What We Did
MT-->ID
We're at the stage of the trip where a 6 hour drive really doesn't feel like much. By now, our pre-drive packing routine has become almost second-nature, and the drives themselves fly by. We left Belgrade Sunday morning and drove I-90 pretty much the whole way to Sandpoint, stopping briefly in Helena and Coeur d'Alene along the way.
Sandpoint
Our Sandpoint house was called the Comfy Bear Cabin, due to having bear stuff ALL over the place. It was a small, modern A-Frame on the edge of town, right across from the lumber yard and the railroad tracks. The whole block was full of similarly-styled houses, probably all Airbnbs as well. Sandpoint might be the smallest stand-alone town we stayed in so far (Belgrade might've been smaller, but was so close to Bozeman that it felt like part of the area. Sandpoint, on the other hand, is the largest city in the county). Our house, on the outskirts of the town, was about a mile or so from the downtown area. The town is on the shores of Lake Pend d'Oreille (pronounced Ponderay, as we found out embarassingly late), a huge lake that was barren and low in the winter. The beach areas were deserted, but we would imagine it would be a beautiful area in the summer. Downtown was surprisingly large and lively. There were dozens of bars and restaurants, shops, and a public market on a bridge over the river. A lot of the bars had live music, and people seemed to be regulars at their chosen spots. We visited several breweries while we were there, but also were suprised to see a number of wine bars offering wines from Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. On one day, we saw a juvenile Moose walking the sidewalks of the mains street. It seemed to been there before - it knew right where the entrance to the bakery was, and used the sidewalks and crosswalks appropriately. It was completely unphased by the people and cars, and some of the people seemed completely unphased by the Moose as well. Not surprising, given that there were several Moose murals on buildings throughout the town.
Skiing
Schweitzer Mountain was a big as a Colorado mountain, but had the local and small feel of a Vermont mountain. We were grateful that the mountain was only 20 minutes or so from our house, a blink of an eye compared to our last ski destinations. The first day was snowing hard (blizzard conditions) and our car couldn't make it up the steep winding road. After pushing and rocking the car out of the ice, we turned around and carefully made our way back down the mountain to a shuttle lot at the bottom. The shuttle drivers seemed to be experts at mastering the hill - no issue getting up or down. The base was small, and given the conditions, was nearly deserted. There were two lifts at the base, and you couldn't see the top of either of them. We didn't explore too much of the mountain because of this - the wind and snow made it impossible to see, especially towards the summit. Still, we enjoyed really good tree skiing in very deep powder.
Grace took a day off during the week to go back to the mountain. It was a much clearer day, with even less people than before. She got to explore every area of the mountain. The snow was great, and the sun came out a few times to reveal the million-dollar view of Lake Pend d'Oreille in the second half of the day.
Thoughts
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Sandpoint felt like a mix of Montana and the PNW. The weather, trees, and lumberjacks were remniscent of Washington, but the sparse population and big open space reminded us of Montana.
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We were surpised how big and lively the downtown was, given the population of the community. Definitely the most bars-per-capita of any place we've visited yet.
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We were really impressed by Schweitzer mountain - recently added to the Ikon pass, it still has it's local charm. There are plans to expand and modernize the mountain with more lifts, runs, lodges, parking lots, etc, so it'll be interesting to see how the mountain changes for better or worse in the next few years.
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Although everyone was friendly and welcoming, the locals generally kept to themselves. Sort of a small-town version of the Seattle Freeze effect.
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Consistent with the reputation of the area, we did have a few racist experiences here. Despite this, there seemed to be at least some progressivism in the town - there were enough younger or newer residents that there were a few "Idaho Rejects Hate" signs in the windows of homes and businesses.
Favorites
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Cedar Street Bridge Public Market - A cozy collection of shops and cafes on an indoor bridge over the river, right in downtown.
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Miller's Country Store - A quaint country store run by German Mennonites that had had local groceries, goods, and sandwiches. We messed up by not coming here sooner.
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The Forge Artisan Pizza - Creative neapolitan pizzas
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113 Main - A higher-end restaurant with Ratatouille, Duck ragu, and awesome cocktails.
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Mickduff's Brewing - A large brewery located in an old county building.
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Pend d'Oreille Winery - The tasting room and HQ of the local winery.