Sandpoint Magazine Summer 2017

SANDPOINT M A G A Z I N E

KAYAKING

SUMMER 2017

magnificence

little boats, big adventures INSIDE: OFFICIAL SANDPOINT VISITOR GUIDE

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Interview with International Mediator Kenneth Cloke, Remembering Ruby Ridge, Mickinnick Trail Progenitor Nicky Pleass, Clagstone Meadows Goes Public, True Crime from the ‘Dark Side,’ Expanding Opportunities for the Bicycle Crazed, Feasting at the Festival, Stone Artist Mark Heisel, Calendars, Dining, Real Estate ... and should we say, more!

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www.TSSIR.com Anytime Info For recorded information or to speak to the listing agent, call 208.449.0071 and use the 5-digit property code.

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www.ThunderMtnWildlifeEstate.com $4,495,000 #15641 Moyie Springs, Idaho 83845

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www.MurphyBayWaterfront.com $2,125,000 #14771 Lake Pend Oreille-Sagle, Idaho 83860

www.PrivateLakesideLodge.com 1,725,000 #11131 Sagle, Idaho 83860

www.RanchAtWolfCreek.com $1,695,000 #15141 Metaline Falls, Washington 99153

www.HarmonyOnTheLake.com $1,485,000 #10841 Hope Idaho 83836

www.WarrenIslandShore.com $1,195,000 #15771 Hope, Idaho 83836

www.LogHomeLakesideRetreat.com $1,050,000 #15921 Lake Pend Oreille—Sagle, Idaho 83860

www.WestshoreWaterfrontHomeSites.com $995,000 #15371 Pend Oreille River—Laclede, Idaho 83841

www.BottleBayLakesideHome.com $849,900 #15151 Sagle, Idaho 83860

www.WestwoodWaterfront.com $845,000 #13311 Pend Oreille River—Sagle, Idaho 83860

www.HappyLakeHouse.com $775,000 #10781 Lake Pend Oreille—Sagle, Idaho 83860

www.MarinaTownCondo.com $649,000 #12651 Dover, Idaho 83825

www.WhiskeyJackLakefront.com $599,000 #10131 Sandpoint, Idaho 83864

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Cindy Bond Associate Broker, Owner GRI, CRS

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www.CindyBond.com

elping buyers and sellers see possibilities before they become obvious.

208.255.8360 | cindy.bond@sothebysrealty.com | 200 Main | Sandpoint

© 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. Sandpoint office: 208-263-5101, 200 Main Street, Sandpoint, ID 83864.

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www.TSSIR.com

39 KIENHOLZ DRIVE, HOPE $5,400,000 Gated Community, Private Beach w/500 frontage feet on the Cape of Art Loop

1735 LAKESHORE DR., SAGLE $2,300,000 MLS #20170315 Magnificent estate on 150+ feet of Pend Oreille riverfront & private dock/lift

608 SANDPOINT AVE, SANDPOINT $1,900,000 MLS #20170700 Stunning townhome at the Seasons with 3 balconies, private lakeside yard, 2 boat slips

32 GREATWATER CIRCLE, SANDPOINT $1,325,000 Very private Idaho Club residence with 3+ acres & views of the lake and mountains

153 CHUTES LANE, SANDPOINT $839,500 MLS #20163970 Modern chalet on Schweitzer Mountain w/ ski in/ski out access & luxurious touches

653 DOVER BAY UNIT #805, DOVER $795,000 MLS #20170915 Private 4 bedroom waterfront penthouse overlooking Pend Oreille River

702 SANDPOINT AVE #7111, SANDPOINT $595,000 MLS #20170379 Light and bright 3 bedroom/2bath end unit at the Seasons. Boat slip included

0 NORTHSHORE DRIVE, SANDPOINT $580,000 MLS #20170394 One of the last waterfront lots in Northshore with southern exposure & 100 feet of riverfront

702 SANDPOINT AVENUE #7103 $540,000 MLS #20162713 Impeccably appointed 3 bedroom/2 bath first floor residence at The Seasons

401 LAKESHORE AVENUE, DOVER $525,000 MLS #20170447 Build your dream home on this level, .72 acre parcel with 100 feet of riverfront

18020 E MT EAGEN LOOP, BAYVIEW $488,000 MLS #20170047 3 bedroom/2 bath townhouse overlooking Scenic Bay on the south end of Pend Oreille

702 SANDPOINT AVE UNIT #7109 $479,000 MLS #20170681 3 bedroom/2 bath residence in the lakefront Seasons at Sandpoint community

651 DOVER PARKWAY #902, DOVER $549,000 MLS #20171040 Immaculate 1st floor Marina Town residence with designer touches throughout

124 VILLAGE LANE #506, SANDPOINT $429,000 MLS #20160120 2 bedroom/2 bath White Pine Lodge penthouse in the Schweitzer Village

PENDING

259 CEDAR LANE, HOPE $419,000 MLS #20170740 Nostalgic waterfront home on south side of scenic Ellisport Bay with room to grow

Dedicated to the extraordinary the exceptional and the unique.

LOTS 21/22 & 20/23 SOURDOUGH PT., SAGLE Starting at $199,500 MLS #’s 20170341/20170345 Estate quality building lots in Sourdough Point, including boat slip

Chris Chambers www.ExtraordinaryIdaho.com 208-290-2500 chris.chambers@sothebysrealty.com 200 Main, Sandpoint, Idaho

© 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. Sandpoint office: 208-263-5101, 200 Main Street, Sandpoint, ID 83864.

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SANDPOINT Magazine SUMMER 2017, Vol. 27, No. 2

Contents

FEATURES

98

98 Cover: kayaks

Circumnavigating the lake (in three legs), and a week-long trip down the Pend Oreille River.

35 seeing with different eyes

olitical differences don’t stop local nonprofits from doing good things.

39 festival food

Buy it or bring it, the menu is delicious. lus

43 hope is happening

first-timer’s experience.

Almanac

12

Calendar

25

Interview Kenneth Cloke

29

Pictured in History

38

Photo Essay Real Estate

Birds, boats or beauty, there’s something for everyone in this little big town.

51 hand carved

Bavarian beauty Fast-growing business Crafting a shed Collin Beggs Marketwatch

Sculptor Mark Heisel has a reverence for stone.

59 It just gets inside of you Debut novel gains accolades nationwide.

63 New campaign, Old values Group kicks off effort to “Reclaim Idaho.”

Natives and

Cabinet of curiosities conceals dark side of Bonner County.

107 112 119 120 124 128

65 Museum unearths criminal past

Newcomers

131

68 Nicky Pleass, Awesome Octogenarian

Lodging

136

Eats & Drinks

137

Dining Guide

148

Sandpoint of View

154

World navigator still blazing trails.

75 happy trails

Bikers have many ways to get out and explore.

81 where the world ceases to exist Life on the lake generates memories that last through generations.

85 Cabinets, still wild

Popular hiking guide adds trails for a third edition.

86 A smaller hamster wheel A physicist and a doctor walk into a hardware store ...

89 Downtown street rearrangement Summer changes to Sandpoint’s downtown district.

91 Horses from the heart

43

Hope artist’s new book continues Whinny Nicker Neigh series for children.

On the cover: Skimming over the lake near the Green Monarchs. Photo by Woods Wheatcroft.

94 clagstone meadows

Pioneer ranchland opens to the public in August.

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Top: There are kayaking adventures galore to be had on Pend Oreille lake and river; read about them, beginning with our cover story “Circumnavigating Magnificence” on page 98. Photo by Darla Gregg

Above: This colorful market is one of many attractions in Hope, the “Little Big Town,” page 43. Photo by Marianne Love At left: The summer biking trails are open, and Charles Mortensen tells about the burgeoning biking scene in “HAPPY TRAILS,” starting on page 75. Photo by Doug Marshall.

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Publisher’s note

Many years ago, as editor for an outdoor adventure magazine, I did an interview with Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia and a man notable for expeditions around the globe to pursue climbing, kayaking and surfing. I asked him how he defined “adventure.” His reply: “It’s not an adventure until something goes wrong.”

This edition of Sandpoint Magazine – our 54th over 27 years, although who’s counting?

– is dedicated to adventure. There’s adventure in our cover stories about kayaking our glorious lake and river, although for our writers, thankfully, not much went wrong.

Stories on hiking, biking, a daring octogenarian and even a first time at the Festival all embrace adventure. And to go by Chouinard’s definition, we had a few adventures making a magazine when some features we planned fell through at last minute. Fortunately, around here there’s never a shortage of fascinating stories to be told. The final result is a ton of great stuff to read in this issue.

Some say it’s an adventure just to live in Sandpoint, but let’s take the idea even further with some words from Helen Keller: Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Here’s to a summer of good adventures for all of us.

-Chris Bessler

Above: An old-fashioned barn raising to build a shed. See

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story on page 120. PHOTO: FIONA HICKS. At right: Some families spend generations on the area’s lakes. See story on

page 81. PHOTO: COURTESY CLAIRE BISTLINE.

CONTRIBUTORS

Jim payne If Jim Payne isn’t in the water (not generally hot water, though) then he’s usually writing about it. This prolific author and inveterate kayaker was once a professor of political science at Texas A&M University, but moved to Sandpoint in 1985 to become an independent scholar. He has kayaked on, and written books about, over a dozen American rivers, as well as waterways in England, Chile and Holland. In this issue, he shares “An Adventure Close to Home,” a kayaking trip down the Pend Oreille River that was the adventurous 77-year-old’s 16th solo paddle (p. 98).

Nancy Gerth, a cat with many professional lives, was a university professor of philosophy who later

founded a computer software business. After a market downturn she moved to Sandpoint and began a business as a grant writer. Today, she’s a contract indexer for major publishers, a frequent volunteer, and true to her adventurous nature, is making her first appearance as a writer in Sandpoint Magazine. “Seeing with Different Eyes,” (p. 36) explores how local nonprofits do good despite their political differences, and she examines an award-winning deck of tarot cards in “Cards for Healing Humanity,” (p. 12).

mary terra-berns

was born and raised in Sun Valley and graduated from Texas A&M University with a master’s degree in wildlife and fisheries science. She went to work for Idaho Fish and Game in 2001.

A technical writer for years, she made writing and editing her focus after retiring from IDFG. In this issue she turned her eye to the “Little Big Town” of Hope (p. 43) and to fellow scientists (who also longed for a simpler life) in “A Smaller Hamster Wheel” (p. 86). This is Mary’s second year writing for Sandpoint Magazine.

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 Email: inbox@keokee.com Publisher Chris Bessler Editor Trish Gannon Assistant Editor Beth Hawkins Advertising Director Clint Nicholson Art Director Laura Wahl Layout and Ad Design Pamela Morrow Ad Design Robin Levy, Jackie Palmer ffice anager Susan tis IT Manager Landon Otis

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Contributors: Atom & Mars, Cameron Barnes, Randy Beacham, Sandy Bessler, Pat Bistline, Fred Colby, Sandy Compton, Cassandra Cridland, Erica Curless, Lynda Shenkman Curtis, Angela Dail, Kevin Davis, Joyce DeLaVergne, Karen Dingerson, Susan Drinkard, Susan Drumheller, Jason Duchow, Peter Fenton, Mary Franzel, Billie Jean Gerke, Nancy Gerth, Jasper Gibson, Carolyn Gleason, Misty Grage, Zach Hagadone, Rebecca Hagemann, Brenda Haase, Robert Hamilton, Jesse Hart, Will Hawkins, Fiona Hicks, Erin Hughes, Cate Huisman, Steve Jamsa, David Keyes, Bonnie Kirkwood, David Kretschmar, Jennifer Lamont Leo, Marianne Love, Terry McLeod, Juna Berry Madrone, Dick Martindale, Doug

Marshall, David Marx, Jim Mellen, Sandii Mellen, Charles Mortensen, Kathy Osborne, Jerry Pavia, Jim Payne, Cameron Rasmusson, Bill Schaudt, Nancy Schmidt, Carrie Scozzaro, Mary Terra-Berns, Dennis Thibault, Marie Dominique Verdier, Corey Vogel, Woods Wheatcroft, Will Young and Erin Zarafshan ©2017 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.

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YOUR SIMPLE LIFE STARTS HERE A MESSAGE FROM COLDWELL BANKER RESORT REALTY We have exciting news to share! Activity in our local market has picked up and we have been extremely busy. Our ill ta w lcom o to call o top o o fic at it on o o two location Downtown Sandpoint and Schweitzer Mountain Resort. om fi t int o ction w t at o li amil . loo o wa to lpin o wit any and all of your real estate needs.

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A L M A N AC

ealing h she makes CArds for humanity ^

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Jean Herzel’s love of nature is evident in the award-winning tarot deck she spent eight years crafting. PHOTO: PETER FENTON

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he earliest tarot decks, designed in the 15th century, were not created with mysticism in mind — they were playing cards. In the late 18th century they began to be used for divination and meditation. Nature Spirit Tarot is a locally created, award-winning design that, like many contemporary decks, breaks with the traditional interpretation of tarot as fortune telling, and strikes out into territories of personal growth and relationship. The aim of the cards is to empower us to think through options and reach decisions on our own. They remind us that, whichever direction the cards may point, the future lies in the hands of individuals.

Designed by Sandpoint resident Jean Herzel, the deck and its companion book are a treasure trove of the natural history of flowers, insects and feathery friends from all over the world. It is the result of eight years of work, following a lifetime of painting the spirit of nature. “ s I worked to capture just the right imagery for the message of this timeless tradition, I learned much about the psyche, and I deepened my connection with nature,” said Herzel. In total, she created 78 individual cards, along with the handbook. aybe that connection with nature explains its broad appeal. Nature Spirit Tarot won third place in the 2015 American Tarot Association’s competition, in which people from around the globe voted for their favorite deck. Taking third place was an impressive accomplishment, because the self-published deck competed against decks from major global publishers.

Interpretations are included in the companion book sold with the deck. For example, Her el’s Knight of entacles reminds the reader to focus on “industriousness, structure, organization, and bringing forward my practical side” — a side of which many often lose sight. Images on the card include the varied thrush, which is a “grounded bird,” and garlic, which inspires “courage, increases strength, and heightens stamina.” These gorgeous cards are born of the local spirit of Sandpoint, of the area’s connection with nature and the inspiration provided by our local flora and fauna. Nature Spirit Tarot helps the user access and interpret their individual inner guidance for spiritual development.

The boxed set is 2 plus shipping. rints from the original -inch-by- inch watercolors are also available.

by Nancy Gerth Learn more at www.naturespirittarot.com

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North Idaho’s flying jewels

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ummingbirds, among the smallest birds in the world, have brightly colored, iridescent feathers and are gifted with fast, darting flight and pinpoint maneuverability. The hummingbird flaps its wings up to 50 times per second, creating its signature humming sound, while its heart beats at rates exceeding 0 times per second. They fly up, down, forward, backward and even upside down. When hovering, they beat their wings in a figure-eight pattern. This energy expenditure requires them to consume two to three times their body weight by eating tree sap, nectar, and pollen, as well as small insects.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology offers a rich inventory of information about these birds. In addition to the above, it shares that: Hummingbirds have terrific vision, acute hearing and are highly intelligent, allowing them to remember every flower they have been to, and how long it will take a flower to refill.

Hummers prefer tubular flowers and their favorite color is red!

Hummingbirds are only found in the Americas, but range from southeastern laska to Tierra del Fuego, rgentina. f 0 species, only three enjoy summers in the Sandpoint area: rufous, calliope and back-chinned hummers start arriving in April and depart by early September. The rufous hummingbird migrates the farthest north of any other hummingbird, 4,000 miles, all the way from South America to Alaska. The calliope hummingbird is the smallest bird species in the nited States, at just inches long.

This delightful and beautiful little bird is very adaptable. Hummingbirds enter a hibernation-like sleep called torpor; the slowed heart rate and lowered body temperature allows them to survive colder temperatures. They

A female rufous in a rare moment of stillness. have evolved smaller feet to reduce drag while flying, which aids their aerodynamics.

Male hummingbirds display iridescent throat feathers, used to attract females during mating season. The rufous has a bright red gorget, while the black-chinned is purple and the tiny calliope has a magenta-striped neck.

It‘s no wonder these little creatures were called “flying jewels” by early Spanish explorers.

Photo and story by Karen Dingerson

musicians without borders

Conservatory exchange connects musicians north and south

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Guest conductors bring diversity to the Youth Orchestra Summer Workshop.

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he Music Conservatory of Sandpoint is located in the heart of town, but its impact reaches at least ,000 miles south into exicali, exico. In 20 2, Sandpoint members traveled there to visit the Center for Arts and Music’s Redes 2025 branch, and began a relationship of exchanging students and conductors.

Now, each July the Youth Orchestra Summer Workshop held here involves 50 to 60 local, regional, and international students in unique musical opportunities. guest conductor from exico provides exposure to a different perspective.

Musicians of varying abilities are encouraged to attend, and older students are paired with younger ones to provide assistance in the morning practices. In spite of language differences, the engagement of the students and their mentors is helpful and inspiring. In the afternoon, a chamber setting is used to challenge a smaller group of advanced students with more difficult pieces.

The summer workshop culminates in a performance that demonstrates the improved skills of the musicians, and highlights the cross-cultural benefits of sharing artistic expression. This year’s performance will take place at North Summit Church on Friday, July 21 at 3 p.m., and is free and open to the public. The church is located at 201 N. Division in Sandpoint.

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special ambassadors for business Panhandle Special Needs connects clients to the community

Ricky Wall, Seth Nolan and Bobby Clark keep various publications stocked throughout the area.

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anhandle Special Needs, Inc. has been making a difference for disabled adults in Bonner County since 5.

PSNI serves 80 to 100 clients a year who benefit from the agency’s focus on speciali ed employment training, individualized life skills training and adult day health services. It also operates a thrift store (The Cottage) and a retail greenhouse.

The secret of PSNI’s longevity and success is the

connection it has with the needs of the Sandpoint community, said Trinity Nicholson, a developmental disabilities administrator for the agency.

“PSNI gives back in many different ways,” she said. “Our clients really strive to be ambassadors for our partner businesses and it is great when it works out for both.”

Nicholson can quickly cite a list of area businesses that are long-term success stories. On top of the list is a possible reason you are holding this copy of Sandpoint Magazine: Through PSNI’s volunteer program, clients help deliver up to 30,000 magazines twice a year.

“It’s challenging work, but nearly every client wants this high-profile assignment,” she said.

Volunteer opportunities like this and others give PSNI a venue to teach its clients social skills, communication skills, task completion and responsibility while benefitting local businesses.

PSNI’s task is to match clients who have varying degrees of challenges with a situation where they can excel.

PSNI is always on the lookout for new partnerships. The Cottage is located at 1424 N. Boyer in Sandpoint and is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The greenhouse opened in early May.

by David Keyes Learn more at www.panhandlespecialneeds.org or call 208-263-7022

Holly McGaRRY keeps impressing crowds

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Sandpoint High School grad Holly McGarry now leads the up-and-coming band Honeysuckle.

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s a seventh grade student at Sandpoint Middle School, Holly McGarry performed in the talent show. A small girl, she nervously approached the mic wearing her hair parted down the middle, a tie-dye, long-sleeved t-shirt, and big, bulky, billowy cargo shorts.

“I had these cool skull shoes and a sweet red electric guitar with gold trim that I bought with everything I had. I was styling, as I recall,” Holly said.

Despite her tentative demeanor, Holly blew the crowd away and received a standing ovation for her rendition of “Blackbird,” by the Beatles.

“I can’t remember it at all. I was so scared I think I blacked out,” Holly, now in her early 20s, said.

While attending the Berklee College of usic in Boston, cGarry, Benjamin

Burns and Chris Bloniarz formed the band Honeysuckle, billed as “progressive folk.”

Holly is lead guitarist banjoist and vocalist.

Since the band’s inception four years ago, they started recording with Heavy Rotation Records, have received numerous music awards in Boston, played at the prominent Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago, and were chosen by NPR listeners as one of the “Favorite New usicians” for the first half of 2016.

While Holly’s clothing style may have changed since middle school, her ability to leave a crowd impressed is ever present.

The band is on the road this summer to spread the sweet nectar of their music to as many ears as possible.

Story and photo by Jasper Gibson Learn more on Facebook @honeysuckleband or at www.honeysuckleband.com

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Minerals, Salts, Forages, Feed Blends, and Pharmaceuticals Wildlife Blocks, Bird Seed Blends Bedding Plants, Soil & Garden Amendments, Organic and All Natural Fertilizers, Insect Control and Information Fencing by the Roll, Electric & Barb-less Wire, Stock Tanks, Pumps & Hose, Beekeeping Nutro Dog & Cat Food, Heated Pet Beds, Accessories and HealthCare, Toys & Carriers Nuts, Bolts, & Screws in Bulk

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Community Gardens A movement that’s blooming here

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Trust

Compassion

Expertise

Breast Cancer Benign Breast Disease Hernia Management Reflux Disease & Hiatal Hernias Gastric Ulcer Management Gallbladder Disease Thyroid Nodules & Cancer Diverticular Disease Hemorrhoid Management Colon Cancer Colonoscopy Upper Endoscopy Laparoscopic Surgery Skin Cancer Management Varicose Vein Treatment Vasectomy

JesseHartPhotography.com

Debbie Foster has been the manager of the GROW garden in Bonners Ferry for four of the past ďŹ ve years.

he community garden movement in the nited States is alive and well, even in major metropolitan areas. New ork City, for example, has more than 200 gardens in the five boroughs.

Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry, the two most northern counties in Idaho, each have vibrant community gardens.

The Sandpoint community garden and GROW (Gardeners for Regional Organic Wellbeing) in Bonners Ferry both began their ninth seasons in 2017. They depend upon volunteer energy to remain active.

Each garden offers beds for aspiring gardeners who lack gardening space. Additionally, they provide food to local food banks. GROW has donated more than 3 tons of food since its inception.

The garden in Sandpoint, located next to the Sandpoint Business and vent Center, has 2 raised-bed plots, of which six are exclusively used for the food bank. emaining plots are rented to local gardeners. There is also a community herb bed.

GROW is located behind the Trinity Lutheran Church in Bonners Ferry on land the church donated to the organization for the garden.

Last season, GROW added three beds for seniors, which are 12 feet long, 4 feet wide and 3.5 feet tall, allowing gardeners to work seated or standing.

The Sandpoint Community Garden and G W are nonprofits and use organic growing methods. No chemical fertilizers, sprays, etc. are allowed in either garden.

Local businesses and individuals generously support both gardens. Volunteers are always welcome and needed.

Story and photo by Jerry Pavia For information, call Sandpoint at 818-634-2839 or Bonners Ferry at 208-267-3235

SANDPOINT SURGICAL Associates

Dr. Nathan Kanning

Dr. Chase Williams

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Pine Street Woods May the forest be with you

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ublic lands, including National Forest, permeate Bonner County, yet there is no undeveloped, natural area easily accessible to the public near to Sandpoint city limits.

Kaniksu Land Trust, a nonprofit that envisions healthy lands as leading to healthy communities, wants to change that.

Just about a mile from the center of Dover and Sandpoint on top of Pine Street Hill lies a 160-acre piece of land owned by the Weisz family.

Cattle now roam this undeveloped property, and the owners do a little logging on it. It’s an area of gentle hills with open meadows featuring beautiful vistas of the Pend Oreille River and the valley below.

The land trust has raised $1.1 million to purchase this property.

They have a million still to raise and until arch 20 to do so.

Support has rolled in since the plan was announced in 2016. The Dover city council and several outdoor groups have jumped on board.

“We envision multiuse trails for walking, running, biking, crosscountry skiing, snowshoeing and picnicking, as well as places to just find solitude in nature,” said KLT xecutive Director ric Grace.

The property abuts the popular Sherwood Forest trails, which already attract hikers and bikers. With the addition of Pine Street Woods, outdoors seekers will find more friendly trails and breathtaking views.

by David Keyes Learn more at www.kaniksu.org or 208-263-9471

Kaniksu Land Trust is raising funds to purchase a piece of property atop Pine Street Hill, with views of Sandpoint and Dover, for public access. PHOTO: SANDII MELLEN

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CHAFE PEDDLES INTO 10TH YEAR OF FUNDRAISer challenge

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en years ago a group of community activists coalesced around the idea that Sandpoint’s gorgeous location could put it on the map for endurance bicycling events and be a way to raise money for local educational efforts as well. And thus the CHAFE 150 bike ride was born.

The event’s name was shorthand for “Cycle HArd For Education,” but the tongue-in-cheek “chafe” acronym was not lost on any who have contemplated the hours required on a bike saddle in order to pedal 50 miles in a single day.

Today, there are actually three rides. The granddaddy is the Gran Fondo, roughly translated from the Italian as “big ride.” It’s a 150-mile loop that takes riders from Sandpoint to Bonners Ferry to Troy, Montana, and through the

Bull River Valley before returning to Sandpoint along Scenic Byway 200.

That distance requires serious training, but there are two more modest options: an 80-mile ride, from Troy to Sandpoint; and the Piccolo Fondo, a 27-mile, family-friendly pedal from City Beach out to the Pack River Store and back again.

Initially started by the Panhandle Alliance for Education, in 2013 the event was taken on by the Rotary Club of Sandpoint and has become a major fundraiser devoted to helping students in the Lake Pend Oreille School District on the autism spectrum. Funds are raised by entry fees, ride sponsorships that each rider gathers, and dozens of event sponsors. The goal is to donate 100 percent of entry fees to the school district; so far, the event has donated close to $200,000.

“When we started, I knew that this ride could be popular over the long term,” said Sandpoint CPA Brad Williams who, with attorney Bill Berg, was an early organizer of the ride for the education alliance, and who is still involved via Rotary. “Our vision

A Grand Vision

Memorial Field improvements on track

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o far, so good. That’s the word from Sandpoint regarding the grandstand reconstruction phase of the estimated $4.3 million Memorial Field overhaul. “ ur anticipated open date for the new structure is June,” just in time for Sandpoint High School’s graduation ceremony, said Sandpoint City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton. “It’s been a tough year, however, for construction, with the winter we had,” she added. Some improvements, such as lockers, may take longer.

Other augmentations to the grandstand, which will accommodate an additional 600 seats, include bathrooms, storage below the grandstand, and asphalt resurfacing. The ticket booth has been relocated and a new gateway features two, 21-foot-long seating walls covered in bricks recognizing donors who have contributed to fundraising efforts via the Friends of Memorial Field organization. rimary fundraising has been through a percent sales tax, which Stapleton said yielded .2 million in the first 2 months of implementation. “We’re actually ahead of what (had

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Crews work on the Memorial Field grandstand reconstruction, as seen in early May. PHOTO: TRISH GANNON

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was that we would have the best organized charity ride in the .S. We stayed true to the vision, and we have an exceptionally well-organized event. Between the beautiful scenery, the light traffic and good organi ation, we have a terrific ride.”

Participants ride for a variety of reasons. Jim Mellen, who has ridden in the 50 six times, and rode the 80 last year, explained his motivation simply “When it’s over, I feel so good!”

Barb Perusse was never a hard-core bicyclist, but participated once in the CHAFE 80. “It was a self challenge,” she said. “It felt good to accomplish it.”

The challenge of it, said Brad Williams, “and the scenery (and the fabulous breakstops!) is what keeps riders coming back.”

The number who seek the challenge has risen each year. Last year, 280 riders participated, despite cold and windy weather.

This year’s ride takes place June 17, and registration is open now. There are food stations along the routes where snacks and energy drinks are provided. In addition, riders receive a meal and two drink coupons for the after-ride party at Trinity at City Beach, a variety of swag — and that good feeling of surmounting a challenge.

by Trish Gannon Learn more at www.chafe150.org

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been) anticipated in terms of sales tax receipts.” If revenue collections continue on pace, said Stapleton, they anticipate having funds left over, which will be slated for other city park improvements as provided for in the ordinance.

The next phase of the project may extend well into 20 and involves improving the field surface itself. n advisory committee, concluding with a comprehensive public input period, will decide on the options of replacing and upgrading with natural turf versus the more expensive option of replacing the grass with artificial turf.

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They call it Sandemonium For ‘all kinds of nerdy persuasions’

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Sandemonium participants enjoy a chance to dress up as their favorite characters from other worlds. PHOTO: CAMERON BARNES

n a gathering that’s hard to classify for the uninitiated, Sandemonium draws together the denizens of fandom for a break from the relentless outdoor fun of late summer in Sandpoint. It’s an indoor event, focused on fantasy and sci-fi books, comic books, movies and video games.

“Fandom is about people who like a particular story or world and want to get together with others interested in the same world,” said Sarah Alli Brotherton, a Sandemonium co-chair. Past conventions have attracted fans of Pokemon, Dungeons and Dragons, and Super Smash Brothers as well as indie writers, improv actors and bofferers. “In a big city, each of these things might have its own event,” said Brotherton, but here, people of “all kinds of nerdy persuasions” come together for a single convention.

Fandom, you’ll note, has its own vocabulary. Cosplay is the term for coming in costume, and in past years, dressing as a furry has been popularized by local artist Allison Wier. Last year she appeared as a sword-carrying, badgerdragon from the fantasy world of Elanthia, part of the medieval fantasy game DragonRealms. Boffers are foam weapons for battle gaming: Sandemonium offers bofferers opportunities to both build and battle with such weapons.

Brotherton, who in real life is a laboratory scientist at Bonner General, and fellow cochair Cameron Rasmusson, editor of alternative weekly Sandpoint Reader, work with a steering committee to run the event, which has drawn 300 to 500 people since it began in 2015. This year’s venue has yet to be determined, but the date is set for Aug. 26. Families are welcome.

by Cate Huisman Learn more on Facebook @sptsandemonium

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there’s heart behind it Talus Rock gets new managers

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isitors are often greeted by the fragrance of warm sourdough bread permeating the air, an invitation to come inside and experience comfort. It’s a signature of the new resident managers at Talus Rock, lexandra and Brian Taylor, a young couple brought in by owners Heather and Bruce Pedersen to handle things while they’re abroad doing humanitarian work. Revenue from Talus Rock helps fund the Pedersens’ mission to improve the lives of at-risk children. ccording to lex “It’s the reason Brian and I are really drawn to this place — the heart behind it. The outreaches that are done make the work we’re doing mean more.”

The property resembles a Tuscan-style villa, and inside, it’s a mix of upscale hunting lodge and whimsy: wood, stone, copper, color, pattern and elephants. ach guest room is unique, designed so even when full, the mood is restful.

In the kitchen, Brian shares his passion for food and their goals for meals: “We’re really into sustainability. I want to do a breakfast where everything, as much as possible, is grown or produced here, where the meals are made from scratch.”

Talus Rock Retreat is an outstanding bed-and-breakfast venue for weddings, reunions, retreats and couples seeking a romantic getaway. The Taylors are incorporating new events, including workshops on herbal tonics, nutrition and yoga, along with popular weekend yoga retreats with instructor Sarah Rusnak. Winter months have been enlivened with murder mystery dinners.

Brian summed up their plans: “We want to grow and have these (events) happening a few times a year.”

Talus Rock Retreat is located a mile outside of Sandpoint.

by Cassandra Cridland Learn more at www.talusrockretreat.com or 208-255-8458

Alexandra and Brian Taylor share laughter and a passion for their work at Talus Rock Retreat.

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They’ve Got Milk... in the raw Two dairies provide local, nutritious milk

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ne of the many joys of living in a rural area is access to locally produced foods. Along with fruits, vegetables, eggs, cheeses and meats, locally produced raw milk has once again made a splash on the locavore scene.

To the north, just past oyie Springs in Boundary County, lives a small herd of Brown Swiss cows. Their home is Springs of Hope Creamery. nder the watchful eye of Sam Wray and his family, these cows produce delicious Grade raw milk, some of which becomes kefir, yogurt and, in the not too distant future, cheese.

To the south, a short drive along Dufort Road in Bonner County will bring you to Otts Basin Road and the home of Paul and Debra Herndon of Pleasant eadow Creamery. Currently, five purebred Guernsey cows produce 2 2 raw milk — believed by many to be healthier — for local customers.

Products from both of these local raw milk creameries can be found at Winter Ridge Natural Foods in Sandpoint.

by Kathy Osborne

Above: Brown Swiss cows enjoy field time at Springs of Hope Creamery. Below: Paul Herndon works with his cows at Pleasant Meadow Creamery. C T S PHOTOS

bonner county fair hits 90

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hen the 2017 Bonner County Fair opens its doors Aug. 8, it will do so for the 0th consecutive time, and Fair anager honda Livingstone is planning for a big party.

“Ninety years. It’s a testament to what our community finds important about living here,” she said. This year’s fair theme is Remembering Our Roots. rior to 2 there were efforts by various community groups to put on a fair, but nothing seemed to catch hold, at least, not until the Kiwanis Club got involved. In 2 , with an exhibit hall at the community hall of the ethodist Church on Fourth and ak, plus livestock displays across the street at Anderson’s Garage, it generated enough interest and support that the county provided funding in 28 to continue the event.

The first fairgrounds were located next to War emorial Field in Sandpoint, but in construction was completed on a number of buildings on North Boyer, where the fair is still located today. Nearly 25,000 visitors came to last year’s fair.

Just as in 2 , the Bonner County Fair focuses on agricultural and livestock exhibFourth generation fair-goer Kami (McNall) its, though today there are side dishes of rodeo, motocross, elephant ears and bouncy Williams shows sheep much the same way her houses. The fair lasts through Aug. 12, and the rodeo takes place Aug. 4-5. great-grandparents did. PHOTO: MARIANNE LOVE

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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.

BonnerGeneral.org 003-038_SMS17.indd 16 03-14 BGH_S16-v3.indd 24 1

Bonner General Health (208) 263-1441 | 520 N. Third Avenue, Sandpoint, ID Bonner General Health Emergency Department (208) 265-1020 | 520 N. Third Avenue, Sandpoint, ID Bonner General Immediate Care (208) 263-0649 | 400 Schweitzer Plaza, Ste. 1, Ponderay, ID Bonner General Orthopedics (208) 263-8597 | 606 N. Third Avenue, Ste. 201, Sandpoint, ID Performance Therapy Services (208) 265-3325 | 423 N. Third Avenue, Ste. 150, Sandpoint, ID

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C alendar

C al e n da r May

See complete, up-to-the-minute calendars at SandpointOnline.com

HOT PICKS

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market. Open-air market every Wednesday and Saturday through Oct. in Farmin ark. 208-5 - 55 18-21 Lost in the ‘50s. 32nd annual Lost in the 50s features terrific musical acts each night, including the fab Righteous Brothers, plus car parades, street dance and shows.

Don’t miss it! Sandpoint.org/Lostin50s.

23 All Star Concert. Music Conservatory of Sandpoint’s most distinguished young musicians perform classical to contemporary at 7 p.m. in the Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave. 208-265-4444 25 Yappy Hour. A tail-waggin’ good time!

