I live in E Washington but travel up to N Idaho pretty frequently. I have friends in Laclede and sometimes do some work in Coeur d'Alene. I really resonate with your message's title (hungry for like-minded people). I would love to find out if we are like-minded.

The fact that you are here on the permies thing-a-ma-jig is a good start.
This is really the first time I've responded to anyone on here (although I've read threads and info for a few years now), so I'm actually not even sure how to connect. But, I'll go out on a limb and give you my email:
marti_pants@hotmail.com. Put something snazzy in the subject line so I don't miss it if you decide to email me.

I get about a bazillion emails a day.
Good luck Alicia and I hope to hear from you!
Marti