I am starting to feel a little life...

The sun is peaking through the haze, and I feel like I can breathe a little again.  I love Texas!  I love our weather!  I know I am crazy for saying so, but it is true.  We had an amazing fall.  We had a mild winter...right up until a few weeks ago.  Then it came in all at once.  We have had ice.  We have had snow.  We have had brutal temperatures.  We have had crazy winds. Nothing like getting it all in at one time!  I say that cautiously because I believe we will get a little more in the near future.  I have no meteorological background to base that on.  It's just something I feel in my bones.

Most of you know when you don't hear from me for a long period of time it's because something is happening.  It may be something good.  It may be something bad.  I just tend to drop off the face of the earth here and now.  I used to make excuses for it.  Now I just accept it.  I hope you can as well.  Obviously, after blogging for six years, I'm not going to change.

I have been stalling on this latest update for the last week.  I have sat down several times to write this post, but each time, I knew I wasn't ready yet.

For those of you wondering...The last skunk I trapped has been successfully relocated and released!  I am not a cruel person.  I have not kept the little guy trapped up all this time.

Some of you already know we have suffered a loss here on the farm.  If you follow along, you know we have quite the menagerie of animals that do their best to run this place.  I say they run the place because I spend very little time thinking I am actually the one in charge.

I am not in charge!

On February 14th, Valentine's Day, the Man in Charge and I spent our night at the Emergency Hospital with one of our dogs. Her abdomen had bloated and was quite enlarged.  Fearing her gut had twisted, we rushed her in for x-rays.  After four hours, we learned that she had a ridiculous amount of fluid in her abdominal area.  Two liters to be exact!  They removed the fluid to ease her discomfort, and sent us home.  We followed up with our regular veterinarian on Monday and learned she had liver cancer.

I hate cancer.

We knew our future with her would be short.  After consulting with our vet, we knew the transitions she would go through. Our tasks included keeping her comfortable and encouraging her to eat as much as she wanted.  The veterinarian's instructions were, "I want Belle to eat!  Let her have whatever she wants!"

We have a running battle in our home because the Man in Charge likes to feed the dogs people food.  For the most part, I don't really mind this, except when they eat something and get sick.  You see, I am the one left to clean up the messes.  I also don't really like dogs that beg.  For those two reasons, I am constantly yelling at him to "Stop feeding the dogs!"  With the vet's instructions, my Man took full advantage.

Belle enjoyed chips, snacks, lunch meat, cheese, anything and everything he had, she had!

They both loved it!

Belle turned 11 on 3/1/15.  We made it to the 4th, and then had to put her down.  I am not writing this because I want you to be sad.  It was sad, but I want to share with you the life of this dog.  This dog, who taught me so much about dogs.  This dog, who greatly impacted our lives.  This dog, who we will greatly miss.

We got Belle as a puppy.  She was six weeks old, and a bundle of fur and belly.  She had one ear that flopped over and she was the cutest thing ever.  As a puppy, she was a force to be reckoned with.  She was a bundle of uncontrollable energy. Constantly on the move.  Constantly bugging the crap out of you to do something with her.  We had two older dogs at the time, and she harassed them non-stop.

Belle loved to run around the yard, eating mud and sticks.  Yes, eating them.  I was certain she would do permanent damage to her digestive system, but she survived it.  She hated bath time, and I mean hated bath time.  She would scream at the top of her lungs like you were killing her.  I remember one morning she had managed to cover herself in mud.  Not wanting her to run through the house that way, I had one of the girls hose her off on the back porch before we let her back inside.  She screamed so loud, one of our neighbors called to make sure everything was okay over here.

Belle would bug you to play with her.  With four of us in the home at the time, plus two other dogs, we were still no match for her level of energy.  Not to be put off, she managed to create new games to play with us even if we didn't want to play any longer.

One of her favorite games was "Toy on the Foot"

I can hear you now...what?  

When we were all exhausted from trying to exhaust her, she would grab a toy in her mouth, and while you were sitting down trying to recover, she would hold the toy on your foot.  If you tried to move your foot away, she would aggressively chase it.  I can not tell you the amount of time we spent sitting cross-legged, bouncing a foot while she tried to keep the toy in place.  She would growl and sound aggressive during this game, but she was good at it.  The only way to make her stop would be to sit on your feet.  As weird as this game sounds, in a small way it was a relief.  We could keep her entertained all from the comfort of our easy chairs.  We knew it was weird, but it became a part of our regular life.  We never thought twice about it until we had a house guest.  My Aunt came to visit, and sitting in the living room, trying to enjoy a cup of coffee and visit, Belle attacked her with a game of "Toy on the Foot."  My Aunt was shocked and more than a little scared, thinking she was trying to eat her, but once I explained the game, she relaxed and became an active participant.

