Sandpoint, ID

When my out-of-town friends visit Sandpoint, Idaho and Lake Pend Oreille, they are always amazed that there is actually a bounty on some of the best tasting fish in the world. Every lake trout of any size and rainbow trout more than 13 inches long harvested from Lake Pend Oreille through March, 2010, pays $15.00!

This opportunity is pretty amazing and easy to cash in on.

Rules For Getting Paid:

1. Only rainbow and lake trout are eligible.
2. Rainbow trout heads must be a minimum of 2 3/8 inches long from tip of nose to end of gill cover. Only whole heads with the entire jaw and throat area intact are eligible for payment.

1. Cutthroat and cutthroat hybrids are not eligible.
2. Harvesting bull trout or kokanee is illegal, and will be investigated by a conservation officer. Know how to properly identify fish.
3. Your signature is required. They cannot pay anglers if slips are not signed.

How To Check Your Fish In:

1. Please clean your fish on the lake – not on the dock or the freezer!
2. Leave the head of the rainbow or lake trout in the drop-off freezer, not the whole fish. You may put multiple fish heads in one bag.
3. Ziploc bags, water-proof slips and pencils are provided at freezer locations.
4. Fill out your name, mailing address, phone number, Idaho fishing license number and date of birth on one slip for each bag. You must sign the data slip to be eligible for the cash reward.
5. Put the bag through the small hatch door in the freezer and close the door.
6. A headless carcass is legal, so long as the tail is attached, by a special exemption from the Fish and Game Commission. Normally it is not legal to have a trout, bass, salmon or steelhead (any fish with a length limit) in the field or in transit without the head attached.

7. Fish Head Freezer Locations

   • Holiday Shores Marina - Ellisport Bay
   • Hope Marine Services - Ellisport Bay
   • Anchor Gas - Garfield Bay
   • Hudson's Bay Marina - Bayview
   • IDFG Field Research Station - Bayview
   • IDFG Regional Office - Coeur d'Alene

   Checks will be mailed to anglers twice a month. Be sure to fill out the angler information slip properly.

   The reasons for living in North Idaho just never end. I have friends with a freezer full of trout heads ready to turn in for a nice payday. In addition, most Idaho fishing waters are located in the public domain, and are open to the public. Access is free.

   This program has been in effect for the last few years but I am still waiting to see if it will be continued after March of 2010.

IT’S THANKSGIVING AND I MOWED THE LAWN TODAY!

As I was mowing the lawn today, I kept thinking, “Man, this has ‘blog’ written all over it!” I don’t blog JUST for the fun of it. I also want my “thousands” of followers to understand that life in Sandpoint, Idaho is NOT your typical 48º: 18' N. latitude experience. (We’re only 8º south of Moscow, Russia for God’s sake!).

So, what’s my point? Sandpoint is special! The lawn is green, Schweitzer Mountain has had 45” of snow so far this season and is opening Friday, heat bills are nominal and I still get to enjoy four seasons…in comfort.

My wife and I thought long and hard about how to shape our future. We figured we had two options: 1) Just stay in Minnesota and travel as much as possible in the effort to break up the relentless winter months (basically November through March) or, 2) downsize our home and buy a second home in a warm/sunny climate? One thing was for sure, after enduring 27 Minnesota winters, something had to give.

Having studied our two options, we chose option #3. Where can we mow the lawn into December (I hate mowing, by the way, but it does work as a metaphor), enjoy a true Winter without getting frostbite and have a Spring that actually starts on March 21 like it is supposed to? SANDPOINT!

So, here we are and I mowed the lawn today.

Happy Thanksgiving From Sandpoint, Idaho! …and don’t let our latitude freak you out. It’s only a number.

No photos today, but there is a ton of snow at Schweitzer Mountain! I finally dusted off my gear and went skiing today-- just what the doctor ordered!

I had my mind set on skiing today, after hearing from my friends who have been skinning up for the past week or so. I arrived at around 1p and met up with a couple of buddies, Mike and Marty. We skinned in from the Spires, at the end of Tall Timber Road. Great way to get to the South Ridge fairly quickly.

It was amazing getting back on the snow after the off season. It dumped all day, and it showed. The conditions were actually really good, with some nice powder for at least 2/3 of the way. The rock skies won't even be necessary in a few days.

I skied A chute and just loved it. Word is that Schweitzer will open its lifts this Friday.

I'm ready for my favorite season in Sandpoint- Winter!

It has been twelve years since Sandpoint won its last State Football Championship. Just a few weeks ago, both the girls and the boys soccer teams won state championships, and Sandpoint High School has an incredible tradition of state championships in a myriad of sports for both boys and girls teams.

Sandpoint was up against highly touted Blackfoot. Blackfoot is a community, roughly half again larger than Sandpoint. It is in the farming community between Pocatello and Twin Falls in southern Idaho. They are an ethnically diverse community, and their boys were big, really big.

We were an unlikely challenger, being fourth seeded, but our defense has played strong all year, and our offense stepped up to defeat all comers.