Bring your dog and enjoy a anhandle nimal Shelter benefit with live music, food and beverages, and fun from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. At Taylor Sons Chevrolet. 208-2 5- 2 25 SHS Spring Band Concert. Sandpoint High School band recital at the Panida, 7 p.m.

Panida.org

JUNE Sandpoint Farmers Market. Open-air market every Wednesday and Saturday through Oct. 14 SHS Choir Spring Fling in Farmin Park. anida hosts Sandpoint High School’s final concert of the school year at 6 p.m., featuring four choirs and many soloists. 208-5 - 55 Panida.org.

An arts classic

Sandpoint’s art lovers fill downtown venues to view local art during the beloved ArtWalk, sponsored by the Pend Oreille Arts Council — and this year marks the event’s 40th anniversary. The key to its successful run is the breadth of talented art, as well as the festive opening receptions, on June 16 this year. Visit more than 20 restaurants, retail locations and businesses where artwork is displayed in a cheerful atmosphere, often accompanied by complimentary hors d’oeuvres and drinks. Free and open to the public. Exhibits remain on display through Sept. 7. 208-263-6139. Find locations at www. artinsandpoint.org/events/artwalk

Sweet Serenade enefit Concert. Music Conservatory of Sandpoint staff perform pieces by great masters at 5 p.m. at First Lutheran Church, 526 Olive St., followed by a chocolate feast. $15 recommended donation.

208-265-4444

Hats off to the rodeo!

Now in its third year as a Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association rodeo, the Bonner County PRCA Rodeo is quickly becoming one of the biggest and best events in the region – recognized last year when the rodeo was awarded the Top Small PRCA Rodeo of the Year in the Columbia River circuit.

Besides great performances featuring top riders from Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Montana, this year’s event, held Aug. 4-5 at the Bonner County Fairgrounds, is a real party with tasty eats including Klondyke’s BBQ ribs, the Kiwanis dessert cart, a beer garden and more. 208-263-8414. New this year: online ticket sales at www.bonnercountyfair.com

11 Bay Trail Fun Run. Fifth annual 5K/10K benefits the end d’ reille Bay Trail. 2082 5- 5 5 15-16 Music of Love and Inspiration. Pend Oreille Chorale and String Orchestra presents their spring concert at 7 p.m. each night in the First Lutheran Church. Free admission.

208-2 0-2 16 ArtWalk. See Hot Picks.

17 CHAFE 150. Sandpoint Rotary sponsors annual benefit ride, a 50-mile route through Idaho and Montana, or opt for the half CHAFE at 80 miles or the 27-mile fun ride.

CHAFE150.org. See story, page 18.

17 Challenge of Champions. Biannual bull riding and barrel racing contest at the Bonner County Fairgrounds. BonnerCountyFair.com.

24 June Blooms in Hope quilt show. Clark Fork alley uilters holds its quilt show from a.m. until 4 p.m. in the Memorial Community Center, 415 Wellington Pl., Hope. 208-264-5375

Strength of empowerment

Founded by Sandpoint’s Lindy Lewis, Underground Kindness is a nonprofit that focuses on empowering students, supporting teachers and connecting community. In a typical school year, Lewis and her team of compassionists present more than 400 classes — that’s a lot of connecting! To fund this program, UK holds its fifth annual Shangri La At The Lake – a family-friendly evening of eating, drinking, dancing, auctions and inspiring presentations – July 8.

Proceeds help support programs in both the public schools and the Juvenile Justice Center. 208-255-8082. Tickets and info at www.undergroundkindness.org

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Cheers to Fall Fest

For 25 years, Schweitzer Mountain Resort has celebrated the return of cooler weather with its famous Fall Fest! This year, to celebrate such an auspicious anniversary, the resort adds Friday night festivities to the well-established, four-day free music schedule, happening Sept. 1-4. More than 100 beers and ciders will be on tap, with glassware available for pre-purchase online at Schweitzer.com. Saturday and Sunday, there will be shuttle transportation to town — or stay right at the resort. 208-255-3081. www.schweitzer.com.

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FESTIVAL at Sandpoint

The 35th 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 August 3–13. Buy individual tickets by calling 208-265-4554 or go to www.FestivalatSandpoint.com. Gates open at 6 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 4:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Thursday, Aug. 3: Pink Martini Pink Martini performs its multilingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout the world. The 12-musician band just released its ninth studio album, “Je dis oui ” It features 5 tracks spanning eight languages, affirming the band’s 22-year history of global inclusivity and collaborative spirit.

25 7B Sunday. Season opening celebration at Schweitzer Mountain Resort with free chairlift rides, family activities, plus beer and wine tasting. 208-255-3081 29 Yappy Hour. At Greasy Fingers Bikes N Repair. See May 25.

29 Summer Sampler. Taste fine cuisine from area restaurants, plus enjoy cook-offs and live music in Farmin Park; sponsored by the Greater Sandpoint Chamber. 208-263-2161

JULY 4 Fourth of July Celebrations. 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. 208263-4118

Friday, Aug. 4: The B-52s: Nearly 40 years and 20 million albums into their career, The World’s Greatest Party Band remains one of rock music’s most beloved musical groups. From groundbreaking songs like “Rock Lobster” and “Private Idaho“ to hits like “Love Shack” and their Funplex CD, the B-52s’ dance-rock tunes start a party every time their music begins!

Saturday, Aug. 5: Jake Owen: A fast-rising star, Jake Owen was named American Country Music Awards’ Breakthrough Artist of the ear in 20 2 and the No. hits just keep coming, including “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” “The One That Got Away,” “Anywhere with You,” “Beachin’” and, most recently, “American Country Love Song.”

Sunday, Aug. 6: Family Concert: The Frog Prince: 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. 10: The Head and The Heart: American indie folk band The Head and The Heart’s influences include mericana, country-rock, and classic Beatlesque pop. The six-piece Seattle band reached No. on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums and Alternative Albums charts for the first time with its latest studio album, “Signs of Light.” Opening is The Roman Candles. Arrive early for microbrew tasting.

4 Silverwood Fireworks Extravaganza.

Celebrate the Fourth at Silverwood Theme ark with patriotic music and fireworks at dusk. 208-683-3400 4 Fireworks at Hope. Fireworks show for the community. The show always starts at dusk on the 4th, and lasts around 30 minutes.

Sponsored by Hope businesses.

13 An Evening with Kenneth Cloke. Free presentation by conflict resolution specialist.

(See interview on page 2 .) Columbia Bank Community Room 5:30 p.m. Sponsored by Keokee Publishing and KRFY. 7 Sense the Wind. Sandpoint Sailing Association sponsors screening of inspirational documentary about blind sailors learning to race sailboats, followed by with film’s director and producer. p.m. in the Panida Theater. Panida.org.

7-9 Sandpoint SummerFest. Eureka Institute’s annual weekend festival of family music, arts and culture. Eureka-Institute.org.

208-263-2217 8 Classic Boat Festival. Wooden boats, water-themed activities, contests and more along Sand Creek; sponsored by Inland mpire ntique Classic Boat Society. inlandempireacbs.net 8 Beerfest. Sample local brews and enjoy a festive block party, sponsored by the Greater Sandpoint Chamber. SandpointChamber. com. 208-263-2161

Friday, Aug. 11: Iration/The Wailers: Iration is an alternative/reggae group of musicians formed in California, with a deep-rooted reggae influence fused with elements of rock and pop to create smooth original sounds. “We’re all about luv,” states the band. Iration double bills with The Wailers, a reggae band formed by the remaining members of Bob arley the Wailers after arley died in 8 . Get ready to groove

8 Shangri La at the Lake. See Hot Picks.

Saturday, Aug. 12: George Thorogood and the Destroyers: It’s gonna be a Rock Party as George Thorogood and the Destroyers bring their “high-energy boogie-blues” sound to emorial Field. staple of 80s rock radio with hits like his original songs “Bad to the Bone” and “I Drink Alone,” Thorogood also helped popularize older songs by American icons, such as “Move It on Over” and “Who Do You Love?” Opening is The White Buffalo.

Sunday, Aug. 13: Spokane Symphony Orchestra: Maestro Gary Sheldon conducts the Nordic Nights Grand Finale featuring soloist Tien Hsieh on piano. Fireworks cap off the concert. Arrive early for Taste of the Stars complimentary wine tasting at 4:30 p.m.

acey s Race. Competitive 5K race and 1K kids’ fun run at Sandpoint High School benefits local children with cancer or lifethreatening illnesses. Jaceys-Race.com.

13 Festival at Sandpoint Art Unveiling. Fine art poster for the festival unveiled at Dover Bay. FestivalatSandpoint.com. 208-265-4554 13 JJ Grey and Mofro. Rocking show hits The Hive, 207 N. First Ave. livefromthehive. com..

15-16 Northwest WineFest. Outdoor concerts, wine tasting, plus family activities, at Schweitzer Mountain Resort. Schweitzer. com. 208-255-3081 15 Bodacious Bluegrass BBQ. 34th annual Bodacious BBQ fundraiser at the

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Litehouse Beach House on Highway 200.

MemorialCommunityCenter.com. 208-2645481 10 Music Conservatory of Sandpoint summer concert performance, 3 p.m., North Summit Church. 208-265-4444 orthwest oga east. Eureka Institute’s 8th annual experience that frees the spirit, feeds the soul and nurtures the tummy ureka-Institute.org. 208-2 -22

18-20 Artists’ Studio Tour. See Aug. 11-13.

20 MacBeth. Montana Shakespeare in the Parks performance at 6 p.m. at the Bonner County Fairgrounds. Opening act features Shakespeare Theater students from the Music Conservatory of Sandpoint. Sponsored locally by Lost Horse Press. 208-255-4410 26 Sandemonium. Sandpoint’s version of Comic-con offers loads of fun. Location TBA. See story, page 20.

27 Yappy Hour. At Trinity at City Beach. See May 25.

31 Yappy Hour. At Evans Brothers Coffee.

See May 25.

Crazy ays. Downtown merchants offer big deals in annual sidewalk sale. Sponsored

by Downtown Sandpoint Shopping District.

SEPTEMBER

AUGUST

2-3 Coaster Classic Car Show. Nostalgic cars at Silverwood Theme Park.

SilverwoodThemePark.com. 208-683-3400

3-13 Festival at Sandpoint. See Festival at Sandpoint calendar.

4-5 PRCA Rodeo. See Hot Picks.

4 Aftival: Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. The Hive, 207 N. First Ave., hosts annual Aftival concert series at 0 p.m. (doors open at p.m.), following the Festival at Sandpoint.

Ticket info: LiveFromTheHive.com.

5 Long Bridge Swim. Hundreds compete in a 1.76-mile swim across Lake Pend Oreille during 23rd annual event. LongBridgeSwim. org. 208-265-2615 6 Schweitzer Huckleberry Color Fun Run. Join the crazy, colorful fun at Schweitzer Mountain Resort — a perfect outing for the entire family! Schweitzer.com. 208-255-3081 8-12 Bonner County Fair. Old-fashioned country event at the Bonner County Fairgrounds, concluding with a Demolition Derby on Saturday night (Aug. 12) to round out the fun. BonnerCountyFair.com. 208-2638414 11-13 Artists’ Studio Tour. 13th annual self-guided driving tour of working studios through North Idaho over two weekends.

ArtTourDrive.org. 208-263-2161 11 Aftival: Beats Antique. See Aug. 4.

1-4 Schweitzer Fall Fest. See Hot Picks.

9 Injectors Car Show. The Injectors Car Club hosts the 18th Annual Powered by the Past Injectors Car Show, a.m. until p.m. in downtown Sandpoint. SandpointInjectors. com. 208-2 - 80 Sept. 9-10, 16-17, 23-24 Community Appreciation Weekends at Silverwood. discounted admission rates plus help local food banks! silverwoodthemepark.com. 208-6833400 11-16 WaCanId Ride. Tour two states and one province on the th annual 350-mile/560-kilometer WaCanId Ride, presented by the International Selkirk Loop and Rotary International. WaCanId.org. 888-8232626 17 Scenic Half. Presented by the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, this th annual event features a half marathon, plus 10K and 5K fun runs. ScenicHalf.com. 208263-2161 21-24 Idaho Draft Horse and Mule International. The Northwest’s largest draft horse and mule expo at the Bonner County Fairgrounds. IdahoDraftHorseShow.com.

2085

11 Challenge of Champions. See June 17.

28 Yappy Hour. At Eichardt’s Pub. See May 25.

12 Wings Over Sandpoint Fly-In. Pilots fly into Sandpoint Airport, or Dover Bay for seaplanes, during the 12th Annual Fly-In. Breakfast and aircraft display. Sponsored by Sandpoint Chapter . 208-255- 5

30-Oct. 1 Crosstoberfest. Sandpoint Cyclocross hosts event at the I xtension on North Boyer. facebook.com SandpointCyclocross

12 Aftival: The New Mastersounds. See Aug. 4.

12-13 Arts & Crafts Fair. POAC’s 45th annual juried art exhibit at Sandpoint City Beach, with artists’ booths, kids’ activities and more. rtinSandpoint.org. 208-2 12-13 DH Enduro Jam Bike Race.

Schweitzer Mountain Resort hosts a downhill bike event, with practice course open Aug. 12 and the race held Aug. 13. Schweitzer.com.

18-19 Spokane-to-Sandpoint Relay Race. 10th annual “Scenic Relay Race” begins atop Mt. Spokane and travels 185 miles through 15 cities en route to the finish line at Sandpoint’s City Beach.

SpokanetoSandpoint.com. 541-633-7174

OCTOBER Weekends in October: U-Pick Pumpkin Patch. Fifth year of festive family fun at Hickey Farms, 674 Hickey Rd., with a pumpkin patch, games, local artisan products and more. 208-263-3782 Scarywood Haunted Nights. Silverwood Theme Park transforms into Scarywood, weekend evenings in October.

SilverwoodThemePark.com. 208-683-3400 14 Harvest Fest. Sandpoint Farmers Market closes out the season. Entertainment, food booths, activities, displays at Farmin Park.

SandpointFarmers arket.com. 208-5 3355.

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Kenneth Cloke Co-founder of Mediators Beyond Borders offers local/global conflict resolution

by Trish Gannon photos by Dennis Thibault

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n the summer, Kenneth Cloke relaxes with his wife Joan at his home in Hope and writes books – counting second and third editions, 10 of them to date. The rest of the year he works with two organizations he founded — the Center for Dispute Resolution in Santa Monica, California, and the globally based ediators Beyond Borders — in the quixotic idea that he and others can use the tools of mediation to save the world.

Cloke earned his juris doctorate from Berkeley’s Boalt Law School, a h.D. and a master of laws from CL , has done post doctoral work at ale niversity School of Law and is a graduate of the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada. He has served as an administrative law judge, and is an adjunct professor of law at epperdine niversity’s School of Law, Strauss Institute Southern ethodist niversity Saybrook niversity and the niversity of Southern California.

He has applied that substantial resume to conflict resolution work in more than 20 countries, including Greece, Nicaragua, kraine, imbabwe, India, akistan, Cuba, Bra il, Ireland and the former SS . He is a pioneer in the field of mediation and dispute, and his specialty is in resolving complex, multi-party conflicts.

His most recent book, “The Dance of pposites xplorations in Mediation, Dialogue and Conflict Resolution,” calls for a new vision in conflict resolution, looking for ways to open “heartfelt communication between opponents.”

You went from a traditional legal career into mediation. What attracted you to the field and why do you devote so much of your time to it?

There are so many problems with the law. For example, the law is quite formal, but the best problem-solving is done informally it is highly logical, but every conflict has an emotional component that needs to be addressed it is incredibly expensive and time consuming, but that puts it beyond the reach of many people who need help; its purpose is to decide which of two sets of facts are true, but it produces unfair results when both sets of facts are true. Justice and fairness happen far more often in mediation than they do in court, and nearly everyone appreciates being listened to and retaining control over outcomes, rather than denouncing each other and hoping a judge will see their position.

What is the Center for Dispute Resolution and what do you do within it?

I became a mediator in 80, founded the Center for Dispute esolution in 8 , and have mediated thousands of disputes of all kinds over the last 36 years. Instead of administrating I wanted to mediate, so as it grew the center has developed into a small group of people who share cases and ideas.

You also founded the global organization Mediators Beyond Borders in 2006 to “build local skills for peace.” Why, and

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what does that look like in practice?

Instead of always looking to war to solve global problems, we need to build the capacity of people in local communities to resolve their differences through dialogue, collaborative negotiation and mediation. We are a small group of volunteers who work in various countries without pay for example, I went to thens several times to train Greek mediators to conduct dialogues between immigrants and Greek citizens.

One of your last books was “Conflict Revolution: Mediating Evil, War, Injustice and Terrorism.” That seems… audacious in its scope.

Yes, it was audacious, which meant I had to approach it with an equal amount of humility. Every effort to resolve a conflict is audacious, because the people who are in it are stuck and have probably been stuck for a long time. Over time, I discovered the power and reach of this process.

If I have learned some skills that might be useful and could possibly help resolve a conflict, who am I not to try?

You’re involved with Mediators Beyond Borders’ developing Rwanda project.

What is that and what role do you play?

The wanda project is trying to build the capacity of people in communities to resolve conflicts, especially those between Hutus and Tutsis. I am now an advisor to the project.

Both your organizations use conflict resolution tools to address largescale conflicts are they more difficult to resolve than family conflicts?

Over several decades mediating both large and small disputes, I’ve learned that the ways we respond to conflict are very similar, for heads of nation states and for children on a playground. Some conflicts I’ve mediated have involved major disputes between rmenians and erbaijanis, krainians and ussians, Muslims and Hindus, Palestinians and Israelis. Others have taken place inside or between Fortune 500 companies, governments, political organizations, universities, school districts, labor and management, etc. I’ve learned at least as much by medi30

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When not writing books, or mediating global conflicts, Ken Cloke enjoys getting out on the water.

ating personal disputes between spouses, family members, parents and children, and estranged siblings – even kids who commit crimes and their victims, or between children in schools.

What might your approach to a typical family dispute look like?

In one family, two brothers had not spoken for 15 years, and their two sisters convinced them to try mediation. I began by asking each of them the same question: What words would you use to describe the

kind of family you most want to have? The younger brother said “honest,” the older brother said “respectful,” the younger sister said “caring,” and the older sister said “supportive.” I then asked, “Does anyone disagree with any of those words?” No one did, and I said, “Congratulations, you’ve just reached consensus,” and they laughed. I then asked, “Are each of you prepared right now, in this conversation, to begin living up to those words?” And they all said yes.

Finally, I asked, “Do each of us have permission to stop the conversation if we begin

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moving away from those words?” Again they said yes, and I began with the youngest brother, asking him why he chose the word “honest;” did he feel he had been lied to? He said “yes,” by his older brother, and described a time when they were children when his brother had not only lied, but forced him to lie too. Gradually, in this way, we were able to reveal what had happened, an act for which his brother apologized, and the sisters agreed to organi e their first family holiday in 15 years.

And you believe disputes between countries are similar to that?

I designed a dialogue that took place between ordinary Israelis and Palestinians, that began by asking them to identify what they were proud of about their culture, to tell a story about what they or their family had suffered as a result of the war, to describe what their side was doing that was destructive or counterproductive to the other side, and to say what kind of life they wished — not just for their children, but for their grandchildren’s grandchildren — and then, one thing they were willing to do to help make that possible.

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Why is conflict such a normal part of our lives?

We experience conflicts because everyone is different, every person is different from one moment to the next, and our needs and interests often clash. At the same time, we are also similar to each other and some part of us is the same from birth to death. So these basic facts create the possibility of both conflict and resolution.

Mostly, conflicts represent the presence of two truths: perhaps two inner truths we are torn between, or two social truths that rep-

resent different goals or possible futures. All growth and change creates conflict; yet it’s not conflict that produces most of our problems, but the way we respond to it and how we think, feel and act in its presence.

You have written: “There is a better outcome than winning and losing.” But it seems written in our DNA that we can either be a winner or a loser. How do you lead people to change that thinking?

It isn’t easy, because that is our assumption, and what makes it more dif-

ficult is the possibility of moving beyond winning and losing only appears when we sit down with our opponents and listen to what they are actually saying, not so much in words, but deeper, beneath the pain and anger, beneath the accusations and defenses. This is not compromise, which is a cheap option, but something entirely new.

For example, there are two ways to combine things. First, you can add cold water and hot water and get lukewarm water. That is compromise. Second, you can add water and flour and heat and make bread. That is what we are trying to do, make bread.

You also suggest that individual transformation is not enough, we must also work on community and cultural transformation. Why? If we only change our communities, cultures, societies and systems, and don’t change ourselves, we will return sooner or later to those deeper patterns. And if we only change ourselves, we will find it difficult to continue being friendly or kind or skillful when others treat us badly. As a result, we need to do both. Sometimes one or the other is more important, but deep change requires both.

Can you give three steps that might help someone reading, who is experiencing a conflict, to reach a resolution?

There are probably thousands of steps each of us can take to improve our ability to resolve disputes, but if I were to narrow it down to three, it would be these: 1. Stop arguing and start listening and asking questions to find out what the other person has experienced, how they feel, what they want and why that matters to them.

2. Look below the surface to discover what is really going on, what the other person really cares about.

3. Tell the truth, but do so empathetically and not judgmentally, as though it were you it was being told to.

Is it possible to successfully mediate disputes in an age of “alternative facts?”

Yes. Everyone in conflict uses “alternative facts” to describe themselves and others – or tells the story about what happened only from their point of view. Also, people are not always clear in the beginning 32

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I n t e rv i e w about what they want and instead become accusatory or defensive. However, if we ask what we would want if it were us, that can help us find the questions that may reveal the truth they they are reluctant to share, or have been hiding from, or don’t want to think about. This is not easy, but if we listen carefully to their stories, what they want appears, even when it is disguised, for example, as an accusation, or as anger, loss or fear.

Our country is badly politically polarized.

How might we find less contentious ways to address our problems?

This is what I will be writing about this summer. If we think of politics just as social problem solving, it’s clear that we will do better at solving problems if we welcome diverse ideas about how to solve them, and can bring them into dialogue with each other. We all know this when it comes to large, threatening problems like , but we become polarized and lose our ability to listen and learn from each other when it comes to smaller issues that still feel important to us. Political conflicts can be

seen as having three parts: First, there have to be two or more individuals or groups, each with different beliefs, ideas, opinions, needs and interests.

Without this, there can’t be a conflict.

Second, there has to be an inequality in power between these individuals or groups, in terms of their ability to implement their diverse beliefs, ideas, and opinions. Without this, the conflict won’t be political.

Third, there has to be an adversarial, win/lose process for problem solving or decision making that pits these groups against each other, allowing only one to win.

Without this, the conflict won’t be polarizing.

Conservatives and many on the right often seek to reduce political conflict by decreasing diversity, or boosting respect for accepted, conventional ideas and supporting established authority; liberals and many on the left seek to do so by increasing equality, drawing attention to new and diverse ideas, and supporting the freedom to argue for and implement them. Neither side, however, focuses much attention on the adversarial win/lose nature of the political process, without which diversity and

A Conversation About Conflict

G

ot conflict? If you’re a

human being, yes, there’s going to be conflict at some time in your life. Groups, communities and – especially in our politically divided times – local, state and national governments must work through disputes and conflicts. But is it possible to deal with conflict in healthy and productive ways?

Achieving that balance will be the subject of a talk by international mediator Kenneth Cloke in “A Conversation about Conflict: What Causes It, What it Means and How to Handle it Better,” coming Thursday, July 13. His talk will be held at the Columbia Bank Community Room, 5:30-7 p.m. It’s free and open to everyone and is sponsored by Sandpoint Magazine and 88.5 KRFY Community Radio.

“We all experience conflicts throughout our lives, but do not spend enough time figuring out what causes them, what they mean, and how to handle them better,” said Cloke. “Yet in recent years, much has been learned about conflict resolution, giving rise to new methods of communication and techniques that can help us understand our conflicts better and become more skillful in the ways we handle them.”

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n

inequality do not result in polari ation.

So what we mostly need to do is talk to each other in ways that promote learning and search for solutions that don’t require winners and losers, exactly as people often do in mediation.

Can conflict resolution be self-taught?

want it. So spouses and couples can learn to ask each other questions like “Why is that important to you?,” “Why do you care so deeply about that?,” “What does that mean to you?,” or, “Is this conversation working?” And if it’s not, “What is one thing I could do that would make this conversation work better for you?” The list is endless.

Yes, it can, but we are our own worst teachers, and do not make very good students, so it takes a while. For example, in conflict resolution, an “interest” is not what someone wants, but the reasons why they

You wrote: “At the moment, we are not even close to being able to respond sensibly or successfully to global disasters, let alone able to accept

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responsibility for solving the far more arduous problem of becoming ecologically sustainable in the long run. What is worse, the skills we need to leverage these changes are widely regarded as optional, too expensive, “touchy-feely,” and threatening to the social, economic and political status quo. How, then, do we overcome these obstacles?” So, what’s the answer?

Our problems are increasingly global in scope; small problems that used to impact small, local areas can now impact all of us globally. Think of bird flu, or Ebola, or the Zika virus, all of which can easily cross the invisible borders of nation states. To solve them, we need to work closely with the people, countries and cultures where they appear, and because neither military force nor lawsuits can stop them, we need to work together. We are still far from being able to do this skillfully.

Much of your writing is driven from your concern over serious global issues – like climate change – that we seem to be unable to effectively address. What drives your urgency, and do you think the list of threats has changed?

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Just in terms of population, we are changing the planet, and we haven’t yet recognized that natural systems that have been in balance for centuries can be thrown off balance by small, seemingly insignificant local changes. The air we breathe comes from the ocean and from forests and jungles, in large part from the Amazon River basin, but the current trend is toward deforestation and warmer oceans, which gradually reduces the amount of oxygen available for us to breathe. To solve these, or any other problems, we need skills in informal problem solving, open and honest communication, collaborative negotiation, dialogue, consensus building, and mediation. And we can now do this using powerful methods and techniques that we did not have even a few decades ago. Nearly every mediation demonstrates, even if it does not succeed, that it is possible for us to listen and communicate, to empathize and collaborate, and to jointly address our common problems. What we need now is to make that happen both locally and globally.

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nonProfits

A L M A N AC

Seeing With Different Eyes

In a divided time, supporters of local nonprofits find common cause

by Nancy

gerth

B

onner County’s hundreds of volunteer organizations provide support, health and medical care, food and education when it is needed most. They help shape economic and social policy, and enrich our lives with art, poetry and music. Most remarkable in these divided times is that each of these organizations is served by people holding a wide range of sometimes conflicting political opinions. How do they do it?

“I can’t imagine a life where I

Kathy Chambers, owner of Sandpoint Zumba, has volunteered with Kinderhaven and Women of Wisdom, and served as a trustee with the Lake Pend Oreille School District. She is pictured above with husband Chris at the Festival of Trees.

didn’t make a difference,” said Nancy Hadley, the only woman ever to serve on the Idaho Fish and Game Commission. She did so when the trees at Farragut State Park were the hot issue. “There was lots we agreed on. We put that in the middle, worked on those issues and agreed to disagree about the rest. The circle of what you agree on gets bigger, disagreements get smaller. Before long we had solutions for a lot of things.

We all come with different backgrounds. We can help each other see

with different sets of eyes.”

Our local Rotary Club of Sandpoint funds projects ranging from the Pend Oreille Bay Trail to the Book Trust program. In 85, otary International undertook a project to eradicate polio world wide. And now the world is . percent free of polio. How is that possible?

According to incoming president Angela Oakes: “We’ve got collective outcomes nobody wants. The usual communication that occurs is ‘Divide and conquer,’ or y facts are better

Dan McDonald is a Bonner County Commissioner who has volunteered with Angels Over Sandpoint, the Panida Theater, and as a coach with Babe Ruth baseball, pictured above.

Barb Perusse, owner of Souls in Motion, has volunteered with Kinderhaven, as a court-appointed special advocate to children, and with the Sandpoint Sailing Association, where she is pictured driving the “committee boat.”

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nonProfits

Jim Zuberbuhler of DA Davidson volunteers with Kaniksu Land Trust, Forrest M. Bird Charter School, Idaho PTECH Network and, as pictured above, with the Long Bridge Swim.

than your facts.’ Rotary gets past that by helping and, more importantly, empowering one another. Rotary’s motto is service above self. We do what we need to do to get the job done. ur secret? We champion things. We’re not against anything like homelessness, abuse. We’re for things.

Service changes the brain chemistry or whatever, changes our outlook, our ability to cooperate and sense of well being.”

Outgoing president Dyno Wahl adds a telling story. “Rotary is the most diverse group in town, ranging from ultra-conservative to ultra-liberal. We have a nondenominational invocation before every lunch meeting — it can be a prayer or poem or thought. t the first meeting after the election, there wasn’t any gloating or ‘poor me’ — and I wasn’t the only one crying. It was a moment when we were more aware of our similarities than our differences. We connected with respect at a deeper level.”

Wahl is the executive director for the Festival at Sandpoint — another program that brings together a wide range of political viewpoints. “Everyone loves music,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what your personal views are. We have conservative donors who fund people like Bruce Cockburn (a liberal Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist). The work transcends.

“Sandpoint provides a place for business people to put service before self,” she added. “Auctions are successful here because business people are so generous.

Sandpoint is off the ‘greed grid.’ There’s no one who is successful here and who doesn’t give back. It’s not always like that in cities.”

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Angela Oakes is the owner of Summit Insurance (which is now partnered with Alliance), and volunteers with Rotary Club of Sandpoint, Lost in the 50s, and with the Sandpoint Sailing Association, pictured above.

According to the Association of Fundraising Professionals, rural donors donate a statistically significant higher percentage of their income to charity than urban donors. And that doesn’t count volunteer time!

Barb Perusse, a former Kinderhaven board member, said: “We put politics aside to focus on the mission. We believe in kids and we believe in the community. We have fun together with things like the Festival of Trees. When politics rears its ugly head, we don’t allow it. One time a board member was running for office and wanted to wear a campaign button to an event. pon consideration, the board nixed it, and the member agreed it was the right decision.”

Current Kinderhaven board member Kathy Chambers explains why the board is so diverse politically: “We populate our board with certain skill sets, not just retirees or people with time to spare. Where we are weak, we fill holes. We have people with backgrounds in law and finance, entrepreneurs, community leaders, advocates in children’s mental and physical health, who are all hard workers. Politics never enters into the process; it’s not even on the radar.

Remedying the effects of child abuse is not a political issue.”

She said: “A small percentage of our budget comes from state and federal funds under [the Department of] Health and Welfare. The bulk of it, however, is raised through grants and private donations. Some donors are conservative, others are more left-leaning. All are valued, and key to Kinderhaven’s longevity and continued growth.”

Kate McAlister is the president and CEO of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce and volunteers with the Bonner County Democrats, and as “The Queen of Ireland” with the Angels Over Sandpoint.

What about conflict on the board?

“Instead of each side convincing the other of who is right, when we focus on working together to be part of a solution, we accomplish so much more,” said Chambers.

“Politics? What politics? Angels have no politics,” said Kate McAlister, a long-time member of the Angels Over Sandpoint, a group that works to serve those in need in our community. “We’re all there together when we see a need: people can’t afford dental work or mental health care, need help with utilities or rent, or veterans or seniors need a little help, we can provide stop-gap measures.

“We are always willing to do what it takes to get the job done. For the school backpacks program we get a supply list from the schools, which may include things like toothbrushes and paste, coats and shoes, and we have great partners that help us, like Walmart and Staples plus our own fundraisers. Sometimes donors will ask us to clean a house and there we all are together. People have donated whole houses of furniture, even a fishing boat for us to auction off.”

McAlister is also president and CEO of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce. Surely there must be times when politics gets in the way there? “Not really. We backed the school levy, because it’s not a political issue. Public education is essential. fter our meetings are adjourned, we have a time for sharing. We learn about the community, what people are doing, who has been hit with illness or accident.”

McAlister, who made a bid for the state representative position for District 1A last

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nonProfits

Stay with us in Sandpoint.

The rest is easy.

Nancy Hadley of DA Davidson volunteers with Sandpoint Rotary, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Lake Pend Oreille Alliance, and served on the boards of the Downtown Sandpoint Business Association and the Idaho Fish and Game Commission.

fall, said “When I ran for office, members talked about that — but it wasn’t divisive. veryone was very supportive.”

Jim uberbuhler spends two days a week on his financial practice, his second career after his work with Forrest . Bird Charter School, T CH, Kaniksu Land Trust, and the Long Bridge Swim. “When you stay focused on solutions there is less room for polari ation, or alternative’ facts these kinds of things take a backseat for people who are truly engaged,” he explained. “ overty is a core issue in our community. We need to shine a bright light on it regularly. There is so much to do we can leave the house, drive to work, go to the mountain, the lake, go out to dinner and not be aware of poverty.

“I’ve been intentional about building diverse organi ations for 0 years. I want different ideas, I want the whole spectrum.

It’s the same in my financial practice. We talk a lot about politics — you have to.

When a couple comes in with different ideas about money, they do better.” nd that’s the baseline for our local nonprofits as well — when people come together with different ideas, and when they treat those differences with respect, they do better. For themselves, and for us all.

Kenneth Cloke, a specialist in mediation at the global level and a part-time resident of Hope, said “Communities are easier to destroy than to create or sustain. They emerge when they work to achieve the same goals, discover they share similar values, go beyond what they thought they could do.”

John euter, a former Sandpoint city

Dyno Wahl is the executive director of the Festival at Sandpoint and volunteers with the Rotary Club of Sandpoint and Schweitzer Alpine Racing School, coached soccer, and served with Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce and Arts Northwest.

councilman and political activist now living in Boise, warned “The ideological divide is joined by a physical divide — people of common political beliefs live surrounded by neighbors who share their politics... . We are losing the two key elements that hold us together a common place and a shared political system. We live in different communities and our political system rarely leads to common cause, but rather bigger fights and demoni ation.”

While our nonprofits are negotiating this ideological divide with skill, can this ability be translated into our fractious local political process? ne sign that it might comes from Bonner County Commissioner Dan cDonald, who has recently taken to social media to call on those engaging in political discussion to improve their behavior and speak with respect.

“When we decide to retreat to our respective corners, we can’t get anything done. Instead, let’s focus on the things we agree on, and go from there. If you stifle an opponent’s opinion, then you’ll never get a good idea. When you stop listening to other people, then you have trouble,” he said. cDonald has volunteered with Kinderhaven, the anida Theater, Sandpoint Babe uth baseball and more, and the answer to avoiding conflict, he said, is simple. “The key is to stay focused on the goal. “ t the end of the day, we’re all here to do a job,” he added. “So let’s get the job done.”

