver Loop makes for a gorgeous pedal through the Selle Valley’s lush pastures with views of the Seven Sisters to the northwest.

Collect breakfast about halfway along with a short

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milkshakes.

Riders who want a good hill-climb workout before breakfast can tackle the 7 switchbacks, 9 miles, and 2,500 vertical feet to Schweitzer Mountain Resort.

Navigation is easy because there is only one way to go – up. In the last mile, as the road flattens out a bit, resist the temptation to go downhill at the three forks and take the middle fork up to the village. Your reward will await at the Mojo Coyote Café, with a selection of appealing breakfast burritos, some veggie and some with sausage. If you only want a carb refuel, they have tasty pastries as well. The cruise back down will be easy on your full stomach, and you’ll enjoy some amazing views of the distant Cabinet Mountains across the lake.

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And finally, for you late risers, there’s a waterfront meal on a shaded deck waiting for you a bit more than half way through the 24-mile Bottle Bay Loop. The Bottle Bay Resort doesn’t open until 11, so it’s appropriate for something brunch-like. If you approach from the southern side of the loop via Sagle and Glengary roads, you’ll have a moderate climb through forests and farm country. Once you make the left turn onto Bottle Bay Road, watch for a sign for Bottle Bay Resort and a steep, short drop to the resort. After your repast, the return ride along the lakeshore is flat with some minor hills and may offer a cooling breeze off the lake, even if you’re cruising back well after noon.

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detour onto Rapid Lightning Road that will bring you to the Pack River Store.

Here you can get Eggs Benedict, huevos rancheros, or a monster breakfast burrito. You can eat at a picnic table on the lawn next to the river, on the porch or – if it’s still a bit chilly – inside.

For riders undertaking the 45-mile Lakeshore/Dufort Loop, a detour of about 10 miles through the pastoral Hoodoo Valley leads to the historic Vay Store (technically, Kelly’s Vay Mart and Hoodoo Creek Café). A good bet here is the huckleberry waffles, or, for a really leisurely ride home, the Hoodoo Mountain biscuit that includes eggs and ham covered with gravy. Owner Karen Kelly says that many riders simply ask for one of their made-to-order

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with Beth Hawkins

Bangkok on Second AUTHENTIC THAI FOOD

Sandpoint’s Best Thai Food • Peanut sauces made in-house • 6 different Thai curry • Gluten-free & Vegetarian • Wine and beer • Take-out available

Eat in or take out

208-265-4149 • 202 N. 2nd Ave.

#1 on tripadvisor

Baxters on Cedar is Sandpoint’s new favorite restaurant!

SERVING LUNCH & DINNER phone208.BAX.TERS webBaxtersOnCedar.com 109 Cedar St. Sandpoint, ID 83864

Salads that make a (fab) meal

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n the search for healthier fare, Sandpoint’s restaurants dish up a mouth-watering array of salads that keep appetites happy and nutrition levels at their peak. Not only that, but our area’s chefs create their own seasonal spin on these almost-too-pretty-to-eat dishes.

Brimming over with color and healthy yumminess, the Nutty Goat is one of the most popular salads at Spuds Waterfront Grill, 102 N. First Ave. This tantalizing dish features a spring mix salad with red onion, goat cheese, candied pecans and walnuts, fresh herbs, and seasonal fresh fruit such as strawberries and blackberries. “It’s finished off with our housemade white balsamic vinaigrette, which gives the salad a bright acidity balanced by the nuts and fruit,” said owner Peter McDaniel.

Enjoy your salad on Spuds’ spacious deck that overlooks scenic Sand Creek, and sip homemade huckleberry lemon-

www.sweetlousidaho.com

HAND-CUT STEAKS FRESHLY GROUND BURGERS WILD SALMON FRESH SALADS

ade featuring hand-pressed lemons and locally sourced huckleberry puree.

Baxter’s on Cedar, 109 Cedar St. in downtown Sandpoint, is a convenient place to dine while shopping or taking a break from City Beach. Chef Steve Nye said the Spinach Salad is a popular menu item, made with bacon bits, pumpkin seeds, light balsamic vinaigrette, and Litehouse bleu cheese crumbles. “It’s light,and has protein in it,” said Nye. He adds that what customers really come in to Baxter’s for is the incredible apps, particularly the Moroccan lamb sliders with poblano peppers and a cool cucumber sauce. But let’s not digress.

Nye said more salads will be added to the menu as summer progresses, because “everyone wants to look good in a swimsuit.” Ah, a chef with our best interests in mind!

For seven years running, the most popular salad – year-round – at Trinity

FULL BAR LOCAL BEERS

Ponderay, Idaho

» Next to Holiday Inn Express 208. 263.1381

Sweet Lou says, “come hungry, stay late, eat well.”

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at City Beach, 58 Bridge St., is the Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad. “It’s spicy and sweet,” said owner Justin Dick. It’s made with a pecan-crusted chicken breast that’s pan-seared and then baked, served on a bed of spring mix greens and tossed with housemade maple-chipotle vinaigrette. “It’s a hearty meal in winter, and still light for summer” – thus explaining the salad’s perpetual popularity.

A variety of salads are always served at Tango Café, 414 Church St. (inside the Columbia Bank building), as well.

Owner Judy Colegrove said the Cobb Salad is a popular go-to choice yearround, and includes mixed greens with

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EATS & DRINKS

Lunchtime with Delaina on the deck at Spuds, with a Nutty Goat salad featuring seasonal fresh fruit

chicken, avocado, tomato, cucumber, egg, crumbled bacon and gorgonzola.

Another big seller is the Curry Chicken Salad, featuring mixed greens, oranges, toasted coconut, dried cranberries and candied walnuts, with a light citrus vinaigrette.

For a true Idaho original salad, order the Smoked Trout Salad at Di Luna’s Cafe, 207 Cedar St. Featuring Idaho rainbow trout, sharp cheddar cheese, tomatoes and sprouts on organic greens, it’s by far the most popular, owner Karen Forsythe said.

“Especially among our out-oftown visitors,” she said.

