Having completed a listing appointment in Sandpoint yesterday I passed by a scene that forced me to stop and take a second look. It seemed somewhat out of place for the weather being sunny and somewhat clear. Breath taking in its beauty I parked the car and ventured out. In doing so I was treated to a life long memory. 
The pictures better show why I needed to stop. This brought back a memory of what my mom had once seen and described to me. To the best of my recollection she heard it later referred to, on the radio, as an “Indian Frost”. I could not find any reference under that name. With the research I was able to better understand the reason for the rare occurance though.
It seems the dew freezes when it comes in contact with an object that is below freezing point. Thus the crystal look. Different than frost which has frozen via air temps. So it makes sense to me it is rare find the perfect combination of moisture, air temps above freezing, and objects below freezing.
It is for this reason I rarely travel in North Idaho without my camera. 
For that same reason I need to apologize for the time/date stamp on the picture. First off it even being there (did not realize till viewing later) and secondly that it is wrong. Camera left in vehicle over night and low temps affected it.
Mark Don McInnes