Outdoor Trifecta

Yup, three days in a row, we've been out there, happily enjoying places of North Idaho magnificence, which we seldom visit in the winter time. 

These lovely January days usually unfold with the usual morning chores, maybe a trip to town, and for me, time spent working at my puzzle. 

There's been progress, but I still have a long way to go.  I'm figuring that if it takes as long to finish my puzzle as it does for the U.S. government to get back to work, we've all got problems. 

I'm also targeting the first seed planting sessions as a time when that puzzle had better be finished, cuz its table next to the light of the sliding-glass door will be needed for the pots. 

One can spend only so long at a jigsaw puzzle, although I have to admit a semi addiction, once I sit down. It's difficult for me to stop looking for just one more piece to fit one more spot. 

Thankfully, though, my neck starts aching, and I get up.

Jigsaw puzzling had run its gamut by about 1:30 yesterday so Bill and I had agreed to do another afternoon outing. 

This time I suggested Sam Owen Campground near Hope on the lake's northern shore with thoughts of an early dinner at Ice House Pizza. 

Liking clockwork, Bill pointed out that we had once again begun our outing at precisely 2:15 p.m.---three days straight.

So, we strolled around the water's edge (winter level) and up on the beach where each year thousands of recreationalist enjoy summer days of swimming, sunbathing, camping and picnicking.

Yesterday, we saw three people.  A worker was completing some tasks near the dock of Beyond Hope Resort (just east of Sam Owen) and a couple had brought their puppy out to play. 

Later, when we met the couple, John and Barbara, a gabfest began. Both were Forest Service retirees.  

So, of course, names began to fly, and, of course, most of those names were familiar to most of us in some way.  That's how it is with the Forest Service. 

We learned that John and Barbara spend a lot of their time doing pretty much what Bill and Marianne do:  outings to enjoy our beautiful surroundings.

I also learned that Barbara's grandfather fought in the 1910 fire and that she has folks named "Westmond" aka small community south of Sandpoint in her family tree. 

As usual, we all enjoyed our visit.  Later, as usual, we enjoyed our pizza at the Old Ice House. 

This morning I was thinking about Sam Owen and its history, so I went to a folder filled with several documents of research about Lake Pend Oreille.  Some of those notes ended up in the Lake Pend Oreille book, published a few years back by Keokee. 

While looking specifically for Sam Owen, I ran across a document called "The Pend Oreille Zone." 

I guess during the months I was doing research, I must have felt an urge to get a bit creative (some may think more in terms of "corny"). 

Still, the piece pretty much reflects my perspective as a lifelong lover of "there because of the grace of God" I have had the good fortune to enjoy any ol' day of any ol' year.

So, I'll leave you with yesterday's photos and my crazy thoughts, written about 15 years ago.  

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 to find it.  Plus, it can occur at any time, even at night.

The Pend Oreille Zone is actually a state of mind.

The only requirement for this phenomenon to take hold is for you to 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 that I’ve arrived at The Zone?

I fall silent. My eyes willingly and immediately submit to an overwhelming phenomenon.  

I feel like I’m at one with a controlling natural entity. My heart fills with exhilaration.  Surely these eyes of mine have never seen anything quite so beautiful. 

 I remain speechless because I know no words can describe my emotions during these moments in the zone.

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

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

Waves slap against rocky shorelines. The deep, blue lake seems continuously busy as if furiously trying to finish a project.  It is then that my workaholic being slips into total relaxation in the midst an almost magical scene.

This can’t be for real, I sometimes think.   Better pinch myself and wake up because surely I don’t really live in an environment so artfully sculpted.

I’ve seen others fall into the Pend Oreille Zone.  Many years ago, one of my friends from Kansas sat on a Farragut picnic table and quickly succumbed to the magnetic lure of the sight before her.   

As if hypnotized, she hardly moved for many minutes, simply taking in all aspects of the scene before her, then finally spoke, “This is so magnificent.”

Yup, she had fallen for the Pend Oreille Zone.

Its powers almost always succeed in seizing one more willing captive.