ROCKY CANYON.

Although I had to cut my weekend in Cascade short for work, Jessie and I still managed to fit in a quick adventure late Sunday afternoon.  I had read in the newspaper about this amazing flower, the Blazing Star, that blooms in the Foothills this time of year.  We set out up Rocky Canyon in search of this supposedly spectacular flower.  We found the Blazing Stars alright, but they were obviously past their prime!  We found plenty of plants but only a few flowers that hadn't faded into  complete ugliness!  OH DRAT!

  

  

blazing stars.

  

Although our Blazing Stars turned out to be a complete flop, it certainly didn't stop us from continuing to explore the canyon.  We stopped at one point to hike along a dry creek bed and found BLACKBERRIES!

 

  

  

Blackberry patches are notorious hangouts for RATTLESNAKES!  Fortunately we didn't run into one of those friendly fellows!  Although I am all about adventure, I certainly prefer my adventures to be of the snakeless variety!

We quickly discovered that the creek bed was an awfully thorny place!  It was nearly impossible to walk without being snagged from a dozen different directions.  But still, I'll take THORNS over SNAKES any day!

  

We explored this cave a bit but once discovering it was home to a PACKRAT, we decided we'd had enough of that prickly, rat-ridden creek bed and moved deeper into the Foothills.  Despite the onset of fall, we still managed to find plenty to occupy our attention!

  

      

  

    

We were driving along, stopping wherever and whenever we wanted without really worrying about a destination when suddenly I began to feel like I ALMOST knew where we were.  We came around a corner and instantly I KNEW where we were!  We had wound our way up and over the mountain and were suddenly at LUCKY PEAK!

    

It took us about three seconds to decide that we simply had to stop . . .

run to the end of that dock . . .

and JUMP IN!

(clothes and all!)

       

    

THE WATER FELT ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!

   

cousin jessie.

       

she had a blast!

 

can you tell?

i got this delightful charley-horse in my foot.

it made my big toe kink over all crazy!

  

jessie adventuring cousin tess style!

~MIGHTY ADVENTURESSES~

BERRY PICKIN'.

After shooting the Thurston wedding Mom, Dad, and I headed to West Mountain to pick HUCKLEBERRIES!  Berry picking is one of my VERY favorite summer traditions.  Absolutely nothing compares to the taste of fresh huckleberries!  I love how Mom finds a patch for us to pick. She sticks her head out the window and SNIFFS!  She can SMELL a patch before she can see the actual berries!  I am usually a berry pickin' maniac!  Traditionally I refuse to eat a single berry until we are finished picking--that way I am focused on harvesting as many berries as possible!  This year I decided to stop and sample the berries first!  Yummy!  I waited until I had a belly full before dropping a single berry into my bucket!  It was absolutely wonderful!  I still managed to pick a good number of berries, I just decided to enjoy the experience of actually being in a huckleberry patch first!  I LOVE sitting in the woods, sunshine filtering through the trees, picking berries and conversing with the people I love the most!  I am convinced there are huckleberries in HEAVEN!

    

huckleberries!

  

my mommy and daddy!

  

jackson loves to dig in the mountains.

  

isn't he a handsome dirty dog?

  

i was so thrilled with my baby girl!

she learned to eat berries of the bush!

she is such a sweet dog!

    

more west mountain beauty:

    

  

  

thimbleberries!

AND THEN, BACK AT THE RANCH . . .

When we arrived home, Mom made a COBBLER out of our fresh berries!

it was wonderful!

mom, dad, and aunt nelle!

aunt jan came out to eat dinner with us.  i was so glad i got to see her!

WOLVES.

I just returned from spending three glorious days in Landmark!  Oh the adventures I had!  My favorite adventure, however, occurred just MINUTES after pulling into camp!  Mom and Dad have been doing some work for the Forest Service and have been camping in the actual Landmark Forest Service Complex all summer.  Cousin Jessie, Mom, Dad and I pulled into camp after dark Friday night and began unloading my truck into the already present Mansion.  As I stood out in the dark alone, grabbing the last remaining bags, I heard a low, distant but easily identifiable sound.  I ran for the camper, surprisingly not out of fear, but to alert Mom and Dad.  COME QUICK THE WOLVES ARE HOWLING!  Landmark is notorious for its wolf pack but all summer Mom and Dad haven't heard nor seen any sign of them.  I GUESS THEY WAITED ALL SUMMER FOR ME TO GET THERE!  That night we sat out in the clear, pitch-black night and listened to the wolves howl!  Although I have wanted to see and hear the wolves, I thought it would scare the daylights out of me when I finally did.  However, I was thrilled to hear them!  Hearing a pack howl is ABSOLUTELY EERIE but I was never really scared!  We could tell the wolves were moving along the creek behind the complex and even listened as their howls became louder (and therefore closer)!  Their howls are low, long and steady-pitched--not really like the stereotypical howls you hear on television and so much different from coyotes!  One wolf would begin to howl and another, some distance away, would respond and then yet another would join in.  We even got to hear them bark!  They would raise quite a ruckus and then get silent for awhile.  We would sit and visit until they started up again and then we would all sit wide-eyed in silence as we listened intently.  And when we were finally brave enough, WE EACH TOOK OUR TURN HOWLING BACK AT THEM!  They only responded to Dad though.  I guess his howl didn't quaver as much as mine did!  As I sat there in the dark, moon-less night surrounded by my family, I felt ever so privileged.  It was an absolutely awesome, once-in-a-lifetime experience and I am SO glad I got to share it with my Mom and Dad!  (Mostly because I certainly wouldn't have been brave enough to sit out there and listen if they hadn't been there!).  We finally retired to the trailer when our dogs began to get nervous about the nearness of the wolves.  Daisy had been growling but when Jackson finally barked my mom said, "Might be a good time to go in now."  And the race to the trailer door was on! 

      Saturday night Laura and her kids came out so we decided it was probably best not to listen too hard for the wolves.  Although each of us thought we might have heard a howl here and there, the campfire was pretty rowdy that night.  We waited until Sunday night and decided to set out on a after-dark excursion to see if we could get a bit closer to the wolves!  By this time Uncle Jim and Aunt Dee had arrived and Laura's clan had departed.  We all piled into my truck to hunt wolves--with Mom and I having a bit of an adventure ourselves . . .

We bundled up (because it was near 40 degrees out) and climbed in the back of the truck--just me and Mom!  We tried to find the wolves that night and even drove into the places they are routinely seen.  However, with it being Labor Day Weekend, there were alot of other campers and hunters running around the woods and likely moving them deeper into the wilderness.  We never did hear anything that compared to that first night.  But oh how we wanted to!  I was so delighted by their howling, I don't think I'll ever be able to go into the woods again without keeping an ear out for their mysterious voices.

TO THE LANDMARK PACK:  THANKS FOR THE SHOW!

I WILL BE FOREVER GRATEFUL.