At six months of age, Belle's sister from her litter came to live with us.  Even though they had been apart for months, after about two minutes, they had bonded and were chasing each other around the place.  The two were inseparable after that. They loved having each other, and joined forces to create havoc at every opportunity.  They ate remote controls.  They destroyed a cell phone.  They were bent on killing anything that may contain stuffing of any kind.  For a year and a half, they really pushed every boundary I set for them.

They both taught me a lot about dogs.

They both taught me a lot about being a committed pet owner.

For my own sanity, and to encourage their development, we actually brought in other pets for their benefit.

Yes, I got pets for my pets!

They started with goats that we had actually acquired for our filly.  Yes, even our horse had pets.  They spent hours herding them into their pens, and they loved it.  The goats didn't really love it, and for their own survival, they learned the game quickly.

See dogs!

Run to pen!

Belle had a pet bunny that lived inside.  She spent countless hours watching her rabbit.  It was really like doggy television! While it kept her occupied, she was quick to come get you if her bunny was sleeping.  It disturbed her if she went to sleep, and she would run back and forth to get me just so I could make sure the bunny was okay.  I would explain that her bunny was sleeping, and she'd lay down in a huff and watch her until she awoke.

I also purchased baby ducks for these two.  Then, set about making them a round pen in the yard so we could train on herding.  The ducks were inside the pen, and the dogs ran the outside.  Belle's only issue with herding, she only had two speeds - Down and Full Speed!

In the end, Belle's favorite pet has been the cat.  We found out early she had a healthy cat addiction.  Her main purpose in life became the cat.  Where is the cat?  Is he inside?  Is he outside?  Can I see him?  Can I chase him?  Where is He!!!  I want you to know, this was important to her right up until the end.

She also was able to enjoy the baby calf we acquired in December.  The last three weeks of her life, even feeling bad, she would jump up at the site of bottle making and wait at the door so she could go to the barn with me.

All I can say...We love dogs!  They add quality to your life.  They each have their own personality.  They will each teach you something about dogs, being a dog-owner, and things about yourself, if you let them.  As sad as it is, they all end up being heart-breakers in the end.  Even with this knowledge, the benefits far out weigh the heart-break of losing them.  We will always have them in our lives!

Photo Walk

One of our local camera shops holds these amazing "Photo Walk" events.  Basically, a bunch of people get together at a specific location and take photos.  It is open to all ages, all skill levels, any type of camera, and it is free.  The staff from the store is on hand for tips and advice, and you will meet a ton of people that are willing to help you out.

Who could ask for anything better?

I have owned a decent camera for over a year now.  It may be two years, but whose counting.  I tend to shoot everything on AUTO!

Blah!  

Boring!

I know my camera has tons of buttons and knobs that control all sorts of settings, but for the life of me, I do not understand what any of it means.  It is like learning a new language.  I haven't had the time to try to figure it out on my own, and I really doubt I could.  These photo walks are held at different locations and at different times of the day.  I have always been busy, exhausted, or if I'm being honest, intimidated!  This time, I decided to be a grown up and sign up.  It also helped when I found out one of our family members had signed up for the same event.  I was certain she knew more about her camera than I did, but I found confidence in not being alone in the crowd.

It was so much fun!

I met a lot of people that speak camera, and were willing to help me out.  I was even lucky enough to bump into a guy who owns the exact same camera I do.  He had a ton of knowledge.  He was willing to share.  So I humbled myself for the experience.

I admitted to one of the staff members that I usually shoot about 100 pictures and feel lucky if I get one good one.  He laughed, and then pointed out that I only have a 1% success rate.  He was committed to helping me improve on that.  He gave me some pointers and then with the help of my fellow Canon owner, I set about executing my new found knowledge.

One of the first shots I took in manual mode.

Then my new Canon friend showed me another angle to try.  The illuminated snow flakes on the ground are a result of some pretty impressive lighting around the square.

Then we tried to play with the water a bit in front of the tree.  I really wanted to go move that umbrella in the shot, but I refrained.  Let me tell you, it was really hard not to move that umbrella.

Then we went super crazy playing with the shutter speed and focusing in or out!

Then we moved back to the front of the tree and tried it again.

