Kent Anderson

I spent 15 hours at the FORD IRONMAN COEUR D'ALENE TRIATHLON on Sunday. (As a spectator...my son was a FINISHER and is now an IRONMAN!). The human spirit is alive & well! I am in complete awe. From the moment I arrived at the beach to watch the the swim portion of the event (2.4 miles) until the end of the triathlon I was fighting back tears of pure emotion.

The spectacle of seeing 3,500 participants waiting on the Lake Coeur d'Alene beach to begin the torturous swim in 56 degree water is almost indescribable. These are people like you and me who have taken on the task to become bigger than life. They have decided to do something that is almost impossible. To watch them succeed gives me goose bumps even as I write this...2.4 MILE SWIM - 112 MILE BIKE - 26.2 MILE RUN...Are you serious? ...But it is not just about the participants.

There were 6,500 volunteers helping to make the event a world-class affair. From kayakers and scuba divers in the water watching every swimmer as they struggled through the icy water to the thousands of aid station helpers and transition team assistants along the bike and running courses... this was truly a massive team effort. When you experience the "super-human" effort it takes to complete an event like this, you just want to be a part of it in some way. Somehow you want the "mojo" of these participants to rub off on you.

Let us not forget the spectators. Tens of thousands of people turned out to be a part of this. Fans screaming and ringing cowbells all along the course, urging the participants on as they fought against all odds to complete the ordeal. I could not have asked for a more inspiring day.

Why do I live in North Idaho? You cannot find a more active, inspired, motivated and caring people than I have found here. Life in North Idaho...life in Sandpoint...total participation. You just feel more alive here.

Prices have not dropped here like they have in the rest of the country. ...and why should they? Whatever the price, to live here is worth it. I am inspired. Thank you to everyone involved in this great event and a BIG THANK YOU to my son who trained and trained and trained and FINISHED this monster race. Like the announcer broadcast at the finish line, "BRIGGS ANDERSON, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!"

I am excited to be a part of the Brokers' Open on Monday, June 15. I'll have two of the premier listings in North Idaho on the Tour. The photo above is of "The Cottage On The Lake" and is a MUST SEE. The home was built by a master mason and NO corners were cut on this project. The home is a unique combination of North Idaho stone hand placed to create 18" thick walls with authentic, dowelled timber framed infra-structure including dramtaic metal connections and strappings. You will not find a home with a warmer ambiance...built for a family to enjoy for generations. This home is offered at $5,978,000...there are absolutely NO comparables on the market.

SALISHAN POINT (www.salishanpoint.com) is the other listing we are proud to host during the OPEN. SALISHAN POINT is the premier gated waterfront communtiy on the PEND OREILLE RIVER offering custom homesites with breathtaking views of the river and surrounding mountains. Lot sizes range from 1 to 4 acres. SALISHAN offers 3500 feet of spectacular crystal clear waterfront and is an easy drive to world class SCHWEITZER MOUNTAIN RESORT and the award-winning town of Sandpoint, Idaho. Enjoy the Salishan Beach common area featuring a 22 slip marina with electric & fresh water to each slip! Incudes dump station, 150 foot swimming beach, playground with zip-line, spectacular bath house with showers and a pavillion with a massive outdoor stone fireplace.

Inlet and secondary lots are priced from $199,000 to $395,000 and include ownership of a coveted boat slip in Salishan Point's private marina. Riverfront lots (sized 128 front feet to 682 front feet) range in price from $625,000 to $1,200,000

North Idaho and the Sandpoint area, specifically, are exploding with fantastic real estate opportunities for the discriminating buyer. This is a great time to live in this part of the country!

I hope to see all the local agents at the Brokers' Open on Monday!

The Cottage On The Lake is a craftsman's masterpiece...a unique combination of native North Idaho stone hand placed to create 18 inch thick walls with authentic, doweled timber-frame infrastructure. This is a one-of-kind family enclave that exudes warmth and security in every room. The entire home is interwoven with organic shapes and finely detailed timber framing with dramatic metal connections and strappings.

The Cottage is nestled in coveted Kootenai Bay just three miles from Sandpoint and can be seen from the top of Schweitzer Mountain.

The Cottage On The Lake in Sandpoint, Idaho, offers main level living for two plus the option to share three levels of high-end amenities with hundreds of guests. This is TRULY a one-of-a-kind 8,000 plus square foot haven. Features include:

"The Cottages" HOA dues are $500 per year and include use of community tennis court plus a three acre park immaculately maintained. The views of Schweitzer Mountain Resort are only rivaled by the spectacular view across Lake Pend Oreille of the Monarch Mountains. Walk through the grass from the covered , stone terrace to the shore! High-end amenties are found throughout this amazing waterfront home! ...and only minutes from Sandpoint via boat or car. This is a true gem in Idaho - "The Gem State".

