Spokane and the Tiny House Tour

While at the Coeur d'Alene Street Fair, we stepped inside our first tiny house. We have been interested in these, for obvious reasons, but never inside one. I believe this particular one is just under 200sqft but has everything you really need to live comfortably. While speaking with Frank Genetti, the owner of Light Works, he invited us to come check out his facility where they build these homes. 

Before our tour, I researched the company and found the most amazing things about it. Light Works is not your typical home builder. Not only is he building homes that will change the lives of the purchaser, he's changing the lives of his employees and those in his community. PLEASE, please take a few minutes to read this brief article that explains this fantastic, social enterprise. I believe you will be just as inspired by Frank's vision and business plan as we are. And if you're in the market for a tiny house, his are built to order with customization options, highly competitive pricing, and you'd be helping create a ripple of good fortune that will be felt by many. A mutually beneficial purchase.

Here the kids are checking out a few of the homes in various stages of construction. 

They spotted the one from the fair. I wish I had taken a photo of the outside 

when they had it all set up with a wood deck around the entry. It looked like a cabin. 

While in CDA, we took a couple trips to Washington. The first was to a children's even at Cabela's where the kids got to shoot a REAL arrow with a bow, they had been wanting to do this for some time. Asher even managed to pop a balloon target! It was about a week after this that we bought their little set at the fair.

We participated in the fishing/casting clinic, and then the duck races where 

the kids had to shoot the ducks with water to propel them to the other side. 

Another day we drove to Spokane. We had planned to visit the science center, but it was closed on Monday, ah! So we read

 at the library for a bit. We discovered the book "Press Here" and it made the kids laugh and laugh and even surprised me!

The view of the Spokane River's falls from the library enticed us to get out and explore.

We soon found ourselves running thru Riverfront Park. 

The perfect place for an impromptu session on handstands as we work our way up to front handsprings.

There's even a section of the park with amusement rides!

Walking the bridge over the Spokane River.

Picking huckleberries on Schweitzer mountain, Sandpoint, Idaho

We attended the Huckleberry Festival on Schweitzer Mountain in Sandpoint. We'd never tried huckleberries before, so this was exciting for a couple reasons. Journey even asked me to give her a stripe of purple hair for the occasion. 

After meeting the vendors and trying some fresh fruit, we were ready to take the kids on their very first ski lift ride. I do not have any fear of heights, but I will admit it made me nervous having my kids on this. There was a safety bar that came across our laps, so I really shouldn't have worried. The kids enjoyed it and weren't scared at all. (They are squatting because I'm squatting to take their photo, ha!)

Seeing the view from the top was what I'd been looking forward to for a long time. A friend was married up here a couple years ago, so I really wanted to see the view of the lakes from her photos. Unfortunately there are some wildfires burning right now, so the smoke greatly reduced visibility. Someday we'll come back and see it on a clear day.

The view while riding back down was still pretty amazing. We could only see to the resort, so I can just image how magnificent it would be to ride this while looking out at the lakes and town thousands of feet below. That's Asher and Daddy riding in front of us.

Next we went hunting for huckleberries. The resort provided a shuttle to take us to the best area. Unfortunately we were with the last group for the day, so they were pretty picked over, but we still found a few handfuls and ate them on our way back to the resort.

We shared a piece of huckleberry pie before heading to the beach.

Before heading home we stopped to play at the Sandpoint City Beach Park on Lake Pend Oreille. Again the smoke was an issue, but you could still see the beauty of this area despite it. Next time we're in this area, I think we'll stay in both CDA and Sandpoint.

Falling in love with Coeur d'Alene

Coeur d'Alene is a cute, little town, perfect for outdoor recreation lovers. Lake Coeur d'Alene, a beautiful clear-blue lake nestled among green mountains, was once listed by National Geographic as one of the top five most beautiful lakes in the world. It lies in the panhandle between Washington and Montana, just 100 miles south of the Canadian border. The lake is alive with activity. The kids enjoyed watching the pontoon planes take off and land in front of us. There's one in the photo below.

We hiked Tubbs Hill for the best views and to find relatively private coves to swim. 

Check out the food boat! Seriously, it feeds people while out on the water or from the docks!

Lately I've been finding myself carrying around my kids wet underwear (impromptu swimsuits). 

It makes me happy to let them be spontaneous and enjoy the moments.

The playground and splash pad at McEuen Park, wow! The kids were in heaven. One fun thing about our travels is that our kids always have a new park to play on, rarely returning. This one we went back to a few times.

Asher mastered the zip-line.

The Coeur d'Alene Resort is top-ranked. Their marina sits along the world's longest floating boardwalk (.75mi). Guests can order room service delivered right to their boat. They also own the world's first floating, movable golf green. The 14th hole is an island that can be moved around to increase the length of the hole from 75 to 175ft! Golfers must board a boat to finish the hole.

I wandered thru a fantastic antique shop that could easily be a museum. Cisco's Gallery includes a cowboy hat, boots and saddle all delicately carved from wood. My other favorite was the Tramp Art.  Intricately carved wood furniture with secret compartments that you just have to see to really appreciate. The kids danced at "Music in the Park" and then enjoyed the tiniest ice cream cones I've ever seen. I with I would have taken a photo. 

Another day at Tubbs Hill, with swimsuits this time. Asa swam the entire time!

We were fortunate to be in town for the Street Fair/Art festival/Taste of CDA. Yep, three festivals in one. They're split into sections, but right next to each other, so you easily move from one to the next, from downtown to the lake. It was hot. We ended up swimming, which I found the perfect way to end a festival. The water was so clear, even when standing almost five feet deep in the water, we could watch fish swimming around our feet.

The kids were super excited to get their first bow and "ah-yoh" (arrow) set at the festival!

It seems like every RV has this sticker map. Now we have one too! The kids helped me fill in the 27 states we have experienced since we launched. We don't count it if we just drive thru it (Kentucky). Now it's proudly displayed on our slide with our Fulltime Families sticker.