Then we played around with this cute little gingerbread girl.

Then we moved to the other side of the square and played around with this water fall.  You can't really see the water, but the lighting was really cool.

Outside the square, we took a different view.

Love the light tracer from the car that had just made the turn.

Back around to the tree again, and yes, another umbrella.

The last one is probably my favorite.

Can't wait to do another one!

Productive So Far...

I've been doing my best to get some spring cleaning done.  I know.  It's not spring, but I'm running on Bee Light Savings Time, and there's no time like the present.  If you have no idea what Bee Light Savings Time is, catch up on the post I wrote previously - Solving The Problems of the World! 

I missed my spring cleaning this past spring due to the endless amount of work my bees required.  I am trying to get caught up and get a jump on the new year.  So far, I have pulled everything down from the attic and gone through the garage.  Not your typical spring chore, but I had to get the Christmas decorations down anyway.  So, I just pulled it all out of there.  I moved the Christmas decorations to the guest room, and hopefully I'll get them up this coming week.  I also went through every box I hauled down.  I packaged a lot of it up and took it to my favorite donation spot.  In the process I called a couple of hooligans over to go shopping as I was hauling it down.  One of them didn't take a single thing, but the other left with a truck load.

Thanks Willie T.!

I always knew you were good for something.

In the process of cleaning out the garage and attic I realized there was something that needed to be moved to my closet. This prompted a quick closet clean out.  I only went through the clothes that were hanging in there, but I managed to part with about six bags of pretty nice stuff.  Those bags also made it to the donation drop off.

The attic and garage may seem like a random place to start, but there is a method to my madness.  For one thing, there is zero insulation in the attic above the garage.  I don't know why, but I'm going to change that.  I have a lot of DIY projects that need to get done before Christmas.  I want to be warm out there if it decides to get cold on us again.  Plus, on the particular day I made my way into the attic, it was in the seventies.  Not a bad day for such a chore.

I'm also trying to be a little proactive on the coming bee season.  Each season starts with the building of additional equipment.  Well, not each season if you quit expanding.  I have not quit expanding.  For the past three years I have been caught in the peak of the season building equipment.  I have yet to be prepared with what I need ahead of time.

Not 2015!

I want to get all of my wooden ware built by February.  Texas weather is always unpredictable except for January and February.  You can pretty much count on the fact that these are going to be our coldest months.  I mentioned buying a heater for the garage, but the Man in Charge said it would be pointless without some insulation up there.  If there's one thing in life I don't want to be - it's pointless!

I've just resolved myself to the fact that it's going to be another crazy week.  Crazy because I will be all over the place.  I've got to finish my closet, insulate the attic, build a honey warmer, bottle honey, put up the Christmas decorations, go to the dentist, go to the doctor, and don't forget all the usual stuff.  I know there are not a lot of things on this list that may interest you, but I am super excited.  Especially about the honey warmer.  I'll try to post some pictures of the process.  I know you're just dying to see what I'm talking about.

Such is the life of a retired SAHM, empty-nester, do-it-your-selfer, beekeeping, crazy person.

Success or Failure!

I committed to posting on this little blog of mine for the entire month of November, and I almost made it.  I missed the last two days!  I was really bummed about this, but this is the closest I've ever come to actually doing it!  I posted something every day!  Days that were crazy busy!  In the end, we were just having too much fun!

Both the girls came home for the holiday weekend, and it was a packed weekend of events!  They both rolled in on Wednesday evening and the games began.  We stayed up until 2:00 in the morning cooking for Thanksgiving Dinner!  It was fun and there was a lot of chatter and cooking happening.  Our dinner was perfect this year.  I'm not just bragging on the food.  We also had the cutest two year old at our table this year.  He was very entertaining.  He brought his mother and his baby brother, and we had a blast.

My new worker in training.

We took him out to feed the chickens and he was a little hesitant at first.  After dinner, we asked if he wanted to feed them again and he was all over it!  He ran across the yard, calling them up and throwing out bread.  When the bread was all gone, he ran back to the house giggling and wanting more bread!  The girls ended up having an awesome Thanksgiving as well.  I think they ate about a half a loaf of bread!

Friday, we put Thanksgiving behind and went to Ft. Worth to watch the Parade of Lights to kick off the Christmas season. We met everyone at the train station and made our way into the big city.  This time we had two of the cutest two year old's in tow.  This was their first train ride and their first parade!  The weather was brisk, but pleasant, and we had a great time. We finished with dinner and after we made it back home, we stayed up into the wee hours of the morning playing cards. Saturday started out a little slower, but we finished strong with a late night movie with friends.  So again, another late night.

