B & D's USA Hideout: Sand Point, Idaho

Our visit to Sand Point, Idaho began and ended with flying model airplanes. More about that in a minute. My good friend, Lauren Mitchell, recently moved here. She has come to visit me in several places I've lived around the country and now it was our turn to view her turf. Sand Point is on the pan handle of northern Idaho. Brian and I found an RV site at Sand Point City Beach Park which is operated by the Best Western. It was a pretty sweet deal because staying there included use of the hotel facilities such as showers, pool, sauna and hot tub, all of which we took full advantage. We spent the better part of a week here. It was nice to be settled and in a place with many amenities for a while. We got to meet several of Lauren's friends, two of which are eye doctors. Lauren's apartment is actually attached to her friend, landlord and eye doctor, Nate's, office. It is super cute.

We did quite a bit of hiking while we were in the area. Lauren, Nate, Nate's girlfriend and office manager, Jen, Brian and I kicked off the first hike to Clifty Peak in the fog. It was a long drive up the mountain and then a short hike to get to the summit. It was windy and the clouds were moving fast but we caught glimpses of the mountainous land span.

Later that night we went to a Halloween house party. Lauren was a strawberry and Brian and I dressed as a couple of our favorite characters from a gross Canadian TV show, Trailer Park Boys. No judgement please. The show is about a group of hooligans from Nova Scotia who try to make a living by pulling petty scams and selling marijuana. It's hilarious and mind numbing and it's a great show to watch while in the field or someplace remote.

Brian spent one day catching up on things around the camper and running errands. Lauren and I ventured out for hike up to Harrison Peak to see the alpine lake. We were prepared for rain, but not for snow. The higher we climbed, the more there was. But we persevered through the knee deep snow and found the lake socked in with fog. Completing the trail was rewarding on its own. It was one of those days for me, it felt important to be outside. Brian met us later at Mick Duff's brew pub and we told him of our woes and cold toes over a festive pint.

The three of us did one more hike together before leaving Idaho. We took the switchbacks up to the top of Gold Hill and found a great view of Sand Point and Pend Oreille River from above.

OK, back to flying model airplanes. One of Nate's hobbies is making these model airplanes. He's one of those guys that constantly keeps busy with projects. He does amazing work. He's extremely detailed and is self taught on most sujects and is a very interesting and a knowlegeable person to chat with. Actually all of Lauren's friends could be described in the latter part of my last statement. Anyway, the first run with flying the model T*Con ended with a busted o-ring and a punctured side. We gave it another go on the morning we headed out of town. This time was much more successful.

Lauren was an awesome tour guide and we had a great time in the state known for "Great Potatoes" (though, I don't think we actually consumed any of their spuds). Her group of friends are awesome. Nate, Jen, Danielle, Britta, Charley and Randii it was our fortune to meet and spend time with you all. Other highlights included carving pumpkins, driving around in Lauren's single cab blue mid 90's Dodge, making great meals at Lauren's pad, dinner at Charley and Randii's and surveying the local bars and restaurants. Great stop.