First Vice President, Wealth Management Private Wealth Advisor
“There are so many REALTORs® to choose from, how do you pick the right one? Listen to what they say and check out their background. When you do, you will come to the same conclusion that we did...Lea Williams. Lea is a professional that should be the standard for the industry. It’s your choice... choose wisely. Good luck, but whatever you do, interview Lea Williams.” –J. & J. A., Waterfront Home Sellers
“We never thought a realtor could ever deliver so exacting of everything we were looking for. Lea worked with us after our initial visit so she could get a complete understanding of what we were looking for and more importantly what we could afford and then matched our desires with reality. Lea and John are a well coordinated team, listening and then delivering with their vast knowledge of the area. It was a sincere pleasure working with John and Lea.” -G. & J.H., Home Buyers
View more properties, photos, & virtual tours at www.DreamHomesIdaho.com Follow me on social media: www.instagram.com/cda.leawilliams/ • www.facebook.com/Lea.Williams.AssociateBroker
Publisher’s Message
As the brisk winter air rolls in and the snow-dusted landscape transforms North Idaho into a wonderland, I’m excited to present you with the latest edition of CdA Magazine. Our incredible team has curated a selection of unique local stories that celebrate the people, places and adventures that make our region an extraordinary place to call home.
For those passionate about great food, we’re taking you into the kitchen to learn the art of making pasta from scratch with some of our top chefs including Tim Heinig from Tito’s. And to embrace the season, glide over to CdA On Ice, our enchanting skating rink by the lake. There’s something magical about skating with a backdrop of winter skies and stunning lake views, where fun and scenery go hand in hand.
Whitewater enthusiasts will appreciate our deep dive into Idaho’s wild rivers, with more miles of whitewater than any other state in the lower 48. Meet some adventurous paddlers and learn where to experience these thrills for yourself. Wade into the mud-covered world of Spartan Racing, where mud and obstacles foster a philosophy of determination and resilience. Their approach to fitness can inspire you to face everyday challenges with the same strength.
For our music lovers, we bring the story of Colby Acuff, a rising star on the country music scene. Fishing Idaho’s blue-ribbon rivers has shaped his unique songwriting style and influenced his journey from our local streams to the big stage. For those yearning to escape and reconnect with nature, we explore a night in an off-the-grid treehouse in the majestic Idaho mountains.
And for more of nature’s serenity, journey to the Selkirk Mountains, one of North Idaho’s most legendary landscapes. Then get an inside look at a spectacular mountain lodge-style home crafted from salvaged timber. The creativity and craftsmanship behind this build will inspire your dreams of mountain living.
I hope this winter issue of CdA Magazine entertains and deepens your appreciation for our beautiful corner of the world. Here’s to embracing the season’s adventures and cherishing all the experiences that make living here so special.
Hagadone Communications
215 N. 2nd Street Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 83814
Telephone: 208/664-0219 Fax: 208/765-4263
CdA Coeur d’Alene Magazine is published by The Hagadone Corporation. Opinions expressed by authors and contributors in this issue are not necessarily those of The Hagadone Corporation. All materials in this issue of CdA Magazine are copyrighted and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the written permission of the publisher.
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FROM Scratch Pasta GOOD
FOOD IN GOOD COMPANY
Herb Fazzoletti Pasta
Vine & Olive Eatery and Wine Bar
250 grams '00' flour
62 grams semolina flour
39 grams water
171 grams egg yolk
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 ounces fresh tender herbs such as basil, parsley, tarragon, cilantro, fennel fronds and mint
Pesto, butter, or sauce of choice
Grated Parmesan or Pecorino to garnish
Optional additional fresh herbs to garnish
Combine all dough ingredients in a mixer and mix until well combined into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough by hand for 10 minutes until elastic and smooth. Wrap the dough ball in plastic and rest for 30 minutes up to two hours on the counter. After resting, cut into 2 portions. Roll dough the same width and thickness of the largest setting on the pasta machine. Work the pasta through the machine, decreasing thickness until you reach 3rd to last setting. Lay the pasta sheet flat, arrange herbs close together on one side and fold the top half over. Roll lightly over the pasta to seal it. Set the pasta machine to the 4th thinnest setting and run through to the 2nd thinnest setting. Lightly flour work surface with semolina. Cut rolled pasta to about 3x3 inches. Add to salted boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Add sauce of choice into the saucepan and bring to a simmer. Transfer cooked pasta into the saucepan and add a few tablespoons of pasta water, then toss to coat pasta. Garnish with grated cheese and fresh herbs.
CJ
Lopp-Fox Executive Chef
Why did you create Vine & Olive?
“I spent 12 years at the Wine Cellar prior to this, and have a degree in business administration along with a few wine certifications,” says owner and proprietor Naomi Boutz. “I opened Vine & Olive with a desire to contribute to our food and wine scene with unique small plates and unexpected wine pairings.”
What do you appreciate in a dining experience that you are striving to create?
“Chef CJ appreciates consistency and that’s what he strives to deliver every day. I seek unique and thoughtful dining experiences.”
Any quotes about good food and wine to share?
“One of my favorites is, ‘Life is too short to drink bad wine.’ I actually have this on our wine club application. Michael Broadbent says, ‘Drinking good wine with good food in good company is one of life’s most civilized pleasures.’ And Clifton Fadiman says, ‘If food is the body of good living, wine is its soul.’
“Using large squares of pasta, Fazzoletti is named after the Italian word for handkerchief. You can use the pasta as a squeegee to get the last of the sauce out of the saucepan when plating.”
Vodka Rigatoni with House Made Pasta
Tito’s Italian Grill and Wine Shop
1 can peeled tomatoes
½ cup onion, chopped
1 tbs garlic, minced
¼ pound butter, unsalted
2 tbs tomato paste
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ cup vodka
½ cup Parmesan, grated
Pinch red pepper flakes
2 tsp kosher salt
Pinch pepper to taste
n a saucepan, melt butter, add onion, garlic and red pepper flakes and season lightly with salt, stirring frequently until onions are very soft, but never brown. Add tomato paste and continue to cook for about 3 minutes, until paste is fragrant and thick. Stir in canned tomatoes with juice and bring to a simmer while crushing tomatoes with a spoon. Stir in cream and pour into an immersion blender to blend until smooth. Add vodka and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Add pasta. Add cheese. Garnish with fresh Parmesan and basil. Enjoy!
“When
I cooked in Europe under a Michelin star chef, I learned the importance of handcrafted pasta. Making fresh pasta from scratch creates healthier food and better flavors.”
Tim Heinig Executive Chef
It’s All Happening At The Inn
Wood Fired Butternut Squash & Pumpkin Ravioli
Malvagio’s Italian Trattoria
1 medium roasted butternut squash, mashed
150 grams roasted pumpkin purée
10 thyme sprigs
120 grams Mascarpone cheese
150 grams cream cheese
50 grams freshly grated
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tbs brown sugar
Pinch of cinnamon
Fresh made pasta dough
Fresh made brown butter sage
Balsamic reduction
Butter
Roasted beets in small cubes
Goat cheese
Toasted walnuts, chopped Microgreens
Preheat oven to 400℉. Slice butternut squash and pumpkin, then brush with olive oil and place in small cubes of butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add 5 sprigs of thyme on each. Place beets loosely in foil on a baking sheet. Roast all for 50-60 minutes. Check the beets every 20 minutes and add a tablespoon of water if they are drying or scorching. In a pot, combine the mashed pumpkin and half of the mashed butternut squash, Mascarpone cheese, cream cheese, grated Parmesan, salt, black pepper, brown sugar and cinnamon. Place on low on the stovetop and mix well. Put in the refrigerator to thicken. Make pasta dough by combining 230 grams '00' flour, 2 eggs, 2 egg yolks and 5 grams extra virgin olive oil. Knead for 10 minutes, then wrap in plastic and let rest for at least 30 minutes. Create ravioli noodles and once finished, dust with flour and let dry for an hour. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the ravioli in batches, for about 4 minutes or until they float, remove and drain well. To finish, drizzle balsamic reduction, place roasted beets, sprinkle walnut pieces, goat cheese and garnish with microgreens.
“I love these rich and comforting flavors, with the deep earthy hues of roasted beets, the creaminess of goat cheese and the crunch of the toasted walnuts. This dish is a labor of love that represents the traditions of home.”
Tricia Whitney
Owner
THE ANCIENT PRACTICE OF ARCHERY HOLDS A TIMELESS APPEAL
STANDING STRONG. PULLING BACK THE ARROW. TAKING AIM. LETTING IT FLY.
These motions are nearly as old as humans themselves. Archery is woven deep into our DNA, from hunting and warfare to myth and legend. Odysseus with his powerful bow, shooting through 12 iron axes to win his wife’s hand. Amazonian women striking with deadly aim while galloping full tilt on horseback. William Tell toppling an apple off his son’s head. Katniss Everdeen winning The Hunger Games with her bow and her keen eye. For modern-day inspiration, one can simply watch the paralympic archer Sheetal Devi shoot bullseye after bullseye using only her feet. As good archers know, they are aiming not just for the contest or the hunt, but for bigger things. “Archery is the practice of constant adjustment,” says the teacher Terry Wunderle. It’s a reminder that archery’s discipline, focus, consistency and control are all great practices for life. Here are the North Idaho archers who make every single arrow matter.
“Forget the last arrow, only the next one counts.”
H Coach
Savanna Fehr was nine years old at a Colorado summer camp the first time she picked up a bow and arrow. Her very first shot hit the bullseye, to her great delight. Her second shot missed the target altogether. But she was hooked. She joined an archery team and began competing around the state.
The 2019 Colorado State Championship was especially sweet. “My dad and I both entered the competition,” she says. “He had been there for every step of my archery journey, encouraging me, pushing me out of my comfort zone when I needed it and helping me to see my potential. Even better, we both placed third in our divisions and took home trophies.”
Today, she holds a coaching certification and gives private archery lessons in Coeur d’Alene, working with all ages and levels of experience. Savanna is known for her creativity, throwing something unique and fun into each lesson. She’s been known to use balloons as targets or play tic tac toe with arrows.
“It’s great to see people grow in confidence as an archer,” she says. “Without a doubt the best part of my job is the joy on people’s faces. Whether it’s their first bullseye or their hundredth, seeing their smile immediately afterwards is just the best feeling in the world.”
Her lessons start with basic form to build confidence and ensure injury-free mechanics. Then she moves into more precise technical instruction, using the National Training System created by USA Archery. The last step of the process is feedback.
AFTER THE ARROW IS FIRED, THE ARCHER MENTALLY GOES THROUGH EVERYTHING THEY DID, DECIDING WHAT WENT GREAT AND WHAT NEEDS WORK.
Made
Smith + Rogue Hygge Fleece
We bring
•
•
“Archery has taught me to look at each life situation and ask myself: What went well? What can I work on in the future? To learn something from those situations and events, to let go and move on.”
Savanna’s advice
“It’s okay not to be perfect. When you’re first starting, your shots are bound to be a little spread out, and that’s fine. Have fun with it, put in the time and soon your shots will start to reflect your hard work.”
“Stay positive. As my coaches always reminded me, archery is 90 percent mental. After a bad shot happens, your mental game can come crashing down. Don’t get wrapped up in that negative commentary.”
“Remember to be patient with yourself. Frustration only leads to more frustration. I’ve learned the hard way to just take some deep breaths and trust that when I put in the work I will be able to conquer the issue.”
“It’s vital to come at your next shot with a focused, positive mindset.”
-Savanna
H3 Buddies
What are the odds? Three Americans fighting for freedom in Afghanistan at the same time, but never meeting each other for another decade. All three joining the military right out of high school. All three further serving their country in law enforcement. And all three, now friends and business partners, sharing their mighty passion for the bow and arrow.
“Archery has many things that compel all three of us,” says Jake Kremer, one of the founders of North Idaho Archery. “Certainly the social aspect, where all age classes and abilities can shoot together in any setting with a common love of the sport.”
Jake can be found studying the habits and patterns of the most elusive of critters: the mountain whitetail.
This U.S. Army vet is master certified as an archery technician, spending time with each bow as if he was relying on it himself for that once in a lifetime shot opportunity. Jake also devotes his time and energy to working on his homestead with his wife and new baby.
JAKE KREMER, JOHN FONTAINE AND AUSTIN JOHNSON
Advice for new archers
TAKE LESSONS. Learn the right way early and you will avoid many frustrations as you get further down the road.
DIVE IN. Immerse yourself in the sport and don’t be afraid to ask for help.
LEARN FOCUS. Archery guru Joel Turner says, “Thoughts aren’t thinking.” The best way to be consistent at anything is to be the loudest voice directing your action. Stay in your process!
SERVING YOU 7 DAYS A WEEK AT THREE LOCATIONS
Sweet Lou s Restaurant Bar
Sweet Lou s Restaurant TAP HOUSE
Sweet Lou s Restaurant Bar
Sweet Lou s Restaurant TAP HOUSE
Sweet Lou s Restaurant Bar
Sweet Lou s Restaurant TAP HOUSE
Sweet Lou s Restaurant Bar
FAMILY DINING
ARCHERY IS A WAY FOR US TO MAINTAIN TRANQUILITY OUT THERE. IT’S REALLY BECOME A FORM OF MEDITATION.
“With our shared background, firearms became a weapon of life or death and sometimes great violence,” Jake says. “The outdoors has been a therapeutic place to de-stress from combat and law enforcement. We still love and appreciate firearms, but you will rarely catch us in the woods with anything but a bow.”
Austin Johnson, another owner at North Idaho Archery, served as a flight medic in Afghanistan and then worked as a city cop and deputy sheriff. He’s also a sometime rodeo cowboy. He says archers who want to challenge themselves are moving closer to the origins of the sport again, using simpler bows and making their own arrows. “It’s a note of intrigue among the archery community that our sport hasn’t changed much for thousands of years, and many of us find it a way to reconnect with history.”