The preferred dressing among diners is the raspberry vinaigrette, one of five dressings that are made in-house. “The vinaigrette’s made out of our own raspberries that we grow ourselves,” Forsythe said. “In the summer, we use all the local veggies that we can.”

Eichardt’s Pub, Grill & Coffee House, 212 Cedar St., is a great place to escape summer heat – and turn up the culinary heat – with the Blackened Salmon Caesar Salad. “We’ve been serving it for many, many years,” said owner Jeff Nizzoli. “It’s our most popular salad.”

The wild sockeye salmon is seasoned with the pub’s own blackening spice, cooked on a cast iron skillet, and served over caesar salad. Other favorites include the Chicken Walnut Salad and the Fajita Salad – featuring spicy toppings sautéed with a fajita spice, and topped with a sweet garlic dressing.

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Chef Q&A with Trevor Johnson and Cory Lobdell Trevor Johnson, 25, holds a degree in psychology from Washington State University, but his true passion has always been cooking.

Growing up in Sandpoint, Johnson went from teenage busser, to salad maker, to prep chef: “I worked my way up.” Johnson is thrilled to be a part of the new CHOP restaurant at Hope, debuting this summer. “It’s a traditional steakhouse that’s incorporating modern ideas and concepts,” he said. On the other side of the lake, Cory Lobdell, 41, is a Spokane native who attended the University of Idaho before heading to Seattle; he made the move to Sandpoint two years ago. His grandparents live in Sagle, and his dad grew up in Priest River, so Lobdell was familiar with Sandpoint. “I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but I knew I wanted to live here,” Lobdell said. He landed a job at Shoga Sushi in Sagle, where he’s worked ever since.

PHOTO BY BETH HAWKINS

What influenced your love of cooking?

What’s your favorite ingredient?

What’s your favorite dish that you serve?

Food trends you like?

What are your hobbies and interests?

Trevor Johnson

Corey Lobdell

I watched a lot of cooking shows on television and chefs

Just my love of food in general. I had jobs right out of high

on the Food Network. Mario Batali and Alton Brown

school in the food industry and developed a lifelong love of

were my heroes. I’d try out recipes on my parents (Scott

cooking.

and Shelley Johnson); they were the guinea pigs.

Smoked paprika. I put it on barbecue ribs, but you can

I have to say fish, right? I’m a sushi chef.

also grind it up and use it with salt. It’s a rich, red color so it’s really pretty and adds that smoky flavor.

I have two: The cider-brined smoked pork chop with

The poke salad. It’s very Hawaiian, with chopped fish and

bacon apple butter, and our blood orange rosemary

served in an avocado bowl. It’s the new thing right now.

prawns that are served with polenta fries.

I love the food truck scene in Portland; it’s very eclectic,

Having gluten-free and vegetarian options, that’s one of my

mixing the old and the new gastronomy. But I also like

goals. We’re just into fresh ingredients; everything we do is

old-school Italian, because that’s what I grew up eating.

in-house. Even our sauces are made from scratch.

I’m a huge movie nut, old, old movies especially … film

Hiking and fishing, but I haven’t done nearly enough because

noirs. But I try to keep up on the new stuff, too, through

I’m so busy. My girlfriend and I have beach cruisers; we can

the Oscars. That, and food.

bike out here because you can cross under the Long Bridge.

Screenwriter. I write in my spare time. I guess that’s Any alternate career interests where my psychology degree is useful. if you weren’t a chef?

I’ve done so many things, I was a professional photographer

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, test and try things

The hours are long, but work hard and you’ll enjoy it. There’s

out. Formal training is overrated, so just do what you

good camaraderie among Sandpoint’s restaurant industry.

feel and always experiment.

Everyone gets along.

What advice would you give future chefs?

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in Seattle. Because of my lifelong love of food, I got back in the industry. And now I’m doing this at a top-notch level.

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Summer flings a taste bud romance

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uick, there’s limited time to enjoy some of Sandpoint’s very best food!

So hop into your car, or preferably boat, and head out to these fantastic summeronly restaurants.

In Dover, DISH, 651 Lakeshore Ave., has built a great reputation as the go-to spot for summer because of its impeccable food and waterfront locale. The mahi mahi tacos with a Baja slaw and cilantro-lime sour cream are served with avocado fries – perfect in every way! And since summer meals are best enjoyed on the water, fans of Dover’s DISH will be thrilled that owner Gary Peitz is bringing his culinary craftsmanship to Hope this summer with the all-new CHOP, 46624 Highway 200 at the Holiday Shores Marina. The new restaurant replaces Sweet Lou’s Hope location, and Peitz constructed a three-tier deck to the west of the restaurant to take advantage of some of the region’s best lake views.

“We’re doing a little bit of a throwback to a steakhouse,” said Peitz. “You get your protein

and potato, and all of your side dishes are ordered individually, such as button mushrooms and sides of asparagus, served family style.” CHOP specializes in steak and seafood, and also serves pork, lamb chops, pasta dishes and more. Peitz built an outdoor kitchen display area, where diners can watch the rotisserie chicken cook and where warm table bread is served. CHOP also serves up traditional steakhouse soups such as French onion and New England clam chowder.

CHOP also aims to appeal to a more laidback vibe. “If you’re not feeling like sitting down and having a steak, there’s a separate menu in the bar with burgers, appetizers and more casual dining,” Peitz said. With plenty of boat parking, CHOP is open May through September for dinner.

Nearby, The Floating Restaurant, 47392 Highway 200 in Hope, is enjoying a second summer in their new building atop the water. “We did a complete rebuild, and we’re

The new three-tier deck at CHOP. COURTESY PHOTO

still very happy,” said Elissa Robbins, chef and owner. A new dining room features a wraparound bar, and there are two patio spaces – one that’s heated for cooler nights.

New on the menu for this summer is a shrimp fettuccine served with a truffle cream sauce, and chilaquiles for Sunday Brunch.

“Chilaquiles start with corn tortillas, tossed with a homemade chili verde sauce and pulled pork, and then topped with eggs. Absolutely delicious!” Robbins said.

