Sandpoint and Wallace all in one day? (Lewiston, Moscow: house, neighborhood)

[aukijoli]

So we are in CDA tonight, drove up from Lewiston through Plummer and St. Maries. We walked the boardwalk at sunset, it was beautiful.
Tomorrow we were planning to spend all day tripping up to Sandpoint/Bonners Ferry, but now we are also including a side trip to Wallace. Its alot to see in one day, but its the only day we have left, since we have to head home on Sunday! Any suggestions for which to see first? Morning vs Afternoon to return to CDA for the night. Any ideas/input will be appreciated!

[Clark Fork Fantast]

My suggestion is to save Wallace for next time--because you'll love the area so much that you'll want to come back soon! Take your time exploring Sandpoint instead.

[Sage of Sagle]

It's up close to 2 hours from SP to Wallace IIRC. I forget...I seem to recall it being over 100 minutes from here to Silver Mtn Resort...

[brokencrayola]

Wallace is too far out of the way from Sandpoint and Bonners if you want to be able to relax, take pictures and enjoy your day.

[aukijoli]

Yep we skipped it, and had a good time exploring SP and BF and cant wait to come back. Hopefully, next time it will be to MOVE and not just visit!

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Glad you had a good time! And Wallace is probably not going anywhere. Now you also have a better idea of where you might want to look for property. But take your time--we visited NID every year for 5 years before we made a decision. So tell us, what did you like best on your Idaho trip?

[Sage of Sagle]

And to add to what CFF just said...you also need to compile a just of what you DO NOT like about Idaho. If you're still in the stage where there is NOTHING bad about Idaho you're probably not spending enough time here or talking to enough folks to get a realistic perspective. Not that it would deter you from coming here...but you want to find out the BAD and the good of any area. Me? I hate all the bugs, even though I know it's what you get from so much water and greenery. I also am not a huge fan of the crappy roads in Sandpoint. You'd think that as much as that city gouges its residents in property taxes they'd have better streets. I'm also not a huge fan of dirt roads, since what I'm finding is that a lot of times neighbors won't help fix it...they'll wait until someone "else" spends the money to grade the road. Interesting the "native" Idahoans around me are the least likely ones to help contribute collectively to road repair in a neighborhood. I have also found that in general, the vast majority of service businesses here are horribly unreliable. they either show up late (even days late) or not at all, or they gouge you. I think it has to do with less competition in certain areas meaning that they know you're stuck with what they are willing to do for you. Also, since we're not big on "big government taxation" it means that our fire department is famous for "saving your foundation" in a residential house fire. Just undermanned and too far away although certainly they do their best.

Now for me, these weren't deterrents to me...but certainly are factors I wanted to understand as I made an informed decision with the pros and cons of moving here.

[aukijoli]

