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Traffic increased dramatically in Sanders County last weekend with people driving like they were on a scavenger hunt to find the best deals at the annual Sanders Saleing county wide yard sale event.

"Signs were everywhere," Janella Crawford from Libby commented. She drove down Friday morning to explore the sales for the first time. "All along the highway were yellow signs that I thought at first glance were real estate ads. I was amazed at how many there were. If you weren't sure where to go all you had to do was follow the cars."

Children like Hazel Warta decided to earn their own money by selling lemonade. "My little sisters are doing their own lemonade stand. They have been doing well," her sister Ava said. Their family held a group sale at the J&J Bed and Breakfast on Garber Street in Plains. Liberty Kifer from Hot Springs bought a child pack that her daughter was happy to try out. Kifer said that there were not many sales going on in Hot Springs but she was finding good things at the ones in Plains.

Those who drove up the hill to High Country Road, and did, or did not miss the snake along the way, passed cars coming and going through the early afternoon. Several comments were favorable in regard to the size and content of the group sales. And, they were not deterred by the distance, the traffic, or the snakes.

Many yard sales were held by several people who chose not to sign up. Even though these people did not have the benefit of advertising, or their names and addresses on the list in the paper and big bright signs, a few said that their sales were going well.

"Sales are going good. I've had almost 50 people already." Don Sears said an hour into the sales Friday morning. He and others who have traffic flow near their place of sales benefited from the people who were out and about.

For a $20 fee, there is advertising, a map to locate, and a list in the paper of names and addresses. The Thompson Falls Chamber has an interpretive map as well. Money collected goes back into advertising the annual county wide selling, which is held the last full weekend in June. The 2024 event is planned for June 28-29.

Shannon Brown

The aftermath of Sanders Saleing is evident in the donations dropped off at Little Bitterroot in Thompson Falls on Monday.

"The map on my phone is a bit difficult to read." Tamara Ketchell commented. But she and her husband Dave, who moved to Plains from Washington, were using it to navigate their way around unfamiliar territory. They were at their third sale by 10 a.m.

More than 60 people and organizations signed up for the Chamber event, with several of those being held in Noxon and Heron. Sellers on the west end of the county said there was more traffic on Friday as the sales began, having had visitors from surrounding counties and several from Washington state.

Monday morning at the Little Bitterroot store in Thompson Falls, manager Amanda Moseley said that she did not have as huge a donation drop off as she has in years past. She was grateful for the donations but was happy to see that they weren't so overwhelming.