The Floating Restaurant will also enjoy this year’s bumper crop of local mushrooms. “We’ll be serving wild morels all season,” she said. The restaurant is open every day for lunch and dinner, plus brunch on Sundays, through early October.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Market

Monday-Friday 8:30 to 5:30

OWNERS

Rod & Nan

Find us on Facebook!

Bulk Natural Foods | Deli Sandwiches | Take & Bake Meals Baked Goods | US Made Housewares

1326 Baldy Mountain Rd, Sandpoint | 208-263-9446

www.MillersCountryStoreSandpoint.com

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EVERYTHING MADE FROM

Scratch

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Bakery bliss ... and beyond

F

inding homemade bread, a freshbaked cinnamon roll or delectable scone is easier than ever in the Sandpoint area; new businesses continue to open up, and existing bakeries are expanding their fare to include gluten-free options as well.

Flourish Bakery, Café and Market, 301 Cedar St., just opened its doors this past winter. Co-owners Marah Jacobs and Vicki Reich focus on using local ingredients in their menu, including flour from Bonners Ferry, berries from Riley Creek, apples from Sandpoint Orchards and more. “By using regional ingredients, it sets us apart,” Reich said.

“We talked and dreamed about doing this,” Jacobs said, about starting Flourish.

“I’ve worked in kitchens for years, and it’s something I love to do. We offer regional food and stand behind that.”

Beyond the homemade scones and

cinnamon rolls, Flourish offers a diverse breakfast and lunch menu that’s “homemade everything,” Reich said.

Jacobs plans to expand the menu this summer as the availability of new local ingredients swells. “We’re looking forward to all the amazing stuff,” she said. As are customers!

Pine Street Bakery, 710 Pine St., is expanding its gluten-free menu to include desserts, breads and more. “All our bars are gluten-free,” said owner Julia Knadler. “We want to offer that alternative to our gluten-intolerant customers.”

The bakery is also developing some new Old World artisan breads, and plans to expand their lunchtime offerings with sandwiches, soups and salads. Those

Local * Natural * Delicious

Co-owners Marah Jacobs and Vicki Reich plan their menu on the availability of local ingredients. PHOTO

BY BETH HAWKINS

on a health quest can pair up lunch with one of Pine Street Bakery’s new “superfood” smoothies. “These smoothies are nice combinations, where we add a teaspoon or tablespoon of matcha powder, Vitamineral Green, or Synergy Additive,” Knadler said. Super, indeed!

Shopping for groceries at Winter Ridge Natural Foods, 703 Lake St., always requires a spin by the pastry display case. It’s far too delicious to ignore, and bakery manager Julia Nell said there’s always a fine assortment of gluten-free and vegan pastries, cakes and cookies. “Everything’s done from scratch, and we take care of our sourdough like it’s our pet!” Nell said.

Winter Ridge breads include French loaves, demi-baguettes, tapenade rolls, fresh-baked pretzels and more, plus they’re experimenting with gluten-free hamburger buns.

Deli * Salad Bar * Bulk * Bakery Fresh Meat * Seafood * Dairy Grocery * Organic Produce Espresso * Supplements * Wine Kombucha * Health and Beauty

“A downtown favorite”

703 W Lake Street at Boyer St. www.WinterRidgeFoods.com 208-265-8135 142

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On the historic Cedar St. Bridge 208.265.4396 www.cedarstbistro.com

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EATS & DRINKS

For kicks, get a coffee fix

S

andpoint’s relatively close distance to Seattle may have something to do with our town’s eye-opening number of coffee spots. First thoughts on where to grab a cup o’ joe is award-winning Evans Brothers Coffee, 524 Church St., where they serve coffees and espressos roasted on-site. “We definitely do our part to keep Sandpoint caffeinated,” said Rick Evans, who owns the company with his brother, Randy.

New at Evans Brothers this summer is a cold brew coffee, as well as a nitro cold brew on tap. “The Nitro is cold coffee infused with nitrogen, and provides a silky mouthfeel that’s naturally sweet to drink,” Evans said.

Another downtown locale to grab a cup of coffee is Panhandle Cone and Coffee, 216 N. First Ave. Owner Jason Dillon creates espressos and lattes using Evans Brothers beans, and offers cold brew coffee in the summer. “I used to home-roast my own coffee for years on a refurbished espresso machine,” said Dillon. All of Panhandle’s ice cream is made in-house, and Dillon crafts decadent flavors like salted caramel and brown butter cookie. Customers are raving about Panhandle’s affogato, made with a scoop of ice cream and two shots of espresso poured over the top. “It’s like the best latte you’ve ever had in your life,” Dillon said.

The coffee scene is buzzing earlier than ever at Cedar Street Bistro, 334 N. First Ave., where owner Tim Frazier now opens for business at 7 a.m. With its scenic locale on the Cedar Street Bridge, “it’s a beautiful place to hang out with a latte in a porcelain cup,” said Frazier, who is “supporting local” with their new Diedrich small-batch coffee roaster.

The affogato at Panhandle Cone and Coffee. PHOTO BY BETH HAWKINS

Besides fresh-made espressos, breakfast crepes, burritos, sandwiches and more are served.

With the Sandpoint Farmers Market in full swing, Monarch Mountain Coffee, 208 N. Fourth Ave., is a favorite for caffeinedeprived shoppers every Saturday. “We open the sidewalk café, and it stays very busy with the market,” said owner Sherrie Wilson.

With its regular daily operations as well, Monarch is on the cold brew trend this summer. “We soak the grounds overnight, and the cold brew is super smooth,” Wilson said.

“It does well over ice.”

DiLun a’s

A CASUAL, CLASSIC STEAK AND SEAFOOD HOUSE From the team at Dish at Dover Bay WATERFRONT DINING | COVERED OUTDOOR DECK

264-0443 chopsteakandseafood.com

Lounge opens 3 pm daily, dining at 4 pm Happy Hour from 4-6 pm daily SUMMER 2016

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Holiday Shores Marina Hope, ID

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THE LOCAL DISH news and events foodies need to know

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ven though Ol Red’s Pub, 202 N. First Ave., just opened this spring, locals could already consider it a Sandpoint institution. That’s because owner Kim Haworth, along with co-owner and longtime beau Brandon “Taco” Reinbold, are hang-

SINCE 1994

ing up classic signs from Sandpoint’s longtime businesses and favorite places – Rosholts, Dairy Depot, Schweitzer to name a few – and more are on the way.

