Stu & Tippy's Travels: 07/06/2008

Continuing to enjoy the Coeur d'Alene area

We are truly enjoying some wonderful weather - highs in the 80's to low 90's, lows in the 60's. On Tuesday, July 8th, we took a drive north to Newport, WA and then east to Sandpoint, ID before returning to Post falls. The drive was quite pretty with many beautiful mountain scenes and river views. We wanted to have lunch at the Beach Park in Sandpoint but we found out they didn't allow dogs in the park. We continued to drive south from Sandpoint and found a turnoff to a small lake called Mirror Lake. We parked in the shade of some trees and had a great picnic with the windows open.

On Wednesday, July 9th, I did a Golf Digest visit to the Gozzer Ranch Golf and Lake Club. This was a memorable golf experience to say the least! They picked me up at the Coeur d'Alene Hotel dock and transported me and my clubs by boat to the Gozzer Ranch property. From the dock at Gozzer Ranch we were taken by GMC Denali SUV's to the golf course. At the course I was introduced to the golf professional, Matt Baine, and he walked me around the property to get me acclimated. They have a small "shoe room" in the golf shop to change into your golf shoes. After getting into my golf shoes I was taken to the practice area where there were several staff members to provide any assistance required. Interestingly, they had small fires at every location to provide the rustic smell of an open fire.

After warming up a little Matt Baine returned and informed me that Andrew Magee, a tour professional and Golf Channel personality, would be playing with me today. Apparently Andrew works with the Discovery land Company, the developer of the property, showing prospective members,buyers, around the course and the property. We had a great day and I played pretty well on the front and a couple of bad holes on the back but the magnificent views over shadowed any poor play on my part. Andrew played very well and I think he will do well when he joins the Champions Tour in four years. The golf course, a Fazio design, is quite wonderful and is probably one of the best courses I have seen.

On Thursday, July 10th, we were going to take a lake cruise but it was very windy so we decided to go out for lunch and then just stayed in the afternoon and evening. We had a great lunch at a local Pub & Grill. Tippy had a Philly beef and I had a hamburger with Gorgonzola cheese and jalapenos, mmmm good. Today, Friday, I took the car in to have a sensor replaced and Tippy and I will go out for dinner to celebrate our anniversary. We will be here in Post Falls until Tuesday but I don't know what we have planned for the last few days. More later so be safe.

Andrew Magee playing his second shot at number 16

Approach to tenth hole at Gozzer Ranch - 544 yards, par 5

Ninth hole at Gozzer Ranch - Par 4, 461 yards

Third hole at Gozzer Ranch - 196 yard par 3

A grill stop at Gozzer Ranch - what a view

Approach to the green at the 571 yard 2nd hole at Gozzer

One of the "rest areas" at the Gozzer Ranch Golf and Lake Club

Mirror Lake, south of Sandpoint, ID - Our lunch stop

The Pend Oreille Dam (Pand-O-Ray)

Stu & Alex at the Pend Oreille Dam

First week in Idaho

We have had a wonderful time during our first week here in the Post Falls - Coeur d'Alene area. As you can see from the pictures below I have played some golf, seen many friends, and have seen three wonderful golf courses. On the 2nd I played at The Club at Black Rock which is a Jim Engh design and it is an incredible course! On the 5th I played at the Circling Raven Golf Club in Worley, ID, about 25 miles south of Coeur d'Alene, where I met Carl & barb Henry, Rick & Sandy Borlase, and some of their friends. We had three groups and had a wonderful day. The course is very challenging and it is important to get yourself on the correct tee box or you will be in for a long day! There are many forced carries over hazards and if you are back to far you will have trouble reaching grass and many holes, including a few par threes.

On the 6th I was invited to join Carl & Rick to play at the Hayden Lake Country Club. This is a terrific old, 101 years, traditional golf course with plenty of BIG trees. We had a great day and then I returned to the coach to pick up Tippy and then we joined the folks for dinner at the club. They have a wonderful buffet dinner every Sunday evening and the food and the views of the lake were truly incredible! After dinner we drove to Rick and Sandy's wonderful home that is right on the lake and it even has it's own beach. They have a great spot for them and their family to enjoy.

We spent July 4th afternoon and evening with our friends Karen & Dennis Augsberger. They are staying at the Blackwell Island RV Park, which is a short way from us and closer to the lake. We were able to meet some of their family and friends and had a great afternoon. Dennis cooked hamburgers and hot dogs and other folks brought side dishes, Tippy brought her cream cheese and pickle rollups, and everyone ate their fill. The fireworks show didn't start until 10:00 so we had time to sit around for a while after dinner and chit chat some more. Their site at the park had a great view for the show so we just lined our chairs up along the road and got comfortable. The fireworks show was really good and we enjoyed the sights and sounds, except for Alex and Dennis' dog, both of which didn't care too much for the show. Tippy took Alex to the car where she stayed on the floor and Dennis gave his dog some Valium and he slept inside. The traffic was pretty bad leaving the area but we made it home safely after enjoying a wonderful day.

This week will be a little quieter with only one golf game scheduled and maybe a movie or two. There is also a Cabela's store only about 5 miles away so I may visit there as well. We did see Hancock last week and we both enjoyed it even if it was a little quirky. We plan to see Indiana Jones this afternoon and maybe Get Smart later in the week. More in a day or so, be safe.