MountainRoadRanch

Trees

2012-01-27T02:43:00.000-08:00

All of these photos taken of trees in our yard... Click on the photos to open a larger view slide show.

Climb a tree - it gets you closer to heaven. ~Author Unknown

Popcorn poppin on the Apricot tree

Pine draped in Virginia Creeper

Maple

Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world. ~John Muir

Gingko

Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers - for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are. ~Osho

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~Minnie Aumonier

River Birch

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.
~Joyce Kilmer, "Trees," 1914

Peach

Apricot

Apple

Aspens

As the poet said, "only God can make a tree" - probably because it's so hard to figure out how to get the bark on. ~Woody Allen

Peach

Dead Pine with Boston Ivy

Pear

For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver. ~Martin Luther

You can live for years next door to a big pine tree, honored to have so venerable a neighbor, even when it sheds needles all over your flowers or wakes you, dropping big cones onto your deck at still of night. ~Denise Levertov

We all need a little pruning...

Or we "self prune"

Sumac

Who cries over a tree? Me...my favorite tree in the yard...a Linden, blown by wind.

The Best of Dream Quotes

2012-01-02T03:31:00.000-08:00

I really do have a sense of humor. It just may not be on the same wave length as yours. I may not laugh in the same places or even at all at plays or movies or TV shows. (There are a couple of TV shows in which I have actually laughed out loud, The Office and 30 Rock.)

At the end of the year, I was reading my dream journals as I prepared to begin a new one for the new year. I decided to compile a few one-liners or statements that I thought funny. Now, you may not even care to see what I thought funny, but here goes. (the "color" goes as follows: Black are regular dreams. Brown are dreams where I am vaguely aware it is a dream. Red are Lucid dreams.)

November 18, 2005

Then baby threw up all that he had been eating, coins, shampoo bottles, so much kept coming back up. Poor baby all empty now.

January 5, 2006

Hot. I said to everyone, why are you all wearing black? When it’s so hot. Then everyone just stared at me. I had on a black outfit too.

January 3, 2007

I was arriving at a work assignment, except I flew in on a broom. I was teased, but said I actually got my aerobic exercise because I had to pedal like a bike.

March 22, 2007

I asked if they had ever seen “The Gods Must Be Crazy”. I said it was a really old movie that took place in Africa about the natives and a journey and a coke bottle falling from the sky. … “Why is this old lady, telling us about a dumb movie, that she can’t even remember very well?”

April 15, 2007

I was concerned about the fish, because the enema bag fish tank didn’t seem to be sufficient. I wanted to put them in the bigger tanks, but knew the sharks would eat them. I wanted to get rid of the sharks, but they were Bob’s and I wasn’t sure what plans he had for them.

May 6, 2007

“Does anyone have any cayenne?”

May 7, 2007

We had a week that we all came to work in costume. I got mixed up on the days and came to work dressed as a wizard, when everyone else was in Marie Antoinette costumes.

May 13, 2007

NOW IS THE TIME TO SELL.

July 5, 2007

…the doorbell rang and it was the visiting teachers. We told them we were busy with wild animals.

August 10, 2007

The family members had gathered there at the ranch to discuss what to do with the horses and to plan my funeral. I tried to communicate with them, but no one could hear me. I tried to remind them that I wanted all music and maybe poetry and a slide show presentation.

November 6, 2007

I usually like the front row. Since I was in the back, I thought no one would mind if I levitated to see better.

November 21, 2007

I thought it was weird that I dreamed this so many times and now it was really happening. I decided to test it to see if was a dream. I pinched myself and touched others to see if it was a dream. I could definitely feel them, so I figured it was real.

December 12, 2007

They answered with “We don’t want to learn to dance, we know how to dance—we want you to tell us your adventures in your detective business. We heard you have had some amazing breakthroughs and cases.” I wasn’t sure how they knew about my other business, it was supposed to be a PRIVATE Detective.

March 24, 2008

“why did we move all this crap with us?”

April 29, 2008

Then everyone left, making sure to avoid the thing dripping water in the garage.

May 30, 2008

I still KNEW it was a dream and wanted to control it, but instead was just watching it play out because I didn’t know HOW to control it—as in HOW to have it play out, or the mechanics of HOW to manipulate it.

August 5, 2008

The tubes were flexible and iridescent, almost having a life of their own, seeming to take enjoyment in their duties, weird as it may seem. This gave “catheter” a new meaning.

September 18, 2008

I was miffed that someone had placed an elephant on my wall, because it associated me with the Republican party.

September 20, 2008

I thought as I climbed the stairs for the umpteenth time, wow, I have dreamed this so many times, but now it is REALLY happening. If it’s a dream, I can stop it. I tried stopping it and couldn’t, so it must be REAL.

October 15, 2008

I constructed or put together something like a “solar liahona” made of blue lego-like things, about the size of a large grapefruit. I was so elated that I had actually put this together without assistance or instructions.

December 15, 2008

I replied something like, “I have plenty of money, the abundance of the universe flows to me.”

January 1, 2009

I realized it must be a dream! That meant I could make a decision and change something.

February 3, 2009

…I now told Bob of all the happenings of the previous dream. He kept saying, “How could you NOT know it was dream?”

March 6, 2009

I said to everyone—be careful of the dog poop, don’t walk in it. So, of course, they did.

April 9, 2009

The feelings were of frustration and of having huge obstacles placed in my way of what I was trying to accomplish (a simple "get away" to Goblin Valley).

May 1, 2009

“I guess they don’t require people to clean up after their dogs here…oh, wait, it’s their own yard. I guess they enjoy being surrounded by dog poop!”

May 11, 2009

I said something like “Ugh, Texas, no way”.

September 30, 2009

I would have REALLY liked Brandon or Tristan on my team.

November 23, 2009

I was really surprised and delighted that the church had added a line of “colorful” garments and a line of “lingerie” style ones.

March 2, 2010

The groups of young men especially paid us notice because we had so many beautiful daughters and grand-daughters with us.

May 5, 2010

I dozed off (in the dream), so I was dreaming that I was asleep and also dreaming. In the dream within a dream, I dreamed of someone telling me about some important documents. What I didn’t realize, the dream was within an actual dream…About that time I actually awakened and realized the WHOLE thing was a dream.

July 9, 2010

It was unusual in that the horse wore shorts and somehow pulled them down to potty.

September 30, 2010

Do you know anyone in Panguitch we could stay with…

October 8, 2010

The last scene was us being crushed and suffocated in blue and white plastic walls and I was thinking “this is it, I am dying in this weird way.”

October 10, 2010

I am very agitated and start yelling at him, saying that it’s exorbitant for a stupid clock. We could get an awesome horse for that price!!! And … it’s not even a cool Cuckoo clock!!

December 10, 2010

…all this craziness was costing me extra money, even though the government was paying, they wouldn’t pay for my stupidity! I mean how could I have brought a cat that I wasn’t planning on taking and forgetting my luggage???

January 8, 2011

He was a Bad Rap, meaning he was a Good Rap. Sure, he was carnivorous, and ate meat, but he tried not to eat his friends or humans.

January 26, 2011

I looked at a clock and it read 2:40. No wonder everyone was hungry.

February 13, 2011

Heather was rolling up the loaves, making bolsters (but, how would they last…being made of bread?)

February 18, 2011

….I wish we had “walkie talkies” and/or a battery operated communication radio

February 25, 2011

I was in my pajamas with mismatched top and bottom and hadn’t done my hair or anything.

March 9, 2011

…it would be cool if I could actually SING that song.

