Sandpoint Magazine Summer 2007

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25

Years of the Festival at Sandpoint

INSIDE:

SANDPOINT

&

TRAVEL PLANNER

Mountain Biking, Rock Climbing, Long Bridge Swim, Accidental Artists, Who Are We Now?, Bill Mitchell Interview, Bonner County Centennial, ‘Lessons with Love,’ Di Luna’s Dinner Concerts, Calendars, Eats & Drinks, Real Estate ... and more

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M A G A Z I N E

S U M M E R

SANDPOINT

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A Name You Can Trust

RE SORT RE A LTY

With 3 Locations To Serve You SANDPOINT

BONNERS FERRY

SCHWEITZER

202 SOUTH FIRST AVENUE PHONE: 208-263-6802 TOLL-FREE: 800-544-1855

6606 LINCOLN ST. PHONE 208-267-8575 TOLL-FREE: 866-375-8575

155 VILLAGE LANE PHONE: 208-263-9460 TOLL-FREE: 866-673-2352

www.cbsandpoint.com

©Karl Neumann www.karlneumannphoto.com

Welcoming Families To Idaho For Over 30 Years

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Contact The Acreage Expert

{

find him he y a M u re yo

but he’s probably out there ...

©Karl Neumann www.karlneumannphoto.com

The Diamond T Ranch is a 135-acre guest ranch and hay farm which has wonderful views and is teeming with wildlife. It features a three-bedroom main house, six log cabins, classic barn, large shop, two big spring-fed ponds and much more.

The ranch borders a wildlife refuge on the banks of the Clark Fork River! This property would make the ultimate corporate retreat or family compound.

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Farm/Ranch in Vay area consisting of 43 acres, two farm houses, huge shop & barn, pond, hay fields, views, county maintained road, more. $325K

Horse property between Sandpoint & CDA, close to Lake Pend Oreille, Farragut Park and borders timber company land. Features a big shop with living quarters, horse barn, building site with all utilities and septic system, large, fenced pastures with water and electric service, much more $350K

20 acres in the Selle Valley with unbeatable panoramic views and just minutes to Sandpoint.

Has nice timber, rocks features, hill and small yearround creek. $299K

}

10 acres and a large rustic cabin, NE of Sandpoint, with utilities, well, county road frontage and good views. $160K Secondary waterfront lot on Lake Pend Oreille's beautiful Bottle Bay. Nice lot with deeded community beach and dock access, trees and views. $129K

14 acres with small, rustic cabin, great yearround spring, incredible views, good usable land, close to national forest, 14 miles NE of Sandpoint. $75K

For Land, Ranches and Homes with Acreage

Michael White, Realtor Coldwell Banker BS Forest Resources & Ecosystem Management Experienced Forester, Rancher & Outfitter Specializing in Land, Ranches and Homes w/ Acreage

208.290.8599 • www.NorthIdahoLandMan.com

Resort Realty

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Contents

SANDPOINT M A G A Z I N E

PHOTO BY CORY MURDOCK

VOLUME 17, NO. 2

page 72

F E AT U R E S 72 Festival at Sandpoint

Cover story: Musical milestone, 25 years of music under the stars. PLUS: Sold out shows, Festival-goer’s guide, season calendar and poster artists

39 Ponderettes and Pie

Excerpt from Marianne Love’s new book, ‘Lessons with Love’

42 Accidental Artists

Three artists discovered natural inclinations somewhere along their life journeys concerts bring great music to town

53 Centennial Lots of celebrations for Bonner County’s 100th birthday

56 Measuring Change

Photo essay featuring fiveplus pages of images demonstrating how to cool off in summer

95 Scootin’ Sisters MC

The common bond of sisterhood and a passion for motorcycles drives this club

99 Cedar Street Bridge

This distinctive landmark reopens and returns to its roots as a public market

100 Scotchman Peaks

See the splendor for yourself: Go hiking with the Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness

103 Riverside Rocks

Discover six routes on a cliff alongside the Pend Oreille River in this excerpt from ‘Climber’s Guide to North Idaho’

‘Who are we now?’ follows up a decade-ago story.

105 Long Bridge Swim How it PLUS: Sandpoint’s boom brings challenges got started and how it’s grown into one of the country’s largest open-water swim events and now, this year, the U.S. Masters 61 Pend d’Oreille Winery Creating art in a bottle for 12 years now.

Swimming Association championship PLUS: Events, live music and wine

82 Mountain Biking

Around the big lake in four days. PLUS: Pend Oreille Pedalers bike club and other great rides

111 StoneRidge Know-How

After 35 years playing this course, oldtimer Harold ‘Pink’ Pinkham has some advice for fellow golfers

113 College Town

Sandpoint is destined to have a university campus

116 Yurts

Excerpt from Becky Kemery’s new book. PLUS: Two local families who live in the round

170 Lion Ridge: Last Page A hiker comes across a band of mountain goats high in the Selkirk Mountains

D E PA R T M E N T S Almanac 10 Calendar 26 Interview 29 Bill Mitchell, political cartoonist

Natives & Newcomers Real Estate Travel Planner Lodging Eats & Drinks Services SUMMER 2007

121 126 145 145 153 163

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

www.sandpointonline.com

49 Di Luna’s Twice-monthly dinner

88 All Wet

5

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Contributors e d i t o r ’s n o t e For this issue, I decided to take a look at Sandpoint Magazine by the numbers. Here’s what I came up with: 172: Pages.

91: Pages of editorial content.

16: Stories in the almanac department.

18: Feature stories, including three excerpts.

5: Stories in the real estate department.

1: Photo essay.

21: Contributors.

7: In-house staff who worked on this issue.

1: Official office dog.

3: Other dogs who regularly visit the office.

602 (and counting): E-mails filed in the editor’s inbox pertaining to this issue.

188: Display advertisers.

17: Volumes completed with this issue.

Of those 17 years of Sandpoint Magazine, I’ve worked 16 and a half of them. There is no better way to get to know our town and its people than writing for and editing this magazine. That’s what I’ve enjoyed most over the years – meeting so many wonderful people who otherwise would have remained strangers to me. Read on, and you’ll get to know some of them, too.

Finally, all I can say about this issue is that there is a lot to read. Hence, there was a lot to edit. To quote Forrest Gump, “I’m a little tired now. I think I’ll go home.” Summer is on its way, and I have to rest up for all the fun!

–B.J.P.

www.sandpointonline.com

On the cover: Sandpoint Magazine commissioned Janene Grende to create this beautiful painting on silk, “Midsummer Moose,” of the Festival at Sandpoint as seen from Gold Hill; coverage begins on page 72. Not coincidentally, Grende is this year’s festival poster artist; see story, page 77.

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Sandpoint Magazine is published twice yearly, in May and November, by Keokee Co. Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 722, Sandpoint, ID 83864.

E-mail: inbox@keokee.com Web: www.keokee.com Phone: (208) 263-3573 Publisher Chris Bessler Editor Billie Jean Plaster Editorial Assistant Amie Wolf Advertising Director Scott Johnson Account Executive Dylan Amundson Art Director Laura White Administration Carole Eldridge Contributors Jenna Bowers, Terri Casey, Brent Clark, Sandy Compton, Cassandra Cridland, Stephen Drinkard, Susan Drinkard, Trish Gannon, Chris Guibert, Cate Huisman, Becky Kemery, Marlisa Keyes, Keith Kinnaird, Thaddeus Laird, Marianne Love, Sheryl Montague Bussard, Sherry Ramsey, Carrie Scozzaro, Laurel Wagers, Pam Webb and Dianna Winget The entire contents of Sandpoint Magazine are copyright ©2007 by Keokee Co. Publishing, Inc. No part may be reproduced in any fashion. Subscriptions: $9 per year, payable in advance. Send all address changes to the address above. Visit our Web magazine published at www.sandpointonline.com. Printed in USA

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

Following up on a 10-year-old story was sobering for Sandy Compton, for it brought home to him how much had changed in a decade (“Who are we now?” page 56). But, he also expounds on places that haven’t changed in 100 centuries – Scotchman Peaks (page 100). Between times, he checked to see what’s happening to celebrate Bonner County’s 100th birthday (page 53), took a look at TerraPen Geographics (page 12) and explored agritourism around Sandpoint (page 20).

Chris Guibert is on a perpetual visual journey. Not satisfied with the 9-to-5 lifestyle, he has spent his adult life trying to avoid any kind of office job. Receiving his degree at age 31 in photography, he has been on a mission to find peace on earth, drink wine and unite humans in his new world vision. He teamed up with Ian Phalen on the story “4 days around the big lake,” page 82.

Ian Phalen

is looking at his mid-30s with optimism. A misspent youth chock full of memorable people, places and adventures will be a challenge to top. As a dedicated dirt bag, he has managed to sustain an outdoor lifestyle in many creative ways. He believes that in order to tell an entertaining story one must first live it.

Cate Huisman

has lived seven years in Sandpoint, where she works as a freelance writer and editor. Most of her work is conducted via the Internet; she likes writing for Sandpoint Magazine because she has actually met the people she works with there. Also, writing for this local publication has helped her get to know the rest of her community, whose members continually amaze her. She wrote the Festival at Sandpoint cover story (page 72) and much of the Real Estate Department (Page 126).

Thad Laird

is a freelance author and copywriter who has been exploring the mountains in and around Sandpoint for the past six years. Laird’s articles have appeared in Mountainfreak, The Mountain Gazette, Mountainzone.com, Idaho Golf and Shift, and he is a frequent contributor to Sandpoint Magazine. Laird was most recently published in a travel anthology titled “The Best Travel Writing of 2007” (Travelers Tales, 2007). He is currently putting the final touches on a new guidebook about rock climbing, excerpted in this isssue (“Climber’s Guide,” page 103). See www.thadlairdcreative.com.

Marianne Love

helped classmates remove nuts and bolts from seats in the original Sandpoint High School auditorium when she was in the seventh grade. That vandalism did not go undetected; they performed penance. Decades later, while doing her story about the restoration of the old school (page 134), she visited the auditorium and saw a pigeon flying around the room. She wondered, “Could that possibly be the ghost of Principal Charlie Stidwell reminding me to behave in that hallowed chamber?” An excerpt from her new memoir, “Lessons with Love,” starts on page 39.

Carrie

Although she’s lived in North Idaho 12 years, is still discovering Sandpoint’s many treasures. As a new contributor to Sandpoint Magazine, she logged a lot of miles and minutes traveling to speak with artists (“Accidental artists,” page 42) and restaurant owners (Eats & Drinks, page 153) from Hope to all around Sandpoint. When she’s not in her studio or tracking down arts and food stories for The Inlander, Carrie teaches art full-time at Timberlake High School.

Scozzaro

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www.ironhorseatsandpoint.com

Iron Horse Ranch is a private community. The 380-acre property will be limited to 24 homesites, ranging from 5 to 12 acres. Over 200 acres will be dedicated to open space.

Just 15 minutes to Sandpoint, Lake Pend Oreille, Schweitzer Ski Resort and the prestigious Idaho Club. Homesites will enjoy magnificent views of open meadows and the surrounding Selkirk and Cabinet Mountains. Information (866) 876-1870 x 1014

Paula Kamp 208.290.5768

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The Yellow House, by Vincent Van Gogh

Tomlinson Black Sandpoint is pleased to announce it has joined the Sotheby’s International Realty® network, representing distinctive properties in Sandpoint, Idaho. Tomlinson Black Sandpoint will now be doing business as Tomlinson Sandpoint Sotheby’s International Realty.

© MMVII Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Yellow House, © Van Gogh Museum/Superstock, Inc., used with permission. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a licensed trademark to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity . Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated.

Tomlinson Sandpoint Sotheby’s International Realty 200 Main Street Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 local 208.263.5101 toll free 1.800.282.6880 fax 208.263.3888 TomlinsonSandpointSothebysRealty.com

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Almanac

Page 10

Who, What and Why in Greater Sandpoint

A genuine Wild West character Woman had career performing with The Cisco Kid

T

www.sandpointonline.com

he cast of characters that

10

Karin Pedersen names off reads like a who’s who of classic Western movies and famous circus acts.

At 79, she is one of the last remaining members of the Wild West shows that toured in the 1950s and into the early ’60s with Duncan Renaldo, who was best known in film and TV as “The Cisco Kid.” “When you worked with these people in the old days, they were so wonderful, so realistic,” said Pederson, as she recalled actors such as Renaldo, Leo Carillo, Ben Johnson, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans; circus performers such as the Wallenda, Chitwood and Fox families; and stunt people such as the Epper family.

In 1953, at age 19, the Norwegian native, who was the daughter of a merchant mariner, immigrated to the United States. She first landed in New York City, where she had relatives, and she didn’t know any English. “If you want to make a living, you learn (English) really fast,” she said.

Soon she met and married in 1954 her first husband, Frank “Black Jack” Matts, a horseman who worked for different studios and who acted as “Bad Man” with The Cisco Kid. Living in a “horse enclave” in California’s San Fernando Valley, Pedersen naturally became a horsewoman herself, particularly a team roper. In 1955, she joined her husband performing in live Wild West shows for the next eight years.

“I was like a duck taking to water,” she said, of learning to ride horses. “It was an amazing thing. I knew so little and was thrown into a whole pot of cowboys – movie stars.”

The troupe typically traveled from April to November, performing Western skits in thrill shows all over the United States and Canada. “Nothing was perfect. It wasn’t so rehearsed as today. It wasn’t glamorous,” she said.

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

rode a black-and-white paint horse with a bald face, named Diablo. He successfully transferred the series to TV in the early 1950s with his trusty sidekick Pancho, played by Carillo.

Pedersen and her husband were married for 16 years and had one child, a daughter named Marlis; they later divorced. In 1974, she married Larry Pedersen, a fellow horseperson whom

Karin Pedersen today, above; and with Frank Matts, her first husband, and Duncan Renaldo, “The Cisco Kid,” right, in 1959

They traveled with their own horses and had to recruit extra horses in each town where they performed. While on the circuit, she also became friends with some of the most famous circus performers of the day.

“It was a very exciting time,” Pederson said. It was also hard work, but the entertainers were as close as family. She calls it a “lost era.”

Pedersen speaks highly of Renaldo – a respectful, charming, handsome man who cared about the people he worked with. “I don’t know why I didn’t fall in love,” she said, laughing.

Renaldo started acting in the 1920s and played both heroic sidekicks and villains in some of Hollywood’s big Westerns of the 1930s and ’40s. In 1945, he began The Cisco Kid film series, built around a character who

she met through a friend when she was getting out of show business. They lived on a ranch on the Santa Ynez River in Santa Barbara, Calif., and Karin continued roping in rodeos, competing in hunter/jumper horse shows and training horses. She also took up the sport of diving in 1967, becoming a professional diver and later working in a diving shop.

Married for 34 years, the Pedersens moved to Sandpoint three years ago and built a home on the Pack River in the country north of town. They sold their horses before they moved.

Today, she says she has two wishes left: taking a horse-packing trip for a week and cruising around Norway.

“I’ve never had a bored day in my life,” she said. “I’ve had a very exciting life.”

–Billie Jean Plaster

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Who, What and Why in Greater Sandpoint

Almanac

Dr. Bird, the inventor’s inventor Opens museum combining his loves: invention and aviation

D

Pam and Dr. Forrest Bird will display four aircraft at a time inside the new museum.

has been instrumental in planning the facility and collecting material to exhibit. She is a nationally recognized commercialization expert who has counseled thousands of inventors and entrepreneurs for more than two decades. Pam founded and is the CEO of Innovative Product Technologies, a consulting business specializing in market commercialization.

The museum’s exhibits go beyond inventions, though. Aircraft from Forrest’s collection of 18 airplanes and three helicopters will be displayed. The Birds are attempting to match each aircraft with an antique motor vehicle of the same vintage.

“We want to make it a little higher level than just throwing something together,” Forrest said. “No one has ever had an aero-medical museum.”

The unique facility will have something for everyone, from the past, present and future, he added.

The museum will be available for

public and private events, as well as school groups and classes, coordinated

by Rachel Riddle, Pam’s daughter and the museum’s director of community relations and education.

The museum will also include displays on three local companies, Coldwater Creek, Litehouse Foods and Dietrich Manufacturing.

“This is Sandpoint. This is our town.

We want to honor some of them (entrepreneurs) who have been really effective,” Forrest said.

Dr. Bird, who turns 86 in June, says being an entrepreneur is more difficult nowadays, and the inventive spirit seems to be waning in the United States. He feels strongly about preserving invention history. “I’m going to leave something behind,” he said.

Call (208) 265-0407 or look up www.imaginationtakesflight.com for more about the museum and its grand opening.

www.sandpointonline.com

r. Forrest Bird calls himself a pack rat who has been collecting memorabilia since World War II. The world-famous doctor and aviator – renowned for inventing the respirator and ventilator – is now putting all those mementos where they belong: in a museum.

He and his wife, Pamela Riddle Bird, Ph.D., broke ground fours years ago for a 16,000-square-foot building at their Sagle property in Glengary Bay and are preparing to open the Bird Aviation Museum and Invention Center on July 7, 2007.

“This will honor Forrest’s legacy,” Pam said. “Forrest Bird would be to the pulmonary industry what Bill Gates would be to Microsoft.”

The museum will exhibit prototypes of Dr. Bird’s inventions, as well as dozens of prototypes by world-famous inventors, some of whom plan to be at the museum’s opening. All have been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, an honor bestowed on Dr. Bird in 1995. Planning to attend (confirmed at the end of April) are Dr. Ted Hoff, inventor of the microprocessor; Dr. Jim West, who patented the electret microphone; Dr. Robert H. Rines, inventor of sonar and radar; Frank J. Cepollina, leader of the Hubble Space Telescope program and inventor of satellite servicing techniques; and Vinton Cerf, co-inventor of Internet Protocol.

Another notable attendee is 92-yearold aviator David Lee “Tex” Hill, one of the original Flying Tigers. Pam said that Hill responded to their invitation to come to the museum’s opening with these words: “Honey, as long as there is a plane, I’ll be there.”

“Meet and Greet the Inventor,” an event open to the public, is part of the opening celebration. A flyover and a fly-in, with at least 50 aircraft expected, are also being organized.

Pam, acting as the museum’s curator,

–Billie Jean Plaster

SUMMER 2007

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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Almanac

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Who, What and Why in Greater Sandpoint

Panhandle Alliance for Education When William Berg, an attorney, and his wife, retired editor Mindy Cameron, moved to Sandpoint, they wanted to become part of the community – to make a difference. Seeing there was no charitable foundation supporting local schools, they decided to start one.

Created in 2002, Panhandle Alliance for Education (PAFE) is an independent, community-based foundation working to promote excellence in education within the Lake Pend Oreille School District and the Sandpoint Charter School.

The core of the PAFE program is an endowment fund held with the Idaho Community Foundation. The endowment is now valued in excess of $1 million, an outstanding achievement for a five-year time period in a community the size of Sandpoint.

“Five percent of the endowment fund is available to us each year in perpetuity,” said Executive Director Marcia Wilson. This money combined with additional amounts raised through donations and fundraising events –

such as the Summer Sunset Gala and the Coldwater Creek Golf Tournament – provide the revenue.

A mutual acquaintance introduced Berg to Georgia Shonk-Simmons, president and chief merchandising officer of Coldwater Creek. “She was looking for an effective way to do her charitable thing, which has always been something for children.

She liked what we were doing, and we kind of partnered in a sense. We invited her on the board and it’s been just fabulous from there,” said Berg.

Each year PAFE provides grants for teachers. The amount available has grown from $35,000 during the first year to $125,000 available for 2007-08.

Teachers are enthusiastic about the ease of the process and the difference the money makes in their classrooms.

“PAFE put wings on my idea of getting a projector for my classroom,” said Pam Webb, an English teacher at

PHOTO BY DOUG MARSHALL

Serving up opportunities for schools

The Summer Sunset Gala is a major fundraiser.

Sandpoint High School.

“We’re very thankful for their commitment to student learning,” said Jayne Sturm, a Northside Elementary teacher.

Added Berg: “It is encouraging our teachers to find effective ways to teach the ordinary. These teachers are full of great ideas, and a few hundred dollars or a few thousand dollars makes a huge difference.”

Look up www.panhandle alliance.org to learn more.

–Cassandra Cridland

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Geographics was born in 2004.

Sylvie Amezcua White drew her first map TerraPen has since produced a shaded-relief when she was 10 – of the imaginary town of map of the proposed Scotchman Peaks wilderOshkosh, By Gosh. “I had no idea,” she said with a ness and a mining location map for Rock Creek laugh, “that Oshkosh was a real place.” She is still Alliance, among others. Last summer, TerraPen making maps, but she has added real places to her published a Lake Pend Oreille Recreation Map – subject matter. a super-durable, printed-on-vinyl, field-checked, White, a professional cartographer since 1993, large-scale, shaded-relief version in glorious moved to Sandpoint in 1997 from Davis, Calif., color depicting all kinds of sites and data. where she had worked on NASA and Jet Propulsion “My mission with TerraPen,” said White, “is to Laboratory projects. “It was a swords-into-plowmake great maps that are beautiful, easy to use shares kind of project, taking military imagery and and accurate.” The Lake Pend Oreille map also turning it to civilian applications,” she said. comes unfolded, so it can be framed.

In Sandpoint, White held a variety of jobs before White’s next project is a Priest Lake Recreation finding a spot with Inter Mountain Resources, making – you guessed it – maps. As a creative sort, she also Sylvie White field-checks the Panhandle map, due out in June 2007. www.terrapen.com. tried a variety of creative outlets. None were as satis- Tour Travel Map using a GPS. –Sandy Compton fying, or as productive, as making maps. So TerraPen PHOTO BY K. ROBINSON / TPG

www.sandpointonline.com

She puts our little corner of the world on a map

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Who, What and Why in Greater Sandpoint

Almanac

Remembering Sundance 40 years later

Founding father

For Randy Langston, his sum-

David Thompson honored

mer job as a fire lookout was just about cut short when the Sundance Fire advanced at him on 95-mph winds on Sept. 1, 1967. The 18-year-old Forest Service employee hunkered in the cliffs to survive the firestorm that hurtled branches above his head on Roman Nose Mountain.

Two other men were not as fortu-

exploding out of the ground’ around him, and he had to turn back after almost being caught in the fire,” Chris said. After his father died of heart complications in January 2006, Chris contacted Langston. “Randy said, ‘The animals were running one way and he was going the opposite way.’ After contacting the fire boss, Langston went back to the lookout and cliffs to wait

–Brent Clark

–Amie Wolf

SUMMER 2007

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

www.sandpointonline.com

out the advancing flames,” he said.

The next day, Sept. 2, 1967, Langston was picked up by helicopter, and the bodies of the two men killed, Luther P. Rodarte of Santa Maria, Calif., and Lee Collins of Thompson Falls, Mont., were retrieved. The fire ultimately consumed 55,910 acres in the Selkirk Mountains, at one point traveling 16 miles in nine hours.

Naccarato said it would be great to commemorate the survivors of Sundance Fire and the firefighters that sacrificed their lives with a plaque and time capsule on Roman Nose or near Sundance Mountain, as part of the 40-year anniversary “when the mountains roared.”

ered Idaho during their government-sponsored expedition across North America, but Canadian fur trader and renowned mapmaker David Thompson often gets overlooked for his contributions in U.S. history books. On May 26, the Bonner County Historical Society is unveiling a bicentennial exhibit at Sam Owen Campground in Hope honoring David Thompson and Kullyspel House, the trading post he established on the Hope Peninsula in 1809.

One of the first white people to come to the area, Thompson arrived in northern Idaho in September 1809 with the North West Co. and returned frequently over the next few years during his explorations. In the short time he spent at Lake Pend Oreille, Thompson made quite an impact, according to Ann Ferguson, the museum curator.

Thompson, who spoke several native languages, developed solid trade relations with the Native Americans in the traditional Canadian approach. Although Kullyspel House was abandoned in 1811, Thompson’s journals provide a valuable historical account. “He left the first written record of the area and peoples,” said Ferguson.

After the unveiling, Jack Nisbet, author of “Sources of the River: Tracking David Thompson Across Western North America” (2004, Sasquatch Books) is giving a presentation, followed by a reenactment of Canadian fur-trading practices and a demonstration on the navigation device used in the early 1800s, the sextant. A grant is also paying for a similar exhibit at the Bonner County Historical Society Museum and a traveling version of the exhibit.

Besides keeping Thompson’s legacy alive, Ferguson hopes the new exhibit will serve another purpose. “It would be nice to get people interested in learning more about the Indian people. He came and left and they are still here,” said Ferguson.

Ross Hall captured this dramatic image, “Sundance Rescue,” at Roman Nose Lookout in September 1967.

nate; their lives were cut short after being trapped in the heat and flames while seeking refuge beneath a bulldozer in the Pack River drainage.

Langston moved on in life as an adventurous traveler and missionary in Europe and later met his wife, Lori.

They lived in Colorado Springs, Colo., for the past 10 years. She said her husband had been battling cancer for many years before he died last year.

“He knew he was going to die. He didn’t show any fear,” she said.

Another firestorm survivor, Junior “Mr. Nick” Naccarato, shared the story with his son, Chris Naccarato, about the day he tried to save Langston by driving up the Ruby Creek Road – until fear took over.

“My dad said, ‘The trees were

Lewis and Clark may have discov-

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Who, What and Why in Greater Sandpoint

The mural artist strikes again Diana Schuppel has taken on her biggest “canvas” to date – a section of concrete retaining wall nearly a quartermile long at the entrance to the town of Priest River. “When you stand at the center of the mural, you can’t see the ends,” she said.

Tracing a century-long history of the logging industry in the timber town, the mural includes images of the wild woods with herons, bears and moose; loggers using technology from crosscut saws to helicopters; “river pigs” moving logs downstream; and the town that was built where the Pend Oreille and Priest rivers meet. Osprey and eagles keep a watchful eye.

The work began with a detailed design by Lynn Guier of Lynn Guier Associates. Animator and digital designer Rod Stafford created a video of the planned mural – all 19 sections – that is available at the West Bonner County Library or online at www.priestriver.org/mural with overall and section-by-section views. Design images are projected for placement onto marine-board panels – their finished size will vary from 2.5 feet to 7.5 feet high – and Schuppel brings them to life with her brushes and rich detail.

The first panels were mounted in Priest River at the end of April; more are going up as sections are completed.

This grand-scale portrayal of history is being supported financially by the Priest River Chamber of Commerce, local sponsors and grant funding.

Schuppel’s murals in Sandpoint include a recent project with Sandpoint Charter School and the Arts Alliance at the post office; the west side of the Common Knowledge Book Store on Main Street; and the Secret Garden children’s area of the Sandpoint Library. On a smaller scale, Schuppel has illustrated 10 books, most recently “The Kids in Mrs. Hildebrand’s Class” by Sandpoint teacher Linda Dallmann. She was selected as the Festival at Sandpoint poster artist for 1999, and has shown her work in Artwalk displays and other exhibits locally and out of town.

PHOTO BY LAUREL WAGERS

Paints the town of Priest River

Diana Schuppel works on a panel at her home before it was installed in Priest River.

–Laurel Wagers

www.sandpointonline.com

Miracle at Memorial Field

14

Memorial Field is Sandpoint’s most beloved sports field, home to more than half a century of cherished memories.

“The old field was dedicated War Memorial Field in 1951,” said Gene Littlefield, who helped build the wooden grandstands in the 1950s.

Last summer, Sandpoint Department of Parks and Recreation called in a structural engineer to assess the dry rot and general disrepair of the grandstands to see what needed to be done.

The city had $4,000 for the project, but it needed a substantially larger sum to bring the grandstands up to code. Panhandle State Bank and Litehouse Foods spearheaded a fundraising event, each pledging to match donations up to $10,000.

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

In cooperation with local media, businesses and schools, organizers planned a one-day fundraiser at Memorial Field, staying until the required amount was raised.

“We brought our tents and were ready to camp out,” said Kim Woodruff, Parks and Recreation director, “but we met and exceeded our goal before evening. ... In a matter of hours we raised over $30,000.”

With the pledges and the city’s savings, this brought the grand total to $55,000 in only one afternoon. “This community is notorious for that,” said Woodruff. “When it’s time to save something that’s of value to them – and kids are of high importance – they step up to the plate.”

–Sherry Ramsey

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Who, What and Why in Greater Sandpoint

It pays to go to the dogs Matt Haughton, a 21-year-old

www.sandpointonline.com

Sandpoint man, is known for doing crazy things. In fact, putting on a dog shock collar is, as he puts it, “the least interesting thing I’ve done.” But in doing so he became a $10,000 winner on the ABC television show, America’s Funniest Home Videos, when this hilarious video aired Oct. 29, 2006.

The video was a result of brainstorming ways to earn money for family friend Linda Scofield, who wanted to take her family to Disneyland. Scofield filmed Haughton enduring all six levels of the shock collar.

“Wearing the shock collar really was a favor for Linda and her family,” Matt said. “At the third level the collar pulses at about 10 to 12 volts. I had two red welts on my neck once we were done filming.”

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SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

As painful as it sounds, Haughton’s reaction to each increasing voltage strength was comical. The video clip was selected as a $10,000 winning entry; then qualified, along with five others, for the $100,000 competition.

Haughton and Scofield went to Hollywood, Calif., for the $100,000 competition show, where he relished his celebrity status. “It was great! ABC paid our way to the studio. They paid for three days and two nights in a Marriott hotel, giving us $200 spending money, meals and a rental car.”

Although they didn’t win the $100,000 competition, the adventure turned out well for the pair. Scofield and family made it to Disneyland, and Haughton enjoyed his adventure in Los Angeles. He even came home with $60 to spare from his expenditure money.

COURTESY PHOTO

Local dude wins $10,000 from AFV

Matt Haughton, center, and Linda Scofield, right, appeared on AFV and got a free family vacation.

Haughton had big plans for his new riches: “I’ll pay off my truck, and buy recording studio gear.”

Go to www.youtube.com and search “dog shock collar on human man” to see the clip.

–Pam Webb

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Who, What and Why in Greater Sandpoint

Almanac

Caught on tape Heather Pedersen was a homeschooling mom when she got an e-mail in February 2006 inviting children to apply for a BBC show, My Life as a Child. She thought it would be a good way to “break up the three R’s.”

Her daughter, Rio, then 10, applied by video and, from 500 applicants, was accepted as one of 20 in the United States to participate. The children, aged 7 to 11, were given digital cameras to film their lives, providing a snapshot of American life through their eyes.

Amassing 28 hours of film over several months in 2006, the Sandpoint girl diligently taped herself, older brother Kipling, little brother Selkirk, and her parents, Bruce and Heather. BBC America staff also taped the family three times in different locations.

Almost a year later, the segment – an

up-close, humorous look at the family – aired April 2 on TLC. A week later, the Pedersens held an airing party at Sandpoint Charter School, where Rio had been attending sixth grade.

“As parents we try to give our children wings, and once in a while we get to see them fly,” Heather said, as she introduced the show.

World travelers who pursue a global education, the Pedersens appeared at home, on vacation and on business during 15 minutes of airtime. “My family is not normal,” Rio said, early in the segment, as they embarked onto their private plane.

COURTESY PHOTO

Girl documents family life

A horse-loving tomboy, Rio Pedersen, left, plays around with brothers Kipling and Selkirk.

Rio now considers filmmaking a possible career. “I think that it was really fun, a good experience, and it got me a taste of filming,” she said.

Look up http://tlc.discovery.com and search My Life as a Child to learn more.

–Billie Jean Plaster

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Almanac

A triathlete’s mission Triathlete Jeff Smith may be the most self-disciplined young man in Sandpoint. To achieve his athletic goals, he has to be. Smith has Olympic dreams for 2012.

The Sandpoint-born-and-raised athlete was recently nominated an AllAmerican Olympic Distance Triathlete for 2006. Smith, 25, has competed in triathlons for the past four years, winning The Onion Man in Walla Walla the last two years; overall winner of the 2006 Blue Lake Triathlon in Portland, Ore.; and he won his age division (2529) in the 2006 WildFlower, a race with more than 2,000 competitors in San Antonio, Calif., placing third overall. Of the three legs – swimming, biking and running – Smith is strongest on the bike; he was an elite level crosscountry mountain biker and part of a top-level cycling team at Walla Walla College in Washington.

Every day is a focused one for Smith,

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SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

Jeff Smith competes in the 5430 One-Half Ironman competition in Boulder, Colo., where he finished second in his age category in August 2006. His goal is to place in the top five at the International Triathlon Union World Championships for Olympic Distance in Hamburg, Germany in August.

He keeps time-honored profession alive Handmade harnesses are getting harder to come by with only 100 harness makers left in the United States. Steve Henricks, age 59, of Bonners Ferry embraced the profession more than 30 years ago in a logging camp in western Oregon where he kept alive the time-honored tradition of horse logging.

“There was a gentleman who made the harness that was on the first team I bought,” said Henricks. “I asked if he’d repair the harness that my team had broken.”

The man informed Henricks that he was retired. “I told him if he would show me how, I’d happily do the repairs myself.” The old harness maker’s eyes lit up, and soon Henricks was fixing his own harnesses along with everyone else’s.

According to Henricks, his craft is a dying profession in this country. “In 1895 harness making was the fifth-largest industry in America, because everybody was using horses,” he said. “Today there are only a few people who drive horses.” Henricks raised Belgian workhorses for 22 years and used them to log, farm

PHOTO BY SHERRY RAMSEY

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COURTESY PHOTO

Smith aims for Olympic glory

Steve Henricks

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whose workout regimen was developed by expert-level coach and his inspiration, Lindsay Hyman of Carmichael Systems (who works side-by-side with Chris Carmichael, Lance Armstrong’s coach).

That regimen is a calculated one that varies from day to day, but it might comprise an hour and a half of running at various levels of intensity and swimming 5,000 meters, which for Smith means 80 to 90 minutes of 5 a.m. workouts. He says he is starving every two hours, but he does not eat grains, meat, or dairy; nutrition is closely monitored as a component of fitness.

As he thumbs through Inside Triathlon magazine, Smith says, “I just want to call attention to endurance sports. People don’t know how hard endurance athletes work.”

Smith, who has a degree in business administration and exercise physiology, is a personal trainer for Coldwater Creek as he trains for 10 races this season.

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and show at county and state fairs.

Henricks sells his handmade harnesses and accessories out of his shop, Northwest Harness & Leather, a few miles north of Bonners Ferry, but the majority of his business is done through his Web site, www.nwhl.net, where he gets orders from around the world. “I’ve shipped to England, Germany and Australia but mainly the United States,” he said.

Henricks sells parts to hobby farmers and people who enjoy making their own harnesses. The most interesting thing he has put together is a reproduction of harness equipment from a well-known movie. “A guy sent me a picture of the harness that was used in the movie, ‘Ben Hur,’ and we made a harness from that photo,” he said.

–Sherry Ramsey

SUMMER 2007

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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Who, What and Why in Greater Sandpoint

Agritourism turns tradition to tourism innovation Want to get up close and personal with an alpaca? Have a hankering to learn how to grow (and market) your own food?

Opportunities are available for a weekend, a week or a whole season of farm experience.

Agritourism is a growing phenomena; trading urban living for a country experience.

Near Sandpoint, several farms offer visitors a chance to put on a pair of gloves and help – or just watch.

Mitch Rivkin’s Solstice Farm in the rich floodplain east of Bonners Ferry provides room, board and a stipend to folks who wish to learn about organic farming from the inside out during a season on the farm. He said: “They learn about crop rotation, organic pesticides … and manual labor, which some don’t have a clue about. The first weeks are a trial for them – and us. Most of those who come have stayed, though.”

At Greentree Naturals on Rapid Lightning Creek northeast of Sandpoint, Diane Green and her husband, Thom Sadoski, host organic

A little tourist gets closer to the alpacas at From the Heart Ranch.

gardening workshops that stretch across the summer from May 21 to July 30, attracting people from all over the region. They also plan an organic wine tasting in cooperation with Pend Oreille Pasta and two Delightfully Decadent Sunday Afternoon Teas, July 22 and Aug. 12.

Robyn Kuhn at From the Heart Ranch is a neighbor of Green’s with an alpaca operation.

Guests at From the Heart can get deeply involved in daily chores if they choose, but Kuhn says only about 20 percent of her visitors do. “Initially, they want to be real involved,” she said, “but as soon as they meet the animals, they just want to hang out with them.”

Both Rivkin and Green are active in farmers’ markets in Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry. “We work with community-supported agriculture,” Green said, “and that means getting people out to see the farm where the food is grown.”

For some of these visitors, anyway, that means also getting into the rhythm of the place and digging in the dirt themselves.

Other farms in the area that invite interns, as Rivkin does, are listed at www.organic volunteers.com and include Livengood Tree Farms in Dover, Birch Grover Nursery in Ponderay, and SkyLines Farm Sheep and Wool in Harvard, Idaho.

–Sandy Compton

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SUMMER 2007

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Who, What and Why in Greater Sandpoint

Almanac

Country store puts out a country newspaper The Co-Op Country Store in Ponderay really is an old-time country store, and the Co-Op Country Round-Up, a bimonthly publication put out by the store, is an old-time country newspaper.

It all started seven years ago when Kathy Osborne, then in charge of marketing, was dissatisfied with the advertising venues available to promote the store. “We decided to do this instead,” she said, and the Round-Up was launched.

Since then it has grown into a 20page, full-color newspaper that is mailed to homes in Bonner and Boundary counties in Idaho, and parts of Sanders and Lincoln counties in Montana – more than 40,000 copies each issue. It uses the talents of four employees including Osborne, who is the editor. “I didn’t know anything at all about doing a newspaper when I started this,” she said,

laughing, “but we relied heavily on community resources and it’s been a lot of fun to learn.”

The Round-Up is “a newspaper for people who live rurally, on a small acreage somewhere,” said Osborne. “It’s for people who love that kind of lifestyle, or want to live that kind of lifestyle sometime in the future, or maybe those who have moved away from the farm and want to remember what it’s like.”

A recent issue is typical of the coverage: recipes, a story on the building of a barn, instruction on the equipment needed for feeding animals in winter, stories on other local businesses that cater to a country lifestyle, and a “roundup” of facts on legislation regarding water rights.

“The political stories are the hardest for me,” Osborne said, “but it’s wonderful when people tell me that they love our newspaper. It makes all the hard

work worthwhile.”

Look for the Round-Up in your mailbox, or stop by the store, on Tibbetts Way in Ponderay, to pick up a copy. And enjoy a country lifestyle.

–Trish Gannon

www.sandpointonline.com

SUMMER 2007

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Almanac

A taste of history Since 1985, Amberleaf Designs has provided innovative interior design for homes ranging from rustic to contemporary standards.

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League (CAL) knows what’s cooking in town.

The non-profit organization, which has grown to nearly 200 women since its creation in 1979, released “Savoring Sandpoint: Recipes Across the Long Bridge” in December 2006.

The cookbook features more than 250 family recipes donated by CAL members and a handful of local restaurants. CAL President Helen Williams-Baker said creating the lengthy cookbook took nearly four years of extensive research – and lots of sampling – by the tasting committee.

Many of the double-tested recipes in “Savoring Sandpoint” pay homage to the region, with names like “Snow on the Mountain” and “Albeni Club Salad Dressing,” and oodles call for the native huckleberry.

The cookbook is also a tribute to pioneer women who broke into the traditionally maledominated publishing industry by writing cookbooks, according to Diana Carlson, the CAL member who edited the cookbook.

“In the early West, it was hard to be a female writer,” said Carlson. She also hoped the book would represent “a common bond in

the community” by including photos from residents and organizations. Many were donated by the Bonner County Historical Society or borrowed from family collections.

Magnificent landscape and historical photos were also contributed by local professional photographers.

The snapshots paired with traditional and ethnic-inspired recipes create a delicious culinary journey from past to present.

Proceeds from “Savoring Sandpoint” will help CAL continue to give back to the area in the form of grants and scholarships. The book has 383 pages in a comb binding and sells for $25. A collector’s item that will not be reprinted, it is sold exclusively at Bizarre Bazaar, 105 Vermeer in Ponderay.

–Amie Wolf

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Teens don’t mince words at Poetry Slam

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SUMMER 2007

The Rude Girls Room at the Sandpoint Library filled with an overflow crowd on April 12, where more than 30 seventh- through 12th-graders participated at the first annual Sandpoint Poetry Slam.

The event replaced the Young Writers of the Lost Horse conference.

Christine Holbert, Lost Horse Press publisher said: “We wanted something different. We want to keep the students interested and stimulated, and poetry slams are popular these days.”

Hannah Vogel, a junior at Sandpoint High, won first place for her poem, “We Knew Each Other in High School.” Stefania Glenn, a 10thgrader, placed second, and eighth-graders Maggie Miller and Mason Hannah Vogel Foster tied for third.

Holbert, also the founder of Get Lit! in Spokane, reserved space for the winners to compete in the Teen Get Lit! Poetry Slam. Vogel, a Cedar Post staffer who had just started writing poetry a month earlier, took first place at the contest on April 18. She went on to the regional slam on April 25 and tied for fourth; she aims to qualify for a spot on the Spokane team going to the National Slam in Austin, Texas in August.

The Sandpoint Slam was the culmination of four days of writing instruction with Missoula poets/teachers Mark Gibbons and Robert Lee. “The students were really receptive at all of the schools,” said Lee. “Working in the schools gives me more faith in the future.”

Learn more at www.losthorsepress.org.

–Pam Webb

PHOTO BY MICHELLE L. KOZLOWSKI

The Community Assistance

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Calendar June

See complete calendars at www.SandpointOnline.com

2 Summer Sounds. This free, summer-long

6 KPBX Public Radio Thank You Concert. Gypsy jazz band Pearl Django plays in

first of two annual art exhibitions by local and regional artists in 17 downtown Sandpoint locations. Opening receptions happen at all locations on June 22 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., with live music at some venues. Self-guided walking tours of the displays continue through July 23.

263-6139

this 7:30 p.m. listener appreciation concert at the Panida Theater. 263-9191

23 Summer Sounds. Edwards Park Trio

concert series with local and regional musicians happens every Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. through Sept. 1 at Park Place stage, located at First and Cedar. BonTaj performs. 263-6139

7 SHS Spring Fling. The Panida Theater

23 Schweitzer Summer Celebration.

Schweitzer Mountain celebrates opening day of its summer season with free scenic chairlift rides from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and free live music.

Family activities including a barbecue, climbing wall, hiking, mountain biking and more. 263-9555

30 Summer Sounds. Heart Songs by Dwayne K. Parsons. See June 2.

performs. See June 2.

hosts the Sandpoint High School Choir in this annual event at 6 p.m. 263-9191

8-9 Sweet Land. The Panida Theater’s Global Cinema Cafe shows a touching story of life in America’s heartland set in the 1920s. Film starts at 7:30 p.m. 263-9191

hot picks

9 Summer Sounds. Selkirk Brass per-

Celebrating pedal power A second annual bicycle festival, Pend Oreille Pedal Fest wheels around on June 16, and includes group road and mountain bike rides, and a

forms. See June 2.

