Sandpoint Library, East Bonner County Library District, Sandpoint, Idaho

When I imagined Idaho in earlier stages of life--on very rare, very fleeting occasions--I believed it was similar to Kansas. Mostly flat with a little bit of hilliness here and there, and full of potato crops (instead of wheat), which I assumed were green (thanks Google, they're green). I have seen quite a lot of Idaho now, from the edges of the Palouse up north, to the gorgeous lakes of the Coeur d'Alene region, down past the Sawtooth Mountains, and through the Craters of the Moon. Idaho is NOTHING like Kansas. Idaho is singular. Idaho is spectacular.

Hey girl what's up

I knew this before my trip started...one of the joys of discovering new places is in researching different routes one must take to get from Interesting Point A to Gobsmaking Point B. What I kept crisscrossing over was Idaho--it's a weird, long state with that arm extending upward and separating Washington from Montana. At first I thought it would be a pass through state, one that luckily* allowed overnight parking at rest areas, but my research proved I was going to have to spend some real time in Idaho because it has lots of glorious, shiny, pretty stuff.

*There will be a whole section dedicated to Idaho Rest Areas in another post. "Luckily" was not how it turned out.

And apparently everyone knows this already, as there are tourist towns all over the place, with Sandpoint, my first official Idaho destination after Palouse, being one of them. There's hunting, fishing, skiing, and massive lakes all around this area. I just needed to use a library--whatever they had would do.

My first view of the Sandpoint Branch was not inspiring. First of all, it looks like a converted Best Western, with that pressed metal look common in 2-star hotels and backyard sheds. Furthermore, they were doing construction to add a new wing to the library, so one whole side was sectioned off with wooden planks. It looked like it was going to be a noisy pain in the ass.

Wrong. What a great library. The patrons were all respectful and mellow, the construction was present but muted and minimal, and the workspace was exactly what I needed to complete my post on Mount St. Helens.

The wood finishing and furniture suggested it was an older structure, but from what I can glean off the internet, the building was only recently constructed in 2000. It didn't matter. It was cozy and comfortable and, after a series of cold libraries and cold nights, Sandpoint library's perfect temperature was a relief.

It also had some quirks that I am sure make sense to the community but flew a bit over my head. I loved the sassy Lincoln in the foyer, and the Ode to Famous Art Bear near the front door, but my favorite thing about this library above and beyond everything else: Plants. Plants everywhere. Somebody has a green thumb and she's bringing her talents to work. I've seen libraries with fake plants. I've seen libraries with one live, sad plant dying in the corner. I've seen things in between. But I've never seen commitment on this level. It was awesome.

I was able to plug in and use the space for the entire day, packing up only because the library was closing. It was a wonderful place to spend some time among Sandpoint's patrons, books, and well cared for flora.