Stunning and Sunny

I know. I know.  "Enough of those North Idaho snow pictures!  Whaddya trying to do?  Make us jealous?"

Well no, but if you are, I won't hold that against you.

During a spontaneous mid-afternoon drive to Clark Fork yesterday, I asked Bill to stop at one of the wide spots along HWY 200 so I could snap some photos. 

Later, as we moved on, my eyes worked overtime, trying to take in every bit of the dramatic beauty appearing in virtually every single direction.

"I feel so lucky," I said to Bill, "to have been born here.  I didn't have to discover this gorgeous country and have never taken it for granted." 

That's how it feels at nearly 70 years of existence in this heavenly place.

Granted, not every winter puts me in a mood of total and giddy bliss.  

But this one has, and when immersed in that state of mind, it's easy to forget the misery of hundreds of endless dark, gray, gloomy January days, of which we've experienced more than our share over the years. 

I always like to use the analogy of childbirth when describing how we natives feel when North Idaho beauty is at its best.  

So, pardon me for being repetitious, but it seems just like the moment that bouncing bundle of joy announces its entrance to the world and all the misery and discomfort of nine months of pregnancy is immediately forgotten. 

Same is true with our weather.  Happily, so far this January, we've forgotten other endless January's which threatened to never end, keeping us in dark moods, often uttering descriptive words not worth repeating. 

So, yes, another beautiful day in North Idaho.  We had wind, and we had intricate and interesting new drifts of powdery snow forming in a variety of spots, thanks to the wind.

From morning until late afternoon, however, we enjoyed an uninterrupted show of brilliant sunshine.  It was magnificent, as were the many wonderful images throughout the day. 

So, yes, more photos of more North Idaho beauty.  

The sun is about to shine again this morning, and it will shine throughout the day in my mind cuz it's a ZAGS day, and, with no weather problems, Loyola Marymount's Lions will be chasing the Bulldogs back and forth across the court at MacArthey Athletic Complex tonight. 

Let's hope the Bulldogs nip out another victory to make it 16-0.  GO, ZAGS!

This beginning of the Lightning Creek Road has particular meaning for my friend Chris Moon and me.  Approximately where you see the green sign on the right side of the road, we would set up our lawn chairs and ice chest filled with food and drink at about 5:45 Sunday and Monday mornings.

 For the next 12 hours, we would stop cars entering the forest and ask them a few survey questions for the U.S. Forest Service Engineers.  That was during summers back in the early 1970s.  We also drove the Lightning Creek Road and its side roads, putting out traffic counters.

Some great memories and experiences, indeed. 

Twas feeding time for the Clark Fork municipal elk herd, so they had just arrived for dinner from wherever they spent the day. 

For accuracy's sake and because I still try to disperse the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, this photo was taken last week when I went to restock my supply of Wood's hamburger patties---for a ZAGS game, of course.

This charming old relic sits alongside the driveway into Wood's Meats.