Encircling lakes, wetlands and rugged mountain country.

The Selkirk Loop is one of the Pacific Northwests great road trips.

My journey takes me from Priest River and Priest Lake to Sandpoint, Bonners Ferry, Creston and Nelson, where outdoor adventure, creative culture and community conservation efforts are deeply woven into the landscape.

I'm Alice Ford and we're back in Northern Norway.

This is the Garden Island, Kauai, Hawaii.

As you guys can see, it is absolutely beautiful down here.

The views are just already stunning.

We are on our way to Antarctica.

So right now we're having a traditional tea here.

Wow.

Small towns, beautiful views and a plethora of outdoor adventure.

That's what you will find along the international Selkirk Loop, which is what I am doing right now.

Over the next week, I'm exploring this International Scenic Byway that goes through North Idaho up into Canada, and then back into Washington.

And your first stop along this route in Idaho is the small town of Priest River.

It sits on the confluence of the Ponderay River and the Priest River.

It is absolutely beautiful, and I'm actually here to meet with the mayor and talk to him about a brand new project that's going to bring a lot more community into this small town.

but I've got a I grew up as, a logger for 40 years.

I was a logger before I was elected as a county commissioner.

So I have a deep connection towards sawmills and logging in the lumber industry in general, that's my grip here is what keeps me around So this has been something that's going on for about three years.

We had, 48 acres donated to the city.

Been meeting with the public on different ideas of what it should be done we're working with a public, private partnership to where they're going to do a lot of the, the work.

people will get to use it, utilize it for free.

And then there will be, a Marina, RV park, that, they will get to, benefit on their end for the business.

Yeah, I can imagine that's really going to bring, a lot more people in here to your community, especially people traveling the Selkirk Loop.

Yeah, it fits right in with that.

This, we've kind of been the pass through city a lot of times.

People are getting to Priest Lake or getting to Sandpoint, but I think this is going to change all that.

I'm pretty sure of it.

We are going to be a destination, I'm pretty sure because of this park.

Yeah, it's going to be pretty fantastic.

it should be a great addition to what's already going on in the general area.

Know.

From Priest River, I head north for a short side trip to the beautiful Priest Lake.

Priest Lake is known as one of the crown jewels of Idaho.

Crystal clear water surrounded by red cedar for us that this time of year harbor something super special.

Mushrooms.

So today I'm here by the lakeside, and I'm meeting up with Scott Hill from Hill's Resort to forage for mushrooms and cook them up into something tasty.

All right, so mushrooms are one of my favorite foods, but I have never gone out foraging, so I'm really excited for today.

Okay, well, we'll grab a basket and we'll go look around for.

All right.

Oh, what's this one over here?

It's that.

I'm not sure what.

Is that a matsutaki?

It's huge.

I think that is Whoa.

Wow.

I did not expect that to go so far down into the ground.

But this is a little older one.

You could tell by how big it is but still edible.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I see something right up here.

you want to grab me?

You can still have these small ones, too.

Yeah, the small ones are really the prized ones, You'll see that the cap and stem are attached still.

So that's what they call them.

But I'm hard to get out of the ground there.

That's a button.

Oh, yeah.

I see what you mean.

Of the cap and stem here.

Yeah.

smaller ones here.

Oh, look, there's four and.

Oh my gosh, look at that grouping.

Yeah.

So if I was going to be selective, I might take.

Oh, man.

This one's nice.

You know, but even it looks like a grocery store mushroom.

Right.

Even this one's got some worm holes in it.

Oh, I see those.

So they're a little bit too far along.

I'm going to leave it.

Okay.

And I think we're just going to go to, another spot and for some more mushrooms.

All right, let's go.

This is a good opportunity to leave some for either other people or next year.

Yeah.

Okay, I love that.

Okay.

let's go.

Are we looking for the same kinds of mushrooms here?

We'll see what we find.

But I'm pretty sure it's going to be chanterelles here.

Okay, great.

All right, well, the more chanterelles here.

Yeah, I found them here before, so Oh, I think I see one.

Is that one we can eat?

Oh, there's a chanterelle right there.

Okay.

Now, is there a way to tell if it's, still edible?

Like, if it's too young.

Too old?

If it's too young, it'll be really small.

If it's too old.

When you squeeze the stem, it'll be real soft.

Okay.

And the reason is because worms get in there and eat away at the stem.

