July Summer Adventures

 

Oh the lazy hazy days of summer... they run together warm and humid, oozing delightful memories of outdoor delights, cook-outs, watermelon feasts, and then comes the August moon sunset rising... and as I took this photo, a cool breeze nipped the air, reminding us that the next full moon will no doubt bring a frost with it... so  I am determined to enjoy the spice out of every moment available left in summer.  Join me as I share some of our exciting summer adventures with you... 

This was my garden on July 4th.  Still in the "baby growth" stage, there was a lot of progress being made, but much more to come.  Later in this post, I will share with you an updated view of my garden. 

Our son and his bride went to Yellowstone for their honeymoon. 
They sent us this picture of the Tetons. 

They had a wonderful time together, despite part of the park being closed for flooding.
It did reopen while they were still there. 

My husband and I, off on an adventure of our own - we kayaked up to the Upper Priest Lake.  It was a beautiful 4-hour excursion where we got to enjoy so much beauty.

A picture of us as we had stopped at one of the many beach areas to explore. 

It was a beautiful day to kayak, and enjoy the beachside view. 

The joy of the open waters in a kayak! 

Yours truly... 

There was an incredible visitation of the migrating Monarch butterflies
 on the sandy beaches. 

They have the most incredible colors, and I just love their gentle fluttering beauty.  

This was a new one for me! Just about as far north as you can go in Idaho, on Upper Priest Lake, this water snake swam by my kayak! I had no idea we had water snakes up here. Thank goodness.... it was in a hurry to get away from me, and the picture is blurry as I was trying to get away from it too, while snapping the picture! 

I did some research and found that this snake is a Terrestrial gartersnake which are often found near water where they feed on small fish and tadpoles. They are also found in drier habitats. They are greenish brown with small black patches and a pale yellow stripe down their spine.

This is an osprey that flew overhead searching for its next meal. 

On July 4th, we watched the fireworks from a friend's deck overlooking the river. 

Our little town puts on a great show, but the neighbors all up and down the river, also do fireworks, so it is a great show to see!

Always wonderful to celebrate this great nation and enjoy the fireworks! 

Another weekend in July, Dan and I went camping.  Dan had a friend who knew some of the back logging roads, and he took us out on a ride.  We rode down to this abandoned dam.  This project was abandoned back in the 50s for a variety of reasons and some of the infrastructure still remains. 

 We climbed down to the dam area, around the rocks, and in fact through the dam where the boiler room would have been. A creative soul turned the would-be boilers into a train engine! 

Another view of the "train".

I'll not lie... this hike stretched us both! We crawled through the pipes that would have held the water coming through the dam so we could get down to the boiler room.  

Dan's friend grew up in this area, and had climbed here many times, and was very entertaining as he regaled us with many stories of the local area.  

We would never have found this place on our own, and were so grateful he showed us around. It truly is a hidden gem, and the locals apparently want to keep it that way. There are no signs, no markers, and it is out in the middle of nowhere.  

Another view of the dam with the waterfall in the distance. 

A closer look at the waterfall. 

Our last view of this beautiful place as we were climbing back up the hillside. 

We camped on the Moyie River. 

Such a beautiful river! Because of all the rocks, and the rushing water, I really think it should be called the Singing River, or maybe Musical Rock River... or something along those lines! It is just an incredibly beautiful river to visit. 

Camping breakfasts are the best! 

In my morning devotions, this passage in Isaiah spoke to my heart. 

We found a few huckleberries to bring home with us.
Most of them weren't quite ready. 

We enjoyed sitting by the river bank, just watching and listening to the sounds of the river. Glorious! 

Back home... the garden is growing by leaps and bounds! 

I will have a bumper crop of tomatillas this year! 

We enjoyed a bumper crop of strawberries this year!  They were very late, we didn't start picking until July, when normally we pick them in June. 

Lots of strawberry jam for the pantry! 

My garden just last night as the sun was setting.
It has made a lot of progress in one month! 

Many of my readers may remember a couple of years ago, where I shared about the fire that burned down my grandparent's home.  My grandmother was home alone, is blind, and walked through the fire and escaped the fire, completely untouched, while the home burned down to the ground in minutes. You can read more about that in this post here.  It is an incredible story, that is still being written.  

 

We continue to praise the Lord for His goodness in spite of such an awful event, that we still have our grandmother here with us today. The blessings of the Lord are rich, in time of sorrow, in time of trouble, in the good times, and in the bad, He is faithful.  Our story continues to be written, and while we may walk in troublesome times today, He has greater plans for tomorrow that we can't see yet.

I made this most recent video using some of the pictures from our July adventures.  I hope you will enjoy the video, and be blessed knowing that we can put our trust in Jesus, He will take care of us, even when life brings difficult situations, as we walk with Him, He is with us.  My grandmother is a testimony to this :)