Heading down to the Clearwater next week (Lewiston, Post Falls: for sale, loan)

[redwood66]

Hi all,

Hubby and I are heading down to take a look around Orofino, Kamiah, Kooskia, etc. for 2 days next week. We live in Post Falls and it is just getting too big for us. I am retired and DH is working. We spend a lot of time driving around looking at different areas to see what we like and rule out areas we don't as far as places to move. You guys and gals are all so helpful here so I thought I would check in to see if there is anything or area we should make sure to see.

We will be staying in a B&B for 2 nights near Orofino and will drive around the day in between, and then head east on 12 to Lolo and up to 90 and back home. I think in our search for property we have ruled out Montana because too many people have talked to us about being unhappy in the Bitterroot Valley. We like to shoot and want to set up something on the property we buy. We have horses and live on 5 acres currently but it is just too busy with too much traffic here.

We have good friends in Boundary County and spend quite a bit of time up there. We love it but the prices are too high and I cannot figure out why. Checking prices in the Clearwater area it seems cheaper but you can never tell by pics on a listing. Those are meant to show only the good and not the bad. We are not against off-grid but it would have to be about perfect otherwise to go that route. And it has to have water - a creek would be good too. One thing I have noticed checking well logs in Boundary, you can have a great well and then not too far is a really crappy one. We have a well in the aquifer and 25gpm. I have not checked well logs for the Clearwater area.

Any areas north of 12 we should go? Oh and it is our 25th anniversary so it will be a fun trip too.

Thanks!

[Clark Fork Fantast]

I saw you just joined C-D in July, so welcome to the Forum! Being partial to the Clark Fork area I have to suggest that instead of driving back to Post Falls on 90 you might consider going further up 93 to Highway 200, and drive back to Idaho along the Clark Fork River and Lake Ponderay, and take 95 from Sandpoint back to PF. I see you've considered moving to Boundary Ct, so you may already know both Highway 200 and 2 very well, but if you haven't driven to Sandpoint on 200, don't miss that opportunity, just for the awesome scenery! And who knows, you might consider including the Clark Fork Valley in your property search... (And the Montana part is very different from the Bitterroot Valley. Thompson Falls in particular is worth a stop.)

We haven't yet stayed at the Lochsa Lodge on Highway 12, but we've heard good things about it, so you may want to spend the night there.

[redwood66]

Hey Clark Fork thank you! I have driven the highways in District 1 so many times having just retired from ITD. I love the SH200 drive! I would love Clark Fork if I could find property that is suitable for horses that I can afford. LOL. I do love going south across the bridge and there were some fine places a few years ago but I have not found anything that I can afford lately. I want to practically buy outright (or low amount loan) from what we get selling here in PF. I do love the Montana side of 200 also. We have looked around Thompson Falls. I was having emails sent from Zillow for the Bull Run? Creek? in Montana.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Bull River along 56 (from Noxon to Troy), gorgeous area, but not a lot of available properties. I've heard from a realtor in Clark Fork that properties have begun to move fast, so you're probably right, it may be hard to find a horse property within your price range. But I've seen nice places for sale on the south side of the river (River Road/Clark Fork Road) with creeks and ponds. Friends of ours just bought 20 acres with a meadow and a pond, and plenty of space for horses, along River Road.

[Toyman at Jewel Lake]

Have fun with your trip! Highway 12 is a beautiful drive. According to the signs, 99 miles of twisties. And the Lochsa Lodge is a great place to stop for a meal. A bit expensive to stay, but very nice. We went down there on the bikes a couple months ago. Private land in the area is very limited-nearly everything is National Forest-what private land exists was "grandfathered" in before the NFS was created. As such, it's expensive.

[redwood66]

Thanks Toyman. I am excited because it looks like a pretty drive. I can't believe we have lived here this long and not taken it but things get busy all the time.

[redwood66]

I thought I would report back on our trip.

What a great time we had! Stayed at High Country Inn B&B in Orofino for two nights so we could venture out and see the surrounding areas. Jo Moore is an amazing lady who owns the B&B and a great cook. We shall be back for sure.

We have lived in Idaho for 12 years but never been to this part before. I have to say it is beautiful and the people are just as friendly as further up north. Because we have horses there are many parts of the Orofino local area that might be difficult for purchase. But just a bit further south and up out of the canyon we liked Grangeville, Weippe (pronounced wee-eye-pp) and parts of Kamiah. Kooskia is nice but quite small and a bit depressed. There might be stuff outside of town though. I think for our price range we will have to check Weippe closer but Hwy 11 is quite a hairpin turning highway to get to the top. Nice road though and I have to commend District 2 of Idaho Trans. Dept for keeping all the highways in great shape.

We took a tour of the St. Gertrude Monastery in Cottonwood and it was amazing! I recommend it to anyone. The sisters are so friendly and the museum has quite a bit if Idaho history.

https://www.stgertrudes.org/

Highway 12 to Lolo MT was so pretty! We stopped several time along the way just to go down to the river, both the Lochsa and the Clearwater. The new rest area tourist facility at the top of Lolo pass is beautiful and you can spend quite a bit of time there. Many Lewis & Clark displays and info boards along with nice trails to hike that are easy and short.

[Dangerous Dave]

Have you also looked at the Silver Valley area? Just curious, so you thought Kooskia looked depressing but Weippe didn't? Kamiah is okay, and there are some nice places just outside of town and you have the convenience of being able to get services in Lewiston.

[redwood66]

I have looked at the Silver Valley but there is not much larger acreages (5+) for sale and is usually out of my price range. Weippe was different to me than Kooskia because of the amount of usable acreage that was available. Town was pretty small but clean. Kooskia has quite a few lots along the main drag that have a lot of "stuff" stored.

[mtngirlatheart]

Have you looked into the Salmon area or any of the other smaller towns along 93?