13 Studio One Dancers. Students from local dance school give it their best in this annual performance at the Panida Theater. Show starts at 7 p.m. 263-9191

15 Danceworks 2007. Local dance studio holds its annual performance at 7 p.m. in the Panida Theater. 263-9191 16 Summer Sounds. Peter Lucht performs. See June 2.

16 Pend Oreille Pedal Fest. See Hot Picks.

www.sandpointonline.com

16 Rails to Resort Bike Ride. Sandpoint Sports and Pend Oreille Pedalers Bicycle Club sponsor this Schweitzer Mountain Hill Climb at 10 a.m. Registration starts at 9 a.m. at Schweitzer’s Red Barn, located at the base of the mountain. 265-6163 16-17 Pend d’Oreille Winery Birthday Party. The local winery celebrates 12 years with live music, wine tasting and food vendors on the lawn. 265-8545

19-22 Plein Air Paint Out. Artists from Bonner County, Idaho and Wyoming paint outside for two days and then showcase their paintings at a reception on June 22 at the Timber Stand Gallery at 225 Cedar St. 263-7748 21 Sandpoint Summer Sampler. See Hot Picks and story, page 156.

22-23 Solstice Celebration. The Arts Alliance hosts a celebration to mark the official start of summer, with a storytelling competition, music, booths, performances and more. 255-5273

22-July 23 ArtWalk I. POAC holds the 26

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family ride at Round Lake, from 10 a.m. to noon. Family fun and games happen from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Travers Park. The Sandpoint Fire and Police departments host a Kid’s Bicycle Safety Rodeo from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sponsored by Sandpoint Parks and Recreation Department and Pend Oreille Pedalers Bicycle Club. Log on to www.pendoreillepedalers.com or call 263-5174.

Food fest An annual event at Farmin Park, Sandpoint Summer Sampler features a variety of activities including cheese curd molding, turkey bowling, and other foodrelated fun on June 21. Event also features waiter races, live music, food eating contests and food sampling from area restaurants. Litehouse hosts a mystery box cooking competition. Sponsored by the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce.

Call 263-0887 or check www.sandpointchamber.com

Sports galore Dover Bay Weekend Sports Festival, a first annual event for all ages and abilities, is set for Aug. 4-5. Saturday includes a Kid’s Triathlon and a 5k and 10k Run and Walk benefiting Community Cancer Services.

Coincidentally, that’s the same day as the 13th annual Long Bridge Swim.

Then on Sunday, an Olympic Triathlon and Duathlon, Sprint Triathlon and a Tri-iT Triathlon for novices are scheduled, all sponsored by Dover Bay. Visit www.racecenter.com/doverbay/ or call 255-2301.

Hooray for huckleberries Schweitzer Mountain honors the native huckleberry during the Schweitzer Huckleberry Festival, with hosted huckleberry picking hikes beginning at 9 a.m. on Aug. 18. Event also features arts and crafts vendors and a barbecue at the village starting at 10 a.m. Special huckleberry-themed activities begin at noon and live music happens from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Learn more at www.schweitzer.com or call 263-9555.

Resurrecting Farmer Gray In celebration of the Bonner County Centennial and the Panida’s 80th year of operation, Farmer Gray Night is slated for Sept. 22. Local choreographer Jean Peck revives Farmer Gray’s infamous Friday night intermission entertainment from the ’50s at the Panida Theater. Shows at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Look up www.panida.org or call 263-9191.

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Calendar

See page 76 for the Festival at Sandpoint calendar

July 1 Sunday Concerts on the Lawn. The POAC sponsors this free live concert series featuring regional musicians on the lawn in front of Edgewater Resort at City Beach at 2 p.m. every Sunday. Backstreet Dixie performs. 263-6139 4 Independence Day. The Lions Club

21 Schweitzer Bluegrass Festival.

Live bluegrass bands perform on the lawn at Schweitzer Mountain, with an outdoor barbecue and beer, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. 263-9555

22 Sunday Concerts on the Lawn.

Coeurimba performs. See July 1.

27-29 Artists’ Studio Tour. See July 20-22.

sponsors this Fourth of July celebration with a parade in downtown Sandpoint at 10 a.m., plus stage performances and fireworks show at City Beach. 263-0887

28 Crazy Days. Lots of deals in this giant

7 Bird Aviation Museum and Invention Center Opening. Meet Dr. Forrest Bird and other inventors in the National Inventors Hall of Fame at the opening of the Bird Aviation Museum and Invention Center. Event features a fly-in of more than 50 planes. See story, page 11. 265-0407

28 Summer Sounds. Backstreet Dixie performs at 10 a.m. and Carl Rey and the Blues Gators play at noon. See June 2.

sidewalk sale by downtown merchants, sponsored

by Downtown Sandpoint Business Association.

255-1876

29 Sunday Concerts on the Lawn.

The Swing Street Big Band performs with Kristen Oliver. See July 1.

7 Summer Sounds. Monarch Mountain Band performs. See June 2.

8 Sunday Concerts on the Lawn.

August

Generations performs. See July 1.

Every Wednesday: Twilight Bike Races.

12 Pirates of the Caribbean 2:

Schweitzer Mountain holds a race every Wednesday at 4 p.m. in August, with adult challenges, kid’s races and after parties. 263-9555

Deadman’s Chest. In celebration of the upcoming Sandpoint Wooden Boat Festival, the Panida Theater offers a free showing of the swashbuckling sequel at 7 p.m. 263-9191

14 Sandpoint Airport Fly-In. Friends of the Sandpoint Airport sponsor this event from 7 a.m. to noon where regional pilots fly into Sandpoint Airport and hold an aircraft display open to public. The Local EAA Chapter gives demonstration rides. 255-6201

14 Summer Sounds. Doug and Kim Bond perform. See June 2.

with a classic wooden boat and car show, sand sculpture contests and more at The Old Power House. Sponsored by the Inland Empire Antique, Classic Boat Society and Downtown Sandpoint Business Association. 255-1876 Sol’Jibe performs. See July 1.

20-22 Artists’ Studio Tour. Visit 40 artists and 28 locations in the free, self-guided driving tour with special events planned for July 20-22 and July 27-29. Many studios open June 1-Sept. 4. 597-6394

21 Summer Sounds. Bridges Home, Tami and Dave Gunter, perform. See June 2.

18 Summer Sounds. David Powell performs. See June 2.

18 Schweitzer Huckleberry Festival. See Hot Picks.

22-25 Bonner County Fair. This traditional country event happens at the Bonner County Fairgrounds, with lots of livestock, 4-H auction and contests, crafts, produce and flower exhibits. Fair concludes with a Demolition Derby Aug. 25. 263-8414 24 Ian Newbill Concert. The country rock sensation plays at the Panida Theater at 8 p.m. Charley Packard opens the show. 263-9191 24-25 Ponderay Days. Ponderay Community Development Corporation sponsors this third annual community celebration with food, fun and festivities, carnival, games and a car show. 255-2414 25 Gallagher. The comedy legend performs at the Panida Theater at 8 p.m. in this nonsledge-o-matic show. 263-9191

2-12 Festival at Sandpoint. The interna-

25 Summer Sounds. Sandpoint Violin Academy performs. See June 2.

tionally renowned outdoor concert series kicks off its 25th year on the lawn at Memorial Field alongside beautiful Lake Pend Oreille. See complete festival calendar on page 76. 265-4554

September

3-Sept. 10 ArtWalk II. The second event of POAC art exhibitions by local and regional artists in 17 downtown Sandpoint locations. Opening receptions happen at all locations on Aug. 3 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., with live music at some venues. Self-guided walking tours of the displays continue through Sept. 10. 263-6139

4 Long Bridge Swim. Hundreds of swimmers hit the water in this 13th annual, 1.76mile, race across Lake Pend Oreille. See story, page 105. 265-5412 4 Summer Sounds. Mixolydian performs.

See June 2.

15 Sunday Concerts on the Lawn.

County Fairgrounds holds its annual rodeo preceding the county fair. 263-8414

4-5 Dover Bay Weekend Sports Festival. See Hot Picks.

4 The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged). Straight from New York, this company kicks off the 2007-08 POAC Performance Series, with monthly music, dance and theater at the Panida Theater. 263-6139

1 Summer Sounds. Charley Packard and Jesse Harris perform in the last concert of the summer-long series at the Park Place stage. See June 2.

1-2 Schweitzer Fall Fest. Schweitzer’s 15th annual outdoor music festival features lots of live bands, a tasting tent with regional microbrews, chairlift rides and special kid’s activities.

263-9555 1-2 Bonner County Horse Show.

11-12 Arts and Crafts Fair. The POAC

Annual show at the Bonner County Fairgrounds over Labor Day weekend. 263-8414

kicks off its 35th annual juried art exhibit, with more than 110 booths of all-original, handmade artwork, kids activities, food vendors, live musical entertainment and artist demonstrations. 263-6139

7 Blues for Peace Concert. The Delgado Brothers, a Latin blues group from L.A., headlines this 7 p.m. concert at the Panida Theater.

The John Kelley Trio opens. 263-9191

11 Summer Sounds. Kathy Colton and the

8-9 Harvest Party. Pend d’Oreille Winery SUMMER 2007

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

www.sandpointonline.com

14-15 Sandpoint Wooden Boat Festival. This annual event makes a splash

Reluctants perform. See June 2.

17-18 Bonner County Rodeo. Bonner

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holds this annual event featuring a grape stomping competition, cork spitting contest, food sampling, wine tasting, winery tours and live music from noon to 4 p.m. 265-8545

12-16 Lakedance International Film Festival. The Panida Theater hosts this second annual event, formerly known as the Idaho Panhandle International Film Festival, featuring narrative, animated and documentary films of various lengths. 263-9191

KPND Sum Summer mmer Pint Nights Nigghts 2007 2007 withh Laughing Laughhhing Dog Doog Brewing!

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222 North First Avenue Aven e ue 263-2313 Sandpoint, 263-23 13

July 25 Captain’s Table 1649 Garfield Bay Road Sagle, 265-6351

ars Aug. 1 Stage Right Cellars 302 North First Avenue Sandpoint, 265-8116

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Slates Restaurant Sept. ept. 5 & Sports Lounge 204 Triangle Drive Ponderay, 263-1381

Aug. 8 Captain’s Wheel 16908 East Pier Road Bayview, 683-1903

18-19 Community Appreciation Nights. Pend Oreille Insurance hosts two free showings of a family film at the Panida Theater at 7 p.m. 263-9191

20-24 Idaho Draft Horse and Mule International. Bonner County Fairgrounds host the Northwest’s largest draft horse expo, with several shows. Auction on Sept. 24 concludes the event. 263-8414

22 Farmer Gray Night. See Hot Picks.

28-29 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. This Monarch School play benefiting the Panida Theater starts at 7 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday. 263-9191

29 Road Rally and Harvest Fair.

Selkirk School and KPND host this 3rd annual event at City Beach with carnival games and a family barbecue. Rally from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Harvest Fair from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cycling enthusiasts welcome on the bike route. 263-4931

October 5-6 All Bonner County Bazaar.

www.sandpointonline.com

Community Assistance League’s annual arts and crafts festival and sale at Sandpoint Community Hall. 265-8284

28

13 Oktoberfest. Downtown Sandpoint sponsors this traditional celebration with a variety of festivities. 255-1876 13 Harvestfest. Sandpoint Farmers Market closes out the season with entertainment, food, booths, arts and crafts and displays at Farmin Park from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 290-3088

Stay tuned to 95.3 KPND FM for details

Rock n’ Rhythm n’ Brews SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

19 Tom Rush Concert. Phenomenal, award-winning singer-songwriter performs in a musical celebration dating back to his folk revival beginnings in the 1960s and carrying through the renaissance of the ’80s and ’90s. Part of the POAC Performance Series, 8 p.m. at the Panida Theater. 263-6139

See complete calendars at www.SandpointOnline.com

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ILLUSTRATION BY BILL MITCHELL

Interview

He’s in there, somewhere: Bill Mitchell and a few favorite targets. See key, page 34.

Local pen, national humor

By Susan Drinkard

Cartoonist Bill Mitchell illustrates politics with sharp wit resort in Colorado, Mitchell drew cartoons, and to his delight the local newspaper, the Summit Sentinel, published them. He moved to Washington, D.C., where he immersed himself in politics and studied cartoons and newspapers from around the world. It was there he met the revered Oliphant, and it was there he began to freelance his cartoons.

In subsequent years, Mitchell was awarded two very prestigious journalism fellowships, published a collection of his cartoons in the book “Mitchell’s View”; and worked in Rochester, N.Y., for the Gannett Newspapers. His cartoons were often republished in The Washington Post, Newsweek, Los Angeles Times and The New York Times. “If you send enough cartoons, they’re going to publish some of them,” he said.

In September 1994, while at the University of Southern California School of Journalism, he logged onto the World Wide Web for the first time. By Thanksgiving

SUMMER 2007

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

www.sandpointonline.com

ill Mitchell’s interest in political cartoons began at age 8 when his father taught him how to read a newspaper. He explained that the most important stories went on the front page. “But this is where I start the newspaper,” he told his son, flipping over to the editorial page and a political cartoon by the widely syndicated Pat Oliphant. He remembers the exact cartoon, and though his father had to explain it to him, it made an impression. Forty years later, Bill Mitchell’s own political cartoons are viewed by millions of online readers of CNN.com, and he and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Oliphant are great friends.

As early as the eighth grade, Mitchell drew a handful of cartoons and scheduled a meeting with the editor of his town paper, but seeing his youth, the editor sent him shuffling off. From a politically astute family and with an ability to draw, he knew what he wanted to do. In 1980, while waiting for his job and winter to begin at a ski

B

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Interview

www.sandpointonline.com

he had decided that the future medium. This was in 1994. I was of political cartooning would be accepted and I chose to go to the on the Web. University of Southern California In 1995 Mitchell and his fambecause of its film school, and I ily moved to Sandpoint, where thought I would be learning comhe has lived happily and quietly puter animation and putting carever since. Beginning in 1997, toons on television shows. I didn’t he has been creating what only have the idea of putting them on a few people in the world do – the World Wide Web. At the time editorial cartoon animation – the Web was just text based. It was sending three left-leaning politiduring that fellowship that I was cal cartoons per week to CNN’s introduced to what would become site, www.cnn.com/POLITICS/ the Web – a graphical browser – (scroll down and click on “Bill and it occurred to me that if you Mitchell cartoons”). were a cartoonist and could pubMitchell is reticent about hav- This cartoon, published on CNN.com on April 2, garnered a fair lish to the world, you didn’t need share of favorable responses, according to its creator, Bill Mitchell. ing his photo published here to work for a newspaper, and you To see the animated version online, point your browser to because he doesn’t want to be could live where you wanted to. http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/analysis/toons/2007/04/02/mitchell/index.html readily recognized, joking that There was so much potential. he doesn’t want his son to cry if And you chose to live in he sees his father getting beat Sandpoint, Idaho. Why? up on the street. He does, however, wish to publicize his Though Colorado was high on our list, my wife’s parents new venture, Cartoon Emailer, founded this year with had retired to Sandpoint from the East (Coast) about a inspiration from successful Internet entrepreneur Leif dozen years earlier, so we moved here to be with them, and Youngberg, founder of CoolerEmail.com. Subscribers to we loved the skiing and sailing. This is a great community Cartoon Emailer include organizations, political parties or with decent, hard-working people, and that’s not just boilercandidates for public office “of a certain persuasion” that plate. You know that to be true. And it’s a more open comare looking to increase the effectiveness of their e-mail munity than I would have guessed from the outside. communications and campaigns.

Mitchell notes he was born and raised on Earth and How many people view your cartoons daily? attended the School of Hard Knocks. He gibes that his I have no idea. That’s proprietary information with CNN interests include “world peace, ending poverty and taking that they don’t share. It’s lots. They’re one of the top 10 long walks in the rain.” Seriously, the 48-year-old has news sites in the world, which means tens of millions per day. carved out a first-rate life in Sandpoint with Anne, his Where do your ideas come from and what is the most “long-suffering wife,” and Kit, his “near-perfect son,” difficult – coming up with the idea or the execution? It where he enjoys the lake, the skiing and his anonymity. seems to me that three cartoons per week is a lofty goal.

Your work appears three times per week on CNN.com.

I choose a topic and then decide what I want to say about What led you away from print journalism? it. Then I figure out how to distill that into an image that

30

Being a political cartoonist for a newspaper was like manufacturing buggy whips. The day wasn’t over, but it was coming to a close. Since I left in 1995, dozens of cartoonists have lost their jobs. The newspaper industry has changed tremendously. What they are interested in now is retaining readership, and you don’t do that by running really strong cartoons. Really strong cartoons get letters to the editor that say, “I’m canceling my newspaper.” Newspapers will continue to run syndicated cartoons, but the editor can choose the least offensive cartoon to his or her readers. If someone complains, an editor can say, “He doesn’t work for us.” That is where I found print cartooning going, so I applied for a Pew National Arts Journalism Fellowship. My proposal was to see how political cartooning could go from print to digital SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

most people who are informed can “get” in a few seconds.

The hardest part, or longest part, is coming up with an idea.

The drawing will always take a couple hours. I don’t know how a comic strip artist does it, because they have characters they have to invent for. I have characters that write for me.

(Take current Attorney General) Alberto Gonzales. I mean, this guy is tripping on his tongue. When politicians are this hubristic, when they think their certitude is monumental, how could it not be funny? I had plenty of fun with Clinton, too. I’m proud of being liberal and the views I hold are liberal, but that doesn’t mean that Hillary can’t provide me tons of humor. Obama hasn’t done anything yet, but I’m perfectly willing. There are no sacred cows. If there were, you would become pedantic and boring.

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Interview

Y In the 1870s Boss Tweed, the corrupt New York City politician, said this about Thomas Nast, the political cartoonist who had launched a series of cartoons implicating Tweed: “Stop them damned pictures. I don’t care so much what the papers say about me. My constituents can’t read. But, damn it, they can see pictures.”

Do you think people can understand your cartoons without having read news stories?

No, if they’re not informed. I don’t mean they have to be deeply informed. I try to work with topics that are current and relevant, not from esoteric stories on page 20 in the A section. You have to be topical, but if people aren’t paying attention ... they are not going to understand the cartoons.

What kind of steering or direction do you get from CNN?

None. I draw the cartoons and they choose to run them or not run them. They don’t care about my political leanings, which is great freedom for me. They only choose not to run a cartoon if they think it’s a matter of taste, which hasn’t been a problem. They’ve stopped a couple cartoons in the past couple years for stupid, stupid reasons, but overall, they give me free rein.

www.sandpointonline.com

As a cartoonist with a vast audience, you have the opportunity to sway public opinion through clever artistic expression. Is that what motivates you?

32

When I got into cartooning, that’s exactly what I thought, that political cartoonists play an important role in the debate. That was the beginning, but I’ve been doing it now for more than 25 years. What I’ve realized is that it is healthy for me to be able to vent my spleen. My father is a rock-ribbed Republican, and I’m a terrible disappointment for him in that regard. If we get into debates about politics, I can always take comfort in the fact that tomorrow I can draw a cartoon that tons of people will see and he’ll be in his living room yelling at the television set. I don’t think we change people’s opinions. I think we flatter people’s preconceived notions. The people who agree, write and say “Great cartoon,” and the people who don’t, write and call me names. I’d love to believe we change opinions, but I just don’t see evidence of that.

Do you know other (political) cartoonists?

When I first started selling cartoons, there might have been 150 full-time cartoonists making a living at it. Today there’s probably 90 or less at newspapers, and I can think of five that are doing it online and maybe three of us that are doing it full-time. There are more players in the NBA than there are political cartoonists. If I don’t know all the other cartoonists personally, we have mutual friends.

Whose work influenced you or continues to influence you?

Every political cartoonist working today walks the trail Pat Oliphant broke and continues to lead. His is the work all other cartoonists measure themselves by. Meeting Oliphant, SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

and the fact that he was willing to treat me as an equal when there was absolutely no reason for him to do so, validated my belief that I could pursue this profession. If Miles Davis says you’re cool, you’re cool. If Hemingway says you can write, you can write. If Ali says you punch like a girl, get out of the ring. So after Oliphant punched my card and after 10,000 really bad cartoons, I got my first paying job.

You are a political cartoonist with a liberal bent, but you live in the most Republican of states. Does living in a conservative state give you more grist for the mill?

If I were doing local or state cartoons, I think my cup would runneth over. I have no animosity toward anyone with a different political opinion. I have strongly held opinions, but I don’t have a lock on the truth. Living in Sandpoint, I would have very few friends if I only had liberal friends.

With the move toward video, will static political cartoons become a thing of the past and in the future need to become more like video clips?

I think the future is online and it becomes computer animation. What I do is simple gif animation, sort of Monty Python animation.

Is it challenging to do that?

I find it rewarding, but it doesn’t take rocket science.

Some of the other technologies that are coming along require a studio, people who can do voices, write music. I want to conceive a cartoon and execute it in one day.

Over the years, what cartoons elicited the most feedback?

In newspapers in Upstate New York, it would have been any cartoon about gun laws because the NRA was vociferous. Or any cartoon critical of Israel. I’d get members of the Jewish community coming into my office showing me the tattoos from the camps, and their point was that anything criticizing the state of Israel was anti-Semitic de facto. This is similar to how it is today if you question Bush or Cheney: You’re a traitor. They said so: “You are either with us or against us.” Period. What kind of country have we become when that’s the trade-off? When you work at a newspaper, all the feedback you get is negative. It’s just the opposite online. I get a ton of positive feedback from people who already agree with me and about an equal amount of negative comments.

Talk about Cartoon Emailer.

A few years ago I started a venture that involved marketing online, and I learned about this product called Cooler Email, an amazing program that is easy to use and very powerful. You can build e-mails that have art and links, and in my case, animated cartoons. I met Leif Youngberg, founder of Cooler Email, who recently moved to Sandpoint.

Leif suggested that I send my cartoons through e-mails to people who would want to receive them – liberals, for

a

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Interview

instance. His company has 10,000 clients using this product, and among those is the Democratic Party of Oregon.

The problem was that 80 or 90 percent of the e-mails the party sent weren’t being opened. The party needed a reason for people to open their e-mails. We started sending political cartoons just before the election in 2006, and the open rates doubled. It’s the exact same reason that, for 250 years, newspapers have put editorial cartoons on the opinion page.

They’ll go to see the cartoon, and then they’ll look to see if they want to read the columns. Based on the response from the Democratic Party of Oregon, we started Cartoon Emailer. We’re signing up politically active parties – Idaho Democratic Party, Ohio Democratic Party, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party … and other state parties are using us to see if they want to sign up. The cartoons are getting to people who want to see them.

So with all this success and attention to your cartoons, do you ever get the big head?

No, no. And living in a community where I walk down the street and nobody knows who I am keeps me as humble as I am (smiles).

www.sandpointonline.com

To learn more, look up www.CartoonEmailer.com.

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SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

Key to the illustration on page 29.

1. Alberto Gonzales 2. George Bush 3. Barack Obama 4. Condoleeza Rice 5. Dick Cheney 6. Karl Rove 7. John Edwards 8. Bill Mitchell 9. Dan Rather 10. Khalid Sheikh Mohammad 11. John McCain 12. Hillary Clinton 13. Donald Rumsfeld 14. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 15. Al Gore 16. Rudy Giuliani 17. Tom Delay 18. Teddy Kennedy 19. Abu Ghraib Victim 20. John Ashcroft 21. Jesse Jackson 22. John Kerry 23. Bill Clinton 24. Arnold Schwarzenegger

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Books

PHOTO BY JIM PARSONS JR.

Marianne Love, right, poses with the Ponderettes drill team in 1976. She advised the group at Sandpoint High School for nine years.

Ponderettes and Pie An excerpt from the new book, ‘Lessons with Love’

online at www.SandpointGeneralStore.com. The softcover book sells for $16.

The following excerpt, selected with input from Love, provides a small sliver from the first chapter about advising the drill team: “Ponderettes and Pie – Not a Good Mix.”

By Billie Jean Plaster

F

I

t was one of my brilliant schemes to earn a few extra Ponderette bucks that nearly led to the demise of my teaching career.

Why not have a pie-eating contest? I thought. We can involve the whole school and charge entry fees, and the girls can supply the pies to make more money. It was 1973. By this time, I had learned that Dick Sodorff may have been blind when he hired me to advise the Ponderettes, but his vision tended to be extremely acute whenever an untried idea came his way. … If we were going to get the blessing of the principal, my instincts told me I had better make darn sure that every potential cream-pie liability was covered before broaching the subject to Mr. Sodorff. Since I had never even come close to angelic stardom, turning devil’s advocate in the planning process posed no problem.

OK, I thought. We’ll put out newspapers. … Contestants will lie on their stomachs with hands behind their backs.

Assistants will bring them the pies so that they’ll never have to touch the pie with their hands. … Homeroom teachers would read the rules to their classes, so there could be no excuse for misunderstandings.

To emcee the event, I chose the most responsible student I knew at the time. His name was Kent Compton. In addition to being a good Presbyterian and playing a mean cello, Kent was a wholesome, happy extrovert. … With the plan complete and knowing that Kent was my ticket to a successful event, my confidence level soared. Dick Sodorff could not turn me down when I proposed this meticulouslyplanned concept. The kids would love it. … As usual, Dick

SUMMER 2007

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

www.sandpointonline.com

inishing a trilogy of sorts, local author Marianne Love put pen to paper – or rather strokes to a keyboard – to document her 33-year teaching career at Sandpoint High School (SHS).

The result is “Lessons with Love: Tales of teaching and learning in a small-town high school,” a 288-page memoir full of stories both poignant and amusing. The book was just released in May by Keokee Co. Publishing, Inc., the publisher of Sandpoint Magazine, which also publishes regional guidebooks and nonfiction titles.

Love, who turns 60 this year, retired in 2002 after teaching English her entire career, all at her alma mater, SHS. She estimates that some 4,500 students passed through her classroom. Born and raised in Sandpoint, Love first published memories from her childhood in the book “Pocket Girdles and Other Confessions of a Northwest Farmgirl” in 1994 – now in its fourth printing. Her second book, “Postcards from Potato(e)Land,” followed in 1997 and picked up the portrait of life in Sandpoint started in “Pocket Girdles.” Both were laugh-out-loud collections of autobiographical stories that capture the phenomenon of living in Sandpoint.

In “Lessons with Love,” she concludes with this statement at the end of the final and 17th chapter, an epilogue: “I am the one who feels most grateful for all these students who have contributed to my life. I thank God for giving me the gift of teaching.”

Apparently, He gave her the gift of writing, too.

“Lessons with Love” is available at local bookstores and

•••

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Books wanted to hear every detail before giving me the nod.

Question after question was met with a response that demonstrated impeccable forethought. I had done my homework this time. The pie-eating contest was a go. …

“Let’s keep this under control,” I said, aware that even Kent probably needed a reminder. Excitement reigned high.

Contestants and assistants filed in.

“Find yourself a pie, and get down on the floor,” my bombproof emcee instructed. With a short time left in the lunch break, we wasted no time herding people to their pies. After a quick welcome, Kent read the rules and reminded everyone that the pie needed to stay on the newspapers. … There comes a moment in the planning of every project when all fears of disorganization dissipate, everything comes together, and it’s obvious that this has turned out to be a winner. I beamed with pride. … A large representation from the faculty stood a safe distance away along the wall near the coaches’ office.

Kent, my trusted student, stood on the stage, microphone in hand, masterfully setting the tone for the proceedings. …

I couldn’t have been more pleased – until the “imp of the perverse” so often mentioned in Edgar Allen Poe’s horror stories found its way into Bulldog Gym. It all started innocently enough. Some say Anna Bricker

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started it. Others blame Bobby Hamilton Jr. The perpetrator, whoever it happened to be, lacked foresight for sure.

Who would ever expect that rubbing an errant smidgen of meringue from one of the pies onto someone else’s shirt sleeve would start such a chain reaction? Probably any veteran of a pie fight could imagine this, but the innocent soul who started it all was instantly forgotten in the mayhem that followed. Sixty seconds seemed like six hours as contestants and assistants alike began flinging pie in every direction. First, the flying slop was limited to a small portion of the gym near the girls’ locker room. Within seconds, a barrage of chocolate, lemon cream and whipping cream bombs went airborne and landed on its human targets with military precision.

As Poe says, there is something about the imp of the perverse that transforms the most innocent of souls (whether teenager or teacher) into fiendish monsters.

Although I never would have admitted it to Dick Sodorff at the time, I must confess now (in the safety of my retirement) to the mortal sin of flinging at least one handful of chocolate cream at my colleague, Ray Holt. I believe that offense occurred only after wiping off a glob of banana cream from my shoulder and turning around to spot his guilty, grinning countenance.

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

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Books So much fun, happening so quickly. Within seconds, I came to my senses and remembered my early determination to make this thing work. The plan had not called for an allout war in the gym.

“Stop it!” I started yelling. “Please, stop it.”

Was anyone listening? Was I in a dream?

“I said STOP IT!” Once more, no response. I tried the physical approach, frantically grabbing hands ready to fling another glob of pie.

“Please stop!” My worst nightmare kept on. I felt invisible as I yelled and grabbed in vain, but pie continued hitting people. People were walking, running and sliding on pie filling. This fiasco was occurring no longer on the newspapers but on the precious gym floor. Occasionally, some targets ducked at the right time and the pies hit the pine walls along the sides of the gym.

Somewhere between terror and hysterical laughter, I looked to Kent for help. What I saw on his face and heard from his mouth suggested that my trusted ally in this important mission had turned into a lowdown teenage traitor.

Kent had red hair. His face now matched his hair; his eyes were filled with tears – not from embarrassment or shyness but from glee. His hand hugged the mike while his brain directed his lips to deliver some encouraging commentary.

Read “Lessons with Love” for the whole story on the SHS pie-eating fiasco, as well as 16 more entertaining chapters.

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“Oh, I see teachers!” he announced with a tone strongly implying their availability as ideal victims. A large handful of chocolate landed and oozed down a student spectator’s shirt.

“Hey, great hit!” This on-location melee had proved far more entertaining than the pie fight Kent had seen just a few weeks earlier on a TV show. Instant quarterbacks started aiming their creamy missiles toward a group of teachers standing near the coaches’ office. As the teachers tried to escape, moving en masse toward the door, Dick Sodorff stepped out of the office and walked toward the stage with a stern expression suggesting an imminent confrontation.

Behind him, a frenzied mass of pedagogic humanity squashed itself through the open door, seeking escape from the maniacal mischief that had spread throughout the gym.

The teachers were safe. Dick Sodorff was not.

As he made his way along the east wall, staring straight ahead toward Kent on stage, he was oblivious to an event witnessed by just about all spectators who weren’t busily engaged in the pie fight. Approximately two feet above his head and slightly behind his peripheral vision, a complete chocolate pie went SPLAT against the wall.

“Oh, God, no,” I gasped. …

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By Carrie Scozzaro

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hat is it that makes a person an artist? Maybe it’s talent, skill or creativity. Or is it something else? Going to art school, for example, entitles some to feel they earn the title, and although lack of training doesn’t preclude one from being taken seriously, training alone doesn’t guarantee anything. There is, however, skill involved.

As acclaimed watercolorist Winslow Homer put it: “There is no such thing as talent. What they call talent is nothing but the capacity for doing continuous work in the right way.” To be an artist, one must do the work.

Then the question becomes: Why make art? Ask Scott Kirby, already working in the creative field of music when he discovered he simply could not forsake his newly discovered passion for drawing. Or Ruth Hargreaves, who always “dabbled” but didn’t give herself permission to seriously pursue art until retirement.

Or Mark Heisel, who has studied his beloved granite from every angle imaginable, and now perceives it through that sometimes mystical lens of an artist’s eye.

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

Musician Scott Kirby exemplifies the accidental artist. What began innocently in 2004, at age 38, while drawing with his young daughter, quickly turned into what Kirby describes as “releasing a plug from a dam.” He literally could not put down his pen. At first Kirby worked with dual-brush tip pens, which offer vibrant color and a fluid immediacy well-suited to his lengthy, intense periods of drawing.

Often, said Kirby, he was

often eccentric, expression are everywhere in the Great Plains, the subtle manifestation of which is made even more inspiring by the context of the empty landscape and the practical challenges of daily life there.”

Kirby’s unpeopled sites would be solemn except for the intense energy in his densely patterned surfaces and vibrant, eclectic use of color. “High Plains Townscape,” for example, is typical of Kirby’s rhythmically charged rendering, pulling the viewer along

“Color is the k eyboard, the eyes are the harm onies, the soul is the piano with m any strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one k ey or another, to cause vibrations in the soul.”

–Wassily Kandinsk y “bombarded” with images – while driving, sleeping or even during a musical performance – mostly of landscapes inspired by the Great Plains. He writes: “From elaborate mailboxes to junk sculptures, to windmills speckled with Christmas lights, signs of individualistic, and

empty streets, up brick and clapboard walls and across sweeping vistas of prairies, clouds and rolling hills.

Many of his images exploit varying types of perspective, including a wideangle feel or even a fish-eye lens effect as in “The Water Tower, I.” It should be no surprise, then, that

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cannot but has yet to fully understand how all the creative components go together. What he does know, he says, and what he shares with Earle is recognizing how “forces beyond ourselves are involved in this process” of making art.

Having come full circle with both artistic endeavors – art and music – Kirby said he will continue to do both.

Although he is contemplating trying oil paint and has been looking at other artwork – especially Van Gogh and Edward Hopper – he describes trial and error as his greatest professor.

“I have a lot more work as a painter to develop,” said Kirby, who adds that he isn’t in a hurry to show his work. “I don’t want to make money a necessity in my music or my art. I want to focus on the music and the art, to approach music and art on my terms.”

Learn more about Kirby and his artwork at www.ScottKirby.net.

Scott Kirby, below, painted “Twilight on the Central Plains,” shown above, one in a series of paintings inspired by memories of the Midwestern landscape where he was born. A musician, Kirby began drawing and painting at age 38.

“The position of the artist is hum ble. He is essentially a channel.”

–Piet Mondrian SUMMER 2007

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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Kirby’s exposure to photography would have an influence on him, including his own experimentation and that of professional photographer Marie-Dominique “Doe” Verdier, Kirby’s wife.

Another influential person in Kirby’s process was friend and accomplished painter Catherine Earle, who encouraged Kirby to try watercolor. It was around this time that Kirby took a sabbatical from his successful music career of composing and performing classic ragtime, new ragtime, Creole music and terra verde.

While in France for 10 months, Kirby happily painted images of his native Plains: haystacks, abandoned buildings, train trestles, a frosty morning along the Hi-Line, the flotsam and jetsam of the farm.

“Aermotor,” for example, captures the windswept feel of the prairie, the subtle, ever-present sense of movement balanced against the timelessness of the Midwestern landscape.

Whatever it is about the Great Plains that so inspired his artwork has more recently influenced Kirby’s music. He admits his paintings express something that his music

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SUMMER 2007

ike Kirby, Ruth Hargreaves feels she is also still developing as an artist. In fact, she writes in her artist statement, “I have never, until recently, considered myself an artist … despite having always loved making things with my hands, visiting galleries and museums, enrolling in art classes, and looking at the world around me with an artful eye.”

Although Hargreaves’ path has never strayed far from artistic endeavors (she even modeled for figure drawing classes for 30 years), her journey has been a circuitous one.

In college, she took art history classes with the idea of traveling the world to study art or work in a museum. She flirted with interior design but, like many young folks, was discouraged from this “frivolous” pursuit in favor

PHOTO BY CARRIE SCOZZARO

“From Where You Are Looking,” above, was paintined in oil by Ruth Hargreaves, right.

of something more practical. In addition to working in community relations for public schools, owning a catering business and serving in various nursing capacities, Hargreaves ran a bed and breakfast inn out of the lovely Sagle home she shares with her husband, Hal. Even though a chance encounter with an old, neglected batch of oil paints was like an epiphany to Hargreaves – “I finally felt at home” with art, she says – it wasn’t until 2001, at age 55, that Hargreaves

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would step across the threshold to realizing her dreams.

Her first paintings were, as she describes them, â&#x20AC;&#x153;safe.â&#x20AC;? Mostly enlarged and painstakingly detailed still lifes, they caught the eye of friend and local arts supporter Kally Thurman, who owned the former Gallery 105 in Sandpoint.

Thurman, who now owns Outskirts Gallery in Hope where Hargreavesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; work is on display, put Hargreaves in touch with Sand Creek Grill â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Hargreavesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; first one-person exhibit.

Since then, Hargreaves is a regular feature at POAC exhibits, has done numerous commissions, including for Pend dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Oreille Winery, and will be featured in an abstract painting exhibition at Spokaneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chase Gallery this summer.

In contrast to the tightly rendered still lifes, Hargreavesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; abstractions are more spontaneous and expressive. â&#x20AC;&#x153;From Where You Are Looking,â&#x20AC;? for example, feels like a landscape glowing red at that elusive moment when the sun sets all afire. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sacred Mountainâ&#x20AC;? is less intense, more reverent, yet still draws on the emotive power of the color red, which Hargreaves used in this series called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Seeing Redâ&#x20AC;? to respond to the all-too-familiar winter blahs.

A side trip of the abstractions resulted when fellow painter Kirsten Knoll taught her to see the â&#x20AC;&#x153;gemsâ&#x20AC;? in paintings that Hargreaves felt were otherwise destined for the recycle bin.

The result was a foray into mixedmedia collage paintings and, more recently, a transition to fiber.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only a matter of time until Hargreaves gets even more sculptural.

In fact, she says, pointing to the custom rock fireplace she designed in the entrance of her home, Hargreaves describes feeling more in tune with the

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SUMMER 2007

Mark Heisel is shown at work below; one of his granite sculptures, “Gravitas,” is seen above.

particularly Neolithic forms and rounded Meso-American styling, is evident in several pieces, including “The Family Stone” and “Seduction.”

Working in stone, explains Heisel, requires a connection to the media that is similar to the cabinetmaker or woodworker. At one point it goes beyond making a functional object and becomes about finding something inherent in the raw material, he says.

Heisel, who still works as a stonecutter in Oregon, adds that it is about a balance between process and product.

Heisel also describes approaching art as a problem-solving activity. “I always

PHOTO BY CARRIE SCOZZARO

SAWTOOTH

lthough he works in stone – which is worlds away from fiber and canvas – sculptor Mark Heisel, of Hope, also talks about being in tune with his media. In fact, it was his discovery of a new way of relating to the same material he had been working with since college that transformed Heisel from stonecutter to stonecarver.

After graduating from the University of Idaho with a degree in mining engineering, Heisel spent 15 years doing engineering work all over the western United States, as well as overseas, even in Africa. In 1985, he returned to northern Idaho, working in construction, drilling and eventually in masonry on a large estate where his job was to quarry all the stone – exterior, interior, walls, fireplace, you name it.

“I began taking particular chunks home,” said Heisel thoughtfully, adding that the question then became what to do with them. He methodically experimented with the same tools he had used to cut stone, making generally functional items like water basins and planters. By this time, as he was morphing into an artist, it was 1991 and he was 47 years old. Once he realized there were no limitations on what he could make, he began to look at ways to advance his knowledge and skill.

In addition to joining the Northwest Stone Sculptors Association, based in Seattle, Heisel started looking at other sculptors’ work, such as Isamu Noguchi, Henry Moore and Brancusi.

His fascination with ancient carving,

COURTESY PHOTO

inherent “voice” of different art media, like fiber which she likens to painting for its fluidity. “I’m taking more risks,” she says of her work now. “I don’t have to be in control all the time, just more in tune.” Mostly, she adds, she just likes doing the work she wants to do.

Learn more at www.RuthHargreaves Artist.com.

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SUMMER 2007

ask myself: ‘What am I doing and why am I doing it?’ ” he says. Everything is a choice, he explains, including positioning the stone and polishing it – or not. For Heisel the conceptual dilemma goes beyond just what to make, but how to make it.

Often his choices are responses to commissions, such as his granite benches which can be seen throughout Sandpoint (on the Long Bridge path, for example) and Coeur d’Alene. In fact it was while exhibiting work in Coeur d’Alene that Heisel got some of his earliest recognition. Having seen Heisel’s work at the former Gallery By The Lake, Post Falls Postmaster Joe Reese contacted Heisel about a commission at the newly refurbished library. Also in Coeur d’Alene, Heisel occasionally exhibits at the prestigious Art Spirit Gallery.

Beyond northern Idaho, Heisel is becoming known in areas like Seattle, where he has exhibited at the D’Adamo/ Woltz Gallery in Pioneer Square. Elsewhere in the Northwest, Heisel is exhibiting at the Lawrence Gallery, which has locations in Sheridan, Wyo., and Portland, Ore. Back at home, Heisel (phone (208264-5960) reflects on the process, suggesting that the thing that interests him the most right now is just creating things for himself. “I just want to do the work,” he said.

He is not alone. Kirby, Hargreaves and Heisel may vary in experience and preferred media, but these “accidental artists” are united by one resounding fact: They are artists.

They could no sooner give that up than sacrifice a part of themselves.

Hargreaves sums it up neatly: “Art and the creation of it, in whatever medium or style, is absolutely vital to defining who I am. It is my passion and without it, I feel incomplete.”

And whether the passion for making art resulted from other creative or career-based endeavors, lay dormant awaiting discovery, or simply got tired of being ignored, how these “accidental artists” got there is as interesting a story as is the affirmation that they have, finally, arrived.

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PHOTO OF DI LUNA’S AND THE LAURA LOVE DUO BY CHRIS GUIBERT

Di Luna’s is all lit up on the night of a sold-out show starring The Laura Love Duo, shown at bottom. Ruthie Foster, top, and Lucy Kaplansky also performed recently at the downtown Sandpoint restaurant.

By Billie Jean Plaster

A whole lot of great music going down

R

At intermission, performers often mix and mingle with the crowd. The energy moves up another notch in the second set, and the crowd claps and hoots for more after the last song, almost always bringing performers back for an encore.

After the show, performers do more mixing and hanging out with the crowd: signing autographs, posing for photos, hugging and handshaking. Concertgoers line up to buy CDs, pay their servers and leave – a satisfied lot as they exit.

The experience After dinner, Beth Pederson comes to the stage to introduce tonight’s show. The soft-spoken musician, a familiar face around town for decades, is best known for having been half of the renowned duo Wild Roses with her partner, the late Cinde Borup.

Musicians kick off their first set and have the whole room mesmerized in no time.

Servers slip around the room full of small tables with minimal noise, bringing drinks and desserts to concertgoers. Meantime, the energy in the room cranks up with every song.

From a performer’s perspective Ruthie Foster accepted the invitation to perform at Di Luna’s on a Thursday night in the middle of a tour that crisscrossed North America. The fact that she had played a sold-out show at the Festival at Sandpoint several months earlier factored in.

“The festival had a lot to do with my acceptance, because the festival was another really, really good experience,” Foster said.

“It makes a difference, being treated well.”

