by Cole James

From my porch the silent- early spring lightning storm beyond the immense land of Offutt Air Force base, looks as though the War in Afghanistan has came to the Heartland. I begin to ponder what Omaha and the suburb, Bellevue will hold in store for me after my spring semester at Bellevue University. Inside my wife and seven month old son watch television, clinching pink lemonade in one hand and the Yellow Pages in the other, I tamely say, “Kristen the sky is full of lightning but no thunder? Come take a look” Coming from the living room I struggle to open the slider to my porch as many residents before me have. Thumbing through the phone book I reach the area maps section searching for lakes. I come across one lake, manmade; a private lake on the newly developed west region of Omaha. The summers here on the Missouri River are extremely hot and humid, and I would not be caught dead in the light brown water of the Missouri. The crisp, cold, revitalizing water of Priest Lake in the Northern Idaho Panhandle has spoiled me.
Ever since I could remember I have been trekking to the deeply dense and dark forests of Northern Idaho. Shortly after Priest River the roads are lined with old growth timber; fir, western white pine, cedar, and tamarack some seven to twelve stories in height and as large around two people can barely lock arms around them. Through the windy unripened terrain and into the enclave of trees it is difficult to see the mountains that line the Panhandle Valley.
Once you have arrived in Cooling or Nordman, Idaho the lake sparkles like a jewel against the studded Selkirk Mountain Range. The lake can be as deep and dark as the forest here. The bottom not found in some places where the lake trout- Mackinaw makes their home. This lake, like all in the Northwest was carved by glaciations. On this 23000- acre lake my cabin lies across from four-mile island. At six foot two I am able to walk for two city blocks, looking through such clean water I can see the inflamed mosquito bites from the night prior.
The year around run off from the 523,000 acre forested mountains account for the cool-crisp water. An ancient Red Cedar grove in Upper Priest Lake is the largest contiguous block of old growth Red Cedar in the continental United States. These twenty story tall and millennium old cedars provide shadow and block the hot summer sun for the thigh-high Braun’s Holly fern and sensitive native plants. The tributaries’ crystalline water is a result of timber reaching nine feet in diameter, providing an environment for crisp and clean shaded run off. In these forests lie trails for avid hikers, huckleberry pickers, rock climbers, mountain biking, motor cross, and horseback. In the winter the land is ideal for cross-country skiing, skating, snowshoeing, and snowmobiles, which can take advantage of powder bowl adventures.
I do not hesitate to reveal the vast amount of wildlife in this region. Being virtually undiscovered, the Priest Lake wildlife thrives in this sphere of wonderland. Year around inhabitants include; chipmunk, squirrel, porcupine, raccoon, skunk, hummingbird, wild turkey, various species of duck, Canadian geese, blue tail lizards, tree frogs, harmless water and bull snakes, wood pecker, white tail deer, bats, raven, osprey, bald eagle, elk, moose, black bear, and cougar a majority of which you will come into contact with. Species that are difficult to come across are the wolverine, beaver, otter, jackrabbit, snowshoe hair, bobcat, wolf, the mountain lion, caribou, sheep, and goat, blue heron as well as the grizzly bear. Upper Priest Lake has the largest grizzly habitat along the Washington and Idaho border. The endangered species act and national wildlife selectively close roads to protect the mountain caribou and grizzly. The majority of the watershed of the panhandle lies in the hands of the government.
The tornado-warning siren stridently penetrates my body leaving me in a funny bone quiver. Once the light breeze has let the hair on my arms lie against my goose bumps I go inside to my bedroom and flop onto my bed. The whole nature setting recollection of Priest Lake has allowed me to reflect as to why I can call priest my coming of age. My Great Grandmother purchased the land forty-seven years ago and the cabin my Great Grandfather built stands to this day. Our family out grew the cabin long before I came around; except for the numbers it hasn’t changed. The cabin is hustling and bustling with laughter, stories, and some of the best eats you would pay and arm and a leg for.
It made me realize that my family depended on me differently now. In turn I would depend on them differently from this day forth. Being a son of a carpenter and the middle grandchild I have an obligation to my elders- to sustain the character of the cabin and never let the stories die, instilling the endless rewards of family. My family looks to me to be positive role model for my cousins as the enter junior high and high school. My parents had a natural obligation of raising and nurturing me. However, I realized now I had been molded into the young man I am by every one of my family members, and I am forever in debt to them. Automatically I looked up to my older cousins and brothers for guidance and how to build forts catch tree frogs, sand lions, lizards, and gardener snakes.
While I was with them, locked into these amateur hunters Ed courses, subliminally I learned how to treat, respect, and learn from people. From down on the dock, at the campfires, to up in the kitchen at meal times every family member was under my scope. I began to take all that I could from each individual. All of my extended family has molded my character. Not having them in this small cabin I would not be as dynamic if I were not exposed to others passions through maturation.
One may call it a top down approach or family tree. From my grandparents on down, I depend on each and every family member to take on characteristics and passions of the one before them. Then take these characteristics and mobilize them to influence the new family members in order to keep the “Young” identity. How I have conducted my life, effects my cousins, and in turn, them and their children will be part of the collective molding of my son. I realize that my actions come full circle, and how I want my son to respect and endlessly love his family, friends, and the forests of Priest Lake depended on my actions long before he was conceived.
Throwing the map onto the floor at the foot of my bed I realized that if I were to find another lake around Omaha I would be missing the only thing the made Priest Lake close to my heart, family. Seeing all the beautiful nature setting at Priest would not have had the same impact on me if I were to witness it alone. The answer was easy enough I had an obligation to preserving our family’s identity. I had a crucial role this summer of 2002. I loved Omaha it was a great escape, I did a lot of growing up, having a newborn son and in the first year of my marriage with the only support system coming via net meetings by the web. The attacks on the trade towers could of contributed to my unconnected feeling to my family. My whole life I lived with my family I now recognize it is the family, which resides in me.