Trish Gannon contributed to this story.

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p i c t u r e d i n h i s t o ry

by jennifer

lamont leo

‘IT LOOKED LIKE HIROSHIMA’

SUNDANCE FIRE BROUGHT DESTRUCTION 50 YEARS AGO

T

oday, hikers enjoy the spectacular views and abundant wildlife that characterize Sundance Mountain. Few suspect that 50 years ago, this peaceful landscape experienced a terror that would engulf 55, 0 acres in a little over eight hours, force the evacuation of the town of Coolin, and, most tragically, cost two men their lives.

No one saw it coming. The early summer of had been quiet, as fire seasons go. fter a wet spring, fire danger seemed moderate, and .S. Forest Service crews quickly contained most fires. Not until late July did the winds intensify, temperatures rise, and moisture dry up. So when flames flickered to life on the western slope of Sundance Mountain, authorities were alert, but not too concerned, as the situation seemed well in hand.

On Aug. 11 a lightning storm ignited several blazes, the most significant being lume Creek, Black Mountain, Kaniksu Mountain, Trapper Peak, and Sundance Mountain. Of 38

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these, Trapper Peak was most feared, drainage and over Apache Ridge as it kept reigniting, keeping crews — a distance of more than10 miles on constant alert. By comparison, the — in a matter of three hours. The calmer fire in a remote area between radiant heat from the marching Sundance Mountain and Coolin did inferno was so intense that the not seem particularly worrisome. west side of Roman Nose erupted n ug. 2 , however, the bla e in spontaneous combustion so suddenly exploded in a black, violently that entire trees were 31,000-foot-high cloud. “It looked like ripped from the ground and hurled Hiroshima,” said Stieg Gabrielson, over the top of the mountain into then employed by Pack River Timber the tinder-dry forest below.”

Co., in a article.

The nation’s eyes were riveted on Powered by 30- to 60-mile-anNorth Idaho. Crews flew in from all hour winds, the fire swept toward over to battle the blaze. In Pack River, Coolin, which was evacuated. Then two firefighters — Luther odarte of it suddenly changed direction and, California and Lee Collins of Montana wrote Dennis Nicholls for Sandpoint — died after taking shelter under a Magazine in 2002, “... one of the most bulldozer. Eighteen-year-old Randy spectacular fire runs ever witnessed Langston, keeping watch on Roman began its deadly tear to the northeast.

Nose, took cover in a rockslide and “ n the back of fire-induced was later rescued. winds gusting to 5 mph, utumn snows finally put an end Sundance Fire raced 16 miles in to the Sundance Fire, which experts nine hours. Once it crested the continue to study as one of the fastSelkirk Divide, a wall of hungry est-moving fires in history. flames four miles Above, legendary photographer Ross Hall examines the afterwide burned across math of the Sundance Fire in this never-before-published photo.

H T B WILL H WKINS, C T S TH H WKINS F IL DIT the entire Pack River su m m e r 2 0 17

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F e s t i va l

Feasting at the Festival What’s on the menu, from on-site vendors to personal picnics

by Carrie

Scozzaro

I

t’s not a misprint on the Festival at Sandpoint website: “Food and beverages (including alcohol) are welcome at all concerts. Feel free to bring from home, or purchase from vendors located on the field.”

“People are surprised, and thrilled, when they find out that they can bring in their own food and beverages,” said Festival at Sandpoint Executive Director Diana “Dyno” Wahl. “I do not know of any other festival of our type that allows patrons to do that.

“Most concert venues have a very limited, prescribed food menu and charge exorbitant prices for alcohol: $10 for a domestic beer is not unheard of!

As a nonprofit organization this is one way we can set ourselves apart from commercial venues by being casual and flexible in serving our community, rather than trying to squeeze every dollar out of them. Yet our vendors and our bar do very well.”

First-timers Gayle Belt and Andy Aitken didn’t bring food, but they did bring a handy, seated-height cup holder that sticks in the grass for the beer they purchased at one of two full bars on site.

“Gotta get here early,” said Aitken, nodding to their location well back in the tall lawn chair section.

Yet whenever they or anyone arrives at the Festival, there is no need to fear going hungry or thirsty.

Opening night at the Festival is always a celebration. PHOTO BY CARRIE SCOZZARO

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Left: Jupiter Jane’s creative sign. Above: A carb loading feast benefits kids’ ski racing.

porting the Independence Race Team, a nonprofit that provides financial and other assistance to local children interested in competitive ski racing.

The availability of a range of food at reasonable prices is enough to convince some people not to bother with hauling in much more than their favorite beverage.

Kathryn and Charles Rieger, who have been attending the Festival for more than 20 years, stood chatting and sipping wine with their son, Rick Rieger and daughter, Jean Vorhies. They don’t bring their own food because they’ve found the Festival fare to be so healthy, said Vorheis.

“A lot of our wine glasses have come from the Festival,” added Kathryn. A commemorative wine glass is included in the price of a ticket to the finale concert each year, a Spokane Symphony performance and complimentary wine tasting.

Scotch is the drink of choice for Ken and Nick Warrick and Steve and Nancy Davis, who met on a Scotch distillery

Besides the bars, food vendors offer plenty of options from their booths near the entrance gate.

Festival organizers begin the food vendor selection process several months prior to the event, trying to ensure a balance of vendors, price ranges and offerings, said organizer Dave Vermeer. The 2016 offering included fish and chips, pizza, tacos, pad Thai, salad, and stuffed baked potatoes, as well as grilled salmon from sponsor Wildwood Grilling.

Some vendors are practically staples, such as the Panida Theater, whose popular ice cream booth is a primary fundraiser for this downtown landmark, that celebrates its 90th year in existence this November.

Linda Scott, who has been attending the Festival for 10 years, likes that some of the food sales support local organizations. “I like what they’re doing,” she said, ordering nachos from a booth sup-

A picnic tradition. PHOTO: CARRIE SCOZZARO

tour. Their makeshift table is covered in a red-and-white checked cloth, and features a light feast of shrimp, peanuts, grapes, cheese and crackers, as well as a bottle of Old Pulteney single malt. It’s a tradition, they said.

Denise Wilken said her annual Festival

Hal Ritchie enjoys an ice cream treat.

PHOTO: DAVID MARX

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The traditional finale with the Spokane Symphony and fireworks. PHOTO: :DAVID MARX

PHOTOS: CARRIE SCOZZARO

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F e s t i va l gathering of friends and family can range from nine to 16 people. She harvested beans from her garden to make a salad to go with the group’s smorgasbord of potato salad, fruit and fried chicken.

Sometimes the close quarters and jumble of blankets over the natural grass field makes for challenges in serving, as Kim Rioux discovered while trying to create a Black Velvet: dark Guinness beer over champagne. Christina Ponsness got a helping hand to fill her glass with one of her favorite wines, Cakebread Cellars chardonnay, while Elana Westphal and Robert Myers find stemless wine glasses

Elana Westphal votes for stemless wine glasses. PHOTO: CARRIE SCOZZARO

work well for the red wine they brought to go with fruit and crackers.

For many attendees, the Festival is an opportunity to reconnect with friends and family over a shared meal. Some take advantage of a separate picnic area with tents, tables and chairs available for rent.

“MultiLingual Computing had its first Festival potluck in 2003 at the finale to honor our summer intern, Jennifer Lund, who was the Festival Scholarship winner,” said MultiLingual’s owner, Donna Parrish. “We had such fun, we have done it ever since.

“The Festival makes it very easy to create a memorable evening,” added Parrish. “One thing we do each year is take a picture of the group before we eat.

Those pictures are posted in the office to remind us of the fun time we had.”

Whether you pack your own picnic, partake of the many food choices available on-site, or enjoy a combination of the two, the Festival at Sandpoint has a meal plan that fits your style.

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F e s t i va l

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PHOTO: DAVID MARX

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A first-timer’s experience by carrie

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f I didn’t know to look for it from the Long Bridge, I’d never notice Sandpoint’s War Memorial Field, where the Festival at Sandpoint has been held for the past 35 years. That’s not quite as long as I’ve been alive, but long enough for me to have heard people rave about its qualities: so friendly and well organized, great music, not a bad seat in the house.

Never mind the excuses why I didn’t pony up for a ticket through the years: I had to work, couldn’t afford it (not really true, but treating myself to a concert seemed like an indulgence), was out of town. Not that I wasn’t tempted, especially from 2012

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onward — Ladysmith Black Mombazo, the Shook Twins, and (swoon) Ray Lamontagne — but it wasn’t until 20 that I finally made it to the Festival.

Wow. That’s a woefully inadequate journalistic response for someone with nearly three decades writing experience (10 with this magazine!). But, well… wow.

Here was a concert venue rising unexpectedly out of a quiet, stately neighborhood bordering Lake Pend Oreille, whose majesty never fails to awe and inspire.

Overhead, voluptuous clouds tinged pinkish-peach by the setting sun scud along behind the multi-peaked Festival tent. Once inside the gate, a landscaped fountain greets you. A fountain! More vignettes of plants and flowers dot the perimeter of the general seating area. The grass is warm from the sun and pleasant to walk on.

Along wide, grassy aisles, a promenade of people pause to greet and hug each other, their eyes smiling. A faint breeze ebbs and flows with distant sounds of laughter and good smells from the food court. There is a sea of people amidst blankets and coolers they’ve hauled in for the evening like a giant, almost-sleepover.

The opening act begins their sound check — The Powers’ Dan Powers, whom I remember, coincidentally, from his first day as a student in the high school where I used to teach — as I move throughout the Festival space. Near the beer garden, stage left by the chair rental, up into the bleachers, stage right along the busy food court area, down in front. It’s true: not a bad seat in the house.

This is what a bee must feel like amongst hive mates in a field full of flowers, content and yet alert. The lake exhales as the sun lets go her grasp, ushering in another rarified summer evening in Sandpoint. The music is about to begin.

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HoPe

Little Big Town

I

by Mary

Terra-Berns

n winter, they call it the “banana belt” of our area, for a south-facing aspect that stays far warmer than most of northern Idaho. But it is in summer that Hope, 20 minutes east of Sandpoint, comes to life as a recreational boating and fun-in-the-sun venue. Combined with the nearby community of East Hope and resort visitors, the yearround population of about 500 swells into the thousands.

Hope is all about the lake. Lake Pend Oreille is over 1,000 feet deep and approximately 148 square miles in size, so there’s a lot of lake and fish to keep visitors busy. Each spring and fall, fishermen look forward to the Fishing Derby, which can turn a fun day of fishing into money in your pocket. Sponsored by the Lake Pend Oreille Idaho Club www.lpoic.org , the Derby celebrates its 0th birthday this year and offers over $18,000 in cash and prizes. The fall Derby will be held Nov. 18 22 and Nov. 24 2 .

If fishing isn’t your thing, watching and photographing bald eagles on Pearl Island, a 12-acre sanctuary for nesting bald eagles owned by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, is an option. But you don’t have to go out to the island to see these majestic birds, as balds are often spotted fishing the lake from snags right at the side of the highway. If birds are your thing, you’ll be happy to learn this area is part of the Pacific Flyway, and the variety of birds to be seen is endless.

By June, area marinas are bustling. The boat slips at Holiday Shores esort and Marina are occupied and their gas pumps, convenience store, vacation rentals, and café are busy from sunrise to sunset. ramer’s Marina offers additional slips that fill quickly, and next door is Hope Marina, a full service boating business with even more boat slips, all the gear and supplies that boaters need, plus watercraft rentals for those not otherwise supplied.

Hope’s peninsula is home to the David Thompson Game Float planes are a frequent sight on the lake near Hope. PHOTO BY JESSE HART The sign at top hangs at the Old Ice House Pizzeria. PHOTO BY ANGELA DAIL

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Fourth of July fireworks over Hope. PHOTO: BRENDA HAASE

Preserve, which is named after fur trader, surveyor and mapmaker David Thompson who, in 1809, established Kullyspell House, a fur-trading post on the peninsula. Wildlife is protected here, so it is not uncommon for visitors to observe a variety of animals, especially white-tailed deer. The deer are habituated to visitors and will stick their head into a car window looking for a handout; feeding the deer, or any wildlife for that matter, is not recommended.

While looking for wildlife, don’t miss the eclectic selection of art dis-

played by peninsula residents — from an avant garde airplane sculpture near the location of the old Kullyspell House, to an authentic piece of the Berlin Wall at the entrance to Klaus Groenke’s home.

Beyond Hope Resort and Sam Owen Campground are both located on Owens Bay on the peninsula’s south side. Sam Owen Campground has RV sites, tent sites, a boat ramp and dock, and a sandy beach with picnic facilities. A short hiking trail leads to beautiful views and the gravesite of Sam and Nina Owen, the original

1267 PENINSULA ROAD | HOPE, IDAHO 83836| 208.264.5251 | WWW.BEYONDHOPE RESORT.COM

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property owners, who donated the land to the U.S. Forest Service. Sites are often booked years in advance so call ahead.

Beyond Hope Resort offers a lovely location for special events and weddings. Many people boat over, moor their boat in the protected marina, and head to Ivano’s Del Lago to enjoy Italian cuisine while watching the sun set into the lake.

Hope is all about dining on the water, from a simple picnic at the Kullyspell House memorial stone across from the post office to the

Floating Restaurant at Hope Marina, a local landmark for over 35 years, that serves lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch while diners enjoy the view of Ellisport Bay and Hope Peninsula.

Elissa Robbins, owner and master chef, operates the oldest business in Hope under the same owner — 28 years. “Other businesses have deep roots here, but no one else has managed to outlive me yet with the same continuous ownership!” she said.

The Floating Restaurant, along with Ivano’s Del Lago, and Chop Steak and Seafood, located just behind the

C-Store at Holiday Shores, all offer boat-in access to diners.

Dedre Ahl, president of the board for Memorial Community Center, points out that Hope is about more than just good eating: “Great people, who give generously of their time and resources, are the heart of Hope, as we at the Center can attest. Hope has amazing amenities for such a small town. There’s those fantastic restaurants, of course, and a surprising number of churches in the vicinity.

There are properties here where people can live close to their neighbors,

Left to right: A day at the beach. PHOTO: LAURA WAHL Clint Nicholson

was the 2013 Derby winner. COURTESY PHOTO Homes tucked on a Hope hillside. PHOTO: MARIANNE LOVE Hope

is bald eagle country.

PHOTO: CAROLYN GLEASON

Camping under endless stars. PHOTO: COREY VOGEL Jumping from the

pilings. PHOTO: MISTY GRAGE

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The Green Monarchs rise majestically behind the Hope Peninsula. PHOTO: COREY VOGEL

or live surrounded by property with room for a garden or for all their critters. And the amenities are year ‘round, with activities like snowshoeing, fishing, and a number of close parks. Plus the Samowen Fire Department is here, and we’re really close to Clark Fork, with its library and senior center.

Seriously,” she laughed, “what’s not to like about Hope?”

The MCC, as the locals call it, is a meeting place for various groups and

an activity hot spot throughout the year.

Proceeds from the Bodacious BBQ, Family Oktoberfest, and Harvest Dinner support many of the activities and programs sponsored by the center, including the Christmas giving program and scholarships for graduating high school seniors.

The Bodacious BBQ is great summer fun. This annual event, which will be held at the Litehouse Beach House on July 15 this year, is a hugely popular gathering now in

“neighborly” community, which is involved, friendly and inviting to all.

MIKE & BECKY FREELAND

What we love most about living here in Hope is the great micro climate that allows us to grow our gardens longer. How quiet and serene it is, (people always ask ‘how can you ever leave here?’). and our wonderful lake views. But mostly it’s the

Where does one start?

After nearly 75 years, Hope is always and has always been the best small town

its 33rd year. And it’s the major fundraiser for the center, which is Hope’s central nervous system.

In 1776, on July 3, John Adams, in a letter to his wife Abigail, said the Independence Day celebrations should be “Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.” The businesses of Hope couldn’t agree more! Rick and Pam Auletta, who own Hope Marina, organize the

VOICES OF HOPE

for young and old. Quiet, laid back, beautiful landscape and the lake enjoyed by folks from all walks of life make the little village a very special place to raise your family and find contentment in old age. My family has been in Hope for over 100 years and finally, yes, I’m very biased.

KERMIT KIEBERT By moving here we have opened doors to a new and beautiful life full of snow covered mountains, fishing off the shoreline,

gazing at an eagle’s flight and forcing us to stop and slow down. Day after day Hope gifts us by filling our hearts with warm and breathtaking sunsets; we are forever in debt to this majestic town.

JENNIFER MAJORS

Hope has a wonderful sense of community.

The neighbors here are all about helping each other and coming together to work for good causes.

Plus, the scenery is spectacular. It’s beautiful

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HoPe

annual th of July fireworks show. “This is the th year for our fireworks display it’s a big community event. The show is always on the fourth, starts when the sky is dark, and goes about 0 minutes.”

In downtown Hope — i.e., across the railroad tracks — you’ll find the utskirts Gallery and Hope arketplace Cafe and (next to the post office), full of good food, music and art. little further down the road, stop in at The ld Ice House i eria Bakery for some New ork-style pi a and locally brewed beer and wine. Take a few minutes to view photographs and paintings by local artists in the upstairs event room while enjoying a scoop of Death

by Chocolate ice cream yum Hope has grown into a fun, family-focused, little big town on the northeast shore of Lake end reille, leaving its 882 beginning as a Northern acific ailroad construction workers’ camp in the rear-view mirror.

301 N. 1st Ave . Sandpoint (208)263.3622

everywhere here in Bonner County, but I can’t think of another place that has a view like we do, plus so many amenities, both socially and recreationally.

DEDRE AHL

When everyone forgets how to drive.

What I really love about Hope is our sense of community. Beautiful views are everywhere around here but the real beauty of Hope has always been more than skin deep. LARRY KEITH Greg Vermeulen, Agent 803 Pine St. Sandpoint, ID 83864 Bus: 208-265-7755 7binsurance.com

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HECLA MINING COMPANY ISN’T THE ONLY NEW THREAT FACING OUR LAKE.

L

ike the current administration or not, the truth is it’s working with Congress to dismantle many EPA programs. And that could have a devastating impact on Lake Pend Oreille by allowing more pollution and gutting long-standing regulations to protect water quality and human health.

But that’s not all. Simultaneously, the mining industry is trying to pass new legislation that would all but eliminate public input in the mine permitting process. Which would take away every community’s right to self-determination. Including Sandpoint’s.

Who the heck is Hecla?

This is the fourth company trying to build a monster mine underneath the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, just 25 miles upriver from Lake Pend Oreille.

Like all the others, Hecla claims it can be done without polluting the Clark Fork River or our lake. They said much the same thing about their Green Creeks Mine in Alaska.

Except now that mine is creating acid drainage, and mercury, arsenic, & lead are showing up in local marine animals near the mine.

Look, mining companies are driven by one goal: profits. Can’t blame them, it’s a business. But we can blame them for obscuring the truth in pursuit of those profits.

What to do?

If you care about our amazing Lake and agree it’s vital to our town, our recreation and our economy, please step up.

Contact us for more info and to become a member of our alliance. And, take a minute to write or call: Christopher Savage, Kootenai Natl. Forest Supervisor, csavage@fs.fed.us.

(406) 283-7763. Make your voice heard against the Rock Creek mine.

In the end, this is not a national political issue, it’s a local personal one.

rock creek alliance

rockcreekalliance.org | (208) 610-4896

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4 AM

Art

reverence for rock

by Carrie

Scozzaro

Photos by rebecca

artist mark heisel has carved a career out of stone

T

here are two basic methods of creating sculpture: additive — which involves building up the form from smaller parts, such as clay or pieces of metal — and subtractive. Carving is generally subtractive because the form is revealed only by eliminating parts of the original material. If that

material is rock, it means mistakes cannot be undone; the artist can only move forward or start over.

In his life, Mark Heisel of Hope has done both, shifting between vocation and avocation and back again, rediscovering passions from his youth and arriving at a place where doing something meaningful is reward in itself. su m m e r 2 0 17

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hagemann

Heisel is soft spoken, with a pleasant, gravelly voice and an unhurried manner of speaking, as if he’s envisioning how the words come together to form something solid. At 72, his hands are remarkably unblemished, especially for a man who has spent his life working with stone — studying it, excavating it, carving it.

“If somebody were to ask me what I do, I’m a supplier of natural stone, architectural stone, landscape stone.

I’m a stone carver and I’m also a dry stone carver,” he said.

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Art

Creek Stone, Heisel supplies masonry materials, namely Lightning Creek river stone and Selkirk granite, for walls, fireplaces, landscaping and similar projects.

Heisel also offers dry stone hardscaping — pieces built without (wet) mortar — as well as custom fabricated mantels, hearths, pizza ovens, curbs, and sculptural pieces like the benches that dot public and private spaces throughout the northwest.

Benches are popular with public art programs, including those located in Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene. Further afield, rt on the venues in Wenatchee, Washington has two Heisel benches: “The Wait” and “Incan Bench.”

“It’s putting something together that could look just functional or that’s functional and beautiful,” said Heisel of his work, which is marked by an affinity for the individual stone, especially granite.

“A lot of times, it is the particular piece of stone that catches my eye,” he said.

“Cathedral for the Soul,” for example,

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art

is a curvaceous sculpture, vaguely figurative, which Heisel carved and eventually donated to the city of San Mateo, California. He wrote at the time: “If we think of our bodies as flesh, blood and bone, and we think of the Earth as soil and organic matter, water, and stone, then we realize that the bones of the Earth are stone. As an archetypal symbol, bones represent the indestructible force, the indestructible Soul Spirit... .The bones will never die.”

His process, once he selects a piece of stone, is to rough out the design with a saw and other hand tools. Wedges and feathers — a sharp plug and wide-bottomed shims — are used to split off pieces of stone by hand. s he works, Heisel slowly refines the form, then envisions the finish polished smooth, textured or left rough. Once he’s done with a piece, he uses an angle grinder to put his “chop mark” or signature on it, a modified H. Heisel’s approach to carving is admit-

“the sea harp”

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art

tedly old school, he said. “I’ve kind of drifted toward the idea of stone a hundred years ago,” when there was no dividing line between art and craft. He admires the Stone Foundation’s organization, especially the masons, carvers, and suppliers who work on restoring structural stone landmarks.

Heisel hasn’t always had a reverence for stone. In the past, rock was something to get out of the way, he said. That’s because before he became a stone carver, Heisel made his living problem-solving how to move rock from one place to another, first as a mining engineer and later doing assorted jobs that involved blasting, quarrying, and hauling rock.

“It’s satisfying to blow stuff up when it all goes the way you want,” he said, his eyes twinkling.

By 1985, Heisel and his wife Linda had relocated to Hope along with their two children. While Linda worked in healthcare, Heisel did odd jobs, parlaying his drilling and blasting experience into helping create service ditches, foundations and the like.

“I just figured I don’t know what I’m going to do to make a living but something’s bound to turn up,” he said.

While on a job on the Hope Peninsula, head mason Harold Knapp brought him stone they got from near the airport that wasn’t splitting properly. Knapp hired Heisel

“Maybe it’s got something to do with doing something with other people,” he speculated, looking at his hands. Or maybe making music, like his rock carving, is the reward in itself.

He studied civil engineering at the University of Idaho, but ran out of money, then got the travel bug and spent time in Europe before being drafted by the Army in 1965 to serve in Vietnam. When he returned stateside, he worked summers in Silver Valley mines and pursued mining engineering. He liked the problem-solving aspect of mining engineering, he said, as well as bid preparation, project engineering and managing job sites. He especially enjoyed blasting.

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to go find stone the masons could work with, which eventually led him to state forest land. Heisel got the necessary permits and proceeded to extract hundreds of tons of veneer.

“Sometimes I’d cut this really nice piece and think, ‘I’m going to take that home.’” With a rotohammer, drill and chisel, Heisel made his first piece of stone art a planter box.

Intrigued, Heisel kept experimenting with rock, seeking the advice of Knapp and mason Tim Scofield, as well as adding to

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art

“the” his arsenal of rock carving tools.

In 2, Heisel took a figurative sculpting class with Mark Kubiak, a Sandpoint sculptor who formerly ran Redtail Gallery. Kubiak visited Heisel’s house and marveled to see piles of stone and assorted carving. “I’m just impressed,” he said of Heisel’s interest and passion.

Kubiak recommended Heisel attend a Northwest Stone Sculptors Association symposium to further his education, network with other carvers and hopefully gain some exhibition opportunities.

Heisel and his wife, Linda, who also began carving stone, soon found themselves loading several thousand pounds of sculpture into their truck and hauling it around to exhibitions, which they did for

“homage” several years. Eventually, though, the travel became a grind. They asked themselves, “How much time do we want to put into this?” Their reach seemed too far afield.

“Why would we want to do this unless we’re [prominent Northwest sculptor] Harold Balazs?”

They tapered back, focusing on more local venues and occasional commissions and continuing with Spring Creek Stone.

Linda Heisel moved on from carving to creating prayer flags (her organization, Prayer Flags of Hope and eace, benefits National Alliance on Mental Illness), while Heisel rediscovered his passion for music.

He’d played trombone in high school, said Heisel, and sang in a band, yet let that go in favor of making a living and pursuing

his carving. Ten years ago, Heisel began playing music more earnestly and enjoys jamming with his banjo-playing sister when she visits. He also enjoys getting together with a loose affiliation of professional and amateur musicians known as The Cougar Creek Band, which plays in local parades and at community centers.

And he’s been known to sit in with local musician Truck Mills on occasion.

“Maybe it’s got something to do with doing something with other people,” he speculated, looking at his hands. Or maybe making music, like his rock carving, is the reward in itself.

“If the idea of making something is for money,” he said, “I’m not interested.”

Learn more at www.springcreekstone.com

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Artfully Sandpoint PONDERAY GARDEN CENTER

presents the

Garden of Artistry Invitational Fine Art Show

July 21, 22, 23 Fri. 1-5pm | Sat. 10am-5pm | Sun. 10am-3pm At the Ponderay Garden Center on Hwy 95 (just north of Walmart in Ponderay) FREE ADMISSION Opening Benefit Reception Friday 6-8pm Hosted by the Carousel of Smiles

For more information contact Gabe Gabel at 208.265.9613

Skeleton Key A R T

G L A S S

Contemporary Stained Glass

208.255.9089

Get a list of participating artists from the website and plan your drive! su m m e r 2 0 17

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b o o ks

‘It Just Gets Inside of You’

Nationally acclaimed debut novel from Emily Ruskovich taps the soul of the Panhandle

by Zach

Hagadone

A

bout two-thirds into “Idaho,” the luminous first novel from North Idaho-raised Emily Ruskovich, one of the central characters is playing the piano. It’s a wistful song — in real life written by Ruskovich’s father, a former Coeur d’Alene area music teacher — with lyrics including, “I hate to see the summer end/ Seems it was never here at all.” s the character, nn, plays, “Her fingers move swiftly without her, disconnected, freed. She can’t think of a note or else she will lose the music from her hands, the music that is not a memory any longer, but a feeling in her fingertips, a presence inside of her that can’t be watched or else it disappears.”

That sense of experience transcending memory — of a time, place, person or feeling that has burrowed so deep as to become an involuntary action, like a heartbeat or drawing breath — is at the core not only of “Idaho” but of Ruskovich’s concept of her craft.

“The way Ann feels about this remembered music that’s just part of her body is very much the way that I feel about writing,” she said.

The seeming effortlessness of Ruskovich’s prose in “Idaho” has brought down heaps of critical praise — from the New York Times, which listed it as among the 17 books “you’ll be reading in 2017,” to the Wall Street Journal, which called it “sensuous, exquisitely crafted.”

The book opens in the battered cab of a disused truck on a fictitious mountain in a fictitious town in the very real Blanchard area, where Ruskovich grew up on her family’s former property on Hoodoo Mountain.

More than a truck, however, it’s a murder scene — where a mother, Jenny, killed her 6-year-old daughter, May, on a hot August day in 1995. The older daughter, June, dis-

Emily uskovich today, at top, and with her family when they lived on Hoodoo Mountain. COURTESY PHOTOS

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B o o ks appeared into the woods and was never seen again. Jenny was jailed; her husband, Wade, slowly descending into a twilight of hereditary Alzheimer’s disease, remarried English ex-pat music teacher Ann; and Ann takes it upon herself to carry the memories of Wade’s lost daughters and wife like a person clings to flotsam after a shipwreck.

Though it draws its motive power from a grisly act, “Idaho” is far from a crime thriller.

Rather, it’s an alternately wrenching, wise and soulful rumination on memory, loss, love, forgiveness and, ultimately, place and the people who inhabit it: Idaho in particular and North Idaho, specifically.

“I never made the decision to set the

nforcement agents of heaven. These are

ccess and failure. In some cases, this is an

THE P PO OST ST THE OFFICE

m the past.

THOR

Death defying adventure, big money, world travel, sex, booze: this true tale has it all. In 1967, after surviving 13 months, of combat flying in H-34 helicopters in Vietnam for the United States Marine Corps, Captain Collier wanted nothing more to do with that war. Somehow, 34 months later he found himself flying for Air America, the air arm of the CIA, on (not for) the other side of the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

He teamed up with his best Vietnam helicopter pilot buddy, Gary, and the two rascals shared true adventure enough to make any novel seem lame. In many ways it was a much better job than flying for the USMC, but it also had many exciting and interesting times. Flying in mountainous and weather-hostile Laos was some of the most challenging ever experienced by any pilot, any time, any war. He flew 3100 hours more of combat for a total of 3850. He came a whisker from death several times and a few times actually tweaked the devil’s nose, daring the devil to take him!

Making fabulous money and having airline benefits allowed them to live an exotic lifestyle, to travel the world on their monthly R&Rs and to chase and catch more than a few stewardesses from several different airlines around the world.

Robbing the Post Office: A Target of Opportunity

By H.K. Petschel.

Here’s a rollicking, engrossing tale of some of the greatest heists involving the U.S. Postal Service. Former postal inspector Petschel, who literally wrote the book (or at least the manual) for the postal service’s counterfeit investigations, gives an insider’s look at more than a half dozen postal crimes that engrossed the nation, from the 1927 Rondout Train Robbery to the 1962 robbery of a Plymouth, Massachusetts mail truck of more than $1.5 million, a feat the press would dub “The Greatest Mail Robbery” ever. In these pages you’ll learn a twist on what bank robber Willie Sutton supposedly observed: that the post office, not the banks, is where the money is.

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Pilot Sp CIA Super

ans

Captain Bill Collier

Air America H-34 and Bell Huey Pilot

Through her journals she transports us back to another time that was not always idyllic. The stories she shares of heartache, loyalty and perseverance, are endearing, timeless and inspiring.

During her lifetime Emily championed women rights and equality for all citizens. She and her husband, Edward Spencer, helped rear seven children, some related and some not, over a span of a few decades. As they prospered, they gave back to their community located in Kendallville, Indiana. One of their most enduring gifts was the landmark Spencer Opera House built in 1890.

It could seat 800 and had both gas and electric lighting. Today it’s known as The Strand and has the distinction of being one of the oldest continuously operating theatres in the United States.

The Spencer home was a popular gathering place for friends and relatives. I invite you to step inside for an “old fashion” visit with Emily as she shares the story of her life.

1st

DIARIES

auntemilydiaries@gmail.com

PLACE WINNER Idaho State Writers League 2016 state-wide contest, book non-fiction category.

local reads

Area self-publishers produce a bumper crop of books from rich life experiences Through the Lens of History: The Life Journey of a Cinematographer

By Erik Daarstad.

From his young childhood in Nazi-occupied Norway, through a 60-year career behind the lens filming hundreds of award-winning films, to his current, quiet existence visiting with friends in Sandpoint coffee houses, Daarstad shares the details of a life well lived. The filmmaker, whose 8 film “Why an Creates” won an Academy Award, touches on the Cold War, the Civil Rights movement, wars in Vietnam and Iraq and the fascinating and famous people he met along the way.

Aunt Emily’s

Cindy Metsker Hayes- I spent my childhood in South Bend, Indiana about 60 miles from Emily Spencer’s home town of Kendallville, Indiana. For the last 30 years I have lived in Sandpoint, Idaho.

Call Me Crazy: Adventures of a Psychic

By Marsha Lord.

With a desire to share “all things wild and wonderful with the world,” Newport, Washington resident Marsha Lord shares the whirlwind life of a fun, spunky, free-spirited woman who also happens to be psychic. What makes her (or any psychic) a good reader, she writes, is “an open heart and an open mind,” and she argues that everyone has this intuitive skill, though some have more talent at it than others. But psychics — including Lord — are not immune from life’s troubles. Known as a “cat with nine lives,” she has lived

HAYES

ATIONS

ca

Air AMeri A

Air America H-34 and Bell Huey Pilot

Photo courtesy of Peter and Baythong Wittlesey.

Aunt Emily’s Diaries is the story of one woman’s life in the mid-to-late 1800s.

ills the Be

Captain Bill Collier

Air America operated an entire fleet of aircraft out of the “Secret CIA Airbase” at Long Tieng, Laos. At one time this was one of the busiest airports in the world with hundreds of operations every day supporting the Lao army in its fight to hold off the North Vietnamese Army, which was intent on conquering all of Laos.

H.K. PETSCHEL

author H.K. Petschel investigated unterfeits in the 1970s and for counterfeit investigations for ion Service. He has written and rticles to bring national attention tal counterfeits. He is the author of tamp Counterfeiting: The Evolution me plus its sequel, More Stamp fect Crime. He has long been ority in the field. Today he lives where he continues to research when not exploring the western n north.

H.K. PETSCHEL

By Captain Bill Collier

OF A HELICOPTER PILOT

THE POST OFFICE

wanted to forget.

d not forget these events and, just maybe,

THE GRANDEST ADVENTURE Flying helicopters for Air America (the CIA) in Laos

DIARIES

ndry; stories that I and many others who

ROBBING

beautiful secret or it could be something kind of scary.”

She recalled the time she and her family came across a decapitated moose on the mountain, “which was just horrifying.

To just be on a walk with your family and you stumble on this moose that has gone completely to waste, just killed for its head,” she said.

Another time, Ruskovich said the family found a calf in the woods. “Its feet had been bound and it was just dragged out there and dumped. There was scary stuff everywhere.”

At one point, a man came to their house angry that they had built on land where

Aunt Emily’s

of stories. Not all criminals are total idiots

Air AMerica

R OBBING

t make this stuff up

book in Idaho. It was always part of the feeling from the very first moment I conceived of this novel,” Ruskovich said. “I think it’s because it’s an intense combination of absolute beauty with a kind of corruption.”

She went on to remember her childhood home as “a fairly dangerous place.

“There were meth labs in the woods, which we were always wary of stumbling on when we were exploring,” Ruskovich said.

