by Pa Rock
Tourist
Cousin Joyce picked me up early this morning and spent the day showing me the sights around Sandpoint, Idaho, a town that she moved to more that forty years ago. One of the first places we visited was the local train station, which was closed. Sandpoint is a late-night stop on Amtrak's "Empire Builder" line which runs from Chicago to Seattle. A friend of mine rides that route fairly regularly and sings its praises, and I believe that my next trip to the Pacific Northwest just may be by rail. So today I saw the train station and sort of got oriented as to where it is located - in case I ever get thrown off of the "Empire Builder" late some night in Sandpoint!
One of our morning jaunts was a drive up Mount Schweitzer which has a large ski run operation. We got as far as where the ski lifts begin operation, but decided not to jump in one of those swinging lawn chairs and ride to the top. The drive up as far as we went was beautiful, and my ears popped several times during the drive as we kept gaining elevation.
In the afternoon we went for a boat ride and historic tour on Lake Pend Oreille, one of the largest lakes in the United States. Again, every view on the lake was a postcard view. One of the sights that we saw from the boat was the beautiful home that Joyce and her late husband built along the shoreline forty years ago.
You can stand in areas of Sandpoint and look off in one direction and see ski trails up in the mountains, and then turn your head in the opposite direction and see people frolicking and boating on the magnificent lake - a lake that is so large and deep that the US government used it for submarine training during and after World War II.
Joyce and I said our goodbyes late this afternoon, and very early tomorrow I am headed back to Spokane, Washington, where I will board a plane for Portland. My daughter, Molly, said that she and her daughter, Willow, will be at the airport to greet me!
Having a great time - wish you were here!
1 comment:
Rocky, thanks so much for stopping by in my neck of the woods. It was great catching up with you and comparing all our shared childhood memories. You’re welcome back here anytime and I’ll pick you up at the train station next time! Have a great time at Molly’s. — Cousin Joyce
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