Thursday, July 30, 2015

Bay Trail Stroll



---Barbara Tibbs Photo








Twas a truly pleasant antidote for my sisters and me on a hot afternoon. I have a feeling it's gonna provide a bit of elixir for some golden oldies in September.

When our class reunion for SHS 1965 occurs, we'll have activities along with the evening gatherings.

One of those side events involves a stroll along the Pend Oreille Bay Trail where classmates will geocache, look for birds, take pictures and simply enjoy visiting while walking.

I hadn't been on the trail since its most recent development, so when Bill and Willie took off for a fishing trip to the Moyie and the afternoon temperature began to soar, I called my sisters to see if they were ready to go on another adventure.

They were.  So, we soon met and drove to the trail head.  Neither Barbara nor Laurie had ever been on the trail.  Talk came up during our stroll of the age-old situation where we often take for granted what's seemingly right in front our noses. 

Pretty easy to get to the trail.  Simply drive to the Edgewater, turn left, go past all the Seasons at Sandpoint condos and park in the trailhead lot. 

In our case, we've just never found an opportunity to take in the downtown experience. Well, we took care of that yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves with our cameras.

The nice thing about the trail is that there's no hurry.  Who would want to hurry in the midst of such abundant beauty and local history! 

To the right, the community's precious gem of Lake Pend Oreille, surrounded by spectacular Cabinet Mountains.  To the left, a woodsy area bordered above by the railroad grade which brought so many people to settle in Sandpoint.  

It's Bum Jungle to some and Humbird Mill to the history books. Remnants of the mill still exist and that train on the grade up above still brings freight and people to and through Sandpoint. 

Besides its sheer beauty, the trail offers a wonderful escape from the hot summer sun and a few places to dip one's toes in this year's uncharacteristically warm lake water. 

It's also a great place to meet and greet---either strangers or old friends.  We saw John and Ginny Moody and a few other familiar faces during our hour of relaxed walking and sight-seeing yesterday. 

Barbara, as expected, was taking her high quality photos and planning for yearbook kids to get down here with their cameras in October.  Yes, October on the trail must be breath-taking.  

We can't say for sure because, after all, we haven't walked the pathway in October.  I have a feeling we'll remedy that missing link in our local travel basket this year. 

For now, I'm beyond excited for the day in September when my classmates gather, especially those from afar, to enjoy each other and the gorgeous rendition of one of the absolute local haunts of yesteryear. 

Happy Thursday. 

1 comment:

Word Tosser said...

I bet in October it will be beautiful with all the fall colors.. as i have sat at the Chamber of Commerce parking lot on the north end of Sandpoint and taken some great pictures of the colors before the bypass.. So bet over there on the trail it will be some beautiful sights.