Posted on 04/18/2025 3:06:13 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
It's always nice returning to North Idaho from the California Bay Area. It only takes a few minutes to spot some great bumper and window stickers in Idaho!
The two below were at the Fred Meyer (aka, Kroger) store. I was shopping for Baby Back Ribs and some good rub and sauce. Baby Back Ribs are on sale for $5.49 / pound! Got two 3.5 pound racks.
Using the Traeger "Fall Off the Bone Ribs" recipe with Derek Wolf "Beer-infused Pork & Poultry Rub" and Brownwood Farms "Apple Bacon BBQ Sauce." Got the silver skin off, slathered on French's Yellow Mustard as a binder, added the rub and let those racks soak up the goodness for an hour in the fridge. Just put them on the Traeger. Dinner with friends at 5 pm.
Gorgeous sunny day today, too!
Ribs with mustard binder and rub... 
Ribs on the Traeger after an hour in the fridge... 
Nice. Time to get the Brinkmann awake from its winter slumber. Probably have to order a couple of new grills.
It took a couple hours to get Mr. Traeger all cleaned up, scrubbed, cobwebs removed, and a grill software update completed. It connected immediately to our WiFi when I turned it on and it downloaded the new software unattended.
Whoever would have dreamed you could not fire up the old BBQ in the spring without loading new software! My charcoal Weber grill never once demanded a software update.
At least that software update was painless. Getting the Traeger app to work on my new phone was another PITA. But got it all working in harmony...and we still have brilliant sunshine PLUS there’s still some snow on the eastern mountains over the lake.
My cousin lives up there with his girlfriend.
They love the place, it sounds like it’s a tourist area.
“it sounds like it’s a tourist area.”
Used to be lots of lumber mills, but not so much these days.
Yes, we have tourists in Coeur d’Alene, but nowhere near as bad as other popular destinations in the west. Get out of CdA, and few tourists. Our lake is blissfully empty in the summer...except for July 4 when hundreds of boats turn out for the fireworks show. Next day, boat traffic is back to almost nothing.
Any prairie dogs to shoot?
There are some great bike trails up there. You can also visit “Dante’s Peak,” aka Wallace, Idaho.
My son and I rode the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes from end to end in one day back in 2015. We wanted to do the Bitterroot Loop a year or two later, but the weather was uncooperative.
Dude, now you’re just flexing.
Nope. Just tourists. And Washingtonians who come across the border line. Montanans are ok.
The big lake with all the tourists is Lake Coeur d’Alene. There are a dozen smaller glacial lakes north of CdA, but another big one is Lake Pend Oreille 45 miles north at Sandpoint. We are on Hayden Lake 8 miles north of CdA.
Thanks!
“$3.49/lb” — wow, and I thought I had a good price! You scored a great bargain.
My sister and BIL are on a huge cross-country trip this summer. They sold their house in Maryland, and are taking the long trip this summer. When they visit us, we are headed over the Bitterroot Valley to stay a few days at a ranch we really like over there. Gorgeous place.
“Dude, now you’re just flexing.”
Huh?
I guess we're still in the stone age here - no software running on the old Brinkmann. Just elbow grease to get 'er going. The grill itself is a 150 lb cylinder. Those thick metal walls do a great job of holding and distributing the heat. Charcoal only, no lighter fluid.
I’ve heard of Brinkman...don’t think I ever saw one, though. Sounds like a beast.
Everything is blooming down our way. Forsythias just popped. The Rhoddies are starting to burst. New leaves all over the place with that lovely early spring color. Fruit blossoms all over the place.
Such a great time of year, huh?
Oooh...Bitterroot...envious...hope to go back next year
Did you get a kiss at the checkout counter for the price on those baby back ribs? My megamart had them for $2.99/lb here in NE OK.
Darn!! And I thought I was getting a great bargain!
* $3.49/lb.in Wichita
* $2.99/lb here in NE OK
I think I got $4.98/lb, not $5.49/lb. But still not as good as you guys.
Of course, if you want good Idaho russet potatoes, you know you can always call on me!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.