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Sandpoint 4th
of July 2009
The first
question always is: where are we going to celebrate the 4th?
What I mean is, will we do the City Beach fireworks put on by
the Lion’s Club, or maybe we’ll try Hope, or Hayden Lake, or
Garfield Bay this year. While Sandpoint has what many believe to
be the premier display, plus there is the cool factor of being
able to walk about downtown and get a beer or a slice, there are
a dozen other venues within twenty miles that offer the rocket’s
red glare all around Lake Pend Oreille and outlying areas.
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Sandpoint City Beach - Early
before July 4th 2009 |
Nope, the
decision made, Sandpoint became the choice, but where to park
our party? Some people like to take in the pyrotechnics from
their boats offshore. From past experience, the tiny gnats have
made me appreciate an on-shore location. So, across the water at
41 South is pretty cool, and from a distance, the far away view
from off Lefaye’s Way and Forever View is awesome. My friend’s,
Gary and Laura Peitz, had parked their travel van at City Beach
and extended the invite, so the final destination was selected.
Going across
the Long Bridge is always inspiring with the majestic mountain
and lake views, at least when there isn’t construction and
delays. However, it was especially heartening this year. We now
know that our current economic woes were affecting people even
to last summer, and combined with the high gas prices, there
were fewer boats on the lake, and summer 2008 numbers were way
down compared to the previous few years. As I drove across the
bridge the numbers of out-of-state license plates was the first
good sign. The readily apparent increase of boats on the water
was another. In my mind, even though it was early on
Independence Day, the beginnings were auspicious.
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We had gone to
see Jesse Colin Young the night before at the Panida, and had
put on the Concert after the concert at Kaye Delanius’ home. She
was back in town to visit and spruce up her 2nd home
here. So, we were moving kind of slow. Even so, downtown was
hopping, and there were already several hundred people at City
Beach by the time we plopped down around 6pm. Again, the guitars
came out and the singing kept the children entertained. Speaking
of entertainment, thanks so much to the hilarious drunks at
Trinity at the Beach. Trinity did a very good job of serving
good drinks fast, but the floor show of the unnamed inebriated
fellow was infinitely better than the cocktail.
The first
deafening boom of the initial fireworks went up around 9:45pm,
though from our vantage point, we could see pretty cool bursts
all around the lake, on Sunnyside and Oden Bay, across to
Highway 200 leading out to Hope.
There is always
a small delay between the first burst and the proceeding deluge.
I was told this is so people can get situated and train their
cameras for the onslaught. While last year’s fireworks were
somewhat disappointing, this year lived up to the great years
past.
The oooos and
aaahhhs from the crowd was as pleasing as the illuminations. The
delighted squeals of the children were added to the crrraccckks
and kaaaaboooooms and baaannngggs that were followed by reds and
blues and greens. At times when the phosphorus lighted the
crowds, reflecting off the water and smoke in the air, every
soul on the beach was clearly visible, then the light would die
down, and all was dark again. Our eyes, normally adjusting to
darkened situations, could not recover in time, and pitch black
was the rule, until the next blaze in the sky once again took
our collective breaths away.
The crowd has
swelled to roughly several thousand right before the beginning
of the event, so that leaving was a massive moving of
lemming-like humanity. Most had parked some place other than at
the beach. Parking at the beach has some convenience, but
leaving can take hours, or at least it seems like hours.
As I drove back
home across the Long Bridge the areas all along Lakeshore Drive
and Bottle Bay Road had several large fireworks launches, the
missiles colliding with open air, showering their umbrellas of
pretty pink and white, yellow and stardust. Most surprising was
the gigantic display taking place in Sagle right down Highway
95. Seemed just as big as the Sandpoint show, and I almost drove
out there to check out that party. Maybe I’ll go there next
year.
All of this
took place under a three quarter full moon. The temperature
during the day was in the mid 90s, but cooled down to the 70s
but the time the show started. My friend went to the Oregon
coast this weekend, and he told me they skipped the fireworks
because the fog was so thick. Temps there were in the 40s-50s
and the wetness of the fog made life outside just not comfy.
The next day
the temperatures had dropped to the high 80s, and the forecast
was for high 70s to 80s for the next several days. We who live
here sometimes forget to notice the wonderfully temperate
weather, and take the striking beauty for granted. As I drove to
Dover Bay to host an open house at Marina Town, one of the
waterfront developments there, I noted that, with the exception
of one Canadian speeder, all the people from Alberta and
Washington, Montana and British Columbia, and all other points
from afar, drove with that wonderful rubbernecking tourists are
known for. They had the right idea. Look at this gorgeous place,
this land of mountains and big lakes, rivers and beautiful
landscapes. I saw over a dozen cases of allowing the random car
to move into traffic, stopping for the multitude of pedestrians
and cyclists. Good manners have been the rule this weekend.
People take on the mantel of kindness and courtesy here in
Sandpoint, regardless of big-city attitudes left behind. On the
4th, children asked “please” and said “after you,”
and “thank you, sir.” This is paradise for so many more reasons
than startling scenery.
Loved being in
Sandpoint this weekend, and as I write this report, sitting on a
balcony on the Pend Oreille, as boat after boat cruises by, I
can think of no better place in the world to be than Sandpoint
and North Idaho.
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