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Not everyone knows How to find the sasquatch, but Someone here just might. |
Idaho is home to some pretty impresive stuff. Aside from the state looking like (but not being) a single giant national park, we're also home to Craters of the Moon national park (where the Apollo program astronauts practiced with suits and equipment), an extinct volcano (it's where the Gem State got its gems), and our very own bordello museum. Calamity Jane was here for a while and Molly "Be-Damned" Berdan ran a series of shebangs during the exploration of the territory. But Idaho is also home to some conspicuously spectacular contributors to the firearms industry. I figured I'd take some time after (checks watch- holy f^@& it's been 5 years and 5 months since the last post. I suck.) all this time to show some love for the Idaho companies that make this the best and the last free state.
Foxtrot Mike: Foxtrot Mike is an innovator in the firearms biz, and they're unafraid to take on the hard stuff. They make some unusual AR-15 variants, like the FM-45 and FM-9 pistol caliber carbines (rifle or pistol length, and they use Glock magazines), and the Ranch Rifle, which is an AR15 upper on a Monte Carlo stock, modified bolt carrier to obviate the need for a buffer tube.) along with the kinds of AR-15 rifles and pistols you expect. Their customer service is first rate, and their products are sturdy and reliable. Would definitely recommend to people who are looking for something... unusual.
CCI Speer: Cascade Cartridge Inc is based in Lewiston, ID, and has been a mainstay in the ammunition manufacturing biz since 1951. I don't need to say anything about their products. If you're reading this, you've almost certainly used their ammo and if you carry daily you might even have some in your magazines right now (their Speer Gold Dot Sfot Point is top notch PD ammo). And if you've never tried CCI or Speer ammo, shame on you and get off your wallet. They make great reloading components, too (projectiles and primers). CCI 41 MILSPEC primers are the standard for Lake City 5.56mm ammunition. If you're rolling your own, you can use the CCI 450 Small Rifle Magnum civilian version (the MILSPEC ones are brass cups, the 450s are nickel plated). Pairing these primers with 25 grains of Hodgdon H335 and surplus green tip projectiles gives a load that is remarkably similar in performance and aimpoint to factory green tips. Replacing the projectile with a 62 grain Speer Gold Dot Soft Point makes formidable PD and varmint round.
Vortex Optics: Vortex is another Lewiston company with a long-standing reputation for excellence, great products, great support and innovation. Vortex optics come with a lifetime, transferrable, no questions asked warranty. Your scope, binoculars or rangefinders can get struct by a meteor and, if you can produce something that is identifiable as a particular Vortex product, they will replace it at no cost, no questions asked. That said, don't be a dick. I personally have several Vortex optics that I use often and to great effect, and would not trade them for anything. This past year, their Vortex Low Power Variable Optic was selected by the UK MoD as standard issue for their L403A1 commando rifle. I mean, just in case there was any question about durability.
Seekins Precision: Seekins is (not just, but yes) another innovator, They achieve this by taking standard-ish designs to the next level. They have a full spectrum of gas rifles, but they also stand atop the domestic market for bolt guns. They're not shy about the tasks they take on, and they make most of their own parts when they can make a difference in quality, resiliency and... well... precision (ergo the name.) Seekins is also located in Lewiston, and they offer a thing they call "The Seekins Experience"", wherein you specify the rifle of your dreams... and then you build it in their factory, with their tools, under the instruction of their gunsmiths and engineers. You then take the rifle that you just built and try it out at a traininig facility used only by US Special Operations Command for training. If this doesn't cause a freedom-boner (even if you're female) you should probably consult your urologist.
