I'M BACK .. IN ONE PIECE .. MOSTLY!!

SURPRISE!!!  I'm back three days early.  As is true with ANY horse trip I've ever been on, there were tests and trials.  This one was no exception .... it was an adventure.  Most of my parts and pieces are still intact, but a few are worse for wear.

It was a gorgeous day as we drove up into the Sierra mountains.  At 6,000 feet it was 75 degrees, which sounded pretty good.  Just don't think about the big storm coming.  I was prepared with ponchos, you know the ones made of paper thin plastic that scare the heck out of any critters around, and my very old ski parka that is so thin it doesn't even shed water any more.

We arrived at the Horse Camp to find the last people here had left a giant mess.  Come to find out, they didn't even have horses.  These few sites are reserved for horse camping only.  We are a pack-it-out group, so there are no garbage cans.  This group is even responsible for keeping the three outhouses neat and clean.  Trust me, you've never seen such a sparkling clean outhouse.

It's pretty maddening to find we have to clean up a huge mess before we even set up camp.

Not only was trash spread everywhere, but legless ken dolls and half burned charcoal littered the site.  Shaggs unloaded the horses while I spent an hour filling two trash bags.  I know your question ... and yes, I found Ken's other leg.  It went in the trash too.

The horses always come first.  There was no dilly dallying around with coffee or lunch.  I backed my truck up to the trees and Sandy (I call her Shaggs) set up the tree-saver high line ties.  You never tie a horse to a tree if you can help it.  High lines are run and steel buckles attached, to which we tied hay bale twine.  The lead rope is tied to that.  

Why you ask?  Because if anything happens, like maybe a horse gets startled and ends up with a leg over the lead rope, you can cut the twine in a flash with a knife.  Oh yes ... if you horse camp, you carry a knife.  You are NEVER without one in your pocket. 

Food and water for them is a priority.  You have to carry all your hay with you and I had several 5 gallon containers of water in the back of my truck.  Yessirree ... we carry water to the horses too.  This is no sport for the weak.

That's Mindy above, the one I rode ... a 16 year old long-backed beauty with a great temperament.  There was one small problem however ... she's afraid of cows.  The one below is the 3 year old Mia ... the reason we are here.  Her future involves becoming a great mountain horse, something that is learned by experience only.  Horses do not automatically walk into water or know where to put their feet.  You even have to train them to walk over logs and rocks.  This is the beginning of Mia's education.

Unlike most horses today who are started at two years old, she is three and only has about 60 days riding.  So far she's got a great temperament, hauled like an angel and was doing great at high-lining.  I think this is only her second experience with that.  

Once the horses were fed and watered, we began to set up our kitchen.  Shaggs has everything for minimal cooking since she is also an avid backpacker.  We have a folding barbecue that her handy husband made into a half bbq, half burner creation that works like a charm.  One extra burner was set up for hot water.  Coffee is a must!!

Meanwhile, MY kid lounged in the truck waiting for HIS setup.  Let me just say that a fluffy white dog in this 3" thick dust bowl is not a good idea.  

Notice the RV rug on the ground?  I can't believe I was smart enough to take this along.  It was the best thing I took for the entire trip ... besides Cooper of course.  

Naturally he got the best seat in the house, a new purchase I made for lounging in the sun like Patsy does. My idea of high-lining him worked really good too!!  Honestly, I thought he would go bananas, but he was the perfect little dog the entire time.  Shocker!!!  Of course that's because as you can see, I sat right beside him.  

He wasn't exactly happy when we went riding though ... he got locked in a dog kennel and placed inside the back of the horse trailer.

At long last, I set up my 15 square foot apartment for both Cooper and I to sleep at night.  I have to say the chair cushions from my living room worked perfect.  Better than any air mattress I've ever used.  It took a few tries to get organized ... where do you put those filty dusty boots you were wearing ... and how do you get in and out of your Levis.  It's a good thing there was no one at the campground, because you just stand outside the truck.  

Here's another tip ... there is no running water here.  Yup ... you also have to carry your own water for face and hand washing.  There's nothing like getting up in the dark ... checking around for bears before you get out of bed, finally getting your pants and boots on and washing your face in cold water.  It's not the Ritz, the Hilton or even Motel 6.