Sunday - I took a long nap!

This week has been a struggle to get going.  I am so far behind on my life, but oh well!  I did celebrate my wedding anniversary yesterday.  The Man in Charge and I decided to have a quiet evening in with take-out!  Some may say, "Boring!" For us, it was perfect!

Today, gulping coffee and trying to get myself together!

Thanksgiving Day Countdown!

I have no business sitting down at my computer right now, but I love you guys and I wanted to share something real quick. Yesterday I told you that I tend to go through rooms without an ounce of sentiment.  Getting rid of things that are not being used or worn, and therefore I deem them as clutter.

Well...I'm struggling with something.

I have spent time cleaning and organizing rooms for the girls this weekend.  One room in particular is about the only girly room in this house.  It is the original guest room.   A little history for you.  When we bought this house, we were having guests relatively early, and this room was bare.  No furniture.  Nothing pretty or welcoming.

Just blah!

Having just bought this place, we were a little tight in the finance department.  Still, I wanted my guests to feel welcome.  So I really had to put on my creative hat.  We bought a bed, and I mean we bought a mattress set and frame.  I may have had some old nightstands back in the beginning of this room, but I don't really remember now.  I threw some paint on the walls, but it was still sad.

So I did this...

Maybe one of the girls will leave a comment about the process we went through to get this painted on the wall.  I don't have time to go into all the crazy details now.  I have added furniture to this room over the years, and it really is a nice place to be.

Just one problem though.

I've just recently come into some new furniture.  New, really old furniture.  It is the Man in Charge's Great-Grandmother's bedroom suit.  With the girls gone, I've been kicking around the idea of shuffling some furniture around.  That old bedroom suit would fit perfect in this room, but it already has a headboard.  A very pretty headboard.  I have been pretty resolute in the idea of painting over my creation.  I've heard whining and complaining from others, but my mind has been made on this topic.

Until I was in there today.

I'm still gonna do it, but I'm gonna miss this room.

Hiking Adventures Continued and I have a confession.

First, my confession.  It dawned on me late last night, I may have made a mistake in the time stamp I put on the last photo in the previous post.  I stated the photo had been taken shortly after four.  Only later, it dawned on me I had not changed the time on my camera to reflect daylight savings time.

Another reason to be annoyed by the time change.

I just looked at my camera.  As much as I would like to blame the time change for the discrepancy, I can't.  My camera was off by two hours and fifteen minutes.  Not really sure about how that happened, but it made me feel better about the hike we had made.  I was pretty certain we had left right at noon.  To think it had taken us four hours was a little embarrassing. I'm not really sure why my Part-Timer did not correct me in the comment section.  I know she's reading this.  She keeps bugging me about my blogging schedule.  You'd think she could leave a comment here and there to participate, but I guess not.

Any-who.

Making it to the top of the cliff side on our trail was a huge relief.  For one, we had worked up a little sweat and there was a really nice breeze up there.  Not to mention, traveling on a level trail for a bit was a relief to my legs.  My muscles were on fire.  We also were anticipating Fern Cave.  Actually, I was expressing the fact that there better be some ferns growing there or else.  Then, the whole hike took a different turn.

We bumped into two hikers headed in the opposite direction.  A husband and wife hiking team, Damon and Irene.  They stopped and started asking questions about the trail we had just covered.  They were wondering if they could make the trip down that side.  Did I mention they were a little older?  We immediately advised against it and told them what we had just experienced.  This is when Irene may have started having a melt-down.

What are we going to do?

We've been hiking since 10:00 am.

We got lost and lost the trail.

We are out of water and food.

We got them to a position that Irene could sit down, and dropped our packs to share water and snack bars.  They were both grateful.  Irene was concerned her blood sugar was getting low, and she was relieved for the snack bar.  We told them not to worry, they were more than welcome to turn and we'd walk them out the other way.  Irene was grateful and worried all at the same time.  She had already been hiking for more than four hours and she did not want to go back the way she'd come. She started explaining the terrain they had covered, and my Part-Timer realized they had gotten off the trail after leaving Fern Cave.  After further explanation, they had followed some college kids out of Fern Cave, and had ended up on a wild life trail coming out the back of that cave instead of the path on the map.

It was at this moment Irene shared something really special with us.  They had been so worried and concerned about their predicament, they had stopped and prayed together.  Just minutes later, they bumped into us.  All of a sudden, there we were.  We had food , water, and a plan to get them out.