A native Texan, she appreciates audiences in small venues in small towns because she likes to get personal, take her time and get SUMMER 2007

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

www.sandpointonline.com

uthie Foster was it, my introduction to dinner concerts at Di Luna’s Café. After seeing Foster and her two bandmates put on an absolutely electrifying performance, I vowed to make Di Luna’s dinner concerts a habit. Di Luna’s opened on Cedar Street in 1998 and launched dinner concerts in 2002, now held twice a month. With seating for 100, the intimate venue has incredibly good acoustics and creates lasting memories for audiences and performers alike.

PHOTO BY WILL GIBSON

Di Luna’s

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her stories told. “I am a small-town girl myself, and you never lose that. … That’s what I like about Sand point. It’s definitely a small town.

Di Luna’s was wonderful,” she said. “There’s so much warmth in the town.”

Foster was “a little pleasantly surprised” at the interest in her music here. She sold out of CDs at the fes-

mail to the private list before making a public announcement, that staff added a second show, which came close to selling out, too.

Between songs at Di Luna’s, Foster told stories and joked around.

By the second song, the audience was clapping and carrying on.

“She’s got this charisma,” said Leah Fain, who alternately cried and laughed throughout the show. She and her mother, Sandy Fain, became instant fans of Foster at the festival and jumped on the chance to see her again at Di Luna’s. “She makes you feel good – she does,” said Sandy.

Foster summed it up this way: “The crowd was just great, wonderful. The first set was good, and the second one just turned up the heat.”

Making it happen Di Luna’s owner Karen Forsythe first became familiar with Pederson through Amy Borup, an employee.

The daughter of Cinde Borup, Amy had been trying to get Pederson to perform publicly again following Cinde’s death in 1998. She finally convinced Pederson to get on stage again and perform with local musician friends at Di Luna’s in April 2002. Forsythe ran a series of Beth Pederson and Friends concerts throughout that year and then decided to expand, booking other performers beginning in 2003. The first was Pearl Django, a show that sold out quickly.

Soon, the three women started brainstorming about other acts to invite. “(Performers) like it because they can interact,” said Forsythe.

Feeling more confident, the trio made a big wish list this year and are “not being afraid” to ask performers to come. Their goal is to get more diversified, Amy added. She said they want the music to be consistently high quality so “people come even if they don’t know the music themselves … because no matter what it is, it’s going to be good.”

www.sandpointonline.com 50

tival. “I felt like a rock star,” she said. She told the audience at Di Luna’s, “So I brought some more, and I have a new one.” Her latest CD, “The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster,” a soul album, had been released Feb. 6, less than a month before the show.

Her March 1 concert at Di Luna’s sold out so quickly, with just an e-

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

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First Street, Sandpoint, Idaho - Early 1920’s

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THE BONNER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTION

5/5/07

1907-2007

The communities throughout Bonner County were built mainly around the railroad and the timber industry. This photo was taken at Forest Siding in the Selle Valley in 1910.

ranches were filed upon or purchased on terms, and the new county filled out from the Northern Pacific, Great Northern and, later, the Spokane International railroad lines.

Communities spawned by railroads and timber companies – Hope, Clark Fork, Coolin, Priest River, Sagle, Lamb Creek, Sandpoint, Vay, Nordman, Dover, Oden, Laclede, Cabinet, Colburn, Elmira and more – formed the core of social life early in the county’s history. Sprouting up were grange halls, public schools, general stores, churches and service clubs.

The “cities” of Sandpoint, Clark Fork and Priest River offered amenities that made a trip by team and wagon, train, steamboat or the precarious means of automobile almost worth it, but it was the little spots that held folks to the land and gave Sandy Compton them a place with which to identify.

These places are much of the focus of the centennial celebration planned around Bonner County. In the spirit of chautauqua, centennial events based in local communities will educate folks about their history and entertain them at the same time. The BCHS staff plans to visit events as they happen, bringing local history along and inviting participants to bring what they think others will find interesting, too.

“We are acquiring, through a Community Star award given by Panhandle State Bank to museum volunteer Vern Eskridge, a camera that attaches directly to our Power Point projector,” Ferguson said. “With this, we can easily display both documents and objects for audiences at community events, and at the same time identify and record items of interest.”

The items recorded will be added to an interactive section of the BCHS Web site, www.bonnercounty history.org. The new section features a

A spate of special events planned for Bonner County’s milestone By

O

ne hundred years is not an eon or an era, but for a county in one of the Western states, most not much older than 100 themselves, it is a notable birthday. To celebrate Bonner County’s centennial year, the Bonner County Historical Society (BCHS) will join with local groups and communities to spread the celebration around.

“We are planning chautauqua events throughout the year,” says BCHS Museum Curator Ann Ferguson.

“We’ll be joining community events and plan to sponsor some ourselves.”

(See story on page 54 for information on events.)

Chautauqua is an adult-education movement, and at the turn of the 20th century, traveling chautauquas brought to rural America educational as well as entertaining events, often lasting several days with music, drama and educational lectures from experts in many fields.

Teddy Roosevelt called chautauqua

“the most American thing in America.”

About the time Roosevelt said that, in 1905, a plan to split Kootenai County in the 16-year-old state of Idaho would have named the southern county Lewis and the northern Clark, with Bonners Ferry designated the county seat of Clark. Sandpoint nearly became the county seat of, well, nothing. Finally, though, it was decided in a back room that the names would be Kootenai and Bonner, and with the new county, Sandpoint became county seat. This happened just over 100 years ago, on Feb. 2, 1907.

The new county was flush with timber money, and new settlers dropped off the railroads daily to take advantage of the Homestead Act. Later, settlers capitalized on cheap land sold by railroads and Humbird Lumber Company, whose mills dominated the Bonner County economy for the first 30 years of the 20th century.

Hundreds of timber claims and stump

SUMMER 2007

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Year 00

THE BONNER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTION

s

1

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Lakeview, pictured circa 1906 above, is a small settlement on the southeast tip of Lake Pend Oreille that mainly stayed connected to the rest of the world through steamboats and horses.

map of the county with place names that are linked to virtual historical collections from that place, including transcripts of oral histories and relevant photographs and images.

The collection of history is never complete, as it continues in our wake while we move through time. In

another 100 years, thanks to the electronic era, another set of generations may very well enjoy and learn from the history collected in these coming months as the Bonner County Historical Society and numerous communities in the county celebrate the centennial.

Book captures ‘Voices’ of Priest Lake

“I

54

So remembers one early resident about the experience of traveling to Priest Lake in the early 1900s. These days, when it’s a quick 30-minute drive up Highway 57 from Priest River, it’s hard to imagine what effort the lake’s first residents and visitors made just to get – much less live – there.

Imagining early Priest Lake is about to get easier, thanks to a new book of oral histories, “Pioneer Voices of Priest Lake,” due out in July, published by the Priest Lake Museum in conjunction with Keokee Books of Sandpoint. It is edited by Kris Runberg Smith, a history professor at Lindenwood University in Missouri and herself the greatgreat-granddaughter of a pioneer who landed at Priest Lake in 1897.

The book evolved from research Smith began while studying for her master’s degree in the early 1980s, when she began to copy historical photos and develop an oral history program for the then-nascent museum. But the project gained impetus more recently when Charlotte and Hank Jones found some old tape recordings Charlotte’s mother had made of conversations with one of the lake’s most well-known pioneers, Leonard Paul.

Through Smith’s museum connections, “The next thing you know, I was volunteered to edit them into a book for the centennial.”

The result is a book in which you can practically hear the voices of more than a dozen early residents as they describe in their own words the settling of the wilderness around the lake. Their memories encompass everything from getting around the lake by steamboat to the early sourdoughs, loggers and forest rangers, to the first schools and community life. Illustrated with more than 50 photos, “Voices” is rich history, told by the people who lived it.

“Pioneer Voices of Priest Lake” will be available beginning in July at the Priest Lake Museum, area bookstores and online at Leonard Paul Store in Coolin www.KeokeeBooks.com.

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

COURTESY PRIEST LAKE MUSEUM

www.sandpointonline.com

t was a rugged trip in. Everyone who was able got out and walked up the hills to save the horses, and when it was a four-horse stage, you got out and the men pushed if it got stuck in the mud. … It was a whole day trip by horse stage.”

MARKING THE MILESTONES

Centennial events Bonner County is growing older by the day, but turning 100 years old hasn’t seemed to slow it down. The official centennial date was Feb. 2, and the centennial celebration has begun. In fact, the first community events have already been held. On March 24 in Sandpoint at the East Bonner County Library, Bill Love, an Idaho Department of Lands forester, gave a presentation on the history of Humbird Lumber Company. On April 28, artifacts from the Sand Creek dig were displayed. On May 5, celebrating Idaho Archeology Month, Bob Betts did a presentation on The Road to the Buffalo at the Clark Fork Senior Center.

On May 26, during Memorial Day weekend, a new display about David Thompson’s Kullyspell House will be unveiled at Sam Owen Campground on the Hope Peninsula (see story, page 13).

The Priest Lake Museum is marking the centennial by publishing “Pioneer Voices of Priest Lake,” a collection of personal histories and historical photographs from the Priest Lake basin (see story, this page). In Priest River, historians Marilyn Cork and Diane Mercer are preparing a history of the Diamond Match Company by interviewing former employees and collecting photos.

Author Paul Rechnitzer will portray Spokane International Railroad magnate D.C. Corbin (date and time to be announced). Other community plans include Vay Days on Aug. 4; the Hope Pioneer Picnic on Aug. 19; the Dover Community Picnic on July 29; and a Sandpoint celebration being planned by the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with a rodeo at the Bonner County Fairgrounds from July 20-22.

To keep track of other celebratory plans as the centennial year unfolds, subscribe to the Historical Society’s electronic newsletter by sending an e-mail to bchsmuseum@imbris.net with “subscribe” in the subject line, or look up www.BonnerCountyHistory.org.

–Sandy Compton

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sanc•tu•ar•y

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Society

PHOTO BY DANN HALL

A measure

Who are we now?

Ten years after a series of watershed social events cast Sandpoint in the national spotlight, the fast pace of growth is changing our town

By Sandy Compton

www.sandpointonline.com

“S

56

o, how long have you lived here?” Melissa Hammack says that’s a question many people ask her when she first meets them in Sandpoint.

Hammack has lived here for just a few years, but she is a “grandmothered” local; her grandmother and father were born here.

Melissa and her husband, David, are lucky. As twentysomethings, they could afford to buy a house, something a majority of people their age cannot do in Sandpoint due to a disparity between real wages and real estate prices that has been growing steadily over the past 10 years.

Ten years ago, Sandpoint Magazine published a story titled “Who We Are,” examining the image of our area in the wake of the shootout at Ruby Ridge; the presence at that time of white supremacists Richard Butler, Carl Story and Vincent Bertollini; and SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

the decision of former Los Angeles Police Department detective Mark Fuhrman to move here in the midst of the O.J. Simpson trial. Fuhrman, painted as a rogue cop by Simpson’s lawyers, bought a house in Sandpoint that was the focal point of a media storm that went on for months and finally added up to little more than an inconvenience for people who lived on South Euclid Street.

But since then, the price of that house has more than likely tripled.

Diamond Jim Brady once said, “I don’t care what you say about me, as long as you spell my name right.” The dark publicity Sandpoint received in 1997 morphed into a long series of mostly glowing reports about what a great small town we have here, in publications like Sunset and Outside and USA Today. The results have been predictable. In some ways, we are being overrun, not by racists or misan-

The Lakeside Inn, top center, was a landmark on Sand Creek before its razing in 2005.

thropes looking for a place to espouse their philosophy, but by money. The slow changes of the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s have ramped up in the the new century. Sandpoint is changing fast.

The physical changes alone of the past 10 years seem staggering when added together. A multistoried condominium resort faces on the lake beside City Beach, where a decade ago a small remnant of the original town stood in a bucolic setting. The oldest building in town, which housed the original school, has disappeared to be replaced by a restaurant. Landmarks like Panhandle Milling, Harold’s IGA Super Foods and the Lakeside Inn have been razed, too.

Across the lake on Gold Hill and behind town on the east face of Baldy Mountain, the fall of dark brings out a glittering collection of lights, some continued on page 58

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Society

e of change Paying the wages of success Sandpoint’s boom brings new complexities for the city

By Stephen Drinkard

At North Boyer, an over- or underpass for the railroad may likely have to be constructed to ensure access for emergency response crews to reach a University of Idaho campus to be built here.

An era of new demands All these business successes have brought not only new revenue and more people but also new demands on services.

Today, the county population has topped 42,500 and Sandpoint’s population has risen to an estimated 8,300.

The unemployment rate is 3.7 percent and, in an about-face to 1996, when there were almost three applicants for

every job opening, Idaho Department of Labor reports that in 2006 in Bonner County there were 4,305 registered applicants with 2,578 job openings – or only 1.7 applicants per job listing. In other words, a job seeker has much more of a chance today.

The new demands on everyone, especially the City of Sandpoint, are unprecedented.

“Ten years ago we were scratching our heads as to how we could attract people and businesses to the area,” said Mayor Ray Miller. “Today, we are wearing out our scalps figuring how are we going to handle what we are getting.”

Kim Woodruff, director of City Parks and Recreation, has been with the city for more than 20 years and notes increases in demand for recreation programs and park space. In the last 10 years, the city has added more than 17 acres of new parks and, for the citizens of Sandpoint alone, the ratio of parkland to citizens is good.

www.sandpointonline.com

– lucky that Coldwater Creek and Litehouse did so well and decided to stay in their hometown. That good fortune has continued as other flourishing businesses have added jobs, among them Thorne Research, LeadLok, Unicep, Encoder, Quest Aircraft, Panhandle State Bank and others.

And other smaller businesses, from retailers to restaurants, have benefited indirectly or directly because of those successes. Here’s one measure: In the mid-’90s, building permits for commercial enterprises averaged one to four per year. In the last two years, the average has been 17.

PHOTO BY STEPHEN DRINKARD

A

bout 10 years ago the citizens, staff, mayor and council of the City of Sandpoint faced the usual litany of decisions about roads, services and public safety faced by any town of 6,500. Those issues are generally more difficult for Sandpoint because, as the county seat, it provides services for more than twice its population, swelling to triple during the summer tourist season.

Back then, the city and county officials were used to high unemployment, hovering through the 1990s at 9 to 10 percent – double the national rate. The timber industry with its comparatively well-paying jobs was suffering, becoming less and less the driver of the economy.

Yet despite high unemployment, the county population was booming, posting a 30-percent increase from 1990-96, to 31,890. The boom added to the glaring gap between the 2,100 job openings the county reported during the year, and the 6,100 registered job applicants.

Then an odd thing happened in 1997. The workforce shrank. In 1996 the county labor force numbered 17,090, but in the fall of 1997 it was reported at 16,850. Even odder, at the same time a business expansion began.

The Idaho Department of Labor reported that between spring 1996 and fall 1997, Coldwater Creek added roughly 1,000 jobs, while Litehouse Foods added 70 jobs at its food processing plant. Wal-Mart, with 225 jobs, and Life Care Center, with 80, opened their doors.

The sudden expansion was not planned for or guided by the local governments. The area just got lucky

continued on page 60

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Society Continued from page 56

illuminating homes big enough for two or three families. The average house built in 1997 was a modest 1,800 to 2,000 square feet. Today, custom homes up to 10,000 square feet are being built, and Realtor Tom Renk notes many are second or third homes.

Renk has been selling real estate in Sandpoint since 1981. His partners left for Florida in 1985, since “times weren’t very good.” They’ve improved since. Renk had on hand a 10-year-old listing book and quoted some 1997 prices. “South Lavina, 2-bedroom, 1bath, clean, remodeled, 2-car garage, big lot, $69,000.”

Excuse me?

“Hickory Street, 1,120 square feet, 4-bedroom, garage, carport, 82-by100-foot lot; $69,999.”

WHAT? Respectively, those properties list today for $195,000 and $225,000.

While real estate has gone over the moon, wages lag along in typical North Idaho style. In 2005, Bonner County residents made about 30 percent less than the national average, with a median wage of $34,284 as compared to $43,318 nationally.

Bonner County’s poverty figures are 13.4 percent, as compared to the 12.5 percent of the population nationally that lives below the poverty line.

With the soaring cost of real estate, an obvious question is: Are the wages of those who work for a living commensurate with housing costs? The answer is an overwhelming “No.” In the four years of 2002 though 2005, houses priced at less than $100,000 fell from just under 40 percent of the available units to less than 15 percent. Housing units priced over $250,000 rose from about 12 percent, to 34 percent of those available.

The gated community has come to the Sandpoint area, too. No less than

eight such developments are now within 20 miles of Sandpoint. Hidden Lakes, formerly a golf nirvana for locals, is being redeveloped into The Idaho Club, catering to a more upscale demographic.

In defense of our town, and the people who have lived here for years, not all have gone bonkers about bucks.

Steve and Linda Navarre have been in Sandpoint for over 20 years. Steve fixes cars. Linda teaches at Sandpoint Middle School (SMS). They see good and bad in the changes. “Traffic is what I notice,” said Steve.

“But we’ve passed school levies,” Linda, said, “and the Panhandle Alliance for Education is awesome.

They have provided opportunities we might not otherwise get.”

The Alliance was formed in 2002 to support public schools; in just its first four years, the group provided more than $300,000 in grants and put together an endowment fund of more

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Society than $1 million (see story, page 12).

Patrick Lynch, also an SMS teacher, makes a good point, too. “Our community is very aware of how pristine this area is,” he said, “and they are willing to fight to protect it.”

Sandpoint High teacher Wendy Auld is enthused that the University of Idaho will build a campus on North Boyer Avenue, thanks to a huge grant from the Wild Rose Foundation, backed by Coldwater Creek founder Dennis Pence. “We will have MBA and graduate level courses,” Auld said.

“Local business won’t have to look outside of town to hire managers.”

Bonner County Human Rights Task Force President Brenda Hammond and former Sandpoint mayor Paul Graves see one of the biggest changes as the growing gap between rich and poor. Hammond counts eight payday loan shops in and around Sandpoint, whose loans generally are taken out by people trying to make ends meet.

But Hammond and Graves also agree that the task force is no longer in a defensive position, as it was in the mid-1990s with the presence of Bertollini and Story egging on the national press. With Bertollini, Story and Butler all gone now, “we have the opportunity,” Graves said, “to focus action in a positive direction.”

That direction is working with the economically disadvantaged with programs like “Circles,” and Community Action Partnership.

And in spite of the economic gap, Sandpoint still offers some of the best things about living in a small town.

“The core of downtown is very defined geographically,” Lynch said, “unlike Coeur d’Alene, which feels spread out. We also have the Panida, the Little Theater and the Festival.”

Mary Jo Ambrosiani notes that in crisis, Sandpoint still responds like a small town. “The town comes together to help individuals and

groups in need. The community helps Kinderhaven, for instance, and the churches work together. There’s support for those who need it.”

Teacher Jan Fitzgerald also feels that the town has gained in diversity of thought. “There are more types of people here,” she said, “ ... and more real estate offices.”

Kevin Watson, who had been in Sandpoint only a few months when he was interviewed for that 10-yearago article, sees the best change as getting rid of the reputation that sparked the article. “What I think is the worst thing, though,” he added, “is the ‘sale’ of Sandpoint, because it means more sprawl and higher housing prices.

“I have no regrets about moving here, though.” Then, he laughs and adds, “except for not buying a lot of real estate.”

Sandy Compton has been contributing to Sandpoint Magazine for 16.5 years.

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But, in serving the larger county population, those additions are not enough. With an explosion of club sports in early 2000, particularly soccer, and now lacrosse, space is short.

“A good portion of the people playing club sports come from outside Sandpoint,” said Woodruff. He is not against people from nearby cities using the resources – City Beach has served non-city residents since its construction in the 1950s – he is just faced with the problem of how to deliver the services. “Bottom line: There are no easy answers,” he said.

Roads and infrastructure

www.sandpointonline.com

Growth has made even greater demands on the Public Works Department. Director Kody Van Dyk has been with the city almost as long as Woodruff and he, too, sees an increase in numbers and complexity.

In 1996 typical public works concerns were: Could the city meet EPA demands to clean up air quality, which suffered from wood smoke and dust caused by sanding winter roads? (It did.) Could the city extend sewer services out to the new jail on North Boyer? (It did.) And, how could the city solve a chief source of complaints, downtown traffic? (It hasn’t yet.)

In fact, traffic is worse today, as witnessed by average daily traffic counts at three sample intersections:

60

Pine & Schweitzer Fifth (Hwy 95) Lincoln & Boyer & Larch 1996 424 5,192 13,337 2006 537 7,634 20,841 Change: +27% +47% +56%

Today, water and sewer services are still an issue but, now, a bigger issue.

Van Dyk says growth will require major upgrades to water and sewer treatment plants that may cost in the tens of millions. The needs in the overall urban area has prompted the cities of Kootenai, Ponderay and Sandpoint to talk about regionalizing

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

the water and sewer systems.

If that weren’t enough, a recently completed Urban Area Transportation Plan points out the critical need for another north-south connector road: the reconstruction of Great Northern Road at a cost of about $7 million.

That same plan forecasts that Boyer Avenue and Larch Street will need major reconstruction to keep pace with large projects now pending. One is a major development to include stores and condos on 27 acres at Boyer and Larch. The other is a new University of Idaho branch campus to be built in just three years on a portion of 77 acres on North Boyer.

The streets that service these new endeavors will have to be rebuilt and, as one traffic study points out, an additional east-west road connecting Boyer to Highway 95 should be built.

What’s more, an over- or under-railroad pass on Boyer is likely also needed to ensure dependable fire and police response.

“In the mid-’90s,” said Van Dyk, “at any one time the city had 30 to 40 lots on the books waiting for development. Now, there are 400 to 500.”

Wrestling with our values The city and its partners are not just sitting around wringing their collective hands over the dynamic forces that have hit Sandpoint. A new, full-time planning director, Jeremy Grimm, was just hired. An urban renewal agency was created to help spread the costs of infrastructure improvement over more taxpaying citizens than just those in Sandpoint. In the last five years, outside expertise has been hired to help the city assess and write plans for downtown revitalization, parking, urban transportation, water and sewer expansion, and affordable workforce housing.

Perhaps most importantly, the city has embarked on a process to rewrite the current, 1970s-era comprehensive plan. This process will hopefully, through citizen input over many

months, provide direction for the city.

Citizens have also stepped up to address long-neglected needs. There are now city committees or commissions on pedestrian issues, public art, historical preservation, parks and recreation, municipal forestry and downtown business.

Aside from posing the practical problem of managing growth, the change Sandpoint is experiencing brings a different kind of pain: a pain of conflicting values. The city council and mayor and staff often face decisions with larger consequences than, say, the one they made a few years ago to not allow dogs in the parks.

Last year’s decision by the city permitting homegrown Panhandle State Bank to build a three-story, brick financial center in the downtown core faced emotional opposition from people who see its height and size as one more example of how the small-town character of Sandpoint is being lost forever.

Yet the project also has supporters who see the building and the bank’s success as an opportunity to retain well-paying jobs and keep downtown vital.

When the new UI campus is open, the people who have always said, “Sandpoint is a college town without a college,” will be joyful. However, there will be others who feel crowded out by new people and more traffic. And, how will they react to a new class of people in town – the college students – and the kinds of new, cultural outlets they will create with their buying power?

And what about infrastructure costs to support the college?

There sure seems to be, as Kim Woodruff observed, no easy answers.

But it’s the hard questions being asked now – questions not imagined 10 years ago – that will shape our growth.

In February Sandpoint turned 106, and perhaps that’s a sign as well: With maturity comes hard questions but not easy answers.

Stephen Drinkard is projects coordinator for the City of Sandpoint.

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Wine THE PEND D’OREILLE WINERY

Creating art in a bottle

Photos by Chris Guibert

I

Flashback to 1985, when an opportunity presented itself for a bunch of friends (pun well-intended) to go pick grapes in Europe. It was then that Julie and Steve were reunited and fell in love in Meursault, France. Having had her fill of laboring in the vineyards, Julie took off backpacking through Europe, returning to the states a few months later. Steve, or Steve-O as his wife affectionately refers to him, stayed on through the winter and worked side-by-side with Francoise Mikulski, then the apprentice to the cellar-master. Steve learned the wine-making process literally from the cellar up – from pruning vines to assisting with bottling that year’s 1985 vintage. Mikulski remains a lifelong friend of the family to this day.

When Steve returned the following year, he continued to master the art and science of the vintner’s trade at the Roudon-Smith Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Scotts Valley, Calif. Over the next seven years, he quickly progressed from vineyard manager to cellar master and eventually to assistant winemaker.

During that time, he also continued

t was summertime last year when I first spoke to Julie and Steve Meyer, owners of the Pend d’Oreille Winery, while doing extensive (and very tasty) research for this article.

Steve, the winemaker, was utterly unapologetic as he held out his hands, upturned palms stained a telltale, grapy gray. He had just returned from visiting his partner vineyards in eastern Washington and southern Idaho, touching and tasting the grapes to determine the optimum time for fall harvest. “It’s essential to keep in close touch with your growers, to keep them integrated with the process,” Meyer said.

The vintner, who uses traditional French winemaking methods, sources grapes from a handful of world-class, low-crop vineyards that produce fewer grapes per acre but with higher intensity for improved quality. “We take great pride in what we’re presenting to people,” Meyer said. “We’ve invested our hearts and souls to do it just right.”

To Sandpoint from Santa Cruz by way of Meursault, France Julie’s family (the Fentons) moved to

Stephen Meyer

Sandpoint in 1972. She attended grade school and middle school here, and graduated from Sandpoint High School in 1981. Despite living in Sandpoint for more than 35 years, and although both her sons were born in Sandpoint, she is still hesitant to label herself a local. “Some people are a little sensitive about that,” she said with a wink.

“Maybe in a few more decades.”

Julie met Steve Meyer through Cabrillo College Ski Club while they were both attending Cabrillo Junior College in Santa Cruz, Calif.

SUMMER 2007

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

www.sandpointonline.com

Story by Sheryl Montague Bussard

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his wine studies at the University of California at Davis and San Jose State University. The first wine he produced solely on his own – in his garage, as a “garagiste,” or amateur winemaker – was a Cabernet Sauvignon that won second place at the Santa Cruz County Fair amateur wine competition. It was to be the first of many awards for the discriminating vintner.

An opportunity arose for Steve to take over Roudon-Smith in 1993, but he and Julie had married in 1988, and they yearned for a different, better lifestyle. In 1993 they found it when they moved to Julie’s adopted hometown of Sandpoint.

Son Andy was born in 1994, and the next year, their other firstborn, the Pend d’Oreille Winery, was established in an unassuming industrial park on the north side of Sandpoint. The winery, which uses the original spelling of its namesake, fulfilled their long-held dream to produce handcrafted wines of exceptional quality using traditional French methods. Not to be overlooked in this essential timeline is son Paul, born in 1996.

When they’re not tending the business, Julie and Steve are often seen bicycling around town and out on the trails. They are key sponsors of the local cycling club, the Pend Oreille Peddlers. The entire family spends the majority of winter weekends up at Schweitzer boarding and skiing. And last year Steve began coaching Paul’s U10 Strikers soccer team.

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The move to downtown in 2002 gave the winery enhanced public visibility and foot traffic and rooted it as a keystone Sandpoint business. The beautiful furnishings, design and eclectic assortment of wine accessories, tableware and gift items were the brainchild of Julie’s creativity and an outgrowth of her studies at the California College of Arts and Crafts.

At the same time, the wines themselves steadily gained both a local and national following, while attracting

attention and winning awards at prestigious competitions.

The winery was recently honored with two silver medals from the prestigious Tri-Cities Wine Festival for the 2004 merlot and the 2004 Syrah, which also landed a silver medal in competition with more than 1,600 other entrants at the 17th consecutive Grand Harvest Awards.

Always much anticipated are the new, limited-edition releases in the Terroir (“Flavor of the Earth”) Series.

Produced and sold exclusively at the Pend d’Oreille Winery, these high-end blends aged to perfection in small oak barrels epitomize the passionate tutelage of winemaker Meyer.

“This year’s Terroir Series features the Malbec from the Wood River Vineyard in Caldwell, Idaho, which previously won a Gold Medal at the Idaho Wine Festival,” said Meyer. “We also released a new wine, the Sangiovese, and both are adorned with unique labeling featuring the work of different artists to complement the art in the bottle.” One of the new labels reflects the winery’s Sandpoint roots with an illustration of Lake Pend Oreille adapted from a classic Ross Hall photograph.

“All told, we will produce more than 7,000 cases (about 500 barrels) this year compared to a mere 800 cases (42 barrels) in our first vintage back in 1995,” he said.

Not bad growth at all for a onetime-would-be accountant who started – like so many other successful entrepreneurs – in a garage. Just as crucial to its owners, the winery continues to proudly represent the “flavor of Sandpoint” and to set a high standard as a community business, a place where locals and visitors can meet up to literally enjoy the fruits of the earth.

And, they can also be an integral part of a longtime dream, now realized, that of producing wines of uncompromising quality and award-winning caliber that are still reasonably within reach of wine enthusiasts near and far.

To that we say, “Santé!”

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A place for wine, music and more

L

ooking to add a little cheer to your Friday or Saturday night? Certainly one of the best – and most convivial – ways to start your evening is to drop by the Pend d’Oreille Winery tasting room, located downtown at the corner of Cedar and Third.

Open year-round, seven days a week, with daily wine specials starting at 4 p.m., the winery really comes into its own on the weekends at 5 p.m. when live music begins, with a roster that includes Sandpoint favorites the Shook Twins, Josh Hedlund and Two of Us +1, among others. Just pull up a stool at the locally crafted wine bar and sniff and sip one of dozens of award-winning wines produced right there on site. (Hint: You might want to arrive early; otherwise, it’s likely to be standing room only.)

You’ll find the crowd to be a mix of locals, part-time residents and out-of-town visitors, all of whom quickly become immersed in the spirit of the community; sampling award-winning wines, swapping restaurant recommendations, and talking about which part of the lake to explore or the best areas to hike. On a recent Sunday afternoon, Harvey Pine, retired from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and now a full-time Sandpoint resident and writer, was holding court with his wife, Anita, and friends from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

“Oh, this is always where I take people from out of town,” said the gregarious Mr. Pine.

“My wife and I were their very first customers when they opened the tasting room in the old location in 1995. And she holds the record for doing more tastings than any other person in Sandpoint, I can attest to that.”

Not exactly a wine buff? No worries. The experienced servers are all well-versed in the nuances of the winery’s vintages and will be happy to give you tastes of current offerings, make recommendations for the best wines to complement your next meal or party, and will gladly help you select a case (at a 10 percent discount) to take home – they’ll even carry it to your car. Locally brewed and bottled Laughing Dog beers and soft drinks are also available.

There will be ongoing musical events and extended hours all summer. Those in Sandpoint in September don’t want to miss the annual fall Harvest Party, Sept. 8-9. It’s by far the winery’s biggest to-do of the year, with grape-stomping and cork-spitting contests, live music, tie-dyeing and, of course, generous wine samplings.

Pend d’Oreille Winery, 220 Cedar St., is open daily, with live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Phone (208) 265-8545 or look up www.powine.com for more details.

–Sheryl Montague Bussard

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www.TomlinsonSandpointSothebysRealty.com 200 Main Street • Sandpoint • 208-263-5101 Each Office is Independently Owned and Operated

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Reliable as the Moon rise Sandpoint is the greatest place to live! We welcome you to come and enjoy the many pleasures of Bonner County, where there is something for everyone. In 1910, the Moon family came to Sandpoint for all the same reasons you come here today â&#x20AC;&#x201C; pristine setting, hunting, fishing, recreation and quality of life. Give Susan or Brandon a call and let them help you find your piece of paradise and start your own history in Bonner County.

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2 bedroom 1 3/4 bath ground floor condo with covered deck and patio at Holiday Shores in Hope. Fully furnished, all appliances including stacked washer and dryer. Forced-air propane heat, Pergo floors, fireplace and central air conditioning. Just steps away from the lake! It just doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get better than this. #2062401 $479,900

132â&#x20AC;&#x2122; of beautiful Lake Pend Oreille frontage on Oden Bay with level beachfront and a large dock.

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Power, natural gas, phone, are in the street. Paid Oden Water hookup, grandfathered septic system, as well as a paved driveway into the property. #2070290 $966,500 (Neighboring parcel with 237â&#x20AC;&#x2122; of frontage, also available #2070337.)

Montana Dream! Lovely setting with 4-bedroom log home on 24-acres in Trout Creek, Montana (60 miles east of Sandpoint).

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Large pole barn and small cabin used for tack room. RV hookup, a heated shop, with shower, and 2-car garage. A super producing well. Home has an open floor plan, wood stove, forced air propane furnace, vaulted tongue & grooved ceilings, all appliances, large deck, and walk-out basement. #2070425 $495,000.

Beautiful custom home on 2.8 acres overlooking Lake Cocolalla and the mountains.

Over 4,400 SF of living space with great room, 2 master suites, jetted tub, den, custom oak cabinets, granite countertops, pantry, family room and huge attached workshop. Home is handicap accessible. 25â&#x20AC;&#x2122;x40â&#x20AC;&#x2122; metal building and garden shed for all the toys and equipment. Community beach access is nearby. #2064054 $815,000

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With Sue Brooks, customer service doesn’t end at closing Sue Brooks likes to roll up her sleeves and make things happen – at work and in her community. When Sue moved here in 1999 she jumped right into community service becoming a member of the Community Assistance League, Sandpoint Parks and Recreation Commission and later a director for the Kinderhaven children’s group foster home. Sue’s involvement gives her a vast knowledge of our town, local governments, recreation, schools and real estate – and she puts that same can-do attitude to work for her clients. Whether you are buying or selling a home, Sue has the knowledge, integrity and dedication to exceptional service. Give her a call today.

Each office is independently owned and operated. 200 Main Street, Sandpoint, Idaho. 800-282-6880

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Phone 208-255-1601 Cell 208-255-6782 E-mail SueB@tb.com

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Pend Oreille River and Schweitzer Mountain views from this private homesite on 2+ acres. 4 Bedroom, 3 bathrooms, 3,364 square feet, wood and carpet floors, tile throughout, granite counters, 2 fireplaces, huge master bedroom with big walk-in closet, jetted tub, gourmet kitchen, attached 3-car garage. $739,000. #2064544 Call Mickie Caswell 208 265-1550 Cell: 208 290-5116 Mickie@tb.com

Each office is independently independently owned owned and operated 200 Main Street, Sandpoint, ID, 83864

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Of Beauty and Elegance

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Magical moments: Some of the performers at the festival over the years have been (from top) Johnny Cash, Bruce Cockburn, Peter Frampton, Natalie MacMaster, Drew Emmitt and Sam Bush, and Nickel Creek.

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MUSICAL MILESTONE:

THE FESTIVAL t n i o p d n a at S

25

Story by Cate Huisman Photos by

years

David Marx

OF MELODIES UNDER THE STARS

The music is magic, and so is something else: the village that makes it happen Festival backbone: Toni Lund, Dyno Wahl, Marcella Nelson and Carol Winget

I

t’s not the Music Festival, the Summer Festival, or even, officially, the Sandpoint Festival. On its program cover, it’s called the Festival at Sandpoint, but to locals it’s just “the festival.” In a town that celebrates winter, old boats, old cars, local fish, and numerous sports and arts in various guises, this is the festival that requires no further description. Everyone knows what it is.

No wonder. “The community owns this event; I’m just a steward,” said the energetic Diana Wahl, known as Dyno, now entering her 10th season as executive director. And indeed, many residents have stories to tell about it and their encounters with its performers: when Keb’ Mo’ came to their garage sale, how they took the Doobie Brothers waterskiing, when they heard Natalie MacMaster play at the hospital, and what they did with the contents of a basket that a departing concertgoer accidentally left at the curb in front of their house. (After a futile effort to find the owner, they drank the wine, gave the sweaters and blankets to the Goodwill, and donated the money to the festival.)

SUMMER 2007

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The Festival at Sandpoint But more important, the people have kept the festival alive through two decades of deficits and sometimes doubt.

“It survives because this community wants it and has been willing over the course of 25 years to save it every time it floundered,” said Paula Parsons, a longtime board member and treasurer who served through some challenging times.

“It’s symbolic to me of what a small town can do,” said local resident and frequent audience member Michael Welp.

“A lot of small towns wouldn’t dream of doing something like this. It speaks to the power of the community to not just pull it off but make it thrive.”

Rug,” said Nygren. “Dave is the heart and soul of the festival.

Just a darn nice guy,” said Ruskey.

No one seems to work for the festival because it’s easy or lucrative. Nygren cautions his crew never to figure how much they’re earning per hour, and Wahl reminds her staff, “Nobody gets paid enough to have a bad time.” Instead, the word “family” keeps coming up when they talk about the festival and its personnel. They are extraordinarily proud of the group that has created this extraordinarily professional production.

The festival got its start when a few individuals in town capitalized on the Spokane Symphony’s goal to start a summer music festival. An initial orchestra concert at the Panida Theater was a big hit: “That was damn fine music,” said one concertgoer in a cowboy hat.

Buoyed by this success, a group formed, the members each pledged a certain amount of money, they received a number of grants, and they brought the Spokane Symphony Orchestra up to Memorial Field for three concerts in 1983 – the first Festival at Sandpoint. Attendance was nothing like it is now, says Sydne VanHorne, one of the originators, but it was enough for the organizers to consider it a success.

Soon, with major support from the Brown family, which owned Schweitzer ski area at the time, they added the Schweitzer Institute to train promising young musicians at the mountain, under the direction of Gunther Schuller, the world-renowned composer and conductor who was the festival’s artistic director for 13 years, from 1985 to 1998.

As the festival grew, more venues were added. Chamber ensembles played on Cedar Street Bridge, Wynton Marsalis played at the Panida, Willie Nelson played at a ranch in

This fruit of the community’s labor is housed for most of the year in the festival’s headquarters in The Old Power House downtown. Down a hallway lined with autographed photos of many of the artists who have played the festival are the offices of Wahl as well as Carol “Wingnut” Winget and Toni “Tone” Lund, the triumvirate of widely respected and oddly nicknamed women who start preparing for the festival each year in September, just after the previous festival has ended. The token male of the office group is a black lab named Porter, who has his own office chair into which he folds himself after greeting visitors.

The staff is rounded out by a part-time bookkeeper, Tamara Verby, and two other devoted part-timers who spend much of their spring and summer preparing for and working the festival: Dave Nygren, the production manager, and Mike “Rug” Ruskey, the stage manager, who got his moniker (shortened from “Rughead”) from a high school coach who wouldn’t let him play until he had a haircut.

Festival staff can’t say enough about the additional crew hired seasonally or about the 400 volA rare feat unteers who keep coming ver the years, the Festival at Sandpoint back every summer. Some has brought some tremendously popular volunteers take their vacaacts to town. Who can forget Johnny Cash & tions to chair committees June Carter and the Carter Family in 1993 or that they have run for Warren Zevon in 2001? Still, as big as those years, and others come names were, they weren’t one of the nine every night after working shows in 24 seasons that sold out. A few otha full day at their real jobs. ers came close.

“They are unquestionably Before 2001, the feat was a bit easier since the heroes of this particucapacity was only 2,500. In 2001 city officials lar event,” said Ruskey. decided to allow 1,000 more, so now 3,500 Nor can they praise their people can be on the grounds at Memorial Field, fellow staff members highly including ticket holders, musicians, production enough. “Thanks, Wingnut staff and volunteers, according to Executive and Tone, for 10 wonderDirector Dyno Wahl. ful years,” reads an ad that “Last year, the only true sellout was Super Wahl placed in last year’s Soul Sister Saturday with Ruthie Foster, Susan program. “We wouldn’t Tedeschi and Etta James,” she said. “Last year, want to do this without

ut sold o

O

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Keb’ Mo’ sold out in 2002.

all the shows would have been sold out had the old capacity been in effect.”

The only other sellouts since 2001 were Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Keb’ Mo’ – both in 2002. A few shows were close to sellouts: David Gray and Nickel Creek, both in 2006; and Los Lobos and Bela Fleck, both in 2003.

Before capacity was increased, the bands that reached sellout status were: The Beach Boys (1995), Doobie Brothers (1997), The Pretenders (1998), Little Feat (1999), Manhattan Transfer (2000) and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1999) – the only act to sell out at both capacities.

–Billie Jean Plaster

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The Festival at Sandpoint Cocolalla, and there was “music going all over the place at Schweitzer,” said VanHorne.

Fundraising activities proliferated, too. In addition to the wine tasting, dinner and auction event that is still held, there have been, at times, a ski race, a lobster feed and a golf tournament to support the festival. In its early days, Lost in the ’50s – Sandpoint’s spring celebration of vintage cars and early rock and roll – was a fundraiser for the festival. Another significant source of funds over the years has been Holly Eve, a community fundraiser benefiting several local causes and put on annually by Marilyn Sabella, a perennial festival board member and owner of Eve’s Leaves, a clothing store on First Avenue.

But it was never enough. “There were very few times in the early years when the festival was in the black. The history of the festival has been in the red,” said Marcella Nelson, a longtime board member, past festival president and a local supporter of the arts, who is well-known for her diminutive stature and hair done in a distinctive bun. Still, the festival continued on uneven financial footing until, after what one supporter terms “a crash-and-burn season” in 1996, the festival found itself more than $200,000 in debt.

To repeat a mixed metaphor that many associated with the festival use, it was time to put all their sacred cows on the table.

Even though it had received some major financial assistance from Dennis Pence and Coldwater Creek, the board realized

that the festival’s survival depended on radical change. The expensive Schweitzer Institute was discontinued, the emphasis on classical music was abandoned, and the five-person staff was cut back to three. But perhaps the most difficult decision for several board members was to cut back to just one symphony performance. Orchestras, with their numerous musicians, are expensive, and the symphony concerts weren’t always well-attended. There was even talk of discontinuing the symphony performances completely. “But we old-timers on the board said no, we had to have a symphony,” said Nelson.

Now, as it finishes its first quarter century, the festival has five years of modest surpluses behind it. Each concert must now pay for itself, either through gate receipts alone or through some combination of ticket sales and other sources, typically grants or sponsors. Wahl says she has become “much more of a bean counter,” and she punctuates her answers to questions by spinning on her office chair to face her computer and pull up spreadsheets. Ticket sales for 2007 will bring in $960,000, half of the festival’s overall budget. The remainder is made up of grants, corporate funding, chair rentals, and proceeds from the poster auction, program advertisements, and bar and merchandise sales. We “seem to have hit on a compromise that works,” said Wahl.

“We can control all the risks except the weather.”

This is not to say that the festival always runs like clockwork. “There are always eight or 10 things that go different

One local’s tips on how to do the festival right

H

aving a good time at the Festival at Sandpoint is easy. You can show up late, empty-handed, hungry and underdressed, and still enjoy yourself. However, with a little forethought and planning, you could have a truly epic time at the Festival, and isn’t that what it’s really all about?

