Greetings from MO-Kan ...Spring 2010 Arrival (Boise, Coeur d'Alene: fit in, renting, new home)

[MoToIdaho]

Hi everyone! This will be my first post and though I've been reading here on this great board for a while (wow there's a ton of info), I'm not sure about all of the etiquette and rules yet. I'd sure appreciate it if ya'll would let me know if I miss-step so that I can shape it up and not do it again.

First off...thanks to everyone for all of the postings on here. I can't even describe how helpful it's been in my researching and learning. Thank you!

We'll be moving to Valley County next Spring/ Summer. The exact date will depend on when his house sells. I'll be coming with my retired Father...he wants to come home for his retirement years. He was born and raised in the Cascade area, but honestly, he and his Father moved all over the place due to his work (logging, trapping etc.) As you can probably guess, it's been many moons since Dad lived in the area. Heck, he's pined away for Idaho for most of his life. Family commitments kept him away...he's chomping at the bit to get back but knows to wait for Spring due to the weather and all.

I've grown up with the stories of his youth...of the land, the animals, the people (not necessarily in that order)...I've yearned for Idaho myself. We both know that things change, and change greatly over the years, so we've been trying to familiarize/ refamiliarize ourselves with our desired home area. Most of the year we've been getting the Cascade and McCall papers and have learned alot. Mostly good...some, not so good. Neither of us care much for what we've heard about this new "Payette Landing" (did I remember that right?) airstrip, for example. But, I guess we may not have a right to say much considering we don't live there yet. Overall, what we've read just makes us both want to get there so bad we can't stand it!! It's going to be a long winter. *sigh*

I am an avid outdoors-woman, probably got it from Dad. Though he's been in high-tech most of his life...he is a mountain boy at heart and can't wait to show me some of the "secret" and remote places he and my Grandfather used to frequent. When I'm not working, I'll be tromping around in the back-country or kayaking or filming wildlife...just some of the things that make my heart sing. Dad'll just be tromping (Kayaks...are NOT his thing!!! LOL)

I look forward to make a new home there, making friends and maybe even getting involved in some clubs when I come out. I'm a sociable critter. Dad...not so much. He...well, he's a bit cranky I guess you could say. He comes from a different time...alot of what he see's these days in society upsets him greatly. If he could just disappear into the woods, he'd do it. He might on me someday too...who knows, the stinker.

...and that brings me to some questions! I would welcome any and all input for he and I...and be so thankful for it.

1. Where's a good place to settle for an old grouch? LOL He wants Valley county (but he's starting to look a little interested in Whitebird and North, to Kamiah and even over to Elk City with my gentle prodding to expand his options ...Boise is just OUT as far as he's concerned.)

He doesn't care if there's no hospital around as long as there's life-flight in the gen. vacinity to whisk his bottom out if he needs it. He's probably going to get a Sat. phone in case of emergencies (we'll have cells for regular usage, but will need the back-up for our outtings and know it.)

He's not a social person, and (how do I put this?) doesn't care much for "beautiful people." (I saw this mentioned on another thread somewhere so I'll use it.) Sorry if I offend anyone...just don't know how else to put it. He doesn't care for the money & profit -driven development. (Ya, ya...I know. It's a double-edged sword. He's retired so he can gripe. People need work, jobs...jobs, development...money to put food on the table...*sigh* He knows this too but still gripes.) He's bracing himself for the changes he knows he's going to see in this regard. He is looking for pristine and ...maybe even areas that are like they were 40 years ago...if there are any of those left. He doesn't mind driving to get to a bank or post office. Small is okay.

Me....? Well, I'd go for that too if I didn't have to work. I'll be finished up with EMT training by spring (former small business owner and career housewife.) I don't have time to get into search and rescue training before we move so I'll have to do that out there. Paramedic training will also have to wait. I'll be a separated and soon-to-be divorced middle-aged woman that looks forward to starting a new life, and career in her dream environment. I even look forward to shepherding my older Dad (getting out like he's going to is going to be good for him) ...though I know at times it'll feel like herding cats.

Suggestions for newly minted EMT's? I don't have to worry about schools (kids are older, one going to college the other soon to be) so I have some flexibility here where younger families wouldn't.

I kind of rambled all over the place!! Yikes! ...and I'm sure I've forgotten many details that might be needed for ya'll to give us some input. Oh! Like financial ability.

Prices on homes and land...well, it has stunned us. You can still get 40 acres and a farm around here in W. Central Missouri if you look, for around a 100K to 150K. They go fast and you have to be quick, but they still pop up. I shudder to think what it would cost there. But anyways...we're okay financially, but we're not rich and the money won't go far. We may buy...maybe not. We're okay with renting if necessary, for the long haul. We're doing our best to educate ourselves ahead of time so that we make good choices.

