Slight Detour: A Lake Pend Oreille Treat

Bill, the dogs and I spent about 15 minutes walking the shoreline of Lake Pend Oreille yesterday afternoon.

We drove to Talache, south of Sagle, parked the car and got out, pretty much walking silently, both experiencing a familiar awe.

https://www.idahogeology.org/Uploads/Data/MineDocs/SA0267_013.pdf

Everything was perfect for my cameras.

So, I took advantage.

This morning I found a folder on my computer, filled with notes taken while working on a project from several years ago about the white settlement around Lake Pend Oreille.

Apparently, I got desperate one day during those months of work and tried to be creative.

The results weren't great but not TOO bad.

I attempted to convey the common feeling deep within me every time I stand in awe of the lake which has defined and nurtured the souls of so many of us long timers aka natives.

Hope you enjoy the thoughts and the photos.

The Pend Oreille Zone

Don’t run for your map. There’s no geographical setting called the Pend Oreille Zone. A person can be anywhere on the lake for it to occur. It can happen at any time, even at night.

The Pend Oreille Zone is actually a state of mind.

The only requirement for it to take hold is that you be situated somewhere on or near Lake Pend Oreille.

I’ve experienced the Pend Oreille Zone hundreds of times in my lifetime.

How do I know I’m there?

I’m silent. My eyes fall into a gaze. I feel like I’m at one with a controlling natural entity. My heart fills to the brim with exhilaration.

I think my eyes have never looked upon anything quite so beautiful.

For once, I remain speechless because I know no words can describe how I feel during these moments in the zone.

Some of my more memorable Pend Oreille Zones have occurred at Talache, Lakeview and Sam Owen.

I’ve also slipped into this state of mind while driving along the lake at Sunnyside.

In all cases, waves slap against rocky shorelines, and the deep, blue, gigantic lake seems continuously busy as if furiously trying to finish a project.

It is then that my workaholic self slips into total relaxation in the midst the almost magical scene.

This scene before me certainly cannot be for real, I often think. It's gotta be a dream.

Better pinch myself and wake up because surely I don’t really live in an environment so artfully sculpted.

I’ve also seen others fall into the Pend Oreille Zone.

Many years ago, one of my friends from Kansas sat on a Farragut picnic table at the south end of the lake and quickly succumbed to the magnetic lure of the sight before her.

As if hypnotized, she rarely moved for many minutes, stared straight ahead, then said, “This is so magnificent.”

Yup, she had submitted to the Pend Oreille Zone.

Talache Landing

It's a popular put-in area for kayakers and canoeists coming from Sandpoint and Sagle.

From the water, it’s a short paddle to reach Forest Service public lakefront north of Mirror Creek (the original landing from which iron ore was shipped by barge) or south of Talache Beach, towards Maiden Rock and past several homes.

It is also a convenient put-in for those paddlers who would like to try primitive camping on one of the colorful pebble public beaches in either direction.

---from sandpointonline.com

Mining history notes around Pend Oreille Lake

There are three principal regions where mining activity has successfully taken place in Bonner County: the Lakeview area, on the southeast side of Lake Pend Oreille, the Talache area about 20 miles southeast of Sandpoint, and the Hope/Clark Fork area.

Bonner County was once a big silver producer.

Between 1922 and 1926, the Talache district was one of Idaho’s leading silver producers, grossing about $2 million back when silver was less than a dollar and ounce.

Once a thriving mining community with a large mill and company town, the Talache area was dormant for 30 years----not because of lack of ore but because of substantial drop in silver prices. 32 cents an ounce

---from notes taken during my project