Okay.

And so this one.

Yeah.

It's still really firm.

Like a tree trunk.

Almost.

Exactly.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

So that's actually a perfect one.

All right, we gotta add that to the basket.

Okay.

These are a little brown mushrooms.

They're edible, but they're not choice.

Okay, so you can eat them.

They aren't poisonous, but, we don't.

We just pass over them.

And about how many mushrooms can you eat here in North Idaho?

And then in the fall, there's three mushrooms that are considered choice.

So it's the it's edgeless, the chanterelle, which we have right here.

And the tataki.

that So I'm just slicing these a little thinner because they're a little more dense.

supposed Wow.

That, like, it's delicious.

So far from there Scott this has been such a fantastic day.

I never have done this.

I've never foraged I've never cooked mushrooms.

I've always been really afraid of picking the wrong one.

So I'm really glad that you showed me the ropes today on foraging.

It's such a beautiful place that you have to live here in Idaho, and I've loved every second.

So thank you so much.

Oh my gosh, I appreciate it too.

Yeah, We're off to the next stop here in Sandpoint, Idaho, located along the shoreline of the beautiful Lake Ponderay.

This is one of my favorite small towns here in North Idaho, and for good reason.

It's full of shops and restaurants.

Local craftspeople making pottery and all kinds of other goods.

And it's surrounded by the mountains.

You have Schweitzer, where you can stay in the winter or mountain bike in the summer.

And I've got a couple of fun surprises here before we head on to the next stop.

You'll find a plethora of great boutiques here in Sandpoint.

I just picked up a couple of things for our next adventure.

You can find everything from sporting goods to consignment and everything in between.

One place you have to check out is the Cedar Street Market.

Now, this was once a footbridge in the early 1900s.

It fell into dereliction and then was actually opened as a public market in the 1980s.

Today it's full of shops, but I'm actually here to try my hand at pottery, something I love to fill my shelves with but I'm not very good at.

So I'm going to be joining Sandpoint Ceramics today for a quick lesson.

Yeah.

That's so cute.

It's been your wheel on the lowest possible setting.

What you're going to do is you're going to take the flat edge right here on your 3:00 and have your elbows down, hands connected.

There you go.

You're an amazing student.

Okay, look, yours is even better than my actual bowl.

That doesn't look like a monster.

A great teacher.

When your feet get tired, a great way to explore here is by horseback.

And right now, I'm at one of my favorite ranches outside Sandpoint, which is called Western Pleasure.

It's a beautiful day for a ride, and I'm very excited to be out here once again.

Hi.

My name is Janice, going over, and my husband and I, Raleigh, scoot over with our kids, operate and own the Western Pleasure Guest Ranch.

And here in the fall season, we offer horseback rides.

So fall color rides, scenic trail rides.

And we also have cabin rentals, beautiful little log cabins, secluded log cabins in the woods.

And we have lodge rooms.

So we offer bed and breakfast stays here in the lodge.

I've been riding horses since I was probably in the womb, so it's it's it's it's embedded in me.

Now Dudley is actually an Appaloosa, which is the state horse of Idaho.

And that goes back to the Native American history here in the state as well.

This isn't a truly fantastic way to just check out the fall colors here.

Yes, I have loved it so much and I didn't even have to do any hiking today.

Dudley did it all for me.

I definitely recommend coming to Western Pleasure if you're looking for a fantastic way to see that fall colors in a different way.

Sandpoint has been beautiful, but I've got a few more stops before we head over the border into Canada.

We're heading now into the cabinet Mountains to hike a peak, one of the highest around here in North Idaho.

The views are supposed to be absolutely incredible, and we just have to get in one waterfall hike before winter comes.

It's October, so I've been expecting Idaho to be showing off its fall colors.

But this It's also a reminder of why protecting public Off.

This trail is about an hour's drive from Sandpoint, Idaho, so that's a great place to stay if you want to come and do this hike.

You could also drive over to Bonners Ferry, which is a little bit farther, but also a great small town to stay in here in North Idaho.

Now, this mountain range is full of wildlife grizzly bears, black bears, mountain lions, and even gray wolves.

So it's always good to have your head on a swivel when you're out here hiking, especially if you're hiking alone.

And if you are hiking alone, You'll want to make sure you have bear spray with you and that you're making noise while you're walking on the trail.

Looking.

National Park.