March 14, 2011

Someone said “every one duck!!” so, I flattened on the ground. (as if that would prevent something)

April 4, 2011

“I am an old woman”. Those sitting around us chuckled and thought this was funny.

May 2, 2011

I have dreamed this so many times; I just have to make sure it is real this time." Each one told me that it was NOT a dream. Then, I woke up and found that it WAS a dream.

May 27, 2011

…if this is a dream, I can leave it. I tried to stop it, but couldn't, if I can't stop it, I will try to change it. The only way I could change it was by moving myself, so I began walking, leaving the house and going outside. it seemed to be very cumbersome just walking, I will just fly, so I levitated in the air and began soaring over the landscape, like in the movie Dinosaur. I came to some very big and scary dinosaurs, so I just reached out my hand to them and willed them into cute, little cuddly creatures.

July 8, 2011

"I have dreamed about this so many times. Now it is REALLY happening."

July 10, 2011

I not only had lost my friends, but my belongings AND my memory.

July 26, 2011

It doesn't seem to be as much fun in a dream. Where are all the interesting people? the REAL people disappeared as soon as I realized it was a dream.

October 23, 2011

Then, I realized I didn't have lipstick or a cute outfit on, and felt unprepared for whatever was in store.

October 25, 2011

You're kidding me of course. You all are fired as architects. I just want a normal triple car garage with room for storage. What in the world were you all thinking???

October 29, 2011

I pondered on what it felt like to die as I was surely going to. I just relaxed as best I could hoping to avoid too much pain and felt as if I were floating into a sandstorm with a light vortex.

Have I inspired you to keep your own dream journals????

Colorado Trip, September, 2011

2011-11-18T11:41:00.000-08:00

Grand Mesa Nat Forest

Heading up the Grand Mesa

One of the Grand Mesa Lakes

From the top of the Grand Mesa, looking out toward the Gunnison River Valley

Margarita Pizza with fresh garden tomatoes...not quite sure why it's called that.

Daddy and new daughter

Along State road 191, north of Vernal

In the Ashley Nat Forest, between Vernal and Flaming Gorge

At a rest stop, along State Hwy 44 between Flaming Gorge and Manila

An amazing (I think) view of Flaming Gorge

Mark Rashid Clinic, Bluff, Utah

2011-09-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

Spectators

I took a LOT of notes!

Mark and Bob, one on one

View from our Hosts back yard

A few of the awesome people we met

Mark entertained us with cowboy music. Great!

Spirit patiently waiting

Photo Shoot for a Dragonfly

2011-07-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, while working in the yard, there were hundreds of dragonflies swooping about doing their thing...presumably, hopefully, it is eating mosquitoes. I noticed one golden one perched on a rose hip. He stayed there for quite a while. I took a couple of photos of him with my phone. He then seemed to say, "Go get your good camera. I want a photo shoot." So, I walked into the house, retrieved my camera and began taking photos for about 15 minutes. Sometimes, he flitted onto another flower, seeming to say, "Hey, look at this side; Get a top view! Look, I'm smiling!" It was a fun photo shoot for a cute little guy, probably dead by now.

Click on the photos to a larger view...

I'm smiling....

Horse Hair Pottery

2011-04-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

We commissioned an artist to make some pots out of Wayfarer's tail hair, which I had saved. We thought it would be a nice memento. The photos with the flash turned out gray and the one in natural light turned out tan. In reality, they are somewhere in between. Apparently, they take the pot out of the kiln at 1200 degrees and apply (throw on) the horse hair which promptly burns and melts into the finish in beautiful random patterns. Then, they are glazed and finished.

I have more of Wayfarer's hair saved to make jewelry.

Yep, Good Dog

2011-03-04T12:05:00.000-08:00

Thanks, Milo

Picnik is Addicting

2011-02-17T05:55:00.000-08:00

Picnik is an online photo editing program. It is so much fun to play around with. I especially had fun playing with photos of Cowboy Bob's paintings...Click on the photo to enlarge. Go to the link to see the original.

Rocky Canyon with the colors on BOOST

Rocky Canyon on LOMOISH

Last Chance Desert on INVERT

Mountain Road Cliff on BOOST

MR Cliff on LOMOISH

MR Cliff on ORTONISH

Imperial Point on BOOST

Imperial Point on SOFTEN

Coyote Canyon on GOOIFY

Coyote Canyon on HDR

Coyote Canyon on ORTONISH

Coyote Canyon on SOFTEN

Right Fork on BOOST

Rockies Storm on BOOST

Rockies Storm on SOFTEN

Random Holiday Adventures

2011-01-11T10:08:00.000-08:00

My first try at a popcorn horse

Lemur manifests a curse on Cowboy

Girlie Heaven...Barbies and Horses

Fun game of "Curses"

Dancing to the Wii...

Wii

Even the Men got in the Wii dancing action

Coloring with the Princesses

Toe Power...Reign of the Five Fingers

Kassidy rules

Male Bonding

Lemur explains the "rules?"

Peaceful sunset at the Ranch

My photographic capture of a Tradition...the Star at the Christensens

And of course, our new little addition...the Barn Cat named Apple Cider

The Wave...worth doing...worth repeating

2010-08-15T21:11:00.000-07:00

Thank you, JT and Little T for providing our permits to this wonderful hike. Wildbound and Wild Kids went too...so much fun...I loved it all, even the sucky sand valleys.

The campground did have a pool, but it wasn't heated. The worst part about camping was the MOSQUITOES!!

The gorgeous sunrise as we drove to the trailhead.

Bags ready to go at the Wire Pass Trailhead

Our own "Rocky Ridge"

"The map says to go over that ridge, but the GPS says the other saddle...Wait a minute, it's that one. No, it's that one. The GPS is flippin."

"Hey GPS Bob, if you don't stop flippin with that GPS, we will be flippin you!"

Tadpoles in the Water Pockets.

Top Rock Arch

Remnants of the flash flood a couple of days before

On the hike in....sand, sage and rock features

Human Sand Timer

Lots of critter tracks

Yay! Water Pockets!

Our campsite wasn't too bad. However, the second afternoon it was so windy and dusty, we packed up and went to St. George and spent a much more comfortable night with Bethany.

Jackson Art Trip

2010-08-14T18:39:00.000-07:00

Artist Bob and I went on a trip to Jackson in late June, where Bob took an art workshop. I took the opportunity to sight see and hike.

The view from our motel at the elk refuge

Here is a bear for Bob's bear stories.

This was a REAL stuffed zebra.

The second day I hiked to Jenny Lake. It was cloudy and rainy, but eventually cleared up.

My pal for the day...Jeff, posing with me at Hidden Falls. Then, we rode the boat back over the lake.

The next day, I hiked solo around String Lake. It was beautiful and had much more solitude than Jenny.

Beginning of the String Lake trail

You know how I love to photograph water and rocks

Canadian geese visiting String Lake

Look in the eye of the tree and see the goose...

I made friends with a marmot. We hung out together for about 20 minutes.

The view from the "other" side of String Lake.

Self portrait on the String Lake trail

String Lake

The view from Bob's workshop at Wilcox gallery back towards Jackson.

The 4th day I took a drive around the loop of Grand Teton NP. This is Buffalo Fork of the Snake.

Oxbow Bend on the Snake

Near Oxbow Bend

Jackson Lake

Tetons with Arrowleaf Balsamroot in the foreground

Backlit Arrowleaf

I had to lay on the ground to get the blue Lupines in the foreground.

