Tag Archives: Sunday Drive

A Sunday Drive

After church and lunch on Sunday we headed north on Hwy 395 to State route 20 W and made a left onto Inchelium-Kettle Falls Road south along the Columbia River all the way to the Reservation town of Inchelium and then onto Gifford Ferry Road.

Along state route 20 we saw more of the fire devastation.

There are no towns along the twenty seven miles we drove along this route from Kettle Falls until we got to Inchelium.

Along the way we encountered rain showers.

Entering the small town of Inchilium on the Colville Indian Reservation and further on we hit the end of the road at the Inchilium-Gifford Ferry launch.

The ferry crossing is free and the small ferry holds approximately 8 vehicles.

It was a smooth ride.

Arriving in Gifford we headed north along Hwy 25 through Daisy and Rice and on to Kettle Falls and home. Daisy and Rice are very small communities.

Our neighbor’s tree greeted us in all it’s autumn glory. Soon all those leaves will fall.

We enjoyed our little Sunday drive even in the rain. We like to learn about the areas around us. It was fun to experience that little ferry across the Columbia river.

Sunday Drive

After church and lunch out we decided to take a drive north from our home towards where the fires had been burning.

We only stayed on the main roads and we did not drive onto smaller roads up into the fire areas. We could see some of the trees that were scorched. It was a nice drive and we were encouraged that it wasn’t smoky.

Meanwhile in the state of Texas!

Josh had business in Dallas and extended his time there to spend time with his uncles, aunts, cousins, and childhood friend. Laura flew in after Joshua’s conference was over to join him for the ‘family’ time. An early round of golf happened on Saturday with his uncles and cousin.

Later on Saturday my sister, Lana and her hubby Steve, arranged for this get together, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, and friends!

Laura with cousin, Hope (who is in her senior year of high school!). Josh with Nikki, my best friend’s daughter who lives in Texas now with her family. My brother and sister, the twins, who both live in the Dallas area. Nikki and her brother grew up with our kids in southern California. Nikki’s mom, me, Lana and Leonard were all part of the Russian Baptist church in L.A. growing up and into our college years.

Before Josh and Laura flew home on Sunday Steve and Lana treated them to a trip to the Dallas Arboretum.

It’s Fall y’all!

Thank you to Josh and Laura for sharing their time in Dallas with us through their photos! Thank you, to my sister and hubby, who opened up their home to them!

Hope y’all had a good Fall weekend, too.

Border and Back

Uploading my photos was possible on Monday morning. The route that is highlighted in yellow was the road we took to get to the US/Canadian Border at Laurier. The following photos show some highlights along the way.

We are now on Highway 395 going north toward Kettle Falls and beyond.

The bridge across the Columbia River.

United States Post Office in Laurier, Washington. We made a u-turn here since the Border is still closed between the U.S.A. and Canada except for certain essential travel.

Dear spotted the burl on this tree as we passed and we turned around to get a closer look.

A burl is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. It is usually found on the trunk, at the base of the tree, and sometimes underground in the form of a rounded outgrowth. It is caused by some kind of stress, such as injury, virus, fungus, insect infestation or mold growth.

We pulled off the highway in Orient to get a closer look at this building.

The Kettle River.

Back to the bridge across the Columbia River towards home this time.

Back to views of the valleys of Colville. We enjoy knowing where the roads lead around our country bungalow.

Monday was a warm winter day and I was able to clear out several of the plant/flower beds getting them ready for Spring. My back keeps reminding me that I did that but I’m still happy for that progress.

Tuesday we are scheduled for our Heat Pump repair which is supposed to take all day. Here’s hoping all goes well.

First Sunday Drive This Fall

Our area has such a beautiful layering of mountains all around us looking North, South, East and West. The photo above is looking South.

We are choosing to drive some roads in our area that are new to us to continue familiarizing ourselves with our county. On this first Sunday in Fall we chose Greenwood Loop Rd. which took us to Mingo Mountain Road. When the road became Primitive we turned around and went back the same way we came.

We had a good weekend and I hope you did, too. Happy new week to you all.

My computer only let me upload a couple of my collages. I’ll add the rest of the photos when my computer behaves. Bright and early this morning my computer is behaving so I added the rest of the photos!! 

This will be a busy week for us. I’ll be very scarce come Wednesday and beyond.

And I Think to Myself…

…what a wonderful world.

I’m so thankful for the wonders of the world that God has created for us to enjoy.

These were our views on the way home from our Sunday Drive to the orchard.

Crossing over the Columbia from west to east. The Columbia River Bridge at Kettle Falls.

The layers of mountains, the trees, the mighty Columbia River…so much beauty in our backyard. Thank you Lord for plopping us in this beautiful part of your world.

Communities around these parts like to brand their mountains. KF is for Kettle Falls. Our Colville mountain has a C on it and a cross.

Now we are about 5 miles from our Country Bungalow with more pastoral views. It was a beautiful day for a drive.

“I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.”  Psalm 69:30.

Sunday Drives

The forecast came true for Sunday and it was a beautiful day for a drive. After church we headed to Kettle Falls and enjoyed some lunch and then continued on across the Columbia to Sherman Creek Orchard.

 

Note to self: Next year go in early fall to see all the beautiful color this orchard affords. We bought 16 pounds of pears and enjoyed the drive home.

