We have had a great adventure this past week, albeit a rather dusty one! Our wonderful friends who we celebrated the Fourth with, invited us to ride four wheelers with them through the mountains. This is something we've wanted to do for quite some time, but never had the four-wheelers to do it with.
Our friends on their four-wheeler....
My dad and our son on the Gator...
My husband and I on the other four-wheeler...
All of us ready to head out on our adventure for the day!
And off we went. Because the four-wheelers are licensed vehicles to drive on county roads, we drove on several county roads before we turned off onto the road... or should I say path that took us through the mountains.
Some views of the mountains and valleys we traveled through...
I'm not sure what I was trying to capture in the above picture, but I was riding on the four-wheeler, and snapping pictures, so the camera was being bounced around quite a bit... lol!
It was a beautiful day to be riding through the mountains, with beautiful views in every direction. My camera simply could not capture the beauty of the views around us.
The road was a very good gravel road that you could traverse in a truck, if you were so inclined, but I have to say that traveling it in a four-wheeler added a whole lot more excitement than simply riding in a vehicle!
We stopped for a break beside a creek that had been dammed up to create a little pool of water.
I believe the mountain in the far distance in the above picture is called Baldy Mountain, but I could stand to be corrected....
Regardless of what the correct name of the mountain is, it was impressive, and beautiful.
We continued on down the trail towards Sandpoint. The Schweitzer mountains could be seen off in the distance.
We ate a LOT of dust on this trip! The roads were quite dry and dusty, which meant we had to keep a fair distance between each four wheeler in order to even see the road!
We arrived in Sandpoint, and drove through town, looking for a restaurant we could pull into to get a bite to eat.
All of us decided a burger sounded great, so we found a great little burger joint in Sandpoint, called Serv-A-Burger. It was excellent. It was a first time for us to eat there, as well as our friends, and we were all impressed with the quality of the food. We enjoyed a wonderful meal there, before heading back across the mountain. This time we went a different way home, and it was a little quicker.
Driving through Sandpoint, the views of the mountains are incredible in every direction.
We headed back up the same dusty roads we had taken before, but took a different turn than we did coming, which was a faster route back to the house.
The dust was pretty wild! Lots and lots of it! I kept my camera tucked under my shirt to help keep the dust off of it. But... that dust got everywhere!
It was around 5 p.m. or so when we arrived back at the house, and we had a welcome drink of some awesome sun tea made by Patty just before we left, and it was perfect for us when we arrived back from the hot dusty trail ride! The sun tea was a sweet ending to an amazing day! Riding four wheelers through the mountains is certainly high on our list of fun things to do! We are already looking forward to another ride soon. After the next rainstorm, I think would be perfect timing after the rain tames down the dust that comes from riding through the dirt trails!
We were hoping to catch a glimpse of some wild animals on the ride, and one deer did cross the trail in front of us, but other than that, we did not get a glimpse of any other wildlife. No doubt they saw us coming a long way off with the trail of dust we carried with us!
My dad and our son on the Gator...
And off we went. Because the four-wheelers are licensed vehicles to drive on county roads, we drove on several county roads before we turned off onto the road... or should I say path that took us through the mountains.
Some views of the mountains and valleys we traveled through...
I'm not sure what I was trying to capture in the above picture, but I was riding on the four-wheeler, and snapping pictures, so the camera was being bounced around quite a bit... lol!
The road was a very good gravel road that you could traverse in a truck, if you were so inclined, but I have to say that traveling it in a four-wheeler added a whole lot more excitement than simply riding in a vehicle!
We stopped for a break beside a creek that had been dammed up to create a little pool of water.
The boys saw it as an opportunity to splash some water on their dusty faces...
I preferred to stay dry myself... but it was a lovely little pool that someone had put a lot of work into, and a great excuse to get off the four-wheelers and stretch our legs for a few minutes.
I believe the mountain in the far distance in the above picture is called Baldy Mountain, but I could stand to be corrected....
Regardless of what the correct name of the mountain is, it was impressive, and beautiful.
We continued on down the trail towards Sandpoint. The Schweitzer mountains could be seen off in the distance.