The trail to Taggart Lake

The most common wildflower I saw

Cottonwood creek on the way to Taggart Lake

I also took a side trip up Gros Ventre canyon and was surprised when part of it looked like the red rock country of So. Utah. I saw the country where the Gros Ventre slide happened in 1925. Quite a story. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gros_Ventre_landslide

Bob doing a portrait from a live model

We did have time for some evening fun...saw Jeff in the shootout at the town square, then later in "Annie Get Your Gun". It was a GREAT show! Good job, Jeff as Buffalo Bill.

Excellent meal at the Playhouse before the show...Trout, fresh veggies and wild rice pilaf.

Our last evening, we took three other ladies from the art class to the Bar J Wranglers.

Havasupai Adventure

2010-07-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

After a five hour drive to St. George, and another 7 hours (which included stopping by the Las Vegas airport and crossing the bottleneck at Hoover Dam), we arrived at the Hilltop Parking lot and spent the night in the car...

The rest of our group left at about 5:30 am. (Remember, if you click on the photo, it will enlarge...)

Kev and Carol got a little later start.

We waited about 5 hours for our riding horses to arrive. The refrigerated trucks had first dibs on the pack animals, carrying fresh produce, dairy products, etc. down to the village.

We finally got our mounts...of course Cowboy Bob was....well Cowboy and since I was married to Cowboy, I became "Cowgirl" and was put in charge of leading the riding horses down the canyon. My horse was called "Shorty". The ride down was very hot (106), I dropped a water bottle in the first hundred yards...(No stopping, "keep going")The guy in the turquoise shirt was a scout who was left by his leaders to wait 5 hours, then ride a horse down the canyon. He had never been on a horse in his life....so...we had to kind of take him under our wings. Needless to say, he was miserable. This is our campsite the first night.

The first night, I wondered what we had gotten into. Was this really worth it? At least we had water close by to cool off in.

The second night we moved to a better campsite with more shade.

I thought I was going on a 1/2 mile stroll to hang out by a beautiful waterfall. Little did I know what was in store. I took my sarong, a towel, food, a book to read and wore my swim suit. The photo below does not do this justice...hiking down nearly vertically hanging onto chains AND hiking through a tunnel/cave like area. Whew! Oh, well, the bottom was worth it.

Beautiful Mooney Falls.I photographed interesting things...like fungus and ferns.

Then, had to wait our turn to hike up the ladders and chains again. Actually, kinda fun, but I swore I didn't want to do it again.

Later, we hiked in the other direction to Havasu Falls. This, just involved about 1/4 mile through sand, rock and dirt.

Beautiful playground.Just enough spray coming off the falls to keep us cool in the 100 plus heat.

My opening to our tent faced this lovely little fern grotto.

A view of our campsite.

The Sacred Datura that bloomed all over. I joked to someone "there's enough of that here to get the entire campground of 200 people high for weeks"

If you look closely, you can see Cowboy sitting at the picnic table, relaxing and reading. This is right by Havasu Falls.

After 3 nights, we were ready to pack out.

The ride out provided more adventures...at least it was a little cooler. My horse was #91 and Bob's was "Blackie"

It was a trip of a lifetime...kinda like childbirth...the memories and photos are wonderful...the discomforts kind of fade away out of memory. So glad we were able to do it.

Also check out Desertbound's photos and narratives of the trip:

http://imdesertbound.blogspot.com/2010/06/people-of-blue-green-waters.html

Red Cliffs Getaway Days 3-4

2010-02-27T09:40:00.000-08:00

Friday began with another presentation at Kerry's home on cleansing and eating healthier. Then another fabulous lunch that included cabbage salad, Kerry's answer to PF Chang's lettuce wraps, avacado on bread chips, kale and seed chips and much more.

This is a framed photo that was in the home. At first I thought it was a painting.

Dessert was sticky rice "cake"

with agave and coconut oil, topped with mango and red pepper. (I have all these recipes. If you want them emailed to you, let me know)

After lunch, the workshop adjourned and I had some free time to do a hike. Brandon recommended the Johnson Canyon/Arch trail just south of Snow Canyon. It is only open until March 15 when they close it to hiking because of the wildlife (mostly desert tortoises) and the only water access for the summer months.

Johnson Arch (look closely, because it is backgrounded by rocks)

The water source at the top of the canyon.

I used the timer feature on my camera as I hiked this one alone.

Rocks under water.

Had to hike through some lava rock. This was a very fun hike. Highly recommended if you are in the area October 31 - March 15.

Saturday, we had planned a hike with my Uncle Scott to Purgatory and Babylon (gotta love those names), but got rained out. Bethany and I went to the Art Show at Dixie college. This one was my favorite, of clouds in Capitol Reef. It also won Best of Show and was for sale for $5,000.

This one was my second favorite called Twelve Pears. I love the color, contrast, texture, movement and energy in a so called "still" life.

This was my third favorite, a pastel portrait of a little cowboy and his dog. This show is well worth going to if you are in the area. I believe it goes until the end of March. I definitely want Bob to enter it next year!

I also got some shopping in...a stop at Walgreen's for a bottle of water netted me 5 scarves/shawls in my Energy Type and I found this jacket at the Hope Chest thrift store in St. George. Fun stuff.

Red Cliffs Getaway Days 1-2

2010-02-25T15:17:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I went walkabout (or drive-a-bout) First, began with a stop at the Meadow Hot Springs where I had the place to myself for a few minutes until some Mexicans showed up. Arrived at Beth's for a delicious spaghetti and meatballs dinner. I attended an amazing concert at the St. George Tabernacle featuring pianist and composer Kerry Henderson and also the inventor of the Electronic Valve Instrument, with whom she did several duets. I wish I had taken my camera there. The EVI was incredible. One instrument sounded like violins or trumpets or clarinets or oboes. The next morning featured a hike on the Chuckwalla Trail with about 15 ladies.It was great fun to meet so many interesting women.

The view to the left is of Kerry's home where the retreat was held.After the hike, I took a tour of the Jacob Hamlin homestead in Santa Clara. This is his original saddle.

I really liked this hurricane lamp. Named because the slots in it were designed to keep the wind from blowing it out.

After the tour, it was back to Kerry Henderson's home for a fabulous lunch. Cabbage salad, Shrimp Cocktail salad, Home made tortillas (wow), and assorted fresh salsas. Dessert was almond date balls and beet cupcakes.

The view from Kerry's front yard toward the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. After lunch, we had an informative and inspirational presentation on embracing a healthier life style.

Back at Beth's we went on a hike along the Santa Clara.

Earl the "Pearl"

2010-02-09T09:34:00.000-08:00

this poster was in Earl's dining room

Actually I never heard that he was called The Pearl until I read the obit.

Practicing for the musical numbers.

Faith

Scott..Earl's brother

Leraine playing the didigeroo

Faith and Earl have an interesting garden.

Kevin

Bob, talking with Tawakul, who planned the service

Earl wanted everyone to have a good time

Antelope Island Again Nov. 7

2009-11-14T17:35:00.000-08:00

Turned out to be a beautiful day for a ride! The ride was planned by an Ogden area "Horse Meet up" group. Bob and I went and we took our new boarder, Doc the paint and his owner, Robyn. Here is a photo of Robyn and Bob just starting at the White Rock Bay trail.View of White Rock Bay.
Me on Wayfarer and Bob on Shrek.
Robyn and Doc.
We met a new friend, Judy H. from West Haven and her horse, Buck.
Absolutely gorgeous scenery and ride up on the Elephant Head trail.

Judy and Robyn chat at a lunch break...what a view!
Cowboy Bob has a story to tell about the huge "dinosaur" tracks on the rocks.

