One Park, One Museum, One Stamp at a Time
Quick Memorial Day TripMy wife and I decided to spend Memorial Day in North Idaho visiting Farragut State Park and exploring the naval history this unique park has to offer. Farragut State Park is located on the southern end of the deep-water Lake Pend Oreille. The park got its start as Farragut Naval Training Center during World War II. The camp was built to serve wartime training needs and was at its peak the 2nd largest naval training center in the world and the largest city in Idaho. Nearly 300,000 sailors received their basic training at the facility named after Civil War Admiral David Farragut. After the war, the park briefly served as a technical school before the land was transferred to the state of Idaho which created a state park on the site in 1965. Farragut State Park hosted the 12th World Scout Jamboree in 1967 as well as some US Jamborees and Girl Scout Senior Roundups. Today, Farragut State Park is a beautiful natural area that showcases what makes North Idaho special and is a unique naval history site. The park is home to wooded hiking trails, multiple disc gold courses, campgrounds, beaches, boat launches, and the Museum at the Brig, which highlights the park's military history. We started our day by driving from our home in Spokane to Lake Pend Oreille, about 1.25 hours away. We drove past the park initially so that we could have lunch in nearby Bayview, ID. This tiny town is nestled between the blue waters of Lake Pend Oreille and the rising forests and mountains of the Coeur d'Alene National Forest. Interestingly, Bayview continues North Idaho's naval tradition by hosting a Navy Acoustic Research Detachment. We ate at The Lake House Bar and Grill which is a floating restaurant in the marina of the small resort town. The food was great and the views were worth the journey. After lunch we headed back into the park and stopped by the visitor center. Here I picked up the park's stamp for the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail. Bayview and Farragut State Park sit on the spot where an ice dam held back Glacial Lake Missoula during the last ice age. When the ice dam gave way, a torrent of flood waters rushed across Washington and Oregon carving the channeled scablands and rippled prairies that exist today. Our next stop was the Museum at the Brig. Memorial Day is the season opening day for this museum dedicated to the naval history of Farragut and is housed in the former base brig. The museum features a number of exhibits on the training center, some restored vehicles, and an ice age floods exhibit. After the museum we explored a couple short trails and the beach area of the park. We made a stop at the Friendship Poles left as a reminder of the Boy Scout Jamboree. This trip was meant to be a quick trip and a fun afternoon exploring a nearby park. I would love to go back to Farragut a spend a couple of days camping and hiking in the park. New Units Visited: 0
Ice Age Floods NGT Total Affiliated Areas This Year: 4 Total Units: 35
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