Your help sure would be appreciated. Dad says thank you, thank you ahead of time (so, ya...he can be nice when he wants to be!! *chuckle*) I thank you too. If anyone needs specifics on anything, please give me a shout.

I know this post is a bit long (long heck! It's a novella!!! LOL) but, I wanted to give you a feel for us. I'm an open book anyways, no reason to change that here. ROFL

Thank you so much!

[cleosmom]

Okay, so I'm nowhere near Valley County, but couldn't help in replying to your post

First off, your dad sounds like many "old timers", if you will, around my neck of the woods. Not into the glitter and glam, down to earth type of guy. Am I close? Sounds like he certainly doesn't put on airs Should blend in just fine or at least down here in SE Idaho he would.

Secondly, if you're in training to be a first responder then you know you do want a hospital within shooting distance or at least as best as you can if you need to get full service help STAT. I've done the aging parent thing and sadly my life term for such has ended, but I was lucky enough to not only have mom live in town, but darn near across from the hospital. I have a friend who is currently dealing with dual aging parents who live in the middle of Nowhere, Nevada and it simply boggles our minds and I know she lives in a perpetual state of stress. However, the choice is clearly up to your family. If you're not near a full service hospital, then know what the plan would be in case airlift is needed.

Search and Rescue is a well used service in all parts of Idaho considering the abundance of outdoor activities. It shouldn't be too hard for you to train for that or CAP and then continue on to getting your paramedic certification taken care of.

As I said I'm on the wrong end of the state, but couldn't resist replying and so by doing so I'm bumping this up so someone in that are can be of more help.

Best of luck and if you're near KC you're certainly going to appreciate ID

[Clark Fork Fantast]

MTI, I don't know that I can contribute with anything substantial, but your story is so compelling! Is there any chance that you could do a scouting trip to ID with your dad in the spring, before making up your minds where to settle, and get a first-hand impression of what has changed and what has remained the same? It almost seems as if you could zero in on a few hospitals with the appropriate facilities and training programs and then plan excursions around them, looking at the smaller towns within one hour's drive. Google Earth might be of some help. Of course I'm partial to North Idaho--and Clark Fork is about 30 minutes away from the hospital in Sandpoint!

[MoToIdaho]

Good morning! Thank you SO much for your replies and warmth!

Cleosmom...

I really appreciate your input on the aging parent factor. I am sorry to hear about your Mom. *friendly hug* I/we lost Mom early this year at the end of January.

That's foremost in my mind too, the medical facilities and access/location/proximity. I've been researching via internet and some leads we've found in the newspapers, where ALL the medical clinics, offices, emergency care and hospitals are for Valley County. It's been a process and now that I'm most of the way finished (I picked a town starting with McCall, then Cascade and then have expanded out from there on my trusty map), I realize there were probably much easier ways to do this than the way I did it. LOL

I've also been tracking life-flight and ambulance unit locations...both for he and I (me for employment factors and volunteering opportunities, him for health/age reasons.)

On the one hand he does want know where the Doctors are for regular care (he has blood pressure/ heart issues) ...emergency care, he seems to care less. I guess he figures if he gets to that point, it won't matter (that's the attitute I get.) It's frustrating and upsetting. So, I'm covering this area myself. I'm doing my best to get him to situate himself in a good area where all of this is concerned...but, I know from what I'm seeing...it probably won't be the deciding factor for him. *silent scream!!!!* I can definitely understand the stress your friend in Nevada must be under! The land and environment are what's motivating him...and the seclusion factor. I swear, ya'll may be getting a modern day hermit/ mountain man next year!!! *ugh!* So anyways...

Yep, Dad is definitely an "old timer" though he'd probably throttle me if I ever used that term around him. ROFL I've been telling him that he's going to fit in just fine. His response, "I'm not moving out there to get all lovey-dovey with people...I'm going for the land. It's home." Well, okay then.

You know the movie, "Grand Torino" with Clint Eastwood? Dad's not that bad...but, could be...easily. The other difference, he and I actually like each other and get along famously, unlike the dynamic in the movie. Dad LOVED the movie (bought it for him when it came out on disc), despised the ending. It'll be up to me to keep the town's-folk from wherever we move to from "voting him off the island" and sending him downstream w/o a paddle, so to speak. I can bake, that should help. *grin/wink*

Kansas City...won't be missed much. It takes a good drive to get up there from my location, but I make the drive about once a month or so to get shopping in for things that I can't get around here. Sometimes, I come home with a nervous *tic* by my left eye. This is usually the result of someone nearly running me off the road while chatting on their cell-phones, while applying make-up, or what have you. *sigh* I swear, everyone's nuts up there! I'll be doing my clinical rotations/ ride-alongs up KC and in the 'burbs...should be interesting.