For the third owner and founder, John Fontaine, archery has been part of life since he got his first bow at age 12. He saw combat in Afghanistan and later served on a police SWAT team. Today, he’s frequently seen with his dogs on a riverbank with a fly rod in hand, blissfully away from cell service. He also appreciates pursuing elk with a bow.
“All three of us business partners have the ability to assess a problem, discuss it and come to a workable solution,” he says. “Being able to do that without judgment or blame is something many folks are missing today, and I believe our need to
“Archery has been a part of life throughout history. It gave humans new abilities to harvest game beyond traps and spears.”
-Austin
trust the men beside us in combat taught us this skill. We also understand stress management. When you’re standing on the line with 300 other people in an archery competition, the ability to tone out the noise and focus is paramount to success.”
YOU WON’T FIND A MORE INSPIRING MOUNTAIN TOWN THAN MISSOULA, WHERE THREE RIVERS AND SEVEN WILDERNESS AREAS CONVERGE IN THE CULTURAL HUB OF MONTANA. The allure is immeasurable, with outdoor access at every corner and a culinary scene that rivals big cities. This vibrant community is bliss for fresh air enthusiasts, creative souls, and anyone who enjoys a good beer alongside a great meal. Missoula doesn’t just feed the soul, it satisfies the senses. Book your stay and plan your getaway to Missoula.
BOOK HERE
Coeur d’Alene’s downtown skating rink sparkles with joy
Ice skating has long been a tradition in Coeur d’Alene. Decades ago, Lake Coeur d’Alene used to freeze solid enough for families to skate on. And before that, pioneer homesteaders who lived near the lake would use ice skates as a way of getting into town for supplies.
These days, the outdoor skating scene is found at McEuen Field near The Coeur d’Alene Resort. There, a seasonal attraction called CdA On Ice creates a fairytale atmosphere every winter. Lights twinkle, skaters glide and hot drinks and a fire pit keep spectators toasty.
“CdA On Ice has become the highlight of our winter,” says local resident Marianne Gardner. Three of her children learned to skate at CdA On Ice. “We spend a lot of nights and weekends at the rink every year because it’s the kids' favorite place to be,” she says.
Kent Layden, the owner of CdA On Ice, grew up on a farm and built his first ice rink when he was 14. He used a tractor with a front end loader to grade it, and then worked on making ice.
“I learned a few lessons early on,” he says. “Water hoses freeze quickly, even frozen ground soaks up water, and flooding ice with too much water when it's cold creates heaves in the ice.”
Kent recently sold his radiology business and was looking for a new adventure. He purchased CdA On Ice from its previous owners, Jerome and Andrea Murray. The operation has become a family affair, with all three of his kids working at CdA On Ice through the winter season.
“Most days we’re open you will find Carson in the Skate Shed or on the ice, Madison in the Snack Shack and Victoria in the ticket booth,” he says.
Each winter, crews transform an ordinary field into a charming skating rink. The process involves laying down a network of cooling tubes equivalent to 16 miles in length. Then, with the coolant temperature at 15°, the crew sprays water over the site, slowly building up layers of ice.
“Once the ice reaches a half inch thick, we drive over the ice to intentionally crack it,” Kent says. “This gets all the air pockets out. We then fill those cracks with water that freezes and expands to create a solid sheet of ice.”
It takes five days of work to build the rink up to its twoinch height. At CdA On Ice, they include one more step that adds to the winter wonderland effect: LED strip lights between the layers of ice. These make the rink glow at any time of day, but are especially beautiful by night.
A chiller circulates coolant through the system to keep it at just the right temperature. The final touch is a circle of panels around the edges, which displays sponsor logos and creates a border for the skaters to hold onto in between skating sessions.
LED strip lights
2 inch thick ice
16 miles of cooling tubes
EXPERIENCE A MAGICAL JOURNEY ON LAKE COEUR D'ALENE
HOT-COCOA BAR & SCENIC VIEWS OF LAKE COEUR D'ALENE. NOV. 15TH, 2024 - JAN. 1ST, 2025
EVERY FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY IN JANUARY, FEBRUARY & MARCH 12:30PM • 2:30PM
CdA On Ice runs from the middle of November through January, staying open late on New Year's Eve for the fireworks display over the lake. The rink is surrounded by natural beauty, with views of Lake Coeur d’Alene, The Coeur d’Alene Resort and Tubbs Hill.
The rink offers hot drinks, snacks and pizza. Three igloos can be reserved, and a fire pit and patio heaters warm up skaters and spectators. Anyone not skating is welcome for free. For those who might be less confident on the ice, they provide skate walkers for rent and offer lessons.
“Skating to fun music and hanging out with friends, drinking hot chocolate and warming up by the fire pits, surrounded by all that natural beauty. It’s the perfect way to spend a winter day in magical downtown Coeur d’Alene,” Marianne says.
cdaonice.com
cdaonicebynumerica
Beginning Skaters Beginning Skaters
Dress right
Make sure your skates (which are included with your admission at CdA On Ice) are fitted and fastened correctly so you feel stable. Bring warm socks and gloves to protect your hands from the cold and avoid blisters.
Start slow
Give yourself time to get used to the feeling of the ice and learn how to balance properly. Before you start skating, try holding on to the side barrier or someone's hand so that you feel confident as you start moving.
Don’t look down
Instead of looking down at your skates, keep your head up. This will help you see what is going on around you and to skate in a straighter line.
Don’t fear falling
Sooner or later, it’s a natural part of the sport. To avoid getting hurt, protect your head and remember that sliding is better than falling flat. Try to laugh it off and get back on the ice.
Have fun
It’s all about challenging yourself, trying something new or maybe something you haven’t done in years, and enjoying winter fun with friends and family.
Happy Place The
Story by David Kilmer
Photos by Quicksilver Studios
Why are treehouses so great?
pondered the question as I stared happily into the crackling fire I’d just built in a tiny stove, as the sun set over the mountains above Hauser Lake.
My companion and I were cozy inside this warm cabin among the trees, suspended by three Ponderosas, moving ever so slightly when the wind blew. The bigger beyond, with its cares and complaints, its information and obligations, felt distant and unthreatening up here.
Perhaps it’s the comfort of compact spaces, I told myself. Or the sheer whimsy of design. Certainly, the creativity of existence on a smaller scale, with all the creature comforts sorted including a loft with a proper bed. A tiny kitchen sink with a view, a propane cooktop and a few dishes, a table for two, a balcony looking out onto the forest beyond. And the pleasant glow of this stove…what more would anyone need?
It’s precisely the feeling the owners hoped to invoke when they built this cabin several years ago, with the help of The Treehouse Guys. Their story is told in Season 2, Episode 11 to be precise, and you can still stream it on Amazon.
Lynn Lawry, a globe-hurdling humanitarian, had once had an utterly magical encounter in Africa, as a guest at Treetops Lodge.
OF EXCELLENCE IN SENIOR LIVING SERVICES
Lynn says, “I was mesmerized by that treehouse. I spent the evening on the wraparound porch listening to the sounds below and waiting to see what was coming next to the watering hole. I was in awe of the elephants and their babies, but what sticks in my memory most is the bush babies. They had giant eyes and quietly ate leaves on the tree just an arm’s reach from the porch. The tree swayed in the wind. I am not a good sleeper but that night I slept so soundly.”
As a professor at Uniformed Services University, she teaches the military and other uniformed medical school and graduate students about global health. Abroad, she helps militaries, civilians and peacekeepers prevent gender-based violence and abuse. Over the years she has traveled to more than 125 countries.
Fate dictated that she would be at Afghanistan's Kabul Airport, right smack dab in the midst of yet another conflict, at the right time to meet a charmingly outspoken Brit named Andrew Beard. Their meet-cute, as they say in the screenwriting business, was quite cinematic, every bit worthy of a romantic comedy.
“Andrew lost it and threatened the security guys in the airport, thus catching my attention as a doctor,” she says. “He was behind me on the plane, wounded and a bit dazed because he had a head injury. I offered my seat to him because I was in an exit row and when he declined, I told him I wasn’t asking. He moved.”
Andrew also has a life torn from a novel, and walks around with a very interesting set of skills. He’s been a diver with the Royal Navy, a military policeman and a personal protection specialist in hot spots around the globe. The wounds that caught Lynn’s attention came in 2009 on the route from Kabul to Mazer-e-Sharif, when his armored LandCruiser was accidentally struck by another vehicle in the convoy at 75 mph. The vehicle rolled multiple times down a mountain road. He sustained severe injuries throughout his body, most seriously to his head, causing traumatic brain injury and leading to months of rehabilitation.
“A tree house, to me, is the most royal palace in the world Munia Khan ”
“If
Wthey live 2,500 miles away?
“We needed a place to disconnect,” Lynn says. “We wanted an Africaninspired lodge feel, where we can open the doors at the front and feel like we are in the trees, not in a house. I wanted it to be like my wonderful memories of Treetops.”
To access the front door, one walks up a ship’s gangway. The floor is from an 18th century schoolhouse and the stove comes from a vintage railcar. The lights are powered by solar. There’s a ladder to the second floor loft, with its bed and writing desk, where the curving beams are blackened in the style of shou sugi ban, the Japanese technique of charring the wood. Special touches like this are everywhere. It’s the kind of place that feels like home on arrival and is hard to leave behind.
“We wanted to keep it nice, easy and simple,” Andrew says. “It’s a place to turn off your phone. Bring games or a nice bottle of wine. Open up the patio doors. Sit in the chairs, relax and chill. Have a good old-fashioned conversation.”
Lynn, who stayed in her first treehouse when she was 10 years old in a friend’s backyard, has been able to relive that happy childhood memory. “We love it here,” she says. “The simplicity of life in the treehouse is renewing, and if I could live in it full time disconnected from the world I would. This is the only place I sleep through the night. The sway of the trees makes every stress and concern go away.”
LOCAL BREWERY LOCAL BREWERY
Thank you all, we are incredibly grateful!
We dreamt of TE from our love of finding craft breweries after a rad day of outdoor hikes. We loved it so much; we built one for all of us! Beer. Pizza. Vibe. A cool place to share adventures over craft beer and food for foodies.
Our hearts are full witnessing new friendships and hearing of your outdoor adventures.
TE brews German-style beers. We have 16 on tap, 10 core and 6 rotating seasonals. Styles range from Pils, Pale, IPA, Altbier, Stout, Hefe, Keller bier, Schwarzbier, Fest bier, and many more. The kitchen is making dough and recipes fresh, daily. We cook in a Woodstone Brick-oven and offer everything from pizza, beer cheese nachos, brisket, salads, desserts and more.
Cheers!
-Kirk & Jeanine
Tiny but Mighty
These Urban Honeybees are Celebrity Guests
“For bees, the flower is the fountain of life; For flowers, the bee is the messenger of love.”
~ Kahlil Gibran
Every day in season, thousands of bees take flight from their rooftop hives at The Coeur d’Alene Resort.
They forage among downtown flowers and carry back their own body weight in nectar, navigating by sun, wind, landmarks and the Earth’s magnetic field. Back at the hive, the foragers hand off their payload. There, the worker bees mix in special enzymes. They store it and fan it with their wings to cure the honey, a stunning achievement on a miniature scale.
One can’t help but notice the charming parallels between the hotel and the hive. Below, the valets, the waitstaff, engineers, housekeepers and managers move efficiently about on their daily rounds, creating a remarkable hospitality experience. Above, the worker bees, guards, nurses, cleaners, undertakers and foragers run an operation every bit as intricate and amazing.
Beekeeper John Eloe, who is The Resort’s director of facilities, makes regular visits to check on the hives, which are located on one of the lower roofs of The Coeur d’Alene Resort. He wears a white suit, the traditional color for beekeepers, since bees typically react more strongly to dark colors. He uses a smoker to calm the bees before examining their hive. A hobbyist who keeps bees at his home in Coeur d’Alene, he built this program at The Resort from scratch.
For best results, he selected two specific types of bees, Italian and Carnolian.
“Most beekeepers like these two breeds because they are mild-mannered, strong through the winter and produce lots of honey,” he says.
One of nature’s best quick energy sources, honey is a superfood packed with antioxidants and phytonutrients and has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Plus, as anyone who has sunk their teeth into cornbread covered with honey butter can attest, it tastes amazing.
“Just like honey, life is sweeter when we savor its moments.”
John’s Beekeeping Advice
Get the basics. Watch a video or two to get started without getting overwhelmed
Learn from the pros. Sign up for a class from beekeepers in your climate zone
Be prepared. Before you begin, make sure you have a plan for the entire year
Accept the responsibility. It's fun to get a new hive but with that comes the job to care for them properly
The workings of a beehive are complex and mysterious, and John says he continues to learn the longer he spends time with his bees. “They are intriguing little creatures, with a hive mind all its own,” he says. “I’ve found that bees will do what they want, when they want to. You can't train them. You can only do your best to care and manage them, but in the end they are in charge.”
Has he been stung? “Many times,” he says. “The worst place was on my chin. It always hurts a bit but if you put honey on it right away the stinging and swelling go away in 5-10 minutes.”
One of the biggest challenges is wintering over, the period when the bees stop foraging and hunker down for the winter. These so-called winter bees, or fat bees, have a different physiological makeup. While a summer worker bee lives for about six weeks, a winter bee can survive for months. John has to help manage temperature and moisture during this time.
"How doth the little busy bee, improve each shining hour, and gather honey all the day, from every opening flower."
Isaac Watts.
John Eloe
The fascinating life of bees
Honeybees have a sense of smell 50 times more powerful than a dog. Their antennae have more than 300 taste receptors.
Honeybee brains are about the size of a sesame seed.
A healthy bee colony can create 60-100 pounds of honey each year.
A single bee will produce only about 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its life.
On a single foraging trip, a worker bee will visit between 50 and 100 flowers.
Honeybees visit about 2 million flowers to produce a pound of honey.
Honey-making is not an inherited trait; young worker bees are taught how to make honey by their elders.
When a bee finds a promising food source, it passes on that information to the others when it returns to the hive through a waggle dance.
Honeybees work 24/7 to keep their hives clean, hauling out dust, hairs and pests. They are so obsessed with cleanliness that most will leave the hive when they know it’s time to die.