“There was strange, eerie garbage. How did this antique stove get dumped way out here on this logging road that you’ve never seen anybody on? ... Every time you went on a walk in those woods you felt like you could stumble on a secret. And it could be a really

Edited and compiled by

Cindy Metsker Hayes

most of them and is still here to tell the tale.

Aunt Emily’s Diaries

By Cindy Metsker Hayes.

These are the true journals of Emily Wheeler Spencer, who lived and flourished in the northern Indiana village of Kendallville in the 1800s until her death in 1915 at age 89. Transcribed by her great-great-great-niece Cindy Metsker Hayes of Sandpoint, they provide a rare peek into the daily experiences of a 19th century farm wife and civic leader.

Air America: A CIA Super Pilot Spills the Beans!

By Captain Bill Collier.

From his first-person perspective, U.S. Marine Corps pilot Bill Collier tells about the CIA’s secret battle in Laos during the Vietnam War.

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b o o ks he’d once hunted.

“It was in such a drastic contrast to the kind people you would also find living out in the country because they loved nature,” she said. “What compelled me so much was just this mixture of all kinds of people — the sweetest, most salt-of-the-earth people and scary people, too. Over all of that was this immense, untouched beauty.”

That alternating sense of dread and beauty colors “Idaho,” from the shocking murder at its center to the landscape and seasons. In one passage, as Jenny is staring at a wall in prison, she’s reminded of the blank white of a winter sky in North Idaho: “Back then, it was snow and trees

301 N. 1st Ave . Sandpoint (208)263.3622

Collier’s service with Air America, the CIA’s secretly owned airline, was part of the largest paramilitary operation ever undertaken by the agency, and he tells the story of a close-knit group of young men and their adventures at Long Tieng, Thailand and Hong Kong.

Time to Get Out

By Robert Mundell with Dave Mundell.

This first-person account of World War II relates the experiences of Robert Mundell as told to his son David Mundell.

A radio operator in the 8th Army Air Corps, Robert Mundell’s B-24 bomber was shot down over Italy on his first combat sortie. He survived capture and escaped from a POW camp, managing to elude his captors in the rural Italian countryside. His account provides a window into one man’s service in the greatest war of the century.

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Look for all these books at local retailers, or find them online at www.keokeebooks.com.

325 Bird Ranch Road • Sagle, Idaho 83860 (208) 255-4321 • www.birdaviationmuseum.com S u m m e r 2 0 17

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b o o ks

and animals with expressions like the winter itself, impersonal and honest and cruel.”

Likewise, in the characters in Ruskovich’s book can be found a mingling of impersonality, honesty and cruelty. But also love and empathy. All those characteristics, she said, flowed from the setting.

“Character and place in this particular novel were so tied together that I didn’t have to think about them separately,” she said. “I just pursued the characters and, in doing so, found the place.”

Ruskovich, a 2004 graduate of the Coeur d’ lene Charter cademy, is about to find “the place” again, as she and her husband — also a writer — have taken jobs teaching in the Boise State University Master’s of Fine Arts program. Beginning in the summer or fall of 2017, Ruskovich welcomes the chance to return home from rural Oregon, where she has taught writing for the University of Colorado online.

“I love teaching for the University of Colorado, but it wasn’t home, and I’d been wanting to move closer to home,” she said.

“When the Boise State job was posted I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the job.’”

She brings with her not only the success of “Idaho,” but a career that has already included winning the prestigious O. Henry Prize in 2015, and studying under Sandpoint-born, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop.

“I had read “Housekeeping” [Robinson’s 80 novel set in a fictionali ed Sandpoint, which was a finalist for the ulit er when I was in college and had never seen language used that way,” Ruskovich said. “Language is not just something she writes well with, it’s just a part of her. She speaks in poetry even when she’s not talking about anything very serious.”

The student has followed the teacher with “Idaho.”

“Northern Idaho is just a part of me,” Ruskovich said. “I actually can’t really think about my sense of self without thinking about Hoodoo Mountain. It’s just there, and it’s still there, and I’m sure I’ll write about it many more times in my life. More than any other place I’ve ever lived in my life, it just gets inside of you.”

®

301 N. 1st Ave . Sandpoint (208)263.3622

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NEW CAMPAIGN, OLD VALUES

Celebrated author Marilynne Robinson to help launch campaign for Idaho schools

A

pair of Sandpoint High School graduates are joining with a nationally acclaimed Sandpoint native in an initiative to reclaim traditional local values they believe are in danger of being lost.

The campaign kicks off on Thursday, July 20 at the Panida Theater, when Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Sandpoint native Marilynne Robinson returns to her hometown to speak about the value of public education.

In addition to winning accolades as a novelist, Robinson is an eloquent advocate for public education. Her 2012 collection of essays, “When I Was a Child I Read Books,” tells the story of an extraordinary mind that was first shaped and nurtured by public school teachers in North Idaho. Her first novel, “Housekeeping,” was set in a fictional version of Sandpoint that drew on her childhood experiences here; it became a bestseller and popular movie.

Robinson was invited by Luke Mayville and Garrett Strizich, 2003 graduates of Sandpoint High School, and the organizers of a new grassroots campaign, Reclaim Idaho.

The pair organized a door-to-door campaign in support of this spring’s supplemental levy for Lake Pend Oreille School District. Sixty volunteers showed up to knock on nearly 3,000 doors in a single weekend. Voter turnout increased by some 55 percent compared to the previous supplemental levy vote, and the levy passed with 64 percent voting in favor. That response inspired them to create Reclaim Idaho, a grassroots campaign to restore Idaho’s commitment to public education, public lands, and healthcare for working families.

The levy passed in spite of an organized effort to vote it down. The antilevy effort, which included mailers, sign-waving, and letters to the editor, was embraced by followers of the “American Redoubt” movement, which encourages conservatives who want political refuge or to prepare for an apocalypse to settle in the Inland Northwest. Redoubt followers advocate through the Redoubt News website and social media, and in recent elections have begun to support slates of like-minded candidates for state and local offices.

A major goal of the Reclaim Idaho campaign is to replace anti-schools legislators with lawmakers who believe in public education. Mayville, who recently authored a book on President John Adams, and taught civics and political philosophy at Columbia University, said the recent levy victory was only a shortsu m m e r 2 0 17

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term solution to the crisis facing Idaho public schools.

He notes that during the years since 2006, inflation-adjusted funding for public education has fallen sharply in 86 Idaho districts, including both school districts in Bonner County.

Mayville believes that dealing with school funding will require the election of new leadership. “Our legislators are not upholding Article 9 of Idaho’s Constitution, which requires the Legislature to ‘maintain a general,

Above: Pulitzer prize winner Marilynne Robinson. PHOTO: CHRISTIAN SCOTT HEINEN BELL Left:

Luke Mayville in Sandpoint. ight: Garrett Strizich COURTESY PHOTOS

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uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools,’” Mayville says. “It’s time for the people to hold these legislators accountable.” The Reclaim Idaho campaign will work to build a grassroots movement capable of electing 2018 legislative candidates who share the campaign’s commitment to strengthening public schools.

Public education is not the only cause promoted by the campaign. A second focus is health care, and the campaign plans to spend the month of August driving to vari-

ous localities in a “Medicaid Mobile” – a camper that is being refashioned as a mobile petition calling for the preservation and expansion of Idaho’s Medicaid program. Strizich, an aspiring rural physician and currently a medical student at the University of Washington’s partner program with the University of Idaho, said he senses deep support for the expansion of Medicaid in Idaho’s healthcare community.

When it comes to the cause of public education, Mayville and Strizich believe

Marilynne Robinson is the perfect spokesperson.

In a 2014 interview with Bill Moyers, Robinson described succinctly what North Idaho public schools did for her: “They gave me my mind.” Mayville believes this simple statement captures the experience of generations of Idahoans. “There was a time when Idahoans were as committed to their schools as the schools were committed to them,” Mayville says. “It’s time for us to reclaim that legacy.”

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mw es C l a g s t o n e M ecardi o s

Museum unearths Bonner County’s criminal past

by Cameron

Rasmusson

Inspectors pose with the bodies of two dead prospectors near Memaloose Island. PHOTO COURTESY BONNER COUNTY HISTORY MUSEUM

T

he tranquility and natural beauty of North Idaho is deceptive. Featuring a small population base and close communities, it’s easy to believe that something about the area nurtures the better angels of human nature.

But dig deep enough and you’ll unearth the seedy world that lurks beneath the surface of any local history.

Olivia Luther Morlen, executive director of the Bonner County History Museum, spent several months in that world last year.

Stacks of newspaper clippings, magazines and books decorated a table in the museum’s research room, each sample detailing another grisly corner of Bonner County’s true crime history.

Curated samples of this past were displayed in the exhibit “The Dark Side of Bonner County” this past year. “We examined all avenues of the dark side — crime, mayhem, ghosts, prohibition, accidents,” Morlen said. “Some of the subject matter was a bit heavy and not for the faint of heart.”

Idaho has long maintained a connection with the Wild West spirit, and in many of the stories found by Morlen and her team the darker aspects of this unfettered, turn-of-the-century lifestyle bubbled to the surface. Historic newspaper the Pend d’Oreille Review reported an Oct. 29, 1909, saloon hold-up straight out of a rest-stop paperback that left one would-be robber, H.C. Hackworth, fatally injured.

“The hold-up, which resulted in the death of Hackworth, was the most bold that has occurred in Bonner County for about a year and is fully entitled to take its place along with the Horseshoe hold-up of a year ago last August,” the article states in the news-

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crimes

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paper’s characteristic, breathless reporting.

It was just after 11 p.m. Friday when three masked gunmen stormed into Daugherty’s Saloon in Oldtown — then named Newport, Idaho. Two of the invaders, one armed with a pair of pistols and the other with a rifle, made for saloon coowners James Daugherty and Mike Shea at the far end of the room while the third, a rifle-wielding Hackworth, approached co-owner James Wilcox at the bar. Wilcox ducked behind the bar, produced a pistol of his own and fired back, striking Hackworth.

In the words of the Pend d’Oreille Review the saloon owner showed “wonderful nerve in ‘getting’ the desperado.”

The remaining bandits made good their escape while Hackworth bled on the saloon floor. The “previously respected man residing east and north of Albeni Falls” was a 47-year-old with a wife and two daughters. Upon interview by the authorities,

The murder was bizarre enough to attract the attention of True Detective Hackworth claimed he was coerced into the hold-up by the other two men. He requested that his wife not be summoned, and by the time it was clear his wounds were fatal, it was too late to find her or his daughters.

“They all seemed to keenly feel the disgrace their father had brought upon the family,” the Pend d’Oreille Review reported.

Incidents like saloon hold-ups, while far from the norm, were part of the historical era as much as the criminality and booze running that sprang up during Prohibition.

But Morlen’s research also unearthed bizarre episodes that could as easily have come from the mind of a crime fiction writer.

One such example is the strange death of 19-year-old Kellie Woltering, an incident that tapped into the paranoia over ritualistic Satanic murders that dominated the 1980s. It was bizarre enough to attract the attention of True Detective, a true crime magazine not far removed from the pulps that published the nascent fiction of H. .

Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard.

The magazine lingers on the sensa-

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tional details — the beautiful young victim, the drugs, the killer haunted by demons, the psychic who assisted the investigation. But news articles from the Spokane Daily Chronicle (later absorbed by the Spokesman- eview), confirm much of the lurid details.

According to the reports, Woltering was strangled shortly before Christmas 1979

by Alan B. Krueger, a massive, mentally ill 28-year-old who suffered from visions of demonic figures. s reported in the ct.

30, 1980, edition of the Spokane Daily Chronicle, Krueger pleaded guilty to strangling Woltering. The two met in an Oldtown bar called Club Rio, and Woltering later left with Krueger in the hope of scoring speed.

According to Krueger’s testimony, Woltering began hitting him when he told her he had no drugs left, and he strangled her in response.

One of the more bizarre details of the case is the involvement of psychic Dorothy Allison. Based in New Jersey, Allison was something of a publicity magnet in the ‘70s and ‘80s due to her habit of intruding in criminal investigations. News reports paint her as a polari ing figure, attracting ardent supporters and critics in like measure.

While the skeptically minded might doubt her claimed second sight, Allison won herself a believer in Pend Oreille County Sheriff Tony Bamonte, who headed up the investigation of the Woltering disappearance. Bamonte told correspondent Bill Morlin of the Spokane Daily Chronicle in a 1982 article that Allison provided accurate descriptions of Woltering’s clothing, the muddy crime scene, and the sequence of events that led to the strangling — details

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crimes he believed it would have been impossible for her to know.

“She was very uncanny — extremely accurate,” Bamonte told Morlin.

“It’s an unexplained psychic phenomenon,” he added. “You can’t sell it short. It definitely worked in my case.”

Perhaps a psychic would have been helpful in solving the murder of two prospectors, Howard Shipley and Pat Welsh, in 1914. It was only through rash behavior by the perpetrator that justice was served at all.

In June, the two prospectors’ bodies were discovered in their cabin five miles across the lake from Hope’s Memaloose Island.

Their killer had shot them with small caliber bullets before stealing their boat and some provisions. A manhunt turned up no leads.

It wasn’t until the next month that John Rhodes, a rancher near the small village of Moravia in Boundary County, was confronted by a revolver-wielding man. Rhodes didn’t cooperate with the gunman’s orders, instead darting back inside his home. The attacker fired through the door, hitting hodes in the chest and piercing a lung. Despite the wound, he pursued the gunman with his own .30-30 Winchester and killed him.

The man was identified as Charles Lappel, an escaped inmate of Warm Springs State Hospital, a mental asylum in Montana.

A ballistic analysis of his gun and several items on his person linked him conclusively to the prospector murders. As for Rhodes, despite a serious injury from the gunfight, he recovered and later collected a $500 bounty for bringing the killer to justice.

These are just a few of the surprising and shocking stories Morlen stumbled upon while researching the exhibit, which was inspired by a similar exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While New York City is renowned for the rough corners of its past, it’s clear Bonner County has more than a few skeletons in its closet.

“I think all of us have a fascination, on some level, with the macabre,” Morlen said.

Although “The Dark Side of Bonner County” exhibit was retired this May, staff are happy to help those interested discover the museum’s many holdings of the macabre.

You can visit the museum, located at 611 S. Ella in Sandpoint, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday. Free admission is available from 0 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the first Saturday of every month.

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Dan Gomes MBA, CFP®

9/21/16 2:20 PM

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a dv e n t u r e

by Billie

Jean Gerke

Ahoy, Nicky Pleass World sailor, hiker and adventurer, An awesome octogenarian

E

nglish college students and sweethearts Mick Pleass and Nicky Vincent went for a little sail one day in 1953 while they were staying with his parents on the Isle of Wight. Heading five miles north toward Portsmouth on the south coast of England, the wind picked up and the water turned rough. A sand bar at the entrance to the bay caused a breaking wave that knocked them over, capsizing their 14-foot dinghy.

The contents of the boat flew around and were now bobbing in the ocean. Nicky swam for the paddles, but Mick was much more interested in recovering a film canister. In fact, he was a little frantic about finding that canister. Nicky was a better swimmer, so she turned her search to the film canister and, luckily, found it.

“Mick said you had better open this now and you had better have this now.

It’ll be safer on your finger,” Nicky, now 85, said of that moment when she discovered Mick was intending to propose marriage with an engagement ring he had 68

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stored in that film canister.

That was the beginning of their adventurous life together, one that would find them embarking on a sailing adventure around the world 20 years later with two teenage daughters and a Siamese cat in tow.

A Sandpoint resident since 1989, Nicky Pleass is best known locally for her role in creating the Mickinnick Trail, a popular 3.5-mile long trail winding its way through 160 acres she donated to the U.S. Forest Service. The trail and that donation was Mick’s idea, but subsequently placing a conservation easement on an additional 188 acres on Greenhorn Mountain was Nicky’s initiative. Mick passed away in 1996, leaving Nicky to carry out his vision for the land they had retired to from the East Coast.

The couple married in 1954, and Mick finished his doctoral work in inorganic chemistry while Nicky worked as a nurse before becoming a stay-at-home mom. The young family soon moved to Canada when Mick accepted a fellowship at National Research Council in Ottawa, Ontario. Later they settled in New Jersey and then Pennsylvania, where Mick worked at

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Opposite page, top: the Gouden Draak. PHOTO: BEKEN & SON Above far right, Nicky on the

Mickinnick Trail. PHOTO: LYNDA SHENKMAN CURTIS Above: Nicky on watch.

ight:The “pro-

posal” boat, before it capsized. Opposite page below: The family plus Hucki the cat, prior to leaving. COURTESY PHOTOS

Bell Laboratories and the family lived in a handsome, Cape Cod-style home with a swimming pool and a couple of acres in Reading.

In 1973, they gave up the home, the job and their secure life to buy a 46-foot, steel-hulled ketch named Gouden Draak and pursue Mick’s lifelong dream to sail around the world, starting from Chesapeake Bay at Havre de Grace, Maryland.

Daughters Anne, 16, and Susan, 14, were as persuasive and enthusiastic as their father. Nicky, then 41, was understandably reluctant.

“Nice house, kids in high school. You’re going to sell that to buy a boat and give up your job?” Nicky said, as she remembered that pivotal time in her life. “I realized my husband wanted to do it. He wanted to do it as a family. And if he went off on his own, would he come back, or would he meet some beautiful woman? So, the lesser of two evils was to go along. He was a quite nice guy. I didn’t want him not to come back,” Nicky said, laughing.

She didn’t grow up sailing like Mick did, and while she had sailed quite a bit since they met their first day in college, “It always seemed that we were capsizing. I was a frightened sailor. Even as we left Chesapeake Bay, I remember it was blowing quite strongly and I was sitting on the high side of the 46-foot boat because it felt safer.”

Daughter Anne was thrilled to be taken out of high school and go on a world adventure. She remembers that her mom was a

trooper. “The whole thing was most stressful on my mom more than anyone else,” she said. Today Anne and her husband Bill Mitchell also live in Sandpoint, where she works for Kaniksu Land Trust.

With a two-year sabbatical granted by Bell Laboratories, Mick led his family on a world circumnavigation that would see them visit more than 30 countries and spend 497 days at sea traveling untold thousands of nautical miles. Two years wasn’t enough, partly because they were demasted at sea 10 days after departing New Zealand and were forced to return for repairs that lasted nine months. On the way back, the Gouden Draak’s reconditioned diesel engine seized up, and her crew limped hundreds of miles to shore using what sail remained to capture wind power.

The once-reluctant Nicky had taught herself celestial navigation and became an integral crew member. This was the 1970s, before the advent of GPS and satellite phones. The technology aboard consisted of a short-wave radio and little else. When Nicky had a chance to get off the boat before they reached the Panama Canal, she chose to stay on. Besides all the chores of home life — laundry, sewing, cooking and cleaning — she was responsible for navigation and contributing to the ongoing maintenance work the boat required.

“It’s hard work, sailing. It’s not one continuous lying on deck in the sunshine. You’ve still got all your domestic chores, your navigation. The girls had schoolwork. And then if you were on watch, you didn’t get eight hours non-interrupted sleep,” Nicky said.

At key ports, they arranged mail stops to facilitate their daughters’

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correspondence courses for high school. When Mick’s two-year sabbatical expired, the family was in New Zealand, and he chose to give up his job rather than abort and return mid-circumnavigation.

Then there were other misadventures. They weathered a hurricane named Monica, ironically Nicky’s given name, while out to sea. While in New Guinea, Nicky fell through an open hatch and broke three ribs, nearly bleeding to death internally before being hospitalized on Thursday Island in Torres Strait. They missed disastrous Cyclone Tracy that hit Darwin, Australia, on Christmas Eve, 1974, by 13 days. They were shot at while sailing through the Red Sea toward the Suez Canal, coming under fire from the Yemeni shore for about 30 minutes as the family lay low and Mick steered the boat with his feet.

“Then we got shot at again at the north end of the Red Sea,” Nicky said.

They unwittingly wandered into Israeli waters while still flying a United Arab Republic courtesy flag and were boarded by a suspicious crew from a large Israeli gun boat.

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Above: The family poses on the taffrail while still on the hard. Left: Nicky scrambles up the mast. COURTESY PHOTOS

turkey,” Nicky said. They were told not to worry if they heard more shots behind them as they continued north.

The voyagers flew the flag of each country as they passed through their waters, flags that were sewn by Nicky on the fly: “We had my grandmother’s old hand-crank sewing machine on board and a bag of bits.”

The thrifty sailors worked to earn money when opportunity arose on the voyage, and they conserved funds as much as possible.

“We were trying to live on a dollar a day. It’s boat maintenance that’s the expense, not the food,” Nicky said. “The last of the funds we had in Mombasa were used to pay for airfare for Anne to fly back to England to start university, which at that time was free, and for Mick to come back to this country and get his passport stamped.”

Susan and Nicky were consequently stuck in Mombasa, Africa, with no money when a wire transfer failed to come through.

“Luckily, being an old Commonwealth country, English people came

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to our rescue. We had no money for long distance phone calls or anything,” Nicky said. “Eventually Mick came back with this money in his hot hand.”

Daughter Anne missed the last legs of the trip; having finished high school by correspondence and applied at the University of Southampton, she had left the voyage in the fall of 1975 at Mombasa to start college in England at her parents’ alma mater.

She had fallen in love with foreign languages on the trip and was accepted into the university without an entrance exam.

The trip from May 11, 1973, to July 31, 1976, ended up taking a little longer than three years.

“I’m glad I did it. I was very reluctant initially. It was a terrific experience. I wouldn’t have missed it for anything,” Nicky said.

When they returned to Havre de Grace with no home, money, car nor job prospects, they lived in harbor on Gouden Draak a while. Mick soon found a new career with the University of Delaware, first as a consultant and eventually as a senior research scientist and instructor with the College of Marine Studies.

“He had to fund himself and write proposals, but he could bring his research ideas into production,” Nicky said.

His time at sea led to a realization of the need for potable water in developing oceanic areas. He and a fellow researcher designed a desalination device that harnessed the energy of sea waves to power

what was known as the Delbuoy. Later, his research led to the development of the Bio Laser Doppler spectrometer, which quantified and identified microorganisms in aquatic environments.

Nicky, meantime, developed her own new second career based on her experience at sea. She recognized a need in Chesapeake Bay and established what became a well-respected sailing school and charter company in the bay. Daughter Anne had received her certification as a sailing instructor in France while attending college in England. She was Nicky’s first hire. Through her company she taught hundreds of sailors on dinghies — not much bigger than the one they had capsized when Mick proposed marriage — as well as on up to 40-foot sailboats. She also delivered sailboats up and down the East Coast, across the Atlantic to Europe, or to and from the Caribbean for customers.

After more than 10 years back in the workforce, she and Mick decided to retire when they happened upon Sandpoint on a backpacking trip in 1989. The trip ended up consisting of looking for property instead of backpacking. Nicky sold the sailing school, still in operation today as BaySail, and joined Mick for their next great adventure, moving to Idaho. Unfortunately, their golden years together in the West were cut short when Mick succumbed to liver cancer in 1996.

“After Mick passed away, I started stretching my legs,” Nicky

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said. She traveled to Nepal, Europe, Iceland, Patagonia and Alaska backpacking and exploring with different adventure companies and through Elderhostel (now Road Scholar).

Since 1989, she has hiked Scotchman Peak every year. This year, she might join a group of hikers over age 75 on a hike to Star Peak, which has a much higher elevation gain. “I think it’s somewhat tougher than Scotchman. With Star Peak you’re almost as high as Scotchman, but you start at lake level,” Pleass said. “I still do Roman Nose Mountain, scrambling up those boulders.”

She and daughter Anne and grandson Kit used to camp and hike, visiting many national parks. But she’s given up camping and backpacking, as she can’t carry heavy backpacks anymore. She skis and sails as often as possible in season, walks every morning before breakfast, and does yoga every Monday.

“What I have noticed most is balance. Yoga has helped so much. I recommend yoga to anyone,” she said.

In 2007 she was named a Woman of Wisdom by the local Women Honoring Women committee in recognition of her contributions to the community and how she has lived her life. Daughter Anne wrote in her nomination letter: “In her quiet way, by clearly demonstrating the benefits of a positive attitude and the importance of personal mental and physical fitness, she is a true inspiration to others and wonderful example for future generations of women.”

Nicky at the top of Scotchman Peak on her annual hike last year.

PHOTO: LYNDA SHENKMAN CURTIS

Ten years later, Nicky’s active lifestyle and lifelong love of learning continue to keep her healthy in mind and body. She can be spotted this summer departing Windbag Marina Thursday evenings for the weekly races hosted by Sandpoint Sailing Association, or atop one of the mountain peaks she plans to scale. She can be recognized amongst the other sailors and hikers by her bright white hair and English accent. Cheerio!

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Hiking the Trail Nicky Made Mickinnick Trail rewards vigor with views

H

iking iconic Mickinnick Trail No. 13 is often a social experience. You don’t know who you’ll run into, but it could very well be someone you know. Since it officially opened in July of 2005, the trail has seen thousands of hikers, some just once, others literally every day. It’s the most popular trail in Bonner County (easily outdistancing Gold Hill Trail No. 3 and Scotchman Peak Trail No. 65). It’s close to Sandpoint (10 minutes from First and Cedar off Woodland Drive) and it’s a lovely — kick-ass — hike.

A quarter mile from the parking lot, the trail enters U.S. Forest Service land and begins a 2,150-foot climb to the 4,300-foot contour in 3.5 miles: an average grade of nearly 12 percent. That’s a few notches above stroll-in-the-woods; cardio country if

you wish to push it.

Most of Sandpoint’s backyard tread lies upon land donated to the Forest Service in 1997 by Mick and Nicky Pleass. The trail wasn’t dedicated until 2005, after Mick had passed away. Trail No. 13 — literally dug into being by Nicky and hiking partner Jan Griffitts — was built primarily by their organization, Friends of Mickinnick Trail, in cooperation with the Forest Service, Bonner County, Bureau of Land Management and the city of Sandpoint (the trailhead is on city property).

The tread wends through a spectacular mix of forest and rock; deep glades set among huge granite outcrops with a near-continuous selection of views of Sandpoint, Pend Oreille lake and river, the

by Sandy

Compton

Cabinet Mountains and the Selle Valley.

Jumbo Douglas firs and Ponderosa pines dominate the overstory. Huckleberries hide not too far off trail in the summer. A variety of wildflowers bloom in their natural sequence from spring to fall.

There are critters to see, as well. Over the past dozen years, lions and bears have been spotted (no tigers yet), as well as many smaller species of mammals, birds and the occasional reptile. And, of course, fellow hikers. It’s not the most solitary hiking experience in the world, but that’s part of the fun of the Mickinnick.

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HAPPY TRAILS Sandpoint area biking opportunities expand

by Charles

T

he bicycle, it is said, is the world’s most efficient form of transportation. The basic design is spare and elegant and, like a simple tune in the mind of an improviser, aching to be tinkered with. The birth of mountain biking in the 19 0s signaled the start of a new improvisational quest to create ever more ways to venture into off-road terrain on two wheels.

Happily, Sandpoint is a tinkerer’s paradise with a growing populace of bike-crazed individuals more than happy to embrace a challenge. The area’s boundless mountain terrain and large swaths of public land are fertile ground for a growing variety

of off-road experiences ranging from quick jaunts around town to epic treks into the high country.

Sandpoint and North Idaho have evolved along with the bicycle, seamlessly adapting to an ever-growing demand for cycling recreation and adventure, helping put the town on the map as much for its cycling opportunities as its beauty. Compact and relatively level, the town is ideal for commuting by bicycle, and garages are more apt to stable twowheeled steeds than to keep snow off a Subaru. Sandpoint boasts at least six bike shops, and many other local businesses that cater to cyclists and the love of cycling.

Mortensen

Jon Hagadone and icki eich opened the Idaho Pour Authority in 2013, a popular watering hole in downtown Sandpoint. Hagadone and Reich are avid cyclists who, inspired

by Ninkasi Brewing Company’s Pints for a Cause program, decided to partner with various craft breweries to benefit local nonprofits, including cycling and trail advocacy groups.

They donate proceeds from beer sales during special events to the nonprofit organizations.

“I grew up in Sandpoint,” said Hagadone, “and I love giving back to the community. There are a lot of nonprofit organizations doing great things locally, and the events we host

The trail from Mineral Point to Green Bay is stunning, but fairly technical with tight turns and lots of dips in terrain.

PHOTO: DOUG MA SHALL

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POPULA BI ING T AILS

2

1. Dover

Sandpoint

Sand Creek paved

2. Watershed Crest Trail 3. Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail 4. Mineral Point

Green Bay

5 Trail 120 Hope . Syringa Heights Trail

6

3 1

1

5

4 are always great fun.”

Sandpoint’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee, which maintains a map identifying opportunities for cyclists of all types, has been instrumental in the creation of bike lanes and routes throughout the community. Sandpoint is linked

to the surrounding towns of Dover, Sagle, Ponderay and Kootenai by a network of paved bicycle/pedestrian pathways, most recently expanded by the completion of the Creekside Trail along Sand Creek.

The recent trend toward enhancing trail access and bike-friendly transporta-

tion in and around Sandpoint inspired Idaho Conservation League and other trail advocates to create a trail mix committee, bringing together about 20 member organizations, including local, federal, and state jurisdictions and various nonprofit groups, in an effort to coordinate the logistics of trail development, management, and advocacy.

Initially formed to address issues related to the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail, “It quickly grew,” said Susan Drumheller, president of the Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail. “We don’t just represent recreational trail interests,” she added, “but also folks who want to commute and get around our communities safely. So, for example, we’ve discussed projects like fixing the Sagle Bike Path and we (coordinate with) the Bonner County Area Transportation Team.”

In 2014, the Trail Mix Committee

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Workers with the Pend Oreille Pedalers helped to build the Watershed Crest Trail.

PHOTO: JIM MELLEN

became the steering entity for a countywide trail plan, originally initiated by Bonner County. The plan was supported by the Trust for Public Land, which had funds to do conservation-related work in North Idaho, and by matching dollars from community groups, such as the Pend Oreille Pedalers, Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail, North Idaho Bikeways, and the Rotary Club of Sandpoint, as well as the cities of Sandpoint and Ponderay, and Bonner County.

“It’s my hope that the Trail Mix Committee will be the vehicle for continuing work on this plan, and implementing it,” said Drumheller. “The (committee) itself probably won’t take on trail projects, but will support those groups that do — for example, helping the local bike club, the Pend Oreille Pedalers, and the city of Sandpoint build the Watershed Crest Trail.”

Sandpoint’s cycling-friendly efforts even extend into the nearby mountains, where

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the Public Works Department maintains the city’s water supply. In 2015, the city approved the Watershed Crest Trail, and contracted with the Pend Oreille Pedalers to execute the trail’s construction. Trail building, which incorporates new and existing trails, began in 2015 and is expected to be completed in 2019, culminating in tens of miles of trail connecting alpine terrain between Schweitzer and Baldy mountains and points to the southeast along ridges bordering Sandpoint’s watershed in the Sand Creek basin.

Much of the funding for construction of the trail comes from a grant from the Equinox Foundation, which supports various charitable organizations in Bonner and Boundary counties. The foundation believes trails provide a great way for locals and visitors to connect with nature in a healthy, recreational setting, and sees the WCT project as a spectacular draw for locals and visitors.

Several years ago, the Equinox Foundation also provided funding for the Pend Oreille Pedalers’s purchase of a mini excavator, an indispensible machine for many of the club’s trail building projects, including the WCT. Mike Kirkpatrick, a Renaissance man of the outdoors and the driving force on the ground when it comes to actual trail construction, is a magician behind the wheel of this machine.

“It’s not a job, it’s a passion,” said Kirkpatrick, who is engaged as a master trail builder not only by the Pend Oreille Pedalers, but also by the Selkirk Recreation District, which funds trail building projects in the greater Schweitzer Mountain residential community, and Schweitzer Mountain 78

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Resort, which employs Kirkpatrick as a mountain bike trail designer and builder.

“My favorite aspects of trail building are the creativity involved and the challenge of improving upon my designs from year to year. It’s also fun to find inspiration while exploring trails built by others.”

The many biking trails at Schweitzer Mountain Resort are maintained by a trail crew, managed by Kirk Johnson, who also runs the Ski and Ride Center. “The popularity of mountain biking among visitors from around the country, Canada, and other parts of the globe has been growing each year at the resort,” said Johnson. “We maintain a rental fleet of about 30 high-end, downhillspecific, full suspension bikes for use on the lift-accessed downhill trail network, along with a smaller pod of cross-country and road bikes for use by vacationing cyclists who have opted for the convenience of a rental over the logistics of airline bike transport.” When the Ski and Ride Center transitions to winter, the summer fleet is put out to pasture and replaced by a pod of snow bikes for use on the resort’s 30-kilometer Nordic trail system.

While the Watershed Crest Trail is currently the primary focus of the Pend Oreille Pedalers’ trail development efforts, the club has been responsible for many trail improvements over the years, often working with other groups, such as the U.S. Forest Service, Selkirk Recreation District, and Kaniksu Land Trust. The Pedalers maintain the Syringa Heights trails, Trail No. 3 on Gold Hill near Sagle, the Mineral Point trail system near Garfield Bay, and Brush Lake trails in Boundary County on a regular basis.

Trail 120 above Hope. PHOTO: CHARLES MORTENSEN,

U. S. Forest Service Trail No. 120, high in the Cabinet Mountains above the town of Hope, is another favorite mountain biking destination. In 2016, the Idaho Trails ssociation helped the Forest Service finish construction of the Bee Top Mountain connector trail, providing public access to the eastern end of this epic trail for the first time in many years. Trail No. 120, part of the 1,000-mile-long Idaho Centennial Trail, follows ridgetops in the Cabinet Mountains overlooking Lake Pend Oreille and is widely regarded as one of the most scenic trails in the region. Mountain bikers know it as Strong Creek, reflecting the typical access route for cyclists — a nearly 4,000-verticalfoot climb to the ridgetop up the Strong Creek drainage from Hope.

Local trail development and management efforts come at a time when the debate is heating up regionally and nationally concerning mountain bike trail access.

In 2015, the cycling community lost what many consider to be the premier mountain biking trail system in the region to planned Wilderness Act designation of the Long Canyon/Parker Ridge area in the Selkirk Mountains of Boundary County. The Wilderness Act, enacted in 1964, excludes the use of mechanized transport in designated wilderness areas.

But, as with so many other things, optimism prevails with Sandpoint residents and the collective attitude among cyclists is to replace what was lost with even better trails. The heart of the tinkerer beats on.

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where the world ceases to exist Lake cabins provide generations of memories

T

ucked beneath the cedar and the pine, clinging to a bit of Bonner County lakeshore, is a cabin. The metal roof is dented from decades of storms, but to the occupants the tin still plays a symphony every time it rains. The wind sweeps across the screen door like a bow, rendering a subtle, melodic counterpoint. The song rises as bright and fast as the generations of laughter that cling to the inside walls, and slips through the fingers of their soul like a siren’s whispered invitation to dance upon the cascading waves.

