Festival Summary

 

Probably the best way to catch up on the happenings during past week is to incorporate the Musings newsletter put out by the resort authored by Margie Cantlon, one of the owners and wife of Chas.

Thursday, July 11, 2013­
This is the day that is dedicated to celebrating Chas’ life. 
We’ll begin that in earnest at the 4:30 patio party,
but just remember, having fun all day is a requirement!

7 AM Beginner Yoga

7:30 AM Aquacise in the warm indoor pool.

8-9:30 AM our hot breakfast ($6.50 tax included)
Eggs to order with bacon, morning glory muffins, toast, juice & coffee.
Continental breakfast ($4.50 tax included) FREE with a room

9:30 AM Nature Walk
Find out about the flora on our hiking trails with Margaret. 
She’s getting up early to take the walk before it gets too hot!

10 AM Frisbee Golf

11:30 Volleyball

11:30 AM John Mosley will discuss sunspots

Because this year is the peak of the 11-year solar cycle
there are sunspots visible every day.
(Some of them cause displays of the Northern Lights
and if we're lucky we'll see them too one clear night.)
Our resident astronomer, John Mosley will show sunspots
and do a little interpretation on the sun.
It'll be visible from the pool area -- and showing the sun for an hour;
people can wander over on their own for a peek.
If the day is overcast, we’ll reschedule for another day during the Festival.

11:30-1:30 PM Lunch
Snack Bar on the Patio
A vast array of choices for lunch!

Geoff has volunteered to help us out with
Tunes by the pool Thursday afternoon!

2 PM Shuffleboard

2 PM Jay and Lee will lead a quick dance lesson
to prepare for the DJ dance.
Meet in the lodge on the dance floor.

4:30 PM Pot Luck Patio Party
Bring what you like to drink and
A snack to share.

We will be providing beer and wine for this party.
We will also have a microphone set up
And anybody who would like to share
A story about Chas is welcome to do so.

After the patio party, Sun Meadow will provide
FREE dinner on the patio.

And after dinner, at 9 PM, the celebration will wind up with a DJ dance.
John, of recent tunes by the pool fame, has volunteered
To DJ this dance to leave Margie free to visit.

--Friday, July 12, 2013­
Morning coffee is on at 7 AM

7 AM Beginner Yoga

7:30 AM Aquacise in the warm indoor pool.

8-9:30 AM our hot breakfast ($6.50 tax included)
Bacon and egg breakfast casserole, muffins, toast, juice & coffee.
Continental breakfast ($4.50 tax included) FREE with a room

10:00 AM Pickleball

Suddenly, Pickleball is everywhere!

11:30 AM Volleyball

11:30-1:30 PM Lunch
Snack Bar on the Patio
A vast array of choices for lunch!

1:30 PM Workshop
Do you have an iPhone?
Is it as much a mystery to you as it is to me?

Look at all those apps! How do they work?
Brian Sommerfeldt, a certified young person,
Has gallantly offered to share his expertise
On the iPhone with us geezers!

John and Laurie will be joining Geoff for
Tunes by the pool Friday afternoon!

2:00 PM Bocce

4:00 PM Ping Pong on the Patio

4:30 PM a second patio party!
Bring whatever you like to drink
And something to share
And bring your friendship and conversation!

6:30 PM Soup, Salad & Homemade Bread ($7 tax included)
Taco soup, homemade bread, salad & cookies

8 PM Concert on the Stage
Tickets $12
James Lee Stanley returns to Sun Meadow

(Hooray!)

James Lee Stanley is SO much more than the “All Wood and Stones”
album he did with John Batdorf, and which they performed
on the Sun Meadow Stage last October.
"An unexpected power from the limited instruments
(Stanley plays acoustic guitar and piano)
creates rock 'n' roll that would justify rolling out the dance floor.
The more sad and sensitive expressions of the love songs
are counterbalanced by Stanley's absurdly amusing introductions..."  
-The Denver Post

--Saturday, July 13, 2013­
Morning coffee is on at 7 AM
7 AM Beginner Yoga

7:30 AM Aquacise in the warm indoor pool.

8-9:30 AM our hot breakfast ($6.50 tax included)
Morning glory muffins, eggs to order, bacon, toast, juice & coffee.
Continental breakfast ($4.50 tax included) FREE with a room

9:00 AM Frisbee Golf

10:00 AM Pickleball

11:00 AM Learn to Make a Bracelet
Meet at Val’s tent on the patio to make your own bracelet.
Cost is $5 to cover materials.

11:30 AM Volleyball

11:30-1:30 PM Lunch
Snack Bar on the Patio
A vast array of choices for lunch!