CFF and Sage,
I appreciate your thoughts on moving to Idaho. While we were there, I kept a journal of all the places we saw and what we liked and didnt like about each town/city/region. We made a point to drive around but also get out and walk and talk to others as well. We definately eliminated some areas right off the bat. Our suspicions were correct that we would just not enjoy the scenery of the lower part of the state. (sorry if that offends...we are just partial to greenery and trees!) We had thought we might like Moscow, and we did, at least MUCH better than Lewiston area. But not near as much as farther north. So we are focused more on CDA and north. Now, I realize that is still ALOT of idaho left to choose from, but it narrows it down some. We thought that CDA is a pretty city, one that we would like to live near, but not in. My husband could work there. Or spokane, if he HAD to.
What did we like? Most of what we like about Idaho has come from people we know that have lived there or have relatives there and/or what we have read online on blogs and this forum. We like the political mindset and looser laws. We like the laid back lifestyle/attitudes. We like the support of homeschooling. We LOVE the gun laws. We went to the gun and horn show in Ponderay and although it was much smaller than ones we have been to here in Salem/Portland obviously, it was a much more pleasant experience, and was nice to walk out with an addition to our "family" without any paperwork! In every town/city we visited, the locals were friendly and helpful and answered many questions with honesty and patience. People actually WAVED to us many times! You dont get that here. Rarely get eye contact. These kinds of things are not something you can purchase with a mortgage! We liked the roads with less traffic and there wasnt hardly any litter! (except in/near a couple small towns) Very clean. The air was wonderful to breathe. What didnt we like? In Sandpoint, the roads drove us crazy! We couldnt make sense of the grid. Im not sure there was one. So many one ways and theyd go in weird directions. Very confusing. Perhaps the town experienced some fast growth. But, I suppose you just get used to something like that. Dirt roads dont bother us. We did notice that there are hardly any speed limit signs to keep us on track. It seems they're every few miles here. We didnt see hardly any garden plots in peoples back yards, nor much livestock (aside from horses). Although we had anticipated that due to climate, I thought wed see alot more than we did. We did not find much in the way of organic foods. Although I am NOT totally organic we are definately leaning that way as we march into a future of grocery stores filled with "food stuffs" that are less and less recognizable and/or nutritious. I prefer homecooked and as close to nature as it originated. We want a plot of ground to grow our own, so we know WHAT it is and WHERE its been. We did NOT like the permit fees/impact fees/NUFFs/taxes in Sandpoint and other places. We loved Pend Orielle Lake, more so than lake CDA and cant wait to explore Clark Fork/Hope/etc! We loved the trains. We liked Rathdrum, Priest River, and others. Disappointingly, not so with Plummer. We dont like what weve "heard" about living on reservation land, need to look into that more. Also still not convinced about the radon issue/non issue in Kootenai county. Locals looked at me puzzled when inquiring about detectors/levels/etc. So much more on our list of like/dislike...but as you say, some are not necessarily deterrents just factors to consider. I mean, we all have a list of MUST HAVES and CANT LIVE WITHOUTS as well as the IM ADAPTABLEs. Bapiping, Naturopathic holistic practitioners, fresh air and good water, places for kids to run/explore safely, to be kids: play and be challenged to learn and to give back to others. A place where you can talk about God or death or what we leaned from history or the complexities of human nature as easy or easier than POP STAR 101. A place where you can say, I havent had a TV in my home for almost 10 years now and you dont feel like a freak!
a community that we can settle into and contribute our abilities to as well as learn from, land to grow food and drink good water and have some privacy, a place where Freedom, integrity, respect and common courtesy are found, where elders are treated like the treasures they are, where hard work is satisfying and leisure time is deserved and relationships are meaningful. These are a few things important to us. Weather? Im adaptable!

[Toyman at Jewel Lake]

aukijoli, sounds like you could describe yourself as I do. A native Idahoian with a birth defect (being born elsewhere). Everywhere has it's pluses and minuses, right now I can't imagine living anywhere else. My biggest "con" for the area is the poor pay scale and relative lack of manufacturing.

As far as building fees, Kootenai County is getting crazy, IIRC a co-worker had in excess of $5k in fees for permits, water and sewer hookup, etc. If that's an issue, look to the unincorporated areas of Bonner County.

[Sandpointian]

Originally Posted by aukijoli

So we are in CDA tonight, drove up from Lewiston through Plummer and St. Maries. We walked the boardwalk at sunset, it was beautiful.
Tomorrow we were planning to spend all day tripping up to Sandpoint/Bonners Ferry, but now we are also including a side trip to Wallace. Its alot to see in one day, but its the only day we have left, since we have to head home on Sunday! Any suggestions for which to see first? Morning vs Afternoon to return to CDA for the night. Any ideas/input will be appreciated!

Theoretically, you can...but do you really want to. Each place is beautiful to wake up and go to sleep to. And enjoy as a first day and after waking.

It is March...Hmmm....if this is a recon mission. You can do a power morning in one place--early am drive to Sandpoint, absorb natural surrounding, Monarch coffee... 2hours round trip.

Drive down to CDA for lunch.

power to wallace for the afternoon.
2 hours R/T back to CDA.

Travel Japanese style--multiple cities in one day...little time on the ground...

S.