“People keep coming in with them,” Haworth said. “My motto is, this is where the hidden treasures hang!”

Haworth was a longtime employee at another pub in town when circumstances forced her to follow a new career path. “Well, I got fired,” she said.

“I worked there forever. So, I decided to start my own place.” With help from Reinbold, Ol Red’s Pub is now up and running in the below street-level space on First Avenue.

With six cold beers on tap as well as wine and Mason Jar Mimosas, the laid-

back vibe of Ol Red’s Pub is certainly appreciated by those who shun smoky taverns. “We are no-smoking, and customers are coming in excited about that,” she said.

Open Monday through Thursday at 10 a.m. until close; Friday and Saturday noon until close.

You say summer, we say picnic! (“Summer. Picnic. Summer. Picnic!”)

That’s because eating outdoors is the perfect melding of fine food and amazing scenery. Hikers, boaters and anyone in the spectacular Garfield Bay area should know that the staff at Odie’s Bayside Grocery, 1591 Garfield Bay in Sagle, makes fresh to-go sandwiches (or pick up pre-made sandwiches in a jiffy)

Kim Haworth behind her new bar, where she makes the calls.

PHOTO BY BETH HAWKINS

NEWLY REMODELED FRESH SEAFOOD • AGED BEEF LOCAL FRESH INGREDIENTS

208 264-5311

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Natural beer, food & fun!

Come visit us today at one of our two locations: Family Friendly Brewpub

312 N First Ave.

Beer Hall & Brewery

220 Cedar St.

MONDAY-SATURDAY8-4 208-263-5125

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Local & Delicious 301 CEDAR ST. SUITE 105 ENTER ON 3RD AVE

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EATS & DRINKS

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along with dishing up burgers, Wood’s hot dogs, and hand-dipped ice cream, to name a few favorites.

Owner Mary Gayle Young said there is seating inside and outside, plus a nearby picnic park and camping. The grocery sits on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille, so it’s easy for boaters to pull up on the commercial dock, grab their grub, and go.

The bakery offerings are on constant rotation at Miller’s Country Store, 1326 Baldy Mountain Rd., but they’ve made it simple for folks to stay in the loop. “We have a bakery schedule that we give out to customers,” said assistant manager Marie Whisler. “Certain days of the week we do certain things.”

Those include a mouthwatering assortment of scones, cinnamon rolls, stollen and pies – all homemade.

Miller’s also makes their own bread, including whole wheat, and uses them for lunch sandwiches. Planning ahead is worth its weight in gold when you pick up Miller’s take-and-bake cinnamon rolls, or the new blueberry French toast.

Sa n d p o i n t ’ s

Freshest

“Just set them out overnight, and bake for 20 minutes in the morning,” Whisler said of the popular rolls.

For that stream of guests coming to visit, keep the fridge stocked with fresh fish from Flying Fish, 620 N. First Ave. Owner Rob Harper sells an impressive variety, including salmon, Idaho ruby trout, halibut and halibut cheeks, along with sushi lines including ahi tuna and hamachi (yellowtail) from Japan.

“I also sell smoked salmon, which

Open Daily at 6 A.M. 208 N. 4th Avenue • Sandpoint, ID

Serving dinner 7 nights a week Reservations Recommended

Seafood

208.265.2000

41 Lakeshore Drive, Sagle www.41SouthSandpoint.com

Open wednesday&friday 620 N 5th Avenue 208.263.3474 flyingfishco.com

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Espresso • Beer/Wine • WiFi

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e d

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Eats & Drinks

with Beth Hawkins

THE LOCAL DISH MORE news and events foodies need to know I make myself,” Harper said. He also crafts his own cocktail sauces and salmon rubs, and house-smoked cheese and almonds. “We stock a lot of these items all the time, but we do take special orders,” he said. Flying Fish is Where all the Hidden Treasures Hang!

cold beer

great people!

Come

Join the

Fun! POOL TABLE, DARTS, GAMES MON-THURS 10am | FRI-SAT @NOON 208.946.0022 | 202 N. 1st Ave

>> downstairs

Hand Crafted Ice Cream Espresso • Baked Goods PanhandleConeandCoffee.com

208.265.8996

216 N. First Ave • Sandpoint, ID

open on Wednesdays and Fridays, from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.

Sweet Lou’s, 477272 Highway 95 in Ponderay, rolled out a mouth-watering new menu in May, and as co-owner Meggie Foust explains: “We’re spicing things up around here!” First up is the 60/40 burger, which is 60 percent beef and 40 percent bacon. “We did some research, and came up with this delicate balance of beef and bacon, ground together in blissful harmony,” Foust said.

Another tantalizing menu addition is the smoked salmon wrap – “for something a little lighter,” she adds. And finally, a Cajun sirloin steak served with grilled corn salsa. They’re open daily with a full bar, so best get going!

Is lunch your favorite meal? Café Bodega, 504 Oak St., is not only fun to visit – it’s situated inside the Foster’s Crossing antiques store – but it’s a “lunch place,” according to owner Dave Luers, who keeps the doors open daily from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. “We have great specials, and use local Wood’s meats – ham and roast beef.”

Inventive salads to try are the Mezza Salad, featuring organic greens with hummus and olive salad, turkey and freshly chopped vegetables, or the Taj Salad with curried chicken. “It’s super popular,” said Luers, “and we do an all-

Odie's

BAYSIDE GROCERY

ic

n pic

Sweet Lou’s new burger blends beef and bacon.

COURTESY PHOTO

vegan salad, too.”

And even though they’re all about lunches, Café Bodega makes a mean breakfast sandwich. “It’s on a croissant roll, made with grilled ham and farmfresh eggs. It’s delicious.” Breakfast for lunch – that definitely works!