Cumulatively, bees sleep between five to eight hours, but these
into as many as 40 to 50 naps per day.
~ Best Bees
“Honey is the nectar of the gods, a golden elixir that sweetens our lives.”
The Resort’s rooftop hives emerging trend in urban beekeeping. It turns out that urban bees are more productive at making honey than their rural cousins. And they in turn contribute to the beauty of their surroundings by helping the urban flowers bloom.
“The biggest satisfaction is seeing the colony grow and thrive,” John says. “We’ll start with, say, five frames of honeycomb in the spring and expand to 30 or more by August. It takes a couple years to get to know your bees well. Each spring and fall is different and brings different challenges. It's a commitment you have to enjoy and embrace.”
the Sriracha-style spiced honey at Beverly’s or Dockside Ask for a Bee’s Knees cocktail at Beverly’s
The Lodge in the Forest
Exquisite fit and finish define this big timber home on an Idaho mountaintop
Photos by Edgewood Log Homes and Heidi Long Studio
Once upon a time, there was a young man with a dream.
It was a very specific dream, and he could see it very clearly in his mind’s eye … a log cabin in the mountains, custom made to his very own specifications. He was going to work hard and he was going to build that cabin.
And then, along came life. He raised a family, built a group of businesses and lived in a big city. Things were good. And to be honest, the cabin faded from his mind.
And then one day, 40-some years later, it all came flooding back.
“I found myself stuck in traffic again,” he says, “And I thought to myself, that’s it! I’m going to go build my dream log home now.”
He looked for suitable properties in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada and Montana and didn’t quite find the right fit. Then he came to Coeur d’Alene for a business conference. “My wife and I realized that North Idaho checked every box on our list. There is great medical care and lots of rural land with easy access to town. So we started looking around in earnest.”
He found a site on top of a mountain with plenty of buildable land and views in every direction. And he did his due diligence and found the right log cabin builder: Brian Schafer at Edgewood Log Homes. Then they began sketching the home together, quite literally on napkins over dinner.
“He became a friend right away,” the homeowner says. “You want someone you’re going to get along with. It’s not a short process creating a home like this. With Brian, I saw uniqueness, I saw quality and I saw reputation, which is really important. I was a builder, and that’s what I lived off of.”
Approaching the front entrance of this majestic lodge-style home, one marvels at the beauty and grandeur created by the size of the logs and the height of the peak. Inside the front door, the home makes a further set of grand impressions, with symmetrical sets of stairs to each side and the great room with massive floor-to-ceiling glass windows beyond.
The home is made of logs throughout, primarily white pine and spruce in the walls. The roof uses fir and larch, known for high bending strength. Much of the wood is salvaged standing dead timber from state lands. Brian helped develop this program and is the largest regional purchaser.
The dining room table has room for 14 people, and the kitchen is big enough for guests to gather. “We wanted openness, a place where we could bring friends and family together very easily,” the owner says. The dining room floor has a unique finish, with tiles sectioned off by strips of walnut.
Being outdoors is an important part of the lifestyle here, and so the team created a large south-facing patio off the dining room, sheltered by the master bedroom deck above. It’s charmingly surrounded by curving stone planters and colorful flowers, which offset the straight lines of the home and contrast wonderfully with the wood.
”You can be out here on the patio for hours and feel like you’re out in the woods,” the owner says.
These rock gardens have another useful purpose, which is to handle the runoff coming down the roof. Here, rainwater is channeled by gravity and design down into the landscaping, eliminating any need for the visual clutter of gutters and downspouts. The rocks came from three different North Idaho quarries, the varieties selected to look great together.
Upstairs has the bedrooms, office space and a substantial log bridge, spanning the great room and tying the whole floor plan together.
Downstairs features a library as well as a movie theater room with a fabulous sound system. “Sunday night is our family movie night in the theater,” the owner says. “We fire up the popcorn machine and watch a movie or two.”
Then there’s a living-room-sized wine cellar, with a tasting table, winemaking equipment and walls of wine racks. The cabinets are done in knotty alder, with cane webbed doors, a nifty finish. The floors are red oak.
If whiskey is more your mood, pull up a stool at an adjacent Irish-style pub room. The owner has captured the mood perfectly here, with the dark walnut, the quaintness, the feeling you’ve just walked into a Dublin watering hole.
Of the owner’s must-haves, one small yet important item stood atop the list: A bathtub with a view. “I redrew the bathroom plans to make sure that tub was right in front of the picture window,” he says.
”Soaking in that tub, looking out at those trees... it’s a dream.”
As a guest, you’ve been looking upward admiringly at these log ceilings the whole time. Now here in the master bath, you take your chance to reach out and touch it, to run your fingers over the incredible joinery. The owner laughs.
“You’re not the first person to want to do that,” he says. “People are always amazed how the logs are fitted. They want to touch and feel.”
Brian points out some of the characteristics of the finish. “It’s really rare to see exposed log valleys,” he says. “And that’s because they are really difficult to make. But it’s one of the things I’m a stickler for. I think it’s gorgeous and frames the ceiling really well. It’s also unique that we squared the ends of the logs and fit them into a square mortice. That’s our standard, but in the log home world that’s pretty rare.”
In touring guests around the home, the owner likes to save the best for last, encouraging them to sit in front of those huge great room windows and soak in the view.
EDGEWOOD LOG HOMES
LAND EXPRESSIONS
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
BIG CABIN LOG AND TIMBER
JACK DELAVAN MASONRY
TAPLEY CABINET WORKS
NORTHWEST FLOORS
This is the Glass Forest ™, an innovation created by Brian and incorporated into his homes. He collaborated with a glass company to create a special glazing technique that makes it possible. The glass is suspended between four cedar trees for a sensational effect.
“We have coffee here every morning, and this is where we like to hang out in the evenings. The trees, the wildlife, the weather… this wall feels like it brings it all inside the house,” the owner says.
Which brings us back to a boy dreaming about a cabin.
When the project was still underway, before the interior was even quite finished, the owner couldn’t wait. He wanted to spend Christmas here. And so they had a festive evening around that big dining room table, as the snow drifted down outside that wall of windows, and life was very good indeed. His dream had been realized at last.
Descended from Montana homesteaders, Brian Schafer inherited the tenacity of the Western pioneers. He was raised in the little town of Plains and spent his formative years shadowing his grandfather Don Holly, a railroad
man and finish carpenter. “He was one of the nicest, kindest people who never said a bad word about anyone,” Brian says. “He was highly intelligent and gifted, very meticulous and patient with his woodwork, and I learned a lot.”
“Great quality work is entirely up to you. Nobody needs to see you do it.”
“Start your day early and alone, with walking, thinking and meditating.”
After high school, Brian purposely signed on with contractor Dick Chapman, known as the hardest man in town to work for, but also the most respected. He’s the one who taught Brian, “It takes just as much time to do it wrong as to do it right.”
Next, he helped build and operate his family’s Idaho lumber mill. Every time he saw someone doing something interesting, Brian asked them to teach him. In this way he learned welding, hydraulics, milling and how to build and repair equipment. By age 20 he was managing the mill with 35 employees.
He saw these lodgepole pines coming in to be milled as chip logs, logs that were beautiful and straight, and he knew it was a waste. The log home industry was taking off. So Brian checked out library books on log home building, studied late into the night, and began crafting log homes.
“There is no log architecture 101 at university,” he says. “I was not encumbered by the same constraints as stick construction. I’ve been free to come up with better solutions.”
For $500, he found a machining lathe at a junkyard that had been used to turn cannon barrels in WWI. Through trial and innovation, he set it up so he could run the whole operation solo: buck the logs, feed the deck, mill the logs, cut, notch and build units.
He built a number of log homes in Japan, where anything Western was in vogue. His leading client Mr. Hoshi insisted that not only the timber, but all interior items be shipped over—the stove, furnishings and flooring. He wanted his guests to feel like they were in Idaho. Brian built 55 projects for that client over a decade, and they never signed a contract. He spent time with Japanese craftsmen and compared ideas and techniques.
His time in Japan had a big influence on his life and design. In his homes, less is more and the lines are clean. It’s as if, as one colleague says, Frank Lloyd Wright built a log home. They are roofmassive, as Japanese homes are, with long overhangs and low pitches, built to carry the snow instead of shedding it. At each joint, the wood is meticulously finished and fitted. These homes are built to last hundreds of years.
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4459 E OGARA RD, HARRISON, ID
This stunning Craftsman estate nestled near the charming lakeside community of Harrison on three separate parcels totaling 18+ acres, boasting breathtaking views of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Built in 2003, this meticulously maintained 3,581 sq ft home offers modern amenities and timeless elegance. Outside, you’ll find a raised fully fenced garden, two insulated heated shops, pasture, seasonal creek and more! *DEEDED BOAT SLIP AVAILABLE* ‘’Trails of Coeur d’Alene’’ bike trail and being on a school bus route ensuring timely road maintenance, this property offers both tranquility and convenience.
MLS # 24-4385 | $2,250,000
NKA PEBBLE LANE, BONNERS FERRY, ID
This first time to market parked out 21-acre property is situated on both sides of the Moyie River, offering ultimate serenity and privacy. Features include a main cabin with two additional bunk houses, high-producing well, underground power, RV hookups, and more. Possible uses include fly fishing, hunting, snowmobile retreat and/or the ultimate North Idaho private residence. Backing up to state land makes this the ultimate for the outdoor enthusiast with easy access via a legal driveway easement which makes it convenient for any owner. Whether you seek relaxation or adventure, this rustic retreat has it all. MLS # 24-4385 | $1,200,000
40’ X 60’ HEATED SHOP- 4.5 ACRES! MOVE-IN READY!
32055 N KONIKSON LN, ATHOL, ID
Discover modern elegance and rustic charm in this stunning single-story rancher. Situated on picturesque 4.5 acres in Athol, Idaho just minutes away from Lake Pend Oreille! This beautiful 3 BD, 2 BA, 2,200 sq ft home has an open floor concept. Nestled in a quiet area, this home provides ample privacy to relax in your front and back yard. A large detached 40’ x 60’ heated shop workshop offers endless possibilities for hobbies, projects, or additional storage needs. Additionally, there is a 30’ x 36’ garage to accommodate multiple vehicles, back-up Generac generator ensures peace of mind, while a private well supplies fresh water year-round. This North Idaho home is sure to leave you in awe! MLS # 24-9678 | $1,050,000
11696 N BURDOCK CT, COEUR D’ALENE, ID
This beautiful custom 2022 Parade of Homes by Selkirk Construction features a 4-BD, 3.5-BA, award-winning kitchen, and breathtaking backyard. Spread across half an acre of land in the gated community of Rimrock Meadows, this residence exudes charm at every turn. The outdoor amenities include a fully landscaped and fenced backyard, fire pit, and custom waterfall feature for ultimate tranquility. This 3,156 sq ft home is designed for comfort and convenience. This home is sure to leave you in awe!
6562 N HARLANS HAWK LANE, COEUR D’ALENE, ID
Welcome to Hawks Nest! Upon entering your greeted by an open floor plan with a Light and bright design. Offering 3 BD including large master BD with walk in closet, 2.5 BA, the 2nd massive BD could easily be converted back to two separate BD making this a 4-BD home. Why wait for a new yard on new construction when you can step outside to your own personal oasis where you can enjoy the privacy in your expansive fully fenced backyard with mature landscape and lawn including front and rear sprinkler system, RV parking, Patio and fire pit for late night entertaining, or simply enjoying the serene surroundings. MLS # 24-8383 | $497,500
MLS # 24-8928 | $1,950,000 2022 PARADE OF HOMES! NEW
1724 LAKESIDE AVE,, COEUR D’ALENE, ID
This to be built shop home features, 1-bedroom, 1.5-bathrooms, 14’ x 50’ double egress attached RV bay, LVP and title flooring throughout, quartz countertops, fireplace, and 4+ garage, located in the heart of Downtown Coeur d’Alene. Experience modern luxury with an urban feel just blocks from Lake Coeur d’Alene, Sanders Beach, Tubbs Hill, coffee shops and eateries, shopping, Centennial Trail, as well as multiple parks and marinas. MLS # 24-9843 | $675,000
He tells a great story of one client, an Air Force colonel, who called him from his office in the Pentagon. The 1996 ice storm had toppled thousands of trees coated in freezing rain, and the colonel was concerned about his new cabin. Neighboring cabins had been crushed by falling trees. Brian set out to check, chainsawing downed timber out of the road as he went.
The cabin had survived two direct hits from Douglas fir trees crashing down from the slope above. The home simply snapped both trees in half. Brian sent the colonel a photo which found a place on his desk at the Pentagon, showing his indestructible cabin in Idaho.
The most joy comes from returning to a home after the owners have lived there for a while. Brian recalls with a smile the woman who said, “Every year, I recognize something else in this house that you thought of in your design. Like that roofline placed so we are warmed by the sun in winter and shaded in the summer. You did that, didn’t you?”
Looking back, his biggest professional satisfaction is that he always kept his word. “I decided I was never going to make a client pay for my learning curve,” he says. At one early project in Lewiston, he realized he had terribly underbid the job. So he finished it all by himself, nights and weekends, working until midnight in all weathers. It took him seven months and he never charged another penny. He shrugs it off. “There
was a certain way I wanted the fit and the finish to be, and wasn’t willing to cheapen or shortcut it.”
Personally, his biggest satisfaction is his three boys, Nate, Brian Jr. and Van, who are joining the family business. “I hope to hand down some of this knowledge to the next generation so they can continue it, and get some of that same fulfillment,” he says. Brian’s newest firm, Big Cabin, offers the most innovative design features he has created. His longtime employees have developed a saying...
“Perfect will have to do.”
At this stage in life, as he always has, Brian values freedom and independence. He spends large stretches of time outdoors, where the fresh air always brings fresh ideas. One of his brainstorms is creating a Mountain Master Builder program, where youth can learn all aspects of construction, from site selection, design and foundation work through to the finished home.
