Enjoying the Byway Presents/Presence

Bill and I loaded up our bikes last evening and took our maiden voyage over the new bike path along Sand Creek.  Again, superlatives are all I can think of as descriptive words for this wonderful gift to our community.  Besides its stunning beauty, the route served as somewhat of a "meet-and-greet" experience.  I met a lot of familiar faces and some new friends.  In fact, I spent about 15 minutes visiting with the Fio's, the couple in front.  Later, we visited with two of my former students who have adopted a beautiful little daughter.  Between snapping pictures and visiting, the round trip, which normally would take about 20-25 minutes lasted more than an hour.  A great and memorable hour at that.

I felt a sense of family history while snapping this shot.  My mother, my oldest brother and their English setter stepped off the train at the Sandpoint Depot on Christmas night 1945.  It was a drizzly, ugly night as they walked across an older, uncovered version of the Cedar Street Bridge toward their temporary housing at the Rolands Hotel on First Avenue.  While taking Mother over the Byway yesterday, I pointed to the depot, and she remembered the night that marked our family's beginnings in Sandpoint.

I love the drama this scene offers.

Bill wanted me to take a picture of the sprinklers on the Byway above the bike path and to point out that the homeless folks---if they figure out the schedule---can get a free shower anywhere they wish along the bike path.  Engineers thought of everything---maybe not quite like Bill does.

While snapping this photo from one of the rock stair steps leading into Sand Creek, I think I was saying to Bill, that if Sandpoint was voted America's Most Beautiful Small Town last year, the addition of the Byway and the Bike Path should elevate it to one of the WORLD's Most Beautiful Small Towns.  We are SO blessed with this addition to our community.  It's been worth the wait.