We even came up close and personal with some bison.
Heading back to the trailhead. Great ride! Many bikers were on this trail today. For all you bikers in the family--this is a great trail.

Antelope Island 2009 Bison roundup

2009-11-01T10:11:00.001-08:00

Upon hearing that the Bison roundup (or buffalo depending on who you talk to... It's a Bison Roundup, but you eat Buffalo Burger.) was today-- we finished our manure mucking chores and headed out to the island, hoping for a chance to ride anywhere we wanted, as happened last year when we got to ride South of the ranch. We just about didn't do it when we found they had changed their policy and required a $25 permit for anyone to ride this weekend. It permitted us to ride anywhere and to actually herd the bison if we wanted. Workman's comp even applied if we were injured because it was a State run event. We found the round up group half way to the Ranch, but the herd was pretty much stationary and the riders were just sitting around. I read in the paper this morning, there were over 200 riders. I also found out that the bison were "very stubborn" and were grazing and drinking at a siesta when we saw them. We also read that three horses were gored by angry animals.

Some of the trailers parked at the ranch...
That didn't look like too much fun, so we went down to the ranch and rode toward Sentry Peak.
The trail was much softer than I remembered--appeared to have been "graded" and widened in most places.
Looking north. This was an attempt at a self-portrait. This was my first ride with my "good" camera. I retired the old one, due to a scratched lens.
We were able to ride a trail that is usually off limits to trail riders and we spied this multi-pointed buck staring at us.
Then a doe...she's just in front of that middle bush.
A nice vista with the Oquirrh mountains in the background.
This trail eventually led to the beach on the other side, but hadn't allowed enough time. It would have been another hour of riding.
I thought these rock formations in the background were interesting.
I love this shot.
More interesting rocks on another trail that is usually off limits.

Can you see Salt Lake City downtown?
This guy missed the round up.
Birds on the Buffalo.
After our ride, we put the horses in the trailer and drove to the west side of island at White Rock Bay. We spied these bison out on the beach. No food, no water...maybe they just like hanging out on the beach like we do.
White Rock Bay.
We grazed the horses for an hour while we waited for the sunset.

Memorable ride, beautiful sunset...yes, I am ready to go back again next week!

White Pine Lake via the Bunchgrass Trail

2009-09-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

This was a "girl's day out". I drove to Nibley, where I met Wildbound and two friends. I was able to use my own Aussie saddle on a fine horse named SweetPea. As I got to know him better, he indicated that he would like a "braver" name. He had a wonderful, smooth gait--typical of the best of Missouri Foxtrotters.We set out on the trail from Logan Canyon, near Tony Grove. I followed Kathy and Misty.

We enjoyed mountain vistas...

All variety of evergreens and streams...

Lots of dirt trails and aspens...

Sagebrush meadows...

Mountains...

And eventually White Pine Lake...

Lunch on the Log at the Lake...

Then back for a different view on the same trail.

Beautiful ride....but looong. Around 16 miles of varied up and down terrain. My brave horse was ok as long as he was the tail end. He likes boundaries and "rules" and didn't care for Rio "stepping off the trail" in back of him. He was very focused on his job which he perceived as making sure those behind him (or at least Rio) stayed on the "trail". Postscript: Sweet Pea has been re-named "Red River" aka "Red". Great choice, Kathy and Tia.

Uintas Horse Camping

2009-08-30T04:36:00.000-07:00

One of the views from Campsite #71 at Mirror Lake Campground...our base camp. Our canopy was helpful for shade and rain protection.

The first ride was to "Altar Falls"...gorgeous and SECLUDED.

The "Altar" Rock...

One of the meadows on the Altar Falls trail.

One of the lily ponds on the Altar falls trail...

The next ride was Bonny Lake.

Putting up the tie-line for the horses. This time, it wasn't Wayfarer who got loose, but Shrek that first night.

Wednesday morning, we made it early to the Crystal Lake trailhead in order to snag a parking spot. Here's Wildbound and Rio all decked out in trail gear, including a Super Duper trail first aid kit.

The first meadow on the way to Cliff Lake.....little did we know what lay ahead...in terms of rough, steep, rocky trail. Unfortunately, I did not get photos of the worst part...my chief concern was survival.

The trail was so steep and rocky, we had to dismount and lead the horses. Wayfarer struggled and in one particularly difficult spot, he refused to go further. He held his leg up as if it were hurt. Naturally, I was concerned. Couldn't go up OR down. My companions were way ahead. I was engulfed with feelings of powerlessness, frustration and highly emotional concern for Wayfarer's well being. After what seemed like hours, but was actually minutes, Bob came back on foot to assist. He was able to assertively coax Wayfarer into forging ahead. He assured me this was the "worst" part and it got better from here on and he was 80% sure that we would not have to descend this way, because we were planning riding a "loop".

After more rocky steep trail eventually, we made it to Cliff Lake. Onward, we went with our goal to pass several lakes and go "cross country" around Wall Lake and down the other trail back to the trailhead.

Even with a map, we became confused about which lake we were passing and we missed a critical fork in the trail, going cross country and ending up on the upper "wall" side of Wall Lake. the following picture does not truly show the huge drop off down to the lake. On the other side of the lake, we could see our eventual destination, but with no idea how to get there.

We took advantage of the lovely place to relax and have lunch with a view of Wall Lake.

We backtracked and found the trail and the missed turn off and went to Watson Lake. Nice lake, but we could not continue on horseback because of the huge boulder field that was impassable by horseback. Cowboy Bob: "I forgot about THAT part....sorry."

We WILL have to go back down Satan's Staircase.

We DID make it back down the Staircase from Hell and then went UP the trail to Wall Lake from the other direction. This was a much nicer trail. We stopped at the lake for a while.

And viewed the "Wall" on the other side...that we had just been on the top of.

All in all....an Experience. I did not want to repeat Satan's Staircase, so we looked at trails on the map to plan the next day's experience. I was very much drawn to the trail out from the Bald Mountain trailhead (not the one up the mountain), but the one to Clegg and Notch lakes. I was given the strong impression to do this trail. It was an amazingly beautiful trail...rocky, but not steep. Had lush meadows, trees, streams, lakes, mountain views. Definitely, one to go back to. It would be a great place to backpack.

Clegg Lake

Pond by Clegg Lake

Notch Lake...

Lunch stop at Clegg Lake on the way back.

On our way out, we drove to the Crystal lake trailhead again to try the Crystal Lake trail, but the parking lot was full. We drove on the dirt roads back by the Washington Lake campgrounds, found a place to park and thought we would just "ride around" a bit. We rode through a meadow of cattle, did a little cross country, then found a road/trail to a place called Haystack Lake. We had left our map back at the truck, so we were just hoofing it. We reached Haystack after a while....beautiful lake, totally unplanned trip.

Wildbound relaxed for a bit.

Haystack Lake

Later, we looked at the map to see what "trail" we had followed to get to Haystack Lake. Wait a minute....that "trail" was not on the map. Well, whaddya know....the Map was wrong. (or at least incomplete)

There were some meadows for a bit of cantering...

We packed up and went back to camp and holed up for naps, while a rainstorm went through. Enjoyed a dinner of grilled bratwurst.

The next morning, we packed up the horses and gear, broke camp and headed out the Wyoming way to ride the Stillwater Trail out from Christmas Meadows.
Fun trail, a little bit of everything, including LOTS of mud and bogs...a few river crossings.

A quiet, streamside place to lunch. (Stillwater Fork of the Bear)

Beautiful trail, beautiful trip...

