Thank you all for the birthday wishes and kind comments on our move to northern Idaho. Jack, I would really like to attend the North Idaho Fly Casters' meeting, if I have sufficiently recuperated from all the driving I have to do in the next couple of weeks. I am driving a U-Haul truck to Idaho next week, then flying back to Nashville to drive my pick-up truck and my utility trailer with my workshop "junk" to our new home the following week. That will make a total of about 4000 miles of driving and 2000 miles of flying! Also, I would like to meet up with you in Idaho during your trip west, again, if I can keep my tail-feathers from dragging!

Ed, I don't dare allow my wife to hear any comment about "walking dubbing dispensers", even though that is a pretty accurate description of our felines! Honestly, I am looking forward to having a winter with some snow instead of the ice storms we experienced here last winter! It seems all we get in TN is ice and mud in the winter. A little bit of white stuff will be a welcome change!

Rizeye, I agree with you about the beauty of Northern Idaho. However, you have been the first to call me "lucky and brave" concerning this move. Most folks are content to ask "Are you crazy?!?" Or, they ask the wife "Has he lost his ever-loving mind?!?" Like you, I find the Idaho Panhandle a tremendously attractive location, and the people are extremely friendly.
Dave E, what can I say? It seems like it has taken forever to finally pull the trigger for our relocation. A little too much "life" interfered with my original plans. As you are aware, I looked at a large number of locations in my search for our new home. We narrowed the choices down to the Klamath Falls/Chiloquin, OR area or the Coeur d'Alene/Rathdrum, ID region. Both hold a strong draw for the wife and me, but the CdA region won out with its proximity to the airport at Spokane where I can hop on a Southwest flight at the drop of a hat (about 40 minutes) to get back to the TN/KY area to tend to any family issues that will arise. Getting flight connections from Klamath Falls was going to be more challenging. With aging parents, quick travel is important. Also, shopping opportunities and other "retiree amenities" seem to be more prevalent in the CdA area than in Klamath Falls. The elevation in the Rathdrum Prairie area of Idaho is about 2200 feet, quite a bit lower than Klamath Falls, which is about 4000 feet. I spoke with a climatologist in the CdA area who told me that the average snowfall in the CdA region is about 38 inches, which is very similar to Klamath Falls, also about 38 inches. I appreciate your best wishes to Phil and me in our move. If your and Peg's schedules allow sometime, I would really like for you all to come and visit! Also, our church had a shin-dig for us last night. The red velvet cake was plentiful, and delicious!!
Gary