Idaho Vacation–Exploration Days

Our plan was to explore the area before skiing on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Our first exploration day was the Libby loop. Our second exploration day was the Kellogg loop.

Before heading out, we got a good look at the mountains and the Pend Orielle Shores Resort.

A condo at Pend Oreille Shores Resort

The Libby Loop

The Libby loop, shown below, included a drive to Libby, Montana, then back to Sandpoint via Bonner’s Ferry.

The Libby Loop

As we approached the intersection of US 2, we debated about going to Libby. I wanted to go because it is a stop on the Amtrak Empire Builder route, so I figured it must have something worth seeing. So we turned right and continued on towards Libby.

Before reaching Libby, we came across Kootenai Falls. The pull off included a little snack bar (which was closed), restrooms, picnic tables, and signs pointing toward a swinging bridge and a viewing area. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to cross a swinging bridge.

Once out of the car and dressed for hiking, we met a couple of locals. One of the men started telling us about the new bridge, which replaced the old bridge that actually did swing. Then he showed us a video that he shot with his DJI Mavic 2 Zoom drone. Andrew considered getting out his drone, but decided that the weather was too iffy. Andrew and I decided to do the hike, while Susan stayed behind.

The hike started off as a paved trail, then quickly became more challenging. After about a quarter mile, we came across a bridge that crossed the BNSF mainline track. We crossed it and thought about how it reminded us of one of our favorite places to go – Picnic Point - when we lived in Bothell.

Standing on the walking bridge across the BNSF mainline

Further down the trail, we came to a split in the path. We passed a couple with two small kids going the other direction. One of the kids was a two month old in a stroller. Wow, getting them out in the woods early. We decided to take the path to the left. Soon we reached the swinging bridge. It was obviously very new and we could see the foundations of the old bridge beside it. It makes me wonder if the old bridge is lying at the bottom of the river.

Crossing the Swinging Bridge over the Kootenay River

After crossing the bridge, we explored a little further along the edge of the river. The river was pretty deep in a canyon with a series of falls connected by rapids. On the way back over the bridge, a BNSF intermodal train passed by.

We crossed the swinging bridge, followed the trail back to the split, then took the other path. At the end, we found the perfect drone spot, but we didn’t have it with us. We took in the scenery, then headed back to the parking lot.

On the cliff over the Kootenai Falls

Back in the SUV, we continued East to Libby. We were getting hungry, so we headed for Riverfront Park to eat the sandwiches we made back at the condo. When we turned off the main road, we caught sight of a sign of civic pride; a large eagle hanging over the street. I had to stop and take a picture.

The Libby eagle

After lunch, we headed West out of Libby. Along the way, we considered the weather and decided that it looked good enough to fly the drone over Kootenai Falls. We found a good pull off and Andrew went to work setting up the Mavic Pro. He launched and flew down into the canyon over the Kootenay River. After flying up and down the canyon, we were hoping for a train to pass, but it didn’t happen. Regardless, the shots were pretty impressive.

Looking down over Kootenai Falls and the BNSF mainline

The next town we entered was Troy, Montana. Troy was memorable because it had a railroad museum with an authentic Great Northern caboose on display. Many former GN cabooses have had their logos painted over, but not this one.

Great Northern caboose in Troy

Nearing Sandpoint, Idaho, we decided to take a side trip up to Schweitzer Mountain. While there, Susan asked about getting a refund for the lift tickets that she wouldn’t be able to use. We also checked out the ski rental options available.

Schweitzer Mountain Resort

Back down off the mountain, we stopped at the Sandpoint City Beach Park. Andrew and I walked along the water front and checked out the train bridge that crosses the lake. It was chilly, so we headed back to the condo and called it a day.

The Kellogg Loop

The Kellogg loop, shown below, included a drive to Coeur d’Alene, Kellogg, then back to Sandpoint via Post Falls and Spirit Lake.

The Kellogg Loop

The last day of January started with us getting up, making sandwiches, and heading out towards Kellogg, Idaho. We planned to ride the gondola up to Silver Mountain Resort and see what else we could find along the way. As we left Sandpoint, I knew it would be a good day of train spotting when I saw a BNSF train crossing the bridge across Lake Pend Oreille. As is always the case, we had our radio scanner with us and were listening to railroad frequencies. We were able to determine the location of two defect detectors: mile markers 11.7 and 8.5. This information would come in useful later on.

At Coeur d’Alene, we got on Interstate 90 and headed west. After several miles of traffic lights, it was nice to pick up the pace. The speed limit of 75 mph was actually difficult to maintain as we entered the climb to Fourth of July Pass. The turns were so tight, I had to slow down, and I don’t really like slowing down on the interstate.

In Kellogg, we parked and headed for the gondola station for a ride up to Silver Mountain Resort. The ride included the cresting of two false peaks on the way up to the top.

The gondola to Silver Mountain Resort

At the top, we toured the lodge and tried to locate the spot from the video from 17 years earlier. I could not find the spot. I imagine many things have changed over the years.

The lodge at Silver Mountain Resort

After walking around and reminiscing for a bit, we got back on the gondola and rode it back into town. I was told that I must stop at Wildcat Pizza and get some pizzas by the slice, so we walked around the village until we found it. Andrew and I each ordered two slices, while Susan ordered a salad. We took our lunch outside and ate by one of the two fire pits. There was also an outside fireplace.