And THAT'S when the first problem arose.  There was this horrendous clanging coming up the road.  There are still cattle leases in this area higher up.  This time of year, they open the high gates so the cattle will come down to lower elevations.  It's deer hunting season very soon.  Unlike our herd that only had one or two bells on their necks to allow us to locate them when gathering time came around ... every single one of these cows had a bell.  The clanging was epic!

The horses pretty much went crazy.  Bad enough these were Angus cattle ... black like bears ... but coming at you with bells clanging was enough to make them want to run away.  It's the fight or flight thing .. and with horses, it's almost always flight.  That's when Shaggs said my horse is afraid of cattle, especially when coming towards her.  YIKES!!

Here's the thing with cattle ... they are very curious.  There's always one older mama that is the leader of the pack.  Wherever she goes, so goes everyone else.  They are NOT afraid ... after all, they are in bear country and they know how to fight.  

No pictures because I was just trying to get them gone down the road so the horses would relax.  At last they took off and peace resumed.  Sort of.  The horses jumped every time a pine cone fell to the ground.  

At long last it was bed time and I crashed in my little abode.  You never sleep well horse camping ... every time the horse turns around, you look to see if everything is okay.  We didn't need any bears wandering into camp.  That means every night you put everything away in the trailer, lock it up tight and keep your flashlight right at hand.

The real adventure began the next day, and I will relate that fun tomorrow.  As for now, I'm pretty beat up. Maybe a nice long walk is in order. 

Into The Wild Blue Yonder!!

 More coffee please ... not that it's helping.  You know how it is, trying to be sure you don't forget anything.  First stop of the day .. Costco for one of their great chickens (I bought two and stuck one in my freezer) and a big bag-o-salad.  I got two of those too, just in case.  Not that I think we will starve or anything ... I'm sure we have enough food for a family of four ... and there's just two of us.

As backup however, Sandy is bringing a big jar of peanut butter.  We won't starve!!  Once back home, I began the bacon bonanza.  I precooked two packages for breakfast, BLT sandwiches and anything else that sounds good.  EVERYTHING is good with bacon!!

All this time I've been running around in the Jeep to keep from using expensive diesel.  It didn't really matter because I finally had to get five gallons to keep the Jeep going all the way home.  The White House keeps telling everyone they are responsible for the big drop in fuel prices, although three months ago they said they had no control over ANY fuel prices.  Obviously it's not working in California.

Around noon I dropped Jonathan off at Kay's house for a visit.  He was pretty nervous and talked up a storm.  I had Kay feed and water him, whereupon he immediately tried to bite her.  She says she'll be fine, but I'm having two big men check up on her.  Really, they just want to meet him.  No problem, just keep your fingers AWAY from the cage!!

I'm packing up the ice chest and the water containers, ready to head out.  Above is one of the views I'll have.  Below is the horse camp where we will stay.  These pics came from the internet.  We hope all the horse people will be gone by the time we arrive for our three day stay at this location.

Then we'll be packing up again (I'm not looking forward to that) and heading to Kennedy Meadows.  No, I am not taking my trailer up here.  There's plenty of room for a fairly narrow and low overhead horse trailer.  There is not room for my 13' tall much wider trailer and no place to turn around.  

Here's hoping we have good weather in spite of the weather guessers.  I'm off into the wild blue yonder.  I'll post the adventures and pictures, hoping nothing disastrous happens, upon my return next Monday.  Yeehawwwww!!

Packing And More Packing

At long last it's a cool morning on the patio.  My phony coffee tastes pretty good as I go over everything I need to take on the horse camping trip into the Sierras.  If you forget something, too bad so sad ... there are no stores around to pick up things like hair dryers.  Heck YES I'm taking a hair dryer!!  No, there's no power, but I DO have a generator!!  Boy is that going to come in handy.  Just kidding.  Not really, I AM taking both, even though I plan on hiding the hat hair under a hat the entire time.

There was one main stop to make, and that was for fuel.  Everyone is claiming fuel is cheaper now, but I've not seen it here.  It's more expensive than it was a week ago.

Yeah, I cringed at this too, but just put it on a credit card.  I may be walking to Arizona!!  Once that was done and my irritation abated, I headed back home to begin the major packing job.  There's really not that much stuff, it just seems like it when spread all over the kitchen floor.

