Sandpoint, ID

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I have always wanted to try snowshoeing and this year was going to be the year that I tried it. I started shopping around for a set of shoes and remembered my dad had an extra pair. I suggested to him to let me have the extra pair and I could try them out. He agreed and brought me the snowshoes. I thought it would be a good idea, since I was new to the sport, to try them out somewhere easy before I started trekking off on some long adventure. I grabbed the snowshoes, a pair of old ski poles and headed over to Traver’s Park. I wore my Sorels since I did not have gaiters to wear incase I got into snow that would be deeper than my ankle high hiking shoes. I found the snowshoes relatively easy to put on. I started out on the snow plowed path and got the hang of it pretty quick. I was ready for a bit more of a challenge. I carefully stepped off the path into the perfectly smooth snow. I began to “break trail” and suddenly found myself quite tired, quite quickly! I made my way back to the path and continued on. Read the rest of Snowshoeing around Sandpoint »

Each year during the winter carnival Eichardt’s holds it’s annual K-9 Keg Pull. This was the first year I had gone, but I have always wanted to go, I just had never made it to the event. The Keg Pull starts at 10am, so my friends and I showed up about 10 minutes early. We found a parking spot near the hospital and made our way over to the parking lot behind Eichardt’s, where the keg pull was being held. There were several dogs and their owners along with spectators, human and canine alike, lining the soon to be track that ran all the way from the Bank of America parking lot to the end of the Sandpoint Title’s parking lot (or the old library for any of you old timers reading this!). Read the rest of Eichardt’s K-9 Keg Pull - Winter Carnival »

I probably go bowling once every five years and this year I amazingly had three opportunities all in the same weekend. As I stepped into the bowling alley I instantly flashed back a few years to when I use to go there during lunch while in highschool to play air hockey with my friends. Although I still do enjoy classic arcade games, today I was there to bowl. I of course have some quite extensive bowling skills being that I practice once every five years, so needless to say it was going to be more fun then competition for me. Read the rest of Bowling fun in Sandpoint »

Every Sunday,minus a few holidays, Schweitzer Mountain Resort offers an AWESOME deal called “Sunday Solutions”. The solution is $20 half day lift tickets. My friends and I were ready to go skiing and take advantage of the Sunday Solution. We planned earlier in the week to go hoping for good weather as rain had been plaguing us for the past few days. By the time Sunday had come around I was ready to go regardless of what the weather was like. As I crossed the Long Bridge to pick up my friends I noticed the mountain was socked in by fog. As a child I was a fair weather skier much to my parents dismay, but as an adult I realize that sunny days during the winter are few, so you head up the mountain whether it be a nice sunny day or a windy foggy day, and that is just what we did.

There are buses that shuttle you to the top of the mountain for $2 each way from the free bottom parking lot, however we chose to drive up and park in one of their lots, which is also free to park. We pulled into the parking lot around 11 am and gathered our belongings. We could have skied down the bunny run and rode the chairlift up for a one time free lift to the village but opted for the free shuttle ride up to the village instead. Once we arrived at the village we quickly ate our lunches and awaited the 12:30pm time, when the Sunday Solution tickets went on sale. I would recommend getting in line before 12:30 as you will be waiting a long time to get your ticket since there are many people who are also looking to take advantage of the Sunday Solution. We got in line about 15 minutes early and although it was frustrating that they would not sell the tickets until exactly 12:30 we did get our tickets quickly and were ready to go by 1pm. Read the rest of Sunday Solutions - Schweitzer Mountain Resort »

As part of the Sandpoint Winter Carnival, the Midwinter Art Fest is the largest art event in the history of Sandpoint winters.

With 45 artist, snow golf and volleyball, treats, beverages, and family fun. Sponsored by Dover Bay Waterfront Community and arrainged by Gary Lirette, host of North Idaho Arts & Adventure. For more info, call Gary at 208-610-1384 or e-mail garyplirette@nctv.ocm

How did you get there?:

From Sandpoint, follow Highway 2 toward Priest River. Dover Bay is 2 miles from downtown. Just follow the signs.

How often does this take place?:

Annually during the Sandpoint Winter Carnival

What ammenities are there?:

Food, beverages, Polar Bear plunge in the heated pool, snow events, the cafe, coffee, wine, health studio, bungalow rentals, and marina, plus the art from artist representing the Artists\’ Studio Tour, Artworks, and Timberstand Galleries.

Are there any costs or fees?:

Free to the public

Any websites associated with this To-Do?:

http://midwinterartfest.com
http://sandpointwintercarnival.com

What should I bring?:

Your family and warm clothing

This post was submitted by Gary Lirette.

This year’s pendulum swing from blizzard to Pineapple express and back again has been a typical North Idaho pattern. We have endured it first with shovels and then with knee-high rubber boots. The good news is, the end of winter is near and the seed starting, gardening season is coming. Read the rest of It’s Winter – Get Growing Anyway »

I read my horoscope for the day and it said “do not let fear get in the way of trying new things today”. Ironically the day I read this was the day my boyfriend had asked me to go snowmobiling with him and his family. I had ditched out last year when he asked me and I still felt bad about not going. So I sucked up my fear and grabbed my snow pants, gloves, a hat, boots, goggles and a borrowed helmet and headed out the door. My boyfriend loaded up the snowmobiles on the trailer as I sat in the truck convincing myself it was going to be great. As we took off for our Priest Lake destination my boyfriend gave me a few pointers about snowmobiling. Some of which were: leaning into the turns to help the machine turn and when you pass another group going in the opposite direction hold up your fingers with the number of people behind you to let them know how many to expect and if you are the last one in the group to hold up your fist indicating you are the last one. After these few pointers he felt I was ready to go. I on the other hand started hoping that my sled would not start and I could sit in the bar all day being a snow bunny while they went off on their adventure. Read the rest of Snowmobiling at Priest Lake »

Mind you, it isn’t that we object to supporting the Christmas tree industry, but our last two farm-grown trees cost us seventy bucks apiece. And there should be more to choosing a tree than coming home from work one afternoon, bundling everyone into the car, hustling down the road to a farm, letting someone else cut your tree (what’s that all about?), stuffing the hapless evergreen into the back of the vehicle, and hurrying home again.
No, we decided that if we could beat the snow into the woods this year, we’d rekindle a family tradition. Read the rest of Hunting Christmas Trees in Sandpoint, Idaho »

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