The outdoor fireplace in the village

On the drive back, Susan received an email from Schweitzer. Earlier, she had sent an email including details of her knee injury, including the prescription for the knee brace. Although the lift tickets were non-refundable, the email offered to refund her the full price of the tickets. That was very unexpected and extremely cool of them to do.

Back in Sandpoint, we made a stop at the drugstore, then we once again stopped at the City Beach Park. This time, Andrew pulled out the Mavic Pro and took a flight. In the picture below, there are two BNSF trains. One of the trains was one of the longest trains in recorded history: Three lead engines, two mid-train engines, a trailing engine, and 232 hoppers, for a total of 964 axles. We know the axle count because the defect detector reports it after every train passes by.

Drone shot from Sandpoint City Beach Park

While watching the train, Susan told me that she needed to return to the drugstore, then do some grocery shopping. We returned to the drugstore and then the Safeway, but while there, we kept hearing train horns. We ended up returning to the park and Amtrak station two more times. With all the trains we’ve seen up to this point, we still haven’t seen any Union Pacific or Montana Rail Link trains.

Another train that we hoped to see was the Amtrak Empire Builder. Unfortunately, it was two hours late, which would put it in Sandpoint around 1:00 am. Given our early morning ski plans, we didn’t bother getting up to go see it.   

Click the photo below to see the photo album.

Idaho Vacation–Getting There

Background

Last year, while vacationing in a WorldMark resort in Bend, Oregon, we decided to attend a resort presentation. As payment for our time, we received two certificates, each good for a one week stay at the resort of our choice. Time went by and we realized that we needed to book our stay before the end of March.

After seeing very little snow on the Christmas break, we decided to investigate ski destinations. We created a spreadsheet of all the resorts that are located near ski resorts and had availability during the time we wanted to go. We ranked the six choices, then started investigating deeper. Our first choice was too far from the ski areas, and travel was too time consuming for our second choice.

Our third choice was Hope, Idaho, which is near Schweitzer Mountain. Back in 2004, I skied at Schweitzer with my friend Todd. That was part of our first vacation after Andrew’s birth. Back then,  I created DVDs of everything. I pulled out the DVD and gathered the family around the TV to watch it. We decided it would be fun to go visit the area again 17 years later.

Getting There

On Friday morning, we got up early, packed the CR-V, and left home at 4:00 am. Our first flight was from Orlando to Atlanta. We arrived at the parking lot around 5:00 and waited for the bus to pick us up. While loading our bags on the bus, Susan realized that a bag was missing. It was the bag with all of her prescriptions and supplements. She was devastated. On the short ride to the airport, she debated whether to continue with the plans, or go home and try to catch a later flight. She decided to continue as planned.

Soon after boarding the plane, the morning sky began to fill with light. The day was off to a fine start.

Early morning light prior to our flight to Atlanta

In Atlanta, we found the gate for our flight to Spokane. While walking to the gate, it was pretty clear that Susan had not recovered from her recent Pickleball injury and that she wouldn’t be skiing during this trip.

The flight to Spokane was very long. Susan and I played Backgammon for awhile, then we all tried to catch a little sleep. About an hour out, we noticed that we were still flying along at 38,000 feet. We expected the pilot to start the descent at any moment, but he didn’t. Thirty minutes out, we were still at the same altitude. I started wondering if we were going to Seattle instead of Spokane.

Finally, we started to descend, but then we quickly leveled off again. Then we started turning away from the airport. We continued making odd turns and fast partial descents all the way to the airport. Once we entered the clouds, we couldn’t see a thing out the window until just seconds before landing. While exiting the plane, I congratulated the pilot for landing with such low visibility.

Very low visibility in Spokane

Once off the plane, we picked up our luggage and our rental SUV. Susan got on the phone and started trying to find a CVS that could give her an emergency refill of her medications for the week. She struck out on the south side CVS, but the north side said they could fill it in 15 minutes. Sweet!

Being new to Spokane, I wanted to see some sights. In particular,  I wanted to see Spokane Falls. On the way, we passed by a Dick’s Hamburgers. I used to go to the Dick’s in Seattle with my co-workers. The burgers weren’t very good, but they were cheap, which was the deciding factor.

Spokane Falls did not disappoint. Right in the middle of the city, the river drops dramatically through a series of falls.

Spokane Falls

Back on the road to CVS, we started looking for a place to eat. We found a burger joint that had Huckleberry shakes. Being in the midst of a pandemic, in Washington, we couldn’t go inside, so we hit the drive through and got back on the road. A few minutes later, we arrived at the CVS, which was inside a Target. Susan filled her prescription and bought a few other necessities that were left behind in the forgotten suitcase.

Finally, we were on our way to the resort in Hope, Idaho. In Sandpoint, we stopped at Safeway and bought a few groceries. As we left Sandpoint, we saw our first of what would become many BNSF train sightings. The road to the condo followed a railroad track the entire way. When we pulled into the condo parking lot, we were happy to see that the tracks were only a few hundred yards away.

We parked at the office and went inside to check in. The lady was very nice and gave us a ton of information about the resort. We went to our unit, unpacked, and went to bed. It was a very long trip and we were all exhausted.

Click the photo below to see the photo album.