Postscript: The Satan's Staircase Experience did have a metaphorical and spiritual significance...as was revealed later.

Family Reunion

2009-08-02T21:23:00.001-07:00

Bethany requested my best photos from the reunion. Here they are for all to look at and download if desired.

One of my favorites....

Up through Montana

2009-08-01T08:21:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Whitefish, Montana in time to visit the Art Festival in the park there. We didn't want to wait around for 5 hours for the fireworks on the lake, so we drove on and found a place to camp in the forest.
The next morning we found a nice waterfall--Martin Falls.

The forest had many of these trees, which I hadn't seen in Utah. Haven't identified it yet. Thinking it may be some kind of cedar.

There was much "bear moss" on the trees. It is a combination of algae and lichens (or something like that) and will not survive in polluted air.

Canmore, Alberta

2009-07-31T13:43:00.000-07:00

On our first day in Canmore, we spotted these elk bedded down right next to the freeway. Since it was raining steadily, we chose to take a "tour" of the Ammonite factory, featuring Ammolite, a rare gem found only in Alberta. It was interesting, but a total rip off for $10 as we were only shown the jewelry showroom and the guide read posters that we could have read for free. I had hoped to see the stones actually being polished or set.

No, I did not pick one up for a souvenir. A tiny, barely visible chip was about $40. The larger specimens as shown below ran about $30,000.

One of the more delightful experiences in Canmore was visiting their "Miner days" Art festival held in some Heritage gardens.

This wild bunny was visiting the gardens at the same time.

The average home in Canmore is about $850K. The one below is typical of the larger ones. This one below, I would guess at about that price or even more. Small building lots in the more upscale neighborhoods ran $700K-800K.

Banff National Park, Alberta

2009-07-20T12:35:00.001-07:00

It began as a potential "rain all day" kinda day. Our plan was to visit Banff (the city) and visit the hotels, museums, art galleries, maybe drive around a little. As we began the drive and paid our entrance fee (you have to pay the park entrance fee to even visit), we saw the spectacular cloud formations surrounding the mountains and decided to drive the Bow Valley Parkway up toward the Icefields and Lake Louise. We noticed on the map a place called Johnston Canyon with two waterfalls to hike to. I didn't even have my hiking shoes, but we gave it a try. It was amazingly beautiful.
The hiking was aided with catwalks.

The first waterfall was so beautiful and we heard the upper was even more. So, we hiked a total of about 3.7 miles to see both falls.

Lower Johnston Falls. We walked through a little tunnel to get right up close.

The Upper falls.

Mountain Views along the parkway.

Icefields (glaciers)

We visited the famous Lake Louise.

And were more enchanted by the gardens, especially the Iceland Poppies....

....Than the huge hotel.

After lunching at Bill Peyto's Cafe in Lake Louise, we drove to Lake Moraine. It was just beginning to rain, but we grabbed our raingear and headed out on a short hike around the lake. The rain stopped and we had an awesome hike!

The turquoise blue of this lake is particularly striking. Apparently it is caused from tiny mineral particles originating on the glaciers.

Typical forest scene around Lake Moraine...

Yoho National Park, British Columbia

2009-07-20T05:13:00.000-07:00

As the result of talking to someone in the hot tub, we were advised to "not miss" the opportunity to see Takakkaw Falls in Yoho Natl Park (which shares a border with Banff as it goes into British Columbia). It had rained earlier in the morning and the scenery was spectacular.

We loved this waterfall, wanted to stay there all day.

The river coming out of the falls was the "glacial" milky color. A different meaning to the term, "white water."

The bottom of the falls...misty, very cool...

After the falls, we drove to another destination in Yoho---Emerald Lake. We hiked part way around the lake. The color was incredible. Not always emerald, but sometimes turquoise, gray...

After a munchy lunch in the car, we hiked to Hamilton Falls. We caught some amazing photos...including raindrop spattered ferns...

Mossy gorges...

And eventually the falls...

On the way out, we spotted the sunlight peeking out on this "Jurassic Park" type scene...

As usual, photos do not do it justice. The "forest after rain" smells, colors and textures were fabulous.

Slot Canyon of the Canadian Rockies

2009-07-19T06:14:00.000-07:00

Grotto Canyon was mentioned in one of the travel guides I consulted before our trip. It mentioned a pleasant, short hike up a canyon and pictographs. I thought that sounded cool--and the spot was only about a 20 minute drive from our condo. The place was Bow Valley Provincial Park just outside of Canmore. The Canadian government hits visitors with hefty fees to visit their National Parks (it cost $17 for a day pass for the two of us, even with the Senior discount). But, their Provincial Parks are free. We began early, found the trailhead, which was basically empty. The first part of the trail was open, dry, dusty and passed a Magnesium Oxide plant. It did have some wildflowers. I was taking photos and then my camera said "Memory Full". I had "forgotten" the memory chip and left it in the laptop back at the condo. Luckily, I always carried a back up camera with another chip....hike 1/2 mile back to the car to retrieve it. By this time, we wondered whether this hike was really worth it. Then, we reached the place where the trail crossed the "creek". We followed a trail up the other side of the mountain. It quickly became beautiful forest. But, a very steep hike up.

We did enjoy views like this.

The trail eventually came down off the mountain and re-joined the creek into a narrow canyon.

Beautiful moss features.

At this time, we were nearly the only ones in the canyon. We saw footprints of someone else ahead of us, but never saw them.

We arrived at the only cairn on the trip and it "pointed" the way to the pictographs.

We spotted this book left on the trail. Don't know who left it. Maybe they climbed up the rock face.

About half way up, we noticed a gray bird hopping and flitting ahead of us. She would perch on a rock, wait for us, then fly or hop ahead of us. It became very uncanny. It had to be an Angel bird. She guided us to the "grotto" and up a side canyon to a four tiered waterfall.

While we were at the waterfall, a guided tour group came up. The bird disappeared.

After the group went ahead and we started down, little gray bird appeared again and hopped ahead of us going down the canyon. When we began seeing people constantly coming in, she disappeared altogether.

Varnish on a seep near the waterfall.

The lowest tier of the waterfall. Bob walked up the slick rock to see the other tiers, but I stayed below. The rock was too "slick" for me. It was virtually polished like agate. Not sandstone or slate.

We went a little ways up the "dry fork" side.

On the way down, we came across these climbers and watched for a while. They even invited Bob to take a climb.

It was a fun, fun hike. And we were smart enough to follow the stream all the way down instead of taking the side trail up the mountain, which shortened the down climb significantly. We were ready for lunch and a nap after that one. We both noticed that we are much better at the "uphill" than at the beginning of the trip.

Glacier National Park Adventures

2009-07-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

We checked out of our condo in Canmore on Sunday morning, July 12. Took the scenic drive through Kananaskis country---3 provincial parks. As we left, this sunrise greeted us.
Typical scenery of the provincial parks...

We arrived back in the U.S. and it felt good to see mileage signs and lower gas prices. The border patrol asked us to declare what we bought in Canada. They seemed surprised that all we bought was a book and a few groceries....We carried no firearms, nor alcohol, nor tobacco. Looking at the map, we saw a road going into Glacier from Babb, Montana. We chose to stay away from the GTTS (Going to the Sun) road that is a traffic nightmare. We had driven it about 12 years ago. The road we chose had some lakes and looked kind of "out of the way". We asked the park attendant on our way in for a suggestion on a hike. She gave us maps and highlighted a trail around a lake. We drove further and ran into some washed out road areas that were gravel covered and dusty. We didn't feel like driving a long time on dusty roads...almost considered turning back. The road got better and imagine our total surprise when we arrived at Swiftcurrent Lake and saw this HUGE 200 + room hotel and lodge that was totally unexpected.

