LANDMARK 2009

Landmark has quickly come to hold a very special place in my heart. Dad was awarded yet another Forest Service contract in the Landmark Complex for the summer--LUCKY ME! Although I was a VERY busy girl, I somehow managed to find a few free days to head for those glorious backcountry hills! How wonderful to arrive at the complex -- Mom and Dad's literal home away from home for the summer -- and have to do nothing but roll out my sleeping bag!

I'm so spoiled!

The day I arrived, I arrived just in time for a PARTY!

The crew was celebrating the completion of a particular unpleasant portion of the job!

Campfire + Patron = ONE HAPPY CAMPER!

THE BAR!

NO LANDMARK BAR WOULD BE COMPLETE WITHOUT A KEG OF OUR INFAMOUS RIVER-RITAS AND A CAN OF BUG SPRAY!

CHILLIN' WITH JACKS AND SADIE-BOO

THE CREW: LOREN, TRAVIS AND JIMMY :)

NOT SURE WHY THERE ARE NO PICS OF DAD BUT I PROMISE YOU HE WAS EXTRA SILLY THAT NIGHT!

~MOM AND DAISY DOG~

ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS OF CAMP LANDMARK IS THE SETTING OF THE SUN!

Although the arrival of darkness is certainly not the only time you can hear the WOLVES howling in Landmark, it is by far my favorite time. Their low, long wailings somehow seem to belong in the darkness of the night. Unfortunately, the night of the celebration, the wolves were mysteriously silent. There was however, a hilarious yet hideous attempt at howling from a particular drunken crew member who wandered over the ridge hoping to scare this particular city girl. Unbeknownst to said crew member, this CITY GIRL had purchased a WOLF HOWLER before her arrival, hoping to scare HIM! I'm not sure which sounded worse though, his drunken attempts over that darkened ridge or the squawking that came from that howler the instant he wandered off! Wolf howler -- not such a good investment apparently! In fact, I think when we actually attempted to "howl" at the wolves with it, I'm pretty sure we heard them LAUGHING.

WOLF MEADOW

I will be the first to admit that one of my biggest draws to Landmark, is the Landmark Pack. They are a very real presence at the complex. Their howls are loud and clear there (even during the day) yet they never actually show themselves. Although the crew spent the summer hearing them howl day and night, one has yet to be spotted. I think it is amazing to get to hear the wolves but I would absolutely LOVE to see one! So, while I was there, we went to super great lengths to spot at least one member of the pack!

Several weeks before I arrived, Dad hiked into this remote meadow and left his

BIGFOOT CAMERA

hoping to capture a wolf or two wandering through the meadow!

HE WAITED UNTIL I ARRIVED AND TOGETHER WE HIKED BACK INTO THE MEADOW TO RETRIEVE THE CAMERA!

UNFORTUNATELY, THE ONLY PICTURE THE CAMERA HAD ON IT, WAS ONE OF ME DANCING IN FRONT OF IT WHEN WE ARRIVED TO RETRIEVE IT! BUMMER!

AS WE STOOD THERE, WATCHING THE SETTING SUN . . .

WE HEARD THAT FAMILIAR, EERIE SOUND COMING FROM ACROSS THE MEADOW . . .

JUST INSIDE THE TREE LINE! SOOOOO CLOSE!!! TOO CLOSE?

NOPE! SOMEHOW DAD CONVINCED ME TO HIKE CLOSER!

THEN WE STOOD IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT MEADOW . . .

AND HOWLED WITH THE WOLVES!

WE STILL DIDN'T SEE THEM BUT THIS WAS BY FAR MY VERY FAVORITE WOLF ENCOUNTER. THEY WERE SO CLOSE! AND DEFINITELY CURIOUS ABOUT WHATEVER IT WAS WE WERE SAYING TO THEM! (heck, we're not even sure what we were saying to them)! EVENTUALLY THEIR HOWLS BEGAN MOVING FURTHER AWAY SO DAD AND I RETURNED TO THE TRUCK--WONDERING WHAT WE WOULD HAVE DONE IF WE HAD ACTUALLY SPOTTED A WOLF WAAAY OUT THERE!

ONE MORNING WE GOT UP EARLY (WE HAVE DISCOVERED THE WOLVES ARE ACTUALLY THE MOST VOCAL IN THE MORNINGS) AND DROVE UP THE DRAINAGE WHERE WE MOM AND DAD HAD SEEN WOLF SIGN. WE DROVE INTO THE WOODS WHERE THEY WERE SURE TO BE BUT UNBELIEVABLY NO SIGHTINGS--NOT EVEN A SINGLE HOWL THAT MORNING!

IN FACT, THE ONLY WOLF "THING" WE SAW WERE THESE NOTICES POSTED BY THE FISH AND GAME WARNING THAT THEY WERE PLACING LEG-HOLD TRAPS IN THE AREA IN ATTEMPT TO COLLAR THE WOLVES. DANG EVASIVE CREATURES!

MAYBE NEXT SUMMER . . .

BETWEEN WOLF HUNTS, DAD AND I ENTERTAINED OURSELVES WITH A TRUE FAMILY TRADITION . . .

HORSEFLY WRANGLING!

STEP ONE: SMACK A HORSEFLY

(trust me, there are PLENTY in landmark)

BUT NOT HARD ENOUGH TO KILL IT! JUST LOOKING TO STUN IT . . .

