This & That

A Winter Cabin Trip, aka How Many Moguls??

Last weekend my husband, Evan, and I made a trek into the cabin to check things out. 

It was a beautiful day, but the road was absolutely terrible....ruts and mounds all the way in. Just one ski mogul after another. I can tell you I had sore arms and shoulders for several days from trying to keep the vehicle steady on the trail.

It took us 2 hours to get from the trailhead to the cabin. When the trail is groomed or we drive in the summer, it takes about 40-45 minutes. I was driving the rhino, and occasionally I'd see the tail end of the snowmobiles Evan and my husband were driving. They'd stop and wait for me at designated places along the trail just making sure I hadn't driven off the side of the mountain or anything.

Winter is a beautiful time of year at the cabin, but through a series of mishaps I've been through with winter cabin travel, I've become very anxious, even downright fearful of driving in and out. Once I'm there I'm fine, but it's become a struggle for me.

We finally got into the cabin and I got fires started while they guys went out to fetch Evan's boys for an overnighter. While they were gone, the sun set, and this was my view as I sat huddled in front of the wood stove, waiting for the cabin to warm up a little.

The next morning, the walls had warmed up enough that the water was working, which makes it lots easier to prepare and clean up meals. I took a shower and the guys all went out on the snowshoes to tromp around.

Now look here. This is Edward, my eldest grandchild. You might remember him as the SGB, the squeezable grandboy. Holy cow, when did he get looking so grown up???

They made it over close to the river and spent some time rolling around in the snow.

Lunch came next and then blowing the water pipes out. About the time we were ready to head home, the temperature in the cabin was tolerable enough that I didn't have to wear a coat inside.

The trip out was as rough as the ride in, with only brief, straight stretches that were smooth. Another 2-hour trip. My husband took this picture of Evan and Frederick on the snowmobile while they waited for me to catch up. I was driving the rhino again, this time with Edward, Roger and Quincy with me. I'm not anxious to do this again very soon. 

Fall's Coming!

Yes, it is!

We've been treated to some cooler days this week. Days that required I put an extra blanket on the bed while sleeping with the windows open...my favorite. Fall changes come a lot faster up in the high country. 

These pictures were actually taken a few weeks ago, so you can see how soon it actually happens in the mountains. The flowers are all done. Some turn to fuzz....

...others form these pods....

...and still others change color.

Colors have appeared.

My favorite, favorite time of year. I love everything about it, from the colors to the temperatures, the smells...just the whole feel.

The Changes

We've essentially been living part-time at the cabin this summer. 

Positives and negatives....nothing is ever caught up at either place,

but the scenery is ever-changing here, so at least I can have all my feelings about it in a pretty place. It's one thing to see one little grouping of these flowers on the trail.

It's quite another to see a whole meadow full of them.

We were hiking Skunk Creek this particular morning. Always my choice if given the choice.

It was early so we could get the wander in before the heat started in. 

The changes in three weeks are amazing.

There's  a whole new, different crop of flowers to see.

Each one of them individual and distinct.

Again and again I'm just reminded that "all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth and all things that are upon the face of it." (Alma 30:44) This beautiful world created just for us.

We came upon a whole meadow of Sego Lilies, which have particular meaning for those of us with pioneer ancestry. 

I recently discovered a family in my heritage that came across the plains with several very young children. They were Scandinavian and probably barely spoke the language, yet they walked across the plains. Sego Lily bulbs were a source of foraged food for those pioneers. They ate the bulbs at the bottom of the flower. The bulbs are tiny, but they persevered and I'm here because of their sacrifice.

Have I been reflective lately? Absolutely. The older I get, the more it seems to happen.

Say hello to my little friend here, though. A little spotted fawn up in the trees just staring at us.

And the water, always the water. The sound, the smell, the view.....soothes my soul.

Wandering in the Wilderness

With the exception of the time my husband and I were in totally different parts of the country, we've tried to spend at least a couple of days a week up at the cabin. Often during our time, there will be a wander, and that was the case on this particular trip.

We hiked up the Skunk Creek Trail, which is the prettiest one I've been on and always my choice if I'm given that option. I thought it was too late in the year for what I call mountain daisies, but I guess with the cool spring we've had, there are some late bloomers around.

I know I've said this frequently, but there's always something different blooming almost every time we go wandering. There were big bunches of lupine out this particular day.

My husband actually encouraged me to take this pictures. "Don't you want the flowers from this angle?"

I almost always find something I've never seen before.

Sometimes looks can be deceiving. See these cute little blue flowers?

When the blossoms fade, they turn into the worst thorny stickers. There's a life lesson there somewhere about being deceived by outward appearances.