We ate a LOT of dust on this trip! The roads were quite dry and dusty, which meant we had to keep a fair distance between each four wheeler in order to even see the road!
We arrived in Sandpoint, and drove through town, looking for a restaurant we could pull into to get a bite to eat.
All of us decided a burger sounded great, so we found a great little burger joint in Sandpoint, called Serv-A-Burger. It was excellent. It was a first time for us to eat there, as well as our friends, and we were all impressed with the quality of the food. We enjoyed a wonderful meal there, before heading back across the mountain. This time we went a different way home, and it was a little quicker.
Driving through Sandpoint, the views of the mountains are incredible in every direction.
We headed back up the same dusty roads we had taken before, but took a different turn than we did coming, which was a faster route back to the house.
The dust was pretty wild! Lots and lots of it! I kept my camera tucked under my shirt to help keep the dust off of it. But... that dust got everywhere!
It was around 5 p.m. or so when we arrived back at the house, and we had a welcome drink of some awesome sun tea made by Patty just before we left, and it was perfect for us when we arrived back from the hot dusty trail ride! The sun tea was a sweet ending to an amazing day! Riding four wheelers through the mountains is certainly high on our list of fun things to do! We are already looking forward to another ride soon. After the next rainstorm, I think would be perfect timing after the rain tames down the dust that comes from riding through the dirt trails!
We were hoping to catch a glimpse of some wild animals on the ride, and one deer did cross the trail in front of us, but other than that, we did not get a glimpse of any other wildlife. No doubt they saw us coming a long way off with the trail of dust we carried with us!
We celebrated July 4th this year in an amazing way. Our son began his own yard service last year, because he wanted a job, but was only 14, and too young to get a job yet. He posted flyers around town, and has stayed quite busy with his different customers.
One of his customers have become close friend of ours. They have taken a special interest in our son, and have become precious friends of ours. This July 4th, their children were not able to celebrate the holiday with them, and so they invited us to share the celebration of July 4th with them.
It was a day full of sun, water, good food, lots of laughs and splashes and just overall a day to relax and enjoy the celebrations of living in such a blessed country, the Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave, the United States of America.
This is the view of our friends house from the boat dock, looking up towards the house. They designed and built the house themselves, and what a lovely home it is to have a group of people over. I love the design of the house, with the kitchen overlooking the family room, and all of it looking out towards the lake. Their yard was beautifully decorated with flags and flowers and created a wonderfully festive atmosphere for the July 4th celebration.
We arrived at their home shortly after noon, and headed down to their dock, where their boat was awaiting us. We loaded up on cold drinks and snacks, as well as lots of sunscreen, and climbed aboard!
It was a beautiful day, with not a cloud in the sky. Our friends live on the Priest River as it flows into the Pend O'Reille River. There is a no-wake zone on the Priest River, and so you must slowly navigate down the river, weaving in between people floating down the river, and various boats, and people in the water.
Our kids on the tube floating behind the boat, waiting for the no wake zone to end so their fun could begin!
We passed by the Priest River swimming hole, otherwise called "The Mudhole" and it was packed to the brim with people celebrating July 4th enjoying the sunshine and the cold water!
Finally we were approaching the end of the no-wake zone, and the kids were ready to GO!
What a time they had in the tube! Around and around in circles they went, crossing other boats wakes, and quick turns to the left and the right, but they held on! There were quite a few other boats out on the river, but because the river is so big, it really felt like you had the entire river to yourself most of the time.
The water sparkled and glistened as the sunlight bounced off of it, and it seemed like every drop of water was celebrating the 4th with us!
We enjoyed the beautiful backdrop of the mountains in every direction on the river, simply amazing!
One of the homes on the river that caught my eye... love the deck stretching the length of the house, and all the beautiful rocks, flowers, and landscaping...
Another beautiful home... although there were too many to take pictures of... but just a sample of the beautiful homes overlooking the river.
Our kids hamming it up on the tube, lifting their hands and not holding on... it was a good thing our friend didn't see them doing that... a quick turn to the right or the left would have had them wishing they had been hanging on!
The wind was blowing the flag north, and I thought this was a unique picture of the great American flag blowing in the wind...