“It’s such a surreal place — so disconnected, so isolated. Even though it’s a community setting, you’re on your own… away from the hustle and bustle of the world,” said Jason Rice, of his family’s cabin on Priest Lake.

In Bonner County, the typical lake cabin comprises roughly 1,200 square feet and occupies 150 feet or less of lake frontage. Many were built by inexperienced carpenters prior to

by carrie

scozzaro

The Berge family, on Beaver Creek for five generations, used to rent this cabin in Priest Lake, which was just two doors down from their great-grandfather’s cabin. The family purchased it in 1988. PHOTO: ERIN ZARAFSHAN

1965, but have safely housed multiple generations of summer families.

“It wasn’t the sturdiest of foundations: a couple of cement slabs, with some cedar logs. And it wasn’t exactly what you’d call even. Forget trying to cook an egg without it sliding to the edge of the pan,” said Robert Hamilton of the family cabin on Jewel Lake.

“We still have a log foundation,” said Mike Malbon, whose family summers at Priest Lake. “Most of the cabin is the original, cedar-sided finish that was acquired and milled locally.”

Claire Bistline, her kids and her grandkids have spent summers on Lake Pend Oreille. “My mother and father purchased Warren Island near Hope around 1960. The story is that my dad had to go to five banks just to borrow the down payment, as most people thought it was a worthless

piece of ground,” she said.

Katie Berge’s summer getaway is on Priest Lake, and she said: “It’s a one-room log cabin. We have our kitchen that’s on one wall, and then we have our eating area and our sitting area. A Murphy bed takes up another wall.

“It sometimes takes people a while to figure out where we sleep,” she added.

For all their rustic simplicity, residents describe their summer cabins using words like transcendental and magical. These are the places families return to year after year, passing along memories from one generation to the next. It’s a culture where family and friendship trumps convenience and luxury. More than one person expressed the belief that love grows best in small places, and that you can resolve a lot of family issues around a campfire, telling stories, and eating s’mores.

Donna Malbon has been spending summers at Priest Lake all her life.

“On our road, our neighbors have been friends with our family since I was a little girl.”

Last summer (2016), Donna celebrated her 80th birthday. Her husband, Mike, said: “We offered to take the whole family to Hawaii and celebrate there. The kids got together and Cabin life is about fun in the water as Justsye White and Gavin Hughes demonstrate. PHOTO: ERIN HUGHES

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L akestyle rebelled. They said, ‘No, we would prefer to celebrate that birthday at Priest Lake.’”

Jason Rice summed up life at their cabin as “being able to live the culture and the history that my great-grandparents laid out in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s: to be a part of the continuity of then-and-now, and to have so many things in common with them.” obert Hamilton told of going fishing with his father. “We would rent those row boats that Art (a neighbor) had built. Usually we would go in the evenings, because that’s when the fishing is best. It was the collection of those sights and sounds, during those times, that stays with me today. Just a few years before Dad died, I found out he didn’t even like to eat fish.”

Speaking of her daughters, Katie Berge said: “It’s a place to share memories. It’s one of the dearest places in their hearts.

It’s sacred to our family as a place to connect.” Her voice caught with emotion. “It has brought our family together. I know my girls, no matter where they (eventually) go, they’re going to want to come see me on the lake. I look forward to future memories.”

Jennifer Brizendine’s parents have been married 43 years. They met at Priest Lake: “My mom worked summers at Indian Creek campground. y dad met her the first year he worked there. She was 15 and he was 17, and they were smitten… . Eventually, they got married and had five kids.” Bri endine’s grandpa, on her mom’s side, owned the first pair of water skis on the lake. Her grandpa’s great-aunt, Louise Anderson, was spending summers on the lake during the 1920s.

Claire Bistline and her siblings spent

their childhood on Warren Island, expanding their imagination. “As children we loved to play Robinson Crusoe, exploring the barren cliffs and hiding in the old growth cedar at the center of the island.”

Erin Hughes, Claire’s daughter, also spent summers on Warren Island. “When I was about 22 and my brother was probably 18, we decided to camp on a grassy hillside in our sleeping bags. (Mine was cotton — his, nylon.) Dinner ran well past dark. We had to find our way to the hillside using a flashlight with failing batteries. We laid out our sleeping bags and went to sleep. Nylon and a grassy hillside are not a good combination. I woke up in the morning and he was gone. I couldn’t believe he just left me out there; and for how long? That’s when I sat up and noticed that he had slid all the way to the bottom of the hill and was still sleeping.”

Jodi Rice and her sons gained an unexpected friend. “We had a pet squirrel named Skippy. We domesticated her with a lot of peanuts and by holding very still. Skippy came back for three or four years in a row.

Simple rustic cabins, like the former Bistline cabin on Warren Island, are becoming rare on the lake. PHOTO: PAT BISTLINE

We taught her tricks and even had a birthday party for her. Skippy was pretty much a part of the family.”

Owning a summer cabin isn’t all singalongs and huckleberry picking expeditions, however. These days there is very little, if any, “worthless” ground in or around a Bonner County lake, which means an increase in land lease fees and property taxes. This is particularly true on the east side of Priest Lake, where much of the land is owned by the state of Idaho. As existing contracts expire, the state is holding auctions on the leases. Families who’ve inhabited cabins going back five generations are losing their spots to the highest bidder. Small, rustic cabins are rapidly being replaced by palatial lake homes valued at multiple millions of dollars.

“There’s a significant financial component of it. The cost of leasing has gone up exponentially. It’s far outpaced what you’d assume to be typical real estate inflation,” said Jason Rice.

And the idea of “cabin” has changed, said Erin Hughes. “It used to be small cabins on the island and now there’s massive homes, but it seems everybody respects and cares for the island.”

Even without the worry of losing the ground you’re leasing, owning a summer cabin includes the expense of upkeep. Older people on fixed incomes are having trouble meeting the escalating costs, and young families often have difficulty maintaining Left: A Bangle family campfire. PHOTO: ROBERT HAMILTON Opposite, top: The Berge’s recently

remodeled outhouse. BERGE FAMILY PHOTO

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“We spend all winter worrying about whether the pipes have frozen or the roof has caved in,” said Jodi Rice.

“It’s expensive to own a cabin up there.

If you’re not using it that often, it’s cheaper to rent a place for two weeks out of the year,” explained Jennifer Brizendine. “You can rent a cabin for $2,500 a week, and not worry about it the rest of the year.”

Pam Angus and her family have a place on the Hope Peninsula. She explains that part of the cost is repairing damage caused by “bad storms that fell trees and destroy the docks and beach.”

Claire Bistline explained her decision to let go of her place on Warren Island.

“Although living on an island sounds all idyllic and romantic, there is a lot of hard, back-breaking work involved. As there is no road or bridge connecting to the mainland, all things must be handled many times, loading and unloading from a vehicle, onto a boat, and then uphill to the cabin. Easy enough when you are in your 40s, but that was over 20 years ago.”

And yet: “The lake has always been a place of peace,” said Pam Angus. “When you are there the rest of the world ceases to exist.”

For now, the symphony still plays each summer along the lakeshores of Bonner County as returning generations fill cabins with laughter, share family legends over the campfire, and dance upon the waves.

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M o u n ta i n S t y l e

the cabinet mountains

Still Wild after all these years

Writer sweats the details for third edition of popular “Wild Cabinets” hiking guide Inveterate hiker Jim Mellen has carried on the hiking guides originally authored by his friend Dennis Nicholls. Their guide book, “Trails of the Wild Cabinets,” has just come out in its third edition.

U

by Jim

mellen

pdating these trail guides always throws me for a loop.

I think it might only take me 40 hours to do an update but 300 hours later I am still struggling with the details.

I would hate to see someone make a plan to do a great hike and then get thrown off track by inaccuracies in the book, so I sweat over maps, sorting out conflicting information.

Probably the most interesting trail that I researched while working on this book was Char Creek Trail No.1030. This trail is actually a decommissioned road. I biked up there from Clark Fork (and this is still open to bikes) and made a loop, planning to ride down Rattle Creek, which is also a decommissioned road. The difference is that while Char Creek Trail No.1030 is an actual trail, Rattle Creek is totally decommissioned, even to hiking. So this “ride” turned into an exhausting slog. If I had it to do again I would make a loop and come down Mud Creek Trail No. 559 (another new trail) but I would hike it this time.

A couple of super easy hikes have been added to the third edition: Char Creek Falls (Trail No. 1030) and Kootenai Falls trails.

For those looking for a little more challenge, go beyond Rock Lake Trail No. 5 up to Libby Lakes. It’s beautiful, but difficult.The first time I took my wife, Sandii, there, she told me, “I will never come back here!” Two weeks later we were back again. One month after that, she Climbers at Char Falls. was back with a friend. Her photo of that friend is on the front cover of the third edition.

Char Creek Trail No. 1030 From page 135 of “Trails of the Wild Cabinets,” third edition.

Sprawling 150 miles across northwest Montana and northern Idaho, the Cabinet Mountains are one of the little-known frontal ranges of the Rocky Mountains. Formed of ancient sedimentary rock and sculpted by massive glaciers during the Ice Age, the Cabinets hold inspiring peaks, breathtakin g alpine lakes, unspoiled forests and rare wildlife. This guide provides descriptions for 100-plus trails with charts and maps to easily find hikes for all abilities – from an easy day hike to a multi-day wilderness adventure. Also featured in this third edition is a new guide to trails suitable for mountain bikes.

PHOTO BY CHRIS BESSLER

Sandpoint, Idaho

Cover-Trails of Wild Cabinets-final.indd

IDAHO - MONTANA

Founder and former publisher of The River Journal newspaper, author Dennis Nicholls worked as a forestry technician and consultant, and spent more than 20 years roaming the Cabinets. He died in 2009. Nicholls’ guide books have since been carried on by his friend and hiking partner Jim Mellen, who is himself an avid hiker and outdoorsman with a love for wild places and their protection.

Wild Cabinets

NICHOLLS & MELLEN

What’s it like? This trail was converted to a non-motorized trail in 2010. It provides access to Rattle Ridge Trail No. 134 that leads to Lightning Mountain and Twin Peaks. The trail follows decommissioned roads for the first miles. The grade is moderate and suitable for mountain bikes. Once on the actual trail, it is typical

Trails of the Wild Cabinets

Best suited for: hiking, horseback riding, mountain bikes Trail length: 8 miles one way from the junction with Trail No. 1184.

Trail condition: good Elevation gain: 1,580 ft.

Estimated duration of hike: 4 hours up, 3 hours down Sweat index: moderate Best features: views of the Scotchman Peaks.

subalpine forest with huckleberries and beargrass. The views of the Scotchmans are terrific with Scotchman No. 2, Savage and East Fork strutting their stuff.

Trailhead: Take Lightning Creek Rd No. 419 A K E O K E E G U I D E THIRD EDITION B O O K Discovefor r the 8 miles, turn right from Clark Fork, Idaho, Magnificent t Mountains Trails of the onto East Fork CreekCabine Road No. 1184. Take Trail No. 1184 for 0.5 miles to the intersection EDITION T H I R D MOUNTAI of East Fork Peak Trail No. 563. The trailhead N BIKING NEW TRAILS + is signed on both sides of the creek. The East Fork of Lightning Creek must be forded and this is a wide crossing... .It’s best to simply cut straight uphill once across the stream for approximately 150 vertical feet until you Dennis Nicholls come upon an old logging road now mainJim Mellen tained as the trail.

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Clark Fork

they found A SMALLER HAMSTER WHEEL Doctor, physicist leave high-powered careers for a new life in Clark Fork

by Mary

Terra-Berns

Heather and Mike Schacht, along with their children, at their new business, Evergreen Homestead Supply in Clark Fork. PHOTO: BRENDA HAASE

A

straw bale, pipe insulation, cable ties, rebar, yogurt lids, nails, oil funnel, toilet mop, and RV sewer hose; no, these aren’t the available items on Apollo 13 enabling the crew to safely return to Earth.

These items are the essential components of a WheataPet. Mike and Heather Schacht, the new owners of Evergreen Homestead Supply in Clark Fork — formerly Evergreen Ace Hardware — created the WheataPet as an art class project with five of their six children, taking the ordinary and making something extraordinary. Brothers Timo and Wind fashioned the antlers, while Eagle and her

The real pet and the WheataPet. PHOTO: MARY TERRA-BERNS

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brother Mountain brought the eyes to life with yogurt lids — donated by Eagle’s fellow equine-loving friend Diane Newcomer — and gave them a bit of twinkle with just the right nails. Heather created the fashionable hat, and the sewer-hose proboscis was contributed by Mike. Youngest son, Leaf, was the director of cute and as you can see from the photo below, he did a fine job.

Having the ability to diversify and be creative beyond the required curriculum for home schooling is one of the primary reasons this family moved to Idaho. Mike, a physicist, was working at New Mexico’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in a large building that housed his high precision atomic physics laboratory. Heather, a family medicine doctor, began her career as a National Health Service Corps doctor — think “Northern Exposure” — working in Iowa, South Dakota and American Samoa.

Wanting to get off the hamster wheel and spend more time with their children prompted a search for a place that would, as Mike said, “give you a lot of the things you think you should be doing in life.” Mike and Heather looked at several different states, but quickly winnowed the choice down to one: Idaho.

Idaho, being a large and diverse state, required an across-the-state road trip. Mike, with Timo as navigator, headed north to Yellowstone National Park for a quick visit

before getting down to the serious business of checking out Idaho. Love of rivers guided a good portion of their exploratory venture, which eventually had them following the Salmon River to Riggins and White Bird. Highway 95 took them over White Bird Pass, across the Palouse, and briefly along the Clearwater River before heading north to Coeur d’Alene. Opting for roads less traveled, they veered off Highway 95 north of Coeur d’Alene and followed U.S. Forest Service roads along the east side of Lake Pend Oreille, ultimately arriving in the Clark Fork River Valley. After exploring Clark Fork they continued on their journey to Priest River and Bonners Ferry; Clark Fork, however, was at the top of the list when they returned to New Mexico.

They didn’t have a plan and “figured we’ll just do something,” but sometimes worlds collide and good things happen. Vicki Woodward owned Evergreen Ace Hardware for 27 years and had decided it was time to retire and sell the business. A real estate advertisement listing the business for sale caught Mike’s eye. He contacted Vicki and in December 2016, with Wind and Timo, traveled back to Clark Fork to look at Evergreen and make an offer.

With their destination set, they said goodbye to their oldest son Bear, who is a dental hygienist in Los Alamos, and left New Mexico.

Their departure was staggered over a couple of days. Mike drove the moving van; Heather, with Eagle, the younger boys and the family cat, drove their van towing a pop-up camper; and finally Timo and Wind came in the pickup truck with 16-foot trailer. There was great joy and relief when everyone arrived within six hours of each other on the afternoon of March 1. Heather, seeing her new home for the first time, knew it would be a lovely place.

“Mike has always managed to move us from whatever seems to be the loveliest place there ever was to someplace even uniquely better, and this move was no exception. He has a good eye for great places. He knows

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how to pick the backyard.�

Changing the business name to Evergreen Homestead Supply isn’t just a rebranding effort. The store continues to carry feed, hardware and building supplies, but is adding additional features and programs that support the homestead.

Heather introduced a produce program that brings an assortment of fresh, top quality fruits and vegetables to the store every other Tuesday. Patrons pick up the “assortment of the week� in a box or Tubtrug. This spring there was a row of Tubtrugs with beautifully displayed produce, which were quickly going out the door. With snow piled high outside at the time, the fresh produce was a pleasant sight.

Additional features offered at the store include locally grown garden seedlings from Moose Meadows and Mountain Cloud farms, and a variety of educational workshops. Workshops, so far, have included Garden Planning, Starting Seeds, and Chicken Husbandry, all presented by experts. Future features will include ideas for renewable energy solutions and an area where local craftsmen can sell their wares.

In addition to the store, Heather is planning on converting their Winnebago into a mobile medical clinic focusing on lifestyle medicine. She will work with clients on ways to improve nutrition, reduce stress, and increase physical activity. Heather said: “ any people want to be self-sufficient, but in order to do that they need good basic health.� Hippocrates, father of lifestyle medicine, suggested, “Let food be your medicine, and medicine be your food,� and “Walking is man’s best medicine.�

Both Mike and Heather value being around grounded, down-to-earth, regular people and enjoy the community aspect of the business, which has been a hub of social activity for years. “It’s nice to be around people that are not looking to move to bigger and bigger hamster wheels; people that are happy and satisfied whether they have a lot or a little,� Heather said. She enjoys talking with people just stopping in for conversation. “It’s a way of giving. I enjoy that.�

Evergreen Homestead Supply is located on Highway 200 just west of Clark Fork.

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1519 Baldy Park Rd. Sandpoint, ID 83864

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D ow n t ow n

Downtown sandpoint streetscape transformation begins New traffic patterns kick off major three-year downtown revitalization project

by Sandy

Compton

M

ay marked the beginning of the end of an era in Sandpoint, a change that will likely be sorting itself out for some time to come. After three-plus decades of a one-way, counterclockwise traffic square and a west-bound, one-way Church Street between First and Fifth, twoway streets have returned.

Planning for this began 17 years ago, but impetus for moving forward was the completion of the Sand Creek Byway in 2012. This relieved the First-Cedar-Fifthine loop of a majority of truck traffic and a si eable chunk of auto traffic. Gone are traffic lights at First and ine, Fifth and ine and the signal that regulated traffic at Second and Cedar for so long nobody living can remember when it wasn’t there. One new signal bloomed — at Fifth and Church — for a net loss of two traffic lights, an interesting twist on progress.

Before Sandpoint drivers get used to this new pattern, construction begins on two projects that create further temporary changes to moving around Sandpoint. The new streetscape implementation for Cedar between Second and Fifth begins after Lost in the ‘50s ends. Shortly after the Festival at Sandpoint ends in August, a water and sewer upgrade will begin between Lake and Church on First Avenue. Construction on both projects is expected to wrap up in early November.

The new look will not be your dad’s or grandma’s two-way streets. Cedar and First will get a similar treatment to what Second and Third avenues and Church Street already received: wider sidewalks; stormwater/rain gardens; trees; and curb extensions providing areas for benches, waste and recycling cans, bicycle racks and public art.

“We learned a lot from what was

Green highlights mark streets converted to two-way traffic.

done on Second, Third, and Church,” said Sandpoint city administrator Jennifer Stapleton. “The design team at Century West Engineering has been tweaking the First and Cedar designs from feedback on streets already completed. Century West employees, the mayor, city engineer Ryan Luttmann and myself have been walking and talking to business owners for input about the design as well.”

The question of parking has been much on the minds of business owners and the city as well. “Parking is one of those topics that need to be revisited on a regular basis,” Stapleton said, “but with implementation of diagonal parking, we’re going to pick up approximately 40 additional parking spaces along First and Cedar.”

The city parking committee has commissioned a study of long-term needs, particularly with an eye to parking and traffic pattern S u m m e r 2 0 17

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changes expected after reversion to a twoway street pattern and construction.

The new street pattern will contain variations from the streets of the 1970s. No left turn from Bridge onto First Avenue. No left turn from Church onto First. No left turn from Fifth onto Pine, and two stretches of one-way remain: eastbound on Pine Street between Fifth and Fourth and eastbound on Main Street between Fifth and Third. The light at the corner of Fifth and Church allows drivers to turn east on Church, directing traffic from the north toward the city parking lot as well as an entrance to the City Beach.

Completion of new streetscapes will continue through summer of 2019. Progress can be followed at the website provided by Century West Engineering at www.sandpointstreets.com SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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Whinny nicker Neigh

m

g

horses from the heart Shellby Young combines love of horses and art in ‘Whinny Nicker Neigh’ books

“H

by Trish gannon e would see me coming from a long way off and charge, running straight at me.

Instinctively I would get low to the ground, stay quiet and try to be less of a threat. It was exhilarating at times but the horses were mostly curious, calm and peaceful; my kind of meditation.”

“He” was a wild mustang stallion that artist and writer Shellby Young encountered during one of the dozens of visits she made to the Boulder-White Clouds Wilderness in central Idaho as she studied and photographed the herd of wild mustangs that roam there.

Her experiences with the wild horses provided a substantial dose of inspiration as Young worked on the dramatic, large-format illustrations in her new book, “Mountain Mustangs,” the second in her “Whinny Nicker Neigh” series that combines beautiful artwork with free-form poetry. Although the books are ostensibly for children, they will appeal to anyone who enjoys horse art.

Young, who grew up on a dairy farm back east, spent her childhood surrounded by horses and art, with a father who always encouraged her to go west. She followed that call as soon as she turned 18, working any job she could find with horses — mostly wrangling. ears later she married a scientist and had two daughters. The family lived on a remote homestead in Lemhi she describes as “very remote. We had to drive three miles to a dirt road and then another six to get to pavement.”

Wanting to keep to a small town lifestyle, yet provide a little more society for their children and business, the family moved to Hope, where she and her husband build equipment and provide services for aquatic research.

Two years ago Young decided to write, illustrate and publish a book of children’s poetry around a theme never far from her life: horses. “I didn’t know anything about the book business,” she said, but “ ony oetry,” her first book, was barely off the su m m e r 2 0 17

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Above: The stallion and his herd mentioned is portrayed in the center spread of the book “Mountain Mustangs.”

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A An Ny A Cn i c k e r N e i g h WLhMi n

Top: Shellby Young in her studio. PHOTO: WILL YOUNG

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presses before she began work on her second, “Mountain Mustangs.”

Young said she would “come home, stare at the photos I’d taken, then paint the picture.” Completing the artwork revealed the story to her.

As she neared completion of “Pony Poetry” with design assistance from Gadman Graphics, she recruited help from Keokee Publishing to take it to print.

For “ ountain ustangs,” Keokee designer Laura Wahl helped complete the final layout, and Keokee became a co-publisher for the series with her own Shellby Publishing. Young also produces her art in limited edition prints.

While “Pony Poetry” is in stores now, the new “Mountain Mustangs” will be

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back from the printer in mid July.

Young is already at work on book three, “Equine Interviews,” featuring 20 different horses from 20 different jobs.

“There’s something special about the spirit of a horse,” she said of her subject, and added: “As a parent and artist I wanted to expose children and adults alike to the unheard spirit of the horse.”

Whinny Nicker Neigh books are available at local stores, or online at www.keokeebooks.com. A portion of book proceeds go to support the wild mustangs. Art and prints are at www. shellbyyoung.com.

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Kootenay Lake | Photo: Dave Heath

the ultimate getaway Nelson, BC | Photo: Electrify Photography

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C l ag st o n e M e a d ow s

Clagstone Meadows

timber company opens forest to the public

by Susan Drumheller Photos by randy beacham

D

uring the 25 years that Al and Sandra Turtle lived next door to Clagstone anch north of elso Lake, they explored their backyard along cattle trails they christened Lupine Loop and Raccoon Road.

Some summer evenings they’d head to Lambertson Lake in their pickup, with two chairs and a bottle of wine to watch the sunset, and once watched a moose swim across the lake. They enjoyed the cinnamon bears, elk and other wildlife that shared the surrounding meadows and forests.

But in 2010, when the county approved the 1,200-unit Clagstone Meadows development project, with golf courses, parks and condominiums, the Turtles couldn’t bear it and moved away.

“It just made me sick,” Sandra Turtle said.

The approximately 12,000-acre Clagstone property has been in private hands since Paul Clagstone homesteaded the original ranch in 1900 see sidebar . Public access has varied over the years, but was closed off when Stimson Lumber Company purchased the land in November 2000.

That’s about to change.

h

SANDPOINT CLAGSTON MEADOWS 8,847 ACRES

BAYVIEW

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C l ag st o n e M e a d ow s

Photo at right: Old cabin remains. Opposite, below: The road makes for an inviting hike.

In December, Stimson finalized a deal with state agencies to place a conservation easement on the property, prohibiting development and keeping the land a working forest forevermore.

Starting in August, the public will have access to more than 8,800 acres of the property located in southern Bonner County just north of Kelso Lake. In addition, Stimson has opened up another 1,200 acres to the public on Cape Horn, overlooking Lake Pend Oreille.

Neighbors who fought the development are celebrating the deal.

“I love it,” said neighborhood activist Laurie Reid. “I would much rather have the public walking around back behind me and doing hunting responsibly than having a whole city back there.”

The property has been working land ever since settlement, with timber the focus after ranching alone wasn’t sustainable. Stimson uses the main cabin at Beaver Lake as a private company retreat.

Stimson produces between 2 and 4 million board feet annually from the property, which is 5 to 10 percent of the supply of Stimson’s Priest River sawmill, said Barry Dexter, Stimson’s Director of Inland Resources. In mid-2000, Stimson started looking into developing the property.

“Timberland has a certain return,” Dexter said, “but we had to investigate other options for the property to make sure we were able to get the best return.”

As the 1,200-unit resort development made its way through the county approval process, Reid and her neighbors packed public hearings. Plans to impound and expand Beaver Lake to irrigate golf courses and create more waterfront property raised concerns about impacts downstream.

“Beaver Creek starts up there and that feeds Kelso Lake, and my creek, Cold Creek, also feeds Kelso Lake, but it all starts up there,” Reid said. She and neighbors started the Kelso Lake Watershed Council to try to protect the creek and Kelso Lake.

The development threatened unique wetlands that pepper the property, which support biodiversity and protect water quality. The area was identified among the state’s top 10 priority wetlands by Idaho Fish and Game’s Conservation Data Center.

In 2010, Stimson started discussing the merits of a conservation easement with the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit that works with willing landowners to find conservation solutions.

“If there was another way to generate value out of the property and conserve it, that was our preference,” Dexter said.

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Stimson and TPL landed a Forest Legacy grant for $5.5 million — Forest Legacy is a federal conservation program funded by offshore oil royalties. TPL also raised $2 million in private funds, while IDFG secured $2 million in federal funds from an excise tax on the sale of guns and ammunition, which are designated for hunter access.

Finally, Stimson donated $3.6 million in kind toward the $13.1 million appraised value of the easement.

The area has no endangered species, but other factors ranked the Forest Legacy grant proposal high, including the threat of development.

“It’s such a large piece of undeveloped property with such good habitat on it and outstanding wetland values,” said Gregg Servheen, IDFG’s wildlife program coordinator.

“By doing this, we could open up access for hunters but also make it available for recreation.”

Last minute opposition nearly derailed the deal in the spring of 2016, when the federal funds got hung up in the Idaho Legislature.

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Some objected to federal funds being used to conserve private lands and county commissioners complained they hadn’t been included in the discussions.

“This is a big enough project people don’t want to be blindsided,” Servheen said. “Once the information got out and concerned citizens understood what the benefits would be and what the private property owner would get out of it, many of those concerns went away.”

One benefit, said Idaho Department of Lands forest legacy coordinator Karen Sjoquist, is economic: “The primary purpose of our program is to keep working forests working.”

Another benefit, public outdoor recreation, begins Aug. 1 when more than 8,800 acres will open to the public through four trailheads. The Beaver Lake cabin and areas around the lake will remain off-limits, however. Small parking lots will be constructed at access points off Kelso Road, Bandy Road and a U.S. Forest Service road.

Access is free, but self-registration will be required at trailhead kiosks. Hiking, mountain biking on existing roads, bird watching, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and hunting will all be allowed. Certain areas could be temporarily closed during active timber operations.

The diverse plant and animal species, the hidden forested wetlands and varied topography make the area worth exploring, said agency officials, who expect the public will soon cherish it as much as Stimson and the neighbors do.

“That land is powerful,” said Al Turtle. “It was such a relief for me to hear that it’s left to do its thing and people can visit it.”

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The pond (at top) is a vivid reminder that much of this area is wetlands.

Above: Fall brings color to the area’s birch trees.

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Paul Clagstone met his nemesis in Kootenai Ranch

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he bogs and wetlands within Clagstone Meadows have played an important role in the history of the property. The wetlands helped justify protecting the land for conservation and timber production.

Ironically, the abundance of soggy landscape also proved to be the undoing of Paul Clagstone, the colorful character who carved a 10,000-acre ranch out of untamed Idaho.

Clagstone staked his homestead claim on the property in 1900. He came from Chicago with a Harvard, University of Berlin, and Columbia Law School education and by way of prospecting in Washington, Idaho, and Canada. He cleared the homestead with the help of 12 pack ponies and four men who worked mining claims with him, and built a log cabin with a five-foot fireplace.

They ate a lot of venison.

“As we sat around the campfire at night, we often heard the deer stomp and snort with curiosity,” he once wrote.

Each winter, Clagstone hopped the train for Burlingame, California, where he passed time playing polo. There he met his wife, Cora irk, heiress of the Chicago irk Soap fortune. According to a 19 4 Idaho esterdays article by Marylyn Cork, she was described by the Chicago Tribune as one of the “four most beautiful women” in Chicago society.

The ranch grew gradually with more family homestead claims and purchases, until eventually “ ootenai anch” sprawled over 10,000 acres.

Trees and surface water were cleared with dynamite and ditches, and Clagstone raised timothy hay, oats, cattle, polo ponies and winning American Berkshire hogs with names like ootenai Princess and Lady ootenai. The ranch sawmill produced railroad ties, logs and lumber.

Clagstone built a sprawling ranch house, employing a Chinese chef, a Japanese servant and European governesses for the children. The working ranch doubled as a guest ranch, with hunting parties and grand dinners. The children roamed the ranch on a donkey and a buckskin Indian pony in the summer, but winters were spent in Spokane with their grandmother.

Clagstone traded land with the Spokane International ailroad in exchange for a flagstop at Clagstone Junction, a townsite he established in the Hoodoo alley with a combination church schoolhouse, a general store and a shiny red train depot.

It was adjacent to the junction where he drained 50 acres, as well as Hoodoo Lake, to make more land for raising crops. Unsuccessful in convincing the federal government to pay for draining submerged lands in North Idaho, Clagstone mortgaged his ranch to rid the land of bogs and marshes.

In addition to his passion for farming and polo, Clagstone was interested in politics and ran for the Idaho House of epresentatives in 1909, when he was elected Speaker of the House. In 1910 he ran for Governor on a platform of prohibition, agricultural development, conservation of natural resources, stringent anti-trust laws and reduction of state taxes.

Cora Clagstone was the “heart and soul” of the campaign, gushed the Chicago Tribune in 1910: “Mrs. Paul Clagstone, who as Cora irk left Chicago society to follow the star of empire and a strenuous husband into the ranch country of the Northwest is now reveling in the thick of a gubernatorial campaign and serving her candidate as a suffragette secretary supreme.”

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Above left, Paul Clagstone in 1904. Top right: Working the timothy hay, one of the many fields on the ranch, 190 .

Bottom right: Paul Clagstone on a polo pony, circa 190 .

CLAGSTONE FAMILY PHOTOS

unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate. His political life was short and he returned to his other passions: livestock breeding and farming.

Ultimately, his obsession with draining the waterlogged Hoodoo alley bottoms was the demise of the ootenai anch. He could never pay off his ditch-digging debts.

“He and Cora started a corporation to sell home lots, one-acre plots by the railroad junction,” said his great-granddaughter Glenne McElhinney, who is writing a family memoir. “That was one of their ideas to keep the ranch running.”

It didn’t work. The bank foreclosed and W.H. Cowles, a friend, bought the ranch.

Amazingly, the ranch has stayed largely intact over the century, while passed down from owner to owner, including Pack iver Lumber and Idaho Forest Industries.

Paul Clagstone wound up a traveling salesman of chewing tobacco, and Cora Clagstone found a job as a regional manager of the ed Cross. Eventually, they relocated to California.

McElhinney said the family never really got over the loss: “Growing up, my mother would tell me stories about it, but my grandma was so upset, she had a hard time talking about it.”

But she thinks her ancestors would be happy the land is still working and the public has the opportunity to enjoy it. “They were so identified with the land, but I think they would approve because it was his motto, his thinking, his ethics, to do for the common good.”

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Circumnavigating

magnificence

by Sandy

bessler & Susan Drinkard

photo by Woods

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In the presence of magnificence, one is rendered speechless. Being loosed from thought, deep peace is experienced. Perhaps that is what calls us to the mountains, rivers, and lakes of this incredible place where we live.

heard the call from Lake Pend Oreille. A kayaker for many years, I had heard of people circumnavigating the 111-mile shoreline. This idea took hold of me and wouldn’t let go.

The problem was finding the time and fellow kayakers who shared the same desire to see this magnificence, to feel this lake by riding just a few inches on top of it. The answer came in the form of my best friend, Susan Drinkard.

Work commitments made it impossible to complete the entire trip all at once, so we broke it down into sections. We planned two, three-day weekend trips to paddle the west side of the lake.

Subsequently, we completed the east side of the lake in a fiveday camping and paddling trip with two more kayaking friends.

What follows are some of our more memorable adventures. – Sandy Bessler

Leg One It was a hot August morning at the Farragut State Park boat launch where Sandy’s husband, Chris, helped us unload our gear at our starting point. Our goal was to paddle to Garfield Bay,

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where Susan’s husband, Stephen, would pick us up. That was the plan, anyway.

It took us an hour to organize and pack our gear and provisions into every nook and cranny of the kayaks. Then the gear had to be reconfigured after a uniformed park service officer came over to make sure we had current Invasive Species stickers.

She proceeded to “inspect” our gear in various compartments, leaving us perplexed. Did we look like mules running drugs to Evan’s Landing?

This leg is remote. The mountains plunge straight down into deep water. There are no houses and no beaches, all well and good unless you have to make a pit stop. Visualize water knocking our kayaks into the rocks on the steep shoreline: there is no shallow water for miles. It was a balancing act to step from an unwieldy, rocking boat onto a cliff while holding on to a boat leash.

We spent the first night at Evans Landing, and the next at Talache Landing, where we skinny-dipped under the moonlight.

Sleeping was short circuited by strong gusts. We set up the tent amidst blowing winds with two ill-fitting headlamps that kept

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sliding down into our faces. The wind was howling, the trees were cracking, the thunder boomed, and lightning flashed. At first light we looked across the lake and observed a lightning strike start a fire; Sandy called 9-1-1 to notify authorities.

We looked north. We looked south. We saw weather coming from both directions. Then we looked at each other, and called Stephen to come get us.

Leg Two Air temperatures were still quite warm in late September when we completed the second three-day leg. Camping spots are difficult to find between Talache Landing and Sandpoint City Beach, so friends Nancy Gerth and Jim Akers volunteered their sailboat at Glengary Bay. A big, handwritten sign hung high on their boat to welcome us: “Sandy and Susan sleep here.”

It was a full moon weekend and Susan’s birthday when we completed kayaking the western shore of the lake. Kayaking our lake — what a gift.

