We woke up this morning to some fresh snow on the ground.  Perhaps not an unusual thing here in Idaho, but since the roads have been clear now for about 2-3 weeks, a little sprinkling of snow is not really a big deal.

My daughter had been driving my vehicle back and forth to school because it was more snow worthy with studded tires.  But since the roads have been clear of snow for the past few weeks, she has been driving her own vehicle again... which said pickup is NOT snow worthy.

At any rate, the sprinkling of snow we got last night didn't appear to be a big deal at all.  The road looked bare and dry in front of our house, so we thought it would be fine for her to take her pickup as usual.

They were already running late as it was, so we hurriedly said goodbye as they scrambled out the door.

But they didn't get far.  The back passenger wheel of her pickup just spun and spun right in the driveway.  I ran downstairs and grabbed the ice melt, which has saved us several times in getting vehicles out of slick spots.  They sprinkled the ice melt under the spinning tire, and it gained traction immediately, and the truck spun out of the yard.

So, I had just settled back into my rocking chair with my first dose of coffee, and opened my Bible, looking forward to spending some quiet time with the Lord before my day got started.

Then .... my phone rang.  It was my son calling me ... he said, "We're in the ditch."

My first question was... "Are you okay?"

"Oh yes, Mom, we're fine" he said. I breathed a sigh of relief.

So, I hurriedly ran to get dressed and take the van over to them in order for them to get to school, and then I planned on figuring out the "ditch" situation.

As I pulled out of our driveway, I realized how bad the roads were.  The road was indeed bare by our home because the sun had already come out and some of the snow and ice had already melted.  But wherever there were trees and shaded areas, the road was covered in ice and snow.  Tricky and treacherous for a little pickup.  I wasn't surprised she had trouble after I saw the condition of the roads.


As I made my way slowly to where they were in the ditch, I couldn't help but wonder how all this was going to turn out.  I looked up to the skies as I drove, and the clouds, the sun, and the mountains were absolutely ablaze with color.  It was an amazing morning, with the sparkling, shining snow on the ground, drifting off the trees creating a beautiful mist in the sky.

Surprisingly, I had the presence of mind to bring my camera with me.  It just happened to be sitting right beside my purse... and boy was I glad I brought it.

So, as I was driving, I felt my heart become calm again as I couldn't help but just marvel at this beautiful morning.



I began to call my son to see where they were at, because they were nowhere to be found.


He wasn't answering his phone!  Now this is a boy whose phone seems to be attached to his body.  You never find him without it.  I couldn't imagine why he wasn't answering my calls.

Finally, I put the phone up, concentrated on staying out of the ditch myself, and just trying to enjoy the beautiful morning, yet looking in every ditch, nook and cranny of the road as I drove, looking for my poor "ditched" children.

Finally, the phone rang.  As I was picking the phone up, I noticed that there was a white pickup in front of me driving slowly.  Ha! It was them!  Some kind neighbor had stopped and pulled them out of the ditch, and they were already back on the road, headed to school.

My daughter had been going slow around the corners, knowing the roads were slippery and icy. However, she got to a dry, flat stretch of road, and thought she could pick up speed just a bit, and apparently just as she tapped the gas, the truck hit a patch of ice and began to fishtail, and although she brought it back around several times, it eventually slid front wheels first into a ditch.  So thankful that there were no oncoming cars, or trees or anything else in the way.  It was a clean slide with no injuries to anyone, and the truck was easily pulled out, righted, and set back on the straight and narrow.

I followed them on into town just to make sure they got there.  Then, after I was sure they were safely at school, I turned my attention to the beautiful day unfolding before me.  Here are some of the pictures of the beautiful morning that I was enabled to see because of an icy early morning slide!







You can see how the snow covered the road in irregular patterns of dry patches, and then the snow mixed with ice.

Look at those clouds!  The sun was breaking through and the cloud cover with the sun over the mountains was a great sight to wake up to, even if it was a bit hectic!













I took a detour on the way home, because of the magnificent sunrise, to a road that had a wonderful open view of the early morning sun.

This is a picture I snapped this morning, and I am still in awe of the magnificence of it! The cloud formation with the sun announcing its arrival over the freshly dressed snow covered field... wow!









Today ended up being a beautifully brilliant day of sunshine.  All those clouds disappeared and the bright blue sky dominated the horizons for the rest of the day!

Even though it was a rather rude awakening to get me out and about on the roads that early in the morning... I can't say I was disappointed about it!

After all... when life gives you lemons... why not make lemonade!




I wouldn't have got to see all these beautiful sights if I'd still been sitting at home drinking my coffee, and slowly waking up... and although I certainly wouldn't recommend an early wild dash on the roads like this... but it ended up being a beautiful thing... and so ... all is well that ends well as the old saying goes... and that really held true for me today!
 
And you know what... my day only got better after this... but you'll have to wait until my next post to hear all about it :)

Stay tuned!

