Cynthia Taggart

If he'd thought about it, Bob Cogswell might have known he was Indian. But his parents never brought up his heritage back in the 1960s when he was a kid in Illinois. With his light skin and dark curly hair, Bob resembled his Swedish father more than his Cherokee mother. His Indian half wasn't apparent to anyone beyond his family.

In his cluttered home north of Bonners Ferry, 96-year-old Jim Ellis feels his way around the foot of friend and regular customer Pamela Wynne. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Jerry Heerema holds 6-year-old Myra, a child he met in Oaxaca, Mexico. Family Photo

Sandi Hall was riding Tubs on Aug. 9 when the appaloosa tumbled 300 feet down a hillside. The horse amazingly survived the fall and now is recovering in a pasture near Rathdrum, Idaho. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Elizabeth Keen holds the three gold and two silver medals she won swimming in the Idaho Senior Games. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Emily Schoener, 11, with Benta and Angeline in the Zimbabwe village of Siachilaba. Tina Friedman photo

Henry and Kay Acosta keep fresh by running the Fruit Basket in Coeur d'Alene. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Life peaks for me every summer on the second weekend of August. My faith in people and in myself soars so high that weekend that my head floats for days like a heliumfilled balloon. The moment Coeur d'Alene's youth and adult triathlons end each year, I forget about the hectic weeks of preparation and training, the doubts, my promise never to put myself through either race again.

Lauren and James Fryett are trying to renovate their home in Moscow, Idaho. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Marian Crumb with Jackson at her stable. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Graduate student of music Bob Rees demonstrates the marimba at the Coeur d'Alene Music Festival. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Beginning today in Coeur d'Alene, three entertaining marketplaces filled with arts, crafts and gourmet food will stretch from Fort Sherman Park through City Park to the city's tidy downtown. Art on the Green in shady Fort Sherman Park reigns as the biggest and oldest. The festival of performing and visual arts features 125 booths filled with ceramics, jewelry, leather and woodwork, candles, paintings, photography, pottery, stained glass and other artwork. The juried show attracts work from artists nationwide. Food includes German sausages, corn on the cob, sandwiches and ice cream - all for sale - and a full schedule of performing art on two stages. Festival hours are noon to 8 p.m. today, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. There's no admission charge.

Jason Wing, right, leads a group on a rafting trip.

Volunteers for the Citizens Council for the Arts raise the large tent that will cover the art contest entrants at Art on the Green. The annual arts festival begins today at noon in Fort Sherman Park at North Idaho College. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

It's a nice town by anyone's standards, but never prettier or more fun than it is on this weekend of arts, crafts and gourmet food festivals. Starting Friday, three entertaining marketplaces will stretch along Lake Coeur d'Alene from Fort Sherman Park through City Park to the city's tidy downtown.

Larry Strobel plays his French horn for the CdA City Band at the City Park on Sundays. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Kootenai County, you should be embarrassed. It took a Newman Lake couple to map the county right down to Guenevere's Way and Jayno Court. Ron and Barbara Cruse don't even boast about their 46 pages of maps. Maybe they're tired after traveling every road in Kootenai County at least twice. "We double-checked everything," Barbara says with a weak smile. "And now we always keep paper and a map in the car so we can update as we drive."

Loreen Howard has a new creative outlet - pools. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Wormuth

These Dalton Gardens kids have turned into a pack of Wolves and gathered in front of their den to explain how they plan to save the world. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Phil Spiegel slices a 32-plus pound slab of garlic-herb tofu. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Newlyweds Tom and Kelly Sullivan have opened a little coffee shop on the Centennial Trail in Coeur d'Alene. They are also offering in-line skate rentals. Hot tubs and microbrews are coming soon. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Sherrill Grounds will be leaving the melodrama. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

David Best just wants enough money to buy a home for himself and his true love. He gazes at Becky Platts, who's 81, like a lovesick teenager and sings her love songs in his deep baritone. He wants to take her away from their small room in Hayden's Golden Years Residential Care Home and live happily ever after. And he thinks he knows how he can do it.