On a Wet Day

 

When it's pouring rain and ugly pretty much everywhere, I like to drive the old road to Hope. 

Even if the lake isn't too picturesque on a rainy, gloomy day, that road still offers some color and enough charm to keep me and my camera happy. 

I love the waterfall at the west side beginning of the road.  It's always a little different depending on the season and the water flow but it's always breath-taking, dramatic and easy to photograph. 

Bill went to the woods yesterday afternoon, while I loaded up the dogs and headed off on my trip toward Hope. 

We had spent the morning tending to our individual projects while our friend and my former colleague Terry Iverson worked here in the computer room beginning his repair job of the hole in the ceiling caused by a wind storm in December. 

Terry worked away stabilizing the area and stuffing insulation.  Today he'll begin working with sheet rock to cover it up. 

It will be nice to have that damage from the wind storm fixed, and when weather permits, another contractor will patch the roof. 

Anyway, back to Hope.  

Soon after I pulled on to the road, I saw someone walking a dog.  Seeing me, she turned off the road to the Chinese cemetery where she waited for me to pass by. 

Well, I didn't.  

I could see her and her pup in the trees, so I stopped and wondered if she might be someone I knew. 

That was not the case, but I now know Amber AND Skookum, a beautiful red and white Border Collie. 

What better meeting:  a friendly and fun lady with a Border Collie on a rainy day just off an enchanting rainy-day road. 

It created an immediate cure for the gloom. 

We had a great time getting acquainted.  Happily, that road doesn't get a lot of traffic except for the residents so we could enjoy our visit.

 

Turns out Amber is connected with the family who owned the Red Fir Resort, so even though she moved here a few years back, she has local roots. 

The best part of the whole conversation came when Amber told me she is the mechanic at the Clark Fork Chevron Station.  

We old timers immediately think of Bob Hayes who owned the place for years and was always the friendly face of the business. 

Amber said the folks there are very patient as she hones her mechanic work but she's very proud that she is really good at changing oil. 

What a nice encounter on a rainy day! Meeting Amber and Skookum is why I love to go on these spontaneous jaunts. 

Plus, I even captured a few fun photos along with a few around the Lovestead and  to and from Hope. 

I cannot believe this morning's upbeat feeling of spring.  I hear geese honking as Bridie and I took our second walk in almost normal daylight. 

Plus, birds were singing sweet, happy songs in the trees and in the woods.  

As we walked through the woods, Bridie suddenly took on her Border Collie pose, looking off toward the right. 

I turned that direction and soon saw that two deer had caught her attention.  One was peeking around a tree while the other stood like a statue.  

It was a little dark in the woods, so the deer were very curious about us.  One even took a few careful steps my direction.  

Soon I saw one white tail rise and then the second.  Off they bounded through the woods. 

Later, when I went out to get the paper, my neighbor Gary Finney stopped in his white pickup.  He was on his way to morning coffee in town but took time to see how I was doing. 

Gary indicated that, like me,  he was feeling some endorphins of spring.  

I think we may have turned a corner, and with the fact that our highs will be in the mid 40s through the rest of the week, we may even say good bye to this last batch of snow. 

Amber Gray and Skookum

Terry Iverson, builder extraordinaire. 

It's a big day for the Sandpoint Bulldogs men's basketball team.  

District playoffs continue, and tonight they'll be playing one of the toughest teams in the state of Idaho.  

Lewiston (19-3), which leads the league, is ranked No. 1 in the 5A classification and No. 9 overall in the State.  

If the Bulldogs can pull off a win, they'll automatically go to State.  A loss means more games this week. 

As Willie told me last week, in the two previous matchups with the Lewiston, one 8-minute quarter made the difference, so the goal is to play 32 minutes of good basketball. 

Maybe the third time will be the charm for Sandpoint.  We hope so. 

Here's a recap of Sandpoint's win over Lakeland this past Friday and some discussion about tonight's game, which tips off at 6 p.m.

GOOD LUCK, BULLDOGS!  

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