Rocky Mountain Reloading: RMR is a projectiles company who started life as a clearing house for blemished-but-perfectly-functional projectiles for people who hand-make their ammunition. Since they began, they have evolved into a great (and highly underrated) manufacturer of new projectiles and as a distributor of super-high-quality projectile seconds from name brand ammunition manufacturers. They still have great prices on pulled bullets (when a name-brand manufacturer starts a production run and has a wrong powder charge or primer or some other dumb mistake) disassembled when they catch it after 20,000 wrong rounds are made. Now the ammo manufacturer can't sell the bullets as new because there's a scratch on the copper jacket, or they're tarnished. RMR takes the parts from the manufacturer for a "just get it out of here" price and makes sure that they're useable and safe. The practical upshot is that you get some name brand bullets for reloading at a fraction of the price that you'd pay from a store. Rocky Mountain Reloading didn't stop there, though. They started making their own bullets, jackets and all, and they have a solid line of super high performing defense bullets (the "nuke" line) and great quality competition bullets (the "match-winner" line). Fast service, reliable delivery and shipping options when you want to make extra-sure there are no problems in transit. Bullets, brass, and even plain-old lead if you do your own casting. RMR Bullets is my go-to for reloading suppplies. RMR is a projectiles company who started life as a clearing house for blemished-but-perfectly-functional projectiles for people who hand-make their ammunition. Since they began, they have evolved into a great (and highly underrated) manufacturer of new projectiles and as a distributor of super-high-quality projectile seconds from name brand ammunition manufacturers. They still have great prices on pulled bullets (when a name-brand manufacturer starts a production run and has a wrong powder charge or primer or some other dumb mistake) disassembled when they catch it after 20,000 wrong rounds are made. Now the ammo manufacturer can't sell the bullets as new because there's a scratch on the copper jacket, or they're tarnished. RMR takes the parts from the manufacturer for a "just get it out of here" price and makes sure that they're useable and safe. The practical upshot is that you get some name brand bullets for reloading at a fraction of the price that you'd pay from a store. Rocky Mountain Reloading didn't stop there, though. They started making their own bullets, jackets and all, and they have a solid line of super high performing defense bullets (the "nuke" line) and great quality competition bullets (the "match-winner" line). Fast service, reliable delivery and shipping options when you want to make extra-sure there are no problems in transit. Bullets, brass, and even plain-old lead if you do your own casting. RMR Bullets is my go-to for reloading suppplies.
Alien Gear Holsters: If you're like me (pity, but still) you have a collection of exactly the wrong holster for each and every handgun that you own. This is my lot. When I first found Alien Gear in Post Falls ID, I was looking for a holster that would take a particular pistol with a particular light for open-carry (no sense in CC when your appliation is pet defense in rural farm land at night). I acually physically stumbled upon AlienGear on my way home from the epic Post Falls gun show at the race track on exit 1. I had been looking (what I thought was) everywhere for ths elusive combinatination and found AlienGear because the have a prodigious collection of very diverse hardware upon which to model their kydex holsters.
Making food out of nothing but dirt, water and sunlight is a lot easier than you might think, and you can do it in a surprisingly small area with stuff that you can get for free. Our example here today is a raised garden bed made from wooden shipping palettes.
A lot of web sites have raised-bed-garden projects made from shipping palettes, but most of those involve a intimidating amount of nail-pulling and additional materials from the hardware store. This is not one of those projects. The idea here is to limit the amount of brute-force carpentry and sheet metal fiddlybits common to most of the other projects. Mostly, we'll do this salvaged materials and with a few long screws, and we'll end up with a 3-foot by 3-foot square-ish box, about 18 inches tall, that you can fill with dirt and plant your garden in.
MATERIALS:
Step 1. Figure out where you want to put the raised bed. Pick a place that gets sun, and that you can easily get water to it, You'll want a place where you can walk up it and reach in to tend the plants. Keep in mind that you might have to dig in this garden, especially if you're planting beets, carrots, potatoes, or other root vegetables. Give yourself a comfortable amount of space to work.
Step 2. Cut the palettes in half. Shipping palettes usually have three 2x4 boards with a bunch of half-inch boards nailed across them. Cut the 2x4 boards on the under-side of the palette about in half. Measurements aren't critical, but they will affect the height of the side walls.
Step 3. Attach the palette halves at the corners. This is where the 3 inch decking screws come in. Attach the palettes at the top corners, using the decking screws. Put one or two screw near the top. Repeat this for each corner. Setting the bottom edge of the palette into the ground a couple of inches will help hold the bottom of the box together.