Leg Three Due to a heavy fire season, a smoke-filled summer passed before we could complete our goal of kayaking the lake’s entire shoreline. With big miles of heaven under our belts, we wanted Mecca — the pristine eastern shoreline. With a paddling limit of 8 to 10 miles per day, we knew our third leg would take about five days to complete. We invited a couple other gals to join us: Joyce DeLa ergne, retired Sandpoint teacher, and Becky Patchell of Whitefish, Montana. Our plan was to put in again at the Farragut State Park boat launch and paddle to Sandpoint City Beach, 43 miles of big, deep water away. All four of us have ties going back to the 1980s, but the tie that bound us here was our love of kayaking.

We held a one-hour planning meeting at the downtown Starbucks with Sandy’s waterproof map of the lake and Joyce’s thorough list of what to bring.

Joyce and Sandy worked their arms diligently for a few su m m e r 2 0 17

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Sandy and Susan begin their first leg, leaving from Farragut State Park boat launch.HOTO CREDIT

weeks after a session with a personal trainer at SWAC. Susan did some lifting at the gym, not as diligently, and Becky’s yoga routine required lengthy pose holding. We felt strong enough. It wasn’t going to be a race, after all.

We left Farragut State Park at 11 a.m., Saturday, June 25, our boats so heavy with food and gear we could hardly carry them to the water.

Within the hour we saw a mama Rocky Mountain goat and her two kids high on a slope so steep it looked as though they were stuck up there with Velcro. We paddled to Whiskey Rock Bay Campground, but with all 10 sites taken, we had no choice but to paddle onward, to what we weren’t sure. We were so tired when we found a tiny “beach” a fisherman told us about, another mile

Three Short Trips

A

Reveal the Variety of the Lake

kayak is my favorite way to experience the big lake and these are three of my favorite paddles a short distance from Sandpoint.

THE EAST SIDE OF PEND OREILLE NEAR HOPE AND THE CLARK FORK DELTA. An easy way to experience this rocky shoreline is to paddle around the Sam Owen Peninsula.

The Sam Owen Campground is a good place to put in and the bay is quite protected.

Hug the shoreline to the south and Clark Fork Delta PHOTO: DENNIS THIBAULT you’ll find yourself paddling the narrows between our separate pasts. Memaloose Island, on the west, was a sacred Kalispel Indian burial ground. The land to the east on the peninsula proper was the site of David Thompson’s fur

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north. Beach was a misnomer: we had to tie our boats to trees and squeeze our sleeping bags onto a tarp — no room for a tent. On a slight incline, with poison ivy at our heads and the lake at our feet, we kept waking to ensure our bags weren’t in the water, and our heads were not pillowed on poisonous plants.

We had no turbulent water and the wind was often at our backs.

This is not always the case, as this area is known for high winds and rugged water that have thrown many a kayak into the rocks.

We had a worrisome half hour or so when three of us could not locate Sandy. She tends to absorb the environment, studying the shoreline, the mountains, the cliffs, the plants. We shouldn’t have worried, as with the sleek kayak she rides, she caught up in no time.

We saw loons, chipmunks, mergansers and golden eagles; swallowtail butterflies were a feature at every stop. We camped the second night on a small beach between Indian Point and Deadman Point along the Green Monarchs, with breathtaking gigantic rock formations and pristine beaches. The only sign of previous campers was a campfire ring and heart rocks strategically placed on logs.

Becky and Sandy put up tents. Joyce and Susan wanted the stars and the exposure and slept on mats all four nights. Sandy, Becky, and Joyce were tidy campers; Susan was teased about her underwear dangling from trees and bushes wherever they landed, always in some state of wet.

We did not want to leave the serenity of the Green Monarchs.

There were three- and four-hour periods with no boat of any kind in sight, perfect temps in the low 80s, calm water, and down time to skinny-dip and to eat and to drink wine. At one point as we sat facing the water, a blue heron flew by, seemingly in slow motion, right in front of us.

We shared yogurt, trail mix, apples, celery, granola, chocolate,

trading post, ullyspell House, the first European establishment in Idaho.

Continue southward past intermittent lakefront homes and the cliffs get higher. Take the time to pause at narrow coves and grottos where the moss grows in the recesses and the water is aquamarine. If you’re an angler, small-mouth bass are plentiful on this shoreline and if you’re lucky you may hook a cutthroat trout.

The views of the Green Monarchs, the sheer cliffs to the southwest, are magnificent. ou may get some wave action out here since you’re on an exposed shoreline so be ready if the weather gets sporty. The take out is a roadside pullout across Denton Slough and directly off Highway 200, just ‘round the horn at the southern tip of the peninsula. Osprey patrol these Pack River Delta PHOTO: MARY FRANZEL

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K aya k i n g Left: A tiny beach just beyond Whisky Rock, poison ivy at our heads, the lake at our feet. Below: The last night on the lake featured a stay in a tipi, and a moment to pose all together. From left, Susan Drinkard, Joyce DeLa ergne, Sandy Bessler and Becky Patchell.

oranges, banana chips, peeled boiled eggs soaked in Bragg’s apple cider, salami, crackers, all kinds of delicious cheeses, more chocolate, dried fruit, and a Bota box of wine.

When both Sandy and Susan burned their hands, Becky applied wet moss and it healed us quickly. Joyce kept us informed about the lake while Sandy’s expertise with her water filter kept us hydrated as she pumped lake water into bottles at many stops. We kept prolonging our stay at the Monarchs, stopping at many beaches, putting off the inevitable return to people and what ails us.

Finally, we paddled to Beyond Hope Resort, with a campsite reservation on sweet, soft green grass. We were tired and also profoundly hot and thirsty, and not for water or wine — we wanted beer.

Spotting the Canadian flag on an RV in the campsite, brave Sandy and Becky asked its residents if we could buy some beer. A resounding “NO” was the response, but they said we could have as much as we wanted. They brought over a six-pack of beer and a bag of ice and Becky gave them an avocado and some turkey jerky. They visited later in the evening and shared their strong opinions about Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, along with some eye rolling about The Donald. The next morning they sat on a bench on the beach and waved goodbye, seeing us off.

We spent the fourth night on the end of the Sunnyside Peninsula waters and you may see abundant waterfowl.

For a quiet, backwater experience and maximum wildlife viewing opportunities, PADDLE THE PACK RIVER DELTA. It’s a short drive to the river from town and there’s parking at the bridge on Highway 200. Slip into the water from the reedy banks and put your kayak in stealth mode. Be alert to spotting waterfowl, moose, eagles, osprey, and herons around every bend.

The channel bends tortuously through numerous green islands. Several years ago, Idaho Fish and Game implemented a delta restoration project to help stabilize these islands from excessive wave erosion that was worsened by raising the lake level behind Albeni Falls Dam. The extra habitat and cover was also a benefit for water birds.

The train tracks stretch across the delta to the south but you can paddle out to the lake under the bridge on the east side. If you’re feeling strong and adventurous, head west on the far side of the bridge to a secluded bay with an island in the middle of it.

Thick weeds and shallow water keep most boats out of this backwater so it’s worth the extra paddle.

To get a truly unique feel for our inspiring lake PUT IN AT THE BOAT LAUNCH IN GARFIELD BAY. The large parking lot and open grassy area provide a great start to unload your boats, organize your gear, and get on the water.

Garfield Bay is a south-facing amphitheater of deep blue

near Hawkins Point at the Twin Cedars tipi. With hot water, cots, an outdoor shower, and a porta-potty, we felt spoiled. (Check it out on Airbnb.)

Our last day was long and hot. We stopped at Fisherman Island for lunch and swam at Kootenai Point. We paddled for hours to City Beach, where we had a beer on the deck at Trinity, happy, but sad that we weren’t going back to the water to get into our kayaks again.

We lost two pairs of sunglasses, a pair of paddling gloves, and a hairbrush to the bottom of the lake, but we gained arm strength, became better friends, and spent five peaceful days in the wilderness of water, in the presence of magnificence.

water ringed by dark green forests, that opens up to the expansive south arm of the lake. The water is colder in Garfield Bay because it connects directly to the abysmal, 1,200-foot depths of Pend Oreille. As a result, the water is crystal clear and snorkeling along the cliffy shorelines is worth the immersion on a hot summer day.

Green Bay: LAURA WAHL The beauty of paddling out of the head end of Garfield Bay is that either way you go, there are wonderful shorelines to explore and incredible scenery. To the west, the cliffs rise up sheer right out of the water. This section of the lake was forcibly formed by the colossal Missoula floods, thought to have been the largest floods to have ever swept across the earth.

Paddling east out of Garfield Bay you round the point into Green Bay, the best rock skipping beach in Idaho. Past Green Bay you’ll discover uninhabited beaches and coves on a relatively remote section of shoreline.

As you get more familiar with kayaking your boat will become a trusted friend, always waiting for you, and your favorite places will be destinations that you will want to visit again and again.

By Kevin Davis

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Lake

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Pend Oreille 4 3

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Dover Bay

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Launch right at the Dover Bay Marina, or at the small park at Dover City Hall with a short carry to the water. There are interesting sloughs to paddle into just downstream, or just explore the shoreline.

Bonus: Stay at the Dover Bay Bungalows, or dine at the lakeside Dish at Dover Bay.

WHISKEY ROCK BAY CAMPGROUND

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Sand Creek / City Beach

where to

FLOAT YOUR BOAT

In downtown Sandpoint, launch at City Beach or the dock at the Main Street landing behind the Panida Theater. Take a peaceful, hour-long paddle a half mile north up the protected waters of Sand Creek, or get out on the big lake and paddle north an hour or two up the shoreline along the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail.

FAVORITE KAYAK

EXCURSIONS

THANKS TO THE TEAM OF AVID KAYAKERS FOR ALL THE COURTESY PHOTOS: CHRIS BESSLER, ERIN BUSBY, MARY

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FRANZEL, NANCY SCHMIDT, DENNIS THIBAULT, BILL SCHAUDT AND LAURA WAHL

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Sunnyside Peninsula

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Pack River to Delta

East from Sandpoint on Highway 200, at about 8.4 miles turn right down Sunnyside Road and go about 3 miles to the Hawkins Point public boat launch. There’s a nice paddle of an hour, or a few, into a slough with a wildlife-rich marsh north and east.

A local favorite for all sorts of floats and paddles is the Pack River to the Delta. Load on Rapid Lightning Road at the Pack River Store (get sandwiches and drinks here) and get out at the Delta on Highway 200, a terrific paddle in protected and open waters. See “Three Short Trips” on page 100.

# 9. Whiskey Rock Campground

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From Clark Fork and the Johnson Creek launch point, drive another hour along gravel, backcountry National Forest Road 278 to reach the remote campground with campsites, pebble beach and dock.

Day paddles north or south along the steep, wild lakeshore.

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#10.

10. Farragut State Park

Hope launch points

There are public boat launches just under the Highway 200 bridge entering Hope and at Pringle Park a mile farther on, or launch at Hope Marina. Explore Ellisport Bay, or paddle in open waters an hour-plus around the private Warren or Cottage islands, or to the eagle sanctuary at 12-acre Pearl Island. Bonus: Good eating at several fine Hope-area restaurants.

Start at the Eagle Boat Launch on Idlewilde Bay and paddle north to check out cool boat houses at Bayview, then head along the east and north shore for some of the lake’s most dramatic scenery. It takes just an hour or so to reach Bernard Point and Echo Bay, with a fair chance to spot mountain goats on the cliffs.

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#11. Talache Landing

Good access for paddling along the peninsula. See “Three Short Trips” on page 100.

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Sam Owen on the Hope Peninsula

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Driftwood Yard

8

Johnson Creek boat launch

A top choice to paddle in the protected, wildlife-rich waters of the Clark Fork Delta. A little more than 22 miles east on Highway 200, turn right onto the Driftwood ard Road and go a few hundred yards to the park and boat launch. Spend a day paddling into the sloughs and backwaters of the delta.

Drive a half hour east on Highway 200 to Clark Fork, then across the river to Johnson Creek Road, and another 15 minutes to the public boat launch. There are protected paddles in the river delta out to the big lake; many then paddle south along public lands of the Green Monarchs for a day – or a few.

From Highway 95 south of Sandpoint take Sagle oad east to Talache oad to get to this small public access about 30 minutes from town.

Paddle south an hour or two along steep, inaccessible shoreline to Maiden ock; you’ll see her big granite profile. Spend the day, or a night, at the developed recreation area with cobble beach.

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# 12. Garfield & Green Bays

Start at the Garfield Bay public launch and paddle to the superb cobblestone beach at Green Bay. See “Three Short Trips” on page 100.

a lake guide Loaded with the lake’s history, natural history, boating, hiking and lore, “Legendary Lake Pend Oreille: Idaho’s Wilderness of Water” by Jane Fritz is a bible of information about the big lake.

At local bookstores and retailers, or order it online at www.keokeebooks.com

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Pend oreille, onward An Adventurous paddle on down the mighty river story and photos by Jim

Payne,

The trip goes on, regardless of the weather. At left, the journey begins.

A

s a long-distance kayaker, I don’t know why I overlooked for so long the challenge of the Pend Oreille, the mighty river that begins in my hometown of Sandpoint. I had been travelling thousands of miles to find waterways to navigate — to the Thames in England, the Bío Bío in Chile, the Mississippi, the Hudson — when all I had to do was walk down to War Memorial Field and start paddling.

The Pend Oreille is a worthy river, flowing 130 miles west from Sandpoint into Washington, and then north to Canada, where it jogs west again to join the Columbia. In volume, it’s bigger than many well-known waterways, including the Hudson, Sacramento, and Colorado rivers. It carries waters from Montana’s Flathead and Clark Fork rivers, and, of course, it’s the exit of Lake Pend Oreille, the largest lake in Idaho.

In early June, 2016, I slid the kayak off the roof of the car, loaded 104

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it with gear, and embarked upon the river. At that early morning hour I enjoyed one of the special thrills of the Pend Oreille: the vast mirror vista that opens up in the absence of wind. None of the narrower, busier rivers I’d recently paddled offered this kind of magical, 360-degree panorama. Here, spread out before me, was the entire Baldy range, once in the sky and, secondarily, reflected on the water. s I made my way west, the noisy rush of traffic on the Long Bridge behind me receded, and I had the river to myself.

After a full day of paddling, I found a relatively undeveloped stretch of shore near Seneacquoteen to pitch my tent. Watching a water skier carve graceful loops in the water, I ate my supper of oatmeal cookies, nuts and raisins. (I’ve long since dispensed with the fuss and bother of stoves and cooking on my kayak journeys.) Later, I stretched out on my air mattress to sleep, listening to the warbling robins in the trees above who couldn’t believe that on this incredibly long summer day, darkness would ever come to silence them.

The next morning I made my way across glassy waters to Priest River, where I had breakfast at the Village Kitchen. Back on the water, my first challenge lay four miles down the river lbeni Falls Dam, the structure that holds back the waters of the Pend Oreille River. As I neared the looming concrete faces of the dam, the water picked up speed, swirling in little whirlpools. Only a thin rope floating on buoys separated me from the naked spillway 50 feet away. I pitched my tent for the night at the nearby campground and, the next morning, I crammed my foldable Feathercraft kayak into its backpack, hiked around the dam, and put in below the spillway.

A mile of swirling, energetic water later I was in Newport, Washington, and landed at the dock of the Old American

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Left: Cliffs in early morning sun at Seneacquoteen, near Laclede. ight: Albeni Falls Dam, the first portage.PHOTO CREDIT

Kampground, where I stayed for two nights. During that visit I took in the museum, had breakfast at Owen’s (founded in 1938, coffee at 50 cents a cup), and browsed a consignment gallery featuring over 200 vendors.

Once back in my kayak I faced intermittent rain, and a 1.4 mph current that slewed the water around in worrisome surges. The next two days were miserable, with rain and blustery winds retarding my lonely progress on the water, and bone-chilling, 38-degree nights that robbed me of sleep. When I finally reached the town of sk, I positively craved the comforts and entertainments of civilization.

I made my way to the one active business in town, a filling station with a mini-mart, where I struck up a conversation with the clerk, Jayelyn. I asked, in desperation, “What do people who live here in Usk do when they want to have fun?” Jayelyn thought but a second, then said, emphasizing her words, “Leave Usk!” I took her advice, making my way two miles further down the river to Cusick, which features a concrete boat ramp and toilet facilities. It also boasted a bar called The Tavern, probably the only tavern in America that’s closed Saturday night, but open Sunday morning. They serve beer along with breakfast but, the waitress told me, hardly anyone ever asks for it.

In the afternoon I came upon a large canoe paddled by five young people who waved to me as they passed. I met them again later at the Forest Service’s Panhandle Campground. Their craft was

no ordinary canoe, but a gigantic cedar dugout three feet wide. The paddlers were Kalispel youths who, with the help of their elders, had worked all winter hewing the boat out of a cedar log. That afternoon’s trip was the canoe’s dedication voyage from the Kalispel headquarters at Cusick.

The barrier at Box Canyon, which I soon faced, is a run-of-theriver dam. It doesn’t back up the water, but makes use of the sharp drop at that point to generate electricity. Locals advised me to pull out of the river at the town of Ione, three miles before the dam, and have a vehicle take me to the put-in below the dam. That would have been the sensible approach, but I was stubborn. I wanted to make the portage by myself, so that I could say at the end of the voyage I had done the entire trip under my own steam.

But the banks of the river in this section are very steep; in most places outright cliffs. Finally, I did find a way to reach the railroad tracks that I could hike along to the dam. Four hours later — four grueling hours — my portage was nearly complete, with all my equipment deposited at the edge of the railroad trestle that soars 100 feet high above the Box Canyon Dam. All that stood between me and a restful campsite on the other side of the river was 100 yards of train trestle. But, I discovered to my horror, this trestle had no guard rail, and no supports between the ties — just air. It would be a tip-toe balancing act to get across, especially with the kayak pack balanced on my back, and I didn’t dare try it.

Left: eassembly after a grueling portage at Box Canyon Dam. ight: This canoe’s dedication voyage, built by alispel youth with help from their elders.

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Left: The threatening, swift waters in Box Canyon. ight: Above the Box Canyon Dam is a trestle that’s frightening to cross.HOTO CREDIT

I couldn’t bear the thought of retracing my steps back along the river to the take-out. So I scrambled up the cliff, and under a chain link fence to the visitor’s observation deck. From there, I had an easy walk on the road to the put-in below the dam.

That evening I discovered the perfect campsite: a flat alluvial island whose top, standing 12 feet above the water, was covered in high grass. I drew the kayak into the grass at the shore and left it, assuming it would be secure, because nowhere else on the Pend reille had I encountered any significant daily change in water level.

However, when I peeked out of the tent the next morning, I was shocked to see the kayak floating 10 feet from shore: the water level had risen 2 feet overnight! Fortunately, I had tied the bow line to a clump of grass, which was enough to keep the kayak from floating away to Canada.

Before I set out on this trip, I had toyed with the idea of running Metaline Falls and making it all the way to Boundary Dam at the Canadian border. When I reached the falls early the next day, I clambered up the rocky cliff to get a good look. The drop looked rather tame, more like a slide than a waterfall. I was 99 percent sure I could scoot through without overturning.

Propel

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Sandpoint resident Jim Payne, 77, has been making long-distance solo kayak journeys for more than 20 years. His books include “One Inch above the Water: Running Away on America’s Rivers” and “Chasing Thoreau; An Adventure in Paddling and Philosophy.” His 91-mile expedition from Sandpoint to Metaline Falls, Washington was his 16th voyage.

Yourself Into Kayaking

ith no trouble at all I can get to a put-in on the lake, get my kayak in the water, slip into the cockpit, and I’m out. Just a couple of strokes of the paddle, and I’m gone from the “real world.”

Exploring the lake’s many miles of beautiful shoreline is always intriguing and I can get into coves and inlets that elude most boaters.

Wildlife is often bewildered by kayakers and you can create great photographic opportunities by sneaking up or quietly drifting by curious critters. Fishing is enjoyable from a kayak because the fishy backwaters and shorelines are easily plied.

Kayaks come in all shapes and sizes. The length, width, weight, and material of the boat all make a difference in how it performs and in related maintenance. Borrow one from a friend, or take advantage of a local shop’s demo days before buying. Action Water Sports in Sandpoint offers lessons and lake tours.

If you’re paddling the lake you’ll want to get a longer paddle with a thinner blade. Get one that breaks down for storage and that 106

But I couldn’t put that 1 percent chance of failure out of my mind. After the falls, the river enters a canyon, with cliffs on both sides. If I should turn over, there would be no place to come ashore, and no one to help me nor to notify rescuers. Reluctantly, I voted against running the falls, and decided to make the town of Metaline Falls the end of the trip.

On Saturday morning, while waiting for Corky Sanborn to arrive from Sandpoint to take me back home, I wandered down to the highway bridge that crosses the river above the falls and carefully marked the exact spot between the middle rock and the right bank where a kayaker could shoot through safely — just in case a person wanted to try it.

gives you the option of feathering the blades.

A personal flotation device is important on the water. Choose one that fits snugly, has pockets for things, and gives your arms plenty of range of motion.

Numerous open shorelines within easy reach of boat ramps afford relaxing places to get off the water, have some lunch, skip rocks, and soak up the sun on a warm beach. That’s the beauty of living in Sandpoint: there’s more than one way to get away from it all.

By Kevin Davis

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Happily ever after in Hope Bavarian-style home

by

Beth Hawkins

reflects couple’s heritage, artistic talents

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E S TAT E

PHOTO BY CHRIS BESSLER,

REAL

Clockwise from left: Elana Westphal loves her porch. Westphal creates assemblage art pieces, from “finds” on her walks through town. The classic craftsman living room, with music and dining areas on each side.

Manuela Frazier’s kitchen is designed to reflect her German heritage.

Inset: Tim and Manuela Frazier in the heart of their home. PHOTOS: DOUG MARSHALL Bavarian style architecture informs the design of this East Hope couple’s home. COURTESY PHOTO

W

hile you can’t judge a book by its cover, the storybook home of Tim and Manuela Frazier gives away all its owners’ secrets with just one glance from the driveway. The Bavarianstyle architecture is a nod to Manuela’s German heritage, whimsical surprises such as the meandering rock walls in the garden illustrate Tim’s artistic flair, and the handcrafted stained glass windows are heartfelt creations that make the house a home. Talk about curb appeal!

As if plucked from the Alps and perched on a mountainside above East Hope, the Frazier’s stucco and timber-frame home is an inviting blend of European charm and American comfort. At 2,650 square feet, its down-to-earth size is “just right” for Tim and Manuela — co-owners of a bustling business in downtown Sandpoint, the Cedar Street Bistro, where a hectic schedule rarely allows the couple to enjoy more than a day or so off at a time (let alone an entire weekend!). Add to that a new venture, the Cedar Street Wine Bar, and it’s a wonder they’re able to break away at all. But when they do come home, it’s to this welcoming, two-story home that they spent years dreaming about, planning, and finally building.

The home’s stucco and wood exterior mimics the traditional Bavarian-style homes found in southern Germany,

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A custom made Lusterweibchen, made in Oberammergau, in Bavaria, lights up the loft.

PHOTO: DOUG MARSHALL

where Manuela, 53, was raised. She met Tim, 55, who grew up in Indiana, while he was stationed in Germany with the Air Force, and from there the couple headed to America and raised a family — a son who’s now married, and a daughter who attends the University of Idaho (perhaps influenced by her parents’ penchant for home design, as she is studying architecture).

They had been living in other states, including Colorado, before discovering Sandpoint. They visited the area several times — they loved the skiing offered here, and the fact that it’s green. “This is it,” Tim recalls saying about finally finding their place to call home. Next up on the list was building their dream home. “We’d been planning this for a long time,” said Manuela, who always knew she wanted to incorporate her European heritage into the home. “We wanted to make the home feel like a mini resort. We love to travel, and we still have family in Austria,” she said.

The couple hired local architect Fran Schuck, and spent two years getting the design from dream stage to blueprint stage (Schuck had described the home’s style as ‘rustic elegance’). The house was built by Legacy Construction and finished in 2005. The Fraziers were active in the building process, even helping incorporate some of the more unique aspects of the home: “My balcony is a true Bavarian balcony,” Manuela said about the lovely secondstory feature that overlooks the yard below and offers peek-a-boo views of Lake Pend Oreille, beyond. “I showed the builder how to do that. The flower boxes are hidden, and I designed the cutouts.” In the summer, bright red geraniums spill out from the boxes for a colorful show of Alpine-inspired flair. Honestly, who can resist letting

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out a yodel while standing up there?

Inside the home’s front door, a step-down great room lets in plenty of natural light, with large windows facing the lake, in addition to second-floor, stained glass windows made by Manuela’s father. He has since passed away, but Manuela said that her parents visited them at the home, even extending their stay to a full 10 weeks to Manuela’s delight.

The great room is functional, warm and inviting with stamped concrete floors and a masonry fireplace made of Clark Fork rock.

Manuela wanted an open-concept floor plan where she could still visit with family while preparing meals in the kitchen — now a bright, cheery space with yellow Italian tile countertops and fauxstucco-finish walls. The kitchen’s Tuscan vibe, with views out to the manicured yard and lake beyond, suits Manuela’s preferred cuisine: Italian. “I always fix it from scratch,” she said — possibly a key to the couple’s successful bistro business!

The pair’s artistic talents are beyond the ordinary. In the kitchen, every fruit-and-vegetable backsplash tile behind the stove was molded and carved by Tim, and then painted by Manuela. The result is a lively collage of color that sparks a conversation. The Fraziers replicated this process in the main floor bath, with tiles depicting scenes from the Tetons. “There are lots of things we made ourselves,” Tim said. He points to the individual wood balusters adorning the upper loft railings — you guessed it, made to perfection by Tim! Tim’s office is half filled with a train set he designed after northern Idaho’s own trains, a testament to his steadfast attention to detail.

A knack for handcraftsmanship and creativity runs in the family.

The views in East Hope are as beautiful as the home.

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Not only did Manuela’s father make the stained glass windows in the great room, he also made a stained glass window for the back hallway and mudroom area, a space Manuela refers to as her “Bavarian corner.” Here, a beautiful linen hutch from her homeland anchors the room, with hand-painted scenes of the region on each panel of the doors. “We collected stuff all along our journey,” Manuela said about the home’s pleasing assortment of European furnishings and decorative pieces. “Little paintings, stained glass, we always picked stuff up.”

One eye-catching piece adorning a small sitting area adjoining the great room is a Lusterweibchen — a chandelier handcrafted of antlers and charming wooden figurines featuring the colors of Bavaria.

“We love to travel there,” Manuela said.

Upstairs are the bedrooms, with a hallway and loft space that look out over the great room. All the doors in the home are unique, and Tim was surprised by one door discovery. “We picked up our doors from all over, some from Traders Building Supply, and there on the front door was the motif design that was carved in our balcony!”

Come summertime, Manuela spends many evenings tending to her manicured yard, complete with fountains and other thoughtful details. “I love being out there.”

As projects often do, one thing led to another several years back and Tim created a curvy tapestry of artisanal rock walls that meander around the yard’s varying elevations. It puts most traditional hardscape projects to shame.

While the couple loves their mountainside location, especially where their property slopes downward toward towering evergreens on one side, Tim regrets

The loft, overlooking the river rock fireplace, stays warm and cozy. PHOTO: DOUG MARSHALL Tim handcrafted all of the meandering rock walls in the landscaping. COURTESY PHOTO

not purchasing a larger piece of property.

By utilizing trees and shrubs, however, the Fraziers have created a sense of privacy through clever landscaping.

One thing Tim loves is his home’s south-facing location. It’s a nugget of northern Idaho advice he shares with outof-towners who stop by the bistro in town.

“I talk with people from all over, and I tell them to pay attention to the orientation of a home and other little things,” he said.

It’s sometimes those littlest details that mean the most — and for the Fraziers, it’s the light that infuses their home. “Being here, we know the different light that’s in the sky,” Manuela said. “We know when a storm is coming.”

That can be a good thing, because that means it’s time to head indoors for a spell.

“This is our little hideaway place,” said Manuela. “It’s cozy.”

And they lived happily ever after.

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© 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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United Commerce Group

E S TAT E

e-commerce business ranks high with Inc. 5000 for growth

T

ucked away on the second floor of the Ponderay Event Center, GunSafes.com is easy to overlook. Compared to brick-andmortar retailers, the storefront is miniscule. But the real business takes place in the back office, where a four-man team operates multiple e-commerce websites and answers customer queries.

Manager Austin Kern explains the business simply: “We specialize in high-end home products.”

They’re obviously doing something right. Inc. 5000 named their parent company, United Commerce Group, as the 67th fastest growing company in the U.S. for 2016, including a number 5 ranking as a top retail company. Their recorded growth for the last 3-year period is over 4,100 percent, and their 2015 revenue is listed as $8.5 million.

UCG is owned by corporate attorney Jason Guerrettaz. On LinkedIn, he describes UCG as “A mix of e-commerce and Amazon retail websites, technology and Internet brokerages and website operations companies.”

Kern explains, “We’re one-stop shopping for whatever you’re looking to buy in that particular (product) area, and we provide free shipping right to your door.”

The team at GunSafes.com sees their exceptional growth as a

Alison Murphy

natural by-product of building strong relationships with both their customers and the product manufacturers.

For a comprehensive list of their product websites, see the Portfolio tab at their website www.unitedcommercegroup.com.

Or stop by the Ponderay location; they’re open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

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Associate Broker, GRI

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To Be Human a story about wood, timber-framing and the use of your hands Sandy Compton gets a little hands-on drilling help from Thalia Hicks.

Words by Dave

Kretzschmar

Photos by Fiona

I

appreciate old ways of building; in particular the art of timber framing. Timber framing uses no metal to join the timbers.

Tenons slide into mortises, male into female. A hole is bored through the beam and tenon perpendicularly, and an oak peg is driven through.

As the wood ages and dries, cracks and twists, the joint fuses together into a lasting hold. There are English timber-framed barns built in the 1300s that still stand, proudly displaying a natural beauty and craftsmanship. In my quest to determine what it is to be human, I have been drawn to nature, and to creating with my own hands. I determined to build a home using this old-world technique.

Before embarking on construction of a cottage, I decided I should first build a shed. Experienced timber framers advised to use only hand tools. Lacking suitable 120

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implements, I began to scrounge and search. A masterfully made Barr chisel, one-and-a-half inches wide and 18 inches long, set me back $140, and I was to learn it was worth every cent. I bought an allimportant framing square and hand saw.

Others gave or loaned tools upon learning of my project: a brace and bits to go with it, wooden mallets and chisels.

As a course in timber framing was too expensive, I went to our local library and found two books which were helpful but not particularly thoughtful. As a beginner, I was often left scratching my head. To other aspiring timber framers I recommend “Learn to Timber Frame” by Will Beemer, which I discovered at the end of the summer.

I next set to work on a six-by eightfoot cabin. From Gerry, a man with a home sawmill, I bought 19 five-by-five-inch beams, 9 feet long. Not knowing the wisdom of ordering 10 percent extra, I made

Hicks

three more trips to Gerry’s. He warmed to me and my project and always charged me less than the initial quote, and gave me more. Thank you Gerry.

Cutting with a handsaw for hours on end was a new experience. It slowed me down and made me more attentive to both wood and detail. I felt delight each time I squared off a beam and the cut was made smooth all the way across the face. The brace and bits cut smooth, straight holes and the chisel cleaned them out effortlessly.

The work went slowly. Each mortise required drilling six to eight holes and then chiseling them out cleanly. The 45-degree angle braces involved 12 different saw cuts. I found inspiration in Dick Proeneke, hero of the film “Alone in the Wilderness,” who went into the wilds of Alaska at age 52 and built a cabin with just hand tools.

When I tired in the heat of the day, I said to myself, “Dick would’ve finished this

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Flowers galore & so much more!

This type of hand work creates a new appreciation for old, timber-framed barns.

before breakfast.” Sometimes I chanted, “Dick Proeneke, Dick Proeneke,” in tempo with my saw arm.

As the stack of completed beams grew, so did my excitement. The hours that went into the cabin also began to stack up and I started to appreciate old, timberframed barns in a whole new way.

My wife and I planned a hobbit cabinraising party, to celebrate the beauty of fall and gratitude for the harvest, as well as to bring people together and have them take part in the creation of something new. As the date neared, pangs of fear surfaced in the night. “Why did you invite all those people? What if none of it fits together and it flops?” Too late. I had committed myself. Invitations were sent and people were coming: Jim and Sandii, Hillary and Jed, Hank and Sandy. To these men and women there are no such things as insurmountable obstacles, just challenges to be faced and overcome. With that, I went to sleep, picturing beams rising effortlessly up and sliding smoothly together.

Cabin raising day dawned on the world, the golden light of sunrise melting into the azure blue of clear skies. I wanted people to be able to use their hands in many ways all day long, so I had the oak pegs that would hold the beams together cut rough; they would need a lot of shaping and smoothing. I asked helpers to carve their initials into the pegs to mark their part in the day. I also left some of the holes undrilled, so people could experience the brace and bit. My friend, Sandy

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R e a l E s tat e Oak pegs need a lot of shaping to get from rough to smooth. Shane Sater shows Carol Wilburn the technique.PHOTO CREDIT

Compton, would hold it in place and then and my nieces, Thalia, Anahla and Nishta, would crank on it.

Soon the whole work site was a teeming party of busy ants. People were carving, chatting, drilling, moving beams around,

shelling acorns (good free labor for a winter supply of acorn flour), carving pumpkins and playing bluegrass music. When it came time to raise the first bent (wall) it was just like I had pictured barn-raisings of the past.

Six people jumped in and what would have

been tremendously difficult for a few was as easy as pie. Up the bents went, followed by the connecting beams and angle braces.

Two hours gone by and just the roof to go.

About that time, we trotted out a keg of IPA from one of our local brewers and with that, the roof was on.

The cabin stands under the protection of an 80-foot Douglas fir, which is fitting since all the beams are Douglas fir too. I took a small bough from the tree and pegged it to the apex of the structure. An evergreen bough is often put at the top of a timber frame at the end of a raising party. It gives thanks to the trees for the wood, it symbolically establishes the roots of the building to the crown, it is high up to give thanks to the creator and it was and is a symbol of the free man, building his home from the trees, no longer in debt or bondage.

We had all worked up an appetite despite a ploughman’s lunch. Two venison roasts were center stage, but no one does a potluck better than the locals of North Idaho.

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The bents went up just like barn raisings in the past.PHOTO CREDIT

E S TAT E

There were salads, home-baked breads, mashed potatoes, casseroles, fermented veggies and chutneys. And let us not forget dessert. I have never seen so many pies!

There were 40 hungry people eating with gusto yet at the end of the night there were still three whole pies untouched.

