All in a Day

For anyone who has never visited our area, those mountains in the photo above are called the Green Monarchs.  

They are located on the northeast side of Pend Oreille Lake. 

And, when you drive HWY 200 to Hope, you can enjoy some spectacular and breath-taking views of the Monarchs.  

Imagine the view you would have while in a boat out on the lake.

Yesterday afternoon turned out rather dull in the weather category.  A bit of gloom and a lot of grey set the tone for the rest of the day.

So, for the most part, there weren't many jaw-dropping scenes on my drive EXCEPT for the snow-covered Monarchs. They were even topped off with the cloud cover, but that didn't matter.  They were still stunning. 

I took the dogs on the drive after we had listened to Willie's game (would have been nice if the commentators had devoted more than 5 percent of their commentary to Sandpoint) and Rich Benjamin's interview with Terri Gross (fabulous interview) and after Bill had taken off for Spokane for a Lady ZAGS game, which they won. 

I figured it would be difficult to find very many striking photo scenes, but then I was headed toward Hope, where the photo pickin's are almost always generous. 

A heron standing all alone in the Pack River Flats boosted my excitement about this photo run, as did a single BNSF engine quietly making its way across the train trestle to the Sunnyside Peninsula. 

Once I turned off from HWY 200 to the old road that leads to Hope, the photos came easily. 

It was especially fun taking pictures in a leisurely fashion because only one car and one pedestrian passed me on that road. 

In fact, it seemed that I had all the time in the world, it seemed to stop for virtually every scene. 

I also took a route not taken---at least in my personal experiences in Hope.  Seems like one stretch overlooking the lake was called "Big Hill." 

All this was new to me, which meant some fresh and fun scenes for photographing.   

With all the possibilities along my way, it didn't take long to forget the gray of the day and to drive home feeling glad that I had chosen this route. 

Besides, it's difficult to ever be disappointed with a trip to Hope, Idaho.  

  

Sandpoint's girls varsity will go at it again today. 

They'll take on Jerome (17-9) in the consolation bracket. 

As noted in the story below, the Bulldogs lost yesterday to a strong Middleton team, which still has just one loss this season.  

Hoping the girls rebound and take a win today. 

Tip-off is at 11 a.m. PST and the coverage, I've found, is not great, but you can listen by going to IdahoSports.com and clicking on the steaming option.  

If it's like yesterday, what you'll get is commentary and a graphic showing the score. 

BTW:  I talked to Dylan Benefield at Blue Sky Broadcasting yesterday to see if the game would be broadcast on KSPT.  

Nope, he said. Perennial commentator Bob Witte has retired and we need some new play-by-play folks.  

So, if you have the experience and the talent and would like to do some sports commentating, check with Dylan at Blue Sky. 

And, when you do sports commentating for a State Tournament, it's really nice and probably appropriate if you try to keep your coverage balanced by reporting on both teams, especially those that travel nearly 500 miles to compete. 

We learned a LOT about Middleton yesterday.  

Just sayin'. 

 https://bonnercountydailybee.com/news/2025/feb/20/prep-basketball12/

All that said, GO, BULLDOGS, and Happy Friday.