Snowshoeing on Canfield

I went snowshoeing on Canfield Mountain. At the end of Shadduck Lane, there is a great trailhead in the middle of a really nice neighborhood- Canfield Park. What a place to live- in town conveniences and an incredible trail right outside your door. Snowshoeing is so much fun, great exercise  and (my favorite) no skill required.

View from Canfield above Coeur d'Alene. Awesome vista!

Here is my motley crew- Travis, Sue and Anna. A very in shape group- I had to chase them up the mountain. My excuse is that my boots didn't fit but these are some serious runners that I probably couldn't have kept up with anyways.

Let it Snow!

Finally, it has been snowing for two days and we have about a foot of snow. Goodbye ice skates and Hello snowshoes! (Unless you shovel off the snow, ice skating doesn't work very well)  I am hoping that I will finally get to try my friend Sue's new running snowshoes but I think I better let her break them in first.
The first heavy snow of the year means that all the snow plows and snow blowers are out working to get our cars on the road. My neighbor Art has already had the luxury of getting stuck at the bottom of his driveway. Luckily, he had neighbors at his house at the time to help.This is the time of year that neighbors become really important as they help each other out. As the great Babs sings "People who need people are the luckiest people in the world." 
With the snow is the fervent hope of  children all over this snowy country- "Please, let it be a snow day tomorrow!!!"

Here is my only picture of the snow.  I risked driving on skinny little private unplowed roads in my big truck to go see this house over by the Hayden Lake Country Club. Reminds me of Frank Lloyd Wright style with it's flat roof and 50's styling (built in '51). Sorry it is not a better picture but it was really snowing!

Ice Skating

The trail of a skater on Fernan Lake.

With very little snow and relatively warm weather, one winter sport was great last weekend! We skated all weekend on both Fernan Lake and Hayden Lake in the North side at  Sportsman's access. Both places had ice fishermen at their holes which gave us the confidence to venture out on the ice. We could see open water on Hayden which made us a bit nervous so we stayed far away from that. On Fernan, the whole lake was frozen, clear and great skating! As the temperature lowered, the ice started cracking and making a lot of noise. It is so scary  to be above frozen water and have the ice snap, crackle and pop below your feet. We knew it was safe but it still makes your heart jump.

Steve and the dogs getting ready to enjoy the ice on Hayden Lake.

 

 

I really did skate and the miracle is that I didn't break anything!

Tubbs Hill

Tubbs Hill

Happiest Place on Earth (Sorry Disneyland!)

Tubbs Hill is 135 acres of trails and woods right in the middle of CDA. Park at the 3rd Street dock parking lot (East side of the Resort) and start hiking.Leave the town behind and enjoy the bliss of the trails and the wonderful views of the lake. As soon as you leave sight of the resort, you can forget that you are still in town. The main trail loops the hill and is about two miles long. You can avoid the heavier traveled outer trail and head straight up the hill for a more woodsy experience. There are popular swimming beaches on the South side. The hill is also a very popular place to watch the 4th of July fireworks. If you like to run, the main trail is a great hill repeat workout. Remember - "go easy on the downhills and save the knees" (Tribute to Mike Bundy- NIC's famous X country coach). All these pictures are from January in our extraordinarily dry winter of 2012.

The Main Trail- Watch those Rocks!

Here is a view from the west side- you can only see a glimpse of the resort boardwalk as all the man-made CDA starts to disappears from view.

The Upper trail at sunset

Invest or not invest- that is the question.

Investment Properties

Just some history on why and how I got into Real  Estate.  My Uncle Cecil had a car dealership in Nampa when I was growing up. He told me that he made more money selling the land that was under the dealership than he ever did selling cars. That stuck with me. My husband, Steve and I built a warehouse in partnership with our friends. We sold hot sauce on our side and they sold rubber stamps on their side. We eventually bought them out and use it as a rental since we now drop ship the hot sauce.

Dawn and I in the groundbreaking ceremony:

In floor heat- ain't it cool?

The building today with a link to details

Biking in Farragut State Park on January 7th. 

Went biking at Farragut yesterday. My toes froze but it was a great ride. Can you believe how warm it has been? I dislocated my shoulder on my last ride so I stuck to the Lynx trails (easy)  while the teenaged boys took off and rode the more difficult trails. Mollie, my Boston Terrier, ran with me. 

Farragut State Park is 4,000 acres north of Coeur d' Alene on Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced ponderay).  It was the home of the Farragut Naval Training Center during WWII and Idaho's largest city at that time. My step dad attended basic training there and has attended numerous reunions at the park. They even had German prisoners of war at the camp who later attended the reunions. Although cold and remote, it must have been pretty sweet to be that far away from the action. 

Biking, X-country sking, hiking, disc golfing, camping, swimming, and boating are some of the things to do here.

 The best Cross county race (Junior High and High School running)  is at  this park although it is threatened due to the park's (and the nation's) budget problems. Here is a picture of Goat Hill from the race and me trying to shove my bike up it. It is really steep- I can barely hike up it and feel sorry for the kids racing up it but they don't seem to mind.

Start of the New Year

While the idea of this being the last year is scary or weird, it can also be exciting to have the motivation to live each day to the fullest. Bring it on - 2012. I am ready for new adventures!