“My hope is that others can have the amazing life I have,” he says. “I’ve gotten to build on remote islands and traveled all over the world. I’ve been able to help people build their dreams.”
Van, Brian, Nate and Brian Jr.
BUYER INCENTIVE
MONTROSE COMMUNITY POST FALLS, IDAHO
MODEL HOME OPEN THURSDAY TO MONDAY 11AM-4PM
Viking Construction has been building homes in the North Idaho area for over 40 years. Their homes in the Montrose community range in size from 1,1152 sf to 3,278 sf and all have wonderful standard features such as Whirlpool stainless appliances, Cemplank Fiber Cement siding, skip trowel ceiling texture, front landscaping and RWC extended home warranties.
STARTING AT $369K
TRADITIONS WEST AT AIRWAY HEIGHTS
STANDARD FEATURES
• FRONT LANDSCAPING
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• HEAT PUMP / AC
REFLECTIONS of a boatbuilder
Master craftsman Jim Brown muses about boats & life
If you see a gorgeous wood boat on Lake Coeur d’Alene, you may be admiring the handiwork of Jim and his team at Coeur Custom. Over a brilliant 33-year career, he has poured the energy of his head, hands and heart into dozens of magnificent crafts. He’s renowned for his calm and quiet problem-solving savvy, for his expert discernment of each customer’s vision. Then, with knuckle-busting resolve and stubborn perfectionism, for crafting a complex and wonderful dream. As Jim retires to spend more time with his family, we had a chat with the man behind the boats.
What was your very first wood boat ride and how did it feel?
“I was invited for an evening cruise aboard the 54-foot 1954 Chris Craft, Caminante, and I was smitten from then on. The atmosphere on the water, the ride, the smell, the sound … wow.”
How did your talent for building things develop?
“As a child I loved to take anything apart, repair it and put it back together. My grandfather was a carpenter and my dad dabbled in the oil and grease of the automotive world, a man who could fix anything. This inherited genetic ability to understand mechanical principles and apply common sense logic have been the foundation of my career and my hobbies. My high school woodshop instructor thought I had a screw loose when, instead of the small box everyone else was making, I decided my project would be an electric guitar. Especially when there were never any physical plans, just an image in my head.”
What has shaped you the most?
“I’ve been fortunate to have been exposed to—or been forced into— many opportunities to grow. One ever-present influence is the faith of my grandmother and my mother. I was born in Moscow, Idaho, grew up in a small farming community north of Spokane and have lived within a hundred miles of Lake Coeur d’Alene my entire life. Our small community had people of differing lifestyles and beliefs. We learned respect and allowed each other to live as we chose to. We were outdoors most of the time, whether we were working, playing or simply enjoying the sunshine and fresh air.”
“ Something
very special happens when wood meets water.”
What progression of techniques have you seen?
“Technology now allows our projects to be drawn and developed in 3D instead of with pencil and paper. We’re using carbon fiber in places for high strength-to-weight ratio and beautiful aesthetics. And the cold-molded process gives boats more longevity, meaning they can be passed along for generations.”
What aspects of boatbuilding remain timeless?
“The basic techniques we use—cutting, shaping and placing the pieces—have been used by builders for more than a century. Beyond that, the foundational core of the boatbuilding trade is that of every creative artisan, performer or athlete. It all comes down to heart and desire. We strive to create something special in every build, and we are never satisfied until the boat is the very best it can be.”
What are the stages of building a custom boat?
“We start by discussing form and function. What will the boat look like, feel like, sound like? How will it be used? How will it perform?
The early designs become precise drawings, which then become the detailed plans. It’s rewarding to get to know and understand the personality and vision of the owner and in turn to develop the personality of the boat.
“Then we get into the framing stage, where it is not as easy to see the progress, the successes or the potential problem areas. We use our plans and our processes, along with the trained eye and feel of the hand of the boatbuilder to keep it all on track. Once we start placing and fairing the outer planking, it really starts to look nice, and when we first apply the stain, it’s another satisfying milestone. The varnish compounds that effect, only to be surpassed when the upholstery, the bling of the trim and hardware and drivetrain come together, and she is born!”
You also restore vintage boats. What's special about the people and projects COming through your shop over the years?
“In the case of many clients, we’ve started out with mom and dad, then the boats pass along to the children and even to the grandchildren. Each boat has a story of where it came from or where it’s going. There are comments like, ‘I grew up with a boat like that, my dad taught me to ski behind one of those boats 30 years ago!’ Some of these boats may not be a collector's model, or carry an exotic value on the auction block, but the value to the owners make these boats irreplaceable.”
What have you appreciated about working with your team?
“I’ve lived through a great time in the industry, and I’ve been able to work with some very talented individuals. We share and teach each other constantly as we address each challenge we encounter. I am proud of my team. They have heart, they care and they are willing to put in the effort required to get the results.”
What is COmpelling about retirement?
“I’m looking forward to spending time with my wife, family and friends, joining my kids and grandkids in their worlds, and following the path that the good Lord directs me to. I’m so thankful for where my journey has led, for the people I have met along the way. Those friendships mean a great deal to me. Something very special happens when wood meets water.”
The of the Call
River
A whitewater trip will change you for good
The Moyie River is a North Idaho gem of a river, with intermediate whitewater and fantastic scenery. You are floating in a pretty tight canyon that feels much more like running a rainforest river in Washington or British Columbia than our usual Idaho rivers.
On this spring day, a group from North Idaho College outdoor recreation is scouting one particular section of the Moyie, the rapid at the remnants of Eileen Dam.
“See, it looks like the old dam spans the whole river,” says the leader, Brett VangenWeeks. “But if you look closer, there’s a narrow channel over on river left. It’s notorious for holding logs washed down from spring runoff, so we always hike and scout ahead of time.”
Brett is grateful his group got their timing right. Rafting on the Moyie is entirely dependent on what type of flow Mother Nature provides. The runnable range on this river is 500-6,000 cubic feet per second. The lower flows are more appropriate for novices, and anything above 5,000 cfs is for experts only. The river is mostly continuous class II with a few III’s, but can have class IV consequence at higher flows.
Looking back, rivers had a hold on Brett before he even realized it. “Growing up near the Mississippi River in Minnesota is a pretty easy place for a kid to daydream about building a Huck Finn raft and floating all the way to the ocean,” he says.
A pivotal rafting trip during high school on the Upper Salmon River sealed the deal. “The guide and owner of the company let me handle the boat for a few rapids and told me to come back after college for a job,” he says. “I couldn’t wait, so I found a rafting outfit in West Virginia that was willing to take a chance on me, and I haven’t been able to get rivers off my mind since.”
A big part of the allure is never knowing what you’ll find around the next river bend. He has been surprised with bear, wolf, and sturgeon sightings, contrasted by jazz bands and white tablecloth champagne dinners.
The
Pro Guide
“The river is for everyone,” he says. “I’ve seen people from all walks of life look like true river rats after a few days of sand and water. The river just seems to have a way of making everything right with the world, as long as you’re still floating downstream.”
As the assistant coordinator of Outdoor Pursuits at North Idaho College, he is ideally positioned in the northern end of Idaho, which is known as the Whitewater State for a reason. There are plenty of classic Western rivers within a day’s drive, including the Salmon, Snake, Lochsa, Selway, Clearwater, Clark Fork, Deschutes, White Salmon and many others.
Whether you like class I-II paddleboarding, Class V micro creek boating or huge volume desert rivers, Idaho has it all.
“Whitewater is a real mental game, and finding ways to overcome your own fears and obstacles is probably the hardest but most crucial skill,” Brett says. “My favorite skill to teach is reading the water, because it's both a science and an art, and the more you learn the more you begin to see. I love seeing a student understand how an eddy line or hydraulic actually works for the first time. It's always an ‘aha’ moment, usually after weeks of utter confusion.”
Swiftwater rescue is the most important skill to know in order to navigate whitewater responsibly. Things can turn from a leisurely float into a full-on rescue in a matter of seconds, and having the skills and equipment to react in a calm manner is crucial. Brett has swiftwater rescue and flood technician certifications from the American Canoe Association as well as Rescue 3 International, and has used pretty much every single skill he’s been taught during his 15 years of guiding. He’s spent a lot of time as a river ranger for the U.S. Forest Service and BLM, helping to rescue other trips after they get
“I’ve seen Chinook salmon spawning almost 1,000 miles from the ocean, which is pretty incredible and increasingly rare. I’ve rowed a drift boat down the John Day River in the spring and seen a desert canyon that seemed so dead the season before, completely full of life. I’ve had the privilege to meet incredible humans and then bump into them again, thousands of miles away and years later in some of the most remote places. River folk are one of a kind.”
At UGM, Brianne broke a generational cycle of addiction and built a new life for herself and her kids.
– Brianne, former addict
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Advice for new boaters
Take an easy trip
“If you’re a complete beginner, go on a guided rafting trip a few times, and ask your guide questions about river running. It just might be our favorite thing to talk about after all. Sign up with a reputable outfitter for a class III trip first instead of a class IV-V trip, and work up to the bigger sections as you gain confidence.”
Join a clinic
“A willingness to help fellow boaters and foster a supportive culture is really important, and we wouldn’t be able to paddle in such amazing places without it,” Brett says.
Idaho’s Lochsa River is one of his favorites. “There are enough big rapids on that river to keep even experienced boaters honest.” For multi-day trips he’s quite fond of the Middle Fork of the Salmon and the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. “A week or longer trip really gives you the time to adjust to the pace of a river, and a good trip will have you wanting to get shuttled back to the put in instead of going home.”
Brett added up all the river miles he’s run and was amazed at the total. By his calculation, if he was rowing a boat in the ocean he would have circumnavigated the world by now.
“For me, whitewater is a connection to the natural world on a miniscule yet massive scale,” he says. “Creeks are the capillaries, rivers are the vein, and the ocean is the heart of life on earth. Salmon born in tributaries travel thousands of miles, like some sort of migratory Robin Hood, to steal from the riches of the ocean and return home to share the wealth.”
As a younger man, Brett spent plenty of time chasing larger rapids and deeper canyons. They were epic adventures, but also hard on his body leading to a back surgery in his mid-twenties.
“It took me a while to figure out how to have the same connection to a river as I used to have in my kayak, until I started swinging flies for steelhead,” he says. “When your line is under tension across the seams of current you can feel everything down there. The eddy lines and boils, the electricity of a fish grabbing your fly. Whether I look up at the massive canyon walls along the river, or into a tiny creek at a mayfly larva, I understand my place in the world. I feel more at home on the river than anywhere else.”
“As you progress, taking a rowing clinic for rafting or a kayak roll class is a great way to start building your own skills. Finding a group of fellow paddlers to progress with is crucial if you plan on really becoming a whitewater paddler. It's also just safer and more fun that way.”
Know the waters
“Using the American Whitewater website to check flows and rapid descriptions is imperative as you progress into harder whitewater, but always remember that rivers are a dynamic environment and are constantly changing.”
Care for our rivers
“We can’t create new rivers, so it's our responsibility as boaters to take care of the ones we have. Follow Leave No Trace principles and pay attention to the unique regulations on each river. Wildfires and subsequent erosion have affected many of our most famous Idaho rapids in the last few years, so using firepans or fire blankets or avoiding fires altogether is imperative. Love and enjoy our rivers, and if they have added to the quality of your life, then make an effort to add to their quality of life, too.”
TheMan Kilt in the
Evan Ruud is one of those characters you meet on the river and never ever forget. Previously head brewmaster at Trickster’s Brewing Co. in Coeur d’Alene, he is now roaming about the American West in search of his next river fix, sometimes clad in his signature kilt. We managed to talk to him between trips, which wasn’t easy, because his phone had just fallen victim to a set of river rapids, which is not the first time this has happened. The day we spoke, he was headed back out to the wilderness. Communication was garbled as he dropped off the edge of the overconnected world and out into the bliss of the wild, but he shared some of his journal entries from his latest epic whitewater adventure, a 21-day trip down the mighty Grand Canyon. This is the 5th time he’s done the trip, and by the sounds of
Photography by Ken Libby
Time once again to organize, pack and raft the 280 miles from Lee’s to Pearce Ferry, through the heart of the Grand Canyon on the mighty Colorado River. Through the controlled chaos leading up to launch day, I found my place in the circle amongst my tribe. I was extremely humbled that I was asked to take the position of lead boatman.
_
Our on-the-water plan would be simple: I would run lead with expedition mentality, taking conservative lines, scouting with group safety in mind. I needed to pick forgiving lines and easy to nail markers, telegraph the entrance to the rapids, and position myself for possible rescues at the bottom.
_
We crossed paths with other crews, which set the tone for the rest of the trip. Crew dynamics start to get a little tribal around this point. You meet crews that have had amazing trips, as well as crews that have bitten off more than they can chew, and had very memorable, very bad days.
“Life’s
a Great Adventure ...
Day 10 was the biggest whitewater day of the trip, with Granite, Hermit and Crystal, the second largest rapid of the entire Canyon and the gatekeeper for the section called The Gems, which includes Diamond, Turquoise, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, Agate and Serpentine, the most rapidfire whitewater in the Canyon.
_
We cooked a Dutch oven lasagna for dinner, and proceeded back up Blacktail Canyon, which has the best acoustics on the river, for a late night jam session, probably the best one of the trip.
_
The stuck boatman at Bedrock Rapid thanked me for helping unpin his boat. My response was simple; “Today you, Tomorrow me.” Boaters understand that.
_
On day 15, we encountered Upset Rapid. We ran two different clean, solid lines, stopped for lunch at Havasu, and proceeded to Tuckup Canyon for camp and side adventures. A younger crew was at the upper camp there. Crystal Rapid had not been good to them, and their entire toilet paper supply had been saturated with water and a guitar destroyed during the carnage. We gave them a dozen rolls and played music at their campfire.
_
After a broken oar at Killer Fang Falls, we ran the rest of the rapids clean. What seems like such a long trip when you’re packing for it is over before you know it. We tied up after Separation Canyon, where John Wesley Powell’s expedition famously parted ways, and started motoring down river at a steady pace and across the head of the Lake Mead silt beds. In Powell’s day, we would just be entering the largest of the rapids. Alas, those rapids are now lost to time, buried under the silt of Lake Mead’s high-water mark.