John and Laurie will be back with Goeff this weekend!
Tunes by the pool Saturday afternoon

2:00 PM Bocce

4 PM Ping Pong on the Patio

4:30 PM Another Potluck Patio Party
Bring some finger food to share
and whatever you like to drink.

6:30 PM Dinner $11 (tax included)
Marinated pork tenderloin, rice, steamed broccoli,
salad, sourdough, dessert

8 PM Concert Featuring Otter Creek
Tickets $12

Otter Creek combines folk music with old time,
sprinkles it with a seasoning of Celtic and western roots,
and produces a wonderful sound that is both unique and refreshing.
Peter sings right from the heart while, at the same time,
brings a magical musical talent to whatever instrument he picks up.
Not only does Mary have a captivating voice,
she coaxes tones from her fiddle that can only be matched
by a first chair violinist in a national acclaimed symphony.
Together they make a duo that is both a technical marvel and tastefully perfect.
These are two of the nicest people I have ever met
and two of the finest musicians America has to offer.
--Gene Bach,Siskiyou Bluegrass Show,KSYC 103.9FM, Yreka, California

-- Sunday, July 14, 2013 –
7 AM Beginner Yoga

7:30 AM Circuit Training with Terri on the Mezzanine
Morning coffee is on at 7 AM

8:30-9:30 AM our hot breakfast ($6.50 tax included)
Waffles, scrambled eggs, sausage, toast, juice & coffee
Continental breakfast ($4.50 tax included) FREE with a room

11:30 AM
Community Garden meeting

Brian and Tracy want to work with any folks interested in
planting and caring for a community garden out by the tennis-court-to-be.
Meet in the dining room at 11:30 and the will take it from there.

11:30-1:30 PM Lunch
Snack Bar on the Patio
A vast array of choices for lunch!

 

3 PM FREE Concert on the Pool Deck
Strangled Darlings

This will be a fun one!

Led by multi-instrumentalists George Veech and Jessica Anderly,
Strangled Darlings are a quickly becoming
one of the brightest lights in the galaxy of musicians
that populate their hometown of Portland, Oregon.
The group's tunes are a spirituous and devilish attempt
to bring the folk/country/jazz world back to its roots
as a bawdy, political, and tuneful mix of low and high art.

6:30 PM Our $6/Free Famous Potluck
Bring something and it’s free
or bring $6 and it’s guilt free

Keeping the pools and hot tub clean plus running the outdoor lunch and all of the other activities kept us quite busy throughout the festival.

Yesterday I spent the day fine tuning on the Wi-Fi system throughout the RV and tenting areas.

Today will be catching up on chores in the coach and at our site. Thunderstorms are forecasted for tonight.

Weather permitting, a bike ride to Harrison for Huckleberry ice cream is on the agenda for tomorrow.

The Festival Is Off and Running

 

Chas, one of the owners and who recently passed away, coined the term “Skin to the Wind. The festival has been an annual and popular event. Chas requested that a party be held instead of a funeral when he died. So this year’s Festival is honoring his request and his life.

Wednesday’s start was a little slow but RVs streamed in the late afternoon as well guests for the hotel rooms. This year’s festival’s attendance surpassed the previous years as many are making a special effort to celebrate Chas’s life.

The Festival kicked-off on Wednesday with a concert featuring TR Ritchie who was a close friend of Chas.

TR Ritchie goes from a busking at Pike Street Market to kicking it at Kerrville, Napa and Walnut Valley, this unreconstructed folkie sounds like the folk music we'd have been listening to all along. Ritchie writes plays and sings with heart and conviction and an innocence that you wouldn't expect from someone that's been around a few rough and competitive blocks. A dreamer with at least seven toes on the ground, Ritchie is a very solid link on a very solid folkie chain that somehow manages to command your attention without demanding it.

TR Ritchie

Both Raija and I have been kept busy helping out. The large crowd has meant extra effort to keep the pools and hot tub clean. Both of us start preparing for the patio lunch bar at 10:30. The lunch bar opens at 11:30 and closes at 1:30. Cleanup takes another 45 minutes or so. Strider keeps us company at the lunch bar. Two-K, (born in 2000) and Strider luck out in sharing hot dogs, turkey burgers and hamburgers that gets a little too well done on the grill.

Concerts and dancing occupy the evenings so we have been kept busy these past four days. Today is the last day of the festival so hopefully this week I will be able to catch up on the blog.

Bummer–No Huckleberry Ice Cream

 

This morning we made the 18 mile trip from Heyburn boat launch state park to Harrison. The main objective at Harrison of course was the Huckleberry ice cream at the Creamery.

