We've completed our 2 month stay here at Farragut State Park in Athol Idaho.....yes, Athol! Say it just like its spelled. (Ath hole)
We arrived here on the 4th of May, met our 'boss' Erin and was shown to our home on Volunteer Lane.
The State Park was impressive, not only for its size, 43 miles long and about 6 miles wide, but also its history. From 1942 to 1944 (actually 30 months) this area became the largest naval training station in the US. Lake Pend Orielle is almost 1200 feet deep and was also used as a submarine testing area.. During it's time as a Training Station, more than 50,000 Naval men were processed through here. The only building still standing from those days is the Brig, which has been converted into a museum detailing the history of the Base and the local area.
Besides camping, the park offers a boat launch, a beach, 4 disc golf courses, a shooting range, equestrian area, day use area and almost 50 miles of hiking trails.
Our responsibilities here were as Cabin Hosts. There are 10 small cabins within the park they rent out, and we make sure they are clean before the next reservation. The cabins consist of a queen/twin bunk bed, a futon and a small table and chairs, So cleaning is generally disinfecting and sweeping. We also make sure the outside of the cabin, the fire pit, porch and grounds are cleaned up.
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| Assembling new audio visual table |
The cabins didn't always consume the amount of time we needed to put in, so we got other small projects to do. Deane actually did the work on most of the special projects, because he knew how to use the equipment or had the skill set.
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| Washing historic 1936 Navy Truck |
We did things like install a door knob at the Brig, put together an audio visual table, paint two doors at the Brig, weed wack the tall weeds around the cabins (they were getting tall enough to loose a small child), cleaned fire pits in the group camping areas and our last big project was to repaint the outside of three vault toilets (smell was not too sweet).
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| Painting Vault Toilet |
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| Cutting weeds |
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| Found a Geocache |
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| Successful hunt for Morel mushrooms |
One of the reasons for being here at Farragut was to be in close proximity to our grandsons Alex and Austin. Besides coming out for dinners, Joe and the kids have thrown up a tent in our area and camped out a couple of times. For Fathers Day, we rented them a cabin and they spent two days enjoying the park. We had fun Morel hunting, searching for Geocaches, roasting 'machie ellows" as Austin calls them, fishing and flying kites.
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| Alex |
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| Austin |
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| Mom and Austin |
But like always, we also love to exlpore the area where we are staying. Some of the places we visited were:
KOOTNAI FALLS is the largest non dammed falls in the state of Montana. It offers an unforgettable and breathtaking view as the Kootenai River drops 300 feet in elevation within just a few hundred yards down river. To the Kootenai Tribe, the falls is a sacred site, viewed as the center of the world, a place were tribal members can commune with the spiritual forces that give directions to the tribe. A swinging bridge offers access to the other side of the river.
In 2003 the movie The River Wild was filmed here, with Kevin Bacon and Meryl Streep.
CATALDO MISSION, built in 1850-1853, it is the oldest standing building in Idaho. The mission was built because the Coeur d'alene Indians heard about the powerful men in black robes with a book, and they wanted some of these men for their tribe. The indians sent a delegation to St. Louis to make the request, and in 1842 Father Pierre-Jean De Smet agreed. The mission was named after Guiseppe Cataldo, a Sicillain Priest who spent most of his life in the frontier community. The church was built without a single nail and became and important stop for miners, traders and settlers.
BOAT TOUR OF LAKE COEUR D'ALENE - A wonderful 90 minute tour of part of Lake Coeur d'alene. The lake is about 20 miles long and anywhere from 1-3 miles across. The cruise took us by many beautiful homes on the lake, and past the infamous Coeur d'Alene golf resort with its 14th hole Floating green. The lake is a great place to dive, as there are many steamboats and model T Fords on the bottom of the lake. The cars are there when people attempted to drive across the lake when it was frozen, but the ice had weakened. The Steamboats are there when the need for steamboats had waned, they were burned and left to sink.
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| Coeur d'Alene Resort Hotel |
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| Floating green - 14th hole |
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| This house is for sale! |
Schweitzer Mountain just outside of Sandpoint Idaho.... some beautiful views from the top, During the winter months it is a ski resort, during the summer, great biking and hiking along with the tram to the top.
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View going up to the top. looking
at Lake Pend Orielle |
With our two month commitment ending, we are heading to Oregon to work in the visitor center at Champoeg State Park for our 4th year.
Canyonlands is the largest national park in Utah and its diversity can stagger your imagination. Only about one third of the park is accessible to the everyday guy in a two wheel drive sedan. The section called Islands in the Sky is the best way to see this park with many spectacular pullouts along the scenic drive. The Islands in the Sky sits atop a 1500 foot mesa (above the 4000+ foot elevation below) with views of mesa's and the canyons which allow you to see what millions of years of water, weather and erosion can do.