_
At this point, we had all grown accustomed to quick wind gusts that get sand in all the food giving it a satisfying crunch and layered splits on your hands and feet that make it look like you’ve started to grow gills. Your clothes have sand embedded to the core of their fibers.
_
Accept it in such a Spirit.”
-Theodore Roosevelt
DINE IN Lakeside Luxury
Indulge in the innovative flavors of distinctive Northwest cuisine as you enjoy scenic lake views and warm hospitality. From cafe breakfasts to 5-star dining at Beverly’s, The Coeur d’Alene Golf & Spa Resort offers something for every taste and every mood, every time of day.
It’s incredibly strange to re-enter society after the purity of the river. All of a sudden you get cell service, and everybody’s phones start to ping with 40 text messages, 30 voicemails and hundreds of emails. All of that crap feels so pointless and insignificant. You find yourself driving through rush hour traffic in Las Vegas with a fully loaded trailer. You begin to understand that you felt like more of your true self while isolated, and that the “real world” not only won’t understand, but is actually far less real than the world you just left.
It takes about six months to recover from the Grand Canyon. They tell new boaters not to make any life changing decisions for the next few months, because your brain has been rewired. And your new wiring system isn’t ready for society; it’s ready for the primitive existence it was just getting used to.
I needed this trip. The last year of my life has been filled with turmoil. Once again feeling the sting of heartbreak, confronting the possibility of the death of a treasured family member and my own personal shortcomings… it all took its toll on my spirit. To be real, it broke me.
I can’t think of any better rehabilitation than what has happened over the last few months. Had failures not come my way, I wouldn’t have been in the position to take this trip. I wouldn’t have had the time to drop everything. I wouldn’t have emotionally been in a place to be the person that everyone, both in my biological family and river family, needed me to be. So here’s to those hopeless wanderers who accidentally meander to exactly where they’re supposed to be at just the right moment. Cheers, and go with the flow!
OdetoThe GrandCanyon
By Evan Ruud
Say goodbye, the “real world” you knew, Won’t feel quite the same once we’re through.
Never forget to hug the ones you love, And cheers those canyon walls above.
Sand in your food, Silt in your beer, Brighten your mood, dampen your fear.
Keep it straight, that ship you steer. No big life decisions, for at least half a year.
Comfortably uncomfortable, lo i decree That it’s a pirate’s life for me.
Grand Canyon, trip of a lifetime, so they say. Under the stars is where to stay.
Grand Canyon, if you’ve gone astray, And lost your footing in life’s ballet.
Grand Canyon, every year, if i may, Snag a permit, seize the day!
The After 5 awards have become an annual celebration of service
Every October, an energetic event fills a large convention bay at The Coeur d’Alene Resort nearly to the bursting point. This year will mark the 33rd yearly After 5 Luncheon for longtime members of the Hagadone Hospitality Company.
The celebration goes by all too quickly, filled with good food, a few good speeches, and some raffle prize giveaways. There are jokes and laughter. People from different operations of the company have a chance to reconnect and reminisce.
At the heart of it all is a festive ceremony which honors the years of service each person has contributed. First the five-year honorees come forward, then those who’ve served for 10 years, 15 years, 20 years and so on. The company’s leaders give each one a commemorative pin and a personal handshake of appreciation. Some have been with the company for decades, and together, everyone deserves the standing ovation offered. “We have an amazing team, and they are all incredibly important,” says Brad Hagadone, CEO of The Hagadone Corporation. “We’re fortunate to have every one of them.”
As part of this event, employees receive awards based on career longevity, and a group of those with 20 years or more of hospitality service get together for the annual photo.
Founded in the 1970s by Duane B. Hagadone, the Hagadone Corporation is a privately held company with operations that include hospitality, golf, restaurants, real estate, media and publishing, advertising, photography, marine and aviation.
The company’s flagship headquarters are housed in an iconic structure at the edge of Lake Coeur d’Alene. The nearby Coeur d’Alene Resort, an 18-story, 338-room hotel which opened in 1986, is the company’s signature property, set off by the brilliant red geraniums, crisp green lawns and deep lake-blue hues that define the brand.
Because of the all-encompassing nature of these various businesses, it takes a wide range of talents and skill sets to make things a success. The vision that Duane Hagadone began has been handed down to successive generations of employees over the years.
Many of the most successful people in Coeur d’Alene got their start here as busboys, hostesses, housekeepers or groundskeepers. They learned how to show up on time, how to hold a standard of quality, how to wear a uniform and carry responsibility with pride. You could say that the Hagadone Hospitality Company and its properties have been the launching pad for thousands and thousands of dreams.
Creating and maintaining such a high-end reputation for hospitality does not come easy. It takes a daily dedication to the art and craft of service.
Rick Kaufman | Service Technician | 35 Years
Jim Barrett | Beverley's Executive Chef | 27 Years
Over the years, the Hagadone Hospitality Company and its properties have been the launching pad for thousands and thousands of dreams.
As the After 5 Luncheon event wraps up, some of the more senior participants are asked to pose for the traditional team photo: a picture of those who have been with the company 20 years or more. If the parameters were any less, it’s clear there would not be room for everyone. As it is, it takes a creative photographer to capture the image. And that is because all these team members, standing shoulder to shoulder as they have done together for years on the leading lines of hospitality, barely fit into the frame.
“After 5 is quite the event that our people put on, and I’m honored to be a part of it,” Brad Hagadone says. “With team members like these, we have a very bright future ahead.”
“ This is a chance to celebrate all these special people and to recognize them.”
Kathy Larson | Sales Executive | 50 Years
“I'm too Idaho for Texas, and too Texas for Tennessee,”
croons Colby Acuff in Outlaw in Me, one of the truest songs he’s written yet. At the tender age of 27, this 4th generation Idahoan has an old-school soul, a philosopher’s heart and an unfailing ear for the truth.
Growing up in Coeur d’Alene, music was life. He loved the simple rhythms of being a fishing guide on the Coeur d’Alene River, but music just kept calling him back, and that’s a very good thing. He writes like Dylan, composes like Elton and sings like Hank sitting in with the Zac Brown Band.
Despite his modest down-home approach, this kid’s a star. When he put out his 4th record, Western White Pines, his rather ambitious goal was a million streams. That album reached a million streams in the first month, 15 million that year, and is on pace to become a gold record.
His newest album, American Son, released in 2024, holds up a mirror to the human condition, taking an unflinching look at the problems he sees around him, struggles he’s seen firsthand and the ways we can help each other through.
We caught up with Colby on tour, somewhere in the Deep South, for a conversation on fishing, songwriting and the redemptive power of music. As he says in Outlaw, “I'm just a troubadour looking for/A rhyme or a reason that I think is worth rhyming for.”
What are your early musical memories?
“Dad had this old 45 player, and we’d listen to Fats Domino, early bluegrass, Waylon, Willie, lots of 1950s and ‘60s rock and country. Mom had this little blue GMC, where she’d play cassettes of Boss Skaggs, the Eagles and Elton John. So I got a really good mix.”
How big did music become?
“I was playing the piano by age five. I wasn’t very athletic, so my parents probably figured, he’s not going to be a ballplayer, so let’s get him an instrument. I’d spend hours listening to music and singing along to this little karaoke player…Crocodile Rock and Tiny Dancer, Blueberry Hill and Johnny B. Goode. By age 10, I decided piano was lame and I wanted to bang on the drums. Dad got me a kit while Mom was out of town. By middle school, I had my first band. We called ourselves Excused Absence. I was playing bars by the time I was 12.”
Why sing country music?
“I was a country kid. I grew up listening to it and living it. Country music is a melting pot of blues, bluegrass and folk. Someone told me, the reason country music is great is because it’s America’s poetry. And it’s true. You can talk about whatever you want.”
What’s the deeper meaning of music?
“Music can save people’s lives. It can pull them out of a dark place. Inspire them to quit their job and chase a dream. Help them find their moral compass again. Be a better partner, parent and friend. I’ve lost a lot of people in my life, most of them to mental health issues, suicide, drug overdose or alcohol. Today, I write the songs I wish I could have written for them before it was too late. Every night, I go to the merch table, sign things and take photos with fans, and every night, someone says, ‘I was really down, and I was thinking about taking the ultimate solution, and I listened to your music, and I didn’t.’ That’s a powerful thing.”
What do trout fishing and writing music have in common?
“I’ll tell you this: I did not become a good songwriter until I became a guide. This veteran guide, Mike Beard, told me, you’ve got to put down your own rod. You’re fishing through the client. Your observation skills have to be super keen. You have to know and notice everything. Putting down the rod and looking at it through another view, well, that’s story writing. Make something that makes sense to everyone and make them feel something.”
What’s your creative process?
“If I don’t have anything to say, I don’t. I always figure that’s the time to do more living and less writing. I wait until it comes to me. For some reason, sometimes, the spotlight of the universe shines on you. Everything you write sounds good. The words come together and everything works. If the spotlight comes on I can write 25 songs in a month. But I’ve gotten there by writing a lot of shitty songs and learning the trade really well. I’ve written 500-some songs, and only 66 of them have been released. I’ve got these notebooks full of doodles, songs and chords.”
How do you begin writing a song?
“I’m a much better poet than guitar player, so it has to start with words. Starting with an idea is hard. That’s like looking at the front of the puzzle box. But if you can start with a riff or a melody, you’ve got the border. And if you can start with a line that is singable, you’re there. Those times when I wake up in the night with a line I can sing? I know I have a good song. Then the key is writing quickly. If you’ve got the thing, you’ve got to get it down. It’s like a train, it’s going to pass you by.”
What’s a perfect day on the road?
“The best day on the road, it’s a headliner show and you’re the first name on the bill. You don’t care what size the room is. It could be 500 people at the Tractor Tavern or 9,000 at Red Rocks. The show’s sold out. Those two things take a lot of pressure off the day. Then there’s an opening act that we really like. Great musicians who are a fun hang. A short and easy commute so everybody’s rested. You find a great place for dinner out on the town. You have a banging show where everything goes right. Have a few beers, go to bed, get up and do it all over again.”
What
are you doing to care for your voice?
“I have a vocal coach, and I do straw work where I hum and blow water into a cup. The reality is that you are singing in 100-120 shows a year. We don’t quite have a bus yet, so we’re doing it in the van, and they are long days. You’re singing a lot, screaming a lot, and it’s inevitable that you’re going to have some tough vocal days. We play live music. No click tracks. Every note, every sound you hear at a Colby Acuff show is completely live. You get me however I am on that day. So I’ve learned not to beat myself up. I’m only as good as I can be. You’ll get 100 percent of whatever I have.”
What
do you miss about Idaho when you are away?
“Definitely the outdoors. Hunting, fishing and time. Time moves a little slower out there, which I appreciate more and more.”
What's most meaningful about singing to a live crowd?
“You get to go out and play for the people who listen to you every day, who have spent their hard-earned dollars to see you. They want to hear the songs they hear driving to work, dropping off the kids. There’s days on tour when you feel like you’ve been dragged through the dirt, when you miss home, miss your girlfriend. But then that audience reminds you why you’re here. You get to give back to the people who make it happen.”
What’s next?
“I’d love to take on some other themes. Make an Americana folk record. Try some Southern rock. Bluegrass. I want to push the boundaries, to be a genre-defining artist instead of a genre-following artist. I want to make an acoustic record. Who knows what’s coming up? I just hope I get to do this the rest of my life. I’d love to take it as far as it can take me.”
Training for the sport of life
Sprinting through mud and water, climbing ropes, scaling walls, crawling under barbed wire… Spartan Racing is filled with tough obstacles.
If you’re ready for all that, you’re better prepared to take on the rigors of life itself. This was the draw for Amanda Rohde, a personal trainer who believes in the power of physical fitness in everyday existence.
“Spartan racing intrigued me as a new challenge to reach for,” she says. “When I saw my first race, the people crossing the finish line looked like they had achieved so much fulfillment. It made me so curious to see what that would look like for me.”
Amanda discovered personal training after multiple rounds of reconstructive knee surgery, when her physicality and confidence had plummeted. “My trainer guided me to a level of strength I had never felt before,” she says. “He inspired me from the inside out. I made a choice to never take my health or capability for granted. I decided to make the most of it.”
To prepare for Spartan Racing, she did a ton of metabolic conditioning to increase the amount of energy her body could store and then release. She trained for a stronger heart, more efficient lungs and a more powerful grip. She worked on mental fitness and preparation.
“You are only as strong as your weakest link. If your weakest link is flexibility, stretch. If your weakest link is cardiovascular, practice getting your heart rate up. If your weak link is strength, start lifting some heavier weights. Become friends with your enemies.”
“Make your own meals. Stop eating out. Learn how to be prepared. Save eating out for special occasions. It’s easier to watch what you put in your body rather than working it off.”
It all paid off in her first Spartan Race, where she recalls wading through a deep muddy bog and looking up to see that the next obstacle was a set of monkey bars. “I thought, this is crazy,” she says, “but I saw other people doing it so I knew it was possible. That’s how all the racing went.”
In each new event, she found herself alongside people of different ages, shapes and sizes. Some people were missing limbs. Still, all were pushing onward. It was an apt metaphor for life.
“You look at what you’re struggling with, and go out and do the thing to the best of your ability anyway and that’s what I love about it.”
She works as a trainer at Peak Health and Wellness Center in Hayden. “I’m a support system for my clients,” she says. “I’m here to teach people how to exercise, have conversations surrounding their health, but also just be someone who has your best interest in mind.”
Amanda’s enthusiasm for holistic fitness is evident from anyone fortunate enough to train with her. “If you’re physically strong and capable, you feel it to the depths of your being,” she says. “And if you’re feeling low, you can elevate your mental state by doing something physical. It’s all connected. So choose to have a daily routine that will keep you in that elevated state on a consistent basis.”