Preparing to depart the boat ramp parking area by the Coeur d’Alene Trail

 
Boat houses at the Heyburn Park

Along the way we encountered a pond with red flowers in bloom on the lily pads that are floating on the pond. Sorry for the burry image, I still have problems taking pictures with the IPod.

Lilly Pond

We arrived at Harrison only to discover that the Creamery was closed. They had run completely out of ice cream over the holiday weekend. Lesson learned, do not peddle your ass all the way to Harrison on a Monday, much less a Monday after a long weekend as most likely the Creamery will be closed.

Since it was now noon, we decided to have some lunch in place of ice cream. We chose the marina. It was not too bad of a substitute, Raija had a cheese quesadilla and I had a hot dog with onion rings.

Lunch at the marina

Harrison Marina

All is Quiet and Peaceful in Paradise

 

All is quiet and peaceful in paradise. It never did reach 100 degrees as forecasted. The highest temperature reached during the hot spell was 91 F. The last two days we didn’t even have to run the air conditioner in the coach. We are now back to near normal temperatures of low fifties at night and low eighties during the day.

I how have Wi-Fi working throughout the RV and tent areas. It still requires a little fine tuning which I will get back to on Tuesday. Monday will be a bike ride on the Coeur d’Alene trail to Harrison for Huckleberry ice cream cones.

Yesterday we indulged in the seafood buffet at the Coeur d’Alene Casino. The casino is just a few miles from the RV Park. We both over ate on Alaskan Snow Crab legs, oysters, shrimp and deserts.

The resort had its traditional 4^th of July fireworks display. Strider actually seemed to enjoy it. He sat in Raija’s lap and looked at sky bursts.

Strider enjoys his walks with Raija except for the trails in the forest. After one trail walk, he now refuses to go on the trail again. Maybe some scent on the trail spook him.

Just Another Day in Paradise

 

Today was only 91 degrees, not too bad, especially with the outdoor pool at 84 degrees. Tomorrow is still forecasted to be a little warmer, than the daily highs should trend back towards normal, low eighties. The nights are in the low sixties.

I was a little worried that that yesterday’s  BBQ boneless, pork ribs had turned out to be a little on the too spicy side for the north people here. However there was not a one left so they must have been okay even through the chilies that I used were a little on the warm side.

Today was mostly spent on installing the new outdoor Wi-Fi repeater. Hopefully we will be able to finish that task tomorrow. By the time we got it up on the roof of the lodge, it was too hot to go into the attic to run the CAT 5 cable and power.

Celebrating with our Friends from the North, well almost

 

Yesterday did not get as warm as predicted. Around 5:00 AM we woke to the sound of thunder. We scrambled to cover the things outside. It was chilly enough that it woke us up to the point where we stayed up and started the day.

There was enough cloud cover that the daytime temperature stayed below the mid-80s.

This weekend was

Celebrate With Our Friends to the North

The idea was that Canadians would spend the weekend here at resorts on the U.S. side of the border and later in the summer the Americans would spend a weekend at Canadian resorts. The problem is that Calgary to the north of us was flooded as well as many of the Canadian highways. The result was that only one Canadian was able to make it to our resort.

All was not lost through as the resort was fairly full of locals coming from Coeur d’Alene and Spokane as well as the summer RVers, such as ourselves, that are here for the summer. I should point out that it is still early in the season here and many of the RV people are just starting to arrive.

Saturday we enjoyed our first concert of the summer.

Montana Skies

Montana Skies is classical guitar & cello

It turns out that they met at University of Georgia in Athens where I worked. Of course it was after my time. They went on to study music in Bozeman, Montana.

"...rambling across a map of influences from American folk and Arabic music to jazz, flamenco and pop. And Montana Skies' unrelenting tour schedule is geared toward taking this harmonious hybrid to the masses." - Atlanta Journal Constitution

"A wide reaching..and rocking duo...with wondrous eclecticism and dynamic sound "
- HONEST TUNE MAGAZINE-The Southern Journal of Jam

"Their first piece elicited a standing ovation, one of many throughout the evening. Their virtuosity left the audience exhilarated and wanting more." - Pat Crawford, host, WUWF RADIO LIVE

"The buzz these talented musicians created will give our series an enormous boost. ...reminds us of the power and magic of a live performance."
- Morrison Center for the Performing Arts, Boise, ID

"Your show last evening here in Macon was outstanding...What incredible musicians and the creativity of your performance was stellar. And the chemistry between you was palpable..." - Richard & Roz, GA

"...amazing technique and mastery of the guitar and cello in a seemingly effortless fashion..." - Director, Glema Mahr Center for the Arts

"The duo moved smoothly from classic to ...popular melodies, giving everything their signature touch and confidence. Bravo to the concert association for finding this wonderful team." - Valley City Times, Valley City, ND

Indeed their first piece gave rise to a standing ovation. It was one of the best concerts that we have attended here.