It's definitely harder than packing the RV, which already has everything I need.  I scrounged up small containers for stuff, with Amazon boxes coming in pretty handy.  I knew I saved them for something.  The majority of stuff will go in the back seat of the truck.  No I didn't take the hitch out of the bed.  I can get the top off, but at long last, this is too heavy for me to lift off the back of the truck.  Oh I could do it I suppose, but there's no use hurting myself when I don't need to.

The rest of the day I watched rodeo and bull fighting in between STILL working on this quilt.  I stuck the pieces up there to see what else I need.  Just when I thought I was almost done, I found I need another 32 ribbons before even STARTING the diamond pieces around the edges.  Big sigh!!  (for the umpteenth time!!)

This morning I'm off early to Costco to pick up a chicken for us to eat in camp, along with my glasses.  Their timing couldn't have been better.  I just got the call ... so YAY I may be able to see those bears and rattlesnakes.  No, not kidding this time.  

I'm again going to sing the praises of the phone guy.  I've been fussing with my phone for well over a year, with the cable not staying IN and charging the battery every fifteen minutes.  I used it all day yesterday and didn't plug it in once.  When I did, the cord actually stayed put.  I am happy to say there will be no new $1200 phone in the near future!!!

Then I'm off to drop Jonathan at Kay's house for his week's staycation.  Hopefully neither he nor Kay freak out!!  No worries, he will survive!!  He's survived me for 46 going on 47 years.  That just boggles my mind.

By the way, with no internet service, you will see no blog for the next week, nor will I be calling you with updates.  No phone service either.  At least I'll be able to charge my phone and take pictures.  There will be no "wanna be pro" pictures since there's no way to carry that big camera on a horse.  

Time to check my 14 lists twice and make sure I'm good to go.

Horse 101

 Good morning!!!!  Sipping coffee on the patio now involves a piece of paper and a pen.  It's better to have written it down twice than to have forgotten to write it down at all, meaning you completely forgot whatever it was you thought about.  When I pass on, the post-it notes are going to make a nice bon fire.

I was off early again to ride the kids.  In case you didn't know, horses become as much as part of the family as your dog, or even your husband.  To make it worse, they get priority treatment.  Taking care of them comes before almost anything.

Riding around the orchards a couple times a week is fine to keep them in shape, but if you're heading to the mountains, they need to be legged up.  Imagine you going to the high sierras and hiking several hours at altitude where there's not near as much oxygen as you require.  It's the same with horses.

Lots of trotting and loping is involved, just like when I used to run those marathons.  Both these girls could probably lose a little weight, just like me.  Legging them up helps that a lot.  There will only be walking on the trails, and of course we let them take it very slow.  When they want to stop, we stop and rest.

I think I'm going to be in the market for one of these saddles.  I can't believe I haven't gotten saddle sore and they are SO much lighter to throw on a tall horse.

On this day the critters were out in force, or at least they HAD been.  I didn't get a picture, but along one ditch bank, there were strings of water coming out and heading into the orchard.  Apparently raccoons cross the creek and come out the other side, water dripping off on the dirt, making trails into the trees.  I'm guessing they are after nuts?  There's a pretty good pack of them with as many as ten trails.  I may have to set up my game camera out here.

Round and round we went ... you could easily get lost out here ... as Mia was much more relaxed this day. It's all about the filly.  At three years old, she's only been ridden about 80 days ... meaning she's green broke and not experienced in the world at all.  She looks to my horse for support when something jumps out at us ... like that last big bird.  Scary things can result in a bucking frenzy.

It will be interesting to see how she does in the mountains.  With such a calm temperament, you are always waiting for the explosion!!  As long as the horse I'm riding keeps her head, we should be fine.  She's an old pro at this, as long as you know how to ride and stay out of her face.  That's a technical term for keep a loose rein.  

Every single horse is different, just like people.  You have to figure out what their buttons are and be sure NOT to push them so you don't end up in a wreck on the side of a mountain.  In the old days, people just forced their horses to do whatever they wanted.  Thankfully times have changed (somewhat anyway) since Tom Dorrance (the original horse whisperer) came along and showed people they could get their horses to do anything they wanted with a little common sense instead of a whip.  

