STONERIDGE AT LAST!

August 31 – September 7, 2010



If the dates of this blog seem a little out of place with the previous one, the reason is because we were so taken with the Devil’s Tower that we couldn’t wait to post the blog and photos of it. So, hope you don’t mind if we backtrack a few days.

It was a short trip from Little Diamond to StoneRidge but our GPS made a very unusual error, probably the worst we have ever encountered with the Garman. We usually trust our GPS and try to give it every opportunity to guide us, but this was too far out so we relied on our good sense and it soon was back on track to get us to StoneRidge.

The first impressions of StoneRidge were outstanding, with a combination of houses, time-shares, condos, a golf course, tennis courts, pool, spa and a lake all in a beautifully landscaped valley in the mountains of Northern Idaho. But we were more interested in the RV campground which turned out to be an excellent facility as well, with full utilities (only 50 amp electric service, not even offering 30 amps!) full concrete pads and asphalt streets. No place to even get dirty!

Overlooking StoneRidge

Joe, our contact, guided us to our site and helped us get parked; we are certainly not used to such service. Since it was still early we tried out the Grill for lunch, and found that they also have an excellent dinner menu.


On Wednesday we decided to do some exploring and headed to Athol, ID, and Silverwood, the “largest theme park in the Northwest.” Some thirty years ago when Fran and I were flying our airplanes, we read about a WWI aerodrome at Athol and flew in to check it out. The aerodrome was just like an old WWI combat base with ramshackle hangers housing a few dozen WWI aircraft from Fokkers to SPADS to SE5’s and to top them off a red Fokker DR-1 Triplane as flown by Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the legendary Red Baron. We visited on a weekend and were treated to an air show as well as a lunch of Sausages and Beer, a throwback to the old days. It had been a wonderful day but unfortunately the aerodrome and those wonderful old airplanes are no longer there. All that is left is a monstrous theme park with roller coasters and a water park and whatever else comprises a theme park. Quite a disappointment but perhaps it was the dismal rainy day, who knows.


Meanwhile, our friends from the CAT RV Club, Danny and Marcie Quarisa arrived at StoneRidge and parked their motorhome near us.

The super mini-golf course

Thursday we had our obligatory sales pitch with Joe, whom we rather liked; he gave us a complete history of the development and took us on a tour of the entire facility but always very low key. Actually we enjoyed our tour and learned that StoneRidge was started in the late 1960’s as a time-share development. It languished for a number of years until the present owners bought the facility in 2001 and made massive changes to the place, adding homes, condos, an expanded golf course and what interested us most: the RV “Village”.



The Motorcoach Village



But since we do not play golf and are not ready for a fixed facility we really had no interest in buying into the place ------ sorry, Joe.

That night Danny, Marcie and Fran cooked up dinner which we ate in the coach as it was too cold outside to be comfortable.



Lake Pend Oreille at Sandpoint

 On Friday, the Internet weather forecast promised a nice day so we all headed for Sandpoint, a quaint small town on the shore of Lake Pend Oreille that has attracted a large art community.

Danny, George, Fran and Marcie

After a stop at the Visitor’s Center, we found a nice restaurant overlooking the lake and the City Park where we had lunch and then boarded the Shawnodese cruise ship for a tour around the lake.

The weather forecast was right-on and we had a lovely day for a sail around the northern portion of this immense lake.


The Shawnodese Cruise Ship

 Our tour guide gave us a half hour history lesson about the origins of the lake dating back millions of years when ice dams formed and then burst, gouging out the huge lakebed. This happened time and time again until finally the ice ages ended and we are left with this immense lake with beautiful homes lining the shores and an occasional boat cruising the azure blue waters.


Fran and George on the Cruise

 We were then off to cruise the main street and see the many tourist shops as well as the flagship store of the Coldwater Creek mail order clothing company. Then off to the Litehouse Bleu Cheese Factory who make some really delicious bleu cheese which, of course, we bought to take back to the coach. Then we were back to StoneRidge for dinner.


Saturday was the beginning of the Labor Day Holiday but was so rainy and miserable that we just stayed in the coach and took the day off. Fran invited Danny and Marcie to come over for dinner; she cooked a couple racks of barbecued baby back ribs, using her favorite Winger’s sweet and spicy sauce, and coleslaw. Marcie brought beans and dessert and we had another great meal.


Fran at the Coeur d'Alene Resort



On Sunday we were invited to have dinner with Jay and Connie Gridley and tour their new home at Fernan Lake Village (a suburb of Coeur d’Alene), so we were off to Coeur d’Alene. Fran was in the mood for sushi for lunch, so in searching on the Internet for restaurants, Fran found a highly-rated one in downtown CdA called Bonsai Bistro.

The Bonsai Bistro Restaurant

We found it across the street from the huge CdA Resort overlooking the City Park and beautiful Lake Coeur d’Alene. Interestingly, the restaurant started out as a bank building although along the way it had been converted to this beautiful restaurant with three levels for dining, the lower level outdoor patio had a stream running around it which then went through the lower level dining area. Then a large mid-level area, but we chose the upper level with cantilevered windows giving an exciting view of the main street, the park and the lake. Oh, yes, the food was very good also. After some shopping we made our way to Fernan Lake Village and found the Gridley home; couldn’t miss it with their Revcon motorhome parked in the driveway. Jay and Connie are old friends who spend their winters in Casa Grande, AZ, so they are just like neighbors. They had bought this corner house in Fernan Lake, an area they liked, and proceeded to tear out all the walls and rebuild it to their liking, even the landscaping and garden are all new. Now, for many folks this would be a multi-year project but we have seen how they work on their motorhomes and their park model home in Casa Grande so we were not too surprised at the speed that this home was completely and beautifully renovated. The basement has an antique wood parlor room that the former owner had removed from a hundred year old house that was being torn down and had it installed here. This is a real feature of the house even though it is hidden away in the basement.

George, Fran, Connie,Jay and Carrie 

But we had really come for dinner and Connie is a great cook so we proceeded to dinner where their daughter Carrie joined us. Dinner with the Gridleys is always a treat and we enjoyed the marvelous food and good company.

Monday was Labor Day and dawned somewhat overcast and chilly but at least there was no rain. All week the local folks had been very friendly, stopping by to chat, and all invited us to “Mike’s” lot for a Beer and Sausage feast that he puts on each year. So, after giving both the motorhome and the car a much-needed bath, we made our way to “Mike’s” with Danny and Marcie; and sure enough, Mike had built a large lanai adjourning his coach with plenty of beer, wine and assorted sausages. In a nearby site, folks played a very animated Bocce Ball tournament.

We weren’t into Bocce Ball, but the hosts had dug out a large seating area in the embankment lined with granite boulders, flowering plants and lights. In the center was a large stone table with a cutout in the center in the shape of the state of Idaho. The cutout was filled with glass cubes of various colors and had flames rising through the cubes; it was truly impressive and did give off some warmth as well. We joined the conversation and it soon turned to cars which appealed to all the “guys” but maybe not so much for the “girls.”

With Labor Day over we would say goodbye to all our new friends at StoneRidge. It has been a wonderful week that ended all too soon, but we have things to do and places to see so we were off to our next stop. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bye, all!