With bellies full, a structure raised, beverages flowing and harvest games played, we were left with one last surprise.

A visiting Indian musician happened to be one of the world’s experts at sarode, a sitar-like instrument, and he blessed the new timber frame by offering to play.

It is hard to describe the beauty of that improvised song. We were stunned, enthralled, caught up in an experience so poignant and beautiful we were speechless 10 minutes later when he stopped. Our hearts were resonating as one and I think quite possibly we will all remember this day for a long time to come, a day of creation, friendship, laughter, family, food, music and community. I know I will.

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builder collin beggs Craft is the religion

by Cate

Huisman

photos by Marie-Dominique

“I

Verdier

Beggs with a burnt beam, ‘garbage’ wood that makes him smile.

n our shop, craft is the religion,” said timber frame builder Collin Beggs. “I want our built environment to be as beautiful as our natural environment.”

In Sandpoint, where we’re surrounded by mountains and a lake and there’s no ugly way out of town, that’s a tall order. But Collin’s unique buildings, handcrafted of trees from local forests, compare extraordinarily well with this landscape.

Timber framing differs from the more generic “timber architecture” that includes post-and-beam construction joined by metal fastenings. And it’s also different from log building, which uses round logs. “Log building has captured the hearts and minds of Americans,” said Collin. But he points out that the oldest wood buildings in this country are made with timber frames, not logs.

“They’re very different things but both vernacular traditions.”

In timber-framed buildings, heavy square timbers are connected with wooden joinery — dovetails, wooden pegs, or mortise-andtenon joints (where a peg is cut in one end of a timber to fit in a hole cut in an adjoining one). Hewing a round log into a square timber “gets rid of all the sapwood, which is the wood that rots,” said Collin.

“A timber frame building can last for centuries. It needs a good

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foundation and a roof, and then it’s indestructible.”

As evidence, consider that there are tens of thousands of centuries-old timber-framed buildings in Europe and Asia, as well as North America. Collin has visited 13th-century barns north of London that were built by the Knights Templar to store supplies for the Crusades, as well as relatively juvenile examples from the 17th and 18th centuries in New England.

Even in highly demanding environments such as Schweitzer and Sun Valley, timber frame homes can withstand the snow load that is heaped upon them most winters. Collin admitted that “designing for these environments is a bit tricky, but timber-framed buildings are usually over-engineered. You need a fairly big piece of wood just to get proper wooden joinery.”

Collin grew up in North Pole, Alaska, where he was surrounded by traditional log homes and helped to build some himself. Down in the lower 48, he got started in construction as a carpenter, working on buildings from Portland to Seattle. But he got bored with the lack of challenge in his work.

Then a chance encounter at a library got him excited about the potential for his craft: he saw a picture of a timber-framed home in a book. That vision motivated him to move to New England to learn more. Over the course of a decade, Collin studied under mas-

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ter craftsmen back east and apprenticed on projects in western New York State, Vermont, and Maine.

When he was ready to set up his own shop, Collin wanted to return to the West, but not to the crowded confines of the I-5 corridor west of the Cascades. From crosscountry drives, he remembered a small town in North Idaho with a lake and a ski mountain that was, as he recalled, “super laid back and off the radar.” And there were no timber framers there, which had appeal because “I didn’t want to compete with the people who trained me.” He’s been in Sandpoint 12 years and aims to stay. “I love this town more and more every year.”

Collin designs all his own buildings. Each home is unique, and most use a mixture of types of wood. In general he uses native species — primarily Douglas fir but also birch, larch, and hemlock — and he’ll use other, introduced species if useful pieces are available. “That feeling you get when you’re in a forest, we want to imbue in our homes,” said Collin. “So we’ll mix species and let the trees interact with each other inside the homes.

“The type of work we do is utterly unique and unreplicatable because we use a lot of natural timbers and trees that would otherwise have been discarded,” he went on.

He uses wood that has no value as timber because it can’t be milled by machine into long straight pieces of lumber. But the kind of clients Collin works with take pleasure in discovering, with him and his crew, how such gifts of nature can be put to use in their homes.

Although he claims to have “a giant stockpile of crooked material,” Collin is always interested in finding more unique pieces: “I’m always on the lookout for large trees that have natural bends and splits.” He particularly likes to find ways to use timbers that are bifurcated — where perhaps the top of a tree has split in two.

He also expects large timbers to crack, or “check,” over time. “Timber framing is a green wood tradition,” he pointed out, so he expects his wood to check as it dries in place, and the joinery he uses takes that into account. “Checking does not reduce its strength; it’s just the natural process of a tree drying,” he points out.

Knowing his propensity for using trees that are not necessarily straight, sometimes

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R e a l E s tat e Timber frame construction allows for soaring ceilings and expansive interiors.

Collin’s friends contact him when they have a unique tree to take down. That’s why he has

an unusual piece of walnut in storage now, and he already has a project in mind for it.

The design will depend “on what the tree dictates;” Collin is expecting to cut anywhere from eight to 16 crooked timbers from it of various sizes. These pieces may be used as anything from posts to knee braces to collars to cruck blades. “Cruck framing is what we specialize in,” said Collin. It’s a system dating from medieval times that uses curved timbers (“cruck blades”) to form parts of both the roof and walls of a building.

Underlying Collin’s business is a fundamental belief in the lives and value of the working class and his connection to North Idaho’s timber economy. Over the centuries, he said, home building has drifted away from a craft orientation as metal fasteners and prefab parts have eased construction and brought down costs while requiring less skill from builders. Timber framing, in contrast, uses cruder materials that require highly skilled labor. He believes that the kind of ennui that he experienced in his

Our dwellings take their shape from the sheltering forests of this region, created by the hearts and hands of our community-minded craftsmen.

www.collinbeggs.com Sandpoint, idaho 208.290.8120

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REAL

Beggs’ creativity shines in this living area that shows how bifurcated trees can be incorporated beautifully.

E S TAT E

early days of carpentry “can be solved with physical labor that embodies your values.

Craft is a way to have meaning in our lives and build self esteem.”

His business supports a crew of four in addition to himself, all of whom have an opportunity to develop their skills and be challenged by thinking about how to use available timbers to form a unique home.

He is happy he can provide them with this opportunity as well as a paycheck.

But no one is getting rich. “Everyone in our shop has made a lifestyle choice. Money is very secondary.” By that he means they have chosen to do work they value, even though they can’t make as much money at timber framing as they might if they worked in more conventional contemporary building.

“Its market share is 1 percent or less. It’s a tiny little niche,” said Collin. But “If you’re into it, you kind of have to do it. It resonates on a subconscious level.”

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Marketwatch: Workforce, first-time buyers find challenges It’s a seller’s market … for now.

Home prices in the Sandpoint area keep climbing higher and it appears the sky’s the limit when it comes to listing prices.

If your neighbor has sold their house, you might be half-tempted to sell your own and cash out – except you’d have to buy another lofty-priced home if you want to stay in Sandpoint.

It’s definitely a seller’s market, as statistics bear out: in the period between September 10, 2016 and April 20, 2017 (normally a somewhat sedate winter sales period), the average sales price for a Sandpoint-area home increased a whopping 27 percent over the same time period the year before.

“The real estate market looks better than it has in some time,” said Terry Stevens, MLS president for the Selkirk Association of Realtors. “Our inventory is down, which means we’re selling. There are quite a few listings pending right now.” The low inventory is usually alleviated somewhat by an

upswing of properties entering the market in late spring and early summer. And Stevens predicts the same thing will happen this year, as sellers look to capitalize on a red-hot market. “I’ve been working on deals where we’re getting multiple offers.”

If you’re a buyer, Stevens recommends keeping an eye on what the federal government is doing with interest rates. “If you look at the last several years, and decades even, any time the feds start working with the rates, the price of housing goes up and the costs go up. I’m telling buyers that now is a good time before interest rates go up.”

Bare land might be the way to go for buyers who have time to wait for construction. While many builders report that they are busy right now, it could be a different story six months from now. And the average sales price on vacant land in Bonner County decreased 22 percent during the past six months, compared to a year previously.

One difficulty that sellers are having is coming up with a price. “Prices are all over

the place,” said Stevens, citing the fact that our local real estate market hasn’t experienced the same level of sales activity over the past seven or eight years. “Last year was a fairly good year, but it still didn’t provide any comparable sales.” Perhaps the sky truly is the limit – for now.

Stevens has an optimistic viewpoint of the market, but he tempers that with a dose of realism. “This growth in activity might be short-lived. In four months, we might be waiting for that next buyer to come in.”

Cindy Hunter, president of the Selkirk Association of Realtors, agrees that what’s happening in D.C. is affecting our local market: “A lot of things being talked about are having an impact, [even] on waterfront.”

Indeed, the average sales price of waterfront decreased 51 percent – a signal that perhaps folks are hesitant about taking on another mortgage without knowing what the future may hold regarding tax benefits.

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Vacant Land — Bonner County

Residential - All Areas 2017

% Inc/Decr

2016

2017

% Inc/Decr

504

519

3

Sold Listings

175

198

13 -11

Volume — Sold Listings

$145,616,790

$155,851,168

7

Volume — Sold Listings

$21,234,875

$18,813,130

Median Price

$239,500

$245,000

2

Median Price

$75,000

$60,000

-20

Average Sales Price

$288,922

$300,291

4

Average Sales Price

$121,342

$95,015

-22

Average Days on Market

145

156

8

Average Days on Market

275

270

-2

Vacant Sales — lake Front

Sandpoint City 2016

2017

% Inc/Decr

Sold Listings

85

70

-18

Volume — Sold Listings

$21,049,731

$19,578,960

-7

Median Price

$218,000

$229,000

5

Average Sales Price

$247,643

$279,699

13

Average Days on Market

116

109

-6

2016

2017

% Inc/Decr

186

302

2017

20

7

% Inc/Decr -65

Volume — Sold Listings

$4,726,300

$746,116

-84

Median Price

$126,200

$83,333

-34

Average Sales Price

$236,315

$106,588

-55

Average Days on Market

202

260

29

Residential Sales — All Lakefront

Sandpoint Area Sold Listings

2016 Sold Listings

2016

2017

62

Sold Listings

75

47

-37

Volume — Sold Listings

$38,352,250

$25,846,904

-33

Median Price

$465,000

$395,000

-15

Average Sales Price

$511,363

$249,934

-51

Average Days on Market

143

155

8

Volume — Sold Listings

$48,719,359

$100,317,976

106

Median Price

$225,000

$264,000

17

Average Sales Price

$261,932

$332,178

27

Average Days on Market

155

155

0

E S TAT E

Sold Listings

2016

REAL

Selkirk Multiple Listing Service Real Estate Market Trends

% Inc/Decr

Residential sales by area based on information from the Selkirk MLS© for the period of September 10, 2015 to April 20, 2016 versus September 10, 2016 to April 20, 2017.

Real estate stats for Bonner and Boundary counties. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

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Natives and Newcomers Interviews & photos by billie

jean gerke

Natives and Newcomers invites four people, two who have lived here most of their lives and two who have lived here two years or less, to answer a near-similar set of questions. In this issue, we have a middle-aged realtor and a 30-something professional as natives, versus a millennial librarian and a tricenarian mother of three for newcomers. Enjoy their different perspectives on questions ranging from how they rate the quality of life to what they would change if they could.

Natives Pat Bistline

P

at Bistline, a 1971 Sandpoint High graduate, grew up in a family of five on Lakeshore Drive in Sagle, where he fished and rambled in the undeveloped woods around the family’s home. His mother Jean was a social worker, his father Steve, an attorney and later an Idaho supreme court justice. Pat graduated from the University of Idaho with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and worked in Alaska as a commercial fisherman before returning to Sandpoint to start a career in insurance and real estate. He married Eileen Klatt in 1988, and they have lived in Hope since 1981.

They also own a 1951 summer float house on Warren Island. He enjoys fishing and hunting and working as a realtor for Century 21 RiverStone.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate the quality of life here?

I would rate it as a 10. I can’t think of any other place I’d rather be with what this area offers physically — the mountains, the lake, the ski hill — and what the town of Sandpoint offers with the multiple types of entertainment venues and incredible restaurants and the arts.

If you could donate a million dollars to a local organization, what would it be?

There are so many worthy organizations, I’m going to take that million dollars and donate it to two organizations. The first would be the Bonner Community Food

Bank, and the reason is the usage of that place and the amount of need that there is in this county — 10 percent of the population uses it. We see two sides to the county: the multi-million-dollar houses and then the people who are basically just getting by. For the other part of the money, I would put it to use to acquire more open spaces. You need to nourish the body with food, but you need to nourish the soul with accessible places to go.

How do you feel about the public education system?

I was satisfied with what I had, and I’m without a doubt more impressed now, with the enthusiasm throughout the school district, the pride of the smaller schools.

And yet, I’m concerned that operating the schools is very expensive, and the tax lien that is put on the local property owners is getting very burdensome and problematic for many people. I know it has nothing to do with the schools, but hopefully, our Idaho Legislature will get that addressed.

If you could change anything, what would it be?

I would like to see more affordable housing for low-income people. We go back to this disparity of income here. Our county has the second-highest average cost for homes in the state, second to Sun Valley.

Being a resort community, between the lake and the ski hill, it really impacts the housing market. I would like to see more decent, su m m e r 2 0 17

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affordable housing for working people so they don’t have to work two or three jobs.

Any secret tips for getting the most out of living here?

Enjoy every day. If you’re drawn to this area, if you’re into the physical activities, get out and enjoy. There are so many things to do and places to go. I think of all the mountains and lakes and trails in Bonner and Boundary counties. If you want to get involved, there are so many worthy organizations here, whether you join a club or volunteer at the animal shelter or the rifle range. There’s something here for everyone.

Any advice for people who may want to move here?

Keep the financial considerations in mind. If you’re financially stable or if you bring a job with you, it’s not an issue, but the job market is somewhat limited. If you come here, don’t have to rely on the local economy. A number of people are telecommuting. Then keep in mind we do have four seasons here. It can be paradise in August, but it might look different in February.

Living here for many years, people have complained it’s not what it used to be, but my response is “I don’t think it’s changed much.” Yes, there’s more people, but there’s been a lot of positive changes. If you could make a living here, where else would you rather be?

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Yaicha Wohlschlager

Y

aicha Wohlschlager is the daughter of Bryan Quayle, a land use consultant, and Chris Quayle, the Bonner County jury commissioner. They lived in Sandpoint in the early 1980s, left for employment in Wyoming, and moved back in 1990, when Yaicha was 4. Now 32, Yaicha is a married mother of two who works at Thorne Research in purchasing. She graduated from Sandpoint High in 2003 and earned Bachelor of Science degrees at the University of Idaho in 2007 in production operations management and human resources management.

When husband Scott, whom she met in high school, finished college in 2008, they moved back to Sandpoint, where he works with Boden Architecture. She enjoys gardening, boating, kayaking, running and road cycling.

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On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate the quality of life here?

I would say on most days it’s honestly a 10. Maybe in the depths of winter when the snow doesn’t seem to want to wane and the days are still short and mornings and evenings are dark, it might be a 9. But all you have to do is drive across the Long Bridge or out to Hope, and it’s right back to a 10. It’s a place that has natural beauty and a community with a big heart. I like going to the store and knowing people. I grew up here and to know that you’re always surrounded by people who really do care about you, I love it.

all the way through high school in public school. I had a very successful educational career, went on to the University of Idaho and graduated with honors with three degrees in four years. You’ve got to work at it, and they do a very good job with what they have here.

If you could change anything, what would it be?

I would like to increase the number of career opportunities here. It can be really difficult to find employment locally and not have to commute to Spokane or Coeur d’Alene. I would love to see an expansion of industry here that would provide jobs for lots of disciplines and lots of different types of work forces. It takes a village, and you need everybody.

If you could donate a million dollars to a local organization, what would it be and why?

I would donate money to the Panhandle Alliance for Education. I think making an investment in our children is an investment in our future. Being a product of our education system here, I think it’s important to ensure that our children have successes in that.

Any secret tips for getting the most out of living here?

Make time to play. It’s so important to play on the lake, in the mountains, in the snow. We really live in Mother Nature’s playground. Take advantage of that. It’s different than the city and other rural areas. Go fish in the river. Bike in the mountains and on the roads. Run. Get outside. Really play with what Mother Nature has here.

How do you feel about the public education system?

Our teachers here and everywhere are tasked with the Herculean effort of educating our children with limited resources while being under every parent’s microscope.

They do their best. It’s sometimes a very thankless job, and I appreciate everything they give for our children. We have to be active with our teachers in our children’s lives. I started kindergarten here and went

Any advice for people who may want to move here?

Pack your expectations for all four seasons. We get the spring showers, mud season, summer heat and sunshine, fall colors and brisk mornings, and then we get dumped on by snow in winter. Sometimes we get all of them in the same day. Also bring a smile. We’re a friendly community and want to maintain that. It’s wonderful to get a wave from a stranger as you’re

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Newcomers

FESTIVAL ATSANDPOINT THE

AUGUST 3 - 13, 2017

NATIVES & NEWCOMERS

crossing the street, or somebody holds the door open for you, or says good morning or thank you. You may or may not know these people, but we’re all your neighbors.

That’s part of living in a small community and making the best of what we have to offer here.

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Cara Roraback

C

ara Roraback is a 37-year-old mother of three with a long history working in the restaurant industry in Seattle in fine dining, where she earned her wine sommelier certificate. She and her husband, Justin, moved from Seattle to Sandpoint in January 2016 and reside in a rural neighborhood way up Rapid Lightning Road. Since moving to Sandpoint, she has worked at Jalapeños Mexican Restaurant, Laughing Dog Brewing and Sweet Lou’s. She and her family discovered the area after visiting relatives who had moved to Athol. She and Justin decided to move to northern Idaho to escape the crime and drugs that had become rampant in the Seattle area, where they both grew up. Her husband’s parents shared their decision and moved to Laclede around the same time.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate the quality of life here? Why? Ten. I love everything about it. I love all the four seasons. I love the community connection that everybody has. I love driving up Rapid Lightning and everybody waves. It’s so adorable. I love that word of mouth is more

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important than what you read on the Internet.

If you could donate a million dollars to a local organization, which would it be and why?

Angels Over Sandpoint because I like what it represents (helping people).

How do you feel about the public education system?

I love (my childrens’) schools (Sandpoint High and Northside Elementary). I don’t know that much about the public education system here, but I love the teachers.

I’m glad that the schools are getting more funding.

If you could change anything, what would it be?

I have mixed feelings about it, but as far as the economy goes, seeing people struggle is terrible. I’ve heard several times from people that if you come here, you have to bring money, and if you have to make money, you’re going to have to leave. I wish I could do something to change that. But what would make money? Larger corporations. But then if you have larger corporations, you ruin this beautiful little town, so where do you find balance in that? The only thing I would change is to make betterpaying jobs more available.

Do you think Sandpoint lives up to its accolades and awards? How or how not?

I do. It’s beautiful. It’s friendly. I think it’s lived up to everything that I would have expected and more. I love it. A lot of those awards talk about the natural beauty and how it’s a well-kept secret, and it’s true. It’s absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. I take pictures on the way to work through my dirty car windows, and they still blow me away.

How have residents made you feel welcome?

Every day that I drive up my road, they wave at me — people I’ve never seen before in my whole life. Everybody here holds the door. That’s something that I was very adamant about with my children, that you be respectful and hold the door. I think that’s something that’s being lost with this generation. It’s common courtesy, which I feel is being thrown by the wayside in the bigger cities. Everything is a rat race; it’s all about money. It feels like everything slows way down here. You take time to get to know

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people here: your neighbor, people you pass in the grocery story. My son’s really involved in sports. Being involved in that community, you get to know all the moms. After the games, instead of everybody jumping in their cars and dividing into their separate ways, we all get together. It’s this kinship that you develop because your kids are playing sports together. That’s something I hadn’t experienced.

Morgan Gariepy

M

organ Gariepy is a 26-year-old young adult services librarian at the library in Sandpoint, which brought him here from Vancouver, British Columbia, where he attended graduate school. Originally from Four Lakes, Washington, he graduated from Cheney High School in 2008 and went on to Eastern Washington University to study history before earning master’s degrees in library and information science and archival studies. His greatest hobby, dance, began in elementary school. He takes lessons at Sandpoint West Athletic Club and participates in monthly dances hosted in Sandpoint. He also enjoys low-impact hiking, going to City Beach, board games and crochet. He may have been an only child, but he has six stepsiblings.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate the quality of life here? Why? I would probably give it a 7. It’s absolutely gorgeous; there’s tons of outdoorsy things to do. I do enjoy the arts scene here, but I guess I’m used to much bigger cities. In Vancouver, I could get all kinds of amazing food from any culture I could think

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NATIVES & NEWCOMERS

of, and it was just down the block. A lot of those [restaurants] don’t exist here. The housing is very expensive here. It’s nearly impossible to find an affordable apartment.

If you could donate a million dollars to a local organization, what would it be and why?

The library, of course. We really do some amazing things out in the community, and we have some wonderful community partners that work with us. That kind of money would only improve that, and it would help with our expansion.

How do you feel about the public education system?

I do work pretty closely with some teachers in the district, and they’re all wonderful, really dedicated and want to have their kids have the best education possible. I’ve been in the middle school and the high school.

The kids are incredibly polite and respectful.

Even our troublemakers we get sometimes in the library are really not much trouble at all. It’s good that the supplemental levy passed so we can pay the teachers. I wish the other levy would have passed though.

They could use some new buildings.

If you could change anything, what would it be?

I would like more people my age. It seems like most people around here are either in their 40s or 50s and beyond and have their families. I’m quite a bit younger and single, and I just don’t quite fit into that kind of lifestyle.

L

Strategically designed.

Does Sandpoint live up to its accolades and awards? How or how not?

It’s been recognized over and over again for its beauty and tight-knit community, and I would agree with that. It’s one of the most gorgeous places I’ve ever lived, and the community sticks together and looks after one another.

Results-driven.

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of the story

M A R K E T I N G

How have residents made you feel welcome?

When I started dance, I was welcomed in with open arms and made some great friends that way, both my ballroom group and belly dance group. The teachers I work with and my coworkers at the library have all made me feel incredibly welcome. A few months after I moved here, I moved into a new apartment, and I met probably a third of my neighbors within the first couple hours. I hadn’t even finished unpacking the truck.

We publish Sandpoint Magazine, the town portal SandpointOnline.com, and books as Keokee Books. Here’s the rest of the story. We also provide print + web design and development services for more than 300 regional companies and groups. Need marketing help? Call us!

>>

Get the whole story at www.keokee.com 208.263.3573 | keokee.com

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Media + marketing.

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LO D G I N G G U I D E

Lodging

x

54

x

x

x

x

300

x

x

x

x

21

x

x

19

x

x

60

x

83

x

x

68

x

x

25

x

50

x

x

62

x

x

75

x

x

70

x

x

Meeting Rooms

Pool on site

x

Kitchen

Spa or Sauna

4

Restaurant

No. of Units

Archer Vacation Condos

Bar or Lounge

Schweitzer’s Selkirk Lodge Daugherty Management, Lake Pend Oreille

x

Beautiful 3-bedroom, 2-bath waterfront condos on Lake Pend Oreille in Hope. Discount ski and golf tickets available. See ad, page 55. www.archercondos.com

509-382-2954 / drarchers@msn.com

Best Western Edgewater Resort

x

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

x

x

Providing an experience that makes each guest feel at home. Enjoy deluxe amenities and beautiful views. See ad page 111. www.cdacasino.com

x

x

Sandpoint’s luxury vacation home rentals, with properties on the lake and in the mountains. See ad, page 50. www.DM-Vacations.com

208-263-3194 or 800-635-2534

Coeur d’Alene Casino 800-523-2464

Daugherty Management 509-981-1469

Dover Bay Bungalows

x

x

x

Waterfront bungalows at Dover Bay in Marina Village. Fully furnished, lake and mountain views. Fitness center, marina, hiking/biking trails. See ad, page 88. www.DoverBayBungalows.com

208-263-3083

FairBridge Inn & Suites

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

x

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 73. www.HIExpress.com

x

Downtown location, high-speed internet. Free breakfast, themed spa suites. Silverwood, ski and golf packages. Kids stay free. See ad, page 38. www.Hotels-West.com

x

Accommodations for weddings, retreats and banquets. Lakeside with swimming and docks. Views of lake and mountains for an unforgettable Idaho vacation. See ad, page 53. www.LodgeAtSandpoint.com

x

Fully furnished condos and on-site athletic club on Lake Pend Oreille.

Stay and play packages. See ad, page 19. www.POSResort.com

x

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

x

x

75 luxury homes and condos in Sandpoint and on the lake. First-class properties at affordable rates. Plan your perfect vacation. See ad, page 27. www.SandpointVacationRentals.com

x

x

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

x

x

x

x

x

208-263-9581 or 800-282-0660

Lodge at Sandpoint 208-263-2211

Pend Oreille Shores Resort

x

208-264-5828

Sandpoint Quality Inn

x

x

208-263-2111 or 866-519-7683

Sandpoint Vacation Rentals 208-263-7570 or 866-263-7570

Selkirk Lodge

x

x

208-265-0257 or 877-487-4643

Sleep’s Cabins

5

x

On beautiful Lakeshore Drive. Sleep’s Cabins consists of five log bungalows decorated with original furnishings and collectibles. See ad, page 66. www.SleepsCabins.com

208-255-2122 or 866-302-2122

Talus Rock Retreat

6

x

26

x

x

x

x

Experience an extraordinary Idaho bed and breakfast escape. One mile from Sandpoint. See ad, page 77. www.TalusRockRetreat.com

x

x

New accommodations, stay-and-play packages. Spectacular mountain & lake views. Outdoor hot tubs, access to heated pool. See ad, page 155. www.Schweitzer.com

208-255-8458

White Pine Lodge 208-265-0257 or 877-487-4643

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The Lodge at Sandpoint on the water

x

x

x

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EATS

Drinks with Beth Hawkins

If you pour it,

COME -they will-

New spaces, renovations create lively bar and tasting scene.

IF IT SEEMS A LITTLE QUIET IN SANDPOINT RIGHT NOW, THAT’S BECAUSE ALL THE CONSTRUCTION WORKERS WHO WERE PREVIOUSLY GOING GANGBUSTERS ON ALL THE BUILDING PROJECTS AT AREA TAVERNS AND TAPROOMS ARE NOW RELAXING AND HAVING A BEER – OR WINE!

W

The new Laughing Dog taproom features a relaxed vibe. | PHOTO BY BETH HAWKINS

ithin the past year, a flurry of remodeling changes and new spaces has created a whole new world to discover at beer, bar and wine establishments in our area.

For starters, Laughing Dog Brewing celebrated the muchanticipated opening of their new taproom April 1 (for all the non-believers who thought it was an April Fool’s joke, it really happened – with an epic Gonzaga basketball game playing out on TV to boot!). The new space is adjacent to the brewing company’s production facility at 805 Schweitzer Plaza Dr. in Ponderay, and offers peek-a-boo views of the operations (tours are available with a call ahead at 208-263-9222). The taproom features all the expected amenities of a local hangout including big-screen T s, plenty of seating, a co y fireplace, and familiar faces pouring at the taps including well-known radio personality Jonny Knight – a longtime employee who is happy to have the new taproom up and running after an 8-month break from working at the previous location, which was a long enough time to earn him this year’s coveted “best ski bum” of Sandpoint title from The Inlander. “I love it,” Knight said about the new taproom. “We have an amazing new sound system, events lined up this summer, and new beers on tap.”

According to Laughing Dog’s Michelle Sivertson, vice president of operations, the taproom opening coincided with some recipe experimentation, resulting in three new beers. Dogs of Helles is a German lager special release beer that’s available on tap and in cans. “It’s a great summer beer, it’s the go-to boat beer,” Sivertson said. Next, Laughing Dog created a True Blue American Amber: “It’s going to be in our lineup as a core beer, carried year-round. It’s becoming a big seller,” she said. The amber is available on tap. Finally, the brewers came up with Boch at the Moon, available on tap and quarterly. The taproom is open daily, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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The new taproom at Laughing Dog Brewing. | PHOTO BY BETH HAWKINS

BARS&TAVERNS

All that fast-paced brewing is topped off with another project – a collaborative beer brewed by Laughing Dog and MickDuff’s Brewing Company called Dos Cervezas (translation: two beers!). It’s a Mexican lager that debuts at both breweries, as well as at Jalapeno’s restaurant. Sivertson points out this is the first time the two longtime breweries - MickDuff’s has been in operation for 11 years, and Laughing Dog for 13 years - have joined forces in a fun, creative way. “We’re promoting a sister brewery atmosphere to buy local beer,” she said. “It was cool to watch them develop the recipe, brew the beer, and get it fermenting.”

The 219 Lounge 219 N. First Ave., wrapped up a big renovation on the heels of its newly declared no-smoking status. The popular downtown bar, which opened in the current location way back in 1933 (and rebuilt in 1935 after a fire), underwent huge changes over the past year including tearing down walls, installing a custom-made metal back bar suspended from the ceiling with cages that flip up and down in steely fashion over the liquor. They’re also developing an events schedule that includes live music and sometimes the occasional deejay every Friday and Saturday.

Proprietor Mel Dick said it’s been a long haul getting through the renovations, but he’s pleased with the end result. “We had an image as being a shot and a beer bar,” Dick said, explaining the 219’s transition. “With craft beers becoming more popular, we now offer 20 beers on tap, plus six more out on the patio during the summer.” In addition, a classic cocktail menu includes favorites such as the Manhattan: “Things that people were drinking back in Prohibition days.” The response has been “overwhelmingly positive” to the changes.

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MickDuff’s and Laughing Dog created a collaborative beer called Dos Cervezas - available at both breweries and at Jalapeno’s Restaurant

“We’ve basically restored the building back to its original.” The 219 is open daily, 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.

The Cedar St. Bistro Wine Bar, 334 N. First ve., is a new addition that’s aiming to fill a niche left by the loss of previous local wine bars. “People want an adult place to go and have a drink,” said manager Marsha Meury.

The wine bar sells wine by the glass, with a rotating menu of 10 wines to choose from, plus a more extensive selection of bottled wines that can be enjoyed at the wine bar or purchased to take home. The wine list includes a variety of prices and regions. “We have a small amount of cellar wines, and that will continue to grow.” Those who prefer beer will find three varieties on tap, plus there are bottled and canned beers as well. “I’ll be changing out beers and wine by the glass,” said Meury.

“And I’m open to suggestions.”

Meury says the wine bar’s relaxed atmosphere - situated on the iconic Cedar Street Bridge - draws wine lovers who are looking for a chance to unwind. “The wine bar is casual, very fun. If you’re on your way somewhere, or we’re your last stop in town, it’s a great stopping point. Plus we have a really great view.”

Nibble on something from the small plates menu from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., including individual pizzas, charcuterie plates, and more. “You can make a meal of what we have there, even a light dinner,” Meury said.

Enjoy live music every Friday night from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and sign up for the free wine club to receive discounts and more information, including monthly wine tasting events.

Summer hours starting in June are noon to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Pend d’Oreille Winery, 301 Cedar St., closed operations of the in-house restaurant,

the Bistro Rouge. However, the tasting room remains open all summer long, featuring their popular wine of the month, special tastings, and live music every Friday and Saturday night.

“Julie and I just felt the restaurant side of this business was too much to hang on to every day of the week,” said Steve Meyer, president and founder of Pend d’Oreille Winery.

“We have gone back to just the wine as our principal business.”

“We still have light bites for enjoying food with your wine,” said Meyer, including a variety of fine cheese. The winery is currently working on a few new items for summer, so stop by to check it out! Open daily, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and noon to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

“

It’s a cool atmosphere,

with old memorabilia hung all around the walls. Our slogan is “Where all the hidden treasures hang.”

-KIM HAWORTH, OL RED’S PUB

Downstairs at 202 N. First Avenue is Ol Red’s Pub, where idle time can be spent playing pool, darts, video bowling, foosball, beer pong or strutting your skills on a putting green.

“We usually have live music on our stage most

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E AT S & D R I N KS

#1 on tripadvisor

Baxters on Cedar home of the Maine Lobster Roll

SERVING LUNCH & DINNER phone208.229.8377 webBaxtersOnCedar.com 109 Cedar St. Sandpoint, ID 83864 The 219 serves classic cocktails. | COURTESY PHOTO

Friday evenings,” said owner Kim Haworth, who invites customers to bring in food from restaurants while enjoying Ol Red’s eight brews on tap and impressive wine selection.

“It’s a cool atmosphere, with old memorabilia hung all around the walls. Our slogan is ‘Where all the hidden treasures hang.’ This speaks of both the old local signs on our walls, and of the cool people that hang at our establishment!” Open seven days a week at noon, and at 10 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday for the coffee crowd. How cool is that?

Jonny Knight at the taps. | PHOTO BY BETH HAWKINS

And the more things change, the more they stay the same at Eichardt’s Pub and Grill, 212 Cedar St. While an increasing number of IPAs now flow from the pub’s taps, for 23 years the popular downtown hangout has been dishing up gourmet fare including garlic fries, fresh salmon flown in from Alaska, Caesar salads and burgers made with local Wood’s Meats. Check out the pub’s featured bartender, Natalie Miller – who’s been working at Eichardt’s for almost as long as they’ve been in business - on the “Bartender Q&A” article on page 140. ’

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DiLun a’s

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Where all the Hidden Treasures Hang!

8

BEERS ON TAP

G R EAT

wine SELECTION cold beer great people! | OPEN 7 DAYS WEDS-THURS 10am FRI-TUES @NOON POOL TABLE, DARTS, GAMES

208.946.0022 | 202 N. 1st Ave

>> downstairs

W

hile many of us may have romanticized views of bartending, thanks in large part to movies and television (remember “Cheers,“ where everybody knows your name?), the truth is … it’s a lot of hard work!

Just ask Racheal Baker, 27, a bartender at The 219 Lounge in downtown Sandpoint who juggles her Friday-through-Monday job with classes at North Idaho College. She recalls a conversation she had with her dad - one of those “What are you going to do with your life?” talks - as sparking her interest in bartending. Natalie Miller, 54, also balances a busy life as a mom with the multi-tasking job of bartender at Eichardt’s Pub and Grill. Luckily, Miller has worked there for 22 of the pub’s 23-year lifespan, and can pull rank when it comes to an accommodating schedule!

We delved into the world of Sandpoint bartending … hoping to bring a bit of insight into this somewhat mysterious profession:

bartender

Q A

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Racheal Baker

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208-217-0884 www.loaf-ladle.com 124 S. Second Ave. Sandpoint

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Racheal Baker

natalie miller

What hours do you I work Fridays through Mondays, and no, I do not get work and do you enough sleep! But I like the get enough sleep?

Years ago, I did work nights. But now I’m a day person. I have a regular schedule, and work until 5.