The patio’s open at Jalapeños Mexican Restaurant, 314 N. Second Ave., which is just in time as a new menu rolls out. “We’re ready to go for summer, plus there will be some new tequila drinks that aren’t margaritas,” said co-owner Dave Vermeer.

Weekdays are always a cause for celebration at Jalapeños. Margarita Mondays is an all-day affair, and any 16-ounce margarita can be ordered at a 12-ounce charge; Taco Tuesday is from 5 p.m. until close with specials

Food sna

c

hot dogs | pizza ks sandwiches | Wood’s smokies hand-dipped ice cream beer, wine & ice rentals

kayaks | paddleboards | hydro-bike close to park, campground & Hiking

1591 Garfield Bay 208.263.9429 Open 7 Days a Week 146

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The Pie Hut

502 Church Street • Sandpoint, ID • 208-265-2208

Great Soups v Sandwiches v Pies

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on tacos, draft beers and margaritas; and Magic Wednesdays feature resident magician Star Alexander from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. “He’s a Vegas-quality magician,” said Vermeer.

Reserve your Monday dinner plans for Curry in a Hurry, located in the alley off of Pine Street (right next to Solar Roadways) at 723 B. Pine St. That’s where owner and cook Pete Hicks utilizes his skills to feed Sandpoint’s need for East Indian food.

Hicks traveled through India for 12 years with a music band, and took cooking lessons there so that he could cook their traditional food. “It gave me the basis to build and refine it,” Hicks said. After returning to the United States, Hicks would cook Indian food for friends. “It was a natural step to open Curry in a Hurry,” he said.

Hicks specializes primarily in north Indian curries, such as chicken tikka masala, and he always offers a vegetarian option. “The best seller is my own recipe, coconut chicken curry. It’s dairy free, and made with coconut milk, chicken and spices,” Hicks said.

To place an order in advance, visit Sandpoint Curry in a Hurry on Facebook – Hicks posts the menu on Thursdays and starts taking orders for Monday pick-up. He also welcomes walk-ins on Monday, the only day he’s

open, from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m.

If you’re hankering for a cold beer, Sandpoint has options. And people love options! Variety is the key to success at Idaho Pour Authority, 203 Cedar St., where there are 12 rotating craft beers on tap and more than 300 unique bottles of beer in stock.

Just across the street, Eichardt’s Pub combines a large beer selection with one of the town’s favorite atmospheres – plus frequent music from local and visiting acts. A half-block down, MickDuff’s Beer Hall, 220 Cedar St., pours the microbrewery’s own yearround and seasonal beers, including the Lake Paddler Pale Ale, in a funand-games relaxed environment. And finally, Laughing Dog Brewing, 1109 Fontaine Dr. in Ponderay, pours awardwinning craft beers on tap, plus they just added super-delicious flatbread pizzas, soup, sandwiches and salads to the menu. Like we were saying, options!

And on the wine front, Sandpoint’s venerable Pend d’Oreille Winery, 301 Cedar St., just keeps the award-winning wines pouring in their gorgeous, beautifully refurbished tasting room. Adjoining is the Bistro Rouge restaurant with its inventive seasonal menu that’s a perfect accompaniment to the wine. It’s a

Rice crusts & soy cheese now available

lovely place to bring out-oftown guests and show off the Belwood 301 building – one of Sandpoint’s finest architectural restoration projects. It makes us all proud to see our local treasures shine!

EATS & DRINKS

The newly unveiled “Bacon, Bacon, Bacon” flatbread pizza, one of several great combos at Laughing Dog Brewing. PHOTO BY BILLIE JEAN GERKE

sushi & Japanese cuisine open 7 nights a week

shogasushi.com//208 //208 265 2001 //

41 Lakeshore Drive, Sagle, Idaho 83860

Serving breakfast and lunch daily. dinner is Tuesday through Sunday.

102 N 1st Ave, Sandpoint 208-265-4311 • Spudsonline.com INSIDE COLUMBIA BANK

“Out of this W 263-9514 orld” Chicken salad sandwich

TANGO-CAFE-SANDPOINT.COM

with avocado & green salad

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

The Carolyn

215 S. 2nd Ave.

263-9321

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S. Second Ave.

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S. Fourth Ave.

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Map not to scale!

Fifth Ave.

1 Café Bodega 2 Cedar St. Bistro 3 Evans Brothers Coffee 4 Monarch Mountain Coffee 5 Panhandle Cone and Coffee To Schweitzer 6 Pine Street Bakery 0e 7 Flourish 8 Flying Fish Co. 9 Miller’s Country Store & Deli 0 Mojo Coyote at Schweitzer 9 Baldy Mountain Rd. - Odie’s Bayside Grocery = Tango Cafe q Winter Ridge w Baxter’s on Cedar e Chimney Rock at Schweitzer r CHOP t Connie’s Café y Di Luna’s Café u DISH i The Floating Restaurant o Forty-One South p Pie Hut [ Spuds Waterfront Grill ] S weet Lou’s \ Trinity at City Beach a Eichardt’s Pub & Grill s Idaho Pour Authority d MickDuff’s Brewing Co. Brewpub f Ol Red’s Pub Main g Bangkok Cuisine h Jalapeño’s Restaurant Cedar j Second Avenue Pizza k Shoga @ Forty-One South l Laughing Dog Brewing 1 ; MickDuff’s Brewing Co. Beer Hall

Coeur d’Alene

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Restaurants indexed by type of cuisine. Locate by number on dining map

BAKERIES, COFFEE & CAFÉS

DELICATESSEN & MARKET

1 Café Bodega

7 Flourish

2 Cedar St. Bistro

8 Flying Fish Company

504 Oak St., inside Foster’s Crossing at Fifth and Cedar. Revitalize yourself at Café Bodega, featuring an assortment of superior sandwiches, fresh-madesalads, soups, all organic espresso bar, whole leaf tea and fresh baked goods. Café available for catered evening events.

263-5911.

