Jr & I haven't been to the St. Joe River in Northern Idaho for at least 17 or 18 years. Yes, I know I'm dating myself here.
We took the boys when they were small. I'd say around 5 & 7 ish.
Back then if you drove up the St. Joe river a spell you would find a little motel with about a dozen rooms. Here are a couple of interesting facts about the place that we still talk about today.
1. The walls were paper thin, and
2. There was a sign at the front door of the lodge that read, "Hunters, park your bear here!"
We thought that was one of the funniest things we had read in a long time (I mean really... Who drives a bear?) until we made our way into the town of St. Maries. In the back of some hunter's pickup truck was a bear he had shot that morning. Sounds gruesome doesn't it? The mini JR's loved it. As boys all things gross, disgusting, and dirty were very cool!
Looking at Nessa's paws right now reminds me of that poor bears' paws, big & black.
Not at all idyllic like this postcard would suggest. I can't think that times had changed all that much in about 90 years. But there you have it. There is no truth in advertising.
Please remember that this area of Idaho is very outdoorsy, woodsy, and all the other "sy" type words. They hunt, they fish, they trap things then eat them. I imagine that in all these years things still haven't changed much.
They do have a website though http://www.stmarieschamber.org/
June 7th looks like a big day in the town of St. Maries. There is free fishing day, a grand opening of the new firehouse, and family fun day at the new park. I wish I could go (no, I really mean that! This kind of community involvement is just the kind of thing that JR & I go for in a big way!)
If you ever have a chance to get up to St. Maries, Idaho be sure to do so. It is a lovely area and I'm sure that as with most small towns the people are very friendly.
Love,
M
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