The idea was proposed again in 1933, but it was ultimately rejected because the National Park Service director For.

Wow, these views are incredible.

All ready?

Just look at this mountain range.

It is incredibly beautiful.

Now the cabinet mountains are actually part of the Rocky Mountains, which stretch all the way from Colorado up into Canada, where we're heading soon.

I can't wait to get to the top, though.

If these are the views here, they're going to be even more incredible at the top.

We've come up more than 2000ft in elevation now.

Just about above the tree line.

And now we have these sweeping views of Lake Ponderay, which you can see just behind me here.

It is an absolutely beautiful day.

Now, Lake Ponderay is actually Idaho's deepest lake.

It's also the largest lake and a super interesting fact about this lake as well is that they actually do military submarine testing in this lake, which they've done since, I believe, around World War two, because the lake is so deep, they've been able to do a lot of the radar testing.

That would be a lot more difficult in the ocean.

So they have an actual naval base here, on one part of the lake.

But we're not going to get in any submarines at all.

We're just going to get to the summit.

Really.

Time to layer back up because the temperatures are getting chilly.

The top is just behind me here and I already see some mountain goats off in the distance.

So I think we're going to see some up close, which I'm really excited for.

The views up here are absolutely spectacular.

Behind you is Lake Ponderay and I think from the top we'll be able to see Montana.

I just can't get over how beautiful it is up here.

I have loved every moment of this hike, even though it's been really steep.

But I'll see you guys at the summit and with some mountain goats to.

A small population of mountain goats live in this hill and this time of year, with winter on its way.

They are fluffy and white, teaching the newest family members the ropes or should I say ridges before snow dances on the peaks.

Now, there's nothing that I love more than getting to observe wildlife from a distance.

When I'm out in nature.

And mountain goats, they actually do something really unique that you'll see them doing if you watch them up close.

And that's licking rocks on the mountainside.

It seems strange, but they actually need sodium and they don't get it a lot in their diet.

But when it rains, sodium appears on a lot of the rocks.

So they lick this and they also do it to humans if you get too close, because we have a lot of salt on our bodies.

So our legs are gear, hiking poles, backpack straps, things like this, they will gladly lick if you're not watching too closely.

Oh.

I had a little welcome party on the way up here.

Couple of mountain goats.

And now we are on the summit.

Montana.

Over there.

Idaho over there.

Amazing.

Absolutely beautiful.

Wow.

Worth it.

Every second.

I. Yeah, she's been for a while.

Our last stop before Canada, here on the Selkirk Loop is the small town of Bonners Ferry.

And you will definitely want to stop for a walk around downtown here.

Bonners ferry sits on the Kootenay River, and there's one place I have to take you, especially if you love wildlife.

And that's the Kootenay National Wildlife Refuge, which is just down the road here from downtown.

Here at the visitor center at the Kewanee National Wildlife Refuge, you'll find an actual replica of an eagle's nest.

Look how massive this is.

Now, eagles are all over the Kootenai River, and you'll find a lot of them in this area, especially here in the refuge, but also tons of other birds as well.

So if you're a birder, definitely bring your binoculars and your long lens.

Now here at the refuge, there are also several photography blinds for people wanting to come and just photograph birds up close.

There's also a great driving tour that goes inside the refuge and back into some of these wetlands, where you can get a really up close view of some of the wildlife.

Every trip to Bonners, I find myself staying here at the converted schoolhouse built in 1914.

Today, it's known as the Northside School Bed and Breakfast, but it was used as the local school all the way up until 1990.

Rooms are themed and school subjects and Old Town history can be found on the walls.

It's a step back down memory lane for residents and visitors alike.

From Bonners Ferry, it's just about an hour to the Canadian town of Creston, and my first stop across the border on this international road trip.

Creston is a small town with a lot of personality where nature orchards, great food and vineyards collide.

One thing I'm always looking for on my travels is immersion in nature.

And here in the Creston Valley they have a wetland which I am here to explore today.

There are more than 300 species of birds that travel through this wetland in its migration season right now, so there are lots of different wildlife and waterfowl traveling through the area.

The Discovery Center is a great place to start if you are coming to explore the wetlands, and they have all kinds of stuff for people of all ages, even adults.

They've got snake skins here, which I find incredibly disgusting.

But your kids might love them.

And there's also all kinds of depictions here.