334 N. First Ave. Open at 7 a.m. daily.

European-style café in the heart of downtown Sandpoint on the Cedar Street Bridge. Exceptional coffee and tea drinks, premium gelato, delectable pastries, grilled gourmet sandwiches and wraps, and stone-baked pizzas. 2654396.

3 Evans Brothers Coffee

620 N. Fifth Ave. Every Wednesday and Friday we carry a select and limited supply of Sandpoint’s freshest seafood and sushi items. You’ll also find our Harper’s Own house-made smoked salmon, cheddar, and pepper jack cheeses. flyingfishco.com 263-FISH.

524 Church St. Located in downtown Sandpoint’s historic Granary Arts District. Enjoy exceptional coffees and espresso, including the popular Headwall Espresso Blend. Locally baked pastries, breakfast burritos and more. 265-5553.

9 Miller’s Country Store & Deli

4 Monarch Mountain Coffee

0 Mojo Coyote at Schweitzer

5 Panhandle Cone and Coffee

- Odie’s Bayside Grocery

6 Pine Street Bakery

= Tango Cafe

208 N. Fourth Ave. Open at 6 a.m. daily and roasting top-grade beans. Treat yourself to a classic or custom delight from the Espresso Bar, a cup of premium brewed coffee or tea, craft beer or wine. Baked goods, breakfast burritos, homemade soups and appetizer plates.

265-9382.

216 N. First Ave. Opens at noon Tuesday-Friday, and 8 a.m. Saturday.

Purveyor of handcrafted ice creams, espressos, and baked goods in downtown Sandpoint. Plenty of seating indoors, or hop on the Panhandle bike parked outside. 265-8996.

710 Pine St. European pastries, breads, homemade sandwiches, and cakes made using quality ingredients. Coffees, espresso drinks and teas plus indoor seating. Open Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

263-9012.

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301 Cedar St., Ste. 105 (enter on Third Ave.). Open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. until 4 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. Breakfast and lunch made with locally grown ingredients. Scrumptious fresh-baked pastries available all day.

Eat indoors, out on the patio, or take it to go. 263-5125

DINING GUIDE GUIDE

DINING GUIDE

1326 Baldy Mountain Rd. Wholesome goodness with a selection of fine deli meats and cheeses, bulk food items, pie fillings, and delicious fresh-baked pies, breads and pastries – plus soup and sandwiches to go or eat in, and takehome dinners. Inside seating. 263-9446.

10000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd. Enjoy a fresh Evans Brothers espresso and treat your sweet tooth to a warm scone.

Fresh-baked pastries, breakfast burritos and lunch specials. Fine selection of beer and wine. 255-3037.

1591 Garfield Bay Rd., Sagle. A unique store in Garfield Bay serving handdipped ice cream, root beer floats and old-fashioned candy! Let Odie’s pack your picnic with homemade sandwiches, restock your beer and ice, or enjoy a burger or Wood’s hot dog. Kayak and paddleboat rentals. 263-9429

414 Church St. in the Sandpoint Center atrium, Tango is a favorite for breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday.

Signature omelettes and lunch specials, fresh-baked goods, homemade soups made daily, and a barista bar. 263-9514.

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q Winter Ridge Natural Foods

703 Lake St. Sandpoint’s natural foods grocery store, with in-house deli, bakery, meat department, organic produce department and hot food and salad bars with indoor seating. Open daily, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. 265-8135.

ECLECTIC / FINE DINING 109 Cedar St. Open Monday through Saturday, serving lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., happy hour 3 p.m. until 5 p.m., and dinner 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. Daily specials, fresh local products. From steaks and chops to half-pound burgers, great salads, and Baxter’s signature Key Lime pie. 229-8377

e Chimney Rock at Schweitzer

10000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd. Fireplaces, comfortable seating in the bar, and diverse cuisine. Enjoy an extensive menu including high-quality steaks, hearty pasta, scrumptious salads and exquisite seafood. Open daily inside the Selkirk Lodge at Schweitzer. 255-3071.

47392 Hwy 200 Hope, at Hope Marina.

Completely rebuilt in 2015 with a new lounge, beautiful dining room, covered and open patios. Regional, handmade fare, fresh seafood, local products. Enjoy the views and that “on the lake” experience from decks or dining room. Lunch, dinner, Sunday brunch. 264-5311

o Forty-One South

41 Lakeshore Dr., Sagle. South end of the Long Bridge. Waterfront dining in an elegant lodge setting; exquisite service paired with innovative cuisine make for one of North Idaho’s premier dining experiences. Open 7 nights a week for dinner. 265-2000.

p Pie Hut

r CHOP

46624 Highway 200 at Holiday Shores in Hope. A casual, steak and seafood house with burgers and pasta, featuring the talents of executive chef Eddie Sneva from DISH at Dover Bay. See the new dining deck right on the water’s edge and take in the spectacular views!

Open daily at 4 p.m. 264-0443.

502 Church St. A gourmet café where the locals like to eat. Daily lunch specials include homemade soups, panini, pot pies, beef pasties, quiches and salads, plus fruit and cream pies. Open Tuesday through Saturday. 265-2208.

[ Spuds Waterfront Grill

323 Cedar St. Open at 7 a.m. daily.

Historic hospitality! Landmark Sandpoint restaurant is known as “a coffee shop with dinner house quality.” Serving made-from-scratch breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes of the highest quality.

255-2227.

102 N. First Ave. On Sand Creek overlooking the marina. Spuds creates everything from scratch; from every dressing, sauce and soup, to elaborate baked potatoes, loaded salads, unique sandwiches and desserts. Stay in or take it to go. Spuds Waterfront Grill, a landmark restaurant in Sandpoint since 1995. 265-4311

y Di Luna’s Café

] Sweet Lou’s

t Connie’s Café

207 Cedar St. American bistro café offering regional, sustainable foods including hand-cut steaks, homemade soups and vegetarian cuisine.

Check out our dinner concerts, posted online at www.DiLunas.com. Open Wednesday through Monday for breakfast and lunch. 263-0846.

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At Dover Bay Resort. Casual fine dining on the water. DISH at Dover Bay is open for the season, serving lunch and dinner seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. American grill menu with Pacific Rim influences. Full liquor bar.