Lucky for me, I got to work with Tom many times and am a much better horseman because of it.  There are even shows on the Cowboy Channel now showing trainers with much better attitudes and ways of training.  The horses are very thankful!!!

Today is packing day, figuring out what will go where in my 15 square foot apartment for the next week.  The good news is that Sandy suggested her Mom (the lovely lady I still do bookkeeping for) might take care of Jonathan.  I called and she has agreed to give it a shot.  YAY ... one less person to pack for!!

It Takes some Ingenuity

Every once in awhile, that morning coffee turns on a light bulb in my head.  I'm not all that ingenious when it comes to ideas.  I'm usually the one that copies everyone else's ideas.  Rarely do I have many original, creative solutions.  Especially when it comes to camping.  

On this morning I'm having another one of those delicious, fat inducing, sugar filled, heart attack in a paper cup MUFFINS.  It worked.  I actually had an idea.  

As you may remember, Cooper hurt his back and I was parked on the floor for almost a week.  That's not the most comfortable place to lay down.  I finally pulled the cushions off the chairs to sleep on so Cooper would not jump up on the couch.

I was having a hard time coming up with something to put on the seat backs in the truck.  They fold down flat, making somewhat of a bed, maybe 36" x 55".  Funny, they don't make the old fashioned air mattresses any more, at least not that I could find.  The light went on ... why not take two chair cushions and sleep on those!!  Woohoo!!!!

Sandy of course has her trailer.  I WOULD have a trailer, but I gave it away, to a good cause.  In this picture, the part up front with the window has a huge bed, with a small area for changing clothes, along with a water supply and of course the entire back for cooking, once we get there and unload the horses.

Trying to figure out what to take and how to make it fit in this tiny truck has been an epic test of my camping skills.  It's been way too many years.  (Picture from Arizona).

Water of course is essential.  I have a camp stove, but am not taking it since Sandy will have hers.  I emptied out all the Halloween costume junk to make a camp box.  I think I may need two, since I'm sure this will fill up quickly with Cooper and Jonathan food.  Oh yeah ... did I mention we are ALL going?

My truck will become a bedroom, changing room, hair styling salon, boot storage, breakfast cafe and animal eating center.  It's going to be tight!!  This big container is extra water for the horses, followed by two more that will be extra water for us.  The gatorade will go in the ice water container, followed by water bottles, ice and Jonathan's fridge food.  Cooper's stuff will go in the Yeti cooler I have that weighs so much I probably won't be able to lift it into the truck.

Luckily I checked my sleeping bag early to find a big nest of mice sleeping peacefully ... for one moment anyway.  That went in the trash, so I made a quick trip to Big Five and found a suitable sleeping contraption capable of temps down to 25 degrees (I don't believe that) for a measly $19.77.  What a steal!!  Add to that some of those cheap ponchos and two hat covers and I should be covered .. literally, in case it rains.

I'm off to ride again this morning, so packing will be delayed.  I'm still looking for my bag-o-water you place on the hood of your truck when you ride, so it becomes a hot shower when you return.  Hmmm how can I make a portable shower?  Hopefully it will come to me tomorrow morning on the patio.  I have tarps and rope .... that equals shower, yes?

Good Service ... Worth a Million!

Up and at em!!!!  Or maybe not so much.  I'm a little groggy this morning as I sip my morning wakeup juice on the patio in 74 degree weather.  Yessirree ... that's the low for last night.  It got to a whopping 104 yesterday, making it difficult to want to get out.

I thought one of those Costco muffins I got just might help increase my blood flow.  Just for kicks, as it was warming in the microwave, I read the ingredients on the box.  DO NOT do that.  I don't know how these things don't just clog your arteries on the first bite.  Okay ... let's make it even better by slathering a bunch of butter on top!!!

I had a long list of things to do since the decision has been made to head up to the hills and ride with Sandy.  But first ... here's the rest of Tuesday's riding.  When we got back, Sandy lunged Mia around the corral for a bit, getting her into a lope which we had not done on the ride.  

If you've been around horses for a long time, you can FEEL when something's not quite right.  You can feel whether they are relaxed, nervous or cranky, and you ride accordingly.  A little more workout loping in the corral made for a relaxed horse.

