Don Sausser provides this viewtiful photo, emailing: “Low winter sun backlights CDA Lake’s rippled surface while Brook’s sea plane rests, poised to invade nature’s beauty.”

• Idaho Records/Sherry Adkins, SR
• Idaho bill would ban minors from tanning beds/AP
• Idaho's share of mortgage settlement nearly $100M/StateImpact
• Montana's bishops criticize Obama's contraception rule/Missoulian
• Whitefish, Bozeman, Ketchum, Bend among world's top ski towns/Daily Inter Lake
• Idaho building repair, renovation nearly half billion backlog/Betsy Russell, EOB
• New bills target wolves, dangerous dogs, repeat animal abuse/Betsy Russell, EOB
• Orbusmax Special: Washington cop arrested for stealing for slain officers' fund here

A decision on whether to pursue a land swap that will give up a historic Boy Scout camp will be made in the next two weeks, according to a scout official, though it might not be as ironclad as some would prefer. The Inland Northwest Council of Boy Scouts will have two board votes in upcoming weeks, said Scout Executive Tim McCandless. The INC executive and foundation boards will only vote on whether to pursue a purchase of sale agreement with developer Discovery Land Company, McCandless said, which has offered to build a new and improved camp at Sunup Bay on Lake Coeur d'Alene, in exchange for the Camp Easton property further north/Alecia Warren, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here. (Jesse Tinsley SR file photo: A Nine Mile Falls Cub Scout and his father eat stuff apples they baked in a fire at Camp Easton)

Question: Have you ever participated in an event at Camp Easton?

Bald eagles are mobbing Lake Coeur d’Alene in record numbers this week. On Thursday, U.S. Bureau of Land Management wildlife biologist Carrie Hugo returned from an eagle cruise boat tour and reported that eagles were “all over the place” compared to just the week before, when her weekly survey counted 136 bald eagles in Wolf Lodge Bay. She confirmed her notion today with the fourth official survey of the season, tallying a record 259 eagles congregating to feast on spawning kokanee. That's an increase of 123 in just one week. Friday’s congregation breaks the record of 254 eagles counted in the bay on Dec. 21, 2010/Rich Landers, SR Outdoors blog. More here.

 A week can make a big difference in the numbers of bald eagles gathering for their annual feast of spawning kokanee at Lake Coeur d’Alene. On Tuesday, the season's second weekly eagle count at Wolf Lodge Bay tallied a whopping 76 bald eagles, said BLM wildlife bioloigst Carrie Hugo. That compares with 64 eagles counted on the same date last year. That's exciting news for birdwatchers, considering that 2010 was a record year for the migration, with a peak of 254 eagles counted in the bay during the BLM survey on Dec. 21. Tuesday's count indicated a big swing in eagle movements. The first survey of the season on Nov. 22 found only 12 bald eagles compared with 42 counted on the same day in 2010/Rich Landers, SR. More here.

Question: Did you view the eagles last year?

The annual gathering of bald eagles that feast on spawning kokanee at Lake Coeur d’Alene is getting off to a slow start. The eagle count at Wolf Lodge Bay is down about 70 percent from last year at this time, said Carrie Hugo, U.S. Bureau of Land Management wildlife biologist. Hugo made the first weekly survey of the season on Tuesday and counted only 12 bald eagles compared with 42 counted on the same day last year. “It could be the storm we just had,” she said. “We’ll be out on the lake Saturday for the special eagle boat cruise for veterans, so we’ll see if the changing weather makes a difference”/Rich Landers, SR. More here. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)

Question: Which spot is your favorite for watching eagles?

Linda Lantzy of Idaho Scenic Images provides this view of a Lake Coeur d'Alene Sunset from the eastern end of the North Idaho Centennial Trail.

• We need a centrist media/Dogwalk Musings
• These boots are made for walking/From A Simple Mind
• Local Noise: Not quite punk/Get Out! North Idaho
• Bring them home/Nuts & Nonsense
• Meet Jonas Love/Slight Detour
• Idaho's 21st worst state, according to Gawker/Stebbijo's Place
• G is for Gracious Geranium/Tumblewords

Hucks Online numbers (for Monday): 8637/5153, and (for Tuesday): 7978/4897

Bruce Gordon, 49, of Denver, Colo., is a long-distance swimmer looking to do what has been done just 19 times before: cross the 26-mile Kaiwi Channel connecting the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Molokai. To prepare for his historic crossing, he swam 18.5 miles in Lake Coeur d’Alene, Id., starting at Harrison and landing at Coeur d’Alene Beach. The swim began Friday at 8:20 a.m. and ended at 8:49 p.m. on Friday night. A handful of supporters and surprised beach goers were there to greet him as he stepped out of the water and onto the beach. “It was a big relief to get out of the water,” Gordon said. “I didn’t really know what was going to happen since I’d never gone that far. I finished without being too tired and I was very lucid, and that surprised me. I’m already anxious to be swimming again”/21Ten. More here. (SR file photo of swimmer on Lake Coeur d'Alene, for illustrive purposes)

Question: How far can you swim?

A record breaking cold and wet spring means Ironman participants will be feeling the sting of the cold waters of Coeur d’Alene. The water temperature is in the low fifties, but athletes say it won’t slow them down. Ironman participants will swim 2.4 miles during the Sunday race. Some out-of-town participants are already testing out the water. “It’s chilly, but you kind of just get numb. Once the numbness sets in, you just go,” said Caitlin Snow who lives in Boston/Katie Utehs, KREM. More here.

Question: Should the 2011 Coeur d'Alene Ironman be canceled to protect triathletes from cold Lake Coeur d'Alene?

Spokesman Marc Stewart of Coeur d'Alene Indian Tribe responds to comments by HMOffsuite re: non-Indian docks on Coeur d'Alene Indian part of Lake Coeur d'Alene: “I spoke with the person responsible for the dock permits and he was not aware of the scenario described here. The Tribe has been collecting dock fees for the last 10 years. It is not a new development. The majority of shoreline homeowners with docks in tribal waters are compliance with the tribe’s regulations and fees. Spring flooding is the reason most docks break free. It’s very rare for a shoreline homeowner to cut loose a dock simply because they don’t want to pay the dock fee or comply with safety regulations. The Tribe has record of only one dock owner removing his dock as a result of not wanting to pay encroachment lease fees for tribal owner submerged lands.” More here.

Wheelchairs are accessible in many places throughout the city parks of Coeur d'Alene. One place they are not accessible is into the water from the beach. Harry Grider looks forward to coming to the lake every summer. “I enjoy our beach,” said Harry Grider. “It's beautiful.” That is where he spends most of his summer relaxing. “Oh I'd say four times a week,” said Grider. But a prosthetic leg makes it difficult for him to get into the water. “I can't enjoy the beach like everybody else. I have to pop off my foot before I hit the sand, and then go down to the beach,” said Grider. It's an inconvenience he wishes he could avoid/Mike Perry, KHQ. More here.  (SR file photo, for illustrative purposes)

Question: Should the city of Coeur d'Alene and Kootenai County actively seek ways to make the water of Lake Coeur d'Alene handicap accessible?

Howard Martinson: Contrary to what’s been written above, Washington boaters do pay to boat on Lake CdA. How? For starters they pay to launch and use the ramp and park their tow rigs & trailers. Many purchase their boat gas, on the trailer, from local Idaho gas stations (Idaho gas is considerably cheaper than Washington gas. Many purchase Idaho fishing licenses. Most Washington boaters register their vessels in Idaho and pay Idaho sales tax on their vessels. (Considerably cheaper than Washington registration and sales tax.) More below.

Question: Do you agree with Howard that Washington boaters pay their fair share to use Lake Coeur d'Alene?

Don Sausser reports: “These interesting surface patterns occur frequently when volumes of water with differing in temperatures meet.” Don snapped the photo of the north shore, b/n the Coeur d'Alene Resort and City Beach, on Saturday.

We recently heard from some of our friends and KEA members from the east side of Coeur d’Alene Lake about how a small herd of llamas at Arrow Ranch was struggling to survive the recent winter weather. We thought we’d pass along their story:

“When the snow began last Monday [before Thanksgiving], I noticed the herd of fifteen clustered around the manger in the pasture.  As the week progressed, I would pass them on my way into town and again later in the day.  They were always standing there.  Oddly, I never saw them eating anything. Finally, I stopped to investigate.  Nowhere was there any evidence that these animals had been fed since the snow began.”: More here.

Question: Are you more mindful of vulnerable animals during cold snaps and heavy snowfalls?

That started the clock on the most terrifying 30 seconds of their lives. When they looked back, the moose was walking around the bend. Then 600 pounds of muscle and hooves started trotting toward them. “We had no out,” Gary said. “Thick brush lined the trail, which is an old overgrown road.” Marks pulled his pistol from his belt pack and fired a shot to scare the moose. Indeed, it stopped, but the frightened dogs streaked down the trail. “She paused a second and then ran right at us,” Gary said. “I told Lisa to run while I stood ground. I thought the moose would take after me and I’d crash down off the road into the brush and lure it away or shoot or whatever.” But the moose was focused on the runners/Rich Landers, SR. More here. (Courtesy photo: Lisa Marks w/downed moose)

Question: Do you pack heat when you hike in North Idaho woods?

Travelogue: Growing up I attended numerous Hydroplane races. I’ve been to some where the crowds were very unruly and out of control. Over the years and at the last few races I attended I noticed the promoters had things well in hand. There were no more A-Holes during those events than you’d find at any other event like Car d’ Alene etc. In the late 60’s CDA didn’t have the infrastructure to handle the crowds, and the promoters didn’t provide their own crowd management. Drinking wasallowed everywhere. Now a days CDA has grown. Hotels, Restaurants and facilities to handle large crowds as we do with the many other events hosted here. The Hydroplane events today are very well organized and the potentials our few old fuddy duddy’s worry about are kept very well in check. (SR photo: J. Bart Rayniak)

• SR: Organizers hope regatta is first of many hydroplane exhibitions/Pia Hallenberg
  

Question: Do you think crowds watching hydroplane races on the Lake Coeur d’Alene north shore and it downtown Coeur d’Alene would be easier to handle today than they were in the 1960s?

For the first time in more than 40 years, hydroplanes capable of speeds up to 175 miles per hour will zoom around Lake Coeur d’Alene this weekend. But they will not race, as they did in the 1950s and 1960s, drawing some of the biggest crowds ever seen at an Idaho sporting event, but also generating controversy due to unruly spectators. The vintage boats are coming to Coeur d’Alene, complete with drivers and pit crews, from the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum in Kent. They’ll be here for the Diamond Cup Regatta, a fundraiser for the Museum of North Idaho. The weekend of events will include a display of the boats outside The Coeur d’Alene Resort on Friday afternoon, a Saturday night banquet and rides on Sunday for 12 lucky people/Alison Boggs, SR. More here. (Courtesy photo from North Idaho Museum: The U-21cruises Lake Coeur d’Alene on July 20, 1962. Hydroplane races were held on the lake from 1958 to 1968)

Question: Do you intend to watch hydroplane runs on Lake Coeur d’Alene this weekend?

The (1st annual Diamond Cup Regatta) will be Aug. 20-22 with the cooperation of the Hydroplane and Race Boat Museum in Kent, Washington. Four vintage unlimited hydroplanes will be displayed around the community and at the Museum of North Idaho. Tentatively scheduled to appear are the 1968 Miss Budweiser, the 1967 Miss Budweiser, the “Green Dragon” Miss Bardahl and the Miss Wahoo. Each of these boats competed in Diamond Cup racing including racing under different owner/sponsor teams. These boats were state of the art 40-50 years ago. They are powered by WWII fighter plane V-12 engines and capable of running at speeds in the 190 mph range/The Guide to North Idaho. More here.

In case you missed the fireworks of the north shore Sunday, Idaho Scenic Images provides the one above, as well as several others in her Facebook album. Writes ISC: “I braved the crowds and went to the fireworks show last night. This was really just an experiment for me. … I haven’t done much of this type of work. It was fun though.”

A colleague asked me this morning what’s the best place to park and to watch the Fourth of July fireworks show along the north shore. I have a system that generally works, in which I arrive late — sometimes 15 minutes before the show begins — and get home without much hassle from the number of vehicles leaving on Northwest Boulevard, Government Way, and Fourth Street. I also sit on City Beach. Which, as crowded as it appears, always has room for Mrs. O and me. How about you?

Question: Can you offer any tips for newbies wanting to see the fireworks show — in terms of where to park and where to view it?

I thought I’d leave you with one of the breath-taking photos of Lake Coeur d’Alene taken by Linda Lantzy @ Idaho Scenic Images. You can view her work on her Facebook page here.