“Use a variety of different approaches. Just strength training won’t get you there. Add some regular cardiovascular exercise and bodyweight movement like yoga to your weekly split.”
“Show up every day. If you say you’re going to do something, follow through and do not make excuses.”
“If you’re thinking about a Spartan Race, just go and do it. Choose one near to you, maybe start with a shorter distance. See what it feels like, see how you perform and then train accordingly. Most of all, don’t expect it to go perfectly the first time.”
For Chris Buskirk, the idea of being physically prepared for adversity like the warriors of old attracted him to Spartan Racing. Plus, he loved the feeling of running wild through the woods. He’d get easily bored with regular running, and having obstacles added the extra challenge he craved.
“Running was always just a tool to stay in aerobic shape for sports,” he SAYS. “But now I realize the complexity of its stimulus on the brain on a neurological scale with the added benefits of power it has in life.”
Growing up, he saw his sister face the mental and physical challenges of cerebral palsy, and the joy that physical activity brought her. As a college athlete, he learned the connection between care for his body and his impact on the world. As the founder of Elite Performance and Fitness, he specializes in helping youth athletes develop, both on and off the field.
“Spartan Racing and the training that goes with it helps keep me sharp in my day-to-day,” he says. “It gives me the desire and willpower to overcome any obstacle life has to throw at me, and to help others through theirs.”
He relished overcoming steep trails, foul weather and uphill grinds, or holding a run pace after 30 burpees with his clothes caked in mud. “My first Spartan Race, I was completely worn out by the end,” he says. “I was hooked and wanted to find the next race. Challenge accepted.”
To train for the next races, he focused on muscular endurance. He upped all his workout ranges to 50+ reps and chose the steepest and roughest trails he could find. He applies that same strategic mindset to training his clients.
“What I do for a living is much like running a Spartan Race,” he says. “Each of us humans are different in our genetics, upbringing and experiences. There’s always something more to learn and to practice.”
“Every Spartan course will have different terrain, different scenery and different challenges. Never knowing what to expect next is a great mindset to have for life. It’s about adapting, overcoming and ultimately finding that sense of accomplishment.”
“Physical fitness keeps you grounded and present in life. Without it, I see people lose their way. A properly operating human being begins in a healthy physical body.”
“Always have a plan and continually set goals. Remember that it’s a personal journey. Don’t let what you see everybody else doing dictate yours.”
“Nutrition is everything. How you fuel your body dictates how efficiently you are going to operate. You lose it at a faster rate than you gain it so never stop.”
“Seek a professional… more than one. Every trainer has something different to offer. The more you learn, the easier it will be to optimize your life…
to wake up and live!”
The Selkirk Mountain Range is rugged, remote and spectacular, tough to navigate and worth every bit of the effort. These thick forests and steep-sided peaks are home to an eclectic cast of characters: skiers, trekkers, climbers … maybe even Sasquatch himself.
Story by David Kilmer
Photo credit: Destination BC | Bruno Long
WHAT MAKES THE SELKIRKS SPECIAL?
For starters, the Selkirk Range is old; far older than the Rocky Mountains. Long before the Rockies were pushed aloft by continental drift, the Selkirks were an ancient toothy island in a Precambrian sea. “They were rearing their serrated and snow-capped summits above the prehistoric ocean when their neighbors, the Rockies, were as yet unborn beneath its ice-bound bosom,” wrote A.O. Wheeler, surveyor, mountaineer and co-founder of the storied Alpine Club of Canada with the journalist Elizabeth Parker.
This superb stretch of rock, river, forest and sky is filled to bursting with intriguing routes to explore, peaks to scale, slopes to ski and alpine lakes to admire.
These mountains begin humbly enough at their southern end, Idaho’s Mica Peak at a modest 5,241 feet overlooking the farmlands of the Palouse. Yet even here,
LET US COUNT THE WAYS.
tales of Prohibition era bootleggers abound, and a now-abandoned ski operation had a rope tow up through the pines.
Like a wave train growing ever bigger and wilder, these mountains just keep rising as they go, covering 200 south-to-north miles as the raven flies and 16,000-some square miles. By the time they reach Kinbasket Lake in British Columbia, site of an underwater ghost town and encampments from fur-trading days, these summits have grown to epic proportions in the near-mythic Valhalla Range. Here, Mount Sir Sandford, The King of the Selkirks, the tallest peak in the chain, stands at 11,545 feet. With its challenging slogs through alpine ice and snow, it’s a big-peak proving ground for the Canadian Mountaineering School.
The range is bounded on its west, northeast and northern extremity by the Columbia River, and on the east by the Kootenai River.
These mountains have a wealth of routes to explore, peaks to scale, slopes to ski and alpine lakes to admire.
It’s home to two of Canada’s finest national parks, Glacier and Mt. Revelstoke, as well as one of the largest and most unique interior rainforests on the planet. A variety of rare and wonderful creatures call these mountains home.
PEANUT BUTTER PICKLE BACON ON AT
Photo credit: Destination BC | Dave Heath
Photo credit: Destination BC | Ryan Creary
Kevin Davis, hydrologic technician for the U.S. Forest Service and leader of the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center, has spent a significant chunk of his life in the Selkirks. “The ‘Kirks have so much to explore that you’d never get to it all in one lifetime, but you would certainly have a fulfilled life trying,” he says.
There’s a lot of history in these mountains.”
The Selkirks first appear on a map made by explorer David Thompson in 1814 for the North West Fur Company. Thompson called them Nelson’s Mountains. Born a Londoner, it’s understandable that he would name them for Admiral Horatio Nelson, the naval commander who became an English hero as he won and died at the Battle of Trafalgar, only a decade before Thompson’s map. The name was later changed in honor of the 5th Earl of Selkirk, Thomas Douglas of the Hudson's Bay Company, when the two trading powerhouses merged.
Climbers rave about the steep granite batholiths here, of the sharp ridgelines leading to even sharper summits. Of dense woods, endless talus fields and scree slopes that beat up the body and guard the treasured views at the top. Of peaks that challenge your lungs, your legs and your nerves, that overwhelm you with a realization of geological time and space. Of places where the alpine air is fresh and clean and you can see for miles in every direction.
Just ask Jason Keen, a firefighter and backcountry ski guide, who found himself gazing north from the top of Schweitzer Mountain at all that tumble of topography and wondering… What if?
So he and two buddies set off from Pyramid Lake, headed south for Schweitzer along a razor’s edge of a ridge, arriving in a remarkable 77 hours and summiting a dozen peaks along the way: Pyramid Peak, Myrtle Peak, Kent Peak, Harrison Peak, Twin Peaks, Silver Dollar Peak, Chimney Rock, Mt Roothaan, Gunsight Peak, Hunt Peak, Flattop and Mt Casey.
Photo credit: Destination
*Price based on 4 person occupancy in a Family Studio Sunday-Thursday and includes lodging, lift tickets, and access to Silver Rapids, Idaho’s largest indoor waterpark.
The Redneck Traverse runs from Schweitzer to the Pack River Road, a route never to be taken lightly despite the lighthearted name.
Backpackers will tell you how vast this place is, how quiet, how untouched. They dream of returning again to the Long Canyon Loop, of trekking 35 miles of wilderness, deep forests, raging creeks, a glorious 10 mile ridgewalk and two high mountain lakes along the way, of summiting Parker Peak, the highest point in North Idaho at 7,700 feet.
But it is skiers, more than anyone else, who wax rhapsodic about these mountains. Their faces light up when they tell you the Powder Highway is one of the best road trips they’ve ever taken. They speak of driving white-knuckle passes through blizzards to arrive at small mountain towns where skiing is practiced with religious fervor and new converts are welcome. They will say how the snow just kept coming down, and down, covering their tracks for run after glorious run until their legs could take no more. They will tell in reverent tones how the Selkirks receive an unbelievable 40 to 60 feet of snowfall per season.
Schweitzer Mountain Resort belongs to the Selkirk Range. So does Whitewater-Nelson, Revelstoke Mountain Resort, Mt. Spokane, 49˚ North, Salmo Ski Hill and Summit Lake-Nakusp. There are dozens of heliski and cat ski operations, too, including the legendary Selkirk Tangiers Heli Skiing, which launched its first flight in 1978. Guests stayed in RVs parked beside the highway and Vietnam vets in Huey helicopters provided the ride. The draw, then as now, was the perfectly pitched slopes and the high probability of a fresh powder day.
In North Idaho, Schweitzer Backcountry Adventures, formerly Selkirk Powder, offers cat skiing and snowmobile rides. For a self-guided experience, the legendary backcountry route nicknamed the Redneck Traverse runs from Schweitzer to the Pack River Road. Locals warn that this is advanced to expert avalanche terrain, not for beginners, and not to be taken lightly despite the lighthearted name.
Photo credit: Destination BC | Dave Heath
“The southern Selkirks adjacent to Schweitzer are the primary training ground for aspiring backcountry skiers and snowboarders,” says Jon Totten, who teaches avalanche training courses for the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center. “It’s easily accessible and has a wide range of beginner to expert terrain, making it an ideal place to hone your skills.”
EVOLUTIONARY BUILDERS
THE POWDER PILGRIMAGE
HOLDS DEEP ROOTS
Terry Brinton has an ongoing and torrid love affair with the Selkirks.
“Making the powder pilgrimage north from Coeur d’Alene was my first big journey out of the family nest,” he recalls “I found this special geography that lends itself perfectly to ski slopes. Boarding ferries up those long skinny lakes, driving treacherous two-lane highways, hiking up to backcountry huts, meeting the kind of people who call those mountains home ... it all just added to the mystique.”
The towns along this mountain range are small and sparsely distributed, and the people within them are there because they want to be. Originally built by miners looking for riches in the 19th century, these towns have in the last 100 years drawn an eclectic mix of artists, ski bums, hippies, craftspeople and mountain enthusiasts all seeking their Shangri-La.
“From the Russian Doukhobor nudists to the American hippies seeking refuge from the Vietnam war, the smugglers, the ski bums from Australia, New Zealand and Europe, these small towns are surprisingly diverse,” Terry says. “You meet these larger-than-life characters like Bomber, real name Brian Cross, a ski and mountain guide, entrepreneur, lodge owner, legend of the Valhalla Mountains … another quintessential Kootenay misfit.”
“It's hard for me to talk about the Selkirks without getting emotional,” Terry says. “My family has deep roots here, drawn like moths to a flame. I’ve also lost friends in these mountains. Those perfect slopes for skiing are also perfect for avalanches and the terrible cost of doing business with them. I’ve suffered physical and emotional trauma myself in this place. In a way, it makes it all that much more beautiful.”
Those of us who are drawn here are a bit like Odysseus compelled by the Sirens. For me it’s still worth it, and I’ll keep going back. That’s how you know it’s truly special.”
If one place was more legendary than any other, it would be Revelstoke and Rogers Pass.
Ask any backcountry skier and they will get a faraway look in their eyes. All you need to access the perfectly pitched, endlessly open fall lines at Rogers Pass is your own two feet and a heartbeat.
Major Albert Bowman Rogers, nicknamed The Railway Pathfinder, blazed the trail here, tasked by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company to find a way through the seemingly impenetrable Selkirks so they could lay down rail to the Pacific. In 1881, guided by the Kamloops indigenous people and running low on supplies (he was notorious for packing light) the major reached the top and was certain he had solved the problem. Little did he know the alpine playground this would become. Railroad engineers did not have it easy here, but with a series of bridges and snow sheds, and with the help of a whole lot of dynamite, the route became reality.
Because the grades were so steep, dining cars had to be left behind. And so the railroad built the Glacier House, which would become a luxury hotel where adventure seekers from around the world would come to play, guided by the best of Swiss ski mountaineers.
Today, skiers hike up through the ruins of its foundation on their way to the Illecillewaet and Asulkan glaciers, and the Canadian military shells the mountainside with a howitzer for avalanche control, requiring skiers to acquire a daily permit to make sure they aren’t in the line of fire.
The Trans-Canada highway follows that old railway, and is famously bad for truckers. The ski bums in Revelstoke and Kicking Horse have an underground network to alert each other when a truck turns over and spills its cargo across the highway, which occurs often.
And on it goes in the mighty Selkirk Mountain Range, with each route, each road, each ridgeline, each peak leading on and on to the next, every legend making way for the one to follow. It’s a place that haunts your dreams, gets under your skin and deep into your blood.
Photo
FUEL FOR DREAMS
Trails of the Wild Selkirks by Dennis Nicholls
Ski Trails in the Canadian Rockies by Chic Scott
Selkirk Conservation Alliance scawild.org
Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center idahopanhandleavalanche.org
The Powder Highway powderhighway.com
CELEBRATE THE LEGACY OF THE SUNSHINE MINE WITH A COMMEMORATIVE COIN OF MINING HISTORY!
Experience the legacy of the historic Sunshine Mine with their exclusive 140th Anniversary silver coin. Crafted from 99.999% pure silver recovered from the Sunshine Refinery in Kellogg, this commemorative 1-ounce silver round is a testament to the mine’s rich history and enduring legacy. Refined at Liberty Refining and minted by Sunshine Minting, Inc. in Coeur d’Alene, this coin truly embodies the essence of North Idaho’s precious resources.
Be part of history with these limited edition 140th Anniversary coins, available in standard and serialized editions. Whether you’re a collector or looking for a unique gift, this is your chance to own a piece of mining history. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to celebrate the Sunshine Mine’s remarkable journey and the allure of silver.
Photo credit: Destination BC | Blake Jorgenson
There we were, flying at 10,000 feet over the ocean just offshore from San Diego. It was a cold and overcast November day. I was in the backseat of a Top Gun F-5F, and Lieutenant Commander Pete Caulk, call sign Horse, was flying the plane up front. We had just finished an air combat training mission with an F-14 crew. It was all very routine, and then suddenly it wasn’t. I knew something was up from the unfamiliar vibration moving through the jet. Then through my helmet I heard Horse’s calm voice.
“Hey Doc, we’ve lost the number two engine and number one is losing thrust. If we have to exit the aircraft…” Whoa! I thought, did he just say exit the aircraft? “I’ll give the command three times. The third time, pull the ejection handle.”