Mostly men close the bar; Jeff (the owner) is pretty protective that way.

What’s the most popular beverage?

A beer and a shot, a PBR and a Fireball. Or maybe I should say the 9er beer! (But check out our new classic cocktails!)

IPAs are really popular now.

Twenty-three years ago, they were just starting to get popular. As a whole, we carry a variety for a large clientele – it’s what they want.

What’s your favorite thing about being a bartender in Sandpoint?

The people. My customers are my most fun part, and on Sundays and Mondays it’s the regulars.

I love Eichardt’s because my boss has a lot of trust in us to do our job.

It’s like a family here, we’ll bend over backward to support each other. I’m also proud of the quality we put out.

What’s your advice for would be bartenders?

It’s a lot harder job than you think it is. It’s an adult day care, and you’re watching over drunk babies! It’s also hard on your sleep and your body.

A really good bartender is somebody who knows local information: Where’s a good place to camp?

How much snow is on the mountain? We get asked those kinds of questions every day.

What’s your favor-

‘What do you call an alligator in a vest? An investigator!’

That’s the one I like telling people.

Okay, it’s a dirty one that I even told my four-year-old. ‘What did the fish say when he hit the concrete wall?

Dam!’

schedule – if it’s summer, it’s great, I can go to the beach all day and then go to work.

ite bar joke?

E AT S & D R I N KS

Q&A

SINCE 1994

Serving dinner 7 nights a week Reservations Recommended

208.265.2000

41 Lakeshore Drive, Sagle www.41SouthSandpoint.com su m m e r 2 0 17

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Eats & Drinks

|

with Beth Hawkins

summerfaves ENJOY A BOUNTY OF FL AVORS

S

andpoint’s chefs embrace the flavors of summer to create inventive, tried-and-true favorite dishes that keep happy diners coming back time and again. Di Luna’s Cafe, 207 Cedar St., takes advantage of its close proximity to the Sandpoint Farmers’ Market (just a block away) to help dictate the menu. Open May through early October, the market attracts vendors from throughout the area with their seasonal produce.

“After the market opens in May, we use what’s in season to make our Farmers Market Benedict,” said owner Karen Forsythe. “We always try to have fresh spinach, but other things change around such as fresh mushrooms. It’s whatever we find that’s in season.” The vegetarian dish is made with fresh eggs and house-made Hollandaise sauce, served on an nglish muffin and accompanied by fresh fruit or sweet potato hash browns. Add a flavorful mimosa for a sparkly start to your day. “I can my own pears, so we make a concentrate from those for the mimosas,” said Forsythe. Another summer favorite utilizing market ingredients is the fresh spinach and berry salad, varying a bit depending on what berries happen to be in season, that’s topped with goat or feta cheese. Keep an eye on the website, DiLunas.com or Sandpoint Online’s events calendar for dinner concerts this summer featuring jazz, bluegrass, and folk.

House-made Hollandaise sauce on Farmers’ Market Benedict at Di Lunas

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.

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always surprised, but our crab bisque is one of our most popular items, even in the summer. People are addicted to it!” Summer meals are made all the more special when enjoyed from the restaurant’s patio, which overlooks the lake for a front-row seat to Sandpoint’s gorgeous sunsets.

Every summer season requires at least one meal at Trinity at City Beach, 58 Bridge St., simply to take in the lakeside restaurant’s beachy vibe. The spacious patio overlooks bustling City Beach and the expansive lake and mountain views beyond.

According to owner Justin Dick, there are several standout summer dishes that keep customers coming back. Check out the wild halibut fillet, stuffed with Dungeness crab and brie that’s baked and topped with lemon-dill buerre blanc (a lovely butter sauce). And if you’re thinking salad, it’s hard to pass up the seared ahi salad, featuring a sesame and wasabi-crusted seared ahi tuna steak that’s served rare on a bed of romaine and tossed with soy ginger vinaigrette. Such a colorful, nutritious meal that’s fitting for summer in our lovely corner of the world!

E AT S & D R I N KS

At Forty-One South, 41 Lakeshore Dr. in Sagle, about half of the menu rotates come summertime. “We bring in lighter fare, fresh fish, and something new we’ll be offering is a ceviche,” said owner Cassandra Cayson.

Last summer’s introduction of a tequila coconut shrimp entrée proved to be the big new hit. “It’s definitely returning to the menu this summer,” Cayson said. Sauteed in tequila, the shrimp are served with rice and vegetables. “Everyone loves it.”

Another summer dish at Forty-One South was a bit more unexpected: “I’m

“

After the market opens in May, we use what’s in season to make our Farmers’ Market Benedict. We always try to have fresh spinach, but other things change around such as fresh mushrooms. It’s whatever we find that’s in season.

- KAREN FORSYTHE, DI LUNA’S CAFÉ

Trinity at City Beach, seared ahi salad

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Breads Scones Pastries Cookies Pies Cinnamon Rolls Coffee Teas Canned Goods Spices Beans Rice Pasta Flour Nuts Dried Fruit Christian Books Housewares

1326 Baldy Mtn. Rd., Sandpoint, ID 83864 . www.MillersCountryStoreSandpoint.com su m m e r 2 0 17

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e QD

Eats & Drinks

|

with Beth Hawkins

The new Sky House at Schweitzer. | COURTESY PHOTO

The sweeping view from the lodge. | COURTESY PHOTO

Let’s do lunch...

at 6,400 feet!

Soups ~ Sandwiches ~ Pies

502 Church Street • Sandpoint • 208-265-2208

Rice crusts & soy cheese now available

“Out of this W orld” • Delivery • Sandwiches • Calzones • Specialty Salads • Homemade Dough • Beer/Wine • Take & Bakes

The Carolyn

215 S. 2nd Ave.

263-9321

S

andpoint residents have an easy time wowing out-of-town guests with fun ways to show off our incredible area: boating excursions out on the lake, shopping trips in our eclectic downtown retail stores, a drive out to Hope along the Pend Oreille Scenic Byway.

And now there’s another summertime mustdo that you’ll want to add to your list – eating lunch at the Sky House at Schweitzer Mountain Resort, 10,000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd. The two-story lodge, which opened this past winter, is perched atop Schweitzer Mountain Resort’s summit at an elevation of 6,400 feet. The Sky House offers far-asthe-eye-can-see views of Lake Pend Oreille and the Cabinet and Selkirk mountain ranges – making it a show-stopper in and of itself.

Getting there is as simple (and fun!) as hopping on the Great Escape chairlift, which runs daily this summer from June 23 through September 4. Or, if you’d like to earn those lunch calories, take off by foot from Schweitzer Village and hike to the top.

Sky House’s spacious outdoor deck makes for a memorable setting to take in those stunning, 360-degree views while enjoying

delicious cuisine. (If the weather is not up to par, indoor seating provides equally incredible scenic vistas with its wall of windows.)

Executive Chef Peter Tobin is looking to find inspiration from the summer mountain experience, just as he did for the winter menu.

“I’ll have the perfect lemonade recipe ready when thirsty hikers arrive. They’ll get a glass of a perfect Schweitzer summer!”

Tobin strives to incorporate as many locally-sourced ingredients as possible into his menu offerings, and assures that “our summer menu will feature farm-fresh, local ingredients.”

He’s looking forward to his high-mountain summer, and cheerfully greeting visitors to the new lodge. “As long as the lifts are spinning, we’ll be open.”

The Sky House will be open during lift operating hours this summer, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and will be serving lunch. An unlimited scenic foot passenger lift ticket is $20 per person, per day; stay tuned to Schweitzer.com for summer special events. The Sky House is available for private functions; contact Schweitzer Group Sales for more details at 208-263-9555, ext 2819.

sushi & Japanese cuisine

OPEN DAILY

shogasushi.com//208 //208 265 2001 //

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Abby Chavez and her ice cream truck

ooking for a cool treat? Perk your ears up for the familiar tunes of the Sun Bear truck, a local summertime staple that harkens back to simpler times. “Sandpoint’s ice cream truck lady” – aka Abby Chavez – has been rolling through local neighborhoods and parks for 12 years now, serving up yummy frozen treats like ice cream sandwiches and push pops, all with a cheery smile.

After plenty of miles and summers spent driving around Sandpoint, Chavez has fun insights about our neighborhoods and people:

love that I come out there.”

Chavez delights in some of her more unusual customers, including three ladies from an assisted living facility who hail her down in their nightclothes. “They’re hysterical! They’re like small children, except they’re smoking cigarettes!”

As for the working hours, Chavez estimates she works around 3.5 hours per day in the summer. And she loves that it’s on her own terms: “Being my own boss, setting my own hours, selling what I want, has got to be the epitome of great. I don’t have to take

Chavez delivers ice cream to neighborhoods, parks, even rural lake destinations.

“The kids are fabulous. The parents, on the other hand, are a little weird,” she laughed.

“I’ve had some funny remarks from parents.

One time a father was walking with his two kids. I asked ‘Would you like to buy an ice cream?’ The man didn’t make eye contact with me, but shakes his head and says ‘We buy in bulk.’ Visions of Costco flashed through my head!”

Chavez politely points out that lowerincome neighborhoods produce her best sales, but she’s unsure why. “Perhaps the others’ kids are out on their boats,” she said. “The west side of town is good, but the south side is okay on the weekends, not during the week.” She also frequents city parks, and drives to Sunnyside’s public beaches on Sundays, where she finds grateful parents who often give her tips. “They

bars, sandwiches, cones, they’re all delicious.

Thanks, ‘ice cream truck lady!’

E AT S & D R I N KS

nostalgia on wheels...

y

orders from anyone!” Except for those weird parents! Regardless, everyone loves their ice cream – and screams for more. Ice cream

Tasty food, great coffee & exceptional wines Full Service Coffee & Espresso Bar • Gourmet Grilled Sandwiches Fresh Salads • Stone Baked Pizzas Grilled Wraps • Savory & Dessert Crepes • Handcrafted Gelato • Gluten-Free Options Wine Bar with Tapas Menu

Espresso • Beer/Wine • WiFi

Open Daily at 6 A.M. 208 N. 4th Avenue • Sandpoint, ID

Open 5-9pm Thursday - Saturday Live Music Friday & Saturday

Open 7am - 6pm | 208.265.4396 | www.cedarstbistro.com

Downtown Sandpoint on the Historic Cedar Street Bridge

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THE

L Local DISH

w e lco m e to su m m e r !

I

t’s summertime and the living is easy … especially if you dine out and leave the cooking to someone else! We’ve rounded up the latest news about area restaurants and eateries for your dining enjoyment, so get out there and enjoy the bounties of this beautiful season!

A favorite on the lake, The Floating Restaurant, 47392 Highway 200 in Hope, is a summer destination for boaters and motorists alike with its on-the-lake setting and exceptional food. “Our focus remains on fresh seafood, premium steaks and local produce whenever possible,” said chef Elissa Robbins. “We love to feature the best of the Northwest with wild harvested morel mushrooms, hand-picked huckleberries and locally farmed greens.”

Now in their 28th season, the Floater has always taken great pride in its homemade food, and with a beautiful, remodeled facility to back it up, Robbins says “life is very good.” She sets the scene for a relaxing summer evening: “A perfect meal at The Floater would be a patio table at sunset, an appetizer of wild morels, an entree of kale salad with wild rice, wheat berries

and home-smoked Columbia River steelhead and a slice of the best ever huckleberry pie. Oh yeah, and a glass of Washington’s Canoe Ridge chardonnay. Mmmm, welcome to summer.” fter a successful first summer, CHOP Steak and Seafood restaurant on Lake Pend Oreille in Hope (for drivers the address is 46624 Highway 200) returns for another season – and this year, owner Gary Peitz is tweaking the menu a bit to reflect more casual fare that appeals to the boating crowd. Part of that change is including the salad and side as part of the entrée price, something that Peitz said customers in our area tend to prefer. And his other summer-only restaurant in Dover, DISH at Dover Bay, 651 Lakeshore Ave. (another boater-friendly locale on the Pend Oreille River), continues to serve a mouthwatering array of fresh salads and creative entrees such as the buffalo meatloaf with chipotle barbecue sauce and gorgonzola.

An expanded seating area at Miller’s Country Store, 1326 Baldy Mountain Rd., can accommodate more diners – and that’s a good thing for this popular neighborhood market and deli. “We’re excited with the response to it,”

A CASUAL, CLASSIC STEAK & SEAFOOD HOUSE Steaks • Burgers • Pasta • Fresh Fish • Tacos WATERFRONT DINING | PRIME RIB SPECIALS ON FRIDAYS

264-0443 chopsteakandseafood.com

OPEN 7 DAYS from 4-9 pm Happy Hour from 4-6 pm daily 146

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Holiday Shores Marina Hope, ID

The Floater’s airy new dining room. | COURTESY PHOTO

said assistant manager Marie Wisler. “There’s a fireplace, so in the winter it’s warm and co y.”

For summer diners, there’s additional furniture outside for picnicking.

The deli features a variety of premium meats for made-to-order sandwiches along with sides, including a cucumber salad that’s made with onions and a sweet vinegar dressing. On Tuesdays, check out Rod’s Special: barbecued pork served on homemade coleslaw and drizzled with homemade sauce, sans bun, made in honor of the store’s late founder, Rod Miller. “It’s just something that Rod always did,” said Wisler.

Another sandwich spot is Pine Street Bakery, 710 Pine St., where owner Julia Knadler said the lunch specials revolve around showcasing the bakery’s freshly baked bread. “We like to pair a sandwich to a ciabatta or a rye, and we also have bagel sandwiches,” she said. “Everything’s made in house.” And that includes the mouthwatering assortment of croissants, pastries, gluten-free desserts and specialty cakes. Hang out with complimentary Wi-Fi and a smoothie on the spa-

Hand Crafted Ice Cream Espresso • Baked Goods PanhandleConeandCoffee.com

208.265.8996

216 N. First Ave • Sandpoint, ID

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cious outdoor deck.

If you’re hosting a crowd at home this summer, Rob Harper with Flying Fish Company, 620 N. Fifth Ave., has a fresh selection of seafood to showcase your cooking talents to perfection.

“We sell whatever’s fresh for the season, and during summer it’s the wild Alaskan salmon, both the sockeye and king,” Harper said. He also carries halibut when it’s in season, as well as wild Texas gulf shrimp. One of his biggest sellers is giant Atlantic scallops. “People like those year-round, they pan-sear up real nice.” Another popular favorite is the Idaho ruby trout: “It’s one

Local DISH

in-house chipotle mayo. Our pretender patty, which is our veggie burger, has a great pesto mayo that we make.” Burgers are served with veggies including lettuce, tomato and sprouts.

The store recently expanded its produce and meat sections, as well as offering larger inventories of local products. They’re even getting a bigger kombucha stand in the deli! Cheers!

Finally, summers have never quite been the same since Panhandle Cone and Coffee opened their doors at 216 N. First Ave. The ice cream shop is busy year-round, which is something to brag about in a place where

winters can get downright blustery. But, alas, it’s summer and Panhandle Cone and Coffee fans will be pleased to know that the shop is open daily this summer from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Two tried-and-true flavors that make a return this summer are the Wildflower Honey with Lavender, and the Toasted Coconut with Marionberry. But according to store manager Dylan Pruchnic, there’s always something new to try. “Every month, we try out a limited edition flavor,” she said. “We announce it on Facebook and Instagram, and we’ve really reached out through social media.”

E AT S & D R I N KS

THE

Panhandle Cone Miller’s barbecued pork and coleslaw.

of my biggest sellers because we get it in fresh twice a week, every week.” You can catch him (get it?) on Wednesdays and Fridays only, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Sweet Lou’s, 477272 Highway 95 in Ponderay, is serving up their popular menu not only in the Sandpoint area but now in Coeur d’Alene, as well. Located across from McEuen Park with deck views of Lake Coeur d’Alene, coowner Meggie Foust said it’s been a whirlwind of activity the last few months. “We opened in November 2016, and we’ve been busy engaging with the community,” she said. “I grew up in Coeur d’Alene, so we’ve been serving friends and family our favorite dishes.” Stop by either place for a relaxing end to your day.

Change is in the air this summer at Winter Ridge Natural Foods, 703 Lake St., with a new deli menu and deli manager at the helm. “We’ll have some exciting new menu items, plus our traditional menu items as well,” said Amanda Moore, who oversees the juice bar and coffee.

“We’ll have themed menus such as Mexican day, and we’ll continue to serve our Sunday brunch on the hot bar all day long.”

According to Moore, the grill is hopping. “The burgers are exceptional, and are made with an

and Coffee

Local * Natural * Delicious

Deli * Salad Bar * Bulk * Bakery Fresh Meat * Seafood * Dairy Grocery * Organic Produce Espresso * Supplements * Wine Kombucha * Health and Beauty 703 W Lake Street at Boyer St. www.WinterRidgeFoods.com 208-265-8135 su m m e r 2 0 17

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Downtown Sandpoint Dining Map

To Schweitzer

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1 Café Bodega 2 Cedar St. Bistro & Coffee Shop 3 Evans Brothers Coffee 4 Monarch Mountain Coffee 5 Panhandle Cone & Coffee 6 Pine Street Bakery 7 Flying Fish Company 8 Miller’s Country Store & Deli 9 Mojo Coyote at Schweitzer 0 Winter Ridge - Baxters on Cedar = Chimney Rock at Schweitzer q CHOP w Di Luna’s Café e DISH at Dover Bay rThe Floating Restaurant t Forty-One South y Loaf & Ladle u Pie Hut i Sky House at Schweitzer o Sweet Lou’s p Trinity at City Beach [ Eichardt’s Pub & Grill ] MickDuff’s Brewing Co. Brewpub \ Jalapeño’s Restaurant a Second Avenue Pizza s Shoga @ Forty-One South d 219 Lounge fCedar St. Bistro Wine Bar g Laughing Dog Brewing h MickDuff’s Brewing Co. Beer j Ol Red’s Pub k Pend d’Oreille Winery l Tam O’Shanter Tervan

To Bonners Ferry Canada

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Marina

AMENITIES KEY Waterfront Dining Outdoor Dining Full Bar Serves Breakfast Open Late Night

ts To Sagle

Coeur d’Alene

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Guide

DINING GUIDE

DINING

Restaurant index by type of cuisine. Locate by number on dining map.

BAKERIES, COFFEE & CAFÉS

1 Café Bodega

6 Pine Street Bakery

504 Oak St., inside Foster’s Crossing at Fifth and Cedar. Revitalize yourself at Café Bodega, featuring an assortment of superior sandwiches, salads, homemade soups, all organic espresso bar, whole leaf tea and fresh baked goods. Café available for catered evening events. 208-263-5911. www.fosterscrossingantiques.com

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 3:30 p.m., Saturdays 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. 208-263-9012.

DELICATESSEN & MARKET

2 Cedar St. Bistro

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. 208-265-4396. www.cedarstbistro. com

620 N. Fifth Ave. Open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every Wednesday and Friday, featuring 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, almonds, plus cheddar, and pepper jack cheeses. 208-263-FISH. www.flyingfishco.com.

8 Miller’s Country Store & Deli

3 Evans Brothers Coffee

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. 208-265-5553. www. evansbrotherscoffee.com

4 Monarch Mountain Coffee

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. 208-265-9382.

5 Panhandle Cone & Coffee

216 N. First Ave. Open at 11 a.m. daily, and closing at 10 p.m. through summer. Purveyor of handcrafted ice creams, espressos, and baked goods in downtown Sandpoint. Plenty of seating indoors, or hop on the Panhandle bike parked outside.

208-265-8996

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7 Flying Fish Company

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 take-home dinners.

Inside seating. 208-263-9446. www. millerscountrystoresandpoint.com

9 Mojo Coyote at Schweitzer

10000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd. Enjoy a fresh Evans Brothers espresso and treat your sweet tooth to a warm scone. Freshbaked pastries, breakfast burritos and lunch specials. Fine selection of beer and wine.

208-255-3037. www.schweitzer.com

0 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. www.winterridgefoods.com

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ECLECTIC / FINE DINING

- Baxters on Cedar

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. weekdays, and dinner 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. Daily specials, fresh local products. From steaks and chops to halfpound burgers, great salads, and Baxters’ signature Key Lime pie. 208-229-8377. www.baxtersoncedar.com

= 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. 208-255-3071. www.schweitzer.com

y Loaf & Ladle

124 S. Second Ave. Offering made-fromscratch dishes that are fresh and whole.

Taste the real ingredients with food that’s chef-crafted. And don’t skip the delicious home-baked sourdough bread. Open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner; Saturday and Sunday a la carte brunch. 208-217-0884. www.loaf-ladle.com

u Pie Hut

w Di Luna’s Café

i Sky House at Schweitzer

e DISH at Dover Bay

o Sweet Lou’s

r The Floating Restaurant

p Trinity at City Beach

207 Cedar St. American bistro café offering regional, sustainable foods including handcut steaks, homemade soups and vegetarian cuisine. Check out our dinner concerts, posted online at DiLunas.com. Open Wednesday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for breakfast and lunch. 208-263-0846 www.dilunas.com

On the river at Dover Bay Resort, just two miles from Sandpoint. 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., Sunday Brunch 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. American grill menu with Pacific Rim influences. Full liquor bar. 208-265-6467. www.dishatdoverbay.com

47392 Highway 200 Hope, at Hope Marina.

Dine indoors in the beautiful dining room, or outdoors on the covered and open patios.

Regional, handmade fare, fresh seafood, and local products. Enjoy the views and that “on the lake” experience. Lunch, dinner, Sunday brunch. 208-264-5311 www.hopefloatingrestaurant.com SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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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. 208-265-2000. www.41southsandpoint.com

q CHOP

46624 Highway 200 at Holiday Shores in Hope. A casual steak and seafood house with burgers, fresh fish and pasta, featuring the talents of executive chef Eddie Sneva from DISH at Dover Bay. Enjoy the spacious multi-level deck right on the water’s edge and take in the spectacular views! Kids’ menu.

Open daily at 4 p.m. 208-264-0443. www.chopsteakandseafood.com

150

t Forty-One South

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. 208-265-2208.

10000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd. Ride the chairlift or hike your way up to the Sky House for a lunch experience unlike any other.

Featuring a chef-inspired menu from locally sourced, farm-fresh ingredients. Open June 23 through September 4, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

208-263-9555. www.schweitzer.com

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. Visit our new location in Coeur d’Alene! 208-2631381. www.sweetlousidaho.com

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. 208-255-7558. www.trinityatcitybeach.com

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[ Eichardt’s Pub & Grill

f Cedar St. Bistro Wine Bar

] MickDuff’s Brewing

g Laughing Dog Brewing

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. 208-263-4005. www.eichardtspub.com

Co. Brewpub

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. 208-255-4351. www.mickduffs.com

DINING GUIDE

PUB-STYLE 334 N. First Ave. Unwind on the Cedar Street Bridge with wine by the glass or the bottle.

Rotating menu of 10 wines by the glass, plus an extensive selection of bottled wines that can be enjoyed at the wine bar, or take home. Small plates menu available from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Open Monday through Saturday. 208-265-4396. www.cedarstbistro.com

805 Schweitzer Plaza Dr., Ponderay. The allnew taproom is open, so stop by and check it out! Enjoy our handcrafted ales including some new releases, plus our popular IPAs, stouts, and the hoppiest beer anywhere.

Open daily, 2 p.m. until 8 p.m. 208-2639222. www.laughingdogbrewing.com

REGIONAL/ETHNIC

h MickDuff’s Brewing Co. Beer Hall

\ Jalapeño’s Restaurant

314 N. Second Ave. A Sandpoint favorite for over 20 years offering both traditional and Americanized Mexican dishes in a fun familyfriendly atmosphere. Full bar, patio seating, banquet facilities, gluten-free menu, quick to-go menu, indoor waterfall and fish tank offer something for everyone. 208-263-2995. www.sandpointjalapenos.com

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. 208209-6700. www.mickduffs.com

a Second Avenue Pizza

j Ol Red’s Pub

s Shoga @ Forty-One South

k Pend d’Oreille Winery

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. 208-263-9321. www. secondavenuepizza.com

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. 208-265-2001. www.shogasushi.com

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 daily at noon, and 10 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday only. 208-946-0022

301 Cedar St. Locally made wines served by the glass or bottle in the renovated and historic Belwood301 Building. Live music on Friday and Saturday nights; small plates available for enjoying food with your wine.

208-265-8545. www.powine.com

WINE BARS, TAPROOMS AND TAVERNS

l Tam O’Shanter Tervan

d 219 Lounge

219 N. First Ave. ‘It’s always finer at the Niner!’

All week long, there’s fun to be had at the 219 Lounge! Relax and sip on one of our new Classic Cocktails while soaking up some amazing live music, or shoot some pool while enjoying one of the many rotating craft beers on tap. Open seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. www.219.bar su m m e r 2 0 17

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411 Cedar St. Old-school bar in downtown Sandpoint serving ice-cold beer in bottles and on tap.

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Advertiser Index 219 Lounge 141 7B Property Management 87 7B T.V. - Hesstronics 58 Albertson & Barlow Insurance Services 64 A Glass Act 130 Alpine Shop 28 All Seasons Garden & Floral 56, 57 Archer Vacation Condos 55 Artists’ Studio Tour 56, 57 ArtWorks Gallery 56, 57 Barry Fisher Custom Homes 33 Beyond Hope 44 Big Lake Recreation 28 Bird Aviation Museum 61 Boden Architecture 125 Bonner County Daily Bee 132 Bonner County Fair 30 Bonner General Health 24 Capital Financial 67 Cedar Street Bistro 145 Century 21 RiverStone 71 CHOP Steak and Seafood 146 Co-Op Country Store 15 Coeur d’Alene Casino 111 Coldwell Banker 11 Community Assistance League/ Bizarre Bazaar 62 Connie Scherr, Artist 56, 57 Dana Construction 73 DM Vacation Rentals 7 Dover Bay 88 DSS Custom Homes 123 Evans Brothers Coffee 144 Eve’s Leaves 66

Evergreen Realty 8 - Charesse Moore 125 Farm Bureau Insurance Bea Speakman 127 Farmers’ Market 37 Festival at Sandpoint 133 Finan McDonald 42, 47, 61, 62 Florascape Nursery 121 Fogarty Construction 128, 130 Forty-One South 141 Foster’s Crossing/Café Bodega142 Garden of Artistry 56, 57 Grace Sandpoint Bible School 64 Greasy Fingers 74 Hallans Gallery 56, 57 Hive, The 41 Holiday Inn Express 79 Hope Marina/The Floating Restaurant 48, 49 International Selkirk Loop 133 Jalapeño’s 4 Janusz Studio by the Lake 56, 57 Keokee Books 152 Keokee Media & Marketing 135 KPND Radio 84 Lake Pend Oreille Cruises 74 Lake Pend Oreille Water Taxi 42 LaQuinta Inn 37 Laughing Dog Brewing 83 Legacy Construction 114 Lewis and Hawn 21 - Sleep Solutions 45 Lodge at Sandpoint, The 53 MeadowBrook Home & Gift 20 MickDuff’s Brewing Company 142 Miller’s Country Store 64,143

Monarch Marble & Granite 121 Mountain West Bank 32 MQS Barns 122 Nelson/Kootenai Lake Tourism 93 North 40 Outfitters 5 Northwest Handmade 117 Out of the Blue Eyewear 41 Paint Bucket 67 Pend Oreille Shores Resort 19 Pend d’Oreille Winery 62 Realm Realty 80 ReStore Habitat For Humanity 87 Rock Creek Alliance 50 Sandpoint Building Supply 129 Sandpoint Business & Events Center 23 Sandpoint Flex Space 72 Sandpoint Furniture 34 Sandpoint Marine & Motorsports 46, 47 Sandpoint Movers 115, 64 Sandpoint Optometry 64, 87 Sandpoint Online 153 Sandpoint Storage 84 Sandpoint Super Drug 67 Sandpoint Surgical 16 Sandpoint Vacation Rentals 27 Sandpoint Waldorf School 55 Sandpoint Watersports 79 Sandpoint West Athletic Club 132 Santosha 52 Schweitzer Mountain Resort 155 Selkirk Craftsman Furniture 54,130 Selkirk Glass & Cabinets 34 Selle Valley Construction 6

Silverwood Theme Park 19 Skeleton Key Art 56, 57 Skywalker Tree Care 116 Sleep’s Cabins 66 SPOT Bus 83 State Farm Insurance - Erin LeVan 116 State Farm Insurance - Greg Vermeulen 47 Summit Insurance 31 Sunshine Goldmine 54 Super 1 Foods 76 Sweet Lou’s 139 Talus Rock Retreat 77 Taylor Insurance 17 Tervan, The 140 The Local Pages 134 The Reader 134 The River Journal 84 Timberframes

by Collin Beggs 126, 130 Tomlinson Sotheby’s 2, 3, 90, 118, 119, 156 Trinity at City Beach 4 Vanish Pest & Weed Control 64 Willamette Valley Bank - Becky Farmin 135 Winter Ridge Natural Foods 147

ADVERTISING INFORMATION Get current rate sheet at www.SandpointMagazine.com Sales Director Clint Nicholson 208-263-3573 ext. 123 or email: clint@keokee.com

Go Exploring with Keokee Guide Books www.KeokeeBooks.com NEW EDITION

$26

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Marketpl ace Your Buick, GMC truck dealer. New and used sales and leasing. Full service, parts and body shop.

Highway 95 N., Ponderay, 208-263-2118, 1-800-430-5050. www.AlpineMotors.net

Dreams in Beauty Day Spa. Massage, bodywork, facials, scrubs, wraps and make-up for weddings, film and photography. Located 4.5 miles from the center of Sandpoint on Shadow Mtn. Belle Ranch nestled under old growth trees, overlooking a natural spring pond. Electric lift table with skylights, view, A/C. Peggy Richards. 208-263-7270. www. dreamsinbeauty.com

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., 208-263-3573. www.keokee.com

North Idaho Insurance A full-service, independent insurance agency serving North Idaho since 1978.

Business or personal risks: property, liability, workers comp, bonding, home, auto, life and health. 509 N. Fifth, Suite H., 208-263-2194. www.NorthIdahoIns.com

Over 26 years of rental management experience.

We offer tenant screening, rent collection, accounting, maintenance and marketing. Residential, commercial and mini storage. Friendly, prompt service. 204 E. Superior #2, 208-263-4033. www.RLPropertyManagement.com

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., 208-263-7722.

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., 208-263-2811.

Offering the latest books and novels, office supplies, machine supplies and free delivery in Sandpoint. Order online. 201 Cedar St., 208-263-2417. www.Vanderfords.com

Sandpoint R

classiďŹ ed ads

Got something to sell? Looking for good deals, a place to rent, a job, a ride share ... or even looking for love? Post for free, or browse hundreds of ads in Sandpoint’s own version of Craigslist. Go to www.SandpointClassifieds.com.

Shop Sandpoint Go to www.shopsandpoint. com, for local web links to trusted services, merchants, artists, craftspeople, farmers and green building. Write your own reviews in the new SandpointBlog. Fun reading, recycling, and more!

Get in the Marketplace!

To advertise here, call 208-263-3573 ext. 123 or e-mail adsales@keokee.com

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SVR is a full-service property management company with 12 years of experience. Offering vacation rental properties and long-term rentals in Sandpoint and surrounding areas, including waterfront homes, lakefront condos, Schweitzer Mountain vacation rentals, homes at the Idaho Club, and many other rental properties.

208-263-7570 or 866-263-7570 www.SandpointVacationRentals.com

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SANDPOINT OF VIEW

70 years on, it’s all pretty cool by

MariANNE LOVE

ally old friends and often former students from my Sandpoint High School teaching experiences.

As a feature writer, I have witnessed Sandpoint’s greatest influences: the railroads, fishing, Farragut Naval Base (where I met my husband at a Boy Scout Jamboree), Schweit er, the Long Bridge, Lake end Oreille itself and Coldwater Creek Catalog Co. In the 1970s, I submitted photos for a two-page Spokane Chronicle piece called “North Idaho for Sale.”

Our population gradually grew as local mills and farms gave way to tourism, recreation and later to small manufacturing and retail businesses able to relocate, thanks to technology. We locals watched each chapter of the great migrations, sometimes scratching our heads.

Other times, we simply embraced the next wave, ranging from loved Sandpoint when Sandpoint wasn’t cool. In my mind, the hippies to yuppies and place has always been pretty cool, even long before it was “diseven an ongoing mass covered” on a national level. As I celebrate 70 years here this of Californians escapsummer, I still view my Lake Pend Oreille homeland like a giddy ing high taxes and too tourist “driving across that Long Bridge,” discovering the area for the very many people. The latter first time. soon learned discrePHOTO: FRED COLBY One day this past winter, on a sunny afternoon drive with my tion in disclosing their husband Bill, I glanced toward the main channel of Lake Pend Oreille Top, Marianne at right with mom and brothers origins. near Hope, enjoying the glorious vista. The lake’s cold waters spar- circa 1952; above, with husband Bill and kids.

These days I post kled with sunbeams dancing off waves. I turned to Bill and remarked, on a daily blog, Slight “I feel so lucky to have lived here all my life.”

Detour, subtitled “Mutterings of a Country My parents discovered Sandpoint in the mid-1940s. My father was already working in Hick.” My slice-of-life entries spring from the central Idaho woods when, on Christmas night, 1945, Mother arrived on a train from happenings on our Selle Valley farm or from Chicago filled with soldiers returning from war. n that dri ly, cold winter night, walking my day-to-day encounters with people from the depot with my brother Mike and her dog Peggy, past several dim-lit, busy bars around our beautiful community or region. along First Avenue to the Rolands Hotel, she seriously doubted she’d be staying in this It’s been a wonderful life living here in rough-and-tumble place for long. Mother remained the rest of her life.

Sandpoint. As the town has transformed Six of her seven children thrived, despite hardship and challenge, while growing up on with new blood and broader perspectives, our North Boyer horse and cattle farm. We truly began to flourish after my mother remarso have I. Regardless of changes, some ried, and Harold Tibbs, a Sandpoint city employee, became our dad, starting us down a path constants remain: downhome friendliness, toward making something of ourselves. generosity, compassion for others, endless That journey succeeded with advanced education and satisfying careers for each of us, outdoor opportunities and incomparable thanks to the influence of our parents, 4-H, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, a great school natural beauty, drawing so many to this system, farm animals, the gorgeous North Idaho outdoors and a community where pretty place where they have happily succumbed much “everyone knew our names” and watched out for us. to their own lifelong love affairs.

Sandpoint High School teacher Bob Hamilton set me on my way as a journalist, and oh, For this 0-year-old confirmed country what a life that has been. My most treasured stories have always involved the fascinating hick, that’s as cool as it gets. Thanks, people who make this culturally diverse community tick — sometimes strangers, occasionSandpoint!

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