The Unknown Adventure: Flashback: Priest Lake

For the week and a half I spent in Coeur d'Alene, I didn't plan much other than spending time with family, meeting up with my best friends' families, and you guessed it. . . packing. So when my dad asked me if I wanted to take an impromptu trip to Canada, I thought, why the hell not? The thought of crossing borders legally made me all giddy inside. I could just picture it: proudly handing over my American passport while thinking Ha! Check that out! Yes indeed, I am finally legal and proud of it!

Well, unfortunately because there is little if any snow to speak of, we decided to change, or rather adapt, our grand plans of heading up north into the land of maple leaves and the winter olympics. Instead, we drove the two hours to Priest Lake, an Idaho vacation haven in the summer and snowy winter months. Perhaps due to the serious lack of snow we are suffering from this year and the fact that we arrived on Superbowl Sunday, we were literally the ONLY ones staying at the lodge. It was almost eerie when we were walking around the property because everything was deserted. Old lake cabins all boarded up, frozen fire pits on the beach, vacated chairs on the occasional dock. But after that initial creepiness wore off, I began to sink into the undeniable sense of peace emanating from the frozen earth. And the couple inches of snow that were still lingering on the sand added to the stillness of this place. As if that thin layer of snow can magically quiet the world. You know, like when you're in the mountains in the dead of winter, whether you're skiing or boarding or snow shoeing or just walking, and you stop whatever it is that you're doing for a moment to feel the silence. And you really can feel it. It's not suffocating or anxiety-filled, but it makes you feel so acutely aware of yourself in the world and the world in yourself. How you feel and think suddenly become so clear that all those trivial thoughts racking your brain fall away to the gutters because they really don't matter.

So we walked and talked and not-talked along the lakeshore for a good two hours before retreating from the cold into our little cabin condo complete with a fireplace and coffee machine. Did I mention that I found heaven? We eventually dragged ourselves to the bar/restaurant to watch New Orleans kick some serious Indianapolis ass (woop woooop!), mostly because watching American sports was one of the things I missed most about being in Switzerland. Go right ahead and laugh all you want. Okay, sure they have futball or soccer or whatever you want to call it, but what about college basketball? And the Lakers?! Seriously? How am I supposed to release all that built up competitive energy when I don't know a thing about all these different futball and rugby leagues? Okay, I may not be the biggest fan of American football, but I still find it entertaining enough. And yes, I got my sports fix, for now at least Thank GOD March Madness is right around the corner.

The rest of our time in Priest was spent lounging and reading and sleeping. Oh, and we did find some time in our extremely hectic schedule to polish off some serious steaks at the lodge's restaurant. And did I mention that we had the most glorious weather possible? Just take a look for yourself.