A few more pictures of the tubing adventure out on the river..
It was time to head back to the house and get dinner on the grill. We grilled shrimp and steak, along with onions and mushrooms on the grill, and had broiled veggies, garlic potatoes and corn salad.
The boat was anchored off shore from where the fireworks were launched, so we had a bird's eye view of the fireworks. They played the national anthem and then began the beautiful fireworks.
I played around with my camera and found a setting that worked pretty well for the fireworks display.
Our friends had brought these cute fireworks glasses that were three-dimensional. Watching the fireworks with those glasses took the show to a whole new dimension!
This was the last round of fireworks, a beautiful fountain of showers to finish off what was a beautiful day celebrating the freedoms of the great country we live in! It was a July 4th that we will always remember! It was absolutely spectacular in every way, and my heart is grateful and thankful for the freedoms that we are blessed to have here in the United States of America.
One of his customers have become close friend of ours. They have taken a special interest in our son, and have become precious friends of ours. This July 4th, their children were not able to celebrate the holiday with them, and so they invited us to share the celebration of July 4th with them.
It was a day full of sun, water, good food, lots of laughs and splashes and just overall a day to relax and enjoy the celebrations of living in such a blessed country, the Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave, the United States of America.
This is the view of our friends house from the boat dock, looking up towards the house. They designed and built the house themselves, and what a lovely home it is to have a group of people over. I love the design of the house, with the kitchen overlooking the family room, and all of it looking out towards the lake. Their yard was beautifully decorated with flags and flowers and created a wonderfully festive atmosphere for the July 4th celebration.
We arrived at their home shortly after noon, and headed down to their dock, where their boat was awaiting us. We loaded up on cold drinks and snacks, as well as lots of sunscreen, and climbed aboard!
It was a beautiful day, with not a cloud in the sky. Our friends live on the Priest River as it flows into the Pend O'Reille River. There is a no-wake zone on the Priest River, and so you must slowly navigate down the river, weaving in between people floating down the river, and various boats, and people in the water.
Our kids on the tube floating behind the boat, waiting for the no wake zone to end so their fun could begin!
We passed by the Priest River swimming hole, otherwise called "The Mudhole" and it was packed to the brim with people celebrating July 4th enjoying the sunshine and the cold water!
Finally we were approaching the end of the no-wake zone, and the kids were ready to GO!
What a time they had in the tube! Around and around in circles they went, crossing other boats wakes, and quick turns to the left and the right, but they held on! There were quite a few other boats out on the river, but because the river is so big, it really felt like you had the entire river to yourself most of the time.
The water sparkled and glistened as the sunlight bounced off of it, and it seemed like every drop of water was celebrating the 4th with us!
We enjoyed the beautiful backdrop of the mountains in every direction on the river, simply amazing!
Another beautiful home... although there were too many to take pictures of... but just a sample of the beautiful homes overlooking the river.
The wind was blowing the flag north, and I thought this was a unique picture of the great American flag blowing in the wind...
A few more pictures of the tubing adventure out on the river..
By the time we finished eating our meal, it was time to hop back on the
boat, to get out in the water,
and get anchored for the fireworks show
over the river. So, we brought dessert with us on the boat.
Dessert
included Stars and Stripes Brownies created by our dear friend...
The Stars -n- Stripes Brownies were absolutely heavenly and tasted even better then they looked!
YUMMY! We snacked on the brownies, and a Blueberry Crisp served up with creamy vanilla ice cream as we waited for the fireworks to begin...
The boat was anchored off shore from where the fireworks were launched, so we had a bird's eye view of the fireworks. They played the national anthem and then began the beautiful fireworks.
I played around with my camera and found a setting that worked pretty well for the fireworks display.
Our friends had brought these cute fireworks glasses that were three-dimensional. Watching the fireworks with those glasses took the show to a whole new dimension!
This was the last round of fireworks, a beautiful fountain of showers to finish off what was a beautiful day celebrating the freedoms of the great country we live in! It was a July 4th that we will always remember! It was absolutely spectacular in every way, and my heart is grateful and thankful for the freedoms that we are blessed to have here in the United States of America.