Step 4. Line the inside of the box. Using your cardboard (or a tarp, if that's how you roll) line the inside of the box. This will keep the dirt from falling out between the slats of the palette. The key here is to make sure that the top of the lining doesn't fall in when you're filling the box with dirt. Put a tack (or a staple) every foot or so around the top. Having pieces of cardboard overlapping an inch or so is sufficient- no taping or sealing is required.
Step 5. Fill the box with dirt. Again- any kind of dirt will do. Digging dirt out of hard-packed ground will give you a good start with aeriation, but you'll probably still want to "amend" the soil with grass clippings or straw (mix it in) to add nutrients and keep the soil from compacting too tightly.
Step 6. Plant crops! Actual regular gardening takes over after step 5 is completed. Treat your garden like any other kind of garden (or maybe a huge potted plant). Pick crops that will grow when you're planting. We grow herbs (chives, basil, parsley, dill, tarragon, etc.) plus green onions, garlic and raddishes in one 3x3 section. The two of us get enough to feed us through the winter. In another 3x3 section, we grow carrots, potatoes, and a couple of different kinds of lettuce and tomatoes. Again, enough to carry us most of the year.
You can actually make a lot of food in not a lot of space for not a lot of money. The hardest part is figuring out what to plant. If you're in Moscow Idaho at the Farmer's Market (happens on main street every Saturday from May to September) you can get advice on planting from the Backyard Harvest booth (near the playground). The garden section of your local hardware store can also likely help you pick things that will grow well where you are. We live near Moscow Idaho, so we go to Moscow Building Supply, Tri State Outfitters, and Spence Hardware and Supply.
There's a lot of good reasons to grow your own food. Whether you're trying to avoid industrial pesticides, or GMO plants, or if you like to "be prepared", or whether you're just curious, you can totally do this. All you need is a square of ground about 3 feet on a side and some scrap materials. No tractor required.
I still want a tractor.
After escaping from 30 years living in Kalifornistan, the idea of a hole in the ground that produces water was irresistable. All that clean, fresh water. As much as you could drink, and spread on your gardens, and wash your car AND driveway and nobody would complain or accuse me. I have to say I was awestruck and a little smug about it.
Fast forward a couple of years and now I have a more solid grounding in reality. As much as there's a seemingly unlimited supply of free water, there are still costs, some of which I didn't expect.
Wells in some places have beautiful, crystal clear water that you can drink straight from the garden hose. Other places, not so much. My well is in one of those places.
The water from our well has an iron-bearing, sulphur-eating bacteria in it called "coliform" bacteria. While the bacteria doesn't carry illness, it does make the water rusty-red and forms a gross, scummy film across the toilets. And the bacteria, while eating sulphur dissolved in the water, metabolizes it with hydrogen. This makes hydrogen sulfide in the water and it smells like farts. Not so great for drinking or bathing. Terrible for laundry.
There are a couple of ways to deal with this. One is to inject chlorine bleach into the well. This requires a multi-hundred dollar motor and pump, a line down the well, plumbing from the chlorine resevoir, and a constant supply of bleach. It gets spendy. Another way is to use an ozone injector, which works a lot better but is hellishly costly up front and makes hydrogen gas that has to be dispersed.
We treat our water outside the well, filtering sediment with a greensand filter ($2K) to get most of the mud and solids, a water softener ($3K) to remove minerals and stuff the greensand filter didn't remove, secondary sediment and carbon filters ($500-ish) and a UV antibacterial filter ($600) for any straggler coliform that are headed to the hot water tank, and we have pretty good water in the house.
Holy hell. Buy once, cry once. I don't even remember how bad it hurt.
The latest drama was that the water pressure tank wouldn't hold pressure above 42PSI, and the pump never shut off. A call to the well guy brought two very professional and friendly techs and a crane from Strom Electric in Troy, who determined that there was a hole in a section of lift pipe coming up from the well pump. It might have been an inexpensive fix, but the pump- while it was working- was ten years old and only expected to live for 15. Might as well replace it now.
Well pumps are spendy.
Even so, the guys from Strom Electric did a great job. They were on time, communicated well (no pun intended) delivered exactly what I was after, and were very courteous.