First off, for the best seats, you have to get there early. My clan organizes an all-day sit-in, with the first shift showing up as early as 6 a.m., with replacements rolling in every couple of hours. When the gates open you’ll find yourself swept away in the stampede – get ready to run! Lay your blankets, unfold your sand chairs, and get your hot spot locked in for the evening’s entertainment. There is also a section farther back for taller chairs, and the bleachers make for good seating as well, but don’t forget your binoculars.

Now leave. Get your hand stamped, and take this hour to bring the rest of your articles of enjoyment together. Checklist: warm clothes, picnic basket, utensils (Important: Don’t forget silverware, glasses and a wine key), and your favorite beverages. (The festival allows spectators to bring alcoholic beverages, and that’s something worth toasting!) I usually choose red wine because it’s easy to keep at its desired temperature, though the most dedicated beer and cocktail lovers will bring along a cooler that doubles well as a table.

Though it’s great to come ready, Festival Street always has a wonderful selection of meals and desserts; there is a full bar as well.

It should be said that, though there is nothing better than sitting up front and dancing next to the stage, plenty of people still have a great time at the Festival without ever setting foot on the grounds. Just outside the gate is lovely Lakeview Park, where a whole other crowd gathers each night and enjoys the show – minus the ticket cost. You can barely spy the performers, but the music’s still terrific. Many people will also take their boats out onto the river and listen from the water. So if you find yourself without tickets, try a different location and revel in the coolest free concert you’ll ever attend. Or contact the Festival at Sandpoint to learn more about volunteering.

–Jenna Bowers SUMMER 2007

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PHOTO BY BEN OLSON

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The Festival at Sandpoint

The Festival at Sandpoint, the acclaimed outdoor music series, completes its first quarter century with a fantastic lineup for 2007. The eight dates fall over a two-week period from Aug. 2-12, truly the pinnacle of Sandpoint’s summer season. Buy a season pass – only 600 are sold – and don’t miss a show. Or snag one of 2,100 individual tickets by calling (208) 265-4554 or toll-free (888) 265-4554; or look up www.festivalat sandpoint.com. All shows at Memorial Field; gates open at 6 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and at 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Thursday, Aug. 2 at 7:30 p.m. The 25th who bounds across genres is one of the most annual season opens with “A Musical Reunion,” a revered musicians of his time. Opening for him is pops concert featuring the Spokane Bearfoot, a young indie acoustic band of five Symphony Orchestra and favorite guest from Alaska that plays bluegrass, Americana and artists from the festival’s past, conducted by roots music.

Maestro Gary Sheldon.

Sunday, Aug. 5 at 4:30 p.m. Round up the Friday, Aug. 3 at 7 p.m. That would be Phat Phriday I with singer-songwriter LeRoy Bell and His Only Friends, an acoustic soul artist opening for blues rocker Jonny Lang. The former instrumentalist prodigy just won a Grammy for his latest album, Turn Around. A 26-year-old who released his first album at age 15, Lang now stands as a mature creative force.

Saturday, Aug. 4 at 6 p.m.

The first Super Saturday brings back festival alumnus Lyle Lovett, who first performed here in 1993, as the headliner.

The winner of four Grammy Awards, the singer-songwriter

little ones and bring them down for the Family Concert, featuring the Spokane Youth Orchestra conducted by Verne Windham and Gary Sheldon. Fun kids’ activities, such as the Instrument Petting Zoo, precede the always-popular concert.

Thursday, Aug. 9 at 7:30 p.m. The second week of the festival starts off country with the five hard-playing Texans who make up Reckless Kelly opening for the Robert Earl Keen Band.

Known as the King of the Texas Music Scene, Keen writes music that is best described as raw, down-to-earth alternative country.

He pioneered the sound called “Texas Country.” Come early for complimentary microbrew tasting at 6 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 10 at 7 p.m. That would be Phat Phriday II, featuring main headliner Los Lonely Boys, three Texan brothers whose self-

than you expect,” said Nygren. Ruskey’s description is more metaphorical: “The train always wants to go off the track.

Every day it wants to crash. Our job is to keep nudging it back on.”

Setting up the festival’s signature tent is the first challenge. It goes up differently every year. Sometimes it takes hours and hours. “Last year it went up so fast that I wondered what went wrong,” said Nygren. Of course, most concertgoers just see the tent up when they arrive, and they are usually oblivious to the other challenges the festival occasionally faces as well, which is just as the staff wants it to be. Few people know that a porta-potty suddenly burst into flames one evening after a concert, nor were many in the audience aware that the plane that flew over the field during the act that opened for Dwight

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titled debut album was a stunning fusion of electric blues and Texas roots. 2004 Grammy Award winners, Los Lonely Boys followed up with Sacred, released in 2006.

Opening for LLB is Jackie Greene, back by popular demand, after opening for David Gray in 2006. Another prodigy, Greene is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who plays pop, folk, blues and country.

Saturday, Aug. 11 at 6 p.m. A homegrown Idahoan, Josh Ritter and his band opens for Madeleine Peyroux, a French-American singer for the second Super Saturday. Hailing from Moscow, Ritter, 29, is a guitartoting singer-songwriter with an ever-growing fan base and four CDs under his belt. Singer-songwriter Peyroux, who has three CDs, is often compared to Billie Holliday. One reviewer says she “confidently walks the line where jazz, country and blues collide.”

Sunday, Aug. 12 at 6:30 p.m. Fireworks light up the Grand Finale concert featuring the Spokane Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maestro Sheldon performing pops and classical compositions with special guest violinist Mark O’Connor, a bright talent widely recognized as one of the most gifted contemporary composers in America, performing the entire second half. Come early for complimentary “Taste of the Stars” wine tasting at 4:30 p.m.

Yoakam actually carried a desperately late Yoakam, who ultimately went on stage as scheduled.

Despite the uncertainties of running an outdoor festival in a remote corner of the country, no scheduled concert has ever been cancelled, even for inclement weather. (Loretta Lynn couldn’t appear as scheduled in 1995 because her husband was ill, but she arranged for her sister, Crystal Gale, to take her place – a switch that met with approval from the audience.) Concerts have proceeded before and after and even during rain, and audiences seem

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The Festival at Sandpoint

Artists create fabulous original artwork for season posters THE

FESTIVAL

AT

Sandpoint is the soundtrack to our summers, a part of what makes Sandpoint, Sandpoint. And just as each year’s musical lineup is distinctive and varied, so is the design of each piece of art that has represented it.

Beginning with the first poster artist, Paula Youngstrom, talented local artists have been chosen by their peers to create their unique versions of the festival poster. Each year the previous festival Past poster artists gathered around 2006 poster art and artist poster artists gather to decide who Dann Hall. From left are Gerri Harvill, Sue Graves, Bonnie Sheilds, should be the next to capture the magic Bill Klein, Ann Porter, Doug Jones, Hall, Amy Tessier, Ward that is the Festival at Sandpoint.

Tollbom, Betty Billups, Dan Shook, Patricia Barkley and Gail Lyster.

A fortunate trend began in 1999 with Diana Schuppel’s poster. Her more have been made in the past whimsical painting fetched a record bid of $3,800. Since then, with for the most popular ones. They are a few exceptions, the winning bid has been going up every year. The still available, singly or as a com2005 piece by Janeen A. Schissler broke the record at $7,250. plete set for $500, which includes a Schuppel thinks that people are drawn to her piece, which depicts colrare print from the first year. There orful insects looking through the fence at the Festival, because, quite are a few places around town to view simply: “It is happy, and people like to feel good. It was a joy for me the entire lineup: Bonner General to create, as it came at a time in my life of personal turmoil, and it Hospital, Sandpoint West Athletic became a focus for me, a way to be lifted away.”

Club, or at the Festival at Sandpoint Artists have used a multitude of varying mediums, from stained headquarters at The Old Power glass and found objects to tiles and quilts. 2001 Festival poster House, where the posters can also artist Dan Shook chose sculpture as his interpretation. He was the be purchased. first and only artist so far to use this medium. His piece was also Every year the original artunique in that he sought assistance from others in his creation. Ted work is unveiled three weeks Bowers built a stand to hold the sculpture, and Dann Hall, the 2006 prior to the start of the conartist, took the photograph that became the poster. Shook said cert series.

As always, the being chosen to contribute was “such a confirmation that I am a community awaits the unveiling of respected member of the artistic community.” He added: “It was what will undoubtedly become an iconic profound and so inspirational, it really got my juices flowing. My image of the Festival at Sandpoint, and of cheeks hurt from so much smiling by the time it was all done.”

Sandpoint itself.

The beloved series is inexAll of the artwork is donated, and all proceeds from the poster tricably linked with the depiction of the sales and auction of the original piece go to the festival. Posters are artist’s interpretation. kept affordable for all, at $5 for an unsigned print and $10 for one –Jenna Bowers signed by the artist. Five hundred are printed every year, though a few

Posters by Diana Schuppel, 1999; Gail Lyster, 2003; and Janeen Schissler, 2005

25th year artist Janene Grende: Br ight sty l e, w him sical in spir ation s

T

need to do to make a piece that will translate well into a poster. It has to be bright, colorful and attractive.”

Those are attributes you can count on: To see Grende’s vibrant style check the cover art for this issue of Sandpoint Magazine, commissioned to go with this feature coverage.

The original poster artwork will be unveiled on July 12 at the Seasons at Sandpoint. “The original will be a silk painting with a North Idaho theme – the lake, animals, music, lots of dancing,” she said. “I want it to make people smile.” She mentioned among her inspirations previous poster artists Amy nde Tessier, Bonnie Shields and Diana Schuppel. nene Gre

his year’s festival poster artist is painter Janene Grende. She branched out into creating vibrant silk paintings 10 years ago, and as her technical skills evolve, so does her passion for the challenging medium.

Local artists consider the invitation to create the poster art an honor, and Grende echoed that.

“I’m really thrilled,” she said. “I’m glad it came at this time in my career. If I had been chosen earlier, I might not have done the poster justice. I have learned a lot about painting with silk over the last 10 years, and I know what I Ja

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The Festival at Sandpoint to have happy memories of huddling under tarps while consuming Brie and merlot. Many remember the “Guitars and Saxes” concert in 1999 as one in which the damp crowd was fashionably clad in trash bags. Nelson even remembers listening to one concert from inside a sleeping bag.

“We sell a lot of sweatshirts and blankets on cold evenings,” she added, and “when there are no more sweatshirts and blankets, people want to buy the tablecloths.”

In addition to being able to handle whatever the weather hands them, the audience is known as discerning but open to new musical ideas. As if to prove this, concertgoers last year snapped up 95 percent of the 600 available season passes before the lineup was even announced. “I’ve often said to Dyno that I wish I could pack up the audience and take them with me on the road,” said Gary Sheldon, the mellow maestro who is in his ninth year conducting the orchestra concerts.

The music makers Over the first 24 years, more than 100 headline acts have taken the stage. A sample of those not mentioned elsewhere: 1987 Nicolette Larson • Doc Watson 1990 John McCutcheon Michael Martin Murphey 1992 Wynton Marsalis • Tony Bennett • Jan & Dean Emmy Lou Harris

whether they want to or not, and whose streets are full of festival-goers and their cars on concert nights. Although neighborhood residents have had some issues with the festival in the past, says Wahl, there have been few problems in the last 10 years, since limits have been set on noise level (98 decibels), crowd size (3,500 on the field), and how late bands may play (11 p.m.). One family a half block away even donates use of their driveway as a premium parking space to be auctioned off at the festival’s annual fundraiser, and they wash the car while its owners are listening to the concert.

1993 B.B. King • Lyle Lovett Kathy Mattea 1994 Riders in the Sky • Robert Cray Band • The Temptations • Nanci Griffith • Maureen McGovern • Neville Brothers 1995 Bellamy Brothers • Natalie Cole Alison Krauss & Union Station 1996 Lou Rawls • Neil Sedaka Hal Ketchum • Kathy Mattea 1997 George Benson • Booker T. Jones • Blind Boys of Alabama John Mayall • Martina McBride

The field, the staff, the reputation, the audi1998 ences, the community – they all make the festival Performers looking out from the stage have John Hiatt • Al Jarreau an appealing venue for performers even though been equally impressed by what Ruskey calls the Suzy Boggus • John Prine it can’t provide many of the things that perform“little environments” that the audience members 1999 ers often ask for, such as real dressing rooms (the set up, with tablecloths over their coolers and can- Judy Collins • Peter Frampton Hal Ketchum festival provides trailers at the field) or some of dles on their “tables.” It’s an unusual aspect of this 2000 America • Leftover Salmon the lighting they would like. When Ruskey venue that people are allowed to bring in whole Laura Love “advances” shows, discussing their contracts with meals and even alcoholic beverages. Entertainers 2001 performers, he tries to ensure that they know often are a little concerned about performing at Lee Ann Womack • Scruj MacDuhk • Branford Marsalis exactly what to expect. fairs and festivals, says Ruskey, because festival 2002 But even with the “no surprises” policy, artists crowds can get a little rowdy. He assures visiting Asleep at the Wheel • David can arrive disgruntled after hours on the bus and artists that here in Sandpoint, “The worst fight Lindley & Wally Ingram • Air Supply months on the road, sometimes having been you’re going to see is over who’s going to get up 2003 treated like prima donnas. Ruskey is considered and get the next bottle of chardonnay.”

The Lettermen • Tower of the consummate babysitter of cranky performers, Another noteworthy aspect of the audience is Power • Karla Bonoff • Shawn Colvin • Bela Fleck • Jerry Jeff having handled admirably the singer who couldthat it stretches beyond the festival grounds Walker • Los Lobos n’t remember his lyrics, the artist who wanted to proper. Hundreds of listeners take their picnics 2004 be supplied with six pairs of white socks, the to Lakeview Park just west of Memorial Field.

Lou Rawls • Jim Messina Dierks Bentley • Delbert band members who were so angry at each other Others spread their blankets just outside the McClinton • Buddy Guy that they wanted to draw a line down the middle field’s perimeter fence, and still more listen from 2005 of their trailer, and the performer who didn’t their boats anchored in the lake just offshore.

Ryan Adams • Ronnie Milsap want to go on at 8:30 (as his contract required) Although these options don’t give listeners quite 2006 Tucker • Los because he didn’t like the number eight. the magical feeling that comes from being on the Tanya Straightjackets • Dick Dale With years of experience mounting shows festival grounds as the lines of twinkling lights Jackie Greene • David Gray both in Sandpoint and elsewhere, Ruskey also come on along the tents at dusk, they do make has a particular appreciation for performers who behave prothe music available to people for whom the price of a ticket fessionally. The Doobie Brothers and the Nitty Gritty Dirt is difficult to come up with.

Band, for example, are “ridiculously nice people unaffected And then there are the residents in the neighborhood that negatively by this industry,” he said. But even working with surrounds Memorial Field, who get to hear every concert 78

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The Festival at Sandpoint such great guys can have its downside. The outgoing and generous Doobie Brothers arrived in Sandpoint three days early for their sold-out performance, and by the time of their show, they and their crew had promised complimentary tickets to 600 newfound friends. Ruskey shrugs and laughs when remembering that the crowd absorbed this huge number of extras without incident: “It’s a friendly town, and the Doobie Brothers are friendly folks.”

The Festival, the book

N

ow you can read all about it.

Spearheaded by Festival at Sandpoint board member Jim Walter, the festival has produced a full-color, anniversary coffee table book. It’s written and edited by Marlisa Keyes and profusely illustrated with photos of performers and large reproductions of festival posters. “It’s an honest account” of the event’s history, said Walter. At $19.95, get it at the festival office, the Sandpoint Visitor Center, online at www.FestivalatSandpoint.com, or on the field during the Festival.

Overseeing it all is a board that some members have served on for decades – board terms are indefinite. Each member does, however, complete a self-evaluation every year. “The questions are rather pointed,” said Sabella, one of those who has been around nearly since the beginning. It’s more fun now that the years of debt are behind them, but the board has a couple of other things to be happy about as well.

One is that the festival is now back up to three orchestra concerts each season, with one – the Family Concert – provided by the Spokane Youth Symphony, which is far less expensive than the unionized Spokane Symphony. Another development that has particularly pleased the board is the alternative it has found to the Schweitzer Institute. “When we realized we could not continue the institute, we chose to do something in the community,” said Nelson. Although it is not as obvious as the concerts in August, this education focus is just as much a part of the festival.

In its current incarnation, the education program brings musicians into all the fifth-grade classrooms in Bonner and Boundary counties, introducing students to the different musical instruments that they will have an opportunity to learn to play the following year. Every fifth-grader also receives three tickets to the festival’s grand finale concert.

The approach seems to be working: Local school district staffs indicate that enrollment in music classes is strong and that the outreach program has a significant influence on students’ decisions to take music.

The festival also pays for repairs on damaged school instruments, and as its education budget has increased, it has been able to provide more new ones as well. Gifts have included some of the most expensive instruments, which public schools have a hard time fitting into their budgets: marimbas, pianos, drum sets. “The most satisfying thing I have ever done,” said Wahl, “is deliver instruments to schools.” Readers of the Bonner County Daily Bee will recall seeing a photo of Wahl in the local paper last fall with the high school band teacher, a couple of students, and a long sought-after (and very expensive) tuba. The dream is eventually to create a youth or community orchestra.

Having found a “compromise that works,” the festival’s staff and directors say there are no plans to make the festival bigger, just better. The audience’s experience is enormously important to the staff and volunteers. That’s why there’s a red carpet and a glass of champagne for everyone (age 21 and up) who walks through the gates on opening night, and that’s why Nygren doubled the number of facilities in what is euphemistically called “the stool gardens” – he didn’t like the lines that people had to wait in. This year, the staff is particularly proud of their new sound system, which will enable them to move the stage back to provide extra room for the audience’s “little environments” and better sightlines as well.

For those who have been at many other festivals, the unique aspects of this one are particularly evident. The community’s commitment to the festival year-round and the festival’s commitment to music education make it stand out even among better-known festivals around the country and the world. And while the venue is conducive to sophisticated setups for adults, it is also a comfortable one for families. It is a great way to introduce kids to all kinds of music, says Welp, who has taken his two daughters, now ages 6 and 8, to concerts for several years.

But perhaps the reason it is so special for the audience is that it is even more special for the people who put it on. As Wahl puts it, “Every year is a reunion at the festival.”

Ruskey likens it to an island – a little world unto itself in which a dedicated and professional group of staff and volunteers keep the boat sailing, never letting on that a performer is late or the tent went up backwards or a toilet caught on fire. In the haven they create, the audience can share their blankets and their chardonnay, set up their candles and tablecloths, don their garbage bags if it rains, and hear many kinds of music that they didn’t even know they enjoyed.

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This could be

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4 DAYS, 5 friends on 2 fat tires around the Story by Ian Phalen Introduction and photos by Chris Guibert

Daniel “the Swede” Kratz, Suzanne Guibert and Ian Phalen ride old Highway 200 outside of Hope on the first day of the tour. Beautiful Lake Pend Oreille and the steep Green Monarch Mountains loom in the background.

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B

big lake

efore you leave on any type of adventure travel outing, you must ask yourself a simple question. Why? Why would five people want to ride around Lake Pend Oreille carrying all their food and camping gear in trailers they tow behind their bikes? The answer is the same one given by fabled Mount Everest pioneer George Mallory: “Because it is there.”

The process starts by hatching a loose plan and then selling it to your gullible friends. “How does four to five days of swimming, camping and cycling around the lake sound? We will stay as close to the lake as possible, sleep every night under the stars, and ride as much single-track as we can find. You in?” I asked 30 people, and only four committed.

The first two takers were the Swede, also known as Daniel, an outdoor guide for one of the “bad kid schools”; and Ian, exriver guide and wannabe Renaissance man. Wyatt, a local builder and old-school bike nut soon signed on. Much to our delight Suzanne, our badass female representative, could not resist the call. And finally there was me, the long-haired, counterculture photographer with nothing better to do than brainstorm crazy bike rides.

Mapping out the route was simple. Find campsites that are about a day’s ride apart, locate all downhill single-tracks that are close to the route and find as many swimming holes as possible.

Be forewarned! This ride is not for the weak. There is more than 9,000 feet of climbing on this 100-plus-mile route!

We chose the last week in August 2006 to make our siege.

The lake would be the perfect temperature for swimming at the end of each day’s ride. After weeks of planning, we assembled early one morning in my backyard and packed our gear. We chose to delegate the creative responsibilities. I would focus on the photos while Ian would kindle his Renaissance spirit and take over the task as wordsmith. So sit back in your armchair, and enjoy the ride.

–Chris Guibert

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DAY ONE: Liberated! We were off like a herd of turtles with our homes on our backs. I love turtle

Ian Phalen and Suzanne Guibert revel in being halfway through the first day while stopping for provisions at the Old Ice House Pizzeria in Hope.

The Swede relaxes at Whiskey Rock to cool off after Day Two. Tequila and cheap beer helped ease their sore muscles.

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travel: self-contained and self-propelled in remote areas. In years past I have trekked through mountains on foot and skis, paddled wilderness rivers and tropical coastlines in a tightly stuffed kayak, and toured with panniers strapped to a bicycle. This time my gear was stowed in the new B.O.B. trailer behind my mountain bike. We slipped through downtown Sandpoint in a brightly colored train topped with yellow flags. Final supplies packed and mechanical needs dealt with, our crack-of-noon club broke suction and eased out of town on a big lap ’round the lake.

Like Tom and Huck we ducked through construction fences and backyards to access a lakeside dirt track headed east. The day was already hot, and we were tempted to go swimming, but we kept our momentum rolling toward fresh oases. This was the time to get used to the weight and handling of the trailers. Black Rock challenged us with a short but steep trail requiring a team bicycle drag. Next we worked together to carry over some railroad tracks. I was both convinced that this is a cool way to travel and sobered by the limits a heavy trailer imposes off pavement.

Stimulants! Back on pavement for the Highway 200 push to Hope we came upon a welcome sight. The Colburn-Culver turnoff has an espresso stand. Afterburners lit, we made good speed until we crossed the Pack River. A bull moose was browsing mere yards from tractor trailers and rolling real estate (RVs) cruising by at 55 mph. Having survived that hairy and (Suzanne’s) skirt-raising leg of the journey, we happily exited the highway bound for the Old Ice House Pizzeria. Following a team meeting we bought pizza and focaccia for dinner and continued on to find lunch at Hope Market Café. Frosty mugs of ale greeted Daniel and me while our fresh sandwiches were constructed. Chris and Suzanne met Outskirts Gallery owner Kally Thurman and were shown a collection of handmade artist’s brushes.

A young black bear bounded across the old highway southeast of Hope. I anxiously kept an eye out for its mama while our group filed through. For a few miles we rode parallel to the busy highway 200 with an impressive vista of the lake over Denton Slough. Some last minute goodies, snacks and a six-pack topped my load as we steered onto the Clark Fork River bridge and left the pavement. Camp for the night was Johnson Creek Recreation Area. Enough sun remained to swim and wash off the day’s sweat. Our tents set up and beds made, we relaxed and contemplated the next morning’s 2,700-foot climb to Johnson’s Saddle. I was ready for bed when Wyatt materialized out of the dark to complete our posse.

He had worked all day on a roof, hurriedly packed and rallied to catch up with us.

DAY TWO: The morning sun dried our camping gear as we consumed calories and drank lots of water. Soon enough we were cranking up a steep dirt road with muscles burning. Shade was rare but much appreciated on this relentless climb. Motor vehicle traffic was minimal: A potty pumper truck bathed us in dust and diesel fumes, and near the top a minivan from out of state stormed past, soon to return with windows lowered to ask the prerequisite directions. At the saddle we paused to regroup after two hours of intense effort. Every intersection and hilltop provided welcome rest spots to fall off our bikes and chow down on energy bars and snacks. As a group we decided to coast down the ridge a couple miles to have lunch and take a vote on riding Trail No. 606. There were many things we did not know about this single-track trail. Was it clear of fallen trees? Could we ride it with the trailers? Will it connect with the road to Whiskey Rock?

Adventurous spirit overcame us and we chose the risky trail over the safer gravel road. I felt giddy in anticipation of the unknown trail before us. Several miles away and hundreds of feet below us lay the lake.

Downhill! What a blast! Screaming down the single-track trail with brush whipping past, I had to remind myself of the 45-pound trailer connected to my rear axle. Terms like “lengthened stopping distance” and “momentum” flitted through my head as I encountered the first of many SUMMER 2007

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Daniel rounds a tight corner on the Bernard Peak trail.

steep switchbacks.

As overheated b r a k e s squealed, I dove into the turn, any chance of stopping now forfeited. There was a moment of uncertain wobble as the trailer crossed the fall line of the slope and rudely pushed and skidded my rear tire toward an abysmal dropoff. I shifted my weight back and into the hill and, whoosh, we were off down the trail. OK, speed feels great, but think ahead, way ahead. The added weight of my turtle shell took some getting used to, but I soon learned to enjoy letting it go, flying like a comet with a tail of dust in my wake. Sorry Suzanne, did I lose anything?

The trail spit us out on Road No. 2296 with silly grins on all our faces and giggles in our throats. A few battle stories had to be shared immediately, but the lake beckoned. A shady dirt road whisked us down the steep drainage to our first glimpse of the lake’s blue water. Private road. Up we groaned on another hot and dusty ascent. The views were inspiring, but I think we all had a refreshing swim in mind. Are we there yet? Finally a sweeping descent led us into Whiskey Rock Campground.

Paradise found! We chanced upon a vacant campsite with sweeping views of the lake and adjacent shoreline. Daniel and I scrambled down to a tiny cove where we swam and rinsed the salt and dust from our riding clothes. Chris, Suzanne and Wyatt eventually joined us for some sun worship, swimming and a tasty margarita on the rocks. I felt I was in the right place at the right time. As the cool of evening approached, we trickled back to camp.

Daniel wandered around greeting fellow campers.

He must have made quite an impression, because he returned with an outsized martini and, later on, a partial bottle of vodka. Must have been the Swedish accent. Good friends and a spectacular sunset closed an epic day.

Club fuels biking fever The Pend Oreille Pedalers (POP) members have been so busy clearing and building trails and creating an annual bike festival, it’s amazing they still find time to do what they are truly passionate about – riding their bikes. The bicycling club hosts weekly rides for both roadies and mountain bikers, along with club rides on weekends once a month.

POP formed two years ago to promote cycling. “It seemed like so many folks ride around here, it was time to create a group, and the Pend Oreille Pedalers began,” President Chris Bier said. The membership has grown to 85.

Mountain bike riders need trails in order to ride, and members have been taking note of trails being lost to development. Thus, the Pedalers are not only working to keep access open, but members are also building miles of trail. With hundreds of hours of volunteer labor, crews using picks, shovels and rakes have already built some 2 miles on private land off Syringa Heights Road, where a property owner graciously allowed public access. This one trail, Sherwood Forest, has arguably become the most-used trail in the area, for both bikers and hikers, partially due to its close proximity to town and its suitability for beginners and intermediates. POP created a trail map with directions to this and other trails, available free at local outdoor stores and bike shops.

To learn the ropes, POP invited an International Mountain Biking Association trail crew to spend a few days teaching members the correct way to design and build a solid, low-maintenance trail that won’t erode.

“When folks tell us how much they love hiking and riding here, we just smile and tell them we’d love to have them spend some time with us on the next trail workday. Many hands make light work!” said Bier. In keeping with that philosophy, POP does trail repair in partnership with the Back Country Horsemen.

The group received a Recreational Trails Program Grant last September, in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service, to build an additional 3.5 miles of trail at Mineral Point, a popular site on the west side of Lake Pend Oreille (see sidebar, page 86). This new trail will link the Lost Lake Trail with the Mineral Point Trail, creating a loop. The trail will be relatively flat with spectacular, sweeping views looking out toward the Green Monarch Mountains and the Clark Fork River delta. POP members hope that the work will be completed early in the fall of 2007.

Bier added: “We are not just a trailbuilding group, but we know that more trail is a good thing. It’s all about having fun, getting exercise, fresh-air therapy, and staying healthy and going home with a smile. Where would a mountain bike be without a trail to ride on?”

This year’s bike festival, The Pend Oreille Pedal Fest, takes place June 16-17. See calendar, page 26.

Learn more about the Pend Oreille Pedalers by going to www.pendoreillepedalers.com, or visit a local bike shop.

–Jenna Bowers POP members labor to build new trail.

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Other great rides If you don’t have the vim to go on an aroundthe-lake epic, try one of these local rides for your two-wheel fix. Beginners will find Farragut State Park in Bayview an excellent gateway. Obtain a trail map when you purchase an entry pass at the visitor center. First timers can sample rolling singletrack buffed to perfection. As skills and appetites increase, technical rocky sections can be found among the numerous intersecting trails. More than 30 miles of single-track await discovery within 4,000 acres. Smile!

Directions: From Sandpoint head south on Highway 95 to Athol and turn left on Highway 54. Drive 4 miles to the park entrance and follow the signs to the visitor center.

Mineral Point offers nirvana to intermediate riders. The biggest challenge this trail presents is remaining astride your bicycle as breathtaking views rip your attention from directing your front wheel. Built atop an undeveloped stretch of lakeshore, the trail winds through mature cedar groves and climbs to several cliff-top vistas of the Green Monarchs and the vast waters of Lake Pend Oreille.

Each short but tricky climb rewards the fattire junky with a silken descent mixing roots and mossy rock outcrops. The traditional locals’ loop starts at the boat launch in Garfield Bay. Get on your bike and turn right out of the parking lot. After 0.2 mile take a left and climb toward Green Bay. Within 0.2 mile the pavement ends. Another 0.2 miles brings you to Green Bay Road No. 532. Go right and climb 1.3 miles to a junction with Forest Road No. 2672. Stay left and continue 1.9 miles to a junction with Road. No. 532A. There is a sign directing bikes left down the road. To maximize our single-track, we dive left onto Lost Lake trail here for a quick outand-back side trip. For the main loop take a right to reach Mineral Point Trail No. 82. The 2.1-mile trail will deliver you to the smooth, stoney beach at Green Bay. Finish the loop by riding up Road No. 2672 back to the junction and down to your car.

Directions: From the south end of the Long Bridge, head 3 miles south on Highway 95 and turn left on Sagle Road. After 7.4 miles turn right on Garfield Bay Road. Continue 1.2 miles to the public boat launch and park.

–Chris Guibert and Ian Phalen

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DAY THREE: An early start was agreed upon. We planned to climb more than 3,000 feet from the lake to Bernard Peak. First we had to reach the southeastern end of the lake near Lakeview. The optimist in me will describe a rolling dirt road with frequent scenic vistas. The realist recalls a long series of climbing up and dropping down, repeating until I was exhausted. Near Lakeview, we ate electrolyte candies, and I drank my last energy drink. The dreaded heat of the day became a reality as we climbed the rocky road less traveled to Bernard Overlook. My heart sank and my legs wilted when I saw a dormant bulldozer. Our “road” had a trench carved out of the middle and was strewn with loose boulders and shattered bedrock camouflaged by 6 inches of talcum powder dust. My rear wheel mired deep in this mélange. There is nothing wrong with pushing one’s bike when a steep track becomes unrideable. It’s just not very fun. The production line of slumbering earthmovers finally behind us, the road improved somewhat and we returned to pedal power. The overlook was a stunning location for lunch. We only had the water we carried. I had a fair amount left and shared with Chris, who appeared to be dehydrated. Each of us danced on the edge of collapse en route to Bernard Peak.

The rest of the climb is a salt-encrusted blur. I caught up to Daniel several miles short of the summit. He stumbled off to lie in the shade while I unhooked my trailer and prepared to do something I would likely regret. Wyatt and Suzanne stared quizzically as I zoomed past them back down the hill. I found our fearless leader about a mile back with his head under a dripping culvert. Chris was still recovering from a mild illness. We transferred his trailer to my bike and set off to join the group. After a short rest we continued on together. Daniel and Wyatt led us to the Bernard trailhead just below the summit.

We had been looking forward to this moment all day. Bernard Peak Trail unrolled like a brown carpet as the lush, mixed cedar-and-pine forest swallowed us. Caution dissolved as we jumped roots and swooped through graceful turns. Steep, slippery switchbacks were a true test of nerve, but we were too busy to worry. Five miles of fun later, we coasted down into the asphalt maze winding through Farragut State Park to our campground. Hot showers made us presentable, and frosty margaritas and a feast in Bayview revived us.

DAY FOUR: Prior commitments dragged Suzanne and Wyatt away before day four. Chris, Daniel and I ditched our trailers for the eroded, overgrown and strictly motorcycle-oriented Three Sisters Trail.

From Cocolalla Lake we spun up the highway to the Sagle bike path and across the Long Bridge.

Following a covert skinny dip, we stumbled into Eichardt’s Pub, completing a lap ’round the lake.

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Story and photos

by Billie Jean Plaster

Page 95

riding strong WOMEN SHARE PASSION FOR MOTORCYCLES

Wind in our hair and sunshine on our faces, we pulled out of the old K-Mart parking lot heading east to Montana, bound for the Boar’s Breath in Noxon. There were nine of us that day – eight drivers and me, just along for the ride on the last good day in September. Heads turned frequently as the Scootin’ Sisters MC – stands for motorcycle club – roared out of Ponderay riding two-bytwo on Highway 200. Along the way whenever we passed another motorcyclist, drivers reciprocated the customary biker greeting – a low, hip-high wave of the hand.

Meanwhile, the old Steppenwolf “Born to Be Wild” lyrics

flooded my mind: “Get your motor runnin’ ... Head out on the highway ... Lookin’ for adventure ... And whatever comes our way.”

I was riding on the back of a Yamaha driven by Crystal Closson, aka “Butt Fast,” a school bus driver and the club’s quasi-leader. There are no officers in this loosely organized group of about 20 women and growing, who share a love of Some Scootin’ Sisters, top, take a break at a scenic viewpoint on Highway 200, from left: Susie Marshall, Sharlene Wright, Debra Kellerman, Dotty Porter, Donna Foord, Noreen Darling, Colleen Ankersmit and Crystal Closson.

Below middle: This pig flies whenever Darling takes her motorcycle for a spin.

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was driving home one day following a Susie Marshall, above left, particularly difficult day at work, and grins as she travels along I noticed a lady biker in my rearview the scenic highway to Montana. Farther down the mirror. Her face beamed as she road, Donna Foord cruises moved to the passing lane and flew past a road cut. by. At that moment, I knew that I would do whatever would be necessary to learn the skills of riding and owning a bike.”

Another hog aficionado is Dotty “Scooter Tramp” Porter, a pushing-60 nurse at Bonner General Hospital, who in 2004 got a “wild hair” and bought a brand-new 1200 Sportster Harley-Davidson. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done. I absolutely love it,” she said. “Last year I took my grandson (to Toad Rock), who was 13. Jesse thought it was really cool.” This year she is planning a solo trip to Arkansas to visit a cousin.

Another founding member of the club is Donna “Rude Girl” Foord, a 52-year-old physician’s assistant in her seventh season of riding. She’s been riding a Honda Shadow 750, but rumor has it that she’s leaning toward becoming a Harley convert. “Truth be known, I think Donna will be one.

It will happen,” Kellerman said.

“Well, someone needs ride the Honda,” Foord said, but she doesn’t rule out switching someday.

Colleen Ankersmit, who works in sales at Selkirk Press, is one of the newer members, joining in 2006, after having been riding for a couple of years. Her husband bought a bike, which prompted her to buy one because “I’m not really good at ‘sit down, hold on and shut up.’ ” Someone chimes in, “I don’t think any of us are good at that.”

Susie Marshall, a school bus driver who goes by

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motorcycles and camaraderie based on the common bond of sisterhood. Each woman has a biker nickname or is soon given one by fellow club members.

Since forming in 2005, together they have put thousands of miles on their collective mounts, shining beasts of steel decked out in various accoutrements. They come from all walks of life, but the motorcycle is their common denominator. Why they ride seems to run along the themes of freedom, relaxation and adventure. A few speak of having a midlife crisis – or rather a midlife celebration – that led them to pick up the hobby, often as a form of recreation they can do with their husbands.

Closson and her husband, Tim, for example, used to ride in their younger days. After raising their family, they resumed riding motorcycles four years ago as something adventurous that they could do together. What she loves about riding is “the romance, the smells of flowers in the fields and cut grass and hay, being able to see the beauty of everything.”

During the riding season, the Scootin’ Sisters MC organizes group rides once a month, and members take lots of unorganized, informal rides in between. An annual tradition is a trip to Toad Rock near Nelson, British Columbia, Canada, where they spend a three-day weekend at a motorcycle campground on Kootenay Lake.

“That’s one that we let our husbands come on,” said Debra Kellerman, the executive director of Bonner Community Hospice and a confirmed “hog” rider. The 53year-old, aka “Hog Snort,” has logged more than 64,000 miles on her 1993 FXLR, a red Harley-Davidson low rider, since buying it brand-new. Working a demanding job in human services, Kellerman finds hopping on her motorcycle and riding the open road is a great stress reliever.

She remembers what moved her to purchase her bike: “I

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“CheapnEvil,” says it’s “very different” riding with just women. They stop more frequently to take in the sights and snap photos, or go shopping. “We get a latte instead of a beer,” she said.

The women meet every first Monday of the month, and they welcome new members. There are no dues. “We’re free, but we’re not cheap,” Closson said, laughing.

From spending time together at social gatherings and on rides comes something they all value: friendship.

As I think back to that beautiful fall day, riding with this dynamic group of women, those lyrics run through my head again: “Like a true nature’s child … We were born, born to be wild … ” May they keep the rubber side down as they head out on the highway, racin’ with the wind for a good, long time.

To learn more about Scootin’ Sisters MC, call Crystal Closson at 290-3508.

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Susie Marshall rides away on “Herhog.”

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Cedar Street Bridge returns to its roots Opens again as public market after major renovation

By Cate Huisman

I

Above: John Gilham and Jeff Bond partnered up to renovate the Cedar Street Bridge. Inset: An artist’s rendering shows the bridge’s new entrance with an atrium.

thing from gourmet specialties to comfort food. A bar with light meals will replace the old wine bar upstairs, and discussions are ongoing with a pizza parlor. Visitors who want to prove to the folks back home that they’ve been to America’s Ponte Vecchio can buy clothing with the Cedar Street Bridge logo at a stand near the entrance. Art galleries and possibly a photographer round out the list of 28 or so tenants, winnowed down from a group of nearly 100.

People who remember the bridge from its Coldwater Creek days will find that it has been thoroughly transformed. Everything has been redecorated in bright colors. Both the log staircase at the west end and the ramp at the east end are gone, replaced with an elevator and staircase. A stand at the west end will offer organic juices and baked goods as well as coffee. The whole bridge will be a Wi-Fi hot spot, with seating available inside and out.

“We want to create a place that has a lot of animation, a life of its own” as

a downtown anchor, Bond said of the bridge’s atmosphere. The interior remains a wide-open space, and they want to make it available to the community for local organizations and their activities and celebrations.

“We’re looking for public events, and people should contact us,” said Bond.

The refurbishment went further than was originally expected. All the glass windows have been replaced, and a new computerized heating and cooling system has been installed. The carts and stands under the windows remain, however, to be put to use by a selection of the new vendors.

The Cedar Street Bridge Public Market is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week during the summer and winter high seasons, and until 5 p.m. year-round, with some dining establishments open later. The market’s first businesses opened this spring; Bond and Gillham plan a grand opening celebration later this summer.

Check www.cedarstreetbridge.com, or call (208) 265-1630 or (208) 255-8270.

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t’s been 24 years since Scott Glickenhaus first bought and rebuilt the dilapidated Cedar Street Bridge for use as a public market. In the interim, after several years as a market, it was for a decade the retail home of Sandpoint’s Coldwater Creek, the well-known catalog and retail company headquartered here.

When Coldwater Creek’s flagship store moved to the historic W.A. Bernd Building on First Avenue last year, the bridge had only a brief respite, and now it is being reborn again.

Jeff Bond, a painting contractor on the original bridge reconstruction in 1983, didn’t imagine then that he would eventually own the bridge he was painting. But now he and fellow developer John Gillham have bought the bridge and invested $1.5 million to return it to its latter-day roots as Sandpoint’s version of the Ponte Vecchio, the famous silver market on a bridge over the Arno River in Florence, Italy. “It’s the only market on a bridge in the U.S. as far as we know,” said Bond.

The new owners are planning a European-style market with an eclectic mix of retail stores, public spaces for meeting and eating, and market stalls for fresh produce, fish and meats. Not all business names were available at press time, but they will include Pedro’s on the Bridge, offering natural-fiber imports from Peru; Just Clever, carrying unique gifts and home accessories; and an unusual business called Cedar Bridge Apparel selling both the clothing it displays on antique furniture and the furniture as well. Yet to be named are a jeweler and a flower stand.

Diners will have several options.

Sandy’s Sugar Shack, a quintessential ’50s-style soda fountain, will appeal particularly to Lost in the ’50s wannabes. Mamasan’s will be an “east/west fusion deli” with every-

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SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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M

y father once said upon gazing into a multitudinous array of stars in a black sky after suffering the inconvenience of moving a half ton of grain by sled through a near-zero February night, nostrils frozen nearly shut – all in the sight of Scotchman Peak – “Hell, this ain’t so bad.”

Sometimes, hiking in the proposed Scotchman Peaks Wilderness Area is like that.

Two summers ago, four of us bound for Little Spar Lake began up the East Fork of Blue Creek on a trail Dennis Nicholls and I had “found” the fall before. We got wet and cold when July turned back into early June, as happens in the Cabinets of western Montana. It started raining right after the trail had faded into an extra-dense, king-sized patch of tag alder, which, in the perspective of a Scotchman Peaks wilderness experience, is perfect. If it’s going to be miserable, it may as well be perfectly miserable.

One of us knew too much to let the

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h man Peaks the mountains with many friends

wilderness – which most of us knew nothing about – right there.”

Scotchman Peak is that craggy interruption in the skyline straddling the Idaho-Montana border north of the Clark Fork River, anchored on the southwest by Scotchman and Goat peaks. It comprises 88,000 roadless acres and drainages of Spar Creek, both forks of Blue Creek, Ross Creek, Savage Creek, upper East Fork Creek and large portions of Bull River and Lightning Creek drainages.

When we walked into the East Fork of Blue Creek, Friends of Scotchman Peaks was just formed, born at a gathering in the living room of Jan Griffitts. For a year, she and Hough co-chaired the friends and, along with a dozen or so fellow wilderness advocates, incubated the fledgling group.

It has since grown wings. The membership is now more than 1,100.

Hough now chairs the eight-member board of directors and says membership is growing by 60 to 70 monthly, a remarkable achievement for a locally based group of any sort.

How did they do it? The original group recruited members in Sandpoint by enlisting acquaintances. Across the border, the Montana Wilderness Association (MWA) got involved as did Cabinet Resource Group (CRG), the same organization that successfully spawned Rock Creek Alliance. Notable founding members of the friends from east of the border are Cesar Hernandez and Bill Martin, co-founders of CRG. Trout Creek residents Doug and Mindy Ferrell took up the Montana membership and education outreach. Hernandez, one of western Montana’s best-known and feistiest wilderness activists, also worked for MWA at the time.

