End of Summer Day Trip

A few weeks ago my mom asked DC if he would be willing to take her and Dad on a Saturday trip to the mountains, including a cook-out breakfast. Of course, my husband is willing to do anything that has to do with going to the mountains. And he is wonderful to my parents.

Today was the day. I wasn't thrilled last night when he woke me up to set the alarm for 5:30 a.m. - I get up earlier than that every work day, so getting up that early on Saturday was not in my plans. But he had told my folks we'd pick them up at 7:00. We didn't get everything packed up last night (including gassing up the minivan), so he thought we needed that much time this morning. We could have waited till 6:00 to get up, but we got a very early start to the day and arrived at my folks' at 6:40, before they were ready to go, of course.

We headed for the hills promptly at 7:00, discovering on the way north that we (read I) had forgotten the pancake syrup. I reminded him that this was his party, and I only offered to help, not remember everything! We found a grocery store just a mile out of the way and headed out again.

It was about 8:30 when we found the first good spot to cook our breakfast and eat. It was a beautiful spot! We began cooking the sausage links. I was gazing across the river, noting that there was a bush swaying back and forth. It wasn't windy - what was up? Suddenly I spotted a very large black "blob" against the rocks. I couldn't believe it when I realized what it was:

We enjoyed watching the little guy (girl?) as long as he/she was across the river! We finished preparing the pancakes, eggs, sausage, orange juice, and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast - everything tastes better outside!

The river was just gorgeous, sparkling in the morning sunshine.

DC was on a mission - a surprise mission. This is one of his favorite places in the state - the canyon he drives up many times a year, especially in the winter to go cross-country skiing. He has also hiked many of the trails in this area, and knows the mountain peaks by name. He wanted to surprise us with sightings of moose. We were fortunate to spot two - a male and a female.

As we headed back down the mountain at the end of the day, we saw the male still sitting in the same spot, just taking it easy. I said, "Well, what else does he have to do?" Then I had these thoughts:

I want to be a moose.

No meals to cook.

No dishes to wash.

No bathrooms to clean.

No floors to mop or vacuum.

No clothes to wash, dry, fold, iron, put away.

Nobody to take care of.

Then I thought some more about it --

BUT --

No air conditioning in the summer.

No heat in the winter.

No shelter from the storms.

I think I'll stay a person, the way God made me.

We found a great spot for lunch. As we were fixing the fried potatoes, baked beans, and hamburgers, I was snacking on Cheetos. We soon had a visitor, with whom I shared one. He kept coming back for more, and soon the animal grapevine took over and we had two of them. We decided they were vegetarian, because they took the Cheetos and the hamburger buns, leaving behind the chunks of burger.

The clouds were just gorgeous today. There were different varieties, all at the same time, in layers.

Some random beautiful views:

It was a great day. For some reason, I was exhausted when we got home and I took a nice long nap before going to the grocery store. We had some lovely rain down here. We had spent quality time with my parents. We enjoyed God's bountiful creation. We saw a coyote running across a field, besides the bear, the moose, and the chipmunks. I hope you've enjoyed the vicarious trip with us.

Have a wonderful Sunday!