Today was a pretty gross day in Massachusetts and I had no energy because I spent all weekend at a music festival and apparently, being twenty-one constitutes me as being an old person now because my knees hurt from standing and jumping and doing all of the things that make concerts so fun. So, I spent the day making Mac & Cheese and deleting old emails while singing really loudly to myself. In the middle of all that excitement, I found the speech that I wrote about Sandpoint and why it's one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Whenever I tell people that I grew up in Idaho for seventeen years, they generally respond in three different ways. The first is the most inappropriate:
"Idaho? No, you-da-hoe!" (I never know how to respond).
The second reaction is the most confusing:
"Oh, you mean Iowa?" (People really think that I don't know where I grew up).
The third and final response is generally the most typical:
"You must love potatoes." (I don't).
Today, I am here to tell you that Idaho is more than Napolean Dynamite, potato farms, country music and weird home-schooled children. I'm going to tell you about my hometown, Sandpoint, and why it's one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Because most of you have probably never heard of Sandpoint, I'll first give you a brief introduction of basic facts, like where it's located and how many people are lucky enough to call it home. Then, I'm going to tell you about the beautiful landscape, like the mountains and lakes, which make the town so unique. And, finally, I'll describe why Sandpoint will always have a special place in my heart.
Sandpoint has a fairly unique location witihin Idaho. Sandpoint.com describes the town as being "nestled at the base of the Selkirk Mountains in North Idaho's Panhandle region." The Panhandle region refers to the narrow strip of land right at the top of Idaho. The town in only 60 miles south of the Canadian border, so it's located extremely north, and while Idaho's reputation is pretty famous for farming, people are sometimes shocked to learn that there is actually no potatoes located in the north. The farming region is in southern Idaho and that's where all the potato stereotypes come from. In the north, we actually get our potatoes from Washington.
So, all of us in Idaho are not potato farmers. But, who does live in Sandpoint, then?
As of the 2010 census, there were 7,365 people that called Sandpoint home. Most of these people make their living by working in forestry, manufacturing, recreational services, government, retail and tourism, which you'll see why is so popular in a minute.
Now, Sandpoint is a fairly small town. Everyone is very friendly and everyone knows each other. In fact, Google Maps shows that the entire town only spreads across 4.79 square miles. However, within those 4.79 square miles, there are quite a few well-known people that have made Sandpoint their home. These individuals include:
Former offensive lineman for the Green Bay Packers, Jerry Kramer
Actor Ben Stein
Former NFL quarterback, Jake Plummer
LAPD detective, Mark Fuhrman, famous for his testimony at the O.J. Simpson trial
2008 Republican Vice-President nominee, Sarah Palin
Actor Viggo Mortenson
You may be asking yourself, "Dear God, why would these fairly famous people ever want to commit to spending long periods of time in a place like Idaho?" Well, this is why:
Sandpoint is the secret resort town. In fact, Rand McNally collaborated with USA Today in a contest where teams traveled across the United States for three weeks to search for America's best kept secret. Sandpoint was awarded the title of Most Beautiful Small Town in America. To directly quote mostbeautifultown.com:
"Located on magnificent 43-mile-long Lake Pend Oreille, surrounded by the Selkirk and Cabinet mountains, and with Schweitzer Mountain ski resort minutes away, Sandpoint enjoys outstanding natural beauty."
Basically, we have two main natural attractions that make Sandpoint so gorgeous.
The first is Schweitzer Mountain. According to Schweitzer.com, as well as my own experience, from the top of the mountain, you have the opportunity to stare at three mountain ranges, Canada and three states, all at the same time. It's a mountain that has 2,900 skiable acres, 92 trails plus open bowl skiing and an average annual snowfall of 300 inches. Ski Magazine has named Schweitzer the "Best Kept Secret" and in 2011, ESPN rated it as the most affordable mountain for the quality of skiing that riders receive. Whether you're skiing the slopes in the winter or hiking up 6,400 feet in the summer to pick huckleberries, Schweitzer Mountain has a lot of offer.
Now, when you're standing at the peaks of Schweitzer looking down at three mountain ranges, Canada and three different states, you're also able to see Sandpoint's second main natural attraction: Lake Pend Oreille.
As I mentioned before, Lake Pend Oreille is a huge, 42-mile-long lake. It's also super deep: in some parts of the lake, the depth reaches 1,150 feet, making it the fifth deepest lake in the United States. The lake is actually so deep that is was used for testing submarines in WWII and some research is still active today. The lake is named Pend Oreille after it's ear-shaped appearance and sprinkled throughout it's 144 mile, ear-shaped shore are marinas and restaurants that range from family style to incredibly fancy. There are also multiple beaches, both public and private, that surround Lake Pend Oreille. The beach that drives in the most tourist attraction is City Beach.
City Beach is a public beach located right at the entrance of town. It's clean, uncrowded, has the best ice cream you will ever taste, a fantastic view overlooking the lake and surrounding mountains and for some reason, it also has a fake Statue of Liberty that faces the wrong way. No one knows why, it's just become one of those "local things."
In 2006, the New York Times wrote an expose about Sandpoint, highlighting how Lake Pend Oreille was such a "hot spot" for summer activities. The article focused on the fact that Sandpoint was such a prime spot for these summer sports because there was a huge influx of people moving in from places like California, which suggests that our lake is more enticing than the ocean. They ran a photo with the article of a couple in their boat, cruising under the bridge and that couple is actually my parents. The photographer snapped their photo without them knowing while he was standing from the bridge off City Beach.
I believe that LakePendOreilleCruises.com describes our lake the best:
Lake Pend Oreille is our crowning jewel. Its deep blue waters and myriad of waterfowl and wildlife attract young and old alike. In addition to it's stunning beauty, fishing, waterskiing, sailing and windsurfing are all popular sports on our lake. If you're looking for the perfect vacation retreat, Sandpoint is the place... it's the Northwest's favorite choice for year round recreation and relaxation."
Growing up, I didn't realize how lucky I was to live in a place like Sandpoint. You see, I was supposed to be a city kid. My parents had lived in New York their entire lives when, on a whim, my dad applied for an art director position at Coldwater Creek, the woman's apparel company located out of Sandpoint. He ended up getting the job and when I was two, my family moved to Idaho.
When we would go back to visit family in New York, we were always "The Cousins From Idaho." People were sometimes weirdly stereotypical of me and my two younger brothers, thinking things like, we didn't wear shoes and we drove tractors instead of cars and we all carried around rifles and shot deer on our way to school. While those things were clearly untrue, I saw things that my cousins had in their lives that I didn't, like malls and skyscraping buildings and the real Statue of Liberty. This bothered me when I was younger, but once I got to high school, I realized that these things didn't matter. Sure, I didn't get to go to the mall every weekend. Instead, I spent every winter Satruday, skiing and feeling the snowy air rush past me down the hill. I didn't get to experience city life every day, but I'm the only one of my cousins whose high school commencement ceremony was held on a beautiful lake. Although I do enjoy the hustle of the city, Sandpoint taught me a lot about what quiet living is like and how valuable of an experience that is.
Even though I haven't been back to Sandpoint in almost two years, it will always be my home. I will never feel more comfortable or at east than when I'm dipping my toes into Lake Pend Oreille or skiing the slops of Schweitzer Mountain. Sandpoint is the most magical town and I was so lucky to be able to grow up in such an incredible place. Fo me, it's not just Idaho. It's Ida-HOME.