We weren't the only ones wandering. We found fresh deer tracks along the way, and my husband said he saw a big bear track in the trail. Yes, he carries a gun on these excursions, but we've never had to use it. There have been times, though, as I trailed along behind everyone else, that I've imagined beady eyes watching me like I was food.

Kind of like this.....that's my husband way ahead of me on the trail. I'm taking my time through the shady spot.

I've got a new pair of boots I'm gradually breaking in. No cracks or splits in these, so I can navigate the wet spots in the trail much more easily.

Oh hello there, bear poo.

There's a lovely little stream that parallels the trail. It's sound alone just makes me feel cooler when we don't get started on our hike until later in the morning.

I thought this rock in the stream was really pretty.

At dusk on another weekend, we walked up to the river.

My husband in his element.

There was a whole different crop of flowers by the river.

And every single one of them is beautiful in its own right.

Other People's Cameras, the No Bears Are Out Tonight Edition

My children are fairly well trained, knowing that their mother likes to see snippets of what goes on when I'm not in attendance for various activities. Also, you're probably aware that my family spends a lot of time in the outdoors.....like a LOT of time. 

Fortunately, my grandchildren seem to like it as well. I got this one from Evan of No Pants Quincy, who definitely was wearing pants this day as the snow fell up in the hills. It's been quite a cool spring this year both here where we live, as well as in the mountains where my family likes to tromp. 

The snow at the higher elevations stuck around longer than it usually does. Here are Edward and Quincy out on a looking-for-bears expedition. Spring bear season has just ended in our area. This marks the end of The Dark Time, which causes most Allan males to start antler dancing.

This was a day that Evan and Eric had both sets of kids in the hills with them. I believe the rest of these came from Eric or maybe Elisa's cameras.

The kids enjoyed a little stale movie theater popcorn as a snack. Caroline had some.

And so did Roger.

And this Lincoln-bearded boy. The Lincoln look is in the process of disappearing as we speak.

You see that little argyle knit hat Ephraim is wearing?

I got that for Evan when he was just a little guy, and it's made its way through the family down to the grandkids. And yep, there's me almost 40 years ago with my Princess Di haircut.

Ephraim and Quincy enjoying the pause in wandering. No bears were out this particular day, but these wanderers didn't mind.

Into the Woods

We've been able to get into the cabin for about a month.

Just because it's spring here, doesn't necessarily mean it's spring in the mountains.

It seems like every time we're there, we run into a flurry or two.

And there are lots of places that leaves haven't appeared yet.

This was the view one afternoon.

I quite enjoyed the display while it was happening but just to illustrate spring in Idaho, this video was taken....

and 20 minutes later, this was how it looked outside.

The next morning, there was enough still on the roof to have this going on, and an "Atta Boy/Girl" to whoever recognizes the title I gave the video (without Googling...).

We've seen this herd of deer in various places along the drive to and from the cabin.

And other wildlife in their natural habitat.

This Year's Cackle & Craft

This year's Cackle & Craft happened at the cabin. It's a great place for us to get together and enjoy each other's company, and we all look forward to the concentrated time spent every year.

One of my sisters takes really beautiful pictures, so some of these are hers.

As an added, extra bonus, we had gorgeous weather. The first afternoon was hot, but after that, it was wonderfully temperate and even downright chilly, much to my delight. 

We did still have residual smoke from west coast fires hanging around, but after the first day it wasn't too much of an issue.

As always, there was delicious chick food galore. 

And crafting, because you can't have a Cackle & Craft without the crafting. One of my sisters brought a cute cross stitch project. Mine is almost done.

As usual, I brought cards to make. 

We split that up between 2 days so no one would get too burnt out.

My other sister will often bring a wood project with her, and I want you to take note of something here. Her sweet husband pre-cuts all the wood and pre-drills all the holes for us before wrapping everything carefully together into kits. He takes good care of us novices and we really appreciate the effort.

We got going with the staining,

and the drilling,

and TA-DA!! What are they you ask? They're blanket ladders! We...have made....blanket ladders! And we were just so proud of ourselves.

Just a little glimpse into the stage we're at right now, too. My mother is now 86, and we do notice some changes going on.

Since she lives in the same city as I do, I see them more than my siblings, but yes, there are changes. We are grateful for this yearly time to recharge and spend time as sisters and miss each other a lot in between those times.

When Back East Comes to Town

About a month ago now, Collin's family came to visit us from back east.

Whenever I get a FaceTime call from Collin, John always wants to see the dogs.

It made sense that seeing them in real life would be one of the first things he did when he got here.

This continued while he was with us and was actually pretty cute to watch. Forget that there was dog hair everywhere on him when he got up from rolling around with them on the dog beds. Yep, dog hair for days.

