This morning we left Glacier on our way to Sandpoint ID.
Our first stop was in Libby Montana at Diannas Diner for the lunch special of 1/2 turkey sandwich and home made chicken wild rice soup followed by chocolate nut bar (ice cream) for desert. Tom wanted a diner and boy did we get one!!! We even treated ourselves to Diet Coke !!!
A couple of years ago, my sister and her husband Chuck decided to move to Sandpoint Idaho. We have not been to see them in their new home and decided to use this as a perfect opportunity to visit on our way home from Glacier National Park.
Next stop Bonners Ferry- just a super cute town on the way to Sandpoint!! and who would’ve known? In the local consignment store, we found a cookie press that will work for making our families traditional Cuccidati Christmas cookies!.
My cousins can’t seem to find them anymore (even on EBAY) and we are so lucky to find one at the store!!!
First a bit of History on Sandpoint:
Before Sandpoint officially became a village in 1901 and a city in 1907, it was part of the home of the Kalispel Tribe of Native Americans. Their ancestral lands extended across all of Priest and Pend Oreille Lakes, up the Pend Oreille River into Canada, and as far east as Montana. Northwest Company fur trader David Thompson was one of the first settlers to establish a relationship with tribes, including the Kalispel, and helped establish fur trading in the area in 1809. Northern Pacific Railroad surveyors arrived in the area in 1880, attracting a few permanent settlers. That same year, Robert Weeks opened a general store in what was then called Pend Oreille, the little settlement that sprouted up on the east side of Sand Creek opposite the present Sandpoint City site. By 1882, Northern Pacific began building the stretch of railroad that ran between Montana and the tiny community of Pend Oreille. The settlement grew slowly over the next decade, during which time its name was changed to Sandpoint.
Sandpoint is the largest city in the county seat of Bonner county Idaho. Its population was 8639 at the 2020 census. Mostly it is a lake and ski resort town for Schweitzer Mountain Ski resort, Idaho’s largest.
Sandpoint lies on the shores of Idaho’s largest lake, 43-mile-long Lake Pend Oreille, and is surrounded by three major mountain ranges, the Selkirk, Cabinet, and Botterroot range. Among other distinctions awarded by national media in the past decade, in 2011 Sandpoint was named the nation’s “Most Beautiful Small Town” by Rand McNally and USA Today.
Joann and Chuck have been in Sandpoint for three winters thus far. They have built a beautiful home in the mountains on their acreage. They have been such kind hosts to us welcoming us to their home and showing us the town of Sandpoint. We started our tour first with a walk around their property- initially we did not see any deer- but they have plenty of frogs!! Of course their dog Finley was much loved and so fun to walk with! We also got to go on hike in their neighborhood open land trust park “Pine Street Woods”.
Saturday we enjoyed a wonderful boat ride on “Lake Pend Oreille” their local lake. Joann introduced me to her duck friends who swiftly swam up to their boat when they saw her and her treats arriving in the cove. We saw the beautiful homes around the lake and the amazing “long bridges” for the plethora of trains that pass thru Sandpoint.
We had an amazing outdoor dinner at Trinity, a lakeside restaurant in town. We have enjoyed such quiet nights and in their home- such a difference from our “big city” neighborhood.
Later in the afternoon we drove up to “Schweitzer Mountain Resort” What beautiful views of the lake and area around. We were able to walk around the ski village and see the development of the surrounding ski area.
suannschutt 
Good afternoon, What wonderful photos. Can you believe that you and Tom have seen so many wonders of this country. And you only took a small section to enjoy thoroughly. Thank you for sharing I was thinking today about your many recent adventures. In Asia or India, the treasures were magnificent. All the gold in temples. the skill of the people over the centuries. Yet what you are seeing are natural wonders, temples of nature. all gifts to us from a loving creator. Oh, how blessed we are. Even if it just Mt Hamilton, what a wonder to enjoy if we only take the time to slow down. Wishing you and Tom blessing and safety for the remainder of the trip Thank you Sr Patrick Mary PS Have been laid up for almost a week with a strain of the gluteal muscle. On a walker and very slow improvement. It hurts.