I hope I don't have to do this again, but if I do, I'll do it the same way.
When you hear the term "wine country" a few places spring to mind. Bordeaux. Napa. The Comlumbia River Valley. The Okanagan valley, maybe. But Idaho? I will personally tell you that Coco and Karl Umiker of Clearwater Canyon Cellars have bottled proof that will disabuse skeptics of any doubts and misconceptions they might have about where good wines come from and who makes them.
Coco and Karl are locals- both educated at the two get-it-done universities in the Inland Northwest (Washington State University and University of Idaho, respectively). Knowledge of both are key to the great wines that come from Clearwater Canyon, but as great as these two are at making wine, it didn't begin with them.
As far back as 1872, people were planting French grape varietals in the Lewis-Clark valley. Nascent prohibition movements predating the 21st amendment suppressed the alcoholic beverage market in the area for 80 years. Eventually, though, the fruit growers and wine afficianados regained their steam, and the industry took off again in the late 1990s.
In that intervening time- like the Russian, Columbian, and Okanagan river valleys- northern Idaho was *covered* with fruit trees and grain crops for more than a hundred years. So what? This is where the plum, apple, pear, fill-in-the-blank-berry and cherry flavors in your reds come from. Same thing with the bready, grassy, and flowery notes in your whites. The area and its fruit is really only part of the story here, though.
The winemakers in this region are skilled and well-supplied, both with excellent local fruit and technology. Coco and Karl are Up. To. Here. in all of the tedious biology, chemistry, geology, meteorology and geography that represents all of the arcane knowedge from great european winemakers. Which is not to say that they're srtictly technologists- they're genuine artists, consciously skilled in what makes great wines and how to care for their grapes in ways that respect the land, the history, the people who tend it, and the community.
There are many great wineries here, and some of them are led by women. This seems to be somewhat out of the norm for the California wine scene, but it's indicitave of the respect true Idahoans all give equals- regardless of whatever other qualifiers you might bring to the table. Genger isn't really a qualifier for me- I like good wine, and it doesn't matter to me who makes it- but there seems to be a preponderence of women who make good wine here. 'Nuff said.
What brought this on? We picked up our wine club batch yesterday, and Holy Crow, there are some bangin'-good Clearwater Canyon wines in this release. The last go-round we got "2015 Coco's Reserve Malbec" and "2015 Wine Project" are personal favorites, and I could tell when we picked it up that the 2015 Estate Syrah is an up-and-comer.
This time, Coco and Karl branched out. Seems that they managed to lay their hands on some tempranillo from the Columbia River Valley. Now, tempranillo seems to be surprisingly forgiving when it comes to wine. I don't recall ever having had a bad one. That said, in the hands of someone who knows what she's doing, it (at the risk of gilding the lily a bit) transcends. Coco definitely knows what she's doing. Better go get some of this before it's gone.
You might think that this gives a winemaker some thing of an attitude. Coco had an attitude going into this venture, but it wasn't conceit about her wines. Coco is very much a get-it-done person. She has a solid sense of what she likes in a wine and what the team at the winery needs. It's a comfortable place that reflects the care and understanding that she and Karl have built of their staff, the community, and the grapes.
They've expanded from the (get-it-done) business park along the Clearwater River where they began, moving the winery to the hills in the south of Lewiston where their Syrah (and who knows what else in the future) grows. They have barrels stacked floor to near-ceiling , and if the current batch of bottles is any indication, 2021 is going to have some even greater Idaho wines.
I can't wait.
One of the first things I did when I got to Idaho was try to find a radio station that could entertain a two-sided brain and a 3-digit IQ. It wasn't for me. Stop looking at me like that.
This really isn't a complicated task. You'd think it just involves turning on a radio and picking AM or FM, then twiddling the dial until there's something I find entertaining. In most places you'd be successful with a strategy like that, but Idaho isn't most places. It's like a giant national park with all the beauty and disconnectedness that you would associate with a national park.