A lot of the wildlife that you'll find in the wetlands, a lot of educational components here that you can learn about all the different critters that call this place home.

Wetlands are the kidneys of the natural world and exploring them with the people who protect them.

You realize just how much they do beneath the surface.

They clean the water, absorb floods, and create a refuge for birds and wildlife in a rapidly changing world.

It's harvest season here in Creston.

So today I'm picking apples.

With the help of Harvest Share.

They actually donate these to local community members in need.

And this town is full of orchards and fruit stands everywhere.

This is something I've never gotten to do.

So it's really fun.

Hi.

My name is Kristen.

I'm the coordinator for the Creston Valley Harvest share.

Harvest Shares, a program that's under the Creston Valley Food Action Coalition organization.

And what we do is we come out to farms and people's backyards.

Anyone in the community that has excess produce, and we use our list of volunteers to harvest that produce once they've picked, whatever it is that we have available to us, then we split that three ways.

Traditionally, a third goes home with the volunteers that they get to keep.

A third goes to the property owner if they want it.

They don't always.

Often they put their share into the donation pile, and the remainder gets sent to different community organizations such as our food bank, our high school, our local women's shelter.

Different organizations like that all benefit from the fruit that we get with harvest.

Share Farm stands are everywhere here, and I will look at psalms run by a woman named Barb and her husband.

They've been operating this for many, many years here, and they have just about everything you could imagine, from fresh local harvest to juices and pretty much everything in between.

It's not just produce that they grow here in Creston, but also grapes.

You can visit a couple of wineries when you stop here.

Right now I'm at Redbird Winery and it's harvest season here too.

So lots of grapes coming off the vines here.

But I'm going to go inside and try some of this wine myself.

You can see all the grapes here on the vines.

Don't tell anyone, but I'm going to try one.

Well my name is Melody, by the way.

the owners are women.

Shannon So they live in the house in the back there with their two kids, and they found this place as a bed and breakfast.

So they fell in love with the little Tuscany view.

They have on that side.

It's so beautiful.

so their dream was to have a winery, so they were trying to figure out when how.

Different option, different location.

they knew that this place was amazing.

And when they saw the property on sale, they say, well, this is our chance.

So they bought it, move into the house and build their dream from the scratch.

So let's start with, rosé it's quite an easy one.

Yeah.

It smells really light.

Oh wow.

That's delicious.

It's different than traditional roses.

It.

Yeah.

It doesn't have that like bitter ending.

You got a lot of roses have.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's very sweet.

It's not overly sweet neither.

It's really kind of with that ten body.

Right.

So that makes it quite unique for a rosé There's only one thing left to do here in Crescent, and that's.

Try the local Canadian flavor.

So tonight we're at a local restaurant called Casey's Community House to try some poutine.

All right, so we've got two different kinds of poutine.

Regular and polish.

So time do a little taste test.

I don't know that I need a fork.

I can just have one.

So these are made with cheese curds.

I mean, I do a lot of French fries.

So those are delicious.

Say.

And the fun thing about poutine Month is that every restaurant is just creating a different take on poutine.

So here at Casey's and inspired by some Polish cuisine there's actually pierogies on top of this.

And these are like little potato filled dumplings.

this dish is a win for me.

From Creston, you leave the roads and head on to a car ferry for your next stop across the lake and the town of Nelson, BC.

Nelson is a small mountain town with a big personality.

Colorful murals lined the streets.

Local shops and eateries invite you in and just be on town.

The river and the surrounding mountains offer endless opportunities for adventure in all seasons.

Nelson is known as the cultural capital of the Kootenay.

It's where nature and art collide.

A quick walk downtown and you'll come see more than 60 murals that are painted on alleyways, parking garages and just about every building, giving a lot of pizzazz to the local area here.

You'll definitely want to come and walk around downtown, which is full of restaurants and shops, to.

Nelson is an outdoor lover's playground with hiking trails, paddling, biking and mountain adventures in every direction.

the other.

Oh, no.

It's just take space myself, Oh, okay.

special.

This is not your average hot spring stop at Ainsworth.

You can soak in the open pool and then swim into a warm mineral cave carved right into the mountainside.

Some may may.

Be.

It's been an incredible week exploring the international Selkirk Globe and what a place to end it here in Nelson.

I hope you guys have enjoyed following along on this adventure.

As always, I'm Alice Ford.

Never stop exploring.

I'll see you guys in the next adventure.