There was a threat of rain, so we chose to eat lunch inside the lodge. This was our view. The food was good and fairly inexpensive compared to Canada and...goblets, cloth napkins.

Many Glaciers Lodge....very famous...built in 1915.

We chatted a while with the owner of the Trail riding outfit, finding out that his horses were all Percheron crosses. I liked this shot of the horses patiently waiting.

It was beginning to sprinkle, so we thought we'd do a very short hike partway around the lake. We planned on being gone about 2o mins. so we didn't take water or snacks. We didn't miss the snacks, but by the end of the 3 hour hike, it was hot and we were thirsty. I pretended it was a pioneer trek and sang "for some must push and some must pull."

We didn't realize that the trail AROUND the lake would be so long. We hiked ALL the way around Swiftcurrent Lake and partially along Lake Josephine...shown below. As you can see, it was beautiful.

It stopped sprinkling and the sun came out.
Lake Josephine was not very cold and had somewhat of a beach, so I played in the water and looked for stones. It felt good to squish my toes in the sand and walk on the pebbles. See Cowboy Bob's blog for pictures.
We got back to the lodge, then the car and left to find a place to spend the night. There was no National Forest that we could just pull out into. It was either Indian Reservation or National Park. Again, we looked at the map and had our choice of a primitive campground, Cut Bank Creek or a civilized campground at Two Medicine Lake. We chose the one at the Lake and snagged one of the last campsites. We relaxed, ate peanut butter sandwiches, then went to a campfire presentation on the legends of the area. Apparently, "Two Medicine" refers to the river being between two Medicine Lodges, so it was sacred and powerful medicine.

We spotted the image below on the mountain called "Rising Wolf". It looked to us exactly like a climber.

This lovely shot was of "Old Man" Lake with mountains in background. We camped by this one.

After the campfire stories, it was almost dark. We decided to just walk down to the lake. I left the camera in the car. As we stood looking at the lake, a beaver swam toward us, got out on the shore, snagged some shrubbery and munched for about 15 minutes before sliding back into the water and swimming underwater for what seemed like 5 minutes. It was a great moment, my first view of a beaver in the wild....but no camera to capture that moment.

The next morning, I took a photo of the place where the beaver got out of the water.

After packing up (which involved moving the coolers and bags from the front seats to the back), we went for a hike to Running Eagle Falls. It is also called "trick falls". I assume because it appears to be coming out of the rock.

Of course, I looked for rocks in the river and it struck me how there were so many green and red ones. It occured to me that this was "Two Medicine" river and the red and green were "Two Medicine". We could see the different colors on the mountain above. (note the red and green in the plant, too)

Wonderful time in Glacier....then we drove to Three Forks. On our way out, we came across some spectacular clouds and eventually rain.

The Jardine Juniper Trail

2009-07-03T07:13:00.001-07:00

We had a chance to go riding with Wildbound and Rio. She picked the Jardine Juniper Trail, which is up Logan Canyon. This is the trail head. We had fabulous perfect weather. Thank you, weather angels. Overcast, cloudy, a couple of drops of rain.

This big mushroom was on the trail. It doesn't look that big from the photo, but it was the size of a small cantalope.

The trails allowed as much cantering as we cared for.

The forest smelled so fantastic. There wildflowers EVERYWHERE...every kind. Huge evergreens of all kinds...ferns, roses....little springs and streamlets.

Fantastic vistas of the mountains...

After almost 2 hours and over 5 miles, we reached the destination of the Jardine Juniper, 3,200 years old and still alive.

On the way out from Nibley, we spotted this rainbow and gave thanks again for missing the rain, but seeing the rainbow...

Beautiful ride...thank you Wildbound for the ride and for tending our "babies" while we are gone.

Ogden Canyon Overlook Trail

2009-06-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

A beautiful clear day for a ride. We began by going down a mile or so on the Upper Wheeler Creek Trail on which we found this spectacular beaver pond. Cowboy looking out over Snow Basin. This wonderful trail is 1.6 miles one way and is 75% shady, 95% soft dirt. It begins at the old Maples campground and can be accessed from either the lower Snow Basin parking lot or the Upper Wheeler Creek Trail (the long way).

Evergreens, Maples, Scrub oak, wildflowers....

Great views!

We could see way out onto the lake past Antelope Island.

Again....one of our favorite rides.

Kira "steals" the show

2009-06-13T10:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, Kira follows in her siblings footsteps. Maybe, not the lead actress with the solos, but definitely the "best" actress on stage.
"I guess I've always just been in my big sisters' shadows."

The play is extremely good, especially for a "ward" production.

True story, romance, ship crossing, handcart saga. The scenery, costumes, original script and original music all written by a ward member--totally top notch! Way to go Kira! Zach and Zander have parts, too. It was so fun to see Zach "greeting" the audience as they left, introducing himself. He was a riot on stage too with different "hats" for each scene.

Mists on Mountain Road

2009-06-07T09:39:00.000-07:00

I love when you can stand on your front porch and get shots like these....

And stand on the back patio and get one like this...this must be paradise...we are so blessed...

More photos...Grand Canyon Adventure

2009-05-27T12:13:00.000-07:00

It was like we stepped into a fantasy movie...except the special fog effects were real

North Rim, Point Imperial

. This shot was taken from the Big Lodge on the North Rim. My favorite shot of Muleteer Bob and Fred....

Otherworldly, mystical, wow....

Looking down the trail from Supai Tunnel... In 30 seconds, this was all socked in with fog.

Wranglers Diana and Dan swap stories with Storyteller Bob...The other mule riders on our tour were a 75 year old lady and a young couple from China.

After the mule ride, we drove out to Point Imperial and captured a few great shots...the best being the one shown first in this post...

While at Point Imperial, the battery not only gave up the ghost, but completely died. We were jumper cabled and made it back to Fredonia where we bought a new one and had it installed before driving to the South Rim. While waiting, we bought hamburgers at a fund raiser for a cancer victim. It poured down raining while the car was worked on.

Our wonderful hosts in Fredonia had some fun animals, including a miniature cremello stallion, a few Paint horses, miniature cows, chickens and a brand new Dunskin foal that was a complete surprise two weeks ago. They did not know the mare was expecting.

Since the heavy rain cancelled our tour to White Pocket, we chose a scenic byway of Johnson Canyon Road, which goes north east from Kanab. Beautiful drive...my favorite part was going through Grand Staircase...Checkerboard Mesa look-a-likes...

Interesting rock formation, I call "Corduroy Cliffs".

We drove a few miles up the road that goes to Deer Springs Ranch and Cannonville. then backtracked and took the scenic byway up to Alton and over to 89.

We spotted a hillside of black-veined white quartzite. (Samples may be viewed at the MRR)

A Turkey Vulture posed for a few minutes just outside of Alton.

We saw some thunderclouds that appeared to be headed to Bryce Canyon, so we drove up there...got a few shots at Sunset Point

But, the storm never materialized there...

Got some nice contrasted photos, though.

The photo below was taken while driving through Red Canyon at 50 MPH through a rain spattered window. Not bad...

Fun trip! Not quite what we envisioned, but much better in many ways. Great company, met some wonderful people.