Mercy! I wrote another book! Sorry!

Will wrap this post up and start a new one. Thank you Cleosmom!

[MoToIdaho]

Greetings Clark Fork Fantast! Thank you for responding!

Now see?! I've been telling Dad this for months! *ugh!!* I've been urging him to make an exploratory trip..."gotta get out there Dad, you simply must" etc. and so on. Thank you for backing up my sentiments. I actually got him to come close to doing it once...and then he changed his mind on me. "No, it's just a waste of money. I know where home is....don't need to see it to know what it looks like." ...and that....was the end of that.

Until, I gently brought it up again this last week. Same response. He is quite firm about not wanting to "waste" his money. *grrrrr* Instead now...

He's leaning towards getting himself an RV. He doesn't like goosenecks so it'll be a trailer. He's having me search craigslist for an old airstream. The mention of traveling around and being mobile for a while is becoming very commonplace. If he goes this route, this will give him some flexibility in ultimately finding his "home base." He can drive, park....and then live in a spot for a while to see if it suits.

I'm now pin-pointing campgrounds for him/us (just in case he does it). He just went out and bought himself a beast of a truck for getting around in for when we move out there. I swear...it is a bloated mountain goat. So he'll be set on that angle...and is set up for hauling a trailer too.

I may be a nomad for a while, methinks. It's a-gonna be an adventure!!! *grin* But, my side-kick status will have to end way before his wanderings will. He doesn't need a job...I do. Pronto. So! Is it legal to tag somebody like a deer so you can keep track of them? Just kidding!!!? I have a sick sense of humor sometimes!! *snicker/ snort*

Yes...I so wish he'd go out and look first. Ain't gonna happen. I guess I need to start tracking med. facilites in other counties too, don't I? That way when he's out doing the gypsy thing, at least I'll know where everything is. I hadn't thought that far ahead...thanks for the nudge! Heavens, I'm going to need to do the whole state. I'm really gonna push him towards getting that Satellite phone he's been considering. ...and not 4 months after we move either.

On the bright side...winter will curb the wanderings! Nature's gonna limit the hopping around. ROFL

Cascade/ McCall is home to him, but he'll leave the immediate area to find his hermit headquarters. ...and to me, it looks like he's willing to roam far and wide to locate it. At one time he even considered going back up to Alaska (he lived there for a time, even had a sled-dog team) beautiful country, he says. But, Idaho is where his heart is.

It is going to be impossible to get everything he wants and what I want and also need for him. His leanings towards hermit-dom...I'm just going to have to do the best I can in and around whatever he decides on. Grey hairs are multiplying as I speak.

So you live up North? How awesome! My deepest leanings are actually for your neck of the woods (though all of Idaho is gorgeous, I even like what I've seen of the desert, though I'm not a desert person by nature...without the thick foliage and streams I'd shrivel up). With Dad though...well, I've got to stay within shouting distance of wherever he finally settles down.

Thanks for chiming in!

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Originally Posted by MoToIdaho

Greetings Clark Fork Fantast! Thank you for responding!

So you live up North? How awesome! My deepest leanings are actually for your neck of the woods (though all of Idaho is gorgeous, I even like what I've seen of the desert, though I'm not a desert person by nature...without the thick foliage and streams I'd shrivel up). With Dad though...well, I've got to stay within shouting distance of wherever he finally settles down.

Thanks for chiming in!

I wish! But as for now, I'm only dreaming. We own 5 acres in the prettiest valley on the planet (sez I ) in Clark Fork between the Cabinets and the Coeur d'Alenes (you can see some pics on the pics thread), but I can't leave my job in SoCal, and I've got years until retirement. But, as members of this forum are probably sick and tired of hearing about , we're planning on building an oldfashioned cabin there. Soon!

You'll find that many of us on this forum have some connection to North Idaho, either because we live there, or because we want to. Your dad would be able to find an out-of-the-way place down a long gravel road, and yet within fairly easy access to stores and medical facilities. But as some posters can tell you, some areas that used to be rural are now subdivisions , which is not what a hermit wants...

One thing I think it will be uncecessary to warn you about are the potentially harsh winters in NID--I know Missouri winters from family stories, and they can be pretty brutal!