Slight Detour: Playin' "Turist"

Twas a mini adventure---after all when you need to be back to the house to give a diabetic cat his evening meal and shot---adventures tend to be mini for us.

We decided to play full-fledged "turist" yesterday. That was about 1:30 or so when we crashed the rental house out in Sagle of four couples from Seattle and their kids.

Since they've never met Bill or me, we walked in and asked if they were also renting this house suggesting we had come to sign in for our stay at the house.

Had 'em going for a split second or two, but suddenly one of them quickly connected and suggested we must be Annie's parents.

Lots of laughs and nearly an instant connection with all of them. It's really fun when the folks you're hosting, especially perfect strangers, have healthy senses of humor.

And, so we talked a million miles an hour for a few minutes, giving them suggestions for their first afternoon in Sandpoint and making arrangements for them to come and visit the Lovestead this afternoon.

As we pulled back on to HWY 95, I suggested we go into "turist" mode for the afternoon by driving out to Clark Fork and then stopping at Ice House Pizza on the way back for an early dinner----of course pacing ourselves so we would be home in time to give Festus his shot.

What a fun few hours! We stopped at the drift yard west of Clark Fork so I could take some pictures. Once we reached Clark Fork itself, I suggested that we drive over to the Johnson Creek boat launch.

It was obvious a lot of other folks had suggested the place for their weekend camp-out and boating adventures. The place was packed and most of the open ground except the driving area was covered with RV's, rigs and tents.

Summer and its fun has arrived in North Idaho, and oodles of folks were taking advantage of this uncharacteristically gorgeous Memorial Day weekend.

We spent some time walking around the boat launch area, then drove back through Clark Fork.

When we approached Annie's Orchard, a roadside development, which has evolved from landscaping materials to nursery to antique shop and coffee shop and lots of gardens and antiques in between, Bill wanted to stop.

"Sure," I said. Both of us had passed by the place over the years, admiring its gradual and tasteful growth, but neither of us had ever stopped. It's definitely worth a few minutes, especially when ya run into people you know. I visited with a former student who works at the nursery while both of us visited with one of Bill's forester friends.

Then, off to Ice House, where, for a short time, we were the only customers. We've all surmised that most folks have headed for the hills and not the restaurants with this lovely weather.

Later, some hikers came to a table inside as we occupied our spot on the deck, admiring the view down the channel of Lake Pend Oreille.

Turns out Bill had done some work for at least two of the hikers, who had just returned from a walk up Schaffer Peak, south of Clark Fork. One came out and visited. He had worked at the Colburn Mill, and that meant several minutes of all of us bringing up names of people we've known who worked at the mill.

We shared some good memories of some good people. We also shared a mutual association with the late Josephine Asaro. I first met Josephine in the early 1990s when I wrote a feature story for the Spokesman-Review (front-page, no less) about her and her experiences singing for New York City Opera.

I'll never forget the day my brother and I visited her at her home in Upper Pack River. After our interview, I asked if she would sing for us. It was momentous, to say the least. I swear the windows shook as that lovely voice with all that power kept us totally mesmerized.

Josephine was a wonderful and giving lady. So, it was nice to spend a few minutes remembering our common experiences with her.

We probably could have visited with our friend for hours yesterday, but Festus needed his shot at 6 p.m., so off we drove, arriving home just in time.

I think we'll make a habit of taking "mini turist" adventures throughout the summer. It's pretty fun having a relaxing time enjoying everything our visitors come to see.

In the meantime, we have "turists" coming to the Lovestead today, so I'd better get with the program.

Happy Sunday. Enjoy the photos.