Master Muleteer

2009-05-25T06:33:00.000-07:00

Academy of Honorable GRAND CANYON MULETEERS, North Rim Trails and Extremities
Henceforth, Dreampacker, from this day forth shall be known as a GRAND CANYON MULETEER, owing to valor, Prowess, Skill and team work with the trusty mount, "Big Mac". Together, this day of May 23, 2009, they descended the mighty maw, soaring walls and narrow trail, all while displaying unwavering bravery, benevolence and valor. Be it never forgotten on this day, that mule and woman descended and ascended in the Grand Canyon, North Rim and thus shall be entitled to accolades, hosannas and bragging rights heretofore forever conferred.

Few times in a Lifetime...

2009-05-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

the weather, the places-- it all comes together for an amazing Experience. Most spectacular was the weather...the fog, the clouds, rain.

Miniature Waterpockets and ??????

2009-05-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

Waterpockets in the Red Rock sandstone right at MRR... Ferny plants...aren't they cute?

Woodruff and comfrey...Anybody want some? We have plenty of "starts".

Dandelion in the Woodruff and Aspen grove...

An absolutely gorgeous Mandevilla...a gift from the JT family. Thank you!

Cowboy Bob riding above the canal...We are so blessed to be able to get on the horses and within a few minutes, ride through meadows, sage hills, oak groves, by tiny waterfall streams...

With spectacular mountain views...

Love those Spring photo opportunities

2009-05-09T12:30:00.001-07:00

First item....There will also be apricots. They're already growing. Hmmm. I think we all know what this beautiful weed is...

Heavenly scented Viburnum

Also heavenly scented, but a little more common Lilac

Just a few yards from the MRR, there is a hillside covered with Arrowleaf Balsam Root. Beautiful Yellow flowers. They are not CALLED sunflowers, but in fact they ARE a sunflower....as in, they follow the sun.

To get this awesome photo, I had to lie down on the ground and physically turn the flower away from the the sun to get the backlighting.

This lovely little flower I am fairly sure is Foothill Death Camas. As in, it is extremely toxic and has caused death in animals and humans (who mistakenly ate the bulbs thinking they were Camas Lilies the edible kind).

Another view of the Death Camas. I didn't realize what it was until I got home and looked in the Wildflower book.

A charming view of the Carpet Phlox (what cuties!)

This shrub/tree is presently not identified. It is the only tree around that has brilliant red leaves in the spring! Guesses anyone??

Serviceberry blossoms...pretty now, but wait til they turn into obnoxious little dark purple splotches all over everything courtesy of the birds.

June grass in May....

Hmmm... Bones by the MRR. Possibly a deer.

Canyonlands.....

2009-05-06T07:23:00.000-07:00

View of South Six Shooter Peak from Indian Creek valley The Hike: Begin at Elephant Hill trailhead....that's the trail???

"Wait for me...I thought the trail was supposed to be level"

We had a few clouds...not NEARLY enough for Maud'Dib.

This lizard posed for several minutes for a photo shoot. He was ok as long as I didn't try to pet him...

One of those DYCs. (Darn Yellow Composites)

An example of why it's called "The Needles District"

This black bumble bee was HUGE...that blossom was an inch in diameter.

I called this one "Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting"

I looked at the map and decided that the planned route looked way too long for me. So, I took the short route to the beginning of the Druid Arch spur, hiked a mile almost to Chesler Park, met the guys, hiked back the Arch spur, then found an overhang with soft sand to nap and rest. Yes, I missed some of the most spectacular scenery including Druid Arch and Joint Canyons, but I still had a wonderful hike. I covered probably 7.5 miles, while the guys went 15. I did run out of water, taking only 2 liters. One of the "highlights" was--hiking by myself I came upon a steep rock face about 7 feet tall on the trail that I couldn't figure out how to get up by myself. A Japanese couple came down the trail and I helped them find the best way down, giving them a hand. Finally, I threw my pack on the top of the ledge, did some maneuvering on my back, got some toe holds and grabbed on some outcroppings and MADE IT. We did have to come back down that way, but I had the guys to help me down. DB, Rock, Tristano, all of you rock climbers that know how much I don't like climbing; You would have been proud of me!

It was a great trip. Good conversation, congenial hostess in Moab. (We stayed in Kevin's spec home). I loved it.

Hoo Dooing with the Goblins

2009-04-11T16:37:00.001-07:00

We left the drizzling snow of North Ogden and emerged via time travel in the Valley of the Goblins about 4 1/2 hours later. The temperature was perfect, in the low sixties. No bugs. What a perfect place to camp in April (other than crowds). However, we did snag the nearly perfect campsite--secluded and sheltered. Number 19, if you're interested. We made reservations in Feb.

"Man Talk" among the Rock and Trailblazer.

After camp was set, we relaxed, played some Bocchi Ball.

And then some of us found a quiet, sunny place to read.

Cliff side view of camp.

The next day, Friday dawned fair and lovely, temperatures in the sixties. We all trekked to Little Wild Horse Canyon. We hiked and climbed until the water deemed it unwise to continue. Still, a lot of fun!

After lunch and naps for some of us, we visited the actual Valley of the Goblins and played and hiked. By then, a front was moving in and the temperatures dropped and it became cloudy and breezy.

Zach and the mushrooms.

Now we can say we have visited Goblin Valley.

Hmmmmm. Wonder where "Galaxy Quest" was filmed. This cave looked interesting to Trailblazer.

The weather remained great for dinner and an evening of hot dog roasting, smores and Camp Ball.

Beautiful dusk at the close of an awesome day. View from our camp.

During the night, a storm moved in with wind and rain. By morning, it was blowing and drizzling enough that our tent was upstaked, became unstable and fell down. We packed up in the rain with wet gear and decided it was time to hightail it out of there. Trailblazer and I were the last ones out of camp and it had stopped raining around 9 am. We took one last drive to the Goblin overlook and got some great photos.
The Henrys from Goblin Valley.

Don't know the name of these, but they reminded me of carved Chess pieces.

We stopped for a few minutes at the Visitor's Center, then were on our way out as we passed Tristano and Nicoletta! They had braved the bad weather to give it a try. We exchanged greetings and then went on our way home by way of Salina and I-70. We stopped at almost every view point, because we thought the Rock family was behind us.
Gorgeous view from the Ghost Rocks View Point overlooking Caine Wash.

Ghost Rock framed by snow covered branches. Brrr...it was cold up there, having just snowed.

From Castle Valley View point looking toward the Muddy Creek Wilderness and Capitol Reef.

Wonderful trip...met some new friends and bonded with familiar ones. Thanks, Desertbound for inviting us.

Arches, Megahertz and CNM again

2009-03-31T04:19:00.000-07:00

Our original intention was to hike the Fiery Furnace. However, we arrived too late and all of the permits were gone for the day. Instead, we drove to Devil's Garden and hiked to some arches. A beautiful day...perfect for hiking. Trailsweeper Bob...

I named these formations...Rhodes Bake and Serve or perhaps the "Biscuits".

Unusual formation near Landscape Arch.

Pine Tree Arch with beauties at the base...

Fine Yucca

Fine couple, Rock and Desertbound

Tunnel Arch

Sisters are Pals, too.

Mayflower finds a sandy slot...

After a few hours of hiking and lunching, we drove to GJ by way of the Colorado River Canyon and Cisco the Ghost Town. Arrived at GJ for a great slumber party with wall to wall beds.

Cute little Megahertz, Nutmeg or Nutter Butter

Monday morning we visited Colorado National Monument with Bethany and kidlets. Mayflower stayed on too and came home with us. It was fun seeing the monument after a fresh snow storm.