I swallowed hard. “Roger, got it.” I took a look down at the ocean below. I knew the water was cold. I figured it would take 30 minutes or more for a rescue helicopter to get to us from North Island. I had a wetsuit on under my flight suit but it wasn’t much of a reassurance.
Because Horse belonged to a squadron of the finest pilots in the world, he was able to coax that 20-yearold jet back to Miramar in one piece. We had a great
Dr. Mark Kontos served nine years in the U.S. Navy as a flight surgeon and ophthalmologist, achieving the rank of lieutenant commander. He spent three years as a member of the elite Navy Fighter Weapons School known as Top Gun. Since then, he has developed Empire Eye Physicians, a prestigious refractive and cataract surgery practice, where his focus is bringing cutting-edge technology and surgical excellence to ophthalmology in the Pacific Northwest.
Both my parents were private pilots, and it was a particular passion for my dad. He dreamed of flying for the Air Force but his eyes didn’t pass muster. He instilled some of that passion in me. There was a big Air Force base in my hometown and every year the Thunderbirds performed. I couldn’t get enough of it. By age 10 I had built a model of every jet in the Air Force. I didn’t realize it then, but building all those intricately detailed models helped me develop skills that would prove very useful later in life. My interests shifted and science took a prominent role. During college, I worked as a research assistant at the University of Colorado’s Human Performance Lab. We tested the U.S. Ski Team twice a year, doing all sorts of drills to measure fitness and
skill levels. I had the privilege of getting to know those same skiers who would later win quite a pile of gold and silver medals for America in the 1984 Winter Olympics. Every spring, the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks sent us college football players they were interested in drafting. We put them through a battery of agility and speed drills and shared the results with the teams. That program eventually morphed into the NFL Scouting Combine. I hadn’t planned to be a medical doctor. I wanted to get my PhD and work in research. But everyone in my lab was applying to med school, and they encouraged me to do the same. I was accepted to the St. Louis University School of Medicine but I needed a way to pay for it. I applied for and was granted a
U.S. Navy Health Professions scholarship that would pay for med school in exchange for serving on active duty. There was just one problem. The Navy required all medical officers to spend at least a year out in the fleet after internship. I wasn’t that interested in being a shipboard doctor. Then I found out that the Navy had a flight surgeon program. Once I learned they taught all their doctors to fly as part of the deal, I knew what I was going to do. So off I went for a nine-month fellowship at the Naval Aerospace Medicine Institute. It’s located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, where all naval aviators begin their career. Half my time was spent learning about the effects of flight on the body and the other half was learning to fly a Beechcraft T-34C turboprop airplane. By the end of my time there I had soloed and learned basic instrument flying and acrobatics.
Through a rather extraordinary stroke of fate, I was sent to the Navy Fighter Weapons School at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, better known as Top Gun. It turned out they were in need of a flight surgeon so they sort of adopted me. It was a case of being in the right place at the right time, and it was a turn of events that
Top Gun was created in the 1960s to help Navy fighter pilots hone their air-to-air combat skills. Navy and Marine Corps pilots arrive every year for an intense six weeks of training. It’s an honor to be selected for the course and an even greater honor to be asked to return as an instructor. This means that Top Gun instructors are the best of the best, and I was about to spend two years in this exceptional company.
No other branch of our military teaches their flight surgeons to fly. The Navy does it because they want the squadron flight surgeon to have a greater understanding of what challenges pilots and aircrew face and they want them fully integrated into the squadron. At Top Gun, I was like a kid in a candy store. Four of our jets were set up with controls in the front and back, which meant I could fly from the back seat. I flew every chance I got. During my time at Top Gun, I logged more than 200 hours in 26 months. We transitioned to the F-16N my last year, it was like having a Ferrari for the sky. It could pull 9 Gs in a turn and I made sure to check that box.
The first Top Gun movie had wrapped filming just before I arrived, and once it came out everyone wanted to get close to the real thing. Celebrity visits were a
regular occurrence.
I remember doing flight physicals for Jimmy Buffett and Stephen Stills so they could get rides. They both did impromptu concerts at the officer’s club afterward. You never knew what would happen from one day to the next. There were too many unique experiences to count.
And then in a blink of an eye it was over. My application for ophthalmology residency was accepted and I was off to a different adventure.
I think back often on my time at Top Gun and the people I worked with. It had a huge impact on me as a young man. I learned the true meaning of words like leadership, esprit de corps, confidence and devotion to duty. The men and women I worked with there were the most dedicated, driven and focused individuals I’ve ever met. I’ve tried to take those examples to heart in the practice of eye surgery over the course of my career, including my longtime practice in Coeur d’Alene.
The other thing I learned at Top Gun was the importance of detours. The three years I spent as a flight surgeon were a definite detour in my training to be an eye surgeon.
Most people wouldn’t take that detour and I almost didn’t. To this day, I’m so glad I did. Today I tell young doctors about the importance of detours in your early career. The mission trip or the research project or whatever happens to come your way. Take it! That detour could quite possibly be the best thing to ever happen to you.
Stop by his shop any given day, and you’ll see Anthony Berry in his element. A grin on his face and longish hair flopping over his safety goggles.
He’s usually covered in wood chips.
You’ll find him lovingly laboring over a piece of wood or iron. Making all kinds of furniture and other functional household art, in one-of-a-kind styles from his own vivid imagination. It’s clear this kid can make anything he puts his mind to.
Like many self-made artists, he started out small, making custom ear plug jewelry for friends with one modest workbench, a lathe and a drill press. And of course, his talented hands, and formidable heart. His shop
As he expanded, he added a blacksmith’s forge. He continued to gain confidence and tackle more sophisticated projects. He finds inspiration at every hand. That old honey locust tree in the backyard? He’ll mill a section into a fabulously winding window bar, and handforge the brackets that hold it up.
That old tree stump? In Anthony’s hands, it becomes a side table. A scrap piece of elm is transformed into a cribbage board.
A cast-off piece of South African teak becomes an Art Nouveau coffee stand.
“I’m inspired by vintage furniture created to last”
His work deserves one long, admiring look after another. He has a knack for combining diverse materials into a beautiful whole. One set of earrings is made of desert ironwood, brass and mother of pearl. Another of rosewood, moss agate and brass. Or moose antler, crushed turquoise and purpleheart. All are hand shaped from start to finish, and sent out into the world in a handmade wood box.
“ABSOLUTELY STUNNING,” A CLIENT SAYS.
“THE WORK IS AMAZING… I’M IN LOVE WITH IT.”
Then there are the one-off projects, just because, like a hand-forged cleaver made from an old truck spring steel and butcher block set, with matching honey locust burl grips and brass rivets. We caught up with Anthony, mid project, to ask him about his life and work.
“I’m a multimedia artist that performs through the art of blacksmithing and woodworking. I make functional art furniture and home decor, anything from fire pokers to live edge dining room tables. My clients are able to inquire about anything custom they need for their homes. I’ve just kind of arrived at this style that I call artistic wood and forged steel functional art.”
How did you begin doing this?
“I began my business completely selftaught through research on the Internet, starting out with small pieces of jewelry. My inspiration grew for larger pieces from there.”
What inspires your work?
“My inspiration comes from the German and Russian iron work world of fine art furniture that would be considered heirlooms that were made to last. My grandfather, Walter Silva, was a master boat builder and my nostalgic memories of being in his shop as a small child keeps the flame of inspiration alive.”
Make handmade Give handmade Buy handmade
Live handmade
What processes do you use?
“I use a mix of modern and traditional style of tooling for the woodshop and forge. As much as possible I lean more towards traditional joinery and exposed joinery that helps make aesthetic and structurally sound heirloom pieces”
What is the most challenging and the most satisfying?
“The most challenging thing is hard to say, because I feel like I am a natural born artist, with a very vivid imagination. The most satisfying thing would be bringing my clients’ vision to life with my own hands, and seeing the joy expressed on their face on delivery day.”
What else?
“I’ve been a self-employed artist for the last 10 years and a blessed father of four children. My goal is to bring fine art forging to the great Northwest and hopefully inspire other young artists along the way who may have a similar interest as well. I've had a lot of love and support through the blacksmith community that I bought tools from. I have a deep passion to pass on the love and support that was given to me to keep the forges burning bright.”
“When buying from an artist/ maker, you’re buying more than just an object/painting; you are buying hundreds of hours of failures and experimentation. You are buying days, weeks & months of pure joy. You aren’t just buying a thing, you’re buying a piece of heart, part of a soul, a moment of someone’s life. Most importantly, you’re buying the artist more time to do something they are passionate about.”
Anonymous
She speaks their language & changes their ways
What’s your pup really trying to tell you? Bailey Palmer knows. This extraordinary canine coach builds better bonds between dogs and their humans, one loving interaction at a time.
Not long ago, Ranger had a problem. An otherwise sweet and handsome golden retriever, he would go into a wild barking and lunging fit if another dog was anywhere nearby.
“Even the jingle of a dog’s collar down the street would set him off,” says Ranger’s owner, Kari Packer. “It got so bad that I was having to walk him really early or really late to avoid any dogs. It was pretty exhausting.”
And that’s when Bailey Palmer, dog trainer extraordinaire, came to their rescue. “Ranger had the traumatic experience of being attacked by aggressive dogs and was living in a constant state of fear,” she says.
Using the technique of controlled exposure, she helped Ranger understand that other dogs are okay. She brought in her own springer spaniel, June, and moved her progressively closer to Ranger, while showing him the other dog was not a threat.
“We classically reconditioned him to look at June, give her a sniff, check in with his mom and get a treat,” she says. “To realize that another dog can come with good feelings instead of bad.”
Lotus
Ollie
Pacho
Ranger Rocket
Story by David Kilmer Photography by Quicksilver Studios
Today, Ranger is a changed dog. He is happier and more confident, and can walk past dogs that are barking fiercely at him without a reaction. And Kari is a much happier owner. “The gift Bailey gave me was life changing,” she says. “I will forever be grateful to her.”
Bailey’s love of animals comes naturally. As a kid, she had a bird, a cat, then a Jack Russell mix named Otis and more dogs over the years. “My grandparents always had dogs, too, and from a young age I was using their treats to teach them tricks,” she says.
When she was 18, she met a dog who would change her life. That was June, who was just eight weeks old at the time. “She made me question everything I thought I knew,” Bailey says. “She was impossible to potty train, had separation anxiety, pulled like a freight train on the leash and would bark and jump all over anyone walking in the door. I was at my wits end.”
She found professional help, and once she did, discovered that her relationship with her dog had changed forever. She also realized she had a natural talent for understanding animals.
“I wanted to help people who were in my shoes enjoy their dogs again,” she says. “Most of all, I realized if people trained their puppies proactively, the whole thing would be so much easier.” She became a professional trainer and founded Northwest Canine Coaching.
“I love bringing out the best possible relationship between people and their furry friends and igniting that joy,” she says. “I’m also passionate about advocating for our dogs. We must learn how to be fair and true to them. They deserve to have their undying love and loyalty returned, and to be respected as animals.”
“I learn from every single dog I work with, but one of the most influential on my journey is a small, cranky chocolate lab named Lotus with owners who have been willing to do absolutely anything and everything to make her life—and their mutual relationship—safer and happier.”
People always laugh when she tells them the biggest challenge in dog training: It’s not the dog, it’s the people. Much of her work is teaching owners how to “speak dog.”
“Dogs have the same senses as we do, but they see the world very differently,” Bailey says. “They have clear body language, and we can learn to read it like a book by watching the big three in particular—tails, ears and mouth.”
Ollie, a young German shepherd, is another success story. “He was going to be my go-everywhere, do-everything guy,” says his owner Peja Hall. “But at first, I couldn’t take him anywhere.”
As Bailey explained, because Ollie is a working-line shepherd, bred for police and military work, he needed a purpose.
“So Bailey showed him his new job would be walking next to me, his shoulder in line with my leg, and that’s the only thing he needed to think about,” Peja says. “Now we can walk through the crowds at Pike’s Place Market, as easy as can be. Now he really is my do-everything dog.”
It was such a positive experience that Peja was inspired to learn more about the art of dog training. She even adopted another German Shepherd puppy, Beretta, which she trained to compete in canine sports.
“Bailey’s awesome,” she says. “She’s calm and communicative, both to animals and owners. She will pull out all the stops. If something’s not working, she takes a different route until it does.”
“It gives me so much joy to watch the relationship between human and dog become clearer. To see people empowered to take their dogs on a walk or take them camping. The bond between enthusiastic, fulfilled dogs and happy and confident owners is a beautiful thing.”
“Dogs enrich our lives in so many ways with their gifts of unconditional love, friendship and loyalty. You can reciprocate by being mindful of our Canine Golden Rule: treat your dog as you would like to be treated.”
~Linda Tellington-Jones, Ph.D.
Trainer’s tips
Trust
“Your dog is not being defiant; it just doesn’t know what you are asking. Especially puppies. I promise they are not revenge peeing on your rug at 14 weeks old.”
Reward
“If you’re expecting your dog to train and work hard without a paycheck, you’re not being fair. Food is currency to a dog. So pay them!”
Attention
“Dogs don’t use words, so we need to watch and listen. Look at their body language, their breathing. Get down on their level and understand and embrace.”
Sound
“Use an auditory marking system to reinforce behavior, like voice commands or a clicker.”
Technique
“Make sure you’re working with a trainer who’s using scientific, modern methods, someone who is trained and certified through the NePoPo® system, for example.”
Patience
“Dog training takes time, effort, clear communication, rewards and punishments. It is absolutely not a quick or easy journey.”
Fun
“Training should be hard work but enjoyable. Your dog should have their tails high and tongue out, happy and full of personality.”
Bailey with Mila, a Belgian Malinois. She and another Malinois named Roo are competition sport dogs. They travel around the U.S. and compete in a worldwide dog sport called PSA, or Protection Sport Association. They train with a group of friends in Montana called Dirty Bandana Working Dogs.
rocket the chaplain dog
One of the most rewarding animals is Rocket, a Brittany spaniel who works as a first responder therapy dog at the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office.
