Traveling a Portion of the Selkirk Loop

Thursday, May 15, 2014--Spokane to Sandpoint with a Side Tour to Bonners Ferry and the Canadian Border

We knew we wouldn't be traveling far today, so we took our time in the morning.  After a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, we went back to the campus of Gonzaga University and toured the Jundt Art Museum.  Their special exhibit was the works of one of its ceramics professors and of the works of his students.  I really liked some of his pieces, and some of the students' work was also good.  The main gallery of the museum had a glass exhibit which included a number of donated pieces by Chihuly.

There is a circular route called the International Selkirk Loop that goes from Spokane northeastward through Idaho into southern Canada and back down to Glacier National Park before returning through southern Idaho to Spokane.  We decided not to drive to Glacier that way because there is also a very interesting route from the Idaho Panhandle along Route 2 to Glacier.  Therefore, today we started the Selkirk Loop and drove it as far as the Canadian border.  Then we backtracked 60 miles to Sandpoint, ID, where we had made a reservation for tonight.

To be honest, the portion of the Selkirk Loop we drove today was not nearly as pretty and as exciting as the scenic routes we took going northward within Idaho a few days ago.  However, the last portion from Sandpoint to Bonners Ferry to the Canadian border did have higher, more dramatic snowcapped mountains beside it.  That latter portion followed a long valley that had been formed by a receding glacier about 10,000 years ago.  Right at the border was an interesting agricultural area filled with tall poles.  Reading a sign, we discovered it is the largest contiguous hops field in the world.  Today, the hops plants were barely protruding from the surface of the earth, so it will take several weeks/months for them to climb so that the poles are needed to support them.

We got the last hotel room we could find in Sandpoint last night when we searched for reservations.  Upon our arrival, we discovered why.  They are having their annual Lost in the '50s celebration.  The parking lot of our hotel is half filled with classic cars.  The front cover of the local tourist magazine shows one of them and touts the festival.

Apparently Sandpoint is a major tourist destination throughout the year.  There are ski areas in the nearby mountains for winter activities, and Lake Pend Oreille, the largest and deepest lake in the state, is here for summer recreation.  It's a nice town with lots of shopping and entertainment available.

After our return from the Canadian border late this afternoon, we did some shopping at Wal-Mart and at the Dollar Store.  We checked on he features at the cinema next door to our hotel, but none were of particular interest to us.  We would have enjoyed going back to the downtown area to explore it more and to see whether tickets were available for a live theater event for the Lost in the '50s celebration tonight, but we were afraid that all the parking spaces at the hotel would be taken when we returned.  We decided just to relax and plan our travels for the next two days.