In the first quarter Sandpoint elected to receive the opening kickoff and promptly marched down the field to come within three yards of scoring. Unfortunately we fumbled with Blackfoot recovering. We scored first, then Blackfoot tied. We garnered a safety, but then, the gigantic men of Blackfoot took over, and it seemed they put the game away.

Sandpoint came back in the second half to score twice, making the margin less than a touchdown at 23-29. With less than a few minutes of play left our boys methodically rallied down the field, and it looked like we would pull off an upset win despite the outstanding play by their opponents.

After crossing midfield, the drive stalled, and with no time left to make another attempt, Sandpoint conceded defeat to their opponents.

Still, both teams can be very proud. What an outstanding game. While four or five sections was filled with rabid, screaming Sandpoint fans, students, and parents, Blackfoot only filled one of the Kibbie Dome's sections. Indeed, the noise and enthusism of the Sandpoint Bulldog fans was tantamount to having another player on the field. The indoor stadium was balmy warm, around 70 degrees. Please, someone remind me to bring sun tan lotion next time.

The drive to Moscow coupled with the game time and the drive back totalled over ten hours, but boy, it was worth it.

How great to see our town come together in such numbers, by some estimates over 1,200. What great fun, and how nice to see the community support our wonderful teenage men, playing in a game of a lifetime.

Great Job Sandpoint!

Go Bulldogs!!!

The Kibbie Dome was a balmy 70 degrees for the State Championship - Sandpoint vs. Blackfoot

Our Bulldogs played hard

What are the best values for condos and homes at Schweitzer Mountain? This is a question that I always get from prospective Schweitzer buyers, and I take pride in having found and negotiated some tremendous deals for Schweitzer buyers in the past couple years. Today was the annual Schweitzer property tour for our Selkirk MLS, where we had a chance to preview 38 listings before the ski season gets started.

The best values to me overall are in the middle price levels, from $400 to $600k. Also I would encourage people to consider some of the condos and homes that are not necessarily ski-in/ski-out, as the price/value gets much better for some of these units. The Schweitzer Recreation District started a free ski shuttle on the mountain last season, picking people up from their residences within 15 minutes of calling. There is also a new ski bridge at the end of Telemark Road that makes the ski access to Musical Chairs way better than before for property owners in this neighborhood.

Following are the properties that stood apart as being very good values relative to everything else on Schweitzer:

115 Crystal Run #10 - $299,021 -- 1600 sft, 2bdr, 3 bath -- Ski in/Ski out -- this is definitely one of the best buys on the market in my opinion. Located just above the Village with the ski trail to its door - nothing in this price range on the ski trail other than Selkirk Lodge. There are no rental restrictions. The downstairs garage was converted into a separate studio along with a hot tub room. You could rent out the studio separate from the upstairs main condo. This is a bit dated but you could fix it up pretty nicely.

Snowdrift Condo #B2, listed at $279,000, 750sft, 2/1. Snowdrift is located on the left just before entering the Main Village parking lot. This unit has been completely redone, and the ski and village access is great.

130 Stella Lane #202 -- not on tour, trustee sale taking place on 12/23 with First American. My sources tell me the bank would accept $215,000. The property next door is listed at $385k, near the most recent sale.

20 Snowghost, Cedar Ridge unit 2- $589,000, 2007 sft, 3/3. Very nice unit sold furnished including a huge flat screen, two story townhouse next to the St Bernard with good ski access from the trail behind Chapel Point.

Cornice Condos #202 - $349,000, 1330 sft, 2/2. Very nice, vaulted ceiling, 2+ loft, big jacuzzi tub in master bath, furnished, big fireplace; ski access is average but a very nice place for the money.

369 Telemark Road-- $495,000 -- 2268 sft, single family house, lake views, very nice open floor plan. This is a great house and one of my favorite places on the mountain. The ski access is much better now with the new bridge at the end of Telemark Road. One of the rare single family homes available, meaning no HOA, no rental restrictions or rules. Also has a good rental history.

205 Ullr - $550,000 -- Beautiful residence with high vaulted ceiling near The Ridge. Finishings are very high end including Viking appliances and hydronic flooring. 4bdr 3 bath, 2628 sft. A creek runs by the property. One of the nicer places on the mountain.

Whiplash Circle #10-- $339,000-- also at The Ridge, 9 of the 12 of these condos have sold, with the most recent closing at $365,000. 3bdr, 2.5 bath, and 1918 sft makes it best price per square foot at Schweitzer.

Granite Peaks -- several units still available, now at short sale prices starting at $359,000 for 1700 sft with high end finishes and near Schweitzer Village. Problem was the landscape engineering from the beginning, but these challenges have apparently been addressed.

Also noteworthy is that Schweitzer Resort is moving forward rapidly on the first three homes in their new neighborhood above the Village. Two of these will be sold as 1/8 fractions supposedly under $200k per fraction. The homes look beautiful at this point with unbelievable views. Schweitzer has done a nice job replatting the former Trappers Creek neighborhood into all single family residences, with a new plan that seems to make sense for the market.

For all of the details on any of the above, visit my website at www.SandpointResortRealty.com and go to Property Search. Or call me at 208-304-5665 or email Rick@SandpointResortRealty.com to schedule a tour.