My Sweet Mother Visits!

Tuesday September 3rd wasn't such a great day, that's for sure. But there was something about to happen that we were all looking forward to!

My mother was coming to visit us, and she was arriving on Saturday afternoon!  We couldn't wait to see her, and were thrilled that she was arriving.

We had gotten all the logistics of the truck situation settled down, and it was wonderful to see Mom again, and have this time to spend with her.

The day after she arrived, seemed like the perfect day for a road trip.  Mom was so excited to be here in north Idaho.  She had never been on the west side of the US before, and so she was ready to explore! We didn't waste any time, because the next day dawned bright and beautiful, and we headed out early!

It was a simply gorgeous day... the bright colors all around us were tripping all over themselves to grab our attention!

We stopped in Sandpoint to show Mom this beautiful amazing town.  We drove down to City Beach, which was deserted for the most part now, although there were a couple of children playing in the water - brave souls!

As we walked around the park, I lagged behind a bit to catch a view of all the beautiful colors around us...

The shapes, sizes and colors of the clouds here never cease to amaze me, especially when paired with the grandiose views of the mountains!




A closer view of the solitary red and white boat in Lake Pend O'Reille with the gorgeous backdrop of the mountains, water, and cloud behind it.

Our travels took us farther north into Bonners Ferry, another simply amazing, and beautiful town!

All through the town they have these beautiful flower baskets hanging everywhere, just shouting out  to the world their loveliness!

Clouds make the sky so much more interesting, and I'm glad we have lots of clouds in this area.... adds so much to a picture, doncha think!

A picture of a large clock in Bonner's Ferry....

Another picture of the brilliant colors of the hanging baskets all over town.

Here is a picture of a mural painted on the wall of a building.

Next stop on our destination was Creston, British Columbia, Canada.






By this time, we were getting quite hungry!  We drove around Creston for a bit, and then decided on a destination for lunch.... which was exactly the same restaurant we had taken my dad to eat at when we took him to Creston last year!

As we were walking inside the restaurant, we spotted a cozy little home for the restaurant's outdoor cat... and after we finished eating and came back outside, he was still there... in the same position... life is good.... he was saying!

One of the restaurant ladies who was outside taking a break said this tom cat  hangs around for all the scraps.... looks like he is a well fed, and taken care of fellow! In fact, he looked like he could be a twin to our own cat,  Mr. Simba!

Look at the enormous plates of food we received at this restaurant.... it was wonderful! 

After we finished eating, we headed over to our favorite coffee place in the whole wide world!

  If you haven't tasted Tim Horton's Coffee... you haven't lived man!  

Canadians have it right when it comes to their coffee!!! 

As we left Tim Hortons, we headed next to the grocery store to pick up some of our favorite Canadian brands that we can't get in the US. Here is a picture of some of the Canadian brands you can't find on American store shelves!

All too soon, the day was drawing to a close.  We decided to drive around Creston and do some sight-seeing... before it got dark...

My husband is great about turning down random roads and we have no idea where we're going, or what we're gonna see when we "get there".... but it is just part of the fun adventure when you're out exploring a new place!

We just so happened to turn down this random road, and came upon the most beautiful contrasts of sky, mountains, and land!  And as we were slowly driving down the road, a Mennonite couple on bicycles rode past us.... they were out enjoying the beautiful evening together!

As we drove across a narrow bridge, I had my husband stop so I could get out and take some snapshots of the lovely view unfolded before us.  It was a breathtaking moment, just the beauty of the sun, the water, the clouds, the bright blue mountains, and deep greens of the lush grass...

What a beautiful idyllic spot this was!  All by happen-chance too... because if you ask me WHERE this road is, and how to find it again, I'd probably not be able to tell you!

As the sun began to pass down the side of the mountain, we began our drive back home.  As we drove back through Bonner's Ferry, I captured this picture of the American flag blowing in the evening breeze.

The sun was casting its last twinges of love toward us as we drove home.  It was lovely to watch the various shades and colors of the sky change, darken, lighten, and glow with brilliant colors.

Snapping pictures through the window doesn't give the best illustration of the view our eyes were feasting on... but you kinda get the picture, albeit blurry!

One last view of the horizon before the darkness closed in... a beautiful closure to a perfect day!