It turned out to be so much more.
My little sidekick Foster and I took off shortly before noon yesterday, bound for Bonners Ferry and the South Hill Lockers.
As usual, once I walked in the door, Mike Larson walked over and gave me a big hug. Mike runs the operation.
Back in the good ol' days he worked for Gooby Meats, which was just down the road from our farm on Great Northern Road.
I've known Mike ever since I started teaching at Sandpoint High where he and his brothers were stand-out wrestlers.
As usual, we had a good time swapping stories and wondering out loud where the years had gone.
"I'm gonna be 70," he said, adding he could remember when I was young and he was young and again wondering where all that time has gone.
Mike also talked about occasionally hearing from Pat Gooby and almost always worrying that something bad had happened. Pat told him last time he called that he was just calling to see how Mike was doing.
We also chuckled about Pat's annual Christmas letter, always printed on yellow paper and often discussing some aspect of dandYlions.
Eventually, a staff member brought my packaged pork from out of the walk-in the freezer and followed me to my car where he unloaded the boxes in the back.
Foster and I had a couple of hours to burn so we headed toward the Kootenai Wildlife Refuge and stopped at a boat launch site nearby.
We enjoyed a brief walk where Foster really got into his sniffing and finally found a good spot to relieve himself.
We also did a photo op with Foster posing on a picnic table with the Kootenai River in the background.
And, yes, two eagles were hanging out on tree branches along the river side.
We drove through the south part of the valley and then up a hill where we connected with the highway near the Forest Service offices.
Once on the highway headed home, I decided we might even have enough time to make a stop at Mountain Traders, which was once the Elmira store and home to some of the best milkshakes and hamburgers ever.
I've followed the development of this new enterprise off and on over the past couple of years but have never had time to stop. Seems we're always in a hurry to get somewhere on the road to and from Bonners Ferry.
Well, yesterday's opportunity opened my eyes to a wonderful new place for folks to stop off, enjoy a few eat treats and mosey through the huge and tastefully organized variety of crafted items, artwork, books, antiques, notecards, jigsaw puzzle, baked goods second hand assortments---you name it.
AND Penny Candy!
Speaking of the candy, I saw a sign out front noting that the coffee was free. So, when I walked in the door where lovely Christmas music was playing, I told Tabitha and Evie, who were standing behind a counter, that I would happily pay for the coffee.
"We have a tip jar," Tabitha said with a smile. So, I told the sisters that I would do some browsing and then leave a tip for my coffee.
I did okay at the browsing but was a mile or two down the road when I remembered that I forgot---the tip.
It was a wonderful experience stopping off at Mountain Traders, which is run by most of Tabitha and Evie's family (ten kids and mom and dad Todd and Heather).
The sisters also found some literature for me to read about the evolution of the business.
Seems the family has fallen on hard times every so often but has managed to find ways to overcome those times---living here in Sandpoint several years ago, moving to Wisconsin, doing some farming and always feeling the call to return to North Idaho.
An opportunity eventually arose, and they jumped on it.
The girls told me that their mom Heather has put a lot of her vision, her wisdom and her attention to detail about what makes people want to buy things into the endeavor.
I'd say they've done okay, now featuring items from 200 contributors.
I have a feeling that I may spend some more time selecting some Christmas presents---especially at a place that offers so many neat jigsaw puzzles (always part of my giving list).
You can see more about Mountain Traders on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/Mountain.Traders.ID
And, so, that simple trip north to pick up the pork yielded some good memories and another option for getting out of the house on these winter days. After all, there's a jigsaw puzzle sitting on a table waiting to be completed.
Many thanks to Tabitha and Evie for your warm and friendly hospitality.
And, what's happening today?
After completing whatever our day projects happen to be, Bill and I will be attending the season opener for Willie's basketball team.
You can spot us at the gym: we're the old people who have brand new red cushions WITH BACKS for sitting on those hard bleachers.
Oh, and by the way, it looked like the ZAGS got much more than they bargained for with their trip to Texas.
Not a fun game on this end, but they'll figure it out.
Happy Thursday. GO, SHS BULLDOGS!
Enjoy the photos.
----Photo by Sammy Berryman
Coach Will Love at a practice with his SHS Bulldogs squad. The Lady Bulldogs begin their season tonight with a home opener, taking on Lake City from Coeur d'Alene.
Tip-off 7 p.m. at Les Rogers gym.
Good Luck, Bulldogs
No comments:
Post a Comment