Thirty minutes later .... maybe that workout was a little too much!!!  We laughed at her antics!!

By the time I got home, I was reminded that I'm allergic to almond orchard dust.  I have no clue why, but I think it has to do with the chemicals that end up in the dirt.  I'm not allergic to almonds and I eat them quite often with no negative results.  This doesn't hurt at all.  It's just weird.  I took a Benadryl which usually helps, but makes me sleepy as all get out.

Here's the best news in a long time.  I DON'T HAVE TO BUY A NEW PHONE!!  I've been struggling with my iPhone battery.  I couldn't use the phone more than five minutes and I would have to plug it in.  Lately, the plug won't STAY in.  Just the slightest movement and it would stop charging.  

Finally, in complete frustration, I asked around about getting a new battery.  Someone mentioned the Cell Phone Doctor.  They said he was really good and not expensive at all.  It took me over an hour to figure out how to get my phone OUT of the case I've had it in for the last three years.  Talk about child proof!!!

I headed straight for the store and found a really nice Asian gentleman in flop flops.  He checked the battery, which of course said SERVICE PLEASE - I'm dying!!!  He laughed at that!!!

I kid you not ... 15 minutes later I had a new battery and a new phone.  He cleaned out all the lint and dirt where the cord connects and now I'm not fidgeting with it by the hour.  The phone feels better ... I feel better .. it's a win win!!!  Back home I got to use it for SIX HOURS and it STILL had juice!!  I'm so happy not to have to buy a $1200 phone!!  Although he told me what to buy if I do need one and it would only be about $500.  

What a great guy.  Here's the best part ... he only charged me $45.  WOOHOO!!!!  He was so nice I gave him a big tip to boot.  Boy do I love it when you get good service!

So now I'm off with my list of stuff I'm going to need in the mountains.  It's going to be a packing nightmare to get everything I need for truck camping IN my truck, not to mention dog and bird stuff.  Oh yes .... where I go, so go they.  I figure if it gets ridiculous, I'll just come back home.  It shouldn't be a problem as long as it's not too cold for Jonathan and Cooper doesn't bark too much.

Talk about roughing it ... this trip will fit that description perfectly!!

OH BOY - BINGO!!!

It wasn't the least bit cool on this morning, nor is it going to be for the next week with 100 degree temps every day.  That isn't exactly coffee drinking weather, but any day is a good day to kick the ball for Cooper.  I may just have to switch out the coffee for Pepsi!   I could turn on the AC but I have no idea how much they are going to charge me per kWh for what I use over what I produce.  Conservative me doesn't want to have a heart attack with that first bill.

I got my act together quickly, meaning a big cowboy hat, and headed off for a morning ride.  Although horses acclimate pretty quickly to the high altitude, we ride them up for a few days to get them in better shape.  

Wouldn't you know, the little filly Mia wasn't in a very good mood.  You can tell the second you get on. The tenseness is palpable, so you instantly gear yourself up for a good bucking.  Since we are two old ladies, although Sandy is ten years younger than I, we never get on without a little help from a stump, or in this case, a piece of pipe.  Even four inches tall helps.

Sandy rode around the corral a time or two to make sure there would be no tantrums, while I just sat and watched.  This is a good shot of horses ears.  You watch these ears constantly.  It's how they talk to you.  You can easily see if they are bored, mad, excited or if they are going to buck your butt to the ground.  It's also a good indication of things horses don't like.  For example sheep, bears, stinky mattresses on the roadside, rattlesnakes and hikers.  If you watch, they will tell you!!  Most people don't KNOW to watch.

Lucky for us, the ride was uneventful because we cut it short.  Mia was just being a mare on this morning. She tried to kick my horse for no reason.  You know, like when your husband just makes you mad for no reason whatsoever so you whack him!  Just like humans, every horse is completely different with different personalities.

THEN ... it was off to Bingo!!  I was late and probably too tired to be cavorting with the peasants.  We had SO many new people, and of course you have to explain everything to them while everyone else waits in line.  You know what that causes .... torches and pitchforks!!!

