Palisades Lake

Last weekend, David and I packed up, geared up, and hiked up to Palisades Lake with Carston and Allison Quinton. 

Last week I complained to David that all of our Idaho pictures have the same color scheme... orange, brown, and yellow. Now, don't take me wrong... those colors can be beautiful... to some, but... not to me. I am a TRUE Washingtonian through and through and miss my greens and blues (that rhymed... unintentional)! I must admit that I spoke too soon. This hike up to the Palisades lake was full of green trees and the most amazingly blue water I have ever seen!! I felt like I was back in WA! The hike is 4 miles to the lower lake and then an additional 3 to the upper lake. We embarked on our journey at about 9:30 and made it to the lower lake at around 11:00. Here is a picture of the lower Palisades Lake... isn't it amazing?

After seeing this, we couldn't wait to see with the upper lake had in store for us. I didn't think that it could get any more incredible than this... but it did!! Now, the hike is not a hard hike. There is only about a 900 foot elevation gain from the bottom to the top throughout the entire 7 miles, so we made it to the top at around noon. It's a good thing that we packed a large lunch... because we were hungry!! Allison and I sat on a log, dipped our feet in the refreshing water and watched as our husbands tried to make it to the little island in the middle of the lake! They did not make it far... this water was COLD... and I mean COLD!!! I could barely keep my feet in! 

On our way back, we rounded a bend and ran into (what I thought was) a stray horse! David stopped in his tracks and educated me that this was no horse. A MOOSE was in the ravine right below us. We tippy-toed past the moose, took all the pictures I could, and am still in awe of the beautiful animal that we happened upon! Around the last mile or so we started to feel the soreness set in. Walking for 14 miles is enough to make anyone ache... but throw in some good climbs... and it is no surprise that we were struggling on that last mile.

So far, this has been my FAVORITE adventure this summer! Gorgeous scenery, amazing wildlife... and even better company! We had so much fun with the Quintons! David and I are so happy that we have found a couple who is just as CRAZY as us who enjoys going on long, rigorous, adventures that test our strength! I look forward to doing more!! 

Biking through Yellowstone

Our first adventure of the summer began right in Yellowstone. Now... I'm not going to tell you who's idea this was. If you were to ask 5 miles into the bike ride, you bet that I would be taking all the credit for such a great idea... but if you asked us 45 miles into the bike ride, I would have been putting all the blame on David. That's right, ladies and gentleman, we rode 46 miles in the park. I don't think that my legs... (or my behind) can handle another extensive bike ride for AT LEAST the rest of the summer! David and I headed out of Rexburg at around 6am and were in the park by 8. We went straight to Old Faithful, which is where we rented our bikes. The first 5 miles were beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. David and I couldn't get over how great it was to bike in such wonderful weather and in such beautiful country. 


     We started our quest anticipating on biking all the way to Norris, which is about 30 miles from Old Faithful. For those who are unfamiliar with the park, there is about 14 miles of geothermal hot spots on the way from Old Faithful back down to Madison Junction.
We continued on our trek and made it all the way to Madison Junction, once there, we headed towards Norris. I am so glad that we did! As we were pedaling along, we see a HUGE traffic jam ahead... and you know what that means... there is something to see ahead. It's at this moment that the bikes became instantly cool again. We biked right through the traffic jam and got front row seats to this amazing family of bison. It's a very interesting feeling being so close to such large wildlife... interesting in the sense that if one starts charging, we don't have a car to protect us!
       We biked for about another 3 miles and decided to turn back. This was probably the greatest decision next to renting the bikes!! As we were on our way back to Old Faithful the weather turned quickly and began RAINING and HAILING!!! Luckily, the sun came out as fast as it initially disappeared. We were able to make it back to Old Faithful in one piece. Very, very sore... but in one piece nonetheless! At the end of the day, we decided that we would definitely do it again and would recommend that everyone try it! One small change... we will NOT bike 46 miles next time!

Happily Married

For my very first blog post I thought that nothing would be more appropriate than to blog about how wonderful it is to be married. For all of those single folk out there... I highly recommend the married lifestyle. Come this November, David and I will celebrate our 2 year anniversary!! TWO YEARS!! Time sure does fly when you are having fun, huh?! David and I live in Rexburg, ID in a community of town-homes called The Meadows. We love our little home. A bit about us... David is attending school at Brigham Young University-Idaho, majoring in Biology. His dream? Dentistry. If anybody knows David, they know that he will accomplish this goal. He is one of the most driven, dedicated, and motivated men I know. David started the summer working at Earth Designs...  a very labor intensive landscaping gig. Long, long hours, lots of sunscreen needed, and a LOT of dirt accumulation in our doorway. At the beginning of August, David and I decided that before school started in September he needed to start studying for the Dental Admission Test. So, Earth Designs is history and studying from 9-5 is his full time job. It seems like just yesterday we were signing up for his foundation classes! I can't believe we are already prepping for one of the most critical tests that he will ever take!
On that note, David is on one of the most prestigious scholarships provided. It's called the M.R.S. scholarship... and there is only one recipient of this award. Why? Because my paycheck can only go towards one man's education :). I am a licensed insurance agent working at Archibald Insurance on Main Street. I've been working there for over a year. This job has been such a blessing for David and I. This summer David and I have a goal to take advantage of this beautiful weather and do something active outside every Saturday. I am excited to post some of our adventures!