May we always remember the price paid for the joys and freedoms that we enjoy today!
We have been having some unusual weather here the last few days. When my Dad arrived back on June 17, it began to rain, and it rained for almost a week. Then just as quick as the rain disappeared, extreme heat showed up, and now we have been experiencing Texas style weather with temperatures climbing up into the 100s for several days. Thankfully we got the rain before all the hot weather hit, and everything is so green and absolutely beautiful. With all the sunny days we've been having, the wildflowers have been going crazy, and my garden is literally growing in front of my eyes!
My kale and broccoli are continuing to grow in spite of the heat. I thought maybe the heat would do them in, but they must be a heat tolerant variety, as they are adapting to the heat just fine.
This flower bed unfortunately hasn't faired so well. Annie thinks it is her personal playground, as does our cat, Simba. The poor plants that have survived the onslaught of these two are doing quite well though!
A glimpse of the lovely temperatures we've been experiencing around here the last few days!
So because of the extreme temperatures, I set up a fan in the greenhouse to help cool things down a bit. This has worked really well, and the plants in the greenhouse are doing great.
A view from the front of the greenhouse looking toward the back. The squash is about to take over!
These are tomatoes that I started from seed. I bought four tomato plants from the local hardware store, and amazingly, my tomato plants started from seed are now putting on tomatoes, right about the same time as the plants I bought that seemed almost full grown from the hardware store.
I planted the tomatoes next to the greenhouse wall so that I could use string tied to the panels to help hold the tomatoes up, and keep them from overtaking the rest of the garden.
These are the first two squash that began to develop, and they merged together and formed one squash. Just a few more days, and this one will be ready for the table!
The squash is absolutely loving this greenhouse! Last year, my squash produced maybe one or two "eatable" squash... quite a different story this year! This greenhouse is really making a difference in the production of veggies!
My peas are coming along great, the pea pods are filling out... and again, it won't be long and we'll be having peas for dinner too!
The chili peppers are eating up this heat, and mass producing too!
My first bounty from the greenhouse garden... some tender, juicy, sweet green peppers, which were fried up as soon as they were picked for our beef fajitas that night!
And I thought I'd leave you with one last picture of our sweet Cosmo hiding out in the front shaded flower bed trying to stay cool through all this heat! All you could see was his nose sticking out! What a way to beat the heat... hide in Momma's flower bed, and hope she can't find me.... sorry Cosmo... the secret's out now!
My kale and broccoli are continuing to grow in spite of the heat. I thought maybe the heat would do them in, but they must be a heat tolerant variety, as they are adapting to the heat just fine.
This flower bed unfortunately hasn't faired so well. Annie thinks it is her personal playground, as does our cat, Simba. The poor plants that have survived the onslaught of these two are doing quite well though!
So because of the extreme temperatures, I set up a fan in the greenhouse to help cool things down a bit. This has worked really well, and the plants in the greenhouse are doing great.
A view from the front of the greenhouse looking toward the back. The squash is about to take over!
These are tomatoes that I started from seed. I bought four tomato plants from the local hardware store, and amazingly, my tomato plants started from seed are now putting on tomatoes, right about the same time as the plants I bought that seemed almost full grown from the hardware store.
I planted the tomatoes next to the greenhouse wall so that I could use string tied to the panels to help hold the tomatoes up, and keep them from overtaking the rest of the garden.
The squash is absolutely loving this greenhouse! Last year, my squash produced maybe one or two "eatable" squash... quite a different story this year! This greenhouse is really making a difference in the production of veggies!
My peas are coming along great, the pea pods are filling out... and again, it won't be long and we'll be having peas for dinner too!
The chili peppers are eating up this heat, and mass producing too!
My first bounty from the greenhouse garden... some tender, juicy, sweet green peppers, which were fried up as soon as they were picked for our beef fajitas that night!
And I thought I'd leave you with one last picture of our sweet Cosmo hiding out in the front shaded flower bed trying to stay cool through all this heat! All you could see was his nose sticking out! What a way to beat the heat... hide in Momma's flower bed, and hope she can't find me.... sorry Cosmo... the secret's out now!
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