Today, Sunday, was a busy day. First problem was that the Wi-Fi was up and down all day yesterday and then failed altogether last night. So the first priority this morning was to get it back up and running. That took about an hour. Next was the daily pool maintenance. By the time those chores were completed, it was time to setup the outdoor lunch BBQ and get ready to cook hamburgers, hot dogs, chili, turkey burgers and veggie-burgers. It was our practice run at running the outdoor lunch for the big festival “Skin to the Wind”, coming up in a couple of weeks.

Tonight is the Sunday Pot Luck dinner, so by the time lunch was over, it was time to start smoking the boneless pork ribs that will be our contribution for tonight’s dinner. The full recipe, overnight marinated ribs with my version of homemade Kansas City rub, smoke ribs for two hours, then put ribs in crockpot with BBQ sauce and Hatch New Mexico green chilies.

 

 

The Heat is Catching up to us

 

It looks as if the heat may be catching up with us here in the northwest. The forecasted highs for Sunday through most of the coming week are 100 to 102. The nights are forecasted to be the mid 50’s to 60’s.

Since we have been here, we had to the run the heat every night. Last night the heat still came on but now we are running the A/C in the motor home. Outside temperature is 90.

This morning Raija ventured out on the Coeur d’Alene trail.  She even went over the bridge and back. In all we did about seven miles.

We purchased an Idaho State Park annual pass for $40. That covers the parking fee at Heyburn State Park. We can now join the trail at Chatcolet Trail Head which is only a few miles from the RV Resort. At that point the trail is fairly level all the way to Harrison where the Ice Cream Creamery Store is. The annual pass is valid for all Idaho’s State Parks. The parking fee at the Chatcolet Trail Head parking lot is $5. Eight times out on the trail from there and we will recover the $40 for the annual pass. Of course that means I will have to have at least seven more Huckleberry ice cream cones.

I still have to come up with a way to mount the video camera to the bike.

The Coeur d’Alene Trail

 

After several days and nights of rain, the sky finally cleared on Saturday, June 22^nd.

Terry, one of the RV Resort’s owners organized a 21 mile bike trip on the Coeur d’Alene Tail.

The Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes bike path follows the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way from Mullan, a mountain mining town near the Montana border, to Plummer, a town on the prairie near the Washington border. More than 71 miles of paved path takes one from high mountain splendor, through the historic Silver Valley, into the chain of lakes region, along the shore of Lake Coeur d'Alene, over the Chatcolet Bridge to Heyburn State Park, and finally climbs to the Palouse prairie. It was created through a unique partnership between the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, Union Pacific Railroad, the U. S. Government, and the State of Idaho.

Coeur d’Alene Trail

The trail is not only a recreational facility, but also a solution to environmental problems left behind by Idaho's mining industry. Silver was discovered in the valley around 1884, and a rail line was built to access the mines around 1888. Much of the rock in the railbed was either waste rock from mines, or tailings containing heavy metals. The railbed was also contaminated with spillage from passing trains. To remedy these environmental problems, the Union Pacific Railroad, U.S. Government, the State of Idaho, and the Coeur d'Alene Tribe partnered to build a trail. The thick asphalt and the gravel barriers on the sides of the trail serve as a permanent cap to isolate contaminants from the surrounding environment.

We started at the trailhead in Plummer, ID to Harrison, ID, 15 miles. In Harrison we treated ourselves to large waffle ice cream cones at the Creamery. I had my favorite, Huckleberry.

Downtown Harrison

We then made our way back, seven miles, to the Heyburn State Park boat launch where we were picked up and returned to the RV Park.

Trail Alongside Coeur d’Alene Lake

Asphalt now covers the old railroad bed

It was somewhat of an overcast day so the pictures and video did not turn out all that well.

Raija did not feel that she was up to a 21 mile trip and remained in the RV Park with Strider. The trail from the boat ramp to Harrison is fairly flat, except for the bridge over the lake, so we will be practicing on that part of the trail to build up our stamina for longer rides.

The bridge is the original railroad bridge. It was a swinging bridge to allow boat passage. When the railroad bed was converted to the bike trail, the ramps were added to raise the swinging portion of the bridge to a height high enough for boats passage. The bridge no longer swings open.

Old Railroad Swinging Bridge

Ramp leading to bridge is stair stepped

Looking across the lake from the trail

Homes along the lakeshore

I will need to come up with a way to rig the video camera to the bike so I can capture the view as seen from the bike.

The forecast for today and tomorrow is overcast skies, rain and possible thundershowers. Today’s low was 49. The forecasted high is 65. By the weekend we should be back to clear skies and into the low 80s.