265-6467.

i The Floating Restaurant

w Baxter’s on Cedar

150

u DISH at Dover Bay

477272 U.S. Highway 95 in Ponderay.

Open every day, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Terrific traditional and regional fare. Serving hand-cut steaks, freshly ground burgers, wild salmon and smoked ribs. Family-friendly environment. Full bar. Come hungry, stay late, eat well. 263-1381.

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h Jalapeño’s Restaurant

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; great selection of wines, beers and cocktails. Open Sunday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

255-7558.

314 N. Second Ave. A Sandpoint favorite for over 20 years offering both traditional and Americanized Mexican dishes in a fun family-friendly atmosphere. Full bar, patio seating, banquet facilities, gluten-free menu, quick to-go menu, indoor waterfall and fish tank offer something for everyone. 263-2995.

j Second Avenue Pizza

PUB-STYLE

215 S. Second Ave. Savor the piledhigh specialty pizzas, loaded with fresh ingredients on homemade dough, or calzones, specialty salads and sandwiches.

Gluten-free choices. Beer and wine, take-and-bake pizzas available. Free delivery; open daily. 263-9321.

a Eichardt’s Pub & Grill

212 Cedar St. Relaxing pub and grill mixes casual dining with seriously good food. Completely family friendly. More than a dozen beers on tap, good wines and live music. Upstairs game room with fireplace. Locally supported and nationally recognized since 1994. Open daily at 11:30 a.m. 263-4005.

k Shoga @ Forty-One South

41 Lakeshore Dr., Sagle. Premier sushi restaurant adjacent to Forty-One South. Sushi bar and magnificent sunset views overlooking Lake Pend Oreille. Plenty of non-sushi entrees as well. Open for dinner seven nights a week. 265-2001.

s Idaho Pour Authority

203 Cedar. Sandpoint’s premier craft beer store. Our friendly, knowledgeable staff will help you find the perfect beer among our 12 rotating taps and 300 bottled beers to enjoy with us or to take home.

We also have a great selection of ciders, wine by the glass, and gourmet cheeses and cured meat. 208-597-7096.

WINERY & BREWERIES

d MickDuff’s Brewing Co. Brewpub

l Laughing Dog Brewing

312 N. First Ave. Handcrafted ales in a family-friendly downtown atmosphere, brewing natural north ales and root beer. Menu includes traditional and updated pub fare – gourmet hamburgers, sandwiches and handcrafted soups.

255-4351.

1109 Fontaine Dr., Ponderay. Take a tour and taste handcrafted ales, IPAs, stouts, and the hoppiest beer anywhere. Open daily, 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Come to Firkin Friday, first Friday of every month, for a special batch of beer. Now serving brick oven flatbreads, sandwiches and salads.

263-9222.

f Ol Red’s Pub

; MickDuff’s Brewing Co. Beer Hall

202 N. First Ave. Relaxed atmosphere with six cold brews on tap, plus bottled and canned beer, along with wine.

Vintage Sandpoint signs on the walls make Ol Red’s Pub a place “where the hidden treasures hang.” Open Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. ‘til close; Friday and Saturday noon ‘til close.

REGIONAL/ETHNIC

& Brewery

220 Cedar St. Brewery tasting room boasts 10 taps, local bar art, free popcorn and weekly entertainment. Beer Hall is BYOF (Bring Your Own Food)friendly and has a beer for every taste.

Ages 21 and older. 209-6700.

' Pend d’Oreille Winery

g Bangkok Cuisine

202 N. Second Ave. Authentic Thai food, including a wide variety of vegetarian and gluten-free selections; fine selection of wine and beer, Thai tea, and coffee. Lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; dinner Monday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. 265-4149.

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DINING GUIDE

\ Trinity at City Beach

301 Cedar St. Locally made wines, tasting room, gift shop and Bistro Rouge in the renovated and historic Belwood301 Building. Live music on Friday and Saturday nights; lunch and dinner daily.

Sip, dine and shop. 265-8545.

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Advertiser Index 7B Property Management 119 A Glass Act 129 Albertson & Barlow Insurance Services 70 Alpine Shop 42 All Seasons Garden & Floral 48 Archer Vacation Condos 60 Artisan Gallery 48 Artists’ Studio Tour 49 ArtWorks Gallery 49 Barry Fisher Custom Homes 109 Beyond Hope Resort 61 Big Lake Recreation 42 Bird Aviation Museum 73 Bizarre Bazaar 64 Boden Architecture 119 Bonner County Fair 62 Bonner General Health 26 Business Improvement District 68 Café Bodega at Foster’s Crossing 139 Capital Financial 60 Carousel Emporium 32 Castle Realty of North Idaho 123 Century 21/Riverstone Co. 41 Chop Steak & Seafood 143 CO-OP Country Store 21 Coeur d’Alene Casino 77 Coldwell Banker Resort Realty 9 Dana Construction 125 DM Vacation Rentals 67 Dover Bay 58 East Bonner County Library 51 Evans Brothers Coffee 139 Eve’s Leaves 60

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Evergreen Realty 6 - Charesse Moore 57 Farmers Market 34 Festival at Sandpoint 133 Finan McDonald 22 Florascape Nursery 15 Fogarty Construction 129 Forty-one South 145 Greasy Fingers Bikes 72 Hallans Gallery 48 Heartwood Center, The 131 Hendricks Architecture 111 Highlands North Day Spa 14 Hive, The 79 Holiday Inn Express 50 Hope Marina 54 International Selkirk Loop 15 Jalapeños Mexican Restaurant 4 Janusz Studio by the Lake 49 Keokee Books 152-153 Keokee Marketing 134 KPND radio 131 Lake Pend Oreille Cruises 66 LaQuinta Inn 34 Laughing Dog Brewing 46 Lewis & Hawn - Sleep Solutions 16 Lewis & Hawn - Dentistry 31 Local Pages 132 MeadowBrook Home & Gift 45 Mickduff’s Brewing Company 144 Miller’s Country Store 70, 141 MQS Barns 108 Monarch Marble & Granite 111 Mountain West Bank 29 Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism103