“These officers have to walk around in a state of hypervigilance all the time,” says Chaplain John McSwain. “But what do you do when the shift is over? How do you make any meaning out of the trauma you’ve seen?”
“Rocket’s personality draws you right in,” says Sergeant Shane Moline. “If the deputies have a bad day or are dealing with something, Rocket helps it all go away. He’s become part of the family pretty quickly.”
Chaplain John, who everybody calls Chappy, spent 37 years as a cop. In retirement, he returned to do the part of the job he loved most: caring for his fellow officers. He found Rocket when the dog needed to be rehomed from Oregon, and the pair have served together ever since.
“After a critical incident, when things are intense and on edge, the team comes in for a debrief,” the chaplain says. “I’ll watch Rocket make the rounds in that debrief room. He will go straight to someone and put his head on their lap. He’ll sense who needs help the most.”
“The nose always knows,” Bailey says.
The dog also provides an excuse for people to let down their guard a little.
“They will come into my office and say, ‘I’m just here to see Rocket,’ John says. “Then after petting him they’ll kick the door shut and say, ‘Can we talk?’”
“Rocket is an incredible asset,” says Lisa Roberts, who works in the admin office. Quite appropriately, the dog’s full AKC-registered name is Sir Rocket the Kindhearted. John’s wife provides homemade freeze-dried treats so the dog will have healthy snacks wherever he goes on his daily rounds of the jail and sheriff’s office.
When a police officer’s wife experienced serious complications during pregnancy, John and Rocket came to visit her multiple times during the weeks she spent in the hospital. Rocket, who became a big hit with the nursing staff, would rest his head on her chest and simply be with her. Happily, mother and baby pulled through just fine.
“These people put their lives on the line every day,” Bailey says. “They need as much comfort as they can. This is why I became a dog trainer in the first place—to help people. Dogs make us find meaning and feel a little less lonely in this world.”
“If one of our team is having a tough day and needs someone to put a smile on their face, Rocket is always there for them.”
~Lisa Roberts, KCSO
Discover Fresh Flavors Every Season
At Seasons of Coeur d’Alene Fresh Grill & Bar
Seasons of Coeur d’Alene Fresh Grill & Bar is locally owned and locally loved! Enjoy delicious, always fresh, house made scratch cuisine & crafted cocktails in our lively bar, intimate fireplace room or private party rooms for groups large & small!
Open Tuesday - Saturday for lunch & dinner.
Just one block north of Sherman Ave.& The Resort, on the corner of Second and Lakeside. seasonsofcda.com 208-664-8008
Dining Guide
BEVERLY’S RESTAURANT
from the seventh floor, with ne dining
Beverly’s, e Coeur d’Alene Resort’s signature restaurant, overlooks the lake in an atmosphere of casual elegance. Praised as one of America’s top restaurants, the newly renovated Beverly’s o ers innovative cuisine using the freshest locally sourced ingredients by season. Reservations suggested.
e Coeur d’Alene Resort 115 S 2nd St., 7th floor Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814 (208) 763-3950 beverlyscda.com
CAPONE’S PUB & GRILL
Capone’s is the sports bar and beer Mecca of Coeur d’Alene, Hayden, Post Falls and now the Ponderosa Golf Course An extreme selection of craft beer (41 on tap), excellent food, and the best pizza in town and a full liquor bar, Capone’s is THE place to be for any sporting event, party or night out.
751 N 4th St. Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814 (208) 667-4843
Also in: Post Falls, Hayden & Ponderosa Golf Course caponespub.com
THAI BAMBOO
Considered one of Coeur d’Alene’s finest restaurants, ai Bamboo has served millions of ai and Asian dish entrées to the greater Spokane & CdA community since opening in 2001. Enjoy our award winning food, amazing decor and top shelf service. Come step inside and be transported to a beautiful, exotic, and tasty place.
(208) 667-5300
2010 N 4th Street
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814 thaibamboorestaurant.com
THE RELIC SMOKEHOUSE & PUB
SWEET LOU’S RESTAURANT AND TAP HOUSE
Open every day, 11am to 10pm Terrific traditional and regional fare. Serving hand-cut steaks, freshly ground burgers, wild salmon and smoked ribs. Family-friendly environment.
601 E Front Ave., CDA (208) 667-1170
477272 US 95, Ponderay (208) 263-1381
6915 E. Athol Crossings Road, Athol (208) 561-9496
sweetlousidaho.com
THE FLOATING GREEN
Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course, this restaurant ma kes a fabulous dining experience for any meal of the day. Northwest-inspired cuisine and tradit ional fare with full bar service and an excellent wine select ion.
e Cd’A Resort Golf Course
900 S Floating Green Dr. Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814 (208) 765-4000
oatinggreenrestaurant.com
THE PENTAGON BISTRO & MARTINI BAR
Distinctively di erent, in Liberty Lake, WA
Open Daily 2:00 pm - 10:00 pm
1400 N Meadowwood Ln. Liberty Lake, WA 99019 (509) 891-7790
VICINO PIZZA
e Relic is a unique barbecue quonset hut. All items are smoke fresh daily. For starters enjoy smoked steelhead, moose turds or a jumbo shrimp cocktail. Our meats are cooked low, slow and serve naked with your choice of house-made specialty sauces. You are sure to leave feeling like part of e Relic family... see you tomorrow!
1901 E Sherman Ave. Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814 (208) 966-4082
relicbbq.com
Neapolitan Style Pizzeria in Riverstone. Wood fired pizzas, salads and the best meatballs in town. CDA’s only 100% Italian wine list. Six draft beers and 5 TVs with NFL Sunday Ticket for the sports fanatic in a casual Italian farmhouse setting. Expansive bar, plus seating at the garage door overlooking our large patio area for outside dining.
2385 N Old Mill Loop Coeur d’Alene, ID (208) 758-7997
vicinopizza.com
The Floating Green Restaurant
WHISPERS
A waterfront lounge with a cool vibe, Whispers is the place where the bar sta put a superb twist on the classic shaker martini, with flavors like Cosmo, Lemon Drop or Chocolate. Get cozy and enjoy a drink indoors or bask in scenic lake views on our outdoor patio.
e Coeur d’Alene Resort
115 S 2nd Street
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814 (208) 765-4000 cdaresort.com
Dining Guide
TITO’S ITALIAN GRILL & WINE SHOP
TAP HOUSE UNCHAINED
Lunch, dinner and 24 craft beers and ciders on tap. is unique cycling-themed bar is the ideal sports watching-location. Build a 6 pack to-go with our extensive Bottle Shoppe collection featuring 250 bottles from over 100 breweries.
210 E Sherman Ave.
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814
(208) 765-4000
cdataphouse.com
JEREMIAH JOHNSON BREWING COMPANY
Our fresh menu features Italian cooking with a Mediterranean twist. We are downtown Coeur d’Alene’s original Italian restaurant, with indoor and outdoor seating on Sherman Ave., private dining area, locally sourced fresh pasta, brick oven and fully stocked bar and premium wine collection in our wine shop.
210 E Sherman Ave. Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814 (208) 667-2782 titoscda.com
THE CEDARS FLOATING RESTAURANT
A Coeur d’Alene landmark that is rich in tradition. Enjoy this unique award-winning floating restaurant with 360˚ views of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Entrees include a large selection of fresh seafood, aged steaks, prime rib and pasta specialties. Located only a few minutes from downtown.
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814
1514 S Marina Dr. (208) 664-2922 cedars oatingrestaurant.com
We are a Montana based craft beer brand with a taproom in Midtown! Since 2019, we’ve been dedicated to bringing people together over fine craft beer and upscale pub grub. Enjoy a rotating selection of our award winning beer in a warm, inviting atmosphere. Join us for Happy Hour and experience where “Montana Meets Midtown.”
We can’t wait to welcome you!
826 N 4th Street
Coeur d’Alene, ID (208) 966-4145 jjbrew.com
THE WHITE HOUSE GRILL
If you want a taste and feel of the Mediterranean while drinking Ouzo and eating a crazy amount of garlic, just drive to Post Falls to be with us in our crazy, noisy, but also romantic White House Grill. Guests can enjoy seasonal outdoor dining on the patio.
“You love garlic; we love you!”
Full bar, extensive wine list, 12 beers on tap.
702 N Spokane Street Post Falls, ID 83854 (208) 777-9672
STYLUS WINE AND VINYL BAR
At Stylus Wine and Vinyl Bar, we believe in the beautiful combination of wine, food and hifi vinyl music.
2605 N 4th St. Ste. 105
Coeur d’Alene, ID (208) 601-6602
styluswineandvinylbar.com
Celebrate your North Idaho getaway at e Coeur d’Alene Resort’s family restaurant, open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner at the water’s edge. Dockside is known for their legendary Gooey Desserts, 18-foot salad bar and stunning views of the Boardwalk and Marina.
e Coeur d’Alene Resort
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814
Dining Guide
MULLIGAN’S BAR & GRILLE
Mulligan’s Bar and Grille features home-style comfort food and is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. ey o er signature dishes such as Mulligan’s legendary omelets, home-style chicken fried steak, premier steaks and seafood and a garden-fresh salad bar.
506 W Appleway Ave. Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814
(208) 765-3200
cdainn.com/mulligans
KOOTENAI RIVER INN
Great Food and Great Service
e Springs Restaurant & Lounge is known for the best steaks and seafood in the region, and you’ll see why when you try our mouth-watering recipes for yourself. Whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner, sample the best our area has to o er while you enjoy riverside views and the wildlife of North Idaho.
(208) 267-8511
7169 Plaza Street Bonners Ferry, Idaho 83805 kootenairiverinn.com
CICCARELLI’S
We specialize in wood fired pizzas and housemade desserts. Enjoy a glass of wine or choose one of the Pacific Northwest beers we carry. Dine in with your friends and family or call ahead for pick up orders. We are open Tuesday through Saturday 3 to 9.
1045 Tea Olive Ln. #104 Coeur d’Alene, ID
ciccarellispizza.com (208) 966-4100
SODALOVE
Sodalove is your one-stop shop for creative, delicious, custom-crafted sodas. We also o er fresh, soft pretzels and delicious cookies, perfect for satisfying your sweet and salty cravings.
“Located at both CDA and Post Falls Super1 locations” mysodalove.com
VINE & OLIVE EATERY AND WINE BAR
Located in the heart of Riverstone o ering European inspired menu executed with NW flair in a warm, inviting atmosphere and industrial chic decor. Dynamic Northwest wine list with interesting imports and 8 local taps. Beautiful private room seats 12 and is home to our floor to ceiling wine club bins. Covered patio seating in the summertime.
2037 N Main St., Coeur d’Alene, ID (208) 758-7770 • vineandolivecda.com
MACKENZIE RIVER PIZZA, GRILL & PUB
PIZZA. BEER. GOOD.
Dine In, Carry Out, or Order Online
405 W Canfield Ave. Coeur d’Alene, ID (208) 772-5111 mackenzieriverpizza.com
THE OVAL OFFICE
BISTRO
& MARTINI BAR
Distinctively di erent, in our original White House location, e Oval Office is a quaint, romantic restaurant that serves Northwest cuisine with a foreign flair. You will love the steaks, ever-changing fresh fish selection and extensive selection of appetizers and martinis to choose from. Take advantage of the best happy hour in the Northwest. 3-6pm and 9-11pm daily.
620 N Spokane Street Post Falls, ID 83854 (208) 777-2102
CRICKET’S
Restaurant & Oyster Bar
Indoor and outdoor seating with a full food menu and the largest liquor selection in downtown Coeur d’Alene! First opened in 1985, Cricket’s has stood the test of time. Maybe it’s because Cricket’s is the only game in town for oysters, or maybe it’s their vast menu that spans from build–your–own pizzas to steaks and sandwiches. Whatever it is, it’s working. Happy Hour from 4pm–7pm.
424 E Sherman Ave. Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814 (208) 765-1990
We specialize in everything from residential new construction all the way to industrial motor controls. We take pride in our craftsmanship and offer an unbeatable 10-year warranty on all our splices and terminations. Utilizing the industries top brands of equipment and installing everything right the first time; it’s no wonder the majority of our business is repeat customers! Read some of our reviews and contact us today for your next quality install.
• In Good Standing with Idaho Division of Building safety
• Veteran Owned & Operated
• Licensed & Insured
• A+ BBB Rating
THE NEXT EVOLUTION IN
FLOORING STORE
OUR STORY
When my wife and I bought our home in Hayden, Idaho in 2010 it had an epoxy garage floor installed by a local contractor. After only a few years, it began to peel up in areas and looked worse as each year passed by. After doing some research, I found out why...
Epoxy floors just don’t stand up to the freeze/thaw cycles we encounter here in the Northwest. I discovered an innovative product from Penntek Industrial Coatings invented in Minnesota where they have similar climate issues and decided to bring it to our area.
We are NOT a franchise and we are locally owned and operated. We introduced Croc Coatings in 2020, bringing this revolutionary flooring system to the area so that others could have a new choice with premium flooring solutions. Since that time, we have installed over 1,000 Croc floors for local residents and businesses.
Exclusive certified installer for Penntek coatings in North Idaho, Spokane and the Tri-Cities. Coeur d’Alene, Hayden, Athol, Dalton Gardens, Rathdrum, Post Falls, Sandpoint, Kellogg, Moscow & All Surrounding Areas
“We started the business with a mission to provide extraordinary floors and service and have grown as a result of delivering on this promise,” affirms Jim.
“However, it’s not all about growth; it’s about serving a true need and delivering exceptional service to our customers.”
We have an exclusive agreement with Penntek Industrial Coatings for North Idaho and Eastern Washington as they are very particular on who they allow to install their floors. Their Lifetime residential manufacturer’s warranty is based on a trusted partnership between Penntek and our Certified installation team.
A perfect solution for all 4 seasons, durable and easy-to-clean Croc floors are a great solution for your garage, basement or outdoor patio and walkways. Let Croc Coatings assist you with innovative new options for your floors.
