Damn the Torpedo's, full speed ahead!!!

Farragut was once the second largest naval training station in the world. Some of you may say, there’s no ocean in Idaho, why would they put a naval training station there? (Others won’t because they are uh, um, geographically challenged). Well remember WWII started for the US at Pearl Harbor. At that time there was a real fear the Japanese would invade the pacific coast of the US. Thus they wanted a large naval training station built purposely away from the coasts so it couldn’t be easily taken. Lake Pend O’reille in Idaho is one of the largest and deepest in the US (as well as the quietest) so the navy decided to build a base and submarine development center there. When it was in full swing the naval training station became the biggest population center in Idaho, exceeding the size of Boise. More to the point my father-in-law went to boot camp their and was attending a reunion so we decided to join him.

The first day we got to go on a tour of the naval submarine acoustic center on the lake. This was a real treat as most locals have never had the opportunity, they’ve only allowed three tours since WWII. They still use the area to develop all the newest submarine quieting technology as it is still the quietest body of water anywhere in the US. They had stuff covered up of course and cell phones and camera’s were not allowed so sorry no pictures. Two things that stuck in my mind is they admit a boomer at full speed now makes less noise than the smallest 5HP outboard engine; and their sound gear is so sensitive, they can discern a snowflake hitting the surface of the lake.

We spent a majority of our time engaging in the reunion activities. There were talks conducted by professors, entertainment involving musicians and dancers 90 plus years old, as well as younger entertainers. I (Tracy) most enjoyed the stories all the veterans had to share. When we toured the opening of the museum, many veterans started talking to us about their experiences. We had no idea who any of these individuals were, but the donated articles clearly brought back very strong memories for these men. It was both moving and inspiring. I most appreciated the camaraderie these men had with one another, even though many did not know each other. There was a real urgency as the weekend progressed for many of these veterans to find just one other person who served in their unit, it was very moving.

The park system wanted to dedicate the park to these veterans, since they are the reason it exists. So they hired an artist to create something that depicted these men. He designed a sculpture of a navy man with a very serious and tough look with his seaman’s cap on perfectly square. However, as you look closer at the sculpture, the neck, head, and face are all composed of different faces. The artist described these faces as the different looks of the veterans as they went through boot camp at Ferrugut. It was very creative.

This was an incredible experience and I’m so glad we were able to meet my dad at this reunion. We live in a great country and it is in part because of these brave men. No history book, educational seminar, or politician could communicate appropriately what life was like in boot camp or serving in the military like these men did.

Since its boot camp days, Farragut has since been converted into a state park. The biggest state park I’ve ever been to. If anyone ever wants to come here they were also one of the best state park camping sites I’ve ever been to: level, paved and far apart with water and electricity. They also have many miles of hiking and biking trails, a large boat launch area, an 18 hole Frisbee golf course and even a shooting range. We were here after labor day so once the reunion was over we were really camping by ourselves.

We also checked out Sandpoint and Coeur D’Alene Idaho while we were here. Both were beautiful and offered lots of things to do but believe it or not Sandpoint has a traffic problem. They were mentioned as the best small town in America to live a few years back in Sunset magazine and since then they’ve really grown. The growth has outpaced the road system and fixes are all tied up with various special interests wanting their way. Tracy ruled out Sandpoint but we both really liked Coeur D’Alene. One thing that is surprising is you are still talking $800k for a high quality home with a good view. So not as much cheaper as I would have thought. Lord knows the local economy can’t support those prices so it must be people from SF, Portland, Seattle, etc. either moving out or buying second / vacation homes here.
On a percentage basis it’s become very clear to me that the SF Bay Area significantly underappreciated vs. other area’s over the last 5 year