I will share more photos from the drive home on another day. My upload speed for photos has been slower than molasses. 🙂

We are entering a busy week for many here in the U.S.A. with preparations for our annual Thanksgiving celebrations. It was good to start the week off with a little time away from home and focusing on God’s creation. I’m thankful for Sunday drives and beautiful views!

Summer Finale

Another Sunday and after church another lunch in Chewelah and on the way home we diverted here and there to see some new roads. It was our goodbye to summer drive. I didn’t have my big camera with me so had to use my phone.

 

As you drive into Colville you’ll notice a mountain above Main street. Besides the cross there is a big C on this mountain.

Continuing on through town we turn onto our road which is sometimes called skunk alley.

Sorry for the visual of why it got that name. Hold your nose and turn off your air vents.

A favorite weeping willow we see close to home.

Into our drive and we notice one of the trees changing color.

The last day of summer afforded us a nice drive and a relaxing evening. It was the calm before the storm.

The footings for the shop are ready for the support posts to be set and the concrete to be ordered. We were so grateful for our son’s help. Dear continues working hard. I’ll need to take a photo of the holes.

Hope your week is going well.

Borrowing part of a prayer from Spurgeon…

Lord let your living water flow. Flow to my family and my friends, and let it not pass me by…

Sunday Drive

On Sunday after church we decided on lunch in Chewelah at our favorite Mexican restaurant in these parts. After lunch we headed north back to Colville and decided to take a turn-off and enjoy some back roads. We turned on Addy-Gifford Rd. west with intentions of following the road to it’s end at highway 25. Some of the roads in our parts are named for their beginning and their end. Addy-Gifford starts in the little town of Addy and ends in the little town of Gifford. I suppose if you start in Gifford and head east to Addy you could call it the Gifford-Addy road. 🙂

Right along the road we came upon the Ten Commandments. When I saw the signs in the distance I was wondering if they would be Burma Shave Signs. If you’ve never heard of Burma Shave Signs google it and you’ll get lots of info and photos.  They used series of signs along the roadways to advertise.

Dear slowed down through this section so I could capture each sign. There was no traffic on this road so that worked out well.

God’s Word along the road is unexpected but enjoyed.

I wasn’t expecting to see this vista, either.

When we got to the end of the road at highway 25 we took a little detour south to see the Gifford-Inchelium ferry launch. You guessed it, the ferry will pick you up in Gifford and cross the Columbia River to Inchelium. Inchelium is located on the Colville Indian Reservation. Some time in the future we’ll take the ride across the Columbia to Inchelium.

After a pause at the ferry launch we headed north on highway 25 that runs along the Columbia river. We turned off the highway in the small town of Rice to head back east to highway 395 on Orin-Rice Road.

Instead of following Orin-Rice all the way to hwy 395 we continued onto Valley-Westside to Mantz Rickey Radio Road. And yes, there is a radio station on Mantz Rickey.

It was a very nice drive and next time we’ll continue north on highway 25 all the way to Kettle Falls. It’s good to learn the lay of the land in our neck of the woods.

Onto highway 395 we headed north stopping at the Builders Supply for some steel wool that I’m going to use on my shower doors to see if I can cut through all the calcium deposits from our well water. It’s super fine grade #0000. I’ll let you know if it works.

Quote of the day from Timothy Keller today:

God’s sense of timing will always confound ours. His grace rarely operates according to our schedule.

To Northport

On Sunday afternoon we turned left out our driveway and headed north to the town of Northport.

We followed our road to highway 25 and turned right headed for Northport. Northport is just shy of 10 miles to Canada.

Northport was given its name since it was once the northernmost town on the Spokane Falls and Northern Railway. It was officially incorporated on June 1, 1898 but has a history stretching back to the 1880s when it was a port and shipbuilding center for steamboat services running northwards into British Columbia during construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, related to its location at a stretch of the Columbia known as the Little Dalles, a rapids and narrows that was a barrier to navigation and which also was an alternate name for Northport itself. In 2010 the census of Northport registered 295 people.

We had a meal at the River Town Grill.

We crossed the bridge over the Columbia River.

Sometime in the near future we’ll follow the highway all the way to Canada and check out some of the towns close by like Rossland, Trail and Nelson. Nelson is where the movie Roxanne was filmed. (Steve Martin)

On the way back home we stopped to take some photos of the Columbia River.

At this spot we recognized the property across the river and the structures at the top of the slope. Our Eastern Washington kids got married on that property in 2015. I zoomed in to make sure it was the spot.

Flash back to June 30, 2015.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig.

We hope to have many more day trips in the future to learn more about our new part of the state.

Mother’s day plans here are going to be last minute and flexible as our kids are still pretty much homebound. The guys are prepped and ready to barbecue something for a meal on Sunday for all the usual suspects.

Off the Beaten Track…

We had a choice or two on how we might reach our destination for our Sunday drive. We chose the back way. We decided we had enough of the interstate and wanted to see interesting scenes along a smaller highway. We were happy with our choice to take highway 530 to Rockport. We had some good views of Mt. Pilchuk.

How’s this for a tree lined road?

Here we have a little peek of snow covered Mt. Pilchuk. We enjoy roads that wind along rivers.

We arrived to our destination and spotted what we were hoping to see. Can you see it? I’ll have more photos in the days to come.

This week begins a very busy time around this old house. How’s your week shaping up?