Always Something

Pend Oreille Lake from the Bay Trail

Last month I did something to my foot that made walking pretty painful. My efforts to "fix" it on my own weren't coming along too well so I asked my nurse practitioner what might be going on and how I could make it better. My worst fear was that I'd have to immobilize it right at the time of year when I wanted to be out on the trails. The good news is that much of what I was already doing was right, I got some additional suggestions that have helped, and he did NOT want me to be immobilized, but keep up my exercise. "You're just gonna have to dust off your bike and start riding it - that would be great for your foot," he said. Well, that would be a bit difficult as I left my bike at the Goodwill in Tacoma, WA when we moved out to Wisconsin. "Well then," he said, "you're just gonna have to get in your car and drive over to the Bay trail to get your walks in - no extended walking on hard surfaces." That's exactly what I'd been thinking to do, so this is one prescription that's not hard to swallow!

It takes less than ten minutes to drive to the trailhead and I coordinate with an errand or too to feel less guilty about the drive. (I used to give my mother-in-law a hard time about driving to a walking trail rather than walk her neighborhood.) It really is one of the best places to walk when the weather is hot, as it was for a bit last week. This view shows some foundations from the big lumber mill that stood for many years on this sight, before the water levels were controlled by a dam. I think I'd like to try painting this view in one of my sketchbooks, although I don't know if I'm brave enough to set up my stool along the trail to do it. There's always quite a few people using this trail and I'm still practicing my watercolor skills. I may just paint in the comfort of my home using the picture for reference.

I DO like some variety though, and one day last week revisited a park in another part of town near where I was taking care of some business. Another hot day but this park has lots of trees, gravel paths and some cooling breezes off the water. It also abuts Memorial Field which is where the school plays its football games, but is used for a variety of non-school events as well. The biggest is perhaps The Festival at Sandpoint, 8 concerts held over two long weekends. (View a local newscast feature here.) This year's headliner was Jackson Brown, but there were other equally well-known groups as well as a few lesser known ones. I opted not to go this year, and was saddened to hear they had started using metal detectors at the gates. As a general rule, I feel pretty safe here in this small town, but I will admit there are plenty of people totin' guns, Idaho gun laws being pretty lax in my opinion. What a sorry sign of our times that performers would require something like this in their contracts, but on the other hand, you can hardly blame them. Too many gun owners honestly believe they might be the hero someday. And too many people with mental problems can get their hands on guns.

Ok, stepping off the soap box now to give you a peak over the fence where you can just see the stage with its distinctive tent. The back of grandstands is visible on the left and where I've sat in the past, but many people set up lawn chairs and blankets on the grass between the grandstands and the stage. Festival indeed! The truly "cheap seats" are in the park outside the fence, where people often come to listen to the music, even if they can't see the performers or have access to the food vendors.

Using a cheap camera phone here so you can't really see the details but on top of that pole is an osprey nest, a rather famous osprey nest. It has its own live webcam, and when the lights were upgraded back in 2011, they made sure the osprey nest here was moved to a nesting platform atop a new lighting standard. Yeah, the people in the area made sure no one messed with those ospreys!

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Some days I really don't want to take the time to drive to the trailhead or another park so make the quick trip to the little park on my walking route. I have to make a few more trips around it plus walk the whoops on the bike part to get my mile in, but I can vary the route enough to keep it interesting. I especially enjoy when the library puts up a new story on the story walk, a special trail in the park that winds among some tall trees. This particular story cracked me up and I am delighted to share a few pages of it with you. You can also watch this video. 

And so we carry on, putting a positive spin on a temporary hiccup, thankful it has given me an extra push to get back on some trails and into some different parks, doubly thankful it is something that already is getting better.