Cellular phone service is a good indicator of radio reception here. There are well traveled places in Idaho where I've had better cel reception at a seance; I think this is mostly owing to low population density and high mental density of mobile service providers who don't recognize people transiting an area as a valid market regardless of the population.
In case you didn't catch that, I just called the mobile phone service providers "dense."
Lots of rugged terrain is also a problem for radio. Mountains block radio. Okay- what was I on about? Yes. Radio for intelligent people. Again, not for me.
There's a small radio station that broadcasts from a tiny, humble studio on Sixth St. in Moscow. KRFP is an entirely listener-supported radio station that is the epitome of public service. Truly local news and topics of interest to people on the Palouse- or even transiting the palouse- at the exact time and place where you need it.
People- the ever present "they"- describe KRFP as "all Maoist, all the time" by people who listen. The mix of farmers and college professors in this area are the likely origins of this statement. This is actually a pretty understandable assessment, so I have to throw in a caveat here. It's up to you to sort our what you believe and what you don't. I spent a significant part of my life in armed service to the nation in active opposition to communism and I am here to tell you this: Whatever you hear on KRFP, as “liberal†as it sounds is not communism. At some point I'll elaborate on what I see about the Idaho "left," but that's a topic for another post.
So back to the radio… I know this guy. My friend Dwight tells me he's going to have this engraved on my tombstone. I hope he waits until I'm dead. But whatever. So I know this guy, Dave, who hosts the only two hour segment of the broadcast day that isn't (searching thesaurus for “propaganda†synonym. 0 results returned) propaganda. Dave hosts a show called the Tuesday Night Grab Bag.
Dave's knowledge of music and recording seems encyclopedic. Like Alton Brown is with food, and Alex Trebec is with... well... most stuff, Dave is with music. (CAUTION: speculation, type=wild) Every week, he randomly finds two brain cells that bang into each other and produce two or more unlikely concepts that can express themselves in music. For example, reggae and punk Christmas music. (End of speculation).
The result of Dave's process is a two hour mix of obscure and contemporary but absolutely relevant songs and recordings that perfectly fit the theme he picks. I've never heard him recycle these concepts, and I've always been impressed with his program. The guy is a true professional and an artisan with a great radio presence.
The station could use some support if you think about it. They're trying to get up to 1,100 watts so they can reach people down in the valleys and outlying areas. They even have a program called "adopt-a-watt" where you can make a tax-deductable donation (the station is a 501.3C not-for-profit enterprise). You can find it at this link.
Hey- just go listen. You can even listen live at this link. It's a great radio station and they will tell you everything you need to know about what's happening in and around Moscow.
Okay, I'm unapologetic about it. I like wine. This didn't always go over well with some of the rough-and-tumble crowd that I somtimes run with, but how tough can I be if I can't take a little ribbing over my beverage?
Today, my lovely and adventurous wife and I took a trip down to Lewiston, to
a winery we've visited before for a special event- a charity fundraiser for
Backyard Harvest, which is a local
crop-gleaning and food distribution organization. This fundraiser was held
at Lindsay Creek Vineyards.
These are some really nice folks who run this place, and their operation is top tier professional. Their wines- every last one I tried, and I think we tried everything they have bottled- run a full spectrum of complexity (clean and crisp to rich and buttery whites, and easily drinkable to chewably jammy reds) at prices that won't leave you searching the floorboards for gas money to get home. But before I get too much farther into that, let me give you a bit of background infomration.
There are very, very few things that I miss from Kalifornistan. One of them is the wine. We can get a lot of Kali wines here in Idaho, but there's a lot of good things to be said to hopping on to the motorcycle with the wife and rolling up to wine country, or whatever the local approximation is for the area. There are many smaller versions of wine county there, and most of them can hold their own pretty well with Sonoma and Napa counties.
The Pacific Northwest is getting a lot better too. The Columbia River Valley exports wines all over the nation, and they do a damn fine job of reminding the Kali wine snobs of the harsh lessons that the Kalistanis taught the French in the not too distant past.