North 40 Outfitters 5 Northwest Handmade 53 Odie’s Bayside Grocery 146 Old Church In Hope 72 Out of the Blue Eyewear 66 Paint Bucket 72 Pend Oreille Shores Resort 72 Pend d’Oreille Winery 36 R&L Property Management 66 Realm Realty 105 Realty Plus 116 ReStore Habitat For Humanity 32 River Journal 133 Rock Creek Alliance 126 Rogue Custom Tile & Stone 129 Sandpoint Building Supply 124 Sandpoint Business & Events Center 17 Sandpoint Marine & Motorsports 66, 40 Sandpoint Movers 71 Sandpoint Online 30 Sandpoint Optometry 17, 70 Sandpoint Reader 128 Sandpoint Sports 36 Sandpoint Storage 132 Sandpoint Super Drug 65 Sandpoint Surgical 44 Sandpoint Vacation Rentals 13 Sandpoint Watersports 38 Sandpoint Waldorf School 46 Sandpoint West Athletic Club 130 Schweitzer Mountain Resort 155 Selkirk Craftsman Furniture 112, 129

Selkirk Glass & Cabinets 28 Selle Valley Construction 3 Skeleton Key Art 48 Skywalker Tree Care 112 Sleep’s Cabins 73 STCU 121 SPOT Bus 130 Summit Insurance 19 Sunshine Goldmine 25 Super 1 Foods 18 Talus Rock Retreat 134 Taylor Insurance 39 Timberframes by Collin Beggs 117, 129 Tomlinson Sotheby’s International Realty 2, 114, 156 Cindy Bond 113 Rich Curtis & Karen Neilsen 74 Trinity at City Beach 4 Two Lakes Catering 16 Western Pleasure Guest Ranch 65 Winter Ridge Natural Foods 142

ADVERTISING INFORMATION

Get current rate sheet at www.SandpointMagazine.com Sales Director Clint Nicholson 208.263-3573 ext. 123 or e-mail: clint@keokee.com

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Marketplace 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

Over 26 years of rental management experience.

Tenant screening, rent collection, accounting, maintenance and marketing.

Residential, commercial and mini storage.

Friendly, prompt service. 204 E. Superior, 2634033. www.RLPropertyManagement.com

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.

Scandinavian countries represented in this specialty shop. Kitchen items, table tops, candles, electric candle holders, books, cards, rugs, pewter Vikings, mugs, Danish iron candle holders and year-round Christmas. 319 N. First Ave., 263-7722.

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

Special gifts for special people. Vera Bradley bags, Big Sky Carvers, Baggallini, Tyler and BeanPod candles, souvenirs, balloon bouquets, Hallmark cards, books, gift wrap, stationery. 306 N. First Ave., 263-2811.

North Idaho Insurance. 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

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

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SUMMER 2016

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SANDPOINT OF VIEW

Illustrator Bonnie Shields enjoys cartooning townsfolk. What more likely victim than our Sandy Compton – and “his” dogs? She found the picket fence on one of the streets he worked his paper route

Of dogs and paper routes

By Sandy Compton

W

hen I was 13, back in the 1960s, I undertook a Spokesman-Review route that began daily at 4 a.m. and encompassed town between Cedar and Larch from Second to Division. On that route were many dogs. Some of them were even friendly.

The papers landed on my front porch at about 3:30 a.m. From our house at Sixth and Alder, I walked south to Cedar and turned left, delivered the north side of Cedar, and turned left again on Second and began a back and forth grid, making my way west.

The first dog of note lived in Driftwood Apartments, a yapper that would invariably go crazy when I walked by its door. I never saw that dog. The next lived across Third inside a screen porch; a German shepherd who waited until I pushed the paper through the mail slot and then charged snarling and barking. I never got used to this. It scared the bejeesuz out of me every time.

I worked my way down Fourth, up Fifth and down Sixth. I crossed Boyer (part of someone’s motor route) and began the “western” grid. Up Forest.

Down Florence. Up Ruth. And then to the corner of Larch and Ella.

This corner – inhabited then by the ghost of Ella Street Grocery – was the northwest extent of civilization. Nothing

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north or west was paved until Division.

Jefferson and Washington were potholes and soft spots. Subscriptions were sparse. There was not much money west of Ella.

But there were dogs. Just south of the ghost of the grocery at 722 Ella was a huge willow (still there), a fence made of arched, ornamental twisted wire and a herd of dogs. I don’t remember them all, but there were many – six or seven.

One was a full-size collie. One was a small breed mixed with something else; a puggish sort of dog. Between was an assortment of sizes and breeds.

The dogs greeted me at the fence.

Then, they would each find a way across, under or through and fall in behind me; a dog parade at 5 a.m. down Ella Avenue. They were happy to be out, and I was happy to have them with me.

Another dog lived just down the street at 607 Ella. His name was, according to his owner of record, “Stupid.” But he wasn’t. He was smart and brindle and good-natured. He joined the rest with much butt sniffing, jostling, neck mounting and tail wagging. It was apparent Stupid was a boss dog. Even the collie, who towered over Stupid, was willing to follow.

After Stupid joined us each morning, we followed Ella to Cedar. Up Jefferson.

Down Washington, and then east on Cedar for one last delivery to a house on

the south side of the street that no one else would deliver to.

It was home to a huge and aggressive Siberian husky named Kris. Each morning, while the other dogs waited across the street, Kris confronted me bristling and snarling and snapping. I kept him at bay with my secret weapon, a piece of half-inch pipe wrapped in a newspaper. I used it only once, but such was the dog’s distress that I cried all the way home. He never forgave me, but he never again came near.

At Ella and Alder, the dogs who lived at 722 Ella went home; each finding their way back across, under and through that fence until next morning.

Stupid, however, would follow me home, climb up on our front porch, accept some love and attention, and curl up on the door mat until the man who lived at 607 Ella – who tipped well, by the way – would stop by on his way back from coffee at Connie’s and retrieve his, and my, dog.

Stupid was, I think, my first dog. But he wasn’t stupid.

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