In case you ever go to Bingo, do NOT ... I repeat ... DO NOT cut in line or get your cards before the person in front of you does.  My oh my that did send the sparks flying up like fireworks.  This lady could have killed two people with her eyes and made a few very rude comments.  I was shocked, which is hard to do when you have cashiered Bingo for eleven years.  

She finally put away all the daggers and knives and called off the werewolves.  I didn't look, but I bet NO ONE sat by her!!  Yikes they might dropped dead with one look!!

There was one "you didn't give me enough cards", which was a possibility, so dumb me gave her one.  That was quickly followed up by another ... and another.  Once words gets out, they all magically discover they are missing one.  Every single one screaming to the heavens that they would NEVER lie about such a thing.  Yes and there are unicorns and fairies and Bigfoot too!!!

We had 132 peasants on this night, all of whom donated to our PIG.  If you win and you don't donate at least $5.00, you will never win again.  It's Bingo logic, but it works for us since we always name a needy group to receive the money.  Every day this month the PIG money is going to the fire victims in Mariposa.  You've got to hand it to the peasants.  When the chips are down for someone, they help out every time.

Now completely exhausted because of my long day, I forgot to zero out the infernal machine.  It won't do it by itself, so today I have to make a trip back in to clear its brain for next week.  After that, you'll find me on the couch trying to rest up.

Horse Camp

I contemplated this drive long before I made it.  This is not a short trip into the foothills.  It's a long drive I haven't taken in some time.  Buoyed up on the devil in disguise (Costco muffins), I was determined to make it.  I'm not sure why in the "old" days, I could drive 8 hours just to see what junk I could find in antique stores.  Somehow, times have changed.  Not only do I NOT think about driving that far, I rarely EVER do.

It didn't help that it was hot.  I felt my feet melting into the pavement as I walked out of Costco, shirts in hand.  I turned the radio up loud ... country music of course ... and headed out on the oh so familiar highway.  I know every twist and turn of the first 20 miles.  I used to drive it every day.

Fending off slow, probably hungover drivers from Saturday night, I actually did keep to the speed limit.  Or not.  You know that's not me.  Anyway, the miles passed by as I reminisced about friends and foes I crossed paths with up here.

Mostly I remember the cooking over a hot wood stove at the pack station south of here.  That wasn't really on my agenda.  Riding out looking for lost people and horses ... that was my jam.  That one guy we found wasn't the least bit happy that his wife had sent in a helicopter that he would then have to pay for, along with two horses and riders.  I had never heard some of the words he said before.

Past my skiing destination, I headed even further up the Sierras.  It was 85 degrees at 5,000 feet.  At last I came to the Clark Fork Bridge.  This entire country from mountaintop to mountaintop was completely burned a few years ago.  The good news is it didn't get down in the canyon to the river, or at least not so much in these pictures.  

Looking the other direction, the reason this river is so important is because it provides water to the horse camp, one of the few in the Sierras where you can take your horse and ride out every day, along with electricity and irrigation water to the valley.

You can catch some of the biggest trout in that little river!!  Sadly the surrounding mountains are covered in dead trees as the fire raged over the entire area for as far as you can see.

To be honest, in case you didn't know, the fire department will try to save a building or two, but otherwise, they just let the fire burn.  Thousands and thousands of trees and wildlife are decimated.  They are currently rebuilding some of the houses.  They say this one was started from an unattended campfire.

So why would I spend so much time driving up there?  Yup you got it ... to see if my RV would make it up the hill.  There are two campgrounds here, Loop A and Loop B.  I drove through A first, immediately getting lost.  The road went on forever, with lots of nice spots to camp if you have a tent.  I might have been able to back into a couple of spots, but only if I paid double for a double wide.  

There are no signs telling you which way to go, other than the one-way arrows on the road.  I went around for the third time, waving to the tent campers who by now were laughing.  At last I found the exit.  I COULD have gone through B Loop, but figured I getter not get lost again, as I might run out of fuel.  

That entire camping section did NOT get burned and the trees blocked my every escape.  I might get IN with my RV, but there's no way I could get OUT.

This is what I came for .... Horse Camp.  You can camp here with your horses for a week or so with nice trees for line tying and even picnic tables.  Unfortunately, the road in was too rough for my RV with no place to turn around.  A horse trailer, yes, but not something 13 foot high.