The fact of the matter is that huge areas of the Pacific Northwest are great at growing fruit that makes for great wines. Here in Northern Idaho- admittedly probably one of the last places anyone would think about for having a respectable wine scene- well... it has a respectable wine scene. The American Viticulture Association even officially recognizes the "Eagle Foothills" appellation for the Snake River Valley. But let's not get wrapped around the propshaft about official tedium. This is about wine. And the winery.
Lindsay Creek Vineyards is about 4 and a half miles east off the main drag in
Lewiston (Thain Rd.), through some neighborhoods and out into the farmlands.
The place is situated on a gentle slope that's about 5 miles south of the
Clearwater River. The view from the giant tasting room windows is epic, which
makes the place a good location for events, like fundraisers, for example. Or
weddings. They seem to be a popular spot for Weddings and have a well-outfitted
facility for handling large groups. And talking to anyone behind the bar might
yield some catering suggestions.
Lindsay Creek has a wine club, but it's not the kind of wine club that we found in Napa and Sonoma counties. Nobody's going to make you buy a whole case every 4 months here. They do smaller batches and keep it sane.
Look- just go to the web site. They'll tell you everything about their operation that you probably want to know. It's great wine that's afforable, and they have a comfortable environment with a great view. It's worth the trip.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a bottle of the Lindsay Creek 2013 Riesling that I'd like to get back to.
Being a Navy veteran, it seemed like an unlikely place for me to bring my family. I was right. It is. My wife and I were far more than ready to get away from the rest of the silliness of high population density areas and take up... well... farming. We found a nice place with a little more dirt than we left in San Diego, and we started to plant stuff- edible stuff- on it. It's turned out pretty well.
We met some of the neighbors and we get along great with them. Wasn't I surprised when I found out that he is an old squid (that's what we call each other) too. A snipe, to be more specific. I'm an old twidgit (if you have to ask, you probably don't want to know) so we get along pretty well. Turns out that there's a LOT of old squids in Idaho. I never would have figured, but there it is. Who knew?!
Well, apparently the Navy knew that Idaho is a good place to catch squid, because there's a submarine base here, in Bayview (between Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint.) You can see more about it here.
But I didn't come all this way to talk about sailors and Navy bases. I've added some links for events and for useful sites when you're in Idaho. Things that every Idahoan needs to know. Like where are the DMV offices? And the gun shows? And where is there good theater? Also I'm a foodie, so I'll be posting restaurant reviews here. Eventually.
If you have contributions, I encourage you to email them to me. I'll edit them to make them fit the site, but I'll give you whatever credit and byline you want. Just send your contributions via email to ositg@wfidaho.com and I'll get them posted. If they're decent and legal.
I mean, it's only one state. How hard can it be to find stuff?
How many times have I asked myself this question? I guess if I lived in Boise or Coeur d'Alene it would probably be easier. I figured it would be easier living in a college town- Moscow- to find stuff here. The place is overrun with smart people with advanced degrees, so surely someone here must know where to find a suit.
Nope.
Growing up a city kid in Houston was absolutely no preparation for living in somewhat rural Idaho. Living for thirty years in San Diego didn't help. You can't swing a bovine femur there without hitting a Starbucks and a Target on the first go-round. But here you could swing a Starbucks and not hit a cow.
This state has a very low population density. There are as many people in the city (not the county) of San Diego as there are in the state of Idaho. This is great if you're outdoorsy (which I aspire to be) or if you have agricultural proclivities (which my wife does). But I'm not quite outdoorsy yet. I'm still working on it. It is, however, mercifully, blissfully, awe-inspiringly peaceful.I have not had a single beef with anyone I have ever met in Idaho. This is far more than I can say for other places. Everyone is respectful of each other, and even the very young police and sheriff deputies are nice and courteous and helpful. I'm definitely grateful for the opportunity to live here. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
But it's also sometimes hard to find stuff. Like easy-to-understand hunting information. Like voter pamphlets. Like water well information. Like straight answers to complex health insurance questions (these are more frequent that I would have imagined.) Make no mistake: The answers are there, they're just not easy to find. This is where this web site comes in.
My goal is to have a single place where people can find straight answers to the big question: Where to find it in Idaho.
"Full pardon, but I follow up the quest, despite of day and night and death and Hell."
-Tenyson