There's a big celebration in a few days for the old junior high, Ninth Grade Center, high school, Pine Street School and whatever else it was called. Now, it's the Sandpoint Events Center, and lots of folks are likely going to show up for its grand reopening.
While reading Bob's stuff and all the other Saturday morning "Daily Bee" tidbits, Bill is munching on Bear baquette bread. We had a beary nice night last night as we turned the pickup east and headed for Icehouse Pizza for dinner. I've mentioned it before and have probably mentioned its owner Bear.
Well, last night, for the first time, I noticed that Bear has a full name. He's Edward "Bear" Weiner, originally from New Joysey, college educated in North Dakota, and business experienced east of Libby where those pretty lakes make you think of "Marlboro Country" of the old cigarette ads.
Bear arrived in Sandpoint in the early '90s and opened up that shop on North First Avenue. All I knew about that place was the tye dye and the incense. Since then, I've learned about Bear's ability for baking, including those pizzas, pastries and the bread. Bear sells his baked goods at the Hope and Sandpoint Farmers' Markets.
He had a good day at Hope yesterday with his bread so he was gonna whip up two more batches for the Sandpoint market this morning.
While we were there, area musician Tom Newbill showed up for a glass of beer, and Bear lamented to him the problem he's having with the bears. Seems they like his garbage, and apparently he's having some garbage problems too cuz we overheard him telling Tom he was thinking of taking it and parking it in front of Hope's city hall.
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Well, after enjoying a great three-meat pizza and the local color on a slow night at the Icehouse, we headed on to Clark Fork on the old highway. For some reason, the Denton curves don't seem nearly so scary as they did back in my early driving days.
There were two places in Bonner County where a greenhorn behind the wheel could earn medals or surely die if all didn't go right behind the wheel: the Denton Curves near Clark Fork and the rock cuts east of Priest River. I remember the knuckle-biting moments of my first time through both, especially cuz I'd heard horror stories of all the people who didn't make it.
Highway engineers have corrected those situations for drivers, but they left the old highway near Clark Fork, and with it comes a certain amount of nostalgia along with some timber that has been allowed to grow alongside the road since its diminished use.
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Bill wanted me to see Nick Nichols' latest real estate development on the old White Delph property, so we gassed up and went up what's also known as Viggo road. I'm not gonna tell you the whole story in the interest of protecting Viggo's privacy.
Anyway, Nick has a nice road winding up the mountain in his Liberty Heights subdivision. When we hit the top lots, Bill suggested we walk through a lot for a view of the lake. Our perch, where he says it's not uncommon to see a herd of elk, gave us a totally different perspective of the lake from what I've ever seen. Along with the view, we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset.
On our jaunt back to the pickup, we spotted a cinnamon bear grazing in lush clover which has been planted in the lots. It was my first bear spotting of the year, besides those paintings in the Icehouse Pizza. Bill said it was his second. It looked a lot like the bear which ambled up to our sliding glass door two years ago when we first moved here.
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On our way back, I wondered if we'd see a moose like we did last Friday when Annie spotted a bull moose in Pack River Flats. Just as I commented, Bill said, "Look."
A cow moose was swimming across the river. Her head and neck formed a beautiful silhouette above the water as she made her way toward land.
Speaking of Annie, she's on my mind this morning because as I type, she's making her way across a glacier on Mount Baker. She and her Mount Rainier climbing crew drove up to their trail head last night and planned to set off at midnight. She said the lead guy expected them to make it to the top of the glacier by 5 a.m. this morning.
I told her to be sure to give me a call when she's down and safe. I'm thrilled for her as she pursues this quest of climbing Mount Rainier, but I'm also a mother who worries----and one who follows the news. Annie was at Camp Muir the day before the hiker perished on Mount Rainier a couple of weeks ago. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for her safe return from today's practice hike.
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In the "Hold that thought" department, I must tell Dave Oliveria to hold some of his thoughts expressed in this mornng's column about Darcy Sletager's appearance on that awful "I Survived a Japanese Game Show." In the realm of "appearances are not always as they appear" and the realm of "it ain't over 'til it's over," I've learned from secret sources that both apply in this case.
If folks can stomach tuning in on the show again this coming Tuesday, they may be in for a surprise. At least, that's what my reliable sources tell me.
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Finally, I've been slowly but surely notifying people in my address book of a change in my email since switching to satellite. I'm finding it easier said than done, especially when trying to send mass mailings to correspondents. One glitch will tank the whole effort, so if you've written to me and have received no response, drop me a comment on the blog, and I'll let you know the new address.
Stay cool on this gorgeous Saturday.
1 comment:
New address? Say what? And, is new satellite cost worth the speed?
Phil
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