Colville, WA (Spokane, Kettle Falls, Chinook: rentals, high school, utilities)

[mistyriver]

No blog, sadly. We meant to but were always too busy. We bought our property (35 acres on the river) while we lived in AZ and meant to build a summer vacation cabin there. Once we were there, we couldn't bear to leave. Since it was a small vacation cabin, we didn't even have a bathroom(!) we built an outhouse in our suburban AZ driveway and hauled it along with our 4 horses up for the summer. We used that darned thing for 18 months till we added on a bathroom and laundry room.
My husband is an electrical engineer and being off-grid was always his dream so we slowly put together our solar power system.
We have all propane appliances and hot water heaters. We have pretty much all the normal comforts except a dishwasher and that is only because our cabin kitchen is a bit small.
When we started, our 2 daughters were 13 and 7 and went from attending private school in Phoenix to a very rural school district. They did great although we did start homeschooling the youngest a few years ago to provide a more rigorous academic curriculum. The oldest is now away from home (a junior in college) and the youngest is in second grade.
It's been a wonderful and fulfilling experience and how many people can say they live in a home they built entirely themselves and live in paradise?
Although with another snowstorm on the way tonight that may be pushing it.
Here are a few pictures:
On the way here from AZ:


Our place in the fall:


And a few days ago:

[naturelover17]

What lovely photos, Mistyriverranch. When does it usually start snowing where you live? When would you say that Spring begins? Where I live we don't really have much in the way of 'distinct' seasons. No snow. Hardly any rain. The occasional ornamental tree that changes color for the fall. Right now I think it's 50 degrees outside. -_- I'd love to live somewhere where it snows. I've seen the white stuff a couple of times when I lived elsewhere, and really liked it.

[mistyriver]

Originally Posted by naturelover17

What lovely photos, Mistyriverranch. When does it usually start snowing where you live? When would you say that Spring begins? Where I live we don't really have much in the way of 'distinct' seasons. No snow. Hardly any rain. The occasional ornamental tree that changes color for the fall. Right now I think it's 50 degrees outside. -_- I'd love to live somewhere where it snows. I've seen the white stuff a couple of times when I lived elsewhere, and really liked it.

Thank you! Usually we get some snow in November but this year we didn't get any till mid-December and then it really dumped on us. December and January tend to be the snowiest months but last year winter went on and on and on.
Our official first day of spring is the evening the spring peepers start croaking down by the river which is usually right around St. Paddy's day. We keep a bottle of champagne around for peeper night.
Here's the view from my front porch taken a couple of days ago during a snowstorm. The river is narrowed due to freezing:

[Sookie]

We visited Colville last summer, intending to buy some property. The area is very pretty, and I think there is enough businesses in the town to fit most of your needs. The mexican restaurant is wonderful and over in Kettle Falls there is a very nice Health food market/crafts and antiques and more store. My only negatives are I wish the marina rented out more small boats for day use instead of those big honker house boats, and there is not enough businesses to be guaranteed we'd find jobs if we moved there without one. Here are a few pictures of that area we took.

Where the Colville River meets Lake Roosevelt

The Main drag

Colville City park

Colville/Kettle Falls local

Our picasa link to 180 pics around Washington is here
Picasa Web Albums - lukababe - Washington

[naturelover17]

Usually we get some snow in November but this year we didn't get any till mid-December and then it really dumped on us. December and January tend to be the snowiest months but last year winter went on and on and on.
Our official first day of spring is the evening the spring peepers start croaking down by the river which is usually right around St. Paddy's day. We keep a bottle of champagne around for peeper night.

Thanks Mistyriverranch for another photo and more info! So most of the time it starts snowing in Colville pretty soon after Thanksgiving? Would this be a light snow or a snowstorm like in some of your previous photos? Is there ever a time during the winter when it’s not snowing, but there’s snow on the ground already that sticks around but with the sun out? Or are sunny days pretty scarce up in Colville? From your pictures it looks like it would be pretty tough to get around. According to Colville’s Chamber of Commerce, Colville supposedly gets 17 inches of rain and 48 inches of snow each year, but your photos make me question whether or not the snow statistic is correct. 0_0

[mistyriver]

Just to clarify, I'm not in Colville but nearby in north Idaho, north of Priest River. However, our weather is pretty similar. As for 48 inches of snow a year, I would say yes in some years but in the Spokane area alone, they have gotten at least 60 inches in just December. It's shaping up to be a very snowy winter for us here in the inland northwest. http://bestsmileys.com/winter/5.gif (broken link)

[Deena160]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Spokane generally doesn't have the sort of climate where it starts snowing in the fall and you never see land again until spring, right? I think we've had the comments before that you'll get some decent snowfalls with thawing in between. Most years you don't end up with 48-60 inches accumulating--of course, that doesn't include drifts, snowplow piles, or berms(sp?). lol.
Edit: Just read the Happy New Year from Vettedude. Five feet? Yikes! You may not see your grass again until spring at this rate. Do you reckon we should invest in 4WD before we get there or after? :~) D

[KimberleyT]

I grew up in Colville, was born and raised there and i couln't wait to get out of there as a teenager! But there isn't much to do as a teenager, for everyone else there is tons to do! I miss it now that i've been away for only 5 years. But there isn't much for me to do job wise there.

The seasons there are perfect. You get all 4, snowy winters that start around nov-dec, and last until march or april. Spring is green and gorgeous and just a little bit chilly. It rains but not too much just enough to get everything green and growing. Summers start out at 60 degrees and can climb to over 101 degrees by july. the end of august is when it starts to cool down a bit, but the gorgeous colors will take your breath away! october is when you know winter is comming, a lot of times as a kid it would start to snow a little of halloween. It usually doesn't start sticking though until mid nov. And this past year we got the worst snowfall in our history. We haven't had that bad of winter for 13 years. Ice storm of '96 was pretty bad. So if you like all 4 seasons, colville or kettle would be the best place to experience them.

winter driving isn't much of an issue there. Best to have a 4x4, but i got around in a 2wd for 2 years when i was 16 and 17. The roads are usually pretty well taken care of by the road crews.

The schools are great. I got a pretty great education there, and so did my brother, and he needed a lot of extra help. He even graduated on time with the help of the teachers in special ed.

And as far as things to do, there are so many cute little shops in town, there's the river in kettle falls, there is a river in colville, but i don't suggest swimming or fishing there. The mouth of the colville river which runs into lake rosevelt is good though. There's lots of forest to explore, douglas falls is neat to visit and camp in. and there there are little towns to visit all around the area. ione, republic, newport, chewelah, kettle falls, and many more!

The town has almost everything to offer, and what it doesn't have you can find in spokane like others have said. I live in spokane now, and love that colville is just an hour away. If you think colville might be too small of a town, spokane is a good option, there are a lot of little communities that you can live in, that have everything you need in a small area.

Hope that helps!

[Dizzydog]

How is the Fishing in the Columbia River right around Kettle Falls? Anyone happen to know?

[Small and solar]

Dizzy- I can ask my Realtor up their, she has a shot of her and her partner holding a massive fish on their web site. Where in PHX are you?