My email is ski7b@coldwellbanker.com. I welcome any and all inquiries about this listing.

"Bulldog Tennis isn’t Rebuilding, it’s Reloading!

When I came in this year as the new head coach for varsity tennis, I really didn’t know what to expect. I was familiar with the top players I inherited going into the season, but there is so much more to “Team Tennis” than the talent level of the top players. I needed to discover the personalities of the players…who plays well with whom, who are the “fighters” (the players who refuse to lose), who has team spirit, who is the most coach-able, who are the “projects”, etc. Let’s just say I was pleasantly surprised!

What a great group of athletes. I can’t wait for practice to hit with the team. We are carrying 22 varsity players…11 boys and 11 girls. Only 18 can play matches on any given day, but they all have been able to gain valuable match experience over the course of the season. We will have a strong base going into next year.

This is the year, however, that could go down in Bulldog history. Former head coach, Jane Rockwell, supplied me with a great foundation to work with. I had an elite group of players to build around. Dustin Pierce, Mikka Nostdahl, Abby Helander, Piper Wahlin and Justine Clawson have the ability to win at any level. Add to them two newcomers, Ben Hardy and Kevin Kirby, and Sandpoint suddenly can compete with anyone. I just needed to find a compliment to this group to round out a powerful team…maybe even a State Champion.

I wasn’t disappointed. Even though we spent the first half of the season practicing in the gym (thanks to the great North Idaho Spring weather this year), I could see the potential of this team while we practiced hours and hours of volley drills at the net. By the end of the “Gym Season” we had some of the quickest hands in the state. The team has put their volleying talent to good use over the course of the season and have won many matches because of their quickness at the net.

With the season nearing its completion, it will be fun to watch how far we can progress at the State level. I expect great things. I know our top players will do well, but it is the balance of the team that will determine our fate and I do have faith in them! Meranda Carter, Susan Williams, Sophia Meulenberg and Jesse Cobb have been workhorses for us. They have played and won through injury, rain and cold. Crystal Clark, Brittany Claffey, Kyenna Jensen, Roxanne Imeson and Azumi Smith have all posted big wins during the season.

On the boys side, Rob Carne and Jackson Bussard have been a great compliment to our top 4 players. These two have been almost unbeatable. Steve Gavin, Ryan Novak, Mike Berg and Nik Thorell have all had big, consistent wins and battle each other every practice to gain spots on the final District roster. Add to these players Dash Kamp (who got a late start due to his National Snowboard competitions) and we are very tough to beat.

The State Championship is May 15-16 in Boise and I predict Sandpoint will be well represented!"

I woke up this morning and the weatherman graced Sandpoint, Idaho with 6 fresh inches of snow. I was in my office at Schweitzer Mountain Resort and on AR by 7:30 a.m. By 8:45, I had my mocha at Mojo Coyote Coffee and was in the lift line (a total of 6 people) waiting fresh tracks on top of chair 1.

My excited anticipation was well founded. The very first run down the headwall below the chair greeted me with stashes of untracked powder at least 14" deep. The powder was smashing against my knees...and untracked top to bottom!

If you are a skier, hopefully you know the feeling. Skiing all alone with an ear to ear grin and not fighting the urge to scream my lungs out all the way down. There really is nothing like it!

By 9:30 my group met me at the Outback Inn on the back side of the mountain...there were, maybe, 10 people there...no where near enough skiers to track up the slopes. This was our own "Private Idaho". What a fun group it was! Steve, my buddy who is part of the lending team I work with here in Sandpoint (plus my #1 tennis partner), his wife Carla who can really rip up the powder and their son Kevin, who is one of the top players on the Sandpoint High School tennis team that I coach. This was quite the athletic group and we showed the mountain no mercy!

Here is the beauty...I finished skiing by 12:00 and I am sitting in my office at Schweitzer just waiting for endorphine-rich tourists to walk in anxious to buy a condo...old fashioned real estate...I don't need to do anything creative to round up clients. It just doesn't seem fair.

Schweitzer Mountain and Sandpoint, Idaho are a magical place. I am very fortunate to have carved a niche here and I "count my blessings" every day.

(Later today I have to go to the dump to recycle some cardboard. Even that chore is exhilerating. The Dump in Selle Valley has one of the most spectacular views of the Colburn side of Schweitzer you could ever imagine. Is this place for real?)