Adventuring on Veteran's Day!

November 11, 2013

I sent Mr. Smith out the door with a big hug and kiss!
As I was tidying up the house the phone rang about 8:30 and I heard the following:
"Could I please speak to the beautiful Kimberly Smith?"
Talk about making a girls heart go "pitter-patter"! 

It was my sweetie calling to say, he was taking the day off from work and we were going to go enjoy a wonderful ride on our V-Strom!  

I squealed with excitement as I know that our days for being able to ride our FUN adventure machine are limited because winter weather is definitely on its way!

We definitely encountered SNOW on our adventure that day,
but, it didn't stop us from having the time of our lives!

The wonderful thing about having a motorcycle
is the fact that we are becoming familiar with all of the back roads and by-ways that abundantly surround us.
We are exploring roads that we would never explore in our car and we are finally seeing things that we've never seen before and it's SO much fun!
Especially, since I hear people talking about this road and that road and up until now, I haven't really known exactly where they were and how they connected up.

Today's adventure took us to Kilgore, Idaho 
(a place we haven't visited since the early days of our marriage 
when we used to go out exploring in our 1968 Land Cruiser)
and then to Spencer and Dubois.

Here's our day in photos!

 The road to Kilgore is SO much FUN...
lots of turns and hills and perfect for a motorcycle!

 Some person totally vandalized the sign by shooting it with their gun and leaving LOTS of bullet holes... Shame on them! 
This is my hunky hubby staring back at me through one of the bullet holes!

 There was snow on the ground and what a fun sight to see a melted "heart shape"!

We turned right at the stop sign 
and headed towards Kilgore!

 I LOVE this guy!

 Kilgore Store...

 Truly a step back in time!
This nice man gave us directions
 and we warmed up with cocoa.

I loved all of the candy bins where you could get many different candies for 2 cents each!

Checking the map...

We were going to head north on a road over to I-15 that parallels the Continental Divide near the Idaho/Montana border.

We decided to try our hand at driving the muddy snow covered road...

Not the best idea in the world...
Stressful...
Scary...
We turned around after about 6 miles and headed back to Kilgore.
I guess we'll have to wait to make it to the Continental Divide border until after the snow melts. 

Back on Terra Firma...

What a neat old building.

Heading to Spencer Idaho, 
via the Idman Road.

What a view...

Cool Shot of my hubby and the train tracks...

Stopped at the rest stop just outside of Dubois 

and pulled out a Thermos with Sloppy Joe fixins 

and enjoyed the sunshine and a delicious lunch!

What a neat old town Dubois, Idaho is!

Heading back towards Rexburg from Dubois via the Clark County Road...

St. Anthony Sand Dunes in the background...

A carcass of probably a 
small deer alongside the road...

Teton mountain range in the background...

We stopped at Smith Park on the drive home 
to enjoy all of the beautiful flags that lined the streets 
and we also took a moment to check in with our kids 
to make sure they made it home from school safely!

On our drive home we stopped and talked with Tracy's brother-in-law Tom at his dental office.  He has an adventure motorcycle as well and we are looking forward to enjoying some adventure motorcycle rides with him in the coming year.

What a perfect day with the love of my life!
Life is abundant in happiness, 
adventures and LOVE, of which I'm so grateful for! 

Adventure and FUN on our Thanksgiving Break!

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving 2013 has come and gone and here we are starting the 2nd week of December!  
We have LOTS of snow right now, 
school has been cancelled for 4 days in a row and we are experiencing below zero and single digits temperatures!  

So grateful for the wonderful weather 
we had on Thanksgiving week!

YES, it was only in the high 30's and low 40's, but that is WARM compared to what we are dealing with right now!

We had 5 days off from work and school together!
It was just AWESOME!  
I'm mostly grateful that we embraced the weather and ENJOYED the week to the fullest!

Mr. Smith came home on Tuesday evening and took me for a ride around the block on our NEW toy!
I was in heaven!
(I LOVE my hubby's 

"No-Shave November" beard.  

He's looking  pretty HOT!

We lounged on Wednesday in our jammies and slippers and read books, watched movies and Mr. Smith couldn't help, at least START his motorbike, despite the chilly weather!

I awoke Thanksgiving morning to a quiet house as everyone slept in. It was nice to be alone to my thoughts and so much fun to get the food ready and the table decorated so when my men awoke for the day, it was a SURPRISE!  

It was beautiful outside and as I looked at the contrails in the sky, I couldn't help but think that people were on planes, excited to be spending the holidays with family and friends!  

Our table looked so beautiful in the morning sunshine...

Going to the Tabernacle
 to hear the Thanksgiving Morning Program....
was the highlight of our morning!
Grateful for hubby and sons that humor me and go to it!

Such beautiful music and words
 were sung and spoken!

Tracy told us to keep our meal simple this year 
and so instead of making rolls, 
we made Grilled Texas Toast instead! 
It was a simple delicious meal, 
shared with my three favorite people!

I told Tracy the only thing I wanted for Thanksgiving day, 
was to enjoy an adventure ride with him on our V-Strom!
So we bundled up and off we went!

The road of adventure is always a JOY!

I just love being behind this awesome guy as we ride and explore together!

Absolutely gorgeous sunset we enjoyed 
on a road that is just a little ways from where we live!
The Menan Buttes are highlighted 
and the distant mountains are the Lemhi range.
This photo is just awesome!

No Thanksgiving day would be complete without PIE!
Coconut Cream,
Apple Huckleberry 
and Cherry Pie 
were on the menu and very much enjoyed!

Our day ended with the most gorgeous and vibrant sunset!

(part 2, here)