Best. Fall. Ever.

I am loving this weather! The bike rides and the hikes have been glorious and I am so glad to live in the Coeur d'Alene area. On Columbus Day, Steve and I rode our bikes from Hayden down to the east end of the North Idaho Centennial Trail. Check out this view!

Higgins Point at the End of the Centennial Trail

 The Centennial Trail goes from Higgins Point (our destination) along the shoreline and then through Coeur d'Alene (we stopped for lunch at Bakery by the Lake) to the Washington border and to Spokane (not quite infinity) and beyond for a grand total of  60 miles. On the Idaho side, there are some tricky places (mostly in Post Falls)  but the governing foundation is working on them.When I moved up here in 1987, I really missed Boise's Greenbelt Trail System. Someone must have heard my heart's desires because that is the year that the gears started moving on this project. Thank you - North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation! www.northidahocentennialtrail.org

Steve on his recumbent bike on the the Higgins Point hill

Hayden Canyon (Not Farragut anymore!) Cross Country Meet

It is Cross Country season again so this Momma is happy!  Cross Country was my sport in school and I am loving watching my kiddo run.
This is a picture from the Coeur d'Alene High School's Invitational meet at the sit of the proposed Hayden Canyon Development. This project has been approved by the city of Hayden but not started yet due to the economy and therefore is still undeveloped property. It was really nice of the owners to let us use the land and it took a lot of hard work from the parents and coaches to put it together.
The back story is that the CDA High's Invitational meet has been held at Farragut State Park for over 20 years. This was a great tradition and a favorite of high school cross country runners over the years. Most cross country races are on golf courses or in grassy parks and the Farragut meet was always a cut above in terms of the variety of terrain and the beauty of the location.
Due to the new emphasis on the state parks' having to support themselves, the fees were increased until the school could no longer afford to host the meet at this spectacular location. This is a real shame considering that A) both the school and the park are state entities, B) the meet is in September when the park is basically empty, and C) the park collects parking fees from all the parents that show up to watch their kids run.
I understand the need to balance the state budget but hope someone in the state park administration will wake up and revisit their fee schedule for high school events such as this meet. A resource like Farragut is too great to put out of our children's reach.

Bike to Work Week

The 2012 Coeur d'Alene Bike to Work Week T-Shirt

It's Bike to Work Week and the weather has been gorgeous! This has not been the case for the last few years and it was hard to motivate people to ride to work when it is raining. Since getting involved in BTWW a few years ago, this is the first year that I am actually in town and have an office outside my house. I still have not been able to participate fully due to conflicts in my schedule but the two days that I was able to bike to work were glorious. Sure, I showed up sweaty and disheveled with helmet hair but my office mates were understanding and supportive and the restroom worked well as a changing room. I even showed property on my bike. The most important lesson that I learned from riding to work this week that I feel great after the ride and that is the absolute best way to start my day.
The week is not over- there is a moonlight ride tonight (5/18) at Vertical Earth in Riverstone at 9pm. The ride is 20 miles round trip from Vertical Earth to Higgins Point along the lake shore following the Centennial Trail. Bring a light. On Saturday is the Roots Pursuit where participants will compete in a team bicycle event consisting of a series of challenges located throughout downtown Coeur d'Alene. The games start at 10:00 am and the BTWW awards ceremony will be noon complete with raffles.
The whole point to this week is to encourage people to choose bikes over cars as much as possible. Remember every time you choose to ride instead of drive - it mean more money in your pocket in less $ spent on gas and wear and tear on your car and  One Less Car polluting our air.
If you have any questions on the safest routes around town, give me a call at 762-3367. The best way to enjoy your ride is to stay away from the high traffic roads and take advantage of the trail systems.

Bloomsday! Oh what a glorious day!

Photo by Jesse Tinsley- Spokesman Review

For me, this what Bloomsday is all about- not the winners but the people with the hoses, the bands, the spectators that cheer us on, the crazy costumes, lots of water stations, and last but not least- all the other runners.  It's a very big party that I get to go to once a year. This was the 36st annual race and 47,882 runners crossed that finish line. I started running this race back in 1978 when my coach at North Idaho College took his long distance runners to the 2nd annual race. There were only 7,800 but it was the biggest race that I had ever been in and the next year it grew to 12,000. I have the T-shirts and the memories of many races (no, I am not sure how many) and I loved them all.  A favorite was when my brother came from Germany and my mom and my daughter Samantha joined me in the race. My brother raced and the three generations of women just had fun being together while we walked the course.
Yesterday, my son Thomas and I ran- not together - he finished in about an hour and I took half again as long. The weather was great (mid 40's to 60's) and I have a new dark blue T-shirt and had a great time. One of things that I love about living in the Coeur d'Alene area is Spokane. It is close enough (30 miles) to go to for special events but far enough away that I feel like I live in a small town. After the race, we saw The Advengers movie in Imax and 3D- something that we can't do in CDA -it was the cherry on top of a brilliant day!

Hauser Lake Summer Home

After the gorgeous day yesterday in which I sat in the sun soaked bleachers for two hours waiting to watch my Tom run the mile (he did okay and got inspired because he knew he could do better, YES!); today, it is snowing. Get the picture? A little taste of spring and then wham, some more winter. On this gloomy day, this picture of a 786 sf summer cabin in Hauser Lake comes on my computer screen with its tantalizing promise of summer heat and a lake to go with it.
This is an approved short sale with a price of $70,700. Approved means that the bank has given the price an okay so the process should be short (unlike unapproved short sales which can take 6 months).
The view is a block away. (Sorry, no lake view from the
house in this price range.)

How is your weather today and where does it make you want to be?

Further proof of market turn around

    I looked at a 4 bedroom/ 2 bath house in Post Falls yesterday. It was a great house at 2500 square feet in fairly good shape. I had a leasing agent in Boise tell me that this the size of house that is in great demand right now so I was very interested. It was a short sale that had just come back on the market after the previous contract fell through. Good house, great buy. As of this morning, there are 3 offers on it- two are all cash buyers with no contingencies-not even inspections. Cash is King. Multiple offers are getting more and more common as the market heats up. Did I get into this business at a good time or what??

Have we hit bottom?

Flowers on Saturday, Snow on Tuesday

There are signs of Spring in spite of the snow last night.  Just like our goofy weather, the real estate market is changing for the better but in an uneven path. In 2011, the number of houses sold were up but the prices were down when compared to 2010. Nationally, the change from January 2012 to February 2012 was the opposite-number of sales were down but the  prices were up. Here in Kootenai County, both the sales and the prices were up.. The biggest question on everyone's mind is "When are we going to hit bottom?" I do now proclaim- I think we are there. (Risky, I know but note the weasel word- think)
The first sign was the increase of rental rates. All those people that moved in with roommates or Mom & Dad are moving back out on their own. (Did you hear all that celebrating?) With this increase in the  number of renters and few new buildings due to the banks' pull back on construction loans, the rental market went from high vacancy rates to low. As a result, the  landlords have started raising rents. With higher rents, multifamily properties have been able to demand higher sales prices since the value of this type of real estate is more influenced by the income generated than the single family market. So... rates are low and rents are up-now all those renters who have been hesitating to get into the market are seeing that it is cheaper to buy than it is to rent.
I want to buy now while prices are still low! Let me know if you see anything interesting out there!