STEP TWO: MAKE A LASSO.

WE USUALLY USE A LIGHT FISHING LINE BUT (since we were fresh out of fishing line) I GOT THE BRILLIANT IDEA TO PLUCK A HAIR FROM MY HEAD AND USE IT INSTEAD!

MAKING TINY LASSOS OUT OF A LONG HAIR, NOT AS EASY AS YOU MIGHT THINK!

STEP THREE: TIE THE LASSO AROUND THE HORESEFLY.

AROUND THE HEAD BUT NOT TOO TIGHT! HEADS HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO COME OFF!

AND THAT DEFEATS THE WHOLE WRANGLING PURPOSE!

STEP FOUR: RELEASE HORSEFLY.

HOLD ON TO THE ROPE!

GIVE HIM A FEW MINUTES TO RECOVER . . .

AND THEN YOU'VE GOT A HORSEFLY ON A ROPE!

THEY FLY AROUND ALL CRAAAZZZY!

ITS GOOD, CLEAN, HILARIOUS FUN!

PLUS THERE IS SOMETHING SO UNBELIEVABLY GRATIFYING ABOUT WRANGLING THOSE RELENTLESSLY EVIL CREATURES!

AND ONE FINAL CAMP LANDMARK FAVORITE . . .

WHAT THE HECK IS IT?

HOME DEPOT

LANDMARK DIVISION

LANDMARK ROCKS!

JOHN MCKAY BOAT TOURS.

First, I just want to say that Big Brothers Big Sisters is such an awesome program! They are able to offer so many FREE activities to those who participate in the program. When the opportunity came to ride with John McKay, I immediately knew it was something my Little and I would NEED to do! John, who's boat is a certified Coast Guard boat, volunteers to take Bigs and their Littles out twice a week, every week, all summer. What a huge commitment and an extremely generous gesture! Riding with Mr. McKay means you will learn a little about the Coast Guard, much more about Lucky Peak and its surrounding shores and a whole lot about tubing! Seriana and I were lucky enough to snag a late July evening tour and let me tell you, it was a truly wonderful evening to be out on the boat! I LOVE being out on the water--especially when the sun is shining and the temperature is hovering at 100! Hot sun sparkling on a lake just oozes SUMMER! Ah, my favorite season! It is the waters of Lucky Peak that I don't actually care for. Okay, honestly, I'm terrified of Lucky Peak! It stems from a childhood phobia about an unfortunate ice fisherman who finally bobs to the surface . . . and "touches" me on the way by. I can't be in the water out there without getting totally creeped out! BUT, I will have you know that I was extremely BRAVE and did tube with Seriana. I'm not sure what was more frightening though, my ice fisherman phobia or TUBING! Tubing, as an adult, not so fun! When I was bobbing around, waiting for the boat to come around, I had to literally check to make sure all my limbs were still attached and all my teeth were accounted for--all the while keeping an eye out for Mr. Ice Fisherman. What an completely exhausting endeavor! I am proud of myself for being brave, but next time, I'm staying in the boat. It is soooo much safer there!

MR. MCKAY

AND HIS DOG CASSIE!

(boy was i thrilled to see her!)

YEAH, I THOUGHT SHE WAS PRETTY COOL!

~SERIANA~

At this point in the trip, John asked that I use his camera to document the trip--which I was more that happy to do--so I handed my little point-and-shoot camera to Seriana. She was so thrilled to get to take pictures all night! Unfortunately, we were never able to get the photos I took from John, soooo, the only pictures we have of the evening, are Seriana's! I got a kick out of her pictures but I was sad not to have all the tubing pictures I took! Oh well, not sure I want to remember the horror anyway! Here is the evening through little Seriana's eyes . . .

AH, A ROCKY CLIFF NEAR THE BOAT DOCK!

ANOTHER LITTLE ALONG FOR THE TOUR

AND HER BIG.

(gee, i waited so long to blog this, i can't remember their names!)

A BROWN HILLSIDE.

AND NOW THE BROWNNESS IS BLURRY!

A TINY LITTLE HALF MOON!

SOMETHING SHE WAS CONVINCED WAS AN ANIMAL BUT IT REALLY

PROBABLY HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE ICE FISHERMAN!

OH LOOK, HER TOES!

THE WATERS OF LUCKY PEAK . . .

GOING BY REALLY FAST!

OH NO, TESS IS STILL LOVING ON THAT LITTLE DOG!

ARROWROCK DAM.

AND THIS WAS MY FAVORITE PART OF THE TRIP.

WILFLOWERS!

I was so excited to see these particular wildflowers because I had never seen them before. You know how I am with my wildflowers! John had intentionally driven to this specific spot just to show us this little patch of flowers and when he saw how thrilled I was with them, he was very determined to get me a better view of them. He went to a GREAT deal of effort to get his boat close enough to the shore that he could leave his seat, dash to the front of the boat, pluck a stem and rush back to his seat before his boat bounced off the rocks! What an amazingly kind thing to do for this wildflower freak!

Unfortunately, this adventure was the last for Seriana and I.

It was a very hard decision for me to leave the Big Brother Big Sister program but working so much left me with little choice. I am grateful for the time I was able to give and for all that I received in return. It really is an amazing program and, maybe someday, I will be able to again return as a volunteer. In the meantime, I'll give every spare minute to my nieces, nephews and godson! Watch out, Auntie's on a rampage!