About Bonner County, ID

Windward Studio and Award winning photographer Ruth Eich, have been serving the community for over 26 years. In addition to Ruth, the studio has 3 other photographer’s on staff. Specializing in Weddings, portraits, fine art photos and special event coverage. You may have see some of Ruth Eichs Old Building series, or western Silhouettes which grace the walls of many Sandpoint Businesses.

Windward Studio is situated on a beautiful ranch located in Westmond, Idaho, just a few miles south of Sandpoint. The team has had the pleasure to cover many special events at locations such as Schweitzer Mountain Resort, The Idaho Club, The Coeur d’Alene Resort, The Davenport Hotel and many other locations in the beautiful northwest. You can buy prints or set an appointment at

http://fineartbywindward.com

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.

I have to admit I am just now jumping on the bandwagon to support our Sandpoint High School football team. I really hadn't been to any high school games that I can remember....well, probably since I was in high school myself.

But high school football in Sandpoint is really a fun and exciting event. We live just a couple blocks from Memorial Field, and I remember earlier in the season hearing an incredible amount of noise coming from the stadium. I had walked down with my dog and my son to check it out, and saw a completely packed house of raving fans cheering on the local high school team.

This support seems to be there for every home game. I have tried to stop in to check it out when I'm around. And its always a good time, with seemingly everyone in town showing up to suppor the team. To me this is quintessential small town living at its best, and I love it!

I'm encouraging my fifteen month old son to pay close attention, as this year's team is pretty awesome. They just won their semi-final game of the 4A division Idaho State High School Playoffs, 20-8, over Hillcrest. This puts them in the State Finals for 4A, which takes place on Nov 20 in Moscow, against Blackfoot HS. I believe this is the first finals appearance for the school in about 15 or 20 years!

DO NOT move to SANDPOINT!

I have coveted a life in Sandpoint, Idaho ever since I discovered this mountain town in the early 70's. Life's twists and turns did not allow me to actually move here full-time until 2005. I had many valid reasons for delaying the inevitable and I stand by them. One of the big reasons, however, was that I was worried Sandpoint wasn't ready for me.

I'm a tennis player. I have been playing year around (indoors and outdoors) for the last thirty years. This included local and regional tournaments, USTA leagues (summer and winter), fanatical tennis buddies who retained the same indoor permanent court times for 20 years running, tennis drills, tennis parties...you know the scene. The question always was...can I be happy in Sandpoint without indoor tennis?

Well, I'm here to tell you...if that is a stumbling block for any possible Sandpoint transplants today, you can put those fears to rest. (You'll have to also put some of your preconceived notions about appropriate "tennis weather" aside also. We just don't care about that here.) This place is EXTREME...the weather, the people, the geography, the politics, THE PASSION.

I just got off the court after a grueling 3 hour match with three of my close tennis buddies (Steve Kirby, Eric Plummer and Joel Wahlin). The match started in rather cool 31 degree weather and ended in a warmish 35 degree blizzard. Two amazing things happened; 1) the level of play never wavered and, 2) we just got the perfect 3 hour cross-training workout in preparation for the November 27th ski opening of Schweitzer Mountain - the pride and joy of North Idaho. The perfect start to the day!

While we were playing, there was an ultimate frisbee match taking place at the other end of the park. People don't hide from blizzards around here, they rejoice. (That is Eric above...he wasn't down long).

Bottom line, I'll be playing outdoor tennis here probably into December...I'll play about ten times indoors this winter in either Coeur d'Alene or Spokane...then, on February 25th, the high school tennis season begins (did I mention I coach the team?) and I'll be on the court five to six days a week until the middle of May. The middle of May marks the beginning of the "summer tennis season" (weather permitting...in other words, it will have to be pouring rain for us to "bag it"). Like my wife says, "Kent, you get your fair share of tennis in Sandpoint!" ...and that is my message to you. Do not let our lack of indoor tennis dissuade you from moving to Sandpoint! This place rocks it. (and, by the way, with a little luck we'll have an unbelievable indoor tennis facility here in the VERY near future...more on that later...)

When I am not playing tennis with passion (...or skiing), I am selling real estate with passion from the Coldwell Banker Resort Realty, Schweitzer Mountain office. CALL ME! I HAVE MORE STORIES!

A tree, its pieces cast aside by nature, polished smooth by water and sand, and bleached by the sun used to create awe inspiring works of art. Driftwood has been a favorite amoung local artists for years. Here on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille we have the perfect driftwood hunting grounds.

Using the natural water currents of the lake and with the use of Log booms built in the river by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, logs that enter the Lake Pend Orielle are collected in the drift yard by Clark Fork Idaho. As the lake levels lower each year, the collection site is left high and dry. Locals and travelers alike stop by the yard to find artistic inspiration in wood. Every couple of years the acres of remaining driftwood is lit on fire to make room for more.

So what can be made with driftwood? Whatever you want it to be. One of the grandest examples comes from the Horse Sculptures of Heather Jansch

You can see more of her work at http://heatherjansch.com

Some of our local artisans and shops

http://www.woodnwings.com/

http://www.sharongunter.com/

http://mistymountainfurniture.com

http://podriftwood.com

http://www.packriverlighting.com