Sandpoint, Idaho & Polson, Montana

We made it to Idaho in mid-July. We didn’t plan to spend much time here and were only using it as a jumping off point to begin our cross-country trip along Highway 2, which runs just south of the Canadian border.

Our friend Pat told us that Sandpoint is a cute little town and is often a day trip for folks in the Spokane, WA area. She was right, it is a cute little town. Since the temperatures were starting to rise we decided to check out the beach. Sandpoint is at the northern end of Lake Pend Oreille.

“Lake Pend Oreille (/ˌpɒndəˈreɪ/POND-ə-RAY) in the northern Idaho Panhandle is the largest lake in the U.S. state of Idaho and the 38th-largest lake by area in the United States, with a surface area of 148 square miles (380 km²). It is 43 miles (69 km) long, and 1,150 feet (350 m) deep in some regions, making it the fifth-deepest in the nation…“ – Wikipedia

The beach was much nicer than we expected. The water was warm and there were lifeguards in the swimming area. Buoys were placed in the water to separate the swimming area from the boats. And the sand was soft – very much like an ocean beach (which is our frame of reference)

At one end of the beach is a short pier with a small replica of the statue of liberty at the end of it. It was a bit odd to see it there and we weren’t sure why it was at this beach. But we walked out on the pier and photographed it anyway. The views were beautiful everywhere we looked.

We only spent one night in Idaho before heading in to Montana. As I said, the heat was setting in and we were hoping to escape it by heading up towards Glacier National Park area.

We spent two nights at the KOA Campground in Polson, Montana, which is at the southern end of Flathead Lake. The campground was clean, everyone was super friendly, and the nights were cool so we were able to turn off the a/c for a little bit in the evening. We recommend it if you are in the area.

Our first day, after getting the RV set up, we found out there is a winery about 15 minutes north. It was a beautiful drive along the lake and the tasting “room” was set up outdoors. We weren’t sure what to expect but, once again, the wine was really good. I spoke to the owner and he told me that he learned to make wine while living in California for many years. He started his own vineyard in Washington state and then decided to move back to Montana where he grew up. He told me he still has the vineyard and imports his grapes from Washington.

There were a few other tables set up outside and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. At one point Joel noticed a wild turkey walking around the yard next to the winery. We watched it wander about for awhile until it eventually came into the winery yard (a.k.a. the “tasting room”). It surprised us that no one else noticed at all but we were able to capture the whole thing on camera.

While in Polson, we took care of some chores. These can be a bit more challenging to take care of when on the road.

One of the attractions in Polson is the Miracle of American Museum. We didn’t notice they had misspelled ‘museum’ on their sign until we came out. In hindsight, it is very telling of the quality of this museum.

The entrance to the museum is to the right of a large lumber boat with an old sign that is a bit hard to read. Again, something we should have paid attention to before we handed over any money to enter.

Once inside we quickly realized that this is a museum intent on sharing ALL things American, often all at once, and often with commentary from a conservative political point of view. Not what we expected from a museum.

There were quite a few items that encouraged museum-goers to try out or use the historical items.

Some items were interesting, however, there were so many pieces displayed together that it quickly became overwhelming. It was hard to focus and know what you were looking at because this museum seemed to be trying to showcase everything.

There were also some items that were just strange – more Ripley’s Believe It Or Not than something that you would expect in a Miracle of American Museum

The museum continued outside where, again, this museum seemed to be going for quantity rather than quality in their displays.

Overall, if you are in the area I recommend you skip this place. Spend time at the lake, or drive north to Kalispell, Whitefish or Glacier National Park. All are much more enjoyable, in my opinion.

Speaking of driving, we had planned to drive east at a leisurely pace enjoying the cool summer weather that is typical of the northwest. However, a heat dome set in and it became quite miserable to be outside for any length of time. So we changed our plans and drove east without stopping to see too much…well, except we did stop for this one thing…