Under the umbrella of CRG, the friends sponsored summer and winter hiking seasons plus a continuous string of concerts, presentations and gatherings designed to inform and educate about the value of wilderness in general and Scotchman Peaks in particular.

These hikes and gatherings have been key in rapidly increasing membership.

“If we take them on a hike,” Hough SUMMER 2007

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rest turn back, fortunately, and we beat our way on through the country’s best resistance and found ourselves in heaven – if it gets cold and rainy in heaven. Every wildflower God planted was blooming – from bear grass to wild chives – and through a lens of atmosphere scoured sparkling clean, we gaped up at the gray-black cliffs of Clayton Peak and emerald meadows and carved jade forests on the south face of Mike’s.

Then, we tried to start a fire.

Fellow sufferers and revelers were my nephew Jonathan Compton and Phil Hough and Deb Hunsicker, two original members of Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness. In 1987, forest planners proposed this wilderness using data gathered in the 1972 and 1978 Roadless Area Review and Evaluation studies conducted by the Forest Service. It was a proposal not many knew about.

“The Friends began,” Hough said, “when a group of us involved in the 2003 Forest Plan revision process ‘discovered’ that there was a proposed

PHOTO BY PHIL HOUGH

PHOTO BY DOUG MARSHALL / EL PHOTO GRANDE

By Sandy Compton

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says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;they sign up. I gave a presentation at REI (in Spokane) last week and signed up eight. We get about one a day from the Web site, and we now have friends in 16 or 17 states.â&#x20AC;?

The winter hiking season was successful, with forays into Ross Creek Cedars and ascents to Star, Goat and Scotchman peaks. Spokesman-Review outdoor writer Rich Landers went with a group to Ross Creek on a day when temperatures didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t top 6 degrees and said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Winter visitors work harder to get there, and they see a totally different picture.â&#x20AC;?

The Friends of Scotchman Peaks present that picture in as many ways and as often as possible. Because of this, the group has gotten strong enough in a remarkably short time to go out on their own, and applied for 501(c)(3) designation late this winter. Hough expects approval this summer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our goal is wilderness designation,â&#x20AC;? Hough said, which takes an act of Congress.

The group brought musician Jack Gladstone to Sandpoint twice, as well as wilderness advocate and lobbyist Doug Scott. In addition to the summer hiking schedule, the Great Old Broads for Wilderness, famous as outspoken wilderness advocates in the Southwest, are coming to the Clark Fork Field Campus for four days of hiking and elbow-rubbing in the Scotchman Peaks beginning July 26. I wonder if it will rain.

That wet day a couple of summers ago, we finally did manage a fire. And then, the wilderness smiled on us with two glorious days of sunshine and some of the grandest hiking any of us had ever experienced. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easy to see why it should be preserved.

And if it does rain, even when it rains as hard as it did on the last day of that hike two summers ago, if nostrils freeze or thighs scream out in the midst of that glorious place, my guess is that someone will look up and think, â&#x20AC;&#x153;This ainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t so bad.â&#x20AC;?

Look up www.scotchmanpeaks.org for the 2007 summer hikes schedule; guided hikes, from easy family hikes to overnight trips for experienced bushwhackers, begin in May and run through September.

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The discovery of Riverside Rocks Two climbers piece out six routes on a cliff alongside the Pend Oreille River Tony Glenn executes ultra classic moves on Trainspotting (5.10a/b).

CLIMBER’S GUIDE had Laird had been exploring the region’s rock crags and alpine peaks for years when Keokee Books Publisher Chris Bessler asked him to pen the first major rock climbing guidebook for the region since Randall Green’s 1987 title, “Idaho Rock.”

Covering miles of terrain, acres of technical pitches and snapping more than 1,500 digital photographs, Laird spent the entire 2005 climbing season in the region. He also collected data from Himalayan veteran John Roskelley, of Spokane, Wash., and, of course, the unflappable Green, who now lives in Helena, Mont. Green volunteered to write the foreword, too. Laird also created all the photo overlays and technical route maps.

“Climber’s Guide to North Idaho and the Cabinet Wilderness” is due in late June. Charting dozens of routes, the softcover book sells for $17.50 at outdoor stores and bookstores, online at www.SandpointGeneralStore.com, or by phone at 1-800-880-3573.

T

An excerpt from a new rock climbing guidebook Story and photos by Thaddeus Laird

I

That’s about the time Bill noticed the rocks – a tall wall of continuous cliffs sitting just downriver. We floated over to them and began piecing new climbing routes together with our eyes.

The following afternoon we were back at the rocks armed with a generator, a drill, some hardware and a simple plan: Add a few moderate rock climbs to the lexicon called Laclede.

Ten hours, eight scrub brushes and 17 bolts later, the Riverside Rocks were born. Climbing here, I dare say, has never been the same.

Getting There

The Riverside Rocks are located off Highway 2 approximately 15 miles west of Sandpoint and 6 miles east of

TN) Trainspotting (5.10 a/b) 5 bolts/chain anchor

One of the best moderate routes at Laclede, this climb is located in a “grotto” around the corner to the left (west) of Slippery Slope. Begin on the arête below the bolt line not in the corner system to the left. Pinch the arête and bump for a slopey SUMMER 2007

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t was one of those cruelly hot days in mid-July when the only thing you want to do is sit around in the shade and complain about it. The main refuge, of course, was the lake.

But I was more in the mood for rock climbing. I called around to Bill, who was keen. An hour later, I was gripped to a fleck of quartzite 40 feet off the ground at the Laclede Practice Rocks.

Squinting through the oppressive sunshine, I watched as my fingers morphed into little garden slugs, and the bare skin on my hands burst into flames. I took a tremendous fall and Bill suggested we retreat to the river.

Down among the lazy currents of the Pend Oreille River, life was restored.

Priest River. Park at the huge pull-off area near the tall cliff covered in road cuts. Walk across the road to the south, hop the guardrail and follow the trail down through the bushes.

Cross the railroad tracks and enter a short canyon-like area that leads to the cliffs. Routes are described left to right, starting with Trainspotting (5.10 a/b) located in a shady grotto around the far left (west) corner of the wall.

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ledge, then pull up into the series of roofs above.

here. Climb the short, obvious crack behind the tree just right of Dope on a Slope.

SP) Slippery Slope (5.9+) 3 bolts/chain anchor

AP) Ants in Your Pants (5.10d) 5 bolts/chain anchor

Similar in character to Dope on a Slope, this route is a fun outing for those looking to push their grade.

Power through the slopey sequence, and you are a happy camper. Blow the moves, and it will feel more like 5.11.

The steep, upper section is classy and positive. Most climbers opt to lower off the chains rather than top out.

DS) Dope on a Slope (5.9+) 3 bolts/chain anchor

Slopey and pumpy, this route makes up in deviousness what it lacks in length. The route sees frequent lead falls, leading to heated discussions as to what, exactly, the grade should be.

In the end, it is a fun, low-commitment affair well worth a quick romp.

TC) Tree Crack (5.4) Gear to 1 inch/use Dope on a Slope anchor

Many novice climbers have performed their first (albeit very short) trad leads

TW) Teenage Wasteland (5.7+) 5 bolts/chain anchor

The author created this overlay to show climbing routes for Ants in Your Pants and Teenage Wasteland at Riverside Rocks in Laclede, just two of the six routes discovered there.

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This is the first route you come to as you approach the rocks. An awkward, bouldery start leads to a smooth ramp, which is climbed to a short bulge.

Climb directly up and over the bulge or cheat out to the right. Trend up and left to the bottom of a short, steep wall and attack this directly to the anchor.

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What started as a nagging idea has transformed into one of the country’s largest open-water swim events

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you,’ ” Ridgway said. “I thought, ‘If so many people want do it, why not make it a community event?’ ” The following year he organized the first Long Bridge Swim, and 78 people signed up. Ridgway and a few volunteers formed registration and safety committees, and they approached local businesses and asked for cash, service or material donations. “The Daily Bee and KPND and other businesses stepped up to support a brand-new event,” he said. “It was a success, in part because the weather was perfect – sunny, with warm and glassy water. It was beautiful, and people had fun.”

In the 12 years since that first Long Bridge Swim, the event – always held on the first Saturday in August – has gained nonprofit status and has grown to be one of the largest, open-water swimming events in the country. Last summer, more than 500 people registered – half coming from out of state – and swimmers were cheered by family members, friends and supportive strangers who lined the Pedestrian Long Bridge.

Last summer, there were 474 finish-

ers (some who registered were noshows); and the 16 who didn’t finish got tired or cold or suffered leg cramps and asked for a kayak tow to a powerboat, which brought them to shore. “There’s no shame in not finishing because you get tired – the focus is not on being fast or looking good or even on finishing; safety is our No. 1 priority, and having fun is No. 2,” Ridgway said. “My hope is that this event becomes an inspiration for people to get out and try something new and healthy in life, something that shows them that they can overcome obstacles. Doing the Long Bridge Swim becomes like climbing Mount Everest.”

Who climbs Everest? People like retired physician Dr. Imre Schmidt, of Bonners Ferry, who in 2005, at age 84, completed the swim. Or the Davis-Mann family, consisting of volunteer kayak-coordinator Jayne Davis; her husband, Dave Mann; and their sons Eric, 16, a six-year swim veteran who came in second overall last summer; and Chris, 11, who came in 12th, just a few minutes behind his SUMMER 2007

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hen Eric Ridgway moved to northern Idaho in 1991, he settled in Sagle, and, like other commuters, every weekday morning he drove over the Long Bridge to his office in Sandpoint. A competitive swimmer since high school and captain of his college swim team, the 45-year-old counselor says that while crossing the bridge he often looked at the lake and felt the itch to swim.

“I’d see this beautiful stretch of water and think, ‘That would be a great swim, to go from one shore to the other,’ ” he said. “A few years later, I realized I’d had that thought often enough that I just had to do it.”

That was 1994, and with two friends in kayaks to paddle alongside him, he swam the 1.76 miles along the bridge, from the south shore to Dog Beach.

Local radio station KPND got wind of Eric’s plan and encouraged motorists who spotted him swimming to honk their horns. “Afterwards, many people approached me and said, ‘I’ve thought a lot about doing that swim. The next time you do it, I want to do it with

B y Te r r i C a s e y

PHOTO BY FOSTER CLINE

Taking the plunge: Long Bridge Swim

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brother. Hope resident Annette Orton, now in her 70s, participated in her first Long Bridge Swim at age 66 and her first Danskin Women’s Triathlon in Seattle the following month, and she continues to do both.

Some swimmers have physical handicaps, including legal blindness and obesity; others have recovered from serious accidents and illnesses. “These people are more inspirational to me than the swimmers who come out of the water first,” Ridgway said.

“Annette Orton is not speedy but she has now accomplished more than most Americans will do in their lifetimes – and she started at age 66.”

Orton herself explains how she came to take the plunge. “It was the second year of the swim. I’d read about it in the paper, so I went down and watched it from the Long Bridge,” she said. “I walked along the bridge look-

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Dr. Imre Schmidt, left, a retired physician from Bonners Ferry, completed his fifth swim at age 84.

ing at the swimmers and I thought, ‘I could do that.’ ” That idea expanded into the idea of doing a triathlon, and soon after, Orton got started at the health club with swimming, cycling and running. She did her first triathlon – a half-mile swim, a 12-mile bike

ride, and a 3.1-mile run – and first Long Bridge Swim the next year. “I’m not a fast swimmer compared to all the young sprouts,” she said. “All I aim for is to finish.”

Schmidt, a five-time participant, is a lifelong recreational swimmer who completed his first Long Bridge Swim in 1999 and has participated four more times since then. “I think the prerequisite for participating is that you have to like to swim,” he said. “If you do, then whether you come in first or last, you get a good feeling of accomplishment.” Schmidt said what he likes most about the event is the welcoming and noncompetitive atmosphere: “Within a few hours, complete strangers become friends.”

This summer, the U.S. Masters Swimming Association will hold its annual, national open-water swimming championship alongside the Long

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Bridge Swim. The masters event begins 10 minutes prior to the community swim and is being coordinated by swimmer Larry Krauser, 53, of Spokane, who holds the record in his age group for the national, open-water swim. “The nationals are rotated among the eastern, central and western parts of the U.S., and it’s an honor for Sandpoint to be chosen this year over the many swimming meccas in California and Oregon,” Krauser said. He estimates that 100 people will compete in the masters event, including some like himself who typically participate in the Long Bridge Swim.

Ridgway, also a masters swimmer, will participate in the championship here this year, even as he continues to direct the community event. “The day after the swim, we’re thinking about next year – what we need to improve, what new support we’d like to intro-

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PHOTO BY REBECCA HOLLAND

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Founder Eric Ridgway pumps up the crowd as they wait to cheer on swimmers at the finish line.

duce,” he said. “We always try to create an air of festivity around the swim, and while most of the work happens on event day, there’s a lot of behindthe-scenes work for that day to occur.”

The “we” Ridgway refers to is his longstanding team of key volunteers –

anchored by Starla Staglund, Diana Elsfelder and Jayne Davis – who put in hundreds of hours long before event day.

Staglund, who works in the Northern Lights accounting department, enters all swimmer data into her computer and sorts it by age and other factors. Keokee Creative Group then posts it to the swim’s Web site at www.longbridgeswim.com, also a volunteer effort. Staglund has been in charge of the data since the swim’s inception, when she volunteered because her daughter wanted to participate; her database, which includes every swimmer who has participated over the years, now totals 1,200 records. “I appreciate that in this event, you can be competitive or not; it doesn’t matter how fast or how well you swim, you can accomplish this, and there’s no pressure,” Staglund said. “It’s a healthy outlet and a way to enjoy our lake.”

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Elsfelder has organized post-swim food and refreshments for the past six swims and is in her second year of coordinating registration; she manages about 20 volunteers in all, including her two daughters, Jamie, 13, and Topi, 9. “We get as many donations as possible for supplies that we need, such as bags to contain the swim cap, souvenir T-shirt, Clif Bar and coupons from local businesses,” Elsfeder said.

“We also make sure we have enough

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Paddlers along the course stand ready to help any swimmers who might need assistance.

volunteers to register swimmers quickly and easily – last year it took a dozen volunteers just doing registration.”

Because her whole family is into swimming, Davis took on the task of recruiting kayakers, the safety link in the volunteer chain. “We had 64 kayakers out there last year, and they’re like a fraternity. Each one gets eight to 10 swimmers to follow across the lake, and the swimmers who take more than two hours to finish have

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their own kayak escort,” Davis said.

“This event is so beautiful to watch – the sparkling water, all the swimmers’ arms reaching, all the different colors of kayaks.”

While the swim is set up for fun and participation, it also attracts high-caliber, world-class swimmers. The overall fastest time ever set for the course, 33:29, was set by John Weston, of Florence, Mont., in 2001. Weston had been a University of Washington swim-

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mer who qualified for Olympic trials; in 1995 he set the course record, then in 2001, at age 45, he broke his own record, which still stands.

Six people, including Ridgway, have swum the event all 12 years. Another 12-year participant, Sandpointer Bill D’Olier, said he doesn’t swim yearround but begins training in early summer in Mirror and Shepherd lakes, which are shallower than Pend Oreille and therefore warm up earlier. D’Olier,

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The 13th annual Long Bridge Swim happens Saturday, Aug 4. For information or to register, visit www.longbridgeswim.com.

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StoneRidge old-timer Harold “Pink” Pinkham fronts No. 18, his favorite hole. He has been playing golf there since the course opened in 1972.

StoneRidge know-how After 35 years, ‘Pink’ Pinkham has some advice for fellow golfers

By Keith Kinnaird prairie. The course’s current back nine went in first, but there was no stampede of metal spikes, plaid trousers and wide collars at first.

“It didn’t really take off for quite a while,” Pinkham said, recalling the early days.

Curiosity didn’t start getting the better of Inland Northwest duffers until the course was finished, according to Pinkham. “They were coming from all over because a golfer always likes to try a new course,” said Pinkham, who’s known simply as “Pink” around the clubhouse.

Pinkham ultimately built a home overlooking the course, which recently underwent a $3.3-million renovation.

Frank Burandt, previously of Nicklaus Designs, remodeled three holes, sculpted new greens and tee boxes, and added its bonus 19th hole, giving players one last shot at redemption if they happened to limp across the finish line.

The makeover put StoneRidge on Idaho’s prestigious golf trail, an honor

SUMMER 2007

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Designers of StoneRidge Golf Resort’s 19-hole course have managed to balance white-knuckle thrills with playability. The par-71 course doesn’t give away low scores, but it doesn’t steal them either.

“They did this course right,” said Harold Pinkham, who has been playing StoneRidge since it opened in 1972. “I don’t think there’s an unfair hole on this golf course.”

Pinkham moved from the Los Angeles area to Idaho’s Panhandle in the late 1960s. He settled into a home on Spirit Lake with his wife and bought the Blanchard Trading Co. store from Claude Blanchard. Back then, the only course in Blanchard was an oddity that brought new meaning to the phrase tourist trap – a pitchand-putt track composed of sand.

“There were no greens. What they got were loads of fine sand for the greens. There was no grass,” he said.

Across Highway 41, StoneRidge was taking shape in the mountain-rimmed

it shares with Circling Raven and the Coeur d’Alene Resort.

No. 18 is the course’s official signature hole. Known as “The Creek,” the 522-yard, par-5 hole gives players the option of putting out a conservative lay-up shot to set up for clearing its namesake or audaciously picking the lock with a carrying shot.

Pinkham recommends starting out with a shot up the middle.

“On the second shot I may go leftcenter of the fairway because you’ve got those trees coming down on the right side,” he said.

“Descension,” No. 8, is a deceptive par 3 that has earned a place in Idaho’s Mean 18, as selected by Mountain West Golf Magazine. A pond guards the left side, and a sand trap protects the right, making long-iron accuracy crucial on this 248-yard challenge.

Although Nos. 8 and 18 have their cachet, No. 10 has earned a place in Pinkham’s heart. Billed as “HooDoo View,” No. 10 is a 371-yard par 4 with a hilltop tee-off. From the starting perch there is a temptation to aim straight for the dance floor by hitting over the trees. You might clear those trees, but StoneRidge’s white sand bunkers protect the green.

“I try to play it to the right side of the trap towards the green. If I get a lucky bounce, I’m up on the green. Normally, I’m a little short,” Pinkham said.

Pinkham counsels against trying to hit through the trees if you wind up in them. Chances are such a move won’t get you out of jail.

“Just take an iron and get it out in the middle of the fairway. Just punch it out because you’re not going to get through those trees,” he said.

Pinkham, age 86, has played enough rounds at StoneRidge to lose count.

“I’d average probably three to four rounds a week,” said Pinkham, who now plays four or five holes and calls it a day.

Pinkham, a lifelong golfer, has even sunk the elusive hole-in-one, although

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it was at the famed Pebble Beach course on California’s coast. It was a par 3 on the peninsula, and he pulled it off with a pitching wedge.

“You gotta keep playing ’til you make one,” he said.

Pinkham’s surgically precise wedge work has also produced some of the more memorable moments he has had at StoneRidge. “Once in a great while I’d be five or 10 yards off the green and pitch it in,” he said.

But Pinkham is well-acquainted with the trials every golfer must confront.

It’s the rollercoaster ride that ensues when you dismantle a hole only to see the wheels come off your game on the next one.

“Sometimes if you do a good shot, you feel real good about it. But you go to the next hole and screw up the hole.

It happens to most people. I hear all these stories up at the clubhouse, ‘It’s going really great … even par … then all of a sudden I hit three bogeys in a row,’ ” he said.

Pinkham’s advice for resurrecting your round once it shifts from the course to between your ears is simple.

“You never want to get frustrated on the golf course. If you’ve made a bad shot, you’ve made a bad shot. Just try to improve on the next shot. If you get frustrated on the golf course, you’re not going to play very well. You’ve got to forget whatever mistakes you made and just try a little harder.”

See Travel Planner, page 146, for more information on StoneRidge and other golf courses in the area.

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Destined to be a college town Open fields along North Boyer, currently the University of Idaho Research and Extension Center, are the site of a proposed University of Idaho campus. Artist’s rendering courtesy of ALSC Architects.

A fantastic $20-million gift sparks construction of a new UI campus

By Marlisa Keyes

W

Coldwater Creek founder Dennis Pence, his wife, Karen, and Coldwater Creek employee Rosalind Holland.

The proposal is expected to go before the state board for formal approval at the board’s Aug. 9-10 meeting at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls.

The agreement includes an offer by the Wild Rose Foundation to purchase the UI’s 77-acre Sandpoint Research and Extension Center for fair market value of $6.25 million. The foundation is committed to spending an additional $20 million in developing half of the site for the college and giving the university 15 acres for relocation of the R&E Center at a different Boyer location.

The other half of the property will be set aside for construction of a new high school. If that property is not developed in 20 years, it will revert to UI ownership.

People in Bonner and Boundary

counties who have given up on getting a college education will now have that opportunity, said Lockwood.

After taking many online classes, Lockwood earned an associate of science degree from NIC about two years ago. The mother of two teenaged daughters, Lockwood changed her mind about earning a bachelor’s degree in education. The time it would have taken to make the daily drive to Coeur d’Alene over a dangerous stretch of Highway 95 during what she considers the most critical time in her daughters’ lives was a choice she was not willing to make.

Instead, Lockwood chose to return to work in the dental field for Dr. Steve Anderson. Although she doesn’t intend to pursue her bachelor’s degree at this time, Lockwood said she still intends to take classes at the new campus.

What she is excited about, however, is the opportunity for those adults SUMMER 2007

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hile some students make the daily drive down Highway 95 to attend University of Idaho, Lewis-Clark State College or Idaho State University classes in Coeur d’Alene, others, such as Corinna Lockwood’s daughter Jessica, have left the area to attend college. She is studying education at Washington State University.

But the Wild Rose Foundation’s proposed $20-million-plus gift to the University of Idaho (UI) to construct a college campus on Boyer Avenue in Sandpoint has “really serious potential to change a lot of lives,” Lockwood said.

Lockwood has a unique view of how earning a college degree helps change lives. She is the online coordinator for North Idaho College (NIC), helping train students in how to access the college’s virtual campus to take classes.

Wild Rose Foundation was established in 2005, and its directors are

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The foundation also is pledging to match $500,000 a year annually, itself or through a private-giving campaign, for the first five years of program costs. Panhandle State Bank President Curt Hecker is leading the privategiving campaign.

The current proposal calls for NIC to offer the first two years of general courses, while UI would be responsible for bachelor’s degree and master’s degree programming.

Course work would include an executive master’s in business administration and a Web-based business undergraduate minor; undergraduate degrees in education, psychology, general studies, music theater, environmental sciences and interdisciplinary sciences; and graduate degrees in education, plus environmental and interdisciplinary sciences.

It is anticipated that other colleges also will be invited to participate in the program, given that a study conducted last fall by MGT Services of America indicates a need for courses related to the medical field.

UI leaders also have discussed the likelihood that it will work out an agreement with residents of western Montana, eastern Washington and Canada so that they could pay instate tuition fees to attend the Sandpoint campus.

The college’s projected economic

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who have families, jobs and homes in Bonner County, and who had given up on a dream of earning a college degree – all because they didn’t want to have to leave the area.

“I think it’s wonderful what the Wild Rose Foundation is doing,” she said.

Businesses like Coldwater Creek and Litehouse Inc., which recently allowed employees to buy into the company, are substantially changing the landscape of the community because they are giving back to the community, Lockwood said.

“They’re not all about their own profit,” she said. “They’re not hoarding it.”

Pence also has purchased several acres on the west side of Boyer to construct professional-technical education facilities for NIC. In December 2006, Pence contributed almost $50,000 to NIC’s Ponderay Center to upgrade its technology lab.

The goal is to have the college ready for occupancy by spring 2009.

Currently, NIC has 200 students enrolled in classes through its Ponderay satellite. However, in the UI Regent’s Narrative related to the Sandpoint expansion proposal, the number of students projected to enroll in the NIC and UI classes is expected to reach 1,000 five years after the Sandpoint campus opens.

impact in Bonner County is between $10.5 million and $17.5 million, based upon a multiplier of three to five times its projected annual expenses of $3.5 million, said Larry Branen, University of Idaho associate vice president for northern Idaho.

Although those same multipliers were used by NIC several years ago to determine its impact in Coeur d’Alene, UI is working on a “better estimate” of those figures for Bonner County, Branen said.

UI President Tim White wrote in his weekly Friday Letter on March 9: “The impact of the project will be immediate and substantive; the foresight and generosity of Wild Rose Foundation will allow us to expand the facilities of the University of Idaho into an area where need lies.”

The foundation’s goal is to provide people in the region with the opportunity to better provide for themselves and their families and to develop a highly educated workforce.

Based upon her discussions with Pence, Festival at Sandpoint Executive Director Dyno Wahl anticipates the university will have an active role in the community, tying its programming to what drives the area both economically and culturally.

Discussion already has taken place about how to incorporate the UI’s proposed fine arts and music pro-

Serving Bonner County for more than 20 years

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grams with the existing arts community that includes the festival, Pend Oreille Arts Council and the Panida Theater, she said. It is possible that the Panida may be used in the summer for theater performances developed in conjunction with UI, Wahl added.

She believes the colleges involved will have no problem filling classes.

After all, how many people make that trip to Coeur d’Alene in the dead of winter to attend classes at NIC? “I think people will eat it up,” she said. “I think all of the arts organizations in town are just thrilled.”

Panida Theater Executive Director Karen Bowers said the timing could not be more perfect. The theater used to draw large crowds to several live summer music venues, but the theater’s lack of an air conditioning put that program on the skids. Typically, the Panida’s summer programming runs toward movies, but having an active summer theater program would be “very exciting,” she said.

Wahl calls Pence’s philanthropy admirable and said it is something she wishes more people with money would do. Obviously, Pence could have chosen to enjoy the money he had made, but instead he has chosen to give back, she said.

“I am just so grateful that he chose to be in our community,” Wahl said.

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Yurts: Living in the Round

–Tom Robbins, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

By Becky Kemery

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M

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Excerpt from Yurts: Living in the Round y home is round, that heats the yurt, and coffee perks on

by Becky Kemery. Reprinted with permission of a small 1950s propane stove rescued and I can put it up Gibbs Smith, Publisher. from a trailer. or take it down in Yurts are my favorite form of shelter. a day. At night I fall asleep They use the earth’s resources wisely looking up through a circular and usually leave a small footprint. skylight at diamonds speckThey are affordable and accessible.

They also make fabulous spiritual and ling an inky-black sky. If I’m creative spaces. lucky coyotes sing to the As one of the oldest indigenous forms moon up and on its path, and of architecture, yurts carry the energy of if the angle is right, an tribal nomads crossing the Asian steppes escaped moonbeam might from millennia past. No one knows the origins of these nomad homes, but we slide through the skylight cirdo know that during the period of the cle and across my floor. A great Mongol Khans, yurt dwellers connearby creek washes its quered and ruled the largest, contigusoundscape through my ous-land empire in history. dreams, and birdsong wakes me for my In all its modern variants, the yurt is still intimately conmorning tea. nected to these ancient cultures of the indigenous nomad.

Yurt living has been my habit for a while now. I love the open feel of my yurt, the graceful lift of the roof and the encircling roundness. I love being close to nature and my surroundings.

Not everybody likes to live in one large room, but it suits me just fine. In the summer I use an outdoor kitchen to cook for friends, dry herbs from my garden and make huckleberry jam. In the winter, soup simmers on the woodstove SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

Through this connection, the yurt brings gifts far beyond its function as a beautiful and comfortable shelter, gifts of simplicity, of distilling life into few possessions, of intimacy with family and tribe, and relationship with the surrounding natural world.

The early yurt dwellers also teach us to see shelter as sacred space. Everything in the nomad’s yurt was oriented to the four directions, and in this way the yurt provided a physical compass. The structure of the yurt also provided a spiri-

PHOTO BY CHRIS GUIBERT

“Nature creates in circles and moves in circles. Atoms and galaxies are circular, and most organic things in between. The earth is round. The wind whirls.

The womb is no shoebox. Where are the corners of the egg and the sky?”

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spaciousness and uplift. It also creates an incredibly strong and resilient structure that is uniquely equipped to withstand earthquakes, strong winds and heavy snow loads.

However, the greatest gift of the yurt resides in its shape.

Across cultures and through the ages, the circle remains a symbol of the unity of all things, the wholeness of life with all its interconnections. Rectilinear structures naturally separate and compartmentalize, fitting things neatly into square rooms and boxes. The yurt, as a circular structure, has the potential to bring things together again, to make things whole, to call us back to our connection with nature and with life in its entirety.

My favorite yurt was in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains, on the rushing, tumbling Breitenbush River. A meandering, woodland path led from the front door to a pair of Adirondack chairs at the river’s edge. The floor of the yurt

The healing, creative, communal and spiritual nature of yurts is broadly recog-

nized. They are often used in retreat centers and for the healing arts, meditation, spiritual practices, dancing and community gatherings. was made of cob (a mixture of clay, sand and straw, similar to adobe). Hot springs water, carried by pipes in the floor, warmed my feet and the yurt through long, snowy winters.

Shimmering sheer fabric hung across the foot of my bed, creating a sense of privacy without cutting off the yurt’s spacious uplift. On the opposite side of the yurt, an air mattress on the warm floor welcomed myriad overnight guests.

The yurt was a natural gathering place for community functions, with everything from business meetings to a South African spice ritual being held within its gracious, enfolding space. Some nights I’d light a raft of candles, and friends would gather to play music and sing. Dancers stepped and twirled under the skylight in the middle. One night we counted more than 20 people singing, dancing and watching from pillows around the perimeter.

Would those gatherings have held the same magic in the boxy buildings most of us call home? I don’t know. I do know that I’m not the only one who finds in yurts a special kind of space.

Becky Kemery lives in the mountains surrounding Cocolalla in a forest green yurt and is the author of “Yurts: Living in the Round,” published in November 2006 by Gibbs Smith. The paperback book is a comprehensive guide to buying, building, living in and designing a yurt. It sells for $24.95 and can be found online at www.Sandpoint GeneralStore.com or at local bookstores. To learn more about yurts, look up www.yurtinfo.org.

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tual compass, a constant reminder of connection to the world beneath the sacred central fire, the heavens above the smoke hole, and the duality of surrounding life with its yin and yang, or masculine and feminine principles, held in balance to the west and east. This intimate knowledge that the nomads held of their place in the world and their connection to the earth was at the core of a way of life so sustainable that they lived for thousands of years in a delicate land without upsetting the balance or leaving a trace behind them.

Today we have not only the womblike indigenous Central Asian yurts – the Turkic üy and Mongolian ger – but also three modern versions, thanks to the passion and vision of educator Bill Coperthwaite. A lifelong student of indigenous design and tribal technologies and a teacher of “democratic social design,” Bill retained the nomads’ philosophy of simplicity, self-sufficiency and connection to the natural world while modifying yurt design to use local materials and meet contemporary needs for permanent shelter.

During the past 40 years, Bill Coperthwaite has built more than 300 tapered wall yurts, stretching yurt design in every way imaginable. Perhaps the most stunning is the three-tiered yurt with a cupola that is his home and the home of the Yurt Foundation, a repository for worldwide indigenous crafts and design. Located on 400 acres in Maine and bordered by the seacoast on one side and forested woodlands on the other, it stands as a symbol of the melding of ancient and modern, and of the beauty and magic that are possible when the human heart expresses itself in intelligent design.

The second North American design that developed, the modern fabric yurt retains the trellis wall and nomadic character of the Mongolian ger. But with NASA-developed insulation, architectural fabric coverings, multiple windows and an acrylic skylight bubble, it steps into the clothing of the 21st century.

The fabric yurt has an extraordinary range of uses from homes and classrooms to bed-and-breakfast accommodations; it is far more comfortable than a tent but still not quite a frame-built house. Amazingly affordable, it costs less than most people spend on a new car, and a yurt kit can be set up on a pre-built platform in a single day.

The final version, the frame panel yurt, is a permanent round structure that combines elements of conventional stick frame building with prefab innovation and custom design options. In frame panel yurts, the concept of circular living expands to include contemporary, luxurious, multistoried structures with rectilinear connectors and uses ranging from retirement homes to office buildings and churches.

The distinctive feature of all yurts is their roof structure, held in tension between a central compression ring at the top and a tension band that encircles the top of the wall and integrates roof and wall members. This design allows for long roof spans without any internal support system (like trusses or beams), giving the yurt an uncommon feeling of

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Two yurts, two families, one amazing way to live Living in the round, Idaho style Although a yurt is defined in Merriam-Webster’s as “a circular domed tent of skins or felt stretched over a collapsible lattice framework,” the definition hardly does justice to the beautiful, 1,500-square-foot home in Samuels belonging to Russell and Kim Cash and their teenage daughter, Becca.

PHOTOS BY RUSSELL CASH

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From left: The Cash family pauses outside their yurt. The view looks lovely from inside. The McKibbens’ yurt serves a growing family well.

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The most noticeable feature of the two-year-old canvas yurt is the spaciousness offered by the high, sloped ceiling. The inner polyvinyl walls encircling the tastefully decorated rooms create an inviting atmosphere.

The family moved in a mere six months ago – surprising from the comfortable, settled-in feeling of the space. A living room, office space, full bathroom, kitchen and sleeping loft for guests occupy the main floor. Clear vinyl windows line the room, letting in lots of light.

Downstairs, a daylight basement holds two bedrooms, a half-bath, sauna and sunroom. The details throughout the home, like the carved bamboo doors in the upstairs bathroom or the warmth emanating from the heated basement floors, add to the subtle luxury a yurt can provide.

Besides being environmentally friendly, this style of home attracted Russell and Kim because of the family bond it creates. “It’s an intimate way of living. It draws our family closer,” said Kim. She also spoke about the energy of living in a round space. “There’s something nourishing for the soul, living in a yurt.” Russell concurs. Inhabiting a round structure has benefits. “I’ve slept better,” he added.

Down the road is another yurt surrounded by a grove of tall birch trees. “It is unexpected how close to nature you are,” said owner Todd McKibben of living in a yurt. He shares the 700-square-foot home with his wife, Monica, and their 2-year-old son Torrin. Inside, one can see how the yurt works with the seasons, from the insulating felt walls, to the dome top that can be removed to let in air.

The young couple has lived in their yurt for two years and couldn’t think of a more perfect way to house their growing family. Not thrilled about the other options in their price range, Monica said, “We just wanted to start fresh.” Todd added, “We wanted land but didn’t want the stress of a 30-year mortgage.” The yurt, started with a Great American Yurt Co. kit, also gives them a sense of pride. The couple teamed up to complete the inside of their rustic home themselves.

The McKibbens’ bright, warm home makes it easy to imagine the draw of living so simply. With most of the plumbing external, the McKibbens utilize the extra space with the loft they added last year, along with a bedroom below for their son. Several yards past the wood-fired hot tub sits a smaller, 14-foot yurt for guests. The couple is working on converting the guesthouse into a unique bed and breakfast, which should be open sometime in June.

The round structures may start out the same, but a yurt is an expression of whoever inhabits it. It can be rustic or decked out with amenities; it can be a permanent home or a peaceful retreat.

Regardless, after visiting the two yurts, the hard angles of a rectangular-roomed house seem confining. Whether looking for affordable housing or to experience the benefits of living in the round, a yurt might be the answer.

–Amie Wolf

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Natives and Newcomers What’s it like to see Sandpoint today through the eyes of a lifelong resident? What kind of impressions do the new arrivals bring? This continuing feature invites you to compare the thoughts and consider the different perspectives of a couple of our longtime residents and a couple of newbies.

involved with it all the time. The Depression began about the time I was born. My folks had to sell a ’29 Chevrolet in order to buy me shoes and a coat.

By Dianna Winget

The Natives Kenneth Coulston A lifetime resident, Kenneth was born in 1926 and lives on Lavina Street, just two houses south from the home where he was born. One of his earliest jobs was founding the Carnation milk route in Sandpoint. He and his wife of 60 years, Bertha, have four grown daughters. Kenneth retired in 1988 and enjoys fishing, hunting and playing racquetball three mornings a week.

Frankie Roberson

Can you share a favorite childhood experience?

What’s kept you here all these years?

Back in the ’30s and ’40s we had to make our own entertainment. Where I live now, between Lavina and Florence, there probably weren’t any more than five houses at that time … we played hide and seek, kick the can, cops and robbers. We had our machine guns and our pistols (made of inner tubes cut in pieces) and we shot at one another. If you got shot with one of the rubber bands you were dead. We wrestled and boxed. Our folks had card games once or twice a month … and dominoes. These are great memories because my folks were

I have stayed here in this area all of my life because the few other places I have visited never showed me anything better than what we have here. A person can make a living here, but you have to hustle and rely on God a lot.

I love it here … it’s my home. I’ve never had any intention of leaving it, and I still don’t.

What are your favorite local businesses?

Merwin’s Hardware, Sandpoint Super Drug, Yoke’s and Nieman’s Floral.

Any advice for newcomers?

I’ve known many people who have come to Sandpoint, and most all of them are excellent people. But I do dislike new people coming here and trying to change our way of living. It just isn’t the same as it was.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing Sandpoint?

You might know that before I answer it. It’s been 35 or 40 years trying to get a byway through this town. We’ll never get it built as far as I see it. I used to drive to Chilco every day and see maybe 12 cars. Now it’s bumper to bumper cars. Let’s get something built as far as

What’s your favorite local business?

My very favorite business of all time has gone out of business. And I’m afraid Harold’s IGA will never be replaced. I like small and personal.

Any advice for newcomers?

Please learn to do things our way, and let us stay the way we are. Ask and

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I’m concerned. And this last year the taxes just really bugged me. They raised my taxes from $800 to $2,220 for the same house that’s been built since 1949.

Frankie Roberson, a Sandpoint native, lives with her husband, Harry, on Bottle Bay Road. She enjoys sewing and making yarn coat hangers, and she volunteers six days a week at the Sagle Senior Thrift Store. She and Harry share their home with a dachshund, Trixie, and a cat, Yukon.

What’s kept you here in Sandpoint?

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listen. Don’t leave the old locals out of the plan of things.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing Sandpoint?

Where are we going to put all the garbage disposal and what are we going to have to pay for it? What is the future of the aquifer in this area?

Can you share a favorite childhood experience?

I think probably one of the greatest memories was when Farragut Naval Station was built. I was proud to the bursting point that we actually had armed forces so close at hand. … And this, of course, brought the need for a USO, the present Sandpoint Community Hall. I’m proud that it is still standing and hasn’t been torn down to make room for something new and modern. It not only represents the past, in defense of our country, but (its construction) reminds me of the logging industry, which was a big part in the settlement of this area.

The Newcomers Kathleen Clayton

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New to Sandpoint in August 2006, Kathleen is married with four grown children. At age 58, she is a recent college graduate with a creative writing degree in English and a history degree. She is pursuing a travel writing-agent career and recently began

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publishing her own travel newsletter.

What brought you to Sandpoint?

My husband has roots in this area, so we moved here to retire to be close to family. His grandparents were early pioneers.

What are your favorite businesses?

Mike’s Barber Shop because he tells stories about how Sandpoint was in the old days; Coldwater Creek because we like the unique clothes; and the Litehouse Blue Cheese Factory.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing Sandpoint?

How to incorporate people who are new and yet not change the character of the town that brought them here in the first place. We are getting too many people who just live here for two months in

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SANDPOINT the summer and move back to California for the rest of the year. I don’t want to antagonize them, but I feel some people will not feel a sense of commitment to the town. I want to continue to have the artsy feel to Sandpoint. … I love the artists, writers and the other people here who love the arts.

Do you plan to make Sandpoint your permanent residence?

Yes, we are here to stay … it’s like coming home to us. It’s the best place in the world to live, and we want to keep it a secret, but I’m afraid the world has found out.

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d’Alene and Montana. She currently works in the finance department of Coldwater Creek. Her husband, John, works for a tree-digging service that supplies trees to landscaping companies. They enjoy camping, hiking and fishing with a son, Andrew, and granddaughter, Alexus.

What brought you to Sandpoint?

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We just wanted to move to a smaller town, where there wasn’t so much traffic, and so many people. We didn’t know too much about Sandpoint. We’d been up here a few times, but Coeur d’Alene was just getting so congested.

What’s your favorite local business?

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I haven’t been into that many of them, but I like Pack River Potions.

They’re really nice in there; I love

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing Sandpoint?

The city streets. What’s happening here is happening in Coeur d’Alene, the highway running right through the middle of the city.

Do you plan to make Sandpoint your permanent residence?

We haven’t made that decision yet.

We may head farther northeast to Montana, but we’ll probably be here because of work. My husband … also owns his own business and (over the winter) he built up some clientele.

You name it, he does it. All kinds of small remodel jobs, deck building and hauling.

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their products. It’s really tiny, but they’ve got a lot of different types of lotions. They make them right there.

And I like Cabin Fever.

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Real Estate

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Outdoor living spaces Extending your home to the outdoors makes life, well, better

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It is spring, and after a frosty morning, it looks like it will be a warm day. You wander out onto your concrete patio; facing southeast, it soaks up heat from the morning sun. As you sip your coffee and plan dinner for the guests you expect in the evening, you gaze out at the Cabinet Mountains over the stone wall you built yourself. eople here like to entertain outside a lot,” said Sandpoint real estate agent Susan Moon.

“Everybody lives outdoors.” So it makes sense to give some thought to the shape their “outdoor rooms” will take. But according to Barbara Pressler, a local garden artist who helps people construct such rooms, it’s not unusual for

“P

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them to know only that “they want a place to barbecue or drink wine.”

Planning such spaces will pay off in increasing their utility, and it’s particularly important to give yourself enough space, says Pressler. More broadly, planning needs to encompass what you want to do in your outdoor room. Is there a view you want to frame? Are there animals you want to attract and watch? Will just one person use the space to read, or will a family be eating here, or will all your friends be coming over often? Will you use it in the morning, evening or at midday? Are you looking for a shady, cool place to sit when it’s hot or a protected space with a roof that you can use in a wider range of weathers?

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Real Estate

crete and are less likely to have chips and corners break off.

If they heave in a spring thaw – a common problem as the snow melts in northern Idaho – they are likely to settle back in place, and if they don’t, they are easy to replace.

For privacy, or just to define a space, the Friedmanns can recommend a variety of materials for stone walls, including faux stone that looks remarkably like the real thing and is engineered to stack easily. “You must have the engineering somewhere,” said Dave, “either in the product or in the

By Cate Huisman

installer.” It’s much less expensive to buy the engineered stone and install it yourself than it is to hire a stonemason to install natural stone, and “you get a comparable look,” he said. Idaho Stone also carries faux stone walls that can be constructed to rise and fall along their pillars – again, a good option where frost heave is an issue.

It is summer. After dinner, as the sun is setting, you linger on your deck to finish your ice cream. Although the deck faces south, the awnings you lowered over it during the day have kept it and your house cool, and the breeze blowing above and below it cools it further and keeps the bugs of dusk at bay.