This is a "canyon within a canyon". Notice the V shaped canyonette in the center.

By the time we reached Cold Shivers Point, it was snowing again and we had enough.

Thank you everyone for a great time! Rock and DB for going to Arches with us, T and N for hosting us all and Bethany and kids for joining us at CNM.

Guidebook to Canyonlands, 1974

2009-03-27T17:58:00.000-07:00

I found a book that used to be my brother's called "Guidebook to Canyonlands" published in 1974. In the chapter on Arches, it talks about the Fiery Furnace...
"Tourists are not allowed into the Fiery Furnace alone. In fact, there are locked gates to prevent unauthorized persons from wandering into the convoluted canyons and becoming lost. Guided tours...are conducted by the Park Service during the summer season. Contrary to the impression given by its name, it is usually 8-10 degrees cooler than other sections of the park because of its deep, shady canyons. It was named for its fiery glow in the evening sunset, not its temperature.
...it encompasses roughly eight square miles of towering monoliths, natural bridges, arches, and pinnacles of swooping graceful form."

In another portion of the book..... about Park Avenue.
"the second parking area for Park Avenue is close to a large formation resembling a pipe organ. Park rangers have given up trying to place a marker by The Organ, as the sign is continuously removed by pranksters and placed at the foot of some towering phallic pinnacle."
Raye Carlson Price, 1974

Things I Love About Road Trips with Wildbound

2009-03-15T21:00:00.001-07:00

Precious moments with baby Megsy...
Cute moments with Jane...

Bubble blowing on the lakeshore...

Feeding the ducks...

Finding awesome TALL sticks...

Playing on the tree...Jane INSISTED on climbing it and sitting there. She did NOT want to get down.

Fun expeditions to Colorado National Monument.
"Mormon T"....two varieties....Wild

And botanical.....Anybody know what a "Coke Oven" is?

Enjoying the sunshine and scenery...

Being "dropped" off to do my solo hike of Serpent's Trail. Yes, those are Wildbound's and Nicoletta's vehicles.

Sweet kidlets.

The obligatory ..... symbol.

Mini Slot canyons to climb through.

Spectacular views...

Climbing places at Devil's Kitchen Picnic area...

Plenty of Red Dirt...

Breathtaking views of Fisher Towers.
Travelling from GJ to Moab...
Finding "Treasure Hills" instead of just ordinary Sand Hills.
Fun trip. Thank you, WB, for inviting me and Tristano and Nicoletta for putting up with us and/or putting us up. Ah....the freedom of retirement.

Things I love about the Fiery Furnace

2009-03-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

Kissing Turtles Arch

Red Rock, Sand and Color
Pothole Reflections
My Own photo of Skull Arch
Taking photos of Wildbound rock scrambling
Looking down the Grand Stairs of the Furnace
Scenery to die for

Catching the light just right

Having Wildbound catch me in the light just right

I had forgotten how much rock scrambling and climbing there is--but it is fun.
Most significant thing! I can NOW guide a tour through all by myself. I learned all the landmarks. I can easily guide someone to the Little Bridge, Skull Arch and Surprise Arch.

Labyrinth or Maze?

2009-01-28T10:40:00.000-08:00

Making a labyrinth in the snow is surpisingly aerobic.... and requires some coordination and balance...to keep from falling down.

A month ago I could not have told you the difference between a labyrinth and a maze. Now I know a little about their history and sacred geometry. Check out this website. http://www.crystalinks.com/labyrinths.html

New Year's Day Family Fun

2009-01-05T07:06:00.000-08:00

Adorable babies...

Beautiful sisters...

Cute couples...

Handsome men...

Wow!

Hilarious talent show....

Food, gifts, and then games....

No Pads, No Helmets...

Two has got to be better than one!

Jane! I can see you are going to keep your parents busy being on all the ball teams....basketball, soccer, volleyball.....

Sometimes, it's just too much...smashed toe meltdown.

End of a wonderful, fun day! Thank you everyone, especially Little T for setting it all up and planning the menu!

Gingerbread Saga

2008-12-20T11:43:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know my mom, Grandma Fizz was a Master Gingerbread House Maker and most of us can remember the Christmas get-togethers decorating those houses. In all those years, I have never actually MADE a house. I have made a few gingerbread men cookies. Little did I realize a degree in Architectural Design or some kind of Baking Engineering was required. (Unless you were like Fizz and had taken basic Woodworking classes, or like Bethany, the Cake Decorating Queen). I followed patterns and cut out with a pizza cutter. Little did I realize that the leavening in the dough caused it to expand and mis-shape itself. I made the Royal Icing, which was the easiest part. With no cake decorating tubes (I had given them all away), I just used a knife. One side of the roof broke in half and the top of the end broke off. I repaired these with icing. The roof pieces didn't coincide because of swellage. (Is that a word?) And this end piece looks like......well, I will let you GUYs guess that. Bob noticed it immediately.

One side piece caved in under the roof.

But, it doesn't look too bad from this side. OK, so it looks like a third grader did it. (They could probably do better). Oh, well....it was an interesting? way to spend a snowed-in day.

Maybe next year I will get brave and actually do it as a project with grandkids and all.

Antelope Island Excursion

2008-11-03T08:17:00.000-08:00

On Friday, a few of us ventured to the Island. Little Rivulet doing her best to catch up with the rest of the clan heading out to the Great Salt Lake.

Yeah! I touched it! I touched the Great Salt Lake!

This seemed to make them happier than seeing bison.

That were all penned up awaiting innoculations and health exams.

The kids had so much fun playing in the sand...burying each other and somersaulting down the hills.

Sisters comparing great photos.

Fun, but exhausting day. It was windy, cloudy and about 68 degrees.

Where the Coyotes and the Antelope play.....

2008-10-26T07:54:00.000-07:00

A great day for a ride...we chose Antelope Island because it's October! The flies and mosquitoes have all hibernated. The fall colors are breathtaking and.....on this particular day, it was the Buffalo Roundup. We didn't know that for sure until we got to the Ranchhouse to get our riding permit. We were told, "No permits required today. It's the buffalo round-up. You can ride anywhere you want on the island." Yipee! We chose the road to the South end of the island because at any other time it is "off limits". It was not the most spectacular, but still had it's moments of wildness. By the time we got there, all the other riders were headed back and we had the trail to ourselves.
I think this photo captures the feeling of wildness and solitude. We were even able to gallop across some beach sections.

Wildlife abounding. This coyote sat observing us. We actually saw five others in different places.
This big guy apparently eluded the round up crew. We spotted him at the far south end of the island.

Ah...the animal for which the island was named.

Great day. Great ride. And of course we couldn't resist this shot. Mollie really got around. Look on any map of Antelope Island and you will find, yes, you guessed right.

Arizona Adventure

2008-10-21T08:40:00.000-07:00

First some classes in Toe Reading...

On the way home, a stop at Montezuma Well
A sacred, fascinating place.

Anybody know what kind of lizard this is?

74 degree water, infused with CO2, 1 1/2 million gallons of water a day produced from this well. Scientists still don't know where the water comes from, exactly.

Cliff dwellings of the Sinagua who inhabited this area for 300 years around 900 AD.

Stately Arizona Sycamore protecting the outlet of the well...

An amazing trip. Thank you to Suzette and Les who accompanied me! Can't wait to share the fun and valuable information I learned.

SR 150 on route to Mirror Lake, October 5th

2008-10-06T13:27:00.001-07:00

I think I got some amazing photos. See if you agree.

Slate Gorge

Mirror Lake

A spectacular view of the backside of Timp