When Collin comes home, he likes to spend a good chunk of time at the cabin, so we loaded everyone in the trucks and made our way there,

...stopping at a little hole-in-the-wall burger place for lunch, and taking it to the city park of the tiny town to eat it.

Once we were at the cabin, there were ample opportunities for the boys and the dogs to get wet and dirty...or clean, depending on your perspective.

There was plenty of wandering,

...and opportunities to enjoy the local wildlife.

I got lucky when this butterfly stayed put long enough for me to get a closer picture.

And let's not underestimate the amazing fashion items that can be found in Grandpa's den to cap off a visit.

 

The Skunk Creek Trail

My husband and I spent a couple of days up at the cabin last week. He likes to wander when we're up there, and I don't mean just a walk up and down the road. Being the outdoorsman he is, he likes to hike. Now remember, I was raised a city girl. We didn't hike, and in southern California we honestly didn't wander on the sidewalks much as kids because...California....scary. Although I do have memories of early days, walking my bike or my Flexi-Flyer....Oh? You don't know what that is? Well, here--->

I'm a child of the 60's and 70's and at one time, these were all the rage. My middle childhood was spent on a street that had a steep hill, and I would walk my bike or the Flexi-Flyer up to the top, get on and literally go flying down that hill. It's a miracle I didn't break something. Anyhow, getting back to the point...we didn't hike.

In fact, I'm kind of a reluctant hiker. I'll go, but it has to be before it gets hot, and I really prefer the Skunk Creek Trail, as it's pretty and has quite a bit of shade. So early one morning while we were there, we gathered the dogs, got in the rhino and set off for the trailhead.

Along the drive, it's nice to see old friends. I've featured this tree before in blog posts. The picture doesn't do the size of it justice. I've got a picture of my husband on a horse at the base of the tree and the base is nearly as wide as the horse is long.

There are always growing things to see, and the scenery actually changes quickly. One week you might see one kind of flower. 

The next week, it might be gone and something you've never seen before has taken its place.

They're all shapes and sizes. These are about 3 1/2 feet high and are just coming into their own. They look a little like large Queen Anne's Lace. 

These were new this week.

You might think these are run-of-the-mill dandelions.

They're actually Milkweed and that's my hand for size comparison. Kind of like a dandelion on steroids.

You might not think you would find tiny, delicate things out in the mountain wilderness. You'd be wrong about that.

This is one of my favorite views on the hike. We usually hit this spot about the same time pretty much every time we go, providing we've gotten on the trail when I want to. The light coming over the wavy grass is just so lovely, and never fails to make me think of how much God loves us...to create such beautiful things to see.

Along more mundane lines of thinking, my husband got his clothes for the upcoming yearly horse pack trip sprayed down with mosquito repellant. I'm thinking that if you have to douse yourself in insecticide to go somewhere, it's not going to be a good time. However, he, Evan, Eric, Marc, Bryce, and assorted grandchildren have been there before and are doing it again. They disagree with me.

Just an observation here. I'm a reluctant hiker, and a slow one. Yet somehow I've managed to hike the tread and heels off my boots. Go me.

The Girlies

My husband and I are incredibly lucky in that we have a greater percentage of our grandchildren living close to us, including our only 2 granddaughters. When all the kids are together, it's wonderful, and chaotic, and incredibly noisy, so we decided to take the girlies to the cabin for a couple of nights for some individual time.

We took a wander, as usual, and as usual, this is my perspective. I'm a slow hiker. I'll go....but I'm slow.

We took a route that put us over the railroad bridge. This is the reverse of what used to be my favorite creek view. Same body of water, I'm just looking at it from the opposite direction. My favorite view no longer exists, since it was washed out several years ago in a mega spring runoff. This spot is a few hundred yards (?)(perhaps my hunting sons can give me a better idea about the distance?) down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily.....sorry...squirrel moment. My mind often works that way. I have trouble staying laser focused at times.

We got to the river and played many rounds of Fetch It Up with mostly Gus. My husband tried to throw a few for Ollie, who ran out of steam fairly quickly, poor boy.

And the walk back to the cabin, again from very far behind. You can see traces of the roof line in those trees, but you're going to want to pay special attention to the clouds in the distance.

The wander was hot. We got into the cabin quite late the night before and were a little slow getting out. Still there were pretty growing things to be seen. In my mind they're all panting like I felt I was.

Back to those clouds. We had a good rainstorm during the afternoon which cooled things way down. It was glorious. My favorite thing.

The girls tried their hand at fishing with grandpa.

You can see the results was pretty tiny, but they had fun anyway. We also took a hike up Skunk Creek the next morning...my favorite hike, where I scared up a doe in my slow progress up the trail. Unfortunately, I committed the grievous sin of leaving my camera behind, and was kicking myself down the trail about it. It was great having some quality time with the grandgirls. They really are grand.