Last week after our Valentine date, since it was such a beautiful day, we began to drive around a bit, which is one of our favorite things to do.  We just never know where we'll end up by the time the day is over.  There is a certain excitement that comes when you have no destination in mind, but just turn down roads randomly and at will. 

We ended up on a private road where there was a "for sale" sign that was pretty inconspicious.  In fact, it looked like it had been for sale for a long time, because the sign looked old and tattered.  No matter.  It beckoned to us, and we followed....


It took us a while to get up to the top of this property and lookee what we saw when we got up there! WOWZERS!


 The place was on the side of a mountain with a large creek running through it.  The opportunities for exploring here are endless!


We called some friends who came out to the property with us to look at it.  The views were second to none! A full view of mountain ranges in almost every direction.

 I almost got dizzy climbing up here, but the views were spectacular, so I couldn't resist!

And don't forget that I was still in my "Valentine Day" clothes... I wasn't exactly planning on climbing on the side of a mountain when I got dressed that morning planning on a sleigh ride and a nice dinner!



I guess I must have an adventurer spirit at heart, because I was able to keep up with my husband and his friend as they tromped all over this place.




This is the road as you get to the top of the property.  I didn't think to get a picture of the road going up to this place.  It was pretty wild!  

 The creek sported some beautifully created ice sculptures as the running water had frozen on the branches and bushes.










This is the meadow on the property.  Most of the rest of the property is mountainous and hilly.  This was pretty much the only flat ground aside from the hilltop views.








Whoever owned this property evidently had great plans for it.  It seemed they had carved trails all around the entire property and put up signs naming the different areas.  I snapped a picture of this one, which they had named Panorama Plateau.  Pretty fitting, I thought.  The panoramic view in every direction was breathtaking. With a laughing creek running the entire length of the property, from the flat meadow areas to the hilltop panoramas, this property was amazing.

Of course, it seems there are always negatives to any property like this, and I'm sure you're wondering why this beautiful place is still for sale.  You would think it would have been grabbed up in a heartbeat. 

I think I know why it is still for sale.  The road to the place was very, very tricky.  Our tough 4x4 pickup almost never made it.  And this is after the snow had been melting for several weeks.  You would need a serious mountain vehicle to get to this place, especially in the winter. 

But it certainly was a beautiful way to spend an already wonderful day!

Valentine's Day this year was a really special time for my sweetie and I.  We made reservations at the Western Pleasure Guest Ranch for a horse and sleigh ride.  I've been wanting to visit the Western Pleasure Ranch for some time, and what better time to visit than on Valentine's Day!

As we were getting ready to drive over there, to my great surprise and delight, the sun came out in all her brilliance!  This time of year visits from the sun are few and far between, so that made the day that more special!  The Bible says it rains on the just and the unjust, but it doesn't say anything about the sunshine, and I was just thankful today to see the sun shine on a day that we had planned this sleigh ride.


As we drove toward the ranch, the sun shining down on the mountains was simply glorious, to say the least!  I couldn't help snapping a few pictures along the way as we drove.






As we arrived at the Western Pleasure Guest Ranch, we were given a warm and loving welcome! 


Two of their dogs ran out to meet us, and then proceeded to let the whole world know we had arrived from their snowbank guarding station.





 They were setting up inside the lodge area for a big Valentine Dinner that evening. 




They had a cozy fire going while we waited for the horse and sleigh to meet us for our ride, as well as coffee, tea, and hot chocolate.




Soon, our personal horse and sleigh arrived to take us for a zip through the woods.


When the horse and driver introduced themselves, we began to laugh, because the horse's name was the same as my husband's... so the driver cautioned us that if he was speaking commands to the horse, he certainly wanted my husband to know he wasn't speaking to him.


The horse had sleigh bells on him and we listened to the pleasant music of the bells as we traveled through the trail.


At one point along the ride, the driver stopped the horse while we overlooked this beautiful vista.  Schweitzer Mountain is in the far distance with the snow-capped ridges.  It was a beautiful view!


A picture of my sweetie and I on the "one horse open sleigh" And we didn't have to sing jingle bells... because the horse did that for us with all his bells ringing as he pulled us through the woods. 



It was an absolutely gorgeous day with the snow glistening on the trail!


Back at the barn, one last picture of the horse and the driver.



We said goodbye to the sweet dogs who had given us such a warm welcome to the ranch.



This is one of the log cabins on the ranch that you can rent for the night, week, or weekend.  They overlook the snow covered valley with the Selkirk Mountain ranges behind them.


As we were leaving, I snapped a few more pictures of Schweitzer Mountain off in the distance.




We drove into Sandpoint, and stopped at Ivano's Ristorante for lunch.  Italian food being one of my favorites, we enjoyed lunch here and celebrated Valentine's Day together. Being together any day with my husband is like Valentine's Day every day to me, but it a lot of fun to throw in a sleigh ride and an Italian dinner to the day to make it even more special.