RN: Our Airbnb is within a short walking distance of Sand Point, so, in the morning I go for a jog to see what is where. The first place I (literally) run into is City Beach Park, which is on Pend Oreille (another difficult to pronounce French name that means “Ear Lobe” because that’s what the shape of the lake looks like- look it up). It’s a beautiful park with gorgeous, well-maintained beaches on its shores and free parking- what a treat for the community! Here is the marina in the park.

Here is the gorgeous beach with not a soul in site at 9:00 am.

The shore of Lake Pend Oreille, the largest lake in Idaho (43 miles long) was the site of summer encampments by the Salish tribes, the Kalispel and Kootenai (Wiki). In the late 1800’s, Sandpoint became the focal point of the building of the Northern Pacific Railway because it is on a narrow neck of the lake so it was a natural place for the railway to cross the lake rather than trying to build it over any of the 3 nearby mountain ranges (plaque at the park). The section of the railway across the panhandle of Idaho and down into Oregon and Washington was built by 4000 Chinese laborers, which constituted 50% of the workforce. Thanks to the railway, Sandpoint’s economy thrived but, in the early days it was known as a bad ass, rough town (noted by Teddy Roosevelt). Now, it is a bright blue spot in the middle of a deep red state- the county has banned discrimination on the basis of gender, race or sexual orientation (OMG- sorry for mentioning politics!!). It is now a huge hub for tourism that still maintains its charm.

Below is a photo of a BNSF train on the bridge across the lake.

Curiously, the park also has a mini- Statue of Liberty. No explanation on a plaque was there.

Take no Bull!! Not a political slogan, but a command to fisherpeople in the area not to take in bull trout.

Another bridge holds this impressive two story shopping mall…

Lotsa cute toys! Can’t wait to have a grandson (Midori is due mid-September)!!

On to Darwin’s ranch in Sagle where Darwin shows us around on a 1 hour hike around the beautiful property (Darwin has the straw hat).

At the top of the ridge, there is a wonderful view of the Pend Oreille River…

And we get greeted by a bald eagle sitting on a branch only about 40 yards from us…

And here is Felix, uncharacteristically drinking a glass of water (whaaat?) on the deck of Darwin’s gorgeous house.

FE: In my defense, I was thirsty after the hike. One interesting fact to mention (sorry, no pics). Lori, see previous post, is traveling with three sheep-herding border collies to the national championships in Virginia, all together in a bad-ass Ford F-250. What an adventure. Good luck, dogs and Lori…may you draw obedient sheep!