I have been invited to camp out for a week and ride, however I have a poodle and a parrot.  I'm thinking I could park the poodle in a big kennel and stick that in the horse trailer when we're riding.  The horses will live outside tethered to the high line.  I think it's probably going to be too hot to leave him in the truck.  It's hard when you don't have friends or relatives that can babysit.  

I've camped out here before and it's a blast.  I might even get to make biscuits in my dutch oven over pinecone coals.  It's still all up in the air.  I'll let you know how it pencils out.

In the meantime, I stopped at Donnell lookout to find a newly built trail down the hill.  Not wearing anything that resembled hiking shoes, I skipped the trail and made my own.  I know, Bad Nancy.

It wasn't far to this picture spot.  The lake at the bottom was beautiful and the water level seemed to be up pretty good.

The dam just below is full to the brim with melted snow.  It is supposed to be producing electricity, but I've never been down there to see for myself.  The horse trails don't go that direction, and it's too far anyway.  Makes a pretty picture, even though it was overcast all day.  In fact, it actually rained a few drops on me.

I returned exhausted after seven hours of driving ... my butt saying I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY!!!  I tried to calm the pain with another Costco muffin, all in vain.  It took some aspirin this time.

Monday was rest day as I'll be back in the saddle this morning, riding the trails of the valley like Joaquin Murietta, robbing stagecoaches, stealing gold and getting my hair stuck in the pistachio trees.  Yeeehaw!!  

Feeling Kind Of Beat Up Today

 Patio coffee was very satisfying on this morning.  In spite of the three ridiculous nightmares, or maybe because of, I actually slept in an extra hour.  That's unheard of, but only because I had a puppy nose in my face at midnight.  When you gotta go, you gotta go.  A low of 73 degrees didn't bode well for this day.

I actually did finish the puzzle, although there was only 1/4 to go.  Cyndae would have done the whole thing in a few hours.  It's more like a treasure hunt to me.  See what you need, look for that one piece and CONGRATULATIONS!!  You got ONE!!

On her way out of town, Cyndae picked up two more puzzles for me.  How sweet was that!!  I opened the first box and almost had a heart attack.  Oh my aching back (bending over the table) ... this is a 1000 piece puzzle and every single piece is the exact same shape.  As you can see, it's running horses.  Gee whiz!!  No wonder the box has never been opened.  I may have to save this one for Patsy Richards, the puzzle guru.  

You saw TWO boxes?  Ummmmm yes and the second one is harder than THIS one.  I think I need to look for puzzles with the words 8 yrs and up.

Time to head out to Costco for those shirts.  They open at 9:00 here now, making it a walk in the park.  I mean really, walking down those aisles it was like there was an apocalypse and I was the only one left.  Except ... you could smell the smells.  OMG!!  In the early morning when no one is there, the smells just grab your nose and drag you kicking and screaming to the far back corner.  

Yessirree .... my fortitude was completely smashed when I saw the muffins.  You just can't beat them, OR the price of 74 cents apiece.  Of course you have to buy TWELVE.  Thankfully there's room in my freezer.

I quickly moved on to the shirts.  For a second I thought they were sold out, but luckily they still had a few stacks of them, although not many in my size.  I scrounged around and came up with two more.  I'm just so excited to wear shirts that don't have holes in them!!!

That's it!  That's all I bought ... mostly because I couldn't juggle anything else without a basket.  That may be my plan for Costco from now on ..... NO big basket, which of course is twice the size of any other store's basket.

And then I was off.  Where you ask??  Up to the Sierra Nevada mountain range to see the devastation from the LAST big fire we had.  You just cannot imagine what this looks like unless you are there.  These pictures make it look pretty good.  It took out many homes and cabins for as far as the eye can see.  I just can't imagine the wildlife.  

This is Clark Fork.  The Donnell fire burned 36,000+ acres and destroyed 135 buildings.  

It was a very long day driving, in spite of the blueberry muffin sustenance that kept me going.  I'll post more picture tomorrow, because right now the spice one is calling my name.  I'm feeling kind of beat up today after 7 hours of driving.  Maybe TWO muffins will renew my strength.  After all, I have ELEVEN more to eat!!!