Commoding with nature

Over the next three days, I'll be spending a lot of my time either preparing for or attending the annual Spots of Fun Horse Show at the Bonner County Fairgrounds. For anyone interested, the show begins each day at 8:15 a.m. with presentation of the colors. Saturday's schedule includes halter classes, English-style classes and an evening segment of games.

On Sunday, the focus will be Western-style riding classes. Over the course of the show, 12 belt buckles will be awarded, including one honoring the memory of my dad, Harold Tibbs and his Appaloosa stallion Toby I. The North Idaho Appaloosa Club sponsors this show, and members like Moreen Leen do a lot to make it fun for everyone.

With the long days ahead announcing the show and getting Miss Lily ready for her Sandpoint horse show debut tomorrow morning, I'm going to take the lazy route blogwise and post some stuff I've written in past years for no more reason than to just write it. Some items will be incomplete stories, while others might be mini-essays as the one below.

A lot has changed since this essay was written a few years back. Coldwater Creek has left the bridge and relocated to First Avenue in downtown Sandpoint. Bridge owner Jeff Bond has remodeled the structure across Sand Creek. It now serves as home to a growing number of new shops.

Trains still pass by, the creek fills every summer and that end stall in the women's restroom still offers a delightful, sense-filled potty stop. Enjoy . . . .

I went to the Coldwater Creek restroom the other day and decided that owners Dennis and Ann Pence got it all when they decided to lease Sandpoint’s Cedar Street Bridge for their catalog company’s retail stores.

The covered mall, constructed with magnificent wood beams, suspended on sturdy pilings, spans Sand Creek and provides an impressive focus for the downtown shopping area. During its first Christmas season, I doubt that a prettier place existed in Sandpoint. Shoppers walked through the big glass entrance and escaped into a wonderland of pure nature sounds, sentimental Christmas classics and exquisite gifts.

The Pences spared nothing when they decorated the huge facility featuring five different stores. For almost two weeks prior to the official Christmas shopping season, several Coldwater Creek employees labored night and day building a winter forest scene complete with mounds of cotton surrounding shiny sections of mirror. The result was a realistic representation of a babbling brook flowing through the forest. Tiny trees decorated with miniature Christmas lights sparkled while fluffy stuffed animals rested alongside the stream.

And, that was just the entrance. Bright red poinsettias, green boughs, posters and thousands of beautifully packaged gifts kept visitors in awe as they strolled along the fine tile floors. It was a sight to behold. Every square inch, including the ladies restroom.

I use the restroom on the Coldwater Creek bridge almost every week while delivering Inlander newspapers. By the time I reach the bridge, the cup of Monarch Mountain fresh-ground coffee from my first paper drop has worked its way through the system. To most people, using the facility would be a mundane, forgettable event in the regular chaos of the day, but to me it’s a treat whenever I go to the bridge.

I always select the last stall. It’s the one that looks out toward Sand Creek to the north. Whoever uses that commode is bound to take a little extra time regardless of the season. In the fall, aspen and birch trees ablaze with red and golden leaves contrast with the deep blue waters of Sand Creek as it winds along its course from the north to its mouth on Lake Pend Oreille. Silver, grey and blue tones and the frozen bare creek bottom create a stark and quiet scene on the creek during winter months, while far off toward the Northwest, the slopes of Schweitzer stretch out like white fingers across the mountain’s bluish tree-covered ridges. Fresh and healthy spring leaves pop out as the Army Corps of Engineers once again raises the lake level, which in turn covers up the ugly land along Sand Creek’s shoreline. Bright yellow and red canoes loaded with scantily dressed kids paddling along Sand Creek often break the stillness of a summer’s day.

And if a person happened to be in that stall at the right time of any day, she could even watch some trains pass by the Burlington Northern Depot. In fact, the more I think about it, I bet I could capitalize on this indoor perch as one of the prime train-viewing locations in the United States. Sandpoint has been touted as a rail fan’s paradise, but I doubt that anyone has thought of this ideal location for snapping award-winning photos of freight and Amtrak trains as they head east or west on their cross country journeys.

Not many people could brag of taking care of personal business while watching a 3:09 freight roar by the Sandpoint station on its way to Spokane.

The photographs would be incredible, if Dennis and Ann would just allow the metal framed window protector to be removed. This idyllic spot in the midst of downtown busyness provides a sight for contemplation and probably the best place to be when nature calls.