Sandpoint, ID

It seems like everywhere I go I hear grumblings about gas prices. And it’s all true, what people are saying. We are paying more for gas this summer than we did last summer. Good thing we weren’t planning any big trips this year, otherwise we’d have to tap into our retirement fund! Instead of a vacation this year, my family is taking a staycation! What’s a staycation, you may be asking yourself? It’s a period of time where we will stay at home and relax, explore our community, and take day trips – all within a short drive from home. We may decide to take a week off for our staycation, or we may just do it over several weekends. Here’s what we’re thinking about doing:

For local hiking – these trails aren’t more than 5 minutes from town — we’re going to try Syringa Trails and the Mickinnick Trail.

And if we feel in the mood for waterfalls or splashing in a lake, we’ll try Snow Creek Falls, Copper Creek Falls, or Antelope Lake.

When we’re ready for someone else to do the work while we relax, we’re going to do tour the lake by boat and ride the Schweitzer chairlifts.

When we’re ready for a bit of a cultural exposure, we’re going to head over to the Bird Aviation Museum. And ArtWalk sounds pretty interesting this year.

And if we want to feel like we’ve left town behind – but not all our money at the gas pump – we’ll head over to the arboretum or the Healing Garden.

Then we’ll end the day with an evening out. Martini, anyone? Hmm, maybe we’ll stay in!

Whew! It sure looks like we have plenty of things to-do. No need to go far this summer…Let the staycation begin!

P.S. We might head to Coeur d’Alene or Spokane for staycation ideas, too!