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Once the size and purpose are in place, you can start with the floor and work up. Concrete is a good start as a base, and it isn’t what it used to be – it can be stained and scored to look like tiles, or real tiles can be set in it, or artistic types can draw pictures on a concrete patio. To cross Pressler’s patio is to tread on a leaping coyote.

Flagstones of local slate and quartzite are also immensely popular, according to Bill and Dave Friedmann, owners of Idaho Stone Landscape and Masonry Supply. These stones are light enough than anyone can handle them, and they can be set in nearly anything. Concrete pavers of many types and sizes also make good flooring. They are compressed, not poured, so they hold together better than poured con-

Left: A water feature creates a tranquil, outdoor atmosphere at the home of Mike and Becky Freeland in East Hope. (photo by Bill Connolly) Above: This cozy patio at a home near Westmond is an ideal space for outdoor living and entertaining. (photo by John Siegmund)

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Real Estate Left: Plants and garden decorations are an essential part of any outdoor living space, as seen at Barbara Pressler’s home. Right: Pressler converted a simple tool shed in her backyard into an outdoor room she calls the “sugar shack,” which protects occupants from the elements. (photos by Barbara Pressler)

or those who don’t have a level space around their homes, a deck can provide a low or lofty outdoor room.

Although wood decking is traditional, popular and attractive, it requires a good deal of maintenance. Decks can instead be constructed of materials that look much like wood but are made of everything from rice hulls to polyolefins to cellulose fibers, and these are far easier to care for.

Some even come with a clip system that prevents nails and screws from showing.

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To surround the deck, consider what you want to be protected from. Deciduous trees nearby can provide shade in summer and let light through to the adjacent house in winter, but they’ll also drop leaves on the deck. Conifers will never let light in, but they can provide significant protection from snow in winter and even from light rainfalls. For privacy, consider training climbing plants onto trellises; you can plant them in the soil next to a low deck or in planters on a high one.

While you’re waiting for plants to grow, you can protect yourself from the elements with an umbrella or retractable awnings and shades made of synthetic fabrics similar to those used on boats. These fabrics are treated to be water resistant and will stand up well to sunlight for a time. The perfect material, however, has not yet been invented; sunlight and rainfall will eventually take their toll. However, they will last until well after your natural shade fills in, especially if you’ve chosen plants that grow quickly in our climate.

A more extravagant approach to the absence of the right space is to build the landscape you envision, using berms and boulders to define the outdoor room. You can have boulders hauled in, but faux boulders – much lighter than the real thing – can be made in virtually any shape. John Siegmund, a local concrete artist whose work is evident in the Healing Garden next to Bonner General Hospital, makes boulders out of Styrofoam. An inviting indulgence is a hot tub in a setting of faux boulders, perhaps with a waterfall running out of it over more faux and real boulders.

Fireplaces, barbecues and even heating elements can also be built into the stone.

Siegmund’s Styrofoam boulders are not reminiscent of Styrofoam in any way; they are reminiscent of boulders. He covers the foam with a thin layer of very strong cement that is colored to look like natural stone. Fittingly, it’s hard as a

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SUMMER 2007

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It is fall. You decide to go out to your garden retreat one last time. The vines that covered it during the summer have lost most of their leaves, and the late-season sun reaches inside to warm it. The comfortable chairs have held up well to the weather, and the sound of water nearby is soothing. or those who want to escape to their outdoor rooms, a small place away from the house may be the answer. This may be as simple as a bench surrounded by lattice with vines growing over it, says Nancy Hastings, owner of All Seasons Garden and

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Floral outside of Sandpoint. She suggests using latticework made of recycled plastic, which is inexpensive and holds up longer than the more traditional wood. Those with larger budgets may want to buy a ready-made retreat, such as a wooden gazebo or a wrought-iron, square pergola. Good plants to cover such a structure include honeysuckle, which has yellow and orange flowers in summer, or Virginia creeper, which turns bright red in the fall. With adequate care and watering, they will grow to cover a pergola or trellis within two years.

For a little more protection from the elements, consider a small building away from your house. Pressler has what she calls her “sugar shack” – an old tool shed with the door removed that she has furnished with comfy chairs. The door opening lets light into the shack and gives her a view of Gold Hill across the water. If no one has left a likely shed on your property, you can buy one, with our without windows and doors, in any one of a variety of sizes, and have it delivered to the place you want to retreat to.

“Comfortable furniture is a priority,” said Pressler, and here again, the miracles of modern science have recently opened new possibilities.

“There is a large push for new types of durable furniture,” added Hastings.

She carries a line of Adirondack chairs that look like painted wood but are actually made of recycled milk jugs.

Traditional-looking wicker furniture made of resin looks great and can be left out in sun or rain. Cushions stuffed with fibers with an unpronounceable name won’t rot if they get wet. Outdoor rugs of recycled plastic can add to the pleasure of being outside with bare feet. If they get dirty, you just hose them off.

In addition to pieces to sit on and eat off of, consider lighting. Pressler recommends not using lights at dusk, when they attract bugs that swarm for a brief period each evening. This

would be a good time to light a few citronella candles instead. After dark, there are lots of alternatives to augment whatever lighting has been installed on the house. Strings of lights come in a variety of imaginative forms, from plain white Christmas tree lights, reminiscent of the Festival at Sandpoint, to strings of apparent red chilies. They’re light enough to hang from awning frames or umbrellas.

Candle lanterns or oil lanterns work well as table lighting; look at the Arts and Crafts Fair at City Beach in August for handmade pottery lanterns with hurricane-style glass chimneys.

If you’re going to be cooking outdoors, don’t forget the kitchen fixtures; they’ve gone way beyond your basic barbecue kettle. “Barbecues these days are a serious investment,” said Moon, and the full range of appliances for an outdoor kitchen could be the subject of another entire article. For higher-end homes, outdoor sinks, refrigerators and even wine coolers can be a good investment as well as great amenities for outdoor entertaining.

Water features for outdoor rooms are immensely popular, in part because the sound of running water can mask the noises of cars, trains or neighbors. Water features need not be expensive, according to Hastings.

They can be as simple as a horse trough sunk into the ground. With a submersible pump that recirculates the same water over and over, no water source is necessary. For a more elaborate installation, rocks as small as your dog or as big as your car can be drilled and fitted with pipes to carry water to the top so it can cascade to the bottom along the rock face. If you can’t find a rock you like, you can have one made.

Installing a water feature is a good way to attract woodland animals. But beware of what you ask for. Birds are probably the messiest eaters on the planet, and the deer you enjoyed watching in the winter may seem less

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engaging as their consumption of your foliage makes your hot tub exposed to neighbors’ kitchen windows.

It is Christmas. Even though the morning is gray, you find that your greenhouse has caught what’s available of the southern sun and is warmer than you would expect. You pick some oranges to round out your breakfast.

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lthough Sandpoint’s climate is milder than that of much of the mountainous area farther to the east, it’s not a place where you can hang outside in your skivvies year-round.

Greenhouses or sheds enable you to trap what heat is available and create your own little “outdoors” for winter use. And you really can grow citrus fruits in them; Hastings says she sells a lot of lemon, lime and orange trees, which provide small crops around Christmas time in northern Idaho. A former Bonner County school superintendent even grew bananas in his.

Prefab greenhouses are available through a couple of companies around Sandpoint. With polycarbonate walls and steeply pitched roofs to shed snow, they can be purchased as three-sided sheds to attach to a house (outside a double door, for example) or as retreat spaces that stand alone at a distance.

You can set them on any kind of surface that is appropriate for an outdoor room.

However you choose to configure your outdoor room, it’s likely to add as much to the appeal of your house – both for you and for future owners – as each of your indoor rooms does.

Homebuyers much prefer houses with a ready-made outdoor space so they won’t have to add one, says Moon.

So if you ever have to leave, an outdoor room will make it easier to sell your house.

But even if you never have to leave, you may feel a need to escape sometimes. In your outdoor room, says Hastings, “You can feel like you’re a million miles away.”

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Banks on the rise Downtown skyline changes As construction was under way in April, CEO Curt Hecker, left, and Chairman Jack Parker stand inside the atrium of the Sandpoint Financial and Technical Center of Intermountain Community Bancorp.

Above: Artist’s rendering of the new center.

By Cate Huisman t hasn’t been possible to pass through town in the past several months without noticing the big building going up at Fifth between Oak and Church. On the site of the former Harold’s IGA, a framework has arisen for the Sandpoint Financial and Technical Center of Intermountain Community Bancorp, known better locally as Panhandle State Bank (PSB).

When this 94,000-square-foot building opens in July, it will house a bank branch and offices for the staff of the rapidly growing corporation.

Part of the reason the bank looks so big on the outside is that it is so big on the inside. Arriving visitors will enter a three-story, skylit, 4,500-square-foot atrium with trees and running water.

This lofty area is meant to be a public commons, where locals can meet, surf the Net on public Wi-Fi, and enjoy coffee or lunch from the adjacent restaurant. It will also be available for community events; it even has a door large enough for a car to be driven inside for Lost in the ’50s weekend. In addition to the atrium, a 2,500-squarefoot community room is also planned.

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Keeping the headquarters of the expanding corporation here in Sandpoint was important for Chief Executive Officer Curt Hecker and Chairman Jack Parker. Parker and others started PSB in 1981 because it was hard to get a loan from the banks then in town, which were branches of nonlocal banks. “They’d take our money and loan it to potato farmers down south. We got tired of that,” said Parker. Coldwater Creek is an outstanding example of the local businesses that were able to get started with support from PSB. But now that the board has members from around the state, there was pressure to move the headquarters elsewhere; Coeur d’Alene was a favored location. “We just said ‘No, we want it in Sandpoint.’ That’s really important to me,” Parker said. “We started here; this is a local bank; and we want the headquarters here, because there are a lot of really good jobs” associated with the bank.

Hecker is confident that the completed building, with its brick walls and gabled balconies, will be more appealing than the steel skeleton that dominated the block over the winter. And

SUMMER 2007

the generous atrium and community room are likely to appeal to local users.

Nevertheless, it’s a visual reminder of Sandpoint’s ongoing debate about its future and particularly about growth.

Providing adequate parking for building users has been a challenge, and the bank’s effort to build a parking structure across Fifth Avenue has yet to find community acceptance. Bank staff members look forward to a constructive dialogue with the city on where best to put the additional parking they need.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away on Fifth Avenue across from Sandpoint Super Drug, AmericanWest Bank is breaking ground on a new, full-service financial center, with a projected opening date before the end of the year.

Like the new IMCB center, it will incorporate a lot of gables and glass, but on a smaller scale – 4,500 total square feet on a single level. With 42 branches in numerous small towns around north Idaho and eastern Washington, AmericanWest also has a community focus but is looking to expand into fast-growing markets.

And a half mile in the other direction, Mountain West Bank will open a new branch as part of the Westpointe Plaza development at the former site of the Northern Lights electricity cooperative on Highway 2 at Division.

The 9,000-square-foot facility will be the bank’s third branch in the Sandpoint area and will give the bank a presence at the west entrance to town. Groundbreaking begins in spring 2007, and the branch is anticipated to open in spring 2008.

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Real Estate

New life for a

Sandpoint classic

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celebrated in a class-reunion-style grand opening in November, the 34,400-squarefoot structure will serve as a vibrant new home for professional offices, local art displays, community events and rich educational history.

In 1997, Scott, his wife, Lynda, and their family were checking out Sandpoint as a place to relocate from Reno.

“We came down Fifth to the signal at Pine Street and caught a glimpse of the old building as we turned left,” Scott said. “I circled back around the block to Lake Street just to get a look at it. We never dreamed at the time that we would get a chance to renovate the building.”

A few years after Brent Baker offered to sell them the old school, the Scotts’ dream has unfolded and is now approaching reality.

The purchase included its adjoining property – Pine Street Annex and the Little League

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egin with a chance sighting in an unfamiliar town. Throw in an instant love affair. Add appreciation for the past with vision toward the future. Stir in healthy doses of local lore. Combine all of the above with construction know-how, and the results will astound both visitors and locals.

That’s precisely what is happening at the majestic, old brick school at Pine and Euclid, which stood boarded up for several years until Brad Scott purchased it.

Scott, a contractor with extensive building experience in Reno, Nev., and Hawaii, is following this recipe to restore new life into one of Sandpoint’s treasures.

With its classical revival architectural style, the building first opened in 1923 as Sandpoint’s $140,000, three-story high school. The structure allowed high schoolers to move out of the Farmin School downtown.

When the estimated $1.5-million rebirth is

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By Marianne Love

batting facility, recently turned Twigs Nursery. For the past several months, Brad and son Matt have overseen a meticulous renovation, including multipaned replicas of the original windows.

When complete, the Sandpoint Business and Performing Arts Center will include 17 office spaces, hallway showcases, kiosks, and art surrounding the running track above the gym. With its athletic motif, the gym will serve as a banquet facility, seating up to 500. A coffee/dessert bar is planned near the lobby on the second floor. Local citizens can display their school memorabilia.

“The (450-seat) auditorium has been completely preserved with the stage extended 7 feet to accommodate modern performance requirements,” Scott said. “The original lighting in the ceiling that once let sunlight in will be replicated with lighting that will seem to come from the same source.”

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Real Estate “Lights of Learning” is a classic image by Ross Hall of Sandpoint High School, taken in 1948. Below, owners Brad and Lynda Scott are renovating the old building into a business and performing arts center. (photo by Bob Gunter/Bonner County Daily Bee)

The structure will look and function similarly to its golden years as a gathering place for the community. Lizzy Hughes, the former POAC executive director who now heads up the Arts Alliance, will coordinate events; to schedule, call her at 255-5273.

“I was told by Wilma Allen (a 1936 SHS grad) that when the old school was new, it was the place in town to come to any event.

There were speakers, meetings, shows, evangelists, political rallies – virtually every type of gathering was held there,” Scott said.

“We want that to be common again.

We expect to hold banquets and trade shows there, seminars, weddings, community dinners, dinner theater – the list goes on.”

Brad and Lynda Scott seem almost giddy as they seek to revive the magic reminiscent of the building’s first social event, held on an April evening in the gym. The 1923 Monticola yearbook describes the Class of 1924 Junior

Prom as “certainly a most enjoyable and successful dance.” Senior colors of purple and white were used throughout. Five hundred invitations were issued. Dancing began at 8:30 p.m., and the Grand March at 9 p.m. The Ragadors, a four-piece saxophone, banjo and piano ensemble provided music.

The highlights in the yearbook read: “In every way the Prom was a success. … Everyone left reluctantly yet in good spirits as the Ragadors played ‘Home Sweet Home’ at eleven-thirty.”

Several generations later, Brad Scott and his family anticipate similar assessments when their beloved building serves as “Home Sweet Home” to many similar occasions for an appreciative community.

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Real Estate

Common grounds, distinct variety New developments rise to meet niche markets

By Amie Wolf ast summer’s real estate boom may have slowed a bit, but steady growth still gives real estate developers plenty of opportunities to satisfy the housing needs of newcomers and locals. As Sandpoint and the surrounding areas expand, developers are coming up with innovative ways to house our diverse community. Several new developments are popping up in and around town, each capturing the essence of northern Idaho.

John McKeown is a commercial real estate broker and developer of the new fly-in residential airpark community, SilverWing at Sandpoint. He knew this was the spot to turn his vision into reality. “I was looking for a place that has a small-town feel; where the people are friendly and have good values,” he said.

The county-run airport adjacent to the development offers asphalt runways and a rare opportunity. “You typically don’t find land available for purchase around places like that. Usually private development isn’t possible,” said McKeown. The landscape is also appealing; SilverWing’s mountainous location will attract backcountry pilots looking for an outdoor lifestyle.

The unique development of 44 homes on 18 acres allows pilots to store their planes in hangars and stay in living quarters above. Multiple taxiways and six unit styles accommodate a range of plane sizes. Buyers will most likely be pilots from the Pacific Northwest and California, who will own the units and the low-maintenance land they sit on.

SilverWing offers property management services so owners can lease out their hangars when not in use.

The unfinished interiors give owners

PHOTO BY DOUG MARSHALL / EL PHOTO GRANDE

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Heading home: One view that SilverWing at Sandpoint owners can anticipate.

An artist’s rendering shows an 80-foot by 75-foot hangar home, one of the largest SilverWing offers.

residents have the freedom to mold them to their liking. Keller added, “We haven’t changed them at all because we want the individual owners to do that.”

Recreation is planned around Blue Heron Lake, from fishing to the ninehole golf course, to picnics on the community beach. The private lake is stocked with rainbow trout for anglers and birds alike. Deer and moose can SUMMER 2007

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

www.sandpointonline.com

a chance to design their living spaces.

“We leave it to the homeowner because everyone wants something different,” said McKeown. The hangar homes and the planned community center could prove to make Sandpoint a real hot spot for adventurous aviators, including McKeown, who started flying a year and a half ago.

SilverWing may draw winged travelers from all around, but Hillwood Park at Blue Heron Lake Lane gets air traffic of a different kind. Resident Canada geese, along with a variety of other waterfowl, call the small lake inside the community home.

Located 10 minutes from Sandpoint, Hillwood Park offers 10 private lots, priced from $399,000 to $599,000 and spread out across 44 wooded acres. “It has a wonderful energy,” said owner/developer Kaylee Keller, who has lived at the site since 1990. The lots are underdeveloped so

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Real Estate

easily use the wildlife corridor to drink from the lake or graze in the 22 acres of common ground.

The lots feature underground utilities and private wells and are ready to build. Buyers may utilize Stratford Homes, located 30 miles away in Rathdrum, for quick construction.

The two-story modular homes, designed by local architect Jon Sayler, are built in large sections that are delivered to the site, connected and then finished to specifications.

Keller hopes to attract buyers with a sense of community who are also interested in participating in the future of Hillwood Park. Plans could include a lodge or more recreational amenities, depending on the collective vision of the gated community’s residents.

Developers John and Cynthia Monnier came from one paradise to discover The Ridge at Paradise Valley, just 7 miles southeast of Bonners Ferry. The Monniers, who live in Hawaii most of the year, were building a house in Sandpoint when Cindy Bond, their Tomlinson Black real estate agent, introduced them to Paradise Valley. They immediately fell in love with the views and lush landscape.

There were already four offers on the property, but they fell through.

“We were thrilled,” said Cynthia. The couple then began plans for their mainland paradise. The Ridge at Paradise Valley boasts 22 estate-sized lots priced from $144,000 to $154,000. The lots range from 5 acres to just under 10 acres. Ten lots have sold, and a model home is being constructed this summer. Paved roads and underground utilities are planned. As the weather gets nicer, driveways will be cut into each lot. Building pads will be added soon, along with a gated entrance. In July, the Monniers will add a site office and start holding weekend open houses.

“I feel like we’ve done a spectacular job,” said Cynthia. In fact, the Monniers have decided to relocate to

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The picturesque Blue Heron Lake is the heart of a recreational retreat planned by Kaylee Keller. The lake is stocked with rainbow trout and has a community beach and barbecue area.

the Panhandle.

Another gated community 8 miles southeast of Sandpoint offers residents views of Lake Pend Oreille and private beach access. Stillwater Point features seven lots that include custom homes built by Pacific Construction. Each one is designed to fit the parcel it is built on, ranging from 1.7 to 5.6 acres. Prices for the homes start at $2.45 million and should attract metropolitan buyers looking for a vacation home in a resort destination without the overpricing and overcrowding of areas like Tahoe.

The first home available for sale at Stillwater Point has 5,400-plus square feet including a great room, wet bar and a luxury master suite. The next custom home planned in the develop-

SUMMER 2007

ment should be completed this summer. All seven homes will be built in “Rocky Mountain style” that, according to Windermere agent Merry Brown-Hayes, means “extraordinary finishes and spectacular views.”

Major work on the waterfront continues, as the private gazebo is installed and dock permits are in the works. “This community is unique for Sandpoint,” said Brown-Hayes, since the individual parcels are not for sale.

“The community has been designed to provide high quality custom homes to potential purchasers.”

In town, other potential purchasers now have the option to live “green” as The Ridge at Paradise lies in a scenic valley surrounded by mountains southeast of Bonners Ferry.

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Real Estate

For more information look up www.silver wingatsandpoint.com, www.hillwood park.com, www.theridgeatparadisevalley.com, www.stillwaterpoint.com and www.cedar greenhomes.com.

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construction begins on the Cedar Green subdivision in Sandpoint.

Developers Grey Hecht and Kyler Wolf have been making regional headlines and radio waves on the new, environmentally friendly neighborhood that features 18 lots and common space on 3.3 acres of land.

Green-building technology is progressing rapidly; however, Cedar Green is the first in northern Idaho to follow green-building guidelines. According to the National Association of Home Builders Web site, www.nahb.org, “green worthy” guidelines include resource, energy and water efficiency, and indoor environmental quality.

In addition to attracting buyers who are looking for a way to lessen their mark on the planet, Hecht and Wolf hope residents will form a close-knit neighborhood. “We are targeting families who want good, three- and fourbedroom homes on low-maintenance, private lots with a community feel,” said Wolf.

Large porches close to sidewalks, setback garages and narrow streets create a pedestrian-friendly environment. Homes will be craftsman, bungalow and prairieinspired of the art-and-crafts building tradition. Buyers can choose from a variety of plans, all using natural building materials. Prices start at $290,000.

The green-building movement could catch on here as other developers and home shoppers realize the affordability and comfort of living green.

Each of these developments reflects the rich diversity of the area, appealing to pilots, nature lovers, view seekers, metropolitan vacationers or earthconscious city dwellers. The distinct culture found here promises to continue to change and grow as the community embraces the old and welcomes the new.

The Bright Side of Remodeling.

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Real Estate A potpourri of lifestyle choice Developments offer varied amenities Seasons at Sandpoint, a private residential resort close to City Beach, launches its Boat Club just in time for residents to enjoy summer boating on Lake Pend Oreille. Sales are exceeding projections, and Phase I, including the fitness center and spa, is almost complete. www.seasonsatsandpoint.com Seasons at Sandpoint Phase I

The Dover Bay lakeside community is bustling with activity. The marina’s first phase is currently under way and construction on a gas dock, waterfront café and sea store starts soon.

From luxury condominiums to waterfront homes, steady sales continue to bring in new residents. This summer the development will host a Parade of Homes and the Dover Bay Triathlon. www.doverbayidaho.com Marina Town at Dover Bay

On the banks of the Pend Oreille River, The Crossing at Willow Bay starts construction on its yacht club, with some docks ready to use by Fourth of July. A beach club offering residents a deck, fitness center and other amenities is in the works, and Sullivan Homes will start on three lodge homes soon. www.crossingwillowbay.com The Meadows at Fall Creek, a 300-acre community located north of Sandpoint, is primed to release Phase II parcels for sale soon. Only a small number of Phase I parcels remain unsold. Paved roads and utilities will be finished by June, and the new Community Center will serve as sales center. www.the-meadows-at-fall-creek.com

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Iron Horse Ranch, a gated community featuring 200 acres of open space and loaded with equestrian trails, is also making steady progress. As infrastructure nears completion, lots should be available for sale soon, and construction is set to begin on an entry gate and the first custom home. www.ironhorseatsandpoint.com The limited, private development The Ridge at Sandpoint offers residents stunning views of the lake and Sandpoint. With only six timbered lots available, a select few will get to savor the sights from this gated community. Currently the private road is being widened and beautified to make access a breeze. www.theridgeatsandpoint.com In southern Bonner County, Quail Ridge parcels are primed and ready to build. Roads are paved and underground utilities are completed. One house is under construction, and there are plans to start another soon. Close access to two golf courses and state land will give residents plenty of recreational opportunities. www.sandpointrealty.com/quailridge.html Duffers are holding their breath as The Idaho Club nears completion. The Jack Nicklausdesiged golf course offering lodge and custom homes will soon resume the grassing process on over half the course. Construction on the Town Center featuring a Pro Shop and fitness center starts this summer. All infrastructure and roads will be completed in time for a Labor Day grand opening. www.theidahoclub.com.

1207 DOVER HWY.• SANDPOINT 208.263.6163 • 800.446.7782 140

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

–Amie Wolf

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Introductory Prices

$75,000 to $97,000 • 5 acre parcels • Many parcels border State Lands • Close to town, golf, & a recreational lake • Paved roads & underground utilities • Virtually unlimited recreational land surrounding the project • Area of great water producing wells • Some parcels offered with water 2 OWNERS ARE LICENSED IDAHO REALTORS

Visit www.sandpointrealty.com for all Coeur d’Alene & Bonner/Boundary MLS listings

George Gauzza 208-290-8059 208-263-2135

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Real Estate

Marketwatch: Values hold up as market balances North Idaho’s real estate market is much healthier today than it was in the heady days of frenzied selling when Sandpoint hit the national news two years ago. It’s balanced for both buyers and sellers, and values are holding strong here even as they are dropping in many other parts of the country. According to Dale Pyne, president of the Selkirk Association of Realtors (SAR), this makes the Sandpoint area “a safe haven for second-home buyers, investors and developers.”

Two years ago there were fewer than 900 properties of all kinds listed in SAR’s multiple listing service area, Bonner and Boundary counties. As of mid-April this year, there were 989 residential, 1,315 unimproved vacant, 91 commercial and 24 multifamily properties available. Sandpoint’s typical average home spent 106 days on the market in

the early months of 2007, significantly up from the 52 of two years ago, but not up to the 170 days of five years ago. As time on the market climbed, the number of properties sold dropped, from 149 two years ago to 86 this year, as the accompanying chart shows.

Prices continued to increase. The average selling price of a home in Sandpoint went up 32.7 percent over this two-year period, from $246,080 in 2005 to $365,738 this year. Countywide, prices were slightly lower but increased by an even greater percentage, 36.9 percent, from $221,704 in the first four months of 2005 to $351,867 in the same period of 2007.

However, the average price is deceptive: It’s more a reflection of the number of new high-end homes than it is of the increase in price of the average home or lot. In the past two years, properties in several new luxury

Ron Hanson • (208) 08 8) 255-7701 • (208)) 290-7004 •

developments have come on the market in Bonner County. The majority of homes in these developments are priced at more than $400,000, and many properties are selling for much more. These high-end homes drive the average up. Although the average price for a home in Bonner County was $351,867, the median was $249,000, which means that half the homes in Bonner County sold for less than this latter amount. In Boundary County, by contrast, the average selling price for a home in this same time period was $169,996, and the median was $147,000. The difference between the median and the average was lower because of the absence of high-end developments skewing the average skyward.

Meanwhile, those looking for lower-priced homes will continue to have more luck in the outlying areas, farther from the lake and the ski lifts. Not only are homes in Boundary

Sandpoint, S andpoint, Idaho • (208) 263-5101 263-5101

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Real Estate

County less expensive than those in Bonner County, but Bonner County communities other than Sandpoint, such as Clark Fork and Priest River, are lower-priced also.

The commercial market in northern Idaho is in a different position than that of the residential market. The supply of commercial real estate in SAR’s area has not yet turned the corner that residential real estate has: Supply remains low, and demand continues to climb. Because of the lack of vacant commercial land, older buildings will likely continue to be demolished and replaced with newer commercial ventures. A feature elsewhere in this issue (page 132) describes two of the instances in which this has already occurred: The new Intermountain Community Bancorp building has replaced Harold’s IGA downtown, and a new branch of MountainWest bank will soon rise on the site of the former Northern Lights electric cooperative that stood at the corner of Division and Highway 2.

WE

Bonner/Boundary REAL

ESTATE TRENDS early 2007

AVERAGE/ MEDIAN SELLING PRICE

AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET

2007

2005

2002

2007

1/1/074/19/07

1/1/054/19/05

1/1/024/19/02

1/1/07 4/19/07

Homes– Sandpoint

365,738/ 254,500

246,080/ 200,000

147,633/ 126,000

106

Homes– Bonner Cty

351,867/ 249,000

221,704/ 175,675

128,412/ 112,000

Homes– Boundary Cty

169,996/ 147,000

148,955/ 115,000

Land– Sandpoint

204,960/ 130,000

Land– Bonner Cty Land– Boundary Cty

AREA

NUMBER OF PROPERTIES SOLD

2005 2 0 0 2 1/1/05 4/19/05

2007

2005 2 0 0 2

1/1/024/19/02

1/1/074/19/07

1/1/054/19/05

1/1/024/19/02

52

170

86

149

71

101

60

161

124

196

98

81,452/ 75,000

89

145

120

3

53

25

128,553/ 90,000

50,009/ 45,000

106

90

180

61

159

45

186,479/ 120,000

114,816/ 79,000

52,255/ 50,000

110

133

250

98

223

20

106,143/ 95,000

58,264/ 37,500

53,500/ 27,000

139

325

178

28

53

5

Based on information from the Selkirk MLS for the period 1/1/02 through 4/16/07. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

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SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

www.sandpointonline.com

North Idaho’s only DeWils Custom Cabinetry Representative.

Custom Interiors Showroom Open Monday - Saturday

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No. of Units Spa or Sauna Pool on site Restaurant Bar or Lounge Kitchens Meeting Rooms

travel planner

G N I G D LO

See complete directories online at SandpointOnline.com

COMMENTS Archer Vacation Condos

4

x x

x

Beautiful 3-bedroom, 2-bath waterfront condos on Lake Pend Oreille in Hope. Discount ski and golf tickets available. See ad, page 104. 10kVacationRentals.com/Sandpoint/index.htm

(877) 982-2954 / drarchers@msn.com

Bear Creek Lodge & Restaurant

12 x

x

54 x x

x

Our clean non-smoking rooms include TVs, refrigerators, coffee makers and outdoor hot tub. Excellent restaurant for breakfast, lunch, dinner. “At home atmosphere.”

(208) 267-7268

Best Western Edgewater Resort

x

x

(208) 263-3194 or (800) 635-2534

Church Street House B&B

2

Beautifully restored arts & crafts classic, period furnishings, queen-sized beds, private baths, scrumptious breakfasts. Walk to shops, restaurants, beach. churchstreethouse.com

6

Beautiful 1907 Victorian. Private baths! Gourmet breakfast. Wireless. Massage available. New light thru old windows. New management. coithouse.com

(208) 255-7094

Coit House B&B (208) 265-4035 or (866) 265-COIT

Huckleberry Tent & Breakfast

3

x

Old-fashioned B&B. Canvas tent cabins, queen-sized bed, plank floor, wood stove, kitchen & s’mores! Private, 3 sites on 42 acres. huckleberrytentandbreakfast.com

18

x

Quiet downtown location close to lake, restaurants and shopping. Clean rooms.

New linens and towels. Wireless Internet. Friendly atmosphere. k2inn.com

(208) 266-0155

K-2 Inn at Sandpoint (208) 263-3441

Kootenai River Inn

65 x x

x

x

68 x x

x

x

x

New deluxe rooms with private, river-view balconies, 3 casinos (1 non-smoking), 400 gaming machines, rec center and spa. See ad, page 151. kootenairiverinn.com

x

Downtown location, high-speed Internet. Free breakfast, themed spa suites.

Silverwood, ski & golf pkgs. Kids stay free. See ad, page 46. hotels-west.com

(208) 267-8511 or (888) URLUCKY

La Quinta Inn

x

(208) 263-9581 or (800) 282-0660

Lodge at Clark Fork

1

x

15

x

Superbly furnished throughout, featuring a fully equipped kitchen, 4 lovely bedrooms designed to accommodate up to 10 guests. clarkforklodge.com

(208) 946-1741

Meriwether Inn, The

x

Located on Scenic Byway Highway 200. Beautiful views, wildlife and bird watching, biking and more. See ad, page 62. geocities.com/clarkforklodge

x

At-home atmosphere, wireless Internet, cable TV, gift shop. Free Continental breakfast with homemade sourdough waffles. See ads, page 123.

x

Fully furnished condos and on-site athletic club on Lake Pend Oreille.

Stay and play packages. See ad, page 106. posresort.com

x

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

x

x

Unique vacation rentals available on the lake and on Schweitzer Mountain. sandpointvacationgetaways.com

x

x

High-end properties that are the perfect lodging choice. Let our staff help plan a memorable getaway. Boat rentals, tee times. See ad, pg. 144. sandpointvacations.com

x

x

Mountain accommodations, stay and play packages. Spectacular mountain and lake views. Outdoor heated pool and hot tubs. See ad, page 171. schweitzer.com

(208) 266-1716

Monarch Mountain Lodge

48 x

(208) 263-1222 or (800) 543-8193

Pend Oreille Shores Resort

50 x x

x

(208) 264-5828

Sandpoint Quality Inn

62 x x

x

x

(208) 263-2111 or (866) 519-7683

Sandpoint Vacation Getaways

20

x

(888) 896-0007 or (208) 263-6000

Sandpoint Vacation Rentals

60 x x

(208) 263-7570 or (866) 263-7570

Selkirk Lodge

x

167

x

x

(208) 265-0257 or (800) 831-8810

Sleep’s Cabins

x

6

On beautiful Lakeshore Drive. Sleep’s Cabins consists of six log bungalows decorated with original furnishings and collectibles. See ad, page 150. sleepscabins.com

(208) 255-2122 or (866) 302-2122

Super 8 Motel

60 x

Free breakfast with waffles. 24-hour hot tub, free wireless Internet. Family suites.

Schweitzer ski packages. At the base of Schweitzer Mountain, 2 miles from lake.

(208) 263-2210

Vacationville

60 x x

x

Luxury lakeside homes, cozy mountain cabins and lovely condominiums at the heart of Sandpoint. See ad, page 102. vacationville.com Deluxe spa suites with private hot tub on deck, jetted tub for two in bath.

Gas fireplace, AC, kitchenette, free wireless Internet. sandpoint.org/waterhouse

(208) 255-7074 or (877) 255-7074

Waterhouse B&B

x

x

9

x

x

x

Private cabins sleep 2-8. Lodge rooms with private baths, rec room, horseback riding and meals available. See ad, page 104. westernpleasureranch.com

x

x

New accommodations, stay and play packages. Spectacular mountain and lake views. Outdoor hot tubs, access to heated pool. See ad, page 171. schweitzer.com

(208) 263-9066

White Pine Lodge

50 x x

x

x

PHOTO BY CHRIS GUIBERT

(208) 265-0257 or (800) 831-8810

Sleep’s Cabins

Coit House

www.sandpointonline.com

2

(208) 265-9112 or (888) 329-1767

Western Pleasure Guest Ranch

Downtown Sandpoint on the Lake. Indoor pool, sauna, fitness room, hot tub. All rooms with lake view. Beach House Bar & Grill. 22-site RV park. sandpointhotels.com

White Pine Lodge SUMMER 2007

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Summer Guide Lake Golf Course, a challenging 9 holes or 18 from second set of tees in Bonners Ferry on Highway 95; and Priest Lake Golf Course, a scenic 18-hole layout just west of Priest Lake. www.priest lakegolfcourse.com (443-2525).

O U T- O F - D O O R S

www.sandpointonline.com

State Parks. Three state parks are within range of Sandpoint – Farragut, Round Lake and Priest Lake. Farragut is located four miles east of Athol, with 4,000 scenic acres alongside the southern tip of Lake Pend Oreille. Camping and trails available (683-2425). Round Lake is located 11 miles south of Sandpoint just west of Highway 95 on West Dufort Road. Round Lake is a small, scenic lake; camping, fishing and trails all available (263-3489). Priest Lake State Park is located on Coolin Road in Coolin alongside the clear waters of Priest Lake.

Camping and trails available. www.idaho parks.org (443-2200).

146

Hiking. Sandpoint Ranger District, more than 75 trails covering 270 miles of developed routes through a variety of terrain. Maps, information available at 1500 Highway 2 at the Federal Building. Also see “State Parks,” above. www.fs.fed.us/ipnf/sandpoint (263-5111). See story, page 100.

Wildlife Refuge. Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge, 30 miles north of Sandpoint near Bonners Ferry, has more than 2,000 acres and an abun-

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

Horse rentals & riding. Western Pleasure Guest Ranch, 16 miles northeast of Sandpoint on Upper Gold Creek Road, group horseback rides on peaceful, rural trails. www.western pleasureranch.com (263-9066).

Mountain Horse Adventures, located 2 miles before Schweitzer Village, scenic trail rides on Schweitzer Mountain. www.mountainhorse adventures.com (263-8768). Stillwater

Schweitzer Mountain Resort. High atop the Selkirk Mountains above Sandpoint, Schweitzer is a winter and summer destination with spectacular views of Lake Pend Oreille. The Inland Northwest’s largest ski resort, Schweitzer is a mere 11 miles from downtown. In summertime, there’s lodging, dining, scenic hiking, mountain biking, huckleberry picking, disc golf, tennis, climbing wall and bungee jump trampoline, chairlift rides, and horseback riding. Under way is construction of two new chairlifts replacing Chair 1, set to open at the beginning of the next ski and board season. www.schweitzer.com (800-831-8810 or 263-9555). dance of wildlife including elk, deer, moose and bear, plus migrating birds.

Hiking trails to waterfall and around pond, auto tour routes. www.fws.gov/kootenai (267-3888).

Golf. Four area golf courses are within easy reach of Sandpoint: StoneRidge Golf Club, a 19-hole course in Blanchard on Highway 41, www.stone ridgeidaho.com (437-4653), see story, page 111; Elks Golf Club, a well-maintained 9-hole layout 2 miles east of Sandpoint on Highway 200; Mirror

Ranch, in Sagle on Dufort Road, features hay rides (263-0077).

Walking and Bicycling. The Pedestrian Long Bridge, alongside Highway 95 over Lake Pend Oreille, continues to Sagle Road; paved paths at Travers Park on West Pine Street, City Beach downtown and along Highway 2 west to Dover. Paths also at Lakeview Park through the Native Plant Society Arboretum and overlooking Sand Creek at the Healing Garden next to hospital.

PHOTO BY WOODS WHEATCROFT

PHOTO BY CHRIS GUIBERT

travel planner

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FUN On Our Lake

Starts Here!

SLIPS AVAilable -

DOVERBAYMARINA

OPEN FOR THE

See ya on the Lake

2007

BOATINGSEASON

Sandpoint Marina

120 East Lake St. Ste. 101, Sandpoint • 208.263.3083

Holiday shores / East Hope Marina 46624 Hwy 200 East, Hope • 208.264.5515

Dover Bay Marina 208.263.3083

WATERFRONT PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 263-3083 • www.sandp ointwaterfront.com

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Summer Guide I

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Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center

Healing Garden

Cedar

Park

I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Old Lantern District

I

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www.sandpointonline.com

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3rd Avenue Pier

Native Plant Arboretum

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Summer Guide

SHOPPING & MOVIES Located at the south end of the Long Bridge, just minutes from Sandpoint’s fine dining, night life and shopping.

Call 866-302-2122 or 208-255-2122 Online Rates * Reservations www.sleepscabins.com

Shopping. Downtown, discover a fine array of eclectic shops and galleries with clothing, art and gifts galore. Explore Coldwater Creek in its new flagship store at 311 N. First, with a wine bar upstairs and live music on Fridays and Saturdays. www.thecreek.com (263-2265). Visit the Cedar Street Bridge, reopening after a major renovation as the Cedar Street Bridge Public Market with world-class shopping in a beautiful log structure overlooking Sand Creek. www.cedarstreetbridge.com (255-8270). Shop for antiques at Foster’s Crossing, a mini mall with lots of antiques, on Fifth between Cedar and Oak streets (263-5911); and MarketPlace Antiques & Gifts, Sandpoint’s newest antique market, open daily, at Fifth and Church (263-4444). Bonner Mall in Ponderay contains many stores plus a six-plex movie theater and frequent events, on Highway 95 two miles north of Sandpoint (263-4272).

Movies. Bonner Mall Cinema is a six-plex theater inside the Bonner Mall on Highway 95 (263-7417). The Panida Theater is a historic venue at 300 N. First; its Global Cinema Café features foreign and independent films. www.panida.org (263-9191).

Check www.SandpointOnline.com for movie listings.

Swimming. Sandpoint’s City Beach, the finest, most convenient swimming; also Dog Beach, Springy Point, Trestle Creek, Garfield Bay, Sam Owen, Riley Creek and Green Bay. See page 149.

www.sandpointonline.com

Sandpoint WaterLife Discovery Center. On Lakeshore Drive, the center offers interpretive trails and self-guided tours of fish habitat and an educational interpretive area on Pend Oreille River. www.fishandgame.idaho.gov (769-1414).

150

Sandpoint Farmers Market. From May to October, open-air market of fresh produce, garden starts, handcrafts, flowers, food and live music. Farmin Park Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Wednesdays, 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. www.sandpointfarmersmarket.com (290-3088).

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

INDOORS Art Galleries. Truly an arts town, Sandpoint has about two dozen galleries located in town and the surrounding area featuring art in numerous mediums. Art lovers can browse and often visit with artists in many locations. Art aficionados may also visit revolving art exhibits in several yearround gallery locations, sponsored by the Pend Oreille Arts Council and Taylor-Parker Motor Co. Locations in Sandpoint include The Old Power House, the Mayor’s office at City Hall, University of Idaho–Bonner County Extension office at the fairgrounds, Northwest Mortgage office at 218 N. First Ave., and US Bank at 201 Main St.; plus one location in Sagle, at Northern Lights, Inc., at 421 Chevy St. www.artinsandpoint.org (263-6139).

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PHOTO BY WOODS WHEATCROFT

Spas. Get pampered at The Spa at Seasons, in downtown Sandpoint, www.seasonsatsandpoint.com (263-5616); or at Kootenai River Inn Casino & Spa in Bonners Ferry, www.kootenai riverinn.com (267-8511). Or at Schweitzer try Solstice Center for the Healing Arts. www.solsticewellbeing.com (263-2862).

Bonner County Historical Museum.

This delightful museum has many fine displays depicting old-time Bonner County, including a display featuring Native American artifacts and history from the geologic formation to present day. An extensive collection of Ross Hall photos are on exhibit, as well as a pioneer kitchen with memorabilia from a bygone era and a real caboose. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Located at Lakeview Park. www.bonner countyhistory.org (263-2344). See story, page 53.

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Brewery Tours. Take a tour and taste handcrafted ales at Laughing Dog Brewing in Ponderay, and visit the gift shop open daily. www.laughingdog brewing.com (263-9222). Downtown, see brewing in action at the new brewpub, MickDuffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Brewing at 312 N. First. www.mickduffs.com (255-4351).

www.sandpointonline.com

Winery Tour. Pend dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Oreille Winery, Idahoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Winery of the Year in 2003, features award-winning wines, wine tasting, wine sales, tours of the winery and a gift shop open daily, 220 Cedar St., downtown Sandpoint. The wine bar features live music on Fridays and Saturdays. www.powine.com (265-8545). See stories, page 61 and 153.

SUMMER 2007

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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Summer Guide Premium vacation homes for rent on Lake or Mountain

888.896.0007 208.263.6000 www.sandpointvacationgetaways.com

P O N D E R AY 5 STAR SERVICE DEPARTMENT ATV SNOWMOBILE SPECIAL ORDERS

1005 N. Triangle Drive • Ponderay, ID 83852

www.sandpointonline.com

208.263.1124 Pend Oreil e k La C r u i s e s le

The Shawnodese

Public Cruises • Private Charters www.lakependoreillecruises.com Phone 208-255-LAKE (5253) Summer cruises depart from Sandpoint City Beach Dock

JET BOAT RENTALS & TOURS 152

Page 152

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

Lake Pend Oreille. Idaho’s largest and deepest lake (1,200 feet) with 111 miles of shoreline: take a cruise, rent a houseboat, fish, ride a personal watercraft or a sail board, or simply swim. City Beach at the end of Bridge Street has beautiful sandy beaches with lifeguards, volleyball, tennis, basketball and barbecue pits. Rent a kayak or go on a guided kayak tour through Full Spectrum Tours. www.kayaking.net (2635975). Lake cruises aboard a classic vessel, The Shawnodese, daily cruises plus sunset and dessert cruises, dinner cruises, island tours, boat and goat, eagle watching and more special cruises with Lake Pend Oreille Cruises. Also private charters, special occasion charters from April through October. Offering jet boat rentals and tours to Bernard Peak and on Pend Oreille and Clark Fork rivers. www.lakependoreille cruises.com (208-255-LAKE [5253] or 888-726-3764).

Silverwood Theme Park. The Northwest’s largest theme park features Tremors, a 60mile-per-hour, underground roller coaster, plus the Timber Terror and the Corkscrew. Ride a vintage steam train. Challenge a gigantic wave pool or monster water slides THE INTERNATIONAL SELKIRK LOOP, a 280-mile drive through the majestic Selkirk Mountains of Idaho, in Boulder Beach Water Park, or Washington and British Columbia, Canada. More than 55 enjoy dazzling live entertainment lakes, including Lake Pend Oreille, are found along the at the ice and magic shows. More tour. www.selkirkloop.org (888-823-2626). than 60 rides, shows and attractions. Since 2006 a new giant PEND OREILLE NATIONAL SCENIC BYWAY, 33.4 dominates the skies, Panic miles of spectacular water views on Highway 200, meanPlunge, a 140-foot tower that dering east to the Montana state line along the rocky drops riders at close to 50 mph. shores of Lake Pend Oreille. www.byways.org www.silverwoodthemepark.com WILD HORSE TRAIL SCENIC BYWAY, 48 miles on (208-683-3400).

Highway 95 from Sandpoint north following the Kootenai Tribe’s historic path on the east side of the Selkirk Dam Tour. Four daily tours free Mountains all the way to Canada. www.selkirkloop.org for the public at Albeni Falls HIGHWAY 2/41 PEND OREILLE RIVER SCENIC Dam from Memorial Day through Labor Day, on the Pend ROUTE, west on Highway 2 from Sandpoint through historic Priest River and Newport/Oldtown; then south on Oreille River just west of Priest Highway 41 through the Blanchard Valley all the way to River on Highway 2. the Spokane River. Brochures mapping the way available www.nws.usace.army.mil at the Greater Sandpoint Chamber Visitor Center.

(208-437-3133).

DRIVING TOURS

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Wine bars: a walking tour of

Sandpoint’s vintage keepers

PHOTO BY CHRIS GUIBERT

A lively Friday afternoon wine tasting at the Pend d’Oreille Winery

than 10 years, the last five in their renovated Cedar Street showroom.

Visitors can tour the winery, peruse the charming gift shop or sidle up to the bar and try the newly released 2004 Malbec or Sangiovese. For live music, drop in on Friday and Saturday evenings.

From Cedar, head east. Turn down First Avenue and go south to Stage Right Cellars for expert advice on wines and spirits.

Nearby is Three Glasses, owned by

Robert and Leslie Alexander, with its marriage of classic and contemporary food, drink and décor. The two-story space features Italian lighting, Leslie’s paintings and antique maps from the couple’s worldwide travels. The menu is influenced by French and northern Italian cuisine, particularly Piedmont, their second home. With plans to expand the restaurant and wine selection – currently an impressive 250 bottles – Alexander also offers winetasting classes.

SUMMER 2007

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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A

unique way to experience the “tastes of Sandpoint” in this pedestrian-friendly town is to design a walking tour.

“Touring the wine bars and restaurants in pursuit of the true taste of Sandpoint is fun sport and certainly a treat for the palate,” suggests Steven Meyer, who owns Pend d’Oreille Winery with wife Julie. Named “Idaho’s Winery of the Year” by Wine Press Northwest in 2003, the winery has been a Sandpoint fixture for more

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Farther down First Avenue is Café Trinity, often featuring six to eight offthe-menu wines by the glass, ideal with appetizers like tuna tartare or steamed clams.

Your last stop on this side of First Avenue is Sand Creek Grill’s Dulce Wine Bar, with 3- and 5-glass flights from their extensive wine list.

Cross the street to Ivano’s Ristorante.

Their Enoteca La Stanza wine bar menu features Italian dishes – individual pizzas, salads, panini and antipasto for two, like grilled feta served with crostini – as well as full lunch and dinner in the restaurant. Decadent desserts and specialty martinis make this a must-try on any taste tour.

Return up First Avenue to Coldwater Creek. If the main floor clothing shop is a feast for the touch, upstairs is a feast for the other four senses. Enjoy coffee and fresh pastries in the morning, panini and homemade soup at lunch. From the wine bar, goodies like hummus or a savory cheese plate complement local and imported wines in this casual, upscale location.

Many locations also host great music, even another walking tour: the sounds of Sandpoint. Sights, sounds, tastes …

Sandpoint is good for the senses.

Taste trends may waver, but takeout dining isn’t one of them. From crisp, cold-cut sandwiches on a lazy summer day to heat-and–serve meals for harried homemakers, here are three routes to good food fast.

Summertime means up early and out late. Designed to fit perfectly inside most coolers, subs are a longstanding takeout favorite. Located on Fifth Avenue, Mr. Sub (263-3491) serves cold and hot, with specials like the Hawaiian with Canadian bacon, pineapple, sprouts and cream cheese. When evening cravings hit – or you’re in need of heat – Joe’s has what you need at his Philly Cheesesteak & Hoagie Factory (263-1444). It’s thin-sliced beef (or chicken) smothered in cheese, East Coast style. If Joe’s is closed, pop next door to The Point (265-9475) for more adventures in stick-to-your-ribs eats.

If pizza is planned, try Second Avenue Pizza’s (263-9321) plentiful pies, calzone, sandwiches and salads.

Northward, call on Old Ice House Pizzeria (264-5555) to have signature New York-style pizza (or spanokopita) ready for pickup.

Take-out doesn’t mean tasteless with healthful havens like Hope Market Café (264-0506). Bob and Mila are your gourmet guides, offering tinned treats, delectable cheeses and meats, tempting desserts and beverages of every persuasion.

At Pend Oreille Pasta and Wine (263-1352), John and Valerie will stock you with fresh pasta – like their trademark ravioli – homemade sauces, breads, salads and soup, packaged individually or convenience-sized for two, four or six. Their wine Pend Oreille Pasta and Wine selection is staggering, including many low- and non-sulfite, perfect with pasta or any of the hundreds of deli cheeses, meats and olives they manage to pack in this Highway 95 cubby.

Back in Sandpoint, Spuds’ (265-4311) “butler” offers complete take-home dinners of meat and potatoes, veggies and sauce between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. daily. If something more exotic appeals, there’s Oishii Sushi (263-1406), see “Sushi setting up creekside,” next page, or Bangkok Cuisine (265-4149) with perennial favorites like pad thai, coconut soup and crab wontons, washed down with refreshing Thai iced tea.

Whatever your taste and wherever your travels take you, take-out dining in Sandpoint has something to suit your style.

–C.S.

• Fresh baked breads • cheeses • olives •

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

FINE WINES & ALES • GOURMET FOODS

476534 Hwy 95 Sandpoint • 208-263-1352

HOPE MARKET CAFE 264-0506 Old Hwy. 200 • Hope

VM`\ \W \PM 0WXM 8W[\ 7NÅKM

PASTRIES • ESPRESSO BAR • LIVE MUSIC

sausages • ravioli • gourmet sandwiches

International Wine Selection Artisan Cheeses & Breads Gourmet Deli

EPICUREAN CAFE • ARTISAN CHEESES

• beer • coffee • gift baskets • catering •

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Eating out at home or on the fly

complete carry-out fresh pasta dinners

www.sandpointonline.com

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Like most enthusiasts, I still remember the first time I had sushi: powerful flavors and textures, exquisite presentation, the addictive burn of wasabi. New opportunities abound in fusion-based menus and the increased willingness of chefs to explore Japanese cooking, sometimes in unexpected places.

Some places, like Sand Creek Grill, offer sushi alongside other seafood delicacies. For example, the Dulce menu features Hawaiian poke – seasoned, marinaed raw tuna – accompanied by a handful of assorted sushi rolls.

Other locations, like the newly opened Oishii, are all about sushi. With a pedigree that includes Spokane’s Raw and Okane restaurants, co-owner and chef

Junior Solis wants to be “the premier sushi and infused sake place in Sandpoint.” His specialty is freshness; he uses only seafood flown from Hawaii daily.

The menu at Oishii – Japanese for delicious – is as eclectic as the cozy space adjacent to co-owner Claudia Dick’s Café Trinity restaurant. In addition to nigiri and sashimi, Oishii serves nearly three dozen varieties of rolls. Bonzai, for example, is a wild pairing of albacore tuna, cream cheese, scallions and avocado, tempurafried and topped with ponzu and minced jalapeno pepper. Delicious? Yes. And definitely a memorable experience.

–C.S.

t’s Sandpoin op

Sh Local Sub

JOIN US FOR Southern-inspired cuisine by Chef Gabriel Cruz, with specialties such as his signature Spunky Crawfish Chowder, pulled pork enchiladas, crawfish étouffée and

SUBS - SALADS - DELIVERY AVAIL. 10 - 7 WEEKDAYS • 11-6 SATURDAYS DELIVERY WEEKDAYS UNTIL 2:30 PM

263-3491 Take out or eat in!

116 N. First Street

208-263-1406

CREDIT & DEBIT CARDS ACCEPTED

delectable seafood gumbo.

116 North 1st Ave Sandpoint

208-255-7558

www.cafetrinitysandpoint.com

www.sandpointonline.com

Sandpoint’s Premiere Fusion Sushi & Sakétini Bar

Sushi sampler at Oishii

602 NORTH 5TH SUMMER 2007

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A summer foodfest Second annual Summer Sampler comes June 21 FINE ITALIAN DINING SERVING SANDPOINT FOR OVER 23 YEARS

Lunch served Mon-Fri 10:30-2:30 Dinner served 7 nights a week

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Enjoy outdoor dining on Ivano’s patio

Corner of First and Pine 208-263-0211

If you missed it last year, Summer Sampler’s foodfest is back. Sponsored by the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, this second annual outdoor counterpart to W i n t e r Carnival’s Taste of Sandpoint happens June 21 at Farmin Park and Jeff Jones Town Square.

Wear your buffet pants and comfy shoes. SamChef Gabriel Cruz from Café plers are Trinity serves up burgers. priced reasonably at $1 to $7 to encourage grazing. Pend d’Oreille Winery, Laughing Dog Brewing, Café Trinity, and Pend Oreille Pasta and Wine will be there, as well as many of the same popular food and drink providers you love year-round.

Café Bodega will keep you cool with frozen

gelatto, while mix masters at The Bongo Brew Hut will serve fruit smoothies. From baklava to baked goods and grilled sausage to salads, new foods and old favorites are all there to explore at the sampler.

There’s plenty to watch and do, like waiter races, eating contests and turkey bowling. Kids can explore their creative side with a cheese curd sculpting contest sponsored by Litehouse, while adults will enjoy watching local chefs get creative in a Mystery Box cooking competition.

Litehouse Foods, maker of premium salad dressings, dips and sauces for more than 40 years will be honored for its community contribution. With 500-plus employees between Litehouse’s Sandpoint and Lowell, Mich., locations, the company announced in January it would sell portions of previously family-owned stock to employees, sharing ownership in Litehouse, a company with an estimated $110 million in annual revenue.

It’s a local event celebrating and honoring community, food, family and fun. And the best part is: You’re invited, too.

–C.S.

www.IvanosSandpoint.com

Cyber restaurant guide

gives diners a heads up New to town? Hungry for something different but not sure what? Or maybe you can’t

www.sandpointonline.com

remember if your favorite pizza joint is open late. Now you can find out online in SandpointOnline.com’s new database-driven nightlife guide at www.SandpointDiningGuide.com.

Every local establishment – that’s more than 100 restaurants, nightclubs and taverns – is included. The guide is searchable by a tasty menu of criteria: type of cuisine, typical cost and amenities such as live music, kids menu, meeting room, waterfront dining, and others.

Whether you like it “spicy” or just want a “happy hour,” give it a click.

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A Martini and Wine Bar Open Wednesday - Saturday 4:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.

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Featured Martini’s & Flight Wines with an Enoteca Fare Menu and Full Spirits Service

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

Wine & Beer Bar Game Room Artisan Breads

Catering Delivery Seasonal Hours Outdoor Seating

PIZZA, CALZONES & SANDWICHES

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Beyond Hope

Café Bodega

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219 Lounge

Café Trinity

219 Lounge

PHOTO BY CHRIS GUIBERT

The 219 Lounge is North Idaho‘s oldest watering hole and is considered by many a landmark in Sandpoint. To this day, the 219 is one of downtown’s most happening nightlife spots. On vacation or local to North Idaho, the eclectic atmosphere and professional staff will satisfy all of your nightlife needs. The 219 Lounge has become an institution of Sandpoint as its diverse crowd always makes for the best place to meet new and interesting people. The 219 offers pool, darts, sporting events and is home to Sandpoint’s most legendary holiday parties. The 219 Lounge is the birthplace of hundreds of mixed drinks, martinis, and serves the coldest beer in town. 263-9934.

Bangkok Cuisine Thai Restaurant 202 N. 2nd. Ave., across from US Bank. Come enjoy authentic Thai food in a welcoming atmosphere. All of the dishes are cooked to order using the freshest ingredients with no added MSG. There’s also a wide variety of vegetarian dishes. Offering a selection of wine and beer as well as Thai tea and coffee. All the traditional desserts are made in our kitchen. Takeout orders are also available. Open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner Monday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Closed on Sundays. Call 265-4149.

Beyond Hope Resort Located 16 miles east of Sandpoint on Hwy. 200’s scenic byway. Inside enjoy fireside dining

and a rustic lounge. Indulge in cocktails and appetizers on the expansive lawn. Dine deckside with panoramic lake views and spectacular sunsets.

First-rate cuisine, fine wine, and friendly service are Beyond Hope’s signature. Lunch 11:30, dinner 4:30. Reservations recommended. Call 264-5251.

Café Bodega 5th and Cedar at Foster's Crossing. Revitalize yourself at Cafe Bodega, Sandpoint’s bohemian eatery (with wireless Internet) featuring an assortment of international sandwiches, homemade soups, organic coffee, espresso, whole leaf tea, beer and Italian artisan gelato. Open Monday - Saturday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 263-5911. www.sandpointonline.com

SANDPOINT, IDAHO

Wine ’em, dine ’em, two-one-nine ’em.

219 N. First Avenue

208-263-9934

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The Local Dish Several area restaurants are participating in the unique Local Food Challenge, an initiative by Emily Levine, formerly with Green Tree Naturals organic farm, to promote locally grown foods like those available at the Farmer’s Market. Every week, from July through September, one location will “go local.” Some participants include: Café Bodega, Café Trinity, Common Knowledge, Downtown Crossing, Eichardt’s, F.C. Weskil’s, MickDuff’s, Oishii Sushi, Sand Creek Grill, The Beach House, The Pie Hut, Truby’s Health Mart. For more information, call 265-2689 or e-mail localfoodchallenge@gmail.com.

If fame is in your future, step up to the mic at Café Bodega’s “Five Minutes of Fame,” every second Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., 10 years running. Kick back at this Foster’s Crossing locale with homemade soups, sandwiches and assorted adult beverages.

Explore the great wine regions of the world – Australia, France, Italy – at Di Luna’s Café during its once-a-month wine dinners, complemented by live music.

Featured summer performers for Di Luna’s popular twice-monthly dinner concerts include acoustic country blues artist Rory Block and the soulful stylings of guitarist Nina Gerber. This hopping spot also hosts the band A Touch of Jazz, every Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., for an event dubbed Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon.

Barroom know-it-alls and free pitchers of beer make for festive team trivia night at MickDuff’s Brewing Company every Tuesday, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Cheer your

chums as they compete for gift certificates and brewpub bragging rights, while you munch on locally crafted steaks, fresh-cut fries and, of course, Mickey Mahoney’s freshbrewed ales.

From soup to nuts, Jack Burton has done it all: roasted chestnuts at Schweitzer, grilled Thai at Bugatti’s and transformed the Cupboard Café to the Blue Door. With 40 years experience, published author and world-traveler Burton returns to the area as chef at Beyond Hope Resort with a menu featuring Mediterrenean accents. The resort plans two wine dinners: June 13 featuring Januik Winery from Washington’s Columbia Valley; and July 11 highlighting Bergevin Lane Winery from Walla Walla, Wash. The format is one seating, fixed price and reservations required.

Summer might be off-season for Schweitzer’s Chimney Rock Grill inside Selkirk Lodge, but the kitchen is busy yearround. Daily from June 14 through Sept. 4, enjoy a new banquet menu, wine-friendly Mediterrenean style tapas and more casual seating with dinner from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Happy birthday, baby! Located in the historic Hotel Hope, Wily Widgeon Café celebrates its first anniversary in May. Come in for downhome breakfast and local lunch favorites like grilled lobster artichoke melt or warm brie and apple salad.

Four out of five doctors recommend F.C. Weskil’s new, cold-pressed coffee (because it’s less acidic) and homemade biscotti (because it’s just plain deliciozo).

✴ Di L Lakeside Deck Dining Great food, great views Boat Access Lunch, Dinner & Full Bar

208 264-5251 www.beyondhoperesort.com

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

✴

Luna ’s

CAFE

PHOTO BY CHRIS GUIBERT

News and events foodies need to know

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Old Ice House Pizzeria

The Hydra, Sandpoint’s Original Steakhouse, is adding groovy tunes to good food with live music Friday and Saturday nights, like Charlie Packard.

Not your typical parking … Trinity at Willow Bay is improving its docks and moorage on Pend Oreille River to accommodate its driveup boat traffic.

It’s about time! Pend Oreille Pasta and Wine is bottling its own sauces – like San Francisco Cioppino, Artichoke & Walnut, Tomato Pine Nut Parmesan – for take-home meals that save you time in the kitchen and last longer on the shelf.

Sensitive eaters like Second Avenue Pizza for its optional soy cheeses and rice crust on the same pizzas locals have been loving for years.

Hope Market Café will surprise and delight you with daily gourmet lunch and dinner specials and entertainment to match with acoustic jam sessions every first and third Fridays of the month with Willow Dan. Bear’s on wheels, oh my! Be sure and wave to Bear on his slick, new deliveryscooter, bringing the New York thin-crust style taste of Old Ice House Pizzeria to lucky residents of Hope.

–C.S.

IN THE HEART OF SANDPOINT

✴

Home of the✴ Dinner Concert

Great Breakfast & Lunch

Live Entertainment, Piano Bar, Open Mic, Unique Cocktails, Great Food

207 Cedar Street

206 N. First Ave. Sandpoint

208.263.0846

265.5080

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Café Trinity

Chimney Rock Grill In the Selkirk Lodge at Schweitzer. Enjoy breathtaking views while dining on the mountain. Northwest specialties include hand-cut steaks, fresh fish and daily specials plus a wide selection of wines and microbrews. A relaxing bar features happy hour. Open daily from June 14 through Sept. 4. Call 255-3071.

Di Luna’s 207 Cedar St. We’re an American bistro café offering hand-cut steaks, homemade soups and vegetarian cuisine. Everyone in your family will find their favorites here. Open for breakfast and lunch, Wednesday-Sunday. Serving breakfast all day. We also specialize in themed catering menus that can make any occasion, large or small, a success. Our catering staff will work with you to take the hassle out of your special event so you can enjoy the experience along with your guests. We love good music, so twice a month we have dinner concerts, bringing in the best acoustical musicians from around the country. Call 263-0846.

Downtown Crossing 206 N. First Ave. Welcome to Downtown Crossing, a unique restaurant and lounge in the heart of downtown Sandpoint. Enjoy fresh, made-from-scratch recipes mixing regional dishes and seasonal

favorites with a twist of diverse ethnic influence.

There’s an extensive martini and specialty cocktail menu, and a fine selection of wine and beer. Feel at home in the cozy lounge furniture, while being entertained nightly by the best conglomeration of local talent: barside piano, live bands, local artwork and now-famous open mic night.

Patio seating available.

265-5080.

Eichardt’s

Eichardt’s

Enoteca La Stanza

Restaurant index by type of cuisine Locate alphabetically in listings Bistro-style cafes or delis

Café Bodega FC Weskil’s Hope Market Café Wily Widgeon Cafe

Old Ice House Pizzeria & Bakery Second Avenue Pizza Pub-style

Regional or ethnic specialties

Café Trinity Bangkok Cuisine Beyond Hope Hydra Steak House Ivano’s Ristoranté Oishii Sushi Pend Oreille Pasta & Wine Eclectic or fine dining

Chimney Rock Grill

Handmade pizza

Eichardt’s Pub, Grill & Coffeehouse MickDuff’s Brewing Company Long Bridge Bar & Grill Slates Primetime Grill Bakeries, coffee & desserts

Monarch Mountain Coffee Pie Hut Pine Street Bakery

212 Cedar St. Don’t miss Bars & Cocktail Lounges Di Luna’s this comfortable pub and 219 Lounge Downtown Crossing grill. Located downtown in a Enoteca La Stanza Floating Restaurant charming, historic building.

Specialty pizzas, salads, paninis and traditional pasta This relaxing pub mixes casual dining with seriousselections served in a comfortable, soft, warm ly good food. With over a dozen beers on tap, large atmosphere all with Ivano’s integrity. Join us for a wine list, a full coffee bar and live music, there’s somerelaxing evening in “Enoteca La Stanza” Wednesday thing for everyone. Upstairs you’ll find a game room – Saturday starting at 4 p.m. or visit Ivano’s dinwith a pool table, darts and shuffleboard. Eichardt’s ing room for a full dining experience. Call 263-0211. offers smokeless dining seven days a week. Find out for yourself why Eichardt’s is continually picked as FC Weskil’s the locals’ favorite hangout. Open daily at 11:30 a.m.

300 N. First Ave. Named after FC Weskil, the man 263-4005. whose vision became the Panida Theater, and locat-

Enoteca La Stanza at Ivano’s Ristorante Martini/Wine Bar. Enoteca (full bar) La Stanza (the room). Sandpoint’s only specialty martini and wine bar, located in Ivano’s Ristorante, serving exotic martinis such as the Fallen Angel, Mayan Temple, Flirtini and the Pear Sage Margarita. Classic wines and a bar menu with all entrees under $9 are also served.

ed adjacent to the theater lobby in the heart of downtown Sandpoint, is Sandpoint’s newest coffee bistro. The aroma from our oven will entice you with fresh baked goods to complement your morning coffee. For lunch or a light dinner, enjoy a daily variety of soups, salads and sandwiches. There are readyto-go selections if time is tight or the beautiful outdoors is calling your name. Light catering and box

300 N. 1st Ave. • 208-263-6957

Full Lunch and Dinner Menu 16 Micros on Tap • Upstairs Game Room Open 7 Days From 11:30 am

•ESPRESSO •OVENFRESH PASTRIES •SALADS •SANDWICHES •BOXLUNCHES

•MILKSHAKES •NON-DAIRY SHAKES •SMOOTHIES •ITALIAN SODAS •TICKET OUTLET •LIGHTCATERING

A New Family Style Restaurant Steaks, Seafood & B.B.Q 265-7929 • 471600 Hwy. 95 South (South end of the Long Bridge)

212 Cedar St. • Sandpoint • 263-4005

SUMMER 2007

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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Next to the Historic Panida Theatre

~ Eichardt’s Serves up the Best of Northwest Microbrews, Food and Local Live Music ~

DRINKS

116 N. First Ave., next to Starbucks in the Old Lantern District. Enjoy the flavors of our Southern inspired food such as gumbo, étouffée, or Chef Gabriel’s signature Spunky Crawfish Chowder. We also feature fresh seafood and Tim’s Special Cut Meats. Whether you are having dinner on our wonderful deck overlooking Sand Creek or sitting at our dining bar and exhibition kitchen, you will enjoy a taste of the South in beautiful North Idaho. Serving lunch and dinner. Beer and wine available. 255-7558.

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lunches also available. Ticket location for the Panida and local events. 263-6957.

Floating Restaurant Highway 200, East Hope at Hope Marine Services.

Twenty minutes from Sandpoint, in beautiful Hope, Idaho. The lake’s only floating restaurant and lounge offers spectacular views from two decks or a cozy dining room. Regional fare, fresh seafood and local products fill the menu along with homemade breads, desserts, soups and sauces. A full bar and outstanding wine list complements your experience.

Children’s menu too! Open Easter through October serving lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. Accessible by boat or car. 264-5311.

Hope Market Café 620 Wellington Place, Hope. Simply put, the Hope Market Café is all about flavor. Artisan cheeses, fine wines, ales, a gourmet market and epicurean café with exceptionally prepared dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner – all located in an old mercantile in beautiful Hope. A true destination along a truly scenic byway. The café offers gourmet sandwiches, pizzas and salads throughout the day, with a hazardous dessert selection – all made in-house.

In the evening they push the envelope with their dinner selections; elegant and exotic foods prepared fresh each day, complemented by North Idaho’s most impressive wine list. Spend a lazy weekend day savoring brunch and the view with friends, or enjoy an artisan cheese plate with a glass of wine as you watch a spectacular sunset over the lake. Call for details about our music, acoustic jam night and daily specials. On the old Highway 200 Business Loop in historic Hope. Outdoor seating. 264-0506.

Hydra Steakhouse

www.sandpointonline.com

Located at 115 Lake Street, The Hydra is

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Hope Market Café

Hydra Steakhouse

Sandpoint’s most popular dining establishment, with unique and casual surroundings, complemented with plants, beautiful cutglass works by a local artist and wildlife prints. The restaurant is open daily. A full dinner menu, featuring Midwest-aged beef, king crab and lobster, fresh seafood and pasta. All entrees come with our famous 60-item salad bar.

Lunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner 3 p.m. to close.

We are open 363 days a year, closed Christmas and Thanksgiving. Experience The Hydra Steakhouse.

You’re sure to be delighted. Just ask someone from Sandpoint! Call 263-7123.

Ivano’s Ristoranté & Caffé Located on the corner of First and Pine, Ivano’s has been serving the community for over 23 years.

Italian dining accompanied by classic wines and gracious atmosphere add to the enjoyment of one of Sandpoint’s favorite restaurants. Patio seating available during the summer months. Pasta, fresh seafood, buffalo and beef, veal, chicken and vegetarian entrees round out the fare. Dinner served 7 nights a week starting at 4:30. Lunch served Mon-Fri, 10:30 to 2:30. An excellent bakery featuring organic coffee, fresh pastries and a deli style lunch offering, Mon-Fri. After lunch we transform the deli into Sandpoint’s finest “Martini/Wine Bar” Wednesday – Saturday beginning at 4 p.m. “Enoteca La Stanza.” (For further information see the Enoteca listing.) Off-site catering available for weddings, family get-togethers and just plain large gatherings. Call 263-0211 for reservations.

Long Bridge Bar & Grill Located just south of the Long Bridge. A familystyle restaurant in a casual dining atmosphere, we specialize in choice steaks, barbecue, seafood and great burgers! Our delicious breakfasts are

Ivano’s Ristoranté

served on weekends only, opening at 7:30 a.m.

We also offer a full-service lounge with a game room and karaoke with a live DJ Thursday through Saturday night. So come on out and join us, and after a great meal take a leisurely stroll across the Long Bridge and take in some of Sandpoint’s beautiful scenery. For reservations or large groups please call 255-7929.

MickDuff’s Brewing Company 312 N. First Ave. Come and enjoy our fine, handcrafted ales in a family dining atmosphere. We offer a variety of top-of-the-line beers ranging from fruity blondes to our seasonal porter. We also brew a unique-style root beer for those young in age or at heart. Our menu is packed full of flavor with traditional and updated pub fare. You will find toasted sandwiches, hearty soups, gourmet hamburgers and much more at our cozy brewpub located in downtown Sandpoint. 255-4351.

Monarch Mountain Coffee 208 N. Fourth Ave. Monarch Mountain Coffee has been roasting coffee in Sandpoint since 1993. This friendly coffeehouse and outdoor café is a hub for relaxing, meeting with friends, people-watching or getting the latest scoop in town. Featuring a variety of drinks sure to satisfy your thirst. Fresh roasted coffee, espresso drinks and teas are complemented by an assortment of smoothies, chi and yerba maté. Also serving breakfast burritos, locally crafted baked goods, bagels and desserts.

All coffee is roasted on-site in small batches and is available for purchase in our coffeehouse or by mail order. Take a taste of North Idaho home with you! Monarch Mountain Coffee is open daily.

Located just next to Packages Plus. Call for directions at 265-9382 or (800) 599-6702. Loitering strongly encouraged.

“Tastes as good as it looks!”

Deirdre Hill Liz Evans

www.monarchmountaincoffee.com 208 N. 4th Avenue • Sandpoint, ID 208.265.9382 • 800.599.6702 Open Daily SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

710 Pine Street • Sandpoint

208.263.9012

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E AT S

MickDuff’s Brewing Co.

Mr. Sub

Oishii Sushi 116 N. First Street. Oishii is definitely Sandpoint’s hottest fusion sushi and saketini bar. Energy and excitement pulse through the room with walls dressed in original art by local artist Matt Donahue.

The incredible custom lighting creates a surreal effect that makes the design sleek and chic without being too formal; it’s an intimate, notoriously stylish atmosphere. You can dress up but don’t necessarily have to. The food is light and healthy, but it is also elegant and reassuringly priced. As for the service, Oishii is the kind of place where everyone knows who you are, or at least treats you like they do. It’s very central, making it the perfect place to start, or end, your evening. Call 263-1406.

Old Ice House Pizzeria & Bakery Best wicked-good pizza west of the Hudson.

When you’ve got a serious need for some real East Coast-style pizza, and you’re all out of frequent flyer miles, there’s always Hope – Idaho, that is. The uberfunky Ice House Pizzeria on 140 W. Main St. in tiny

PRIME TIME

Pend Oreille Pasta & Wine 476534 Hwy 95 (one block south of Wal-Mart).

John and Valerie love to help their customers select from their outstanding selection of fine wines and artisan cheeses. Market food items include: worldfamous cheeses, the best selection of international wines at competitive prices, the largest selection of ravioli and olives in North Idaho, bulk olive oil and many gourmet grocery items. Fresh homemade pastas and sauces made on site may be purchased as part of a complete dinner package including salad and fresh, daily-baked artisan bread. The largest preparer of custom gift baskets in Bonner County. Custom quality catering for large and small events. For a stimulating food and wine experience rarely found in small towns, visit Pend Oreille Pasta.

263-1352.

let the products speak for themselves. Open TueFri, 7 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Saturdays 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. Located right next to The Paint Bucket.

Plenty of parking and outdoor seating. Call 2639012 and ask for Liz or Deirdre for custom orders and/or questions.

Second Avenue Pizza 215 S. Second Ave. Try the piled-high specialty pizzas at Second Avenue Pizza. They’re loaded with fresh ingredients. The Juke Box Special weighs 7 pounds – not your average pizza! Excellent calzones, salads and sandwiches, or try the garlic bread appetizer, an excellent hand-tossed pizza covered with cheese and garlic, served with pizza sauce. We also offer take-and-bake pizzas. Beer and wine also served. Rice crusts and soy cheese are now available for those who prefer it. For an out-of-this-world pizza experience come to Second Avenue Pizza! Free deliveries. 263-9321.

Pine Street Bakery 710 Pine St. Welcome to Pine Street Bakery.

Specializing in European pastries, breads and cakes.

Also a complete line of coffees, espresso drinks and teas from Tazzina of Santa Cruz. All bakery products are made on the premises using fresh butter and cream, farm eggs, and fine chocolate.

Custom order birthday, specialty and wedding cakes, fine French pastries and a complete line of tarts, cookies and bars. The bakers create more than 10 varieties of breads every day, including whole grain organics and sourdoughs. Come in and

IN HOPE

• Enjoy spectacular views and that special 'lake experience' from the floating decks or dining room

For an “Out of this World”

• Feast on regional fare featuring fresh seafood, aged beef and local, fresh ingredients

Pizza Experience

• Relax with a full bar & outstanding wine list on the cocktail deck

Best Burgers & Steaks in Town Happy Hour 4-7 p.m.

204 N. Triangle Dr. Ponderay, ID 83852 208.263.1381 www.slatesprimetime.com

Old Ice House

• Accessed easily by boat or car

• Delivery • Sandwiches • Calzones • Specialty Salads

• Homemade Dough • Beer/Wine • Take & Bakes

Rice crusts & Soy cheese now available

215 S. 2nd Ave. 208 263-9321

• Join us April through October for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch

at Hope Marine Services Hwy 200 E. Hope, Idaho

www.sandpointonline.com

SLATES TES

Hope (pop. 80) has freshly baked focaccia bread, calzones and pizzas served whole or by the slice.

You can also get sweet baked treats – plus hats, scarves, beads and all manner of accessories. But the pizza is the thing: thick, molten cheese; fragrant, lightly spiced tomato sauce; yeasty crust that’s not too thick, not too thin. This stuff is authentic enough to bring on a Boston accent. 264-5555.

Mr. Sub

DRINKS

Mr. Sub is located at 602 N. Fifth St. where there is always a daily special. We are a family-ownedand-operated business providing a tradition of great service and quality foods for over 20 years. Our delicious subs are made with fresh ingredients, our bread is baked at a local bakery and our salami is specially made by Wood’s Meats. Come in and enjoy our local favorites like the turkey bacon sub, potato salad, or our great garden-fresh salads. Having a party? With 24-hour notice, our 3-foot and 6foot party subs are sure to please. We will also deliver your fresh subs until 2:30 p.m. on weekdays in the Sandpoint area. Come in and see us for great service and excellent food! Credit and debit cards accepted. Call us at 263-3491.

Monarch Cofffee

&

Long Bridge Grill

208.264.5311 SUMMER 2007

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Slates Prime Time Grill & Sports Bar Slates Prime Time Grill & Sports Bar is located in beautiful Ponderay, Idaho and is only 5 minutes from downtown Sandpoint. Slates serves lunch and dinner 7 days a week, and mouth-watering Black Angus prime rib on Friday and Saturday nights. We serve some of the best burgers, salads and steaks in the area. We also have a full bar with happy hour everyday at 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Three pool tables, two big screens and 11 other TVs located throughout the restaurant. Slates opens for lunch at 11 a.m. every day of the week. Our kitchen is open late on Friday and Saturday nights and closes at 9 p.m. the remainder of the week. The bar is open until there is no one to serve or 1 a.m., whichever comes first! Call 263-1381.

Three Glasses Restaurant & Wine Bar Located at 202 ½ N. First Ave. On the corner of Bridge Street and First Avenue. Check out Sandpoint’s newest hotspot. Think of us, whether you’re looking for a night on the town or simply a glass of wine. We offer a 300+ international wine list with handpicked favorites from the Northwest, select imports and microbrews in a relaxed but sophisticated setting. American seasonal fare with deep roots in Northern Italian and French cuisine.

Whenever possible we feature locally sourced ingredients. Come for the food and wine, and stay for the live music nightly, showcasing a baby grand piano, big comfy gangster booths and a hardwood dance floor. Hours: Tue-Sun 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. www.threeglasses.com. Call 265-0230.

Trinity at Willow Bay www.sandpointonline.com

Trinity at Willow Bay offers the same Southern-

Where Sandpoint goes for Steak & Seafood 115 LAKE STREET • 263.7123 www.hydrasos.com

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Second Avenue Pizza

Slates

Three Glasses

inspired cuisine that you have all come to love at Café Trinity, but with Lake Pend Oreille as its backdrop. Nothing beats sitting on the deck enjoying a Damn Good Burger, a cup of Spunky Crawfish Chowder or a succulent filet mignon with friends while taking in fresh Idaho air and watching the sunset over the lake. Trying to get out of the sun for a while? Treat yourself to a scrumptious meal in the shade on our covered patio before getting back to your marvelous summer tan.

Save time and headaches as Willow Bay Marina can take care of all your gas and ice needs. Our dockhands will assist you with filling your tank and get you ice without you even having to set foot on dry land. Call 2658854.

Wily Widgeon Café Located in the historic Hotel Hope, the Wily Widgeon Café has established itself as one of the best yearround breakfast and lunch destinations in the area. The incredible food and views pair perfectly to create the perfect dining experience, with offerings such as Lobster Benedict, Huevos Rancheros, and Steak and Eggs for breakfast, and Lobster Melt, Knife and Fork Philly, and Dijon Parmesan Chicken for lunch. Either is served all day until 2 p.m., with daily specials, soups, desserts, and drink specials.

For information or reservations call 264-5800.

Trinity at Willow Bay

Willow Bay Marina 520 Willow Bay Road Priest River

265-8854 trinityatwillowbay.com

Wily Widgeon Café

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Service Listings ACCOMMODATIONS

See the LODGING DIRECTORY on page 145

have something unique and amazing custom-made for your home or business. See ad, page 96.

ASSISTED LIVING

ANTIQUES

Foster’s Crossing Antique & Gift Market 5th and Cedar, 263-5911 – An early 1900s railroad freight house converted to three floors of eclectic shopping. Unusual gifts, furniture, antiques and art. New and used books. See ad, page 45.

ARTS ORGANIZATIONS

Flat Hat Productions Founded by Rob Kincaid in 2005 in an effort to bring high-quality theatre, musicals and music recitals to Sandpoint at affordable prices. flathatproductions.com

Pend Oreille Arts Council 120 E. Lake Street, Ste. 215, 2636139 – Presents the finest quality experiences in the arts for the people of northern Idaho. We support the performing arts, visual arts, art fairs and art education.

ArtinSandpoint.org ART & PHOTO GALLERIES

Artists Studio Tour 208-597-6934 – Explore a variety of open artists’ studios by taking this free, countryside, self-guided driving tour in North Idaho.

Guide maps available in various rack locations. See ad, page 96.

Arttourdrive.org.

Art Works Gallery 214 N. 1st, 263-2642 – Fine arts and crafts by regional artists, including original paintings, sculpture, jewelry, pottery, glass, tile, photography, prints. See ad, page 96. sandpointartworks.com

Hallans Gallery

Janusz Studio by the Lake 264-5153 – Experience the Artist Dream at this working art studio.

A treasure of fine “Romantic Expressionist” watercolors, sculpture garden and grounds tour with magnificent views of Lake Pend Oreille. See ad, page 96.

Skeleton Key Art Glass 255-2429 – A working stained glass art studio, where you can get all of your supplies and tools, take classes, attend workshops, or

1123 N. Division, 208-263-1524 – A total continuum of care on the campus of Life Care Center of Sandpoint. See ad, page 40.

AUTO / MOTORSPORTS

Alpine Motors Company Hwy. 95 North, 263-2118, 1-800430-5050 – Your Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac, GMC truck dealer. New and used sales and leasing. Full service parts and body shop. alpinemotors.net

Anderson’s Autobody 263-6443 – Serving Sandpoint since 1989. We specialize in complete frame, body and paint repairs. Car rentals on-site, free pick up and delivery. See ad, page 93.

Ponderay Yamaha 263-1124 – Family-owned business, started in 1994. Our goal is to serve the needs of our customers to the fullest. The largest showroom in the Idaho Panhandle, large selection of motorcycles and four-wheelers. See ad, page 152.

Six Star Automotive 255-2955 – Dealing in sales, repair and service for foreign and domestic vehicles. We specialize in Asian imports. We are also authorized dealers of THULE carrack systems. See ad, page 124.

BANKS / FINANCIAL

AmericanWest Bank 710 Superior St., Ste. C, 2551700 – Forty-three full-service financial centers throughout Central and Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. We are proud to play an active role in each one and honored to call ourselves your community bank. See ad, page 21. awbank.net.

Edward Jones 263-0515, 800-441-3477, Dave Reseka or Rob Kincaid, 2557405, 877-777-5677 – Since 1871. Stocks, CDs, mutual funds, bonds, IRAs, government securities, tax-free bonds and much more. See ad, page 93. edwardjones.com

First Horizon Home Loans 265-8981 – The Lutz Team, Sandpoint – Specializing in resort lending and one-time-close construction loans. Offering more

Horizon Credit Union 800-852-5316 – Serving Eastern and Central Washington and North Idaho for 60 years. With a wide range of services and products to choose from, your one-stop, fullservice financial institution. See ad, page 131. hzcu.org

Jensen, Brian C., CPA 263-5154 – Specializing in tax preparation, payroll and accounting services. Financial and tax planning. See ad, page 107.

Mountain West Bank 476655 Hwy 95 N., 265-2232 – Branches in Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry. Whatever your lending questions, you’ll find the answers at Mountain West Bank. Love where you bank. See ad, page 16.

Mtnwb.com

Panhandle State Bank 231 N. 3rd, 263-0505 – Branches in Bonners Ferry, Ponderay and Priest River. Also bank in Post Falls, Rathdrum and Coeur d’Alene.

Locally owned and managed. See ad, page 52. panhandlebank.com BOATS / DOCKS

Alpine Shop 213 Church, 263-5157 and at Schweitzer, 255-1660 – Boat sales and service for all your lake boating needs. Water skis, water gear and Old Town canoes and kayaks. Outdoor apparel and equipment. See ad, page 106.

Eagle Marine Supply 469058 Hwy 95 S., Sagle, 2631314 – Boat lifts, floating and rollin docks, dock kits, dock ramps, dock accessories, dock hardware, water toys and tram systems. See ads, pages 33, 58 and 136. eaglemarinesupply.com

Northwest Docks & Water Works P.O. Box 1502, Sandpoint, 2634684 – New dock construction, dock rebuilds, mooring buoys, shoreline protection, amphibious pile driving, crane service. See ad, page 134.

Sandpoint Marine & Motorsports 195 N. Triangle Dr., across from Slates, 263-1535 – Your Campion and Bluewater boat dealer offering complete parts and service departments for all your watercraft. See ad, page 123.

BOOKS

Keokee Books 405 Church St., 263-3573 – Publishing fine nonfiction and guide books. Also offering publishing services to authors and groups that wish to self-publish. See ad, page 166. keokeebooks.com BREWERY

Laughing Dog Brewing 263-9222 – A craft microbrewery that offers tours, taproom for tasting and a gift shop to browse through. Located off Hwy. 200 on Emerald Industrial Park Road.

LaughingDogBrewing.com. See ad, page 151.

BUILDING / HOME

Ace Septic Tank Service Sandpoint, 263-5219 – “Where a Flush Beats a Full House.” Portable toilet rental, construction/all occasion, permanent or temporary.

Septic tank pumping, residential and commercial.

Alpine Lumber 1400 N. Division, 263-8224 – Full line of building materials and the largest selection of specialty lumbers in the Inland Empire. Our Custom Design Showroom offers cabinets and more. See ad, page 143. alpinelumber.net

Bonner County Landscaping Inc. 263-9877 – We are your one-stop shop for all your landscaping needs. Design, planting, nightscaping, landkeeping, lawn preparation, aquascapes, fencing, decks, patios, paths and walls. See ad, page 118.

Bowers Construction 263-5447 – Specializing in remodels. Creative designs for custom finish work and cabinetry.

Registered and insured. See ad, page 118. tedbowers.com

Clearwater Landscapes 1701 Cemetery Rd., Priest River, 265-5881 – Provides an interactive design process that enables you to plan and visualize your landscape before any work begins.

See ad, page 118. idaholand scapes.com, landscapemarket.com

Dan Fogarty Custom Builder 263-5546 – A fully insured, local builder with the experience and history you can rely on. In the building trade since 1975 and doing business in Sandpoint since 1981.

See ad, page 118. danbuilt.com

SUMMER 2007

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

www.sandpointonline.com

323 N. 1st, 263-4704 – Since 1906. Celebrating the century in photos by Ross Hall and Dick Himes. See ad, page 96. rosshallcollection.com

The Bridge Assisted Living

than 450 different loan options to meet your mortgage needs. See ad, page 34. douglutz.com

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Service Listings DSS Custom Homes 263-2853 – We are a familyowned business serving Sandpoint and northern Idaho since 1974.

We build with honesty, pride, integrity and responsibility. See ad, page 24. dsscustomhomes.com.

Earthworks Northwest 290-6109 – We offer services such as public works contracting, site development, infrastructure, roadway development, restoration, hazard removal, view clearing. See ad, page 118.

Fogg Electric 597-1121 – Quality electrical construction, 125 years in the electrical business. Commercial, industrial and residential. Licensed/ bonded/insured. Serving all of North Idaho. Free estimates. See ad, page 118.

Fred’s Appliance All major brands, including complete Viking dream kitchens. Coeur d’Alene or Spokane, 208-7654202, 509-328-3824 or 509893-3581. See ad, page 133. fredsappliances.com

GII2 265-0247 – Large format specialists. B&W and color. Copying, printing and scanning of blueprints, maps, arts, etc. Survey supplies, marking paint, flagging.

Instrument sales, rental and service. See ad, page 122.

Glahe & Associates 265-4474 – Professional Land Surveyors. Our goal is to deliver the highest quality product at the appropriate technical level in a timely manner and at a fair price.

See ad, page 122. glaheinc.com

www.sandpointonline.com

Innovative Concrete Coatings

164

208-610-3258 – Our coatings are stain-resistant, freeze/thaw resistant, easy to clean, heat-resistant and two times as strong as your existing concrete. Use on interior floors, countertops, and driveways/walkways. See ad, page 98.

Lakeview Development of Sandpoint, LLC 888-226-5349 – Handcrafted custom homes. Design, construction, site selection and development in the most timely, cost effective manner. See ad, page 130. lakeviewsandpoint.com

Lightning Creek Log Works 263-2790 – Specializing in custom, handcrafted log homes.

Home styles include full scribe, SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

chink style, and dovetails. Also log staircases, entries, trusses, log and timber accents. See ad, page 100.

Monarch Marble & Granite 263-5777 – Specializing in custom fabrication of solid-surface, natural stone. Custom kitchen countertops, vanities, showers, tub decks, fireplace surrounds, desks, decorative inlays and more. See ad, page 102.

Monks Hydro-Geoscience & Golder Associates 263-1991 or 676-9933 – Providing Bonner County with groundwater development, geotechnical engineering, wetland delineation and environmental services. See ad, page 129. monkshydrogeoscience.com

Panhandle Art Glass 514 Pine St., 263-1721 – Est. 1982. We are a full-service studio specializing in stained, etched, beveled and fused glass: residential, commercial and liturgical.

Artistic design and fabrication for projects of any size tailored to the needs of our clients, Call for portfolio and references.

Panhandle Pump 500 Vermeer Dr., Ponderay, 2637867 – Serving the Idaho Panhandle with quality service and merchandise for over 25 years. The area’s leader in water purification and filtration plus complete water and sewer systems.

Residential and commercial. Open Mon-Fri 7am-6 pm. Sat 7am-noon. panhandlepump.com.

Pend Oreille Mechanical 1207 Dover Hwy., 263-6163 – Service 24/7. Plumbing, cooling, heating, sheet metal, hydronic, refrigeration. See ad, page 140. pomechanical.com

Sandpoint Building Supply 263-5119 – We operate with honesty, integrity and our sales staff is dedicated and knowledgeable.

We carry everything from lumber, siding, doors and cabinets all the way to the tools that help you get the job done. See ads, pages 119 and 134.

Sandpoint Satellite & Sound 265-5928 – Announcing the introduction of Sandpoint Home Systems. We specialize in central and remote controlled lighting, security, heating/cooling, audio/ video distribution and home theater systems. See ad, page 139.

SUMMER 2007

sandpointhomesystems.com

Sawtooth Laser Etching & Design (208) 442-0400 – We specialize in tile rugs made from travertine, marble, and French limestone. We also offering custom-etched granite entryway medallions. See ad, page 46. sawtoothlaser.com

Studio of Sustainable Design 100 Jana Lane, 263-3815 – Bruce Millard, Architect. Personal, environmentally sensitive and healthy design, incorporating natural, recycled and durable materials including straw bale. Full services. bemarchitect.com

Sullivan Homes Sandpoint 877-263-1522 – Specializing in rustic cabins and custom homes.

Come see the homes and cabins we are building at The Idaho Club, The Crossing at Willow Bay, and Festive Lane at Bottle Bay. See ad, page 35. sullivanhomessandpoint.com

SunSpace Creations 263-4848 – Independent distributor of Lindal Additions & Sunrooms. See your home in a whole new light! See ad, page 139. lindalsunrooms.com

Terry Williams Construction 265-2936, 290-5423 – Specializing in custom home construction, remodels and additions.

Certified ARXX Insulated Concrete Form installer. See ad, page 119.

The Paint Bucket 714 Pine St., 263-5032 – Sandpoint’s complete paint and wallpaper store. Paint and sundries, window covering, wall covering, custom framing.

Timber Frames by Collin Beggs Sandpoint, 290-8120 – Handcrafted traditional timber frame homes. Wooden, drawbored joinery. Hand-rived pegs.

Hewn, hand-planed and roughsawn surfaces. See ad, page 119.

Email: collin.beggs@verizon.net

Western Luxury Homes LLC (208) 290-3490 – We have a passion for turning our clients’ dreams into reality. We create homes that fit your lifestyle and express your quest for perfection. Call for a free consultation. See ad, page 51.

CLOTHING

Coldwater Creek 800-262-0040 or 263-2265 – Located on First Avenue in

Sandpoint. Discover one of the most unique collections of women’s apparel and accessories. Perfect style for today’s busy woman.

See ad, back cover. thecreek.com

Finan McDonald Clothing Co. 301 N. 1st Ave., 263-3622 – Unique selection of men’s and women’s outdoor and natural fiber clothing; woolens, fleece, cottons and silks. See ad, page 41.

CRAFTS & TOYS

A Child’s Dream Come True 255-1664 – We keep in stock a wide selection of natural crafts, toys and more. Wood toys, soft dolls, art supplies, baby gifts and games are just a few of the fun things we have. See ad, page 46. achildsdream.com FARM / GARDEN

Sandpoint Farmers Market 290-3088 – Open from May to October, an open-air market full of fresh produce, garden starts, handcrafts, flowers, food and live music. Located in Farmin Park Saturdays and Wednesdays. See ad, page 45. sandpointfarmers market.com.

The CO-OP Country Store 125 Tibbetts Lane, Ponderay, 263-6820 – Farm, Home, Hardware. The CO-OP has just about everything for the farm and home. See ad, page 93. coopcountrystore.com FURNITURE

Belwoods Furniture 301 Cedar St., 263-3189 – Featuring furniture, floorcoverings, appliances and home entertainment systems and TVs. Family owned for over 31 years. See ad, page 40. belwoodsfurniture.com

Edmundson Fine Woodworking 1965 Samuels Rd., 265-8730, toll-free 866-877-1882 – Custom, handcrafted furniture and cabinets built with attention to detail.

Carefully selected hardwoods, hand-cut dovetail drawers, curved surfaces and inlay are just a few details. efinewoodworking.com

Misty Mountain Furniture 265-4190 – A unique variety of custom handcrafted furniture, cabinets, railings, accessories and the fine artwork of over 70 regional artisans. See ad, page 48. mistymountainfurniture.com

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Service Listings Northwest Handmade 308 N. 1st Ave., 255-1962, 877880-1962 – Featuring a variety of regional artists. Custom log furniture, wood carving, metal art, one-of-a-kind gifts. See ad, page 20. northwesthandmade.com

Sandpoint Furniture Carpet One 401 Bonner Mall Way, Ponderay, 263-5138 – A full-service home furnishing store for over 60 years.

Unique furniture, flooring and window covering packages. Luminesce Lighting Design offers full service lighting design. See ad, page 19. sandpointfurniture.com GIFTS/FLOWERS/JEWELRY

Cisco’s 212 N. 4th, Coeur d’Alene, 208769-7575 – Specializing in investment quality historic American Indian art, collectibles, Americana, fine original paintings and more.

See ad, page 87. huntersofthepast.com

MeadowBrook Home & Gift 205 Cedar St., 255-2824 – We offer a timeless selection of unique and affordable gifts, home decor and furnishings. See ad, page 59. meadowbrookhomeandgift.com

Petal Talk 120 Cedar St., 265-7900 – Fullservice floral and gift shop! Fresh flowers, bundled or custom designed. Indoor plants and European plant baskets. Special event and wedding services.

Delivery available. See ad, page 62. sandpointflowers.com

Scandinavian Affar

Sharon’s Hallmark 306 N. 1st Ave., 263-2811 – Special Gifts for Special People including Vera Bradley bags; Big Sky Carvers; Yankee, Tyler and BeanPod candles; souvenirs and balloon bouquets. We have a full selection of Hallmark cards, books, gift wrap and stationery.

Sunshine Goldmine 263-6713 – Come discover the unique and distinctive at Sunshine Goldmine. We are proud to have served Sandpoint for over 28

GRAPHIC ARTISTS

Keokee Creative Group 405 Church St. , 263-3573 – Complete graphics, design and editorial for any project. If you like Sandpoint Magazine, you’ll like what we can do for you. keokee.com HEALTH CARE

Alternative Health Care 263-7889, 866-464-2344 – North Idaho’s most trusted provider of quality and affordable in-home care services for the elderly and disabled. Skilled nursing services, respite care, hospice care and housecleaning. See ad, page 50.

Bonner General Hospital 520 N. 3rd Ave., 208-263-1441 – Combines state-of-the-art medical technology with the very best in patient care. Our wide range of specialties and services make Bonner General Hospital your care close to home. bonnergen.org

Bonner Physical Therapy 263-5731 – Providing cuttingedge technology and manual techniques to obtain the optimum result for pain control and recovery from an orthopedic condition or resolving symptoms from diabetic neuropathy. See ad, page 108.

Divine Health & Fitness 208-946-7027 – We combine personal training with traditional exercise-based physical therapy and nutrition and lifestyle coaching.

Nia, Yoga, fitness classes in private studio. See ad, page 108. divinehf.com

Eye Clinic of Sandpoint 263-8501 – Dedicated to offering the highest level of eye care and services to our patients. Our office includes a full-service optical shop to serve our patient’s needs. See ad, page 108.

Lake Country Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation 1005 Hwy 2 W, 263-1632 – Whether you're suffering from back or neck pain or require intensive rehabilitation after surgery, a sports injury or an auto accident, you'll find fast, effective relief in a friendly, comforting environment. See ad, page 108.

Natoni & Lewis General Dentistry

ADVERTISER INDEX A Child’s Dream Come True 46 Albertson Barlow Insurance Services 107 Aligning Waters 108 Alpine Lumber 143 Alpine Shop 106 Alternative Health Care 50 Amberleaf Designs 22 AmericanWest Bank 21 Anderson Auto 93 Archer Vacation Condos 104 Artists Studio Tour 96 ArtWorks Gallery 96 Belwoods Furniture 40 Bonner County Daily Bee 64 Bonner County Landscaping118 Bonner Historical Society 18 Bonner Physical Therapy 108 Bowers Construction 118 Bridge Assisted Living, The 40 Cedar Street Bridge 15 Century 21 23 Century 21 Brenda Fletcher 129 Century 21 Chris Schreiber 140 Century 21 - Donna Short 104 Century 21 - Shawn Taylor & Alex Wohlliab 94 Cisco’s 87 Clearwater Landscapes 118 Coldwater Creek 172 Coldwell Banker Resort Realty2 Coldwell Banker Patrick Werry 131 Coldwell Banker Michael White 3 CO-OP Country Store, The 93 Crossing at Willow Bay, The 36-37 Dan Fogarty Custom Builder118 Divine Health and Fitness 108 Dover Bay 47 Dreams In Beauty 109 DSS Custom Homes 24 Eagle Marine Supply 33, 58, 136 Earthworks Northwest 118 Edward Jones 93 Evergreen Realty 4 Evergreen Realty Charesse Moore 48 Exit Realty 17, 135 Eye Clinic of Sandpoint 108 Farmers Insurance Neely, Dave Agency 107 Farmers Market 45 Finan McDonald 41 First Horizon Home Loans 34 Flying Fish Company 40 Fogg Electric 118 Foster’s Crossing 45 Fred’s Appliance 133 Full Spectrum Kayak Tours 151

G II2 / Glahe & Associates 122 Green Meadow Kennels 98 Hallans Gallery 96 Harris Dean Insurance 115 Hillwood Park at Blue Heron 98 Hope Marine Services 124 Horizon Credit Union 131 Idaho Club, The 25 Innovative Concrete Coatings98 International Selkirk Loop 150 Iron Horse Ranch 7 Jensen, Brian, CPA 107 K106.7 The Point 106 Keokee Books 166 Kellogg, Marti, ASID 44 Koch, Dr. Paul 108 Kootenai River Inn 151 KPND 95.3 28 Lake Country Physical Therapy 108 Lake Country Real Estate 38 Lake Country Real Estate Sarah Mitchell & Natalie Leatherman 125 Lake Pend Oreille Cruises 152 Lakeshore Mountain Properties 128 LakeView Development of Sandpoint 130 La Quinta Inn 46 Laughing Dog Brewing 151 Lightning Creek Log Works 100 Litehouse Foods / Bleu Cheese Factory 115 Local Pages 168 MeadowBrook Home & Gift 59 Meadows at Fall Creek Windermere 63 Meriwether Inn 62 Misty Mountain Furniture 48 Monarch Marble 102 Monarch Mountain Lodge 123 Monks Hydro-Geo & Golder Associates 129 Mountain Communications 130 Mountain Horse Adventures124 Mountain Spa & Stove 129 Mountain West Bank 16 Natoni & Lewis General Dentistry 109 Northwest Docks & Waterworks 134 Northwest Handmade 20 NWEES 122 Outdoor Experience 104 Pacific Far West Insurance 107 Panhandle State Bank 52 Pend Oreille Mechanical 140 Pend Oreille Shores Resort 106 Pend d’Oreille Winery 102 Petal Talk 62 Ponderay Yamaha 152 Priest Lake Golf 112 Priest Lake Realty 136

Ridge at Sandpoint, The 55 River Journal, The 168 Sandpoint Building Supply 119, 134 Sandpoint Furniture 19 Sandpoint Laser Skin Care 109 Sandpoint Magazine Subscriptions 115 Sandpoint Marine & Motor Sports 123 SandpointOnline.com 167 Sandpoint Property Management 18 Sandpoint Realty 141 Sandpoint Satellite 139 Sandpoint Signs & Graphics124 Sandpoint Super Drug 109 Sandpoint Vacation Getaways 152 Sandpoint Vacation Rentals 144 Sandpoint Waterfront Rental62 Sawtooth Etching 46 Schweitzer Mountain Resort171 Seasons at Sandpoint 80-81 SilverWing at Sandpoint 31 Six Star Automotive 124 Skeleton Key Art Glass 96 Sleep’s Cabins 150 Solstice Center for the Healing Arts 109 Sonoran Vista Realty 110 Spa at Seasons, The 45 Starhawk Realty 128 Stillwater Point Windermere 120 StoneRidge 112 Studio by the Lake 96 Sullivan Homes 35 Sun Space Creations / Lindal Sunrooms 139 Sunshine Goldmine 44 Tamarack Realty 115 Taylor Insurance 114 Terry Williams Construction119 Timber Frames by Collin Beggs 119 Tomlinson Sandpoint / Sotheby’s 8-9 and 65-71 Tomlinson Sandpoint / Sotheby’s - Ron Hanson 142 Tomlinson Sandpoint / Sotheby’s - Shelley Anderson 100 Vacationville 102 Waterfront Property Management 147 Well Life Pharmacy 64 Western Luxury Homes 51 Western Pleasure Guest Ranch 104 Winter Ridge Natural Foods Market 109

www.sandpointonline.com

319 N. 1st Ave., 263-7722 – The Scandinavian countries are represented in this specialty shop including their kitchen items, table tops, candles, electric candleholders, books, cards, rugs, pewter Vikings, mugs, Danish irons, tomtes, fjord design tableware, as well as many non-ethnic gift items.

years. Sandpoint’s number one stop for handmade jewelry and gold. sunshinegoldmine.com See ad, page 44.

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Service Listings tice providing excellence in comprehensive, preventive and cosmetic treatment. We welcome new patients of all ages. See ad, page 109. sandpointdentists.com

Rolfing 219 Cedar St., Ste. A, 2658440 – Rolfing aligns the body’s structure by releasing old injuries, chronic stress and embedded tension to create an experience of vitality. 27 years experience. See ad, page 108. align.org

Sandpoint Laser Skin Care 302 S. 1st Ave., 263-6201 – Free initial consultations. We treat acne, unwanted hair, wrinkles, leg veins and more. Gift certificates and packages, skin care products sold. See ad, page 109. sandpointlaserskincare.com

Sandpoint Super Drug 263-1408 – Family-owned pharmacy serving Sandpoint for over 32 years. Four knowledgeable pharmacists on staff along with an extensive array of over-the-counter and home health care products.

See ad, page 109.

Well Life Pharmacy 265-0142 – Prescriptions and compounding delivery to your home or office as well as housewares, gifts, treasures. Your local pharmacy expert serving you and your community. See ad, page 64.

Albertson Barlow Insurance Services 265-6406 – Specializing in life, dis-

www.sandpointonline.com

Farmers Insurance – Dave Neely Agency 263-3741 – Farmers Insurance Agency serving Sandpoint and the rest of North Idaho since 1997.

We specialize in personal lines insurance at competitive rates. See ad, page 107.

Harris Dean Insurance 1205 Hwy 2, 265-9690 – The resource for all your insurance needs. The largest independent insurance agency in North Idaho, specializing in business, personal, life and health. See ad, page 115. harrisdean.com

North Idaho Insurance 102 Superior St., 263-2194, fax 263-8084 – A full-service, independent insurance agency serving the North Idaho area since 1978.

Insurance for business or personal risks: property, liability, workers comp, bonding, home, auto, life and health. NorthIdahoInsurance.com

Pacific Far West Insurance 263-1426 – Serving Sandpoint and North Idaho for 24 years. Quotes on auto, home, business, life and group insurance. See ad, page 107. haddockins.com

Taylor Agency

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ability, individual, group health, and now home and auto too. For over 15 years we’ve been assisting the Sandpoint community. See ad, page 107.

1009 W. Superior St., 263-4000 or 208-773-6441 in Post Falls – Insurance and financial services for

NEW SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

all your personal and business needs. See ad, page 114.

INTERIOR DESIGN

Amberleaf Designs 307 Church St., 255-4802 – Amberleaf Designs is an innovative interior design service company utilizing creative solutions to bring our client’s dream into reality. See ad, page 22. amberleafdesigns.com

Marti Kellogg ASID 265-0949 – Professional interior designer for 30 years, bringing clients vast trade knowledge and experience. I translate wishes and objectives into an interior environment that creates their dream image and a little more. See ad, page 44.

INTERNET SERVICES

SandpointOnline.com 263-3573 – Our town’s community Web site. Complete online services include Web site design, hosting and search engine optimization.

KENNELS

Green Meadow Kennels 263-2544 – Highly trained staff with a healthy environment for pets.

Specializing in pet daycare, dog boarding, obedience training and conformation classes. See ad, page 98. greenmeadowkennels.net.

MARINAS

Holiday Shores/East Hope Marina 264-5515 – Full-service marina

located 18 miles east of Sandpoint on Hwy 200 East in Hope, Idaho.

See ad, page 147.

Hope Marine Services 47392 Hwy 200, Hope, 2635105 – Your full-service, yearround stop. Boat sales, full-service shop, accessories, boat charters and dining at the Floating Restaurant. See ad, page 124. hopemarine.com

Sandpoint Marina Located next to the Old Power House, 120 E. Lake St., 263-3083 – Accessible to downtown Sandpoint. See ad, page 147. sandpointwaterfront.com MARKETING

Keokee Creative Group 405 Church St., 263-3573 – We help your ideas take shape. Keokee can set your company apart by developing effective advertising, public relations and marketing campaigns. Talent. Experience.

Professionalism. keokee.com MASSAGE / SPA

Peggy Richards, Dreams in Beauty Day Spa 263-7270, 877-422-6240 – Offering message: The Rolf Method, Deep Tissue, Sports, Trager, Swedish, Reflexology, Pregnancy, Infants and Children.

Facials, herbal wraps and mud wraps. See ad, page 109. dreamsinbeauty.com

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Service Listings Solstice Center for the Healing Arts 263-2862 – Featuring therapeutic massage, oriental bodywork, movement therapy and retail store.

Located at Schweitzer Mountain.

See ad, page 109.

The Spa at Seasons 424 Sandpoint Ave., third floor, 888-263-5616 – Offering holistic, healing therapies and luxury skin care treatments. Plush spa accessories, the ultimate skin care products and aromatherapy gifts.

See ad, page 45. seasonsatsandpoint.com MEDIA

Bonner County Daily Bee 310 Church St., 263-9534 – Bonner County’s #1 daily newspaper. See ad, page 64. bonnercountydailybee.com

KPND FM - KSPT AM KIBR FM - KBFI AM KICR FM 327 Marion, 263-2179 – Blue Sky Broadcasting. Adult album alternative, news, talk, and real country. See ad, page 28. 106.7 The Point – North Idaho’s all-new rock station. See ad, page 106.

Mountain Communications 263-8226 – We are your local Verizon wireless repair and service center. Nobody has better coverage in our area than Verizon wireless. See ad, page 130.

The Local Pages 888-249-6920 –The phone direc-

tory with the most. See ad, page 168. localpagesinc.com

The River Journal 255-6957 – A twice-monthly publication of the news and events of our area. Get in touch with Sandpoint by reading our community paper. See ad, page 168. riverjournal.com MOVING

Handyman Services, Inc. Stop by and see our new location at 1606 Baldy Mountain Rd., 265-5506 – For all your moving or handyman needs. Packing supplies available for sale. Heated and record storage. Residential and commercial. FedEx & UPS Freight shipping and receiving. Bonded & insured. sandpointmovers.com

mold or pest damage. See ad, page 122. nwees.com

R&L Property Management 204 E. Superior, 263-4033 – Over 25 years of rental management experience. Tenant screening, rent collection, accounting, maintenance and marketing.

Residential, commercial and mini storage. Friendly, prompt service. rlpropertymanagement.com

Sandpoint Property Management 314 N. 3rd Ave., 263-9233 – Since 1993, providing exceptional real estate management.

Whether it’s showing property, screening tenants, collecting rent and more. See ad, page 18. sandpointrentals.com PUBLISHING / PRINTING

OPTOMETRY / OPTICAL

Paul E. Koch, O.D. Located inside Wal-Mart, Hwy. 95 N, 255-5513. – Full service optometry office. Call for an appointment, or just walk in. Same day fitting for most contact lens prescriptions. Treatment of minor eye infections. See ad, page 108.

Keokee Co. Publishing, Inc. 405 Church St., 263-3573 – We publish Sandpoint Magazine, plus fine books about our region.

Offering complete design, editorial and publishing services for books and all other publications. keokeepublishing.com REAL ESTATE

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Northwest Executive & Environmental Services 255-2266 – Property management for a discerning clientele, with high security and utmost privacy.

Licensed, insured and bonded professionals. Concierge services, cleanup and restoration of water,

Century 21 on the Lake 316 N. 2nd Ave., 255-2244 – Nationally known, locally trusted.

Sandpoint’s premiere real estate firm. Any of our 22 professional agents can help you. See ad, page 23. c21sandpoint.com, c21schweitzer.com

Brenda Fletcher

255-8197 – For sales and service with your property! Search both Sandpoint and Cd’A areas: See ad, page 129. brendafletcher.com.

Donna Short

304-1080 – Lifelong resident and native of North Idaho, going back five generations. When you’re looking for more than just a strong work ethic. c21sandpoint.com.

See ad, page 104.

Shawn Taylor, Alex Wohllaib

For your all-access pass to Schweitzer Mountain properties, come see us in the Lazier building, located in the heart of the village.

Shawn, 290-2149; Alex , 6101388. See ad, page 94. c21schweitzer.com Chris Schreiber

A commercial specialist offering you experience, education and professionalism. 263-0311. See ad, page 140.

Coldwell Banker Resort Realty Sandpoint 263-6802, Schweitzer 263-9640 – If you’re looking for real estate in the Sandpoint area or at Schweitzer Ski Resort, we can help fill your needs. See ad, inside front cover. cbsandpoint.com Michael White

290-8599 – B.S. in forestry and ecosystem management. See ad page 3. NorthIdahoLandMan.com Patrick Werry

255-9434, 290-2016 – Providing an exceptional real estate experi-

Log on to Sandpoint’s remarkable community web site.

Events • Visitor Guide • Movies Lodging & Dining • Recreation Job Center • Free classified ads Weather & travel info • News Sandpoint Q&A Forums • More

Get the

TownCrier FREE e-mail newsletter of Sandpoint happenings register online www.sandpointonline.com

www.sandpointonline.com SUMMER 2007

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

www.sandpointonline.com

... thereʼs a lot goinʼ on!

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Service Listings ence. I look forward to the opportunity to earn your trust. See ad, page 131.

Evergreen Realty 321 N. 1st, 263-6370, 800-8296370 – For all your real estate needs in Idaho, Washington and Montana. Waterfront, Schweitzer Mountain and commercial properties. Search our virtual tours or the MLS listings. See ad, page 4. evergreen-realty.com or schweitzermountain.com.

Evergreen Realty, Charesse Moore Charesse Moore, Sales Associate, 255-6060, 888-228-6060 – Hard-working professional.

Sandpoint’s top producing agent 2004 to 2006. See ad, page 48. evergreen-realty.com

Exit Realty Sandpoint 255-4550, 888-331-EXIT – “Your Safe Passage to all your real estate needs.” Find your dream home! Call today for a free market analysis. See ads, pages 17 and 135. exitrealtysandpoint.com

Lake Country Real Estate 226 N. 1st Ave., 263-5454 – Making Clients For Life. Search MLS online, see virtual tours and more. See ad, page 38. lakecountryrealestate.com Sarah Mitchell and Natalie Leatherman

290-3402, 610-4785 – Your elements for success, embrace your element! See ad, page 125.

Lakeshore Mountain Properties

www.sandpointonline.com

255-1446, 264-6505 – We service you from both of our locations!

From the ski slopes to waterfront.

Create, create, create. We help you fulfill your life’s aspirations. lakeshoremountainproperties.com See ad, page 128.

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Maiden Rock Real Estate 318 N. Sixth Ave., 255-1544 – Proud to offer the hometown care and assistance in all of your real estate needs that you should expect with a family-owned business. maidenrock.com

Mark Hall Real Estate 409 Church St., 263-0507 – Friendly, professional, no pressure service for all your real estate needs. markhallrealty.com

Priest Lake Realty 443-6052 – Located in Coolin, Idaho on Priest Lake. Welcome to your source for real estate services covering Priest Lake and North Priest River areas. See ad, page 136. discoverpriestlake.com

Sandpoint Realty 263-3235 – Sandpoint's oldest, most established Real Estate firm. We are dedicated, full-time professionals who are available seven days a week to assist in finding you the right property. See ad, page 141. sandpointrealty.com

Sonoran Vista Realty 480-204-0444 – Contact Tammie Yedor, your licensed realtor in Sandpoint and Scottsdale, Arizona, to find the luxury residence or property of your dreams. Email: fixin2@cox.net. See ad, page 110.

Starhawk Realty 204 E. Superior St., Ste. 1, 2630363 – Open since 2003, our office is continually one of the top producers and handles residential, income property, acreage, waterfront and new construction. See ad, page 128. starhawkrealty.com

Tamarack Realty 888-263-9705 – “The Sky’s the Limit” in meeting your needs.

Full-service agency servicing buyers, sellers, investors and developers. With 22 years in the busi-

ness, we know Bonner County. See ad, page 115. tamarackrealty.com

Tomlinson Sandpoint Sotheby’s Int’l Realty 200 Main St., 263-5101, 800282-6880 – No. 1 in sales and service, year after year! We’re the market leader for a reason.

Offering top-notch service for residential, land, commercial land, waterfront properties. See ads, pages 8-9, or search all area listings at tomlinsonsandpoint sothebysrealty.com.

Also see our agents’ ads: • Cindy Bond, page 65 • Susan & Brandon Moon, page 67 • Sue Brooks, page 68 • Lauren Bisbee, page 69 • Carrie LaGrace, page 66 • Shelley Healy, page 100 • Ron Hanson, page 70 and 142 • Michael McNamara, page 68 • Stan Hatch, page 71 • Teree Taylor, page 66 • Kyler Wolf, page 70 • Cheri Hiatt, page 68 • Mickie Caswell, page 70

ums and cabins. Custom built homes. On the shores of beautiful Lake Pend Oreille, 3.5 miles west of Sandpoint. See ad, page 47. doverbayidaho.com

Hillwood Park at Blue Heron Lake 208-659-4327 – A new innovative community on 44 secluded acres with 10 forested homesites.

Located just 7 miles from Sandpoint. See ad, page 98. hillwoodpark.com

Idaho Club, The 800-323-7020 – A private, upscale waterfront community featuring Idaho’s first Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course. Amenities include lakefront recreation, spa, marina, kid’s club. See ad, page 25. theidahoclub.com

Iron Horse Ranch 406-995-7806 – A 380-acre private gated community of 24 unique homesites ranging from 5 to 12 acres. Over 200 acres dedicated to open space. See ad, page 7. ironhorseatsandpoint.com

REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENTS

Meadows at Fall Creek, The

Cedar Street Bridge Public Market

North Idaho’s premier luxury ranch community. A private, gated community sited on 300 pristine acres with only 42 estate sites of 5-7 acres featuring views of the Selkirk and Cabinet Mountain ranges.

Offered by the Merry BrownHayes Group, 255-6389. TheMeadows-At-Fall-Creek.com See ad, page 63.

Downtown Sandpoint at First and Cedar. Reopening this summer featuring shops, restaurants, entertainers and special events, and just a splash of nightlife. See ad, page 15. cedarstreetbridge.com

Crossing at Willow Bay, The Sandpoint’s newest premier waterfront community featuring 82 luxury homesites on 180 wooded acres located on the Pend Oreille River. Contact Kim Hansen, 2630639. See ad, pages 36-37. crossingwillowbay.com

Dover Bay 265-1597 – New waterfront community. Homesites, condomini-

Ridge at Sandpoint, The 208-946-1300 – This special gated neighborhood is limited to only 6 timbered homesites on 6to 30-acre parcels located less than 6 easy miles from downtown Sandpoint. See ad, page 55. theridgeatsandpoint.com

In Sandpoint it’s the first choice

A newspaper worth wading through

The River Journal P.O. Box 151 Clark Fork, Idaho 83811 For a Complimentary Issue email trish@riverjournal.com or call 208.255.6957 Subscribe $30 for 24 issues SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

The phone directory with the most White pages • Yellow pages • Information pages • Fold-out maps • Reverse directory • Directory on a disk • Digital Business Cards Local businesses, make sure you‘re represented!

1-888-249-6920

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Service Listings Seasons at Sandpoint 313 N. 2nd Ave., 255-4420 – Luxury waterfront condominiums and townhomes. Experience the best of both worlds – lakefront in the heart of downtown.

SeasonsAtSandpoint.com See ad, pages 80-81.

SilverWing at Sandpoint 866-773-2366 – America’s ultimate residential Fly-In community.

Visit our website SilverWingatSandpoint.com to learn more about this exciting opportunity. See ad, page 31.

Stillwater Point Unique offering of only seven Acreage Estates with customdesigned, Rocky Mountain Style homes in a private gated community with spectacular lake and mountain views. Offered by the Merry Brown-Hayes Group, 208255-6389. See ad, page 120.

StillwaterPoint.com

StoneRidge 208-437-3148 or 800-952-2948 – Located in Blanchard, Idaho just 45 minutes from Sandpoint. A golf club community featuring Custom homesites and townhomes. See ad, page 112. stoneridgeidaho.com.

RECREATION / TO DO

From the Heart Ranch – Alpacas 1635 Rapid Lightning Rd., 2652788 – Tour our ranch to see what life is like with alpacas! Shop our ranch store for the wonderful hats, scarves, sweaters, rugs, throws, and yarn made from alpaca fiber. Open year-round, closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Bonner County Historical Museum

Full Spectrum Kayak Tours 321 N. 2nd Ave., 263-5975 – The first flatwater kayak company to operate on Lake Pend Oreille and Priest Lake and have been doing so since 1993. See ad, page 151. kayaking.net

International Selkirk Loop (208) 267-0822, 888-823-2626 – International Selkirk Loop, a 280-mile scenic drive encircling the

Kootenai River Inn Casino & Spa Hwy 95, Bonners Ferry, 800-3465668 – Stay, play and relax at the all-newly remodeled facility. Three casino rooms, 65 deluxe guest rooms, riverfront view, Springs Restaurant and new luxury spa.

See ad, page 151. kootenairiverinn.com

Lake Pend Oreille Cruises 255-5253 – Experience the breath-taking scenery of Lake Pend Oreille. Enjoy a public cruise departing from City Beach in Sandpoint; or charter a private cruise for any occasion. lakependoreillecruises.com See ad, page 152.

Priest Lake Golf Course 443-2525 – A beautiful 18-hole golf course offering over 6500 yards of pristine fairways & greens.

The course offers a complete practice facility, bar & grill, and quiet beauty. See ad, page 112. priestlakegolfcourse.com

Sandpoint West Athletic Club 1905 Pine St., 263-6633 – Fullservice club with indoor pool, aerobics, racquetball and more. Daily rates, flexible/affordable memberships. sandpointwest.com

Wolf People 263-1100 – Wolf People is a wolf education facility where you can see live wolves and learn all about them.

Located in Cocolalla, on Hwy. 95, 12 miles south of Sandpoint. wolfpeople.com RESORTS

Pend Oreille Shores Resort 47390 Hwy 200, Hope, 2645828. Fully furnished condos on Lake Pend Oreille. Full-service athletic club with indoor pool, racquetball. Boat moorage. See ad, page 106. posresort.com

Schweitzer Mountain Resort Just 11 miles from Sandpoint, 8-831-8810, 263-9555 – Lodging packages, dining, hiking, biking, horseback riding, chairlift rides.

See, ad, inside back cover. schweitzer.com SIGNAGE

Sandpoint Signs & Graphics

signs is a sign of no business!

Sandpoint Signs and Graphics can provide complete packages for manufacturing, installation and maintenance. See ad, page 124. sandpointsigns.com SPA & STOVE

and group sales as well as cruises and ecotourism. Open Mon-Fri 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. For your next special trip, call our certified travel consultants. Our advice is free, and our knowledge is priceless.

VACATION RENTALS

Mountain Spa & Stove 1225 Michigan, 263-0582 – Featuring spas and saunas, stoves and fireplaces, furnaces and boilers for your home, garage, shop or barn. See ad, page 129. mountainstove.com SPORTING EQUIPMENT

Outdoor Experience 263-6028 – Quality equipment and clothing for outdoor enthusiasts.

Kayak and bike rentals and sales.

Cool outdoor clothes. See ad, page 104. outdoorexperience.us SPECIALTY FOODS

Flying Fish Company 255-5837 – Featuring the finest selection of fresh and frozen seafood in North Idaho. Open Wednesdays and Fridays all year round. Everything we sell is guaranteed. See ad, page 40. flyingfishco.com

Litehouse Bleu Cheese Factory 125 S. 2nd at Lake, 263-2030 – Fresh cheese curds, homemade bleu cheese, domestic and imported cheeses, local and Northwest food items, including everything huckleberry. See ad, page 115. litehousefoods.com

The Smokehouse Hwy 95 at south end of Long Bridge, 263-6312 – Smoked fish, meat, poultry, “world-famous jerky.”

Fine wines, imported beers and local products in our delicatessen.

Winter Ridge Natural Foods Market 265-8135 – Specializing in organic produce, natural and organic meats, organic coffee and juice bar.

Deli, bulk foods, supplements, homeopathic medicines and literature. See ad, page 109. winterridgefoods.com TRAVEL AGENCIES

The Travel Connection

Lakeshore Mountain Management 264-5300, 888-708-3300 – A full range of accommodations to suit every vacation need. From the shores of Lake Pend Oreille to the slopes of Schweitzer Mountain.

New properties welcome. northidahorentals.com

Sandpoint Luxury Condo 707-987-8960 – Our luxury condo is fully furnished, has a beautiful view of the lake and is only minutes from the fine dining and shopping of downtown Sandpoint. sandpointwaterfrontrental.com See ad, page 62.

Sandpoint Vacation Rentals 263-7570 or 866-263-7570 – Offering a variety of fully furnished accommodations in the Sandpoint area, up at Schweitzer Resort, and on beautiful Lake Pend Oreille. sandpointvacationrentals.com See ad, page 144.

Sleep’s Cabins Lakeshore Drive, 255-2122 – Six historic log and bungalow cabins on beautiful Lake Pend Oreille. Sleeps 4-12. sleepscabins.com See ad, page 150.

Vacationville 109B N. 1st Ave., 255-7074, 877-255-7074 – Sandpoint’s oldest and largest vacation rental company. Specializing in vacation rentals on “the lake, the mountain and the city in between.” Open Mon-Sat, 9-5; Sun 11-3. See ad, page 102. vacationville.com WINE

Pend d’Oreille Winery 220 Cedar St., 265-8545 – Tastings, tours and retail sales of our award-winning wines and others from world-class vineyards of the Northwest. Open 7 days.

Expanded gift and wine shop. See ad, page 102. powine.com or email: steve@powine.com

219 Church St., Ste. A, 2632927, 800-338-2927 – We’re a full-service travel agency proudly serving Sandpoint for over two decades. We specialize in all areas of international, corporate, leisure

www.sandpointonline.com

The Bonner County Historical Society operates a 7,500 square foot museum located in Sandpoint's Lakeview Park, surrounded by a beautiful native plant arboretum.

Exhibits, gifts and research library.

Call 263-2344 for hours. See ad, page 18. bonnercountyhistory.org

wild Selkirk Mountains in northeast Washington, north Idaho and southeast British Columbia. See ad, page 150. selkirkloop.org

255-4805 – A business without SUMMER 2007

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Last Page

Selkirk discoveries

Story and photo by Brent Clark

www.sandpointonline.com

Lion Ridge, where the mountain goats roam

170

A wary nanny goat appeared from high above and started to skirt the narrow ledge and, to my excitement, began dropping down toward me. I quickly set down my breakfast bar and hot cocoa and headed for the camera bag. It was August 2006, and I happened to be camping and exploring Lion Creek Falls near Priest Lake.

In Idaho, mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) aren’t the easiest of big game animals to find and photograph. After loading fresh batteries in the digital camera, I set out to do some rock hopping and cliff scrambling – all without a helmet, climbing shoes, ropes or other climbing gear.

That is why it’s called adventure.

Now the kids began appearing behind each of their mothers, who were heading for the watering hole, a small spring on the cliff face. As I closed the distance to the band of goats, I remembered that larger nanny goats rank at the top of the ladder in goat bands and will defend their young at any cost.

My climb was hand-over-hand now, and I used the assorted brush and handholds to proceed upslope. I moved into position by using the cover of a large, granite shelf to get closer to where the goat was lapping water on the precipitous rock face. The large nanny seemed slightly aware of my presence as I snapped another photo.

To my amazement, four more goats peeked their heads over the ledge, and all appeared to be nannies and kids. I could hear kids calling out to their moms to wait up, as they were also thirsty. It’s hard to tell the difference between a billy goat and a nanny. Both have slender, black horns; beards on their chins; and large, powerful shoulders for climbing and finding food.

The males are only slightly larger and tend to be loners.

As in all wildlife encounters, be disSANDPOINT MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2007

creet when approaching mountain goats and avoid disturbing them. To photograph mountain goats, use a telephoto lens, preferably a 300 mm to 500 mm, to eliminate alarming these timid animals.

The terrain they inhabit isn’t usually conducive to a Sunday stroll. Be extra cautious on your route over scree and up cliffs. Take survival equipment if going solo, and be aware of your footing. Remember, we humans don’t have rubber-like pads on our feet as a goat does to grip steep, Mountain goats peer down from a rock face at Lion Ridge in the Selkirks. sometimes slippery slopes.

Wayne Wakkinen, an Idaho Fish and Game wildlife biologist who does How to get there many aerial surveys over the Selkirks, From Sandpoint, drive west on Highway said more bands of mountain goats 2 to Priest River and north on Highway exist in the Selkirk Mountains, north 57 to Coolin. From Coolin, travel north of Mollies Lake and on ridges near on the Cavanaugh Bay/East Lakeshore Chimney Rock and Hunt Peak. He Road until Lion Creek Bridge. Turn estimates that the population ranges right onto State Forest Road No. 42 between 30 to 40 goats. just past the bridge. Follow the main “There have been some releases to road east to where there is a larger supplement the Selkirk population and parking area and where the road/ATV maintain genetic diversity,” he said. trail forks to the right. Drive about I wondered why I hadn’t seen midway down the parking area and look mountain goats during the previous to the right and hope to see the goats. five times I had visited Lion Creek Falls. After seeing them on consecutive Side adventure: Follow the closed days, I realized that the goats are road upstream and trail 2 miles west mobile primarily during early morning from the parking area to the Slippery and late evening when the glaring heat Rock natural waterslides for phoisn’t bearing down on them in their tographs and recreation. thick, white coats.

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