Just let that sink in a moment.

God is Good.

Realizing there was no other way, we headed out.  We took care helping Irene in difficult areas, and she was really sweet and grateful.  We took a much slower pace at this point, and in the end it really helped us out as well.  We made our way to the turn off for Fern Cave, and Irene and Damon decided to keep going on the trail ahead.  We assured them we would just go down to the cave to take a few photos and we'd be right behind them.  The trail they were on at this pint was wide and easy to follow, so they felt confident in going on ahead.

We made our turn, hiked down on a few boulders, and this is what we found.

 A nice surprise tucked away down in this cave.

Life can be full of surprises if you only take a little time to find them.

We spent a little time in this area, then turned to head back out.  We needed to find Irene and Damon, and make sure they were okay.

I will give them credit, once they were on the correct trail back to their car, they made tracks.  It took a bit of time to catch up with them, but once we did, we traveled on getting to know each other a bit.  They're from the Houston area and had just stopped at the park for a day hike.  They were actually in route to another park to hike the next day.  Damon walked with my girl, and I could hear bits and pieces of their conversation.  He was sharing all the places they had traveled and the hikes and camping adventures they'd been on.  This was funny because I was walking with Irene, and she was telling quite different stories about the same trips.  Most of them she felt were harrowing experiences, but nothing compared to this one.

Irene had been sure they were going to be stuck out in the canyon over night.  She was certain no one knew where they were or would be able to find them.  They were out of food and water, and they would be freezing all night long.  Her knee was killing her and she was certain they were going to end up on the news.  I did my best to reassure her, and to keep her mind on other things.   She shared things about her life, like the fact her and her husband were training for a half-marathon in January.

Did I mention they were 60 & 64 years old?

She was concerned because she was supposed to run three miles on the treadmill the following Tuesday.  After this adventure she didn't know if she'd be able to get it done.  I couldn't believe it.  Then I pointed out she might be able to use this hike towards her training schedule.  She stopped and thought about it for a moment, then decided she would do just that.

Here are some photos from our hike back around.

It was a long hike for Irene, but she did well.  We stopped a few times to get a drink of water and take a break.  She refused to sit down though.  She was certain if she did, she'd never be able to get back up.  Along the way, they had shared how they had talked to two separate rangers on their hike earlier that day.  I pointed out this meant they knew they were there, and no one would have left them out there alone.  This did little to comfort Irene.  She was certain they never would have been found because they had lost the trail.  One ranger had met them that morning when they had parked, and the other had been on horse back and met them on the trail.

Well, we knew who the horseman was.

Calculating the distance, we knew we were getting close to getting them out.  We had one ridge to hike over, and their parking area should be below.  Imagine our surprise as we approached that ridge and Ranger Dawson popped over the top of it.  I could tell he was in full-on Ranger Mode.  His adrenaline was pumping, and he was excited to see Irene and Damon. He knew when and where he'd seen them, and he had made a point to ask how much water they had on them at the time. He had conversed with the other ranger, Ranger Jack, about what time he had seen them, and when they had started out on their hike.  The fact that their car was still in the parking lot had sounded all the alarms.

Apparently...the Calvary had arrived.

Damon started explaining what they'd been through, and how they had found us.  Then he went on about how nice we had been to share our provisions and see them back out.  Ranger Dawson explained that he knew who we were, and he had bumped into us several times on his own.  As we came over the ridge, we could see Ranger Jack below.  He had a truck and trailer loaded down with ATV's.  Then, around the corner, another ranger came hauling in at top speed, screeching to a halt in the parking lot.  He had been off duty and got the call for the Search and Rescue mission they were launching.

It really was a happy ending to a long day.  There were high-fives, shaking of hands, and relief.  Irene did turn to me, and in a hushed tone said, "How embarrassing!"  I laughed with her.  Then told her she had nothing to be embarrassed about.  She had made it.  She did not have to be rescued.  She did not have to sleep in the canyon, cold and hungry.  She was not going to be all over the news, and she was leaving with quite a story to tell her friends.

Irene and Damon made it to their car.  The rangers, relieved that all had ended well, started packing their gear back up.  We had hiked over six miles, and we had another mile and a half to our camp.   Ranger Dawson was able to save the day after all.  He was more than happy to give us a ride to camp, which we eagerly agreed to.

My hat's off to the rangers.  They really do know what's going on in the park.  Who's there.  Where they are?  How long they've been there.  When to start worrying about them.  If you're in the area, please feel confident in going there and having your own adventure.  They'll have your back!

What happened next may be a little embarrassing, but I'm going to share it anyway.  We had been through a long day.  It was close to 5:00 in the evening when we made it back to camp.  We chit chatted with the ranger a bit, then loaded up in the car.  I was hungry and I wanted some food.  There is a little town about 15 minutes outside the canyon.

Quitaqua, Texas

pronounced kitty-kway

Two places available in Quitaqua to get food.  An old diner that we were sure was closed, and an Allsup's convenience store.  Some of you may be unfamiliar with Allsup's, but there are a ton of them out west.  The rule in our house, if you travel west you have to stop at Allsup's for a fried beef and bean burrito.  They're really good and really bad for you.  Best served with taco sauce, and I used to enjoy them more before I learned they are over 600 calories each.  Always one to follow the rules, I had already consumed two Allsup's burritos on my trip west Friday, but I wasn't going to let that stop me.  We drove directly there.  We parked right up front.  We went in, and this is what I ate.

• Two beef and bean burritos - 1236 calories
• One order of wings - 330 calories
• Almond Snickers Bar - 230 calories
• 32 oz. Dr. Pepper - 450 calories
• Cheetos - big grab bag - 680 calories
• 2926 Calories total
• Not one bit of Guilt!

Camping trip continued...

If you're up to speed, you know we're hiking at this point.  If you're not, go back and catch up.

I'll wait.

Go ahead.

For the most part, we had the trail to ourselves.  After our stop to chat with Ranger Dawson, we moved on.  We are not quiet hikers.  We were talking, laughing, and so forth.  We stopped here and there to replenish our bodies with water - always out of my pack - and to give the dog a drink and a break.

Along with being a decent tracker, the dog also has enough herding in her bloodlines to make it necessary for her to constantly be checking on us.  She would run ahead to a point, turn, come back and make sure everyone was still in line, then head back up to the front.  She possesses a very strong need to make sure her ducks are in a row.  This was comical to watch, and a little sad if you measure the ground she covered in her random round-ups.

I have a series of photos to show our terrain.  It should also show you the elevation change we were making.

The trail in the beginning was easy to maneuver and follow.  Wide paths, with only a slight elevation change.

We were hiking mid-day.  Not optimum for taking photos outdoors.  Well, not for me.  I've got a decent camera, but I don't really know how to use it.  I had to do some editing before posting these, so please bare with me.  The beauty here is the amount of greenery.  Luckily, this part of Texas has received some rains in 2014.  My Part-Timer informed me that her other visits to this park had been quite barren.

 

Please remember the rock slide you see in the photo above.  I tried to use it as a focal point to show what we'd been through.

Our hike proceeded to take us upwards at a slow elevation change.  (Note the rock slide on the right of the photo.)  Of course, this only lasted so long.  We made it up the path below relatively easy.

I say this now.

My opinion is only based on what we faced ahead of this point.  I will add, my beekeeping has gotten me in better shape than I have given it credit for.  I've done a lot of work over the summer.  Glad to know it has benefited me in more than one way.

I have a series of action shots showing these two traversing this point on the trail.  The part I neglected to capture...the drop off below them.  Would have made a much stronger impact on you if you could truly see how dangerous this point was.

Duh!

We did take breaks here and there.  Stopping for water, snacks, to catch our breath, and enjoy the view.

As you can see, we'd come quite far at this point.  I'd like to tell you we were at the top in the above photo, but we weren't. I would say we were a little less than halfway up at this point.

Did I mention this trail has an elevation change of 2500 ft.?

The trail became a lot more difficult.  It also was a lot harder follow.  I say this because we got off the trail shortly after this photo.  We were basically climbing a cliff face.  Having to lean forward to counter the weight of our packs is not conducive to looking around for markers.  We reached a point that seemed quite ridiculous.

Are you sure we're still on the trail?

I kept hearing things like:

I think so.

This looks right.

I can't remember.

This is when I started focusing on the dog.  She was still at point, being urged on by her owner.  Wanting to obey, she moved onward.  I could tell she was getting a little nervous.  She seemed unsettled.  This is when I called stop.  We reached a point where we could get a better look around and realized we could not see any trail markers.  While we were looking around, the dog bailed.  She started back down the trail, passing both of us.  The cliff face was so steep, I just turned and started sliding down on my rear.  My Part-Timer, thinking she was above this tactic, started trying to traverse down on her feet above me.

Not possible.

All I heard was a scream or laugