Idaho Voices

Glacier National Park has a new way to get around the park, including traveling Going-to-the-Sun Road, and it’s free. Park the car and see the park. Three years ago was the opening of a new transit system made up of shuttle buses, with stops at hotels and trailheads. The project was successful, with 105,000 visitors taking advantage of the new convenience last year. A new transit center was built just within the park boundary in Apgar Village near West Glacier. This provides travelers from the Inland Northwest another means of escaping to a nearby, less-expensive vacation.

This year marks the 100th year of the city of Athol, Idaho, as an incorporated city. The little town that everyone enjoys poking fun at is celebrating its centennial with the traditional Athol Daze parade and fair in the park on Saturday.

Six years ago, Sandpoint resident Jenny Meyer sat with her daughter, Grace, on Sandpoint’s Long Bridge cheering as people walked, ran, rolled and strolled their way from Sandpoint’s Dog Beach to the south end of the bridge and back. The event was the first Celebrate Life Fun Run/Walk – a fundraiser started by Meyer’s sister, Julie Walkington, and her friend and co-worker January Tuinstra to help those like Meyer who were fighting cancer.

The dog days of summer are upon us. With the temperatures rising into the 90s, we and our gardens are just going to have to hunker down until it cools off about the middle of August. Between then and now gardeners need to focus on keeping water on the garden. If you haven’t checked your sprinkler heads since you turned on the system, now is a good time to do it. Check for heads that have been broken or are clogged with debris. Sod can grow over pop-up heads and hold them down. Some of the rotary pop-up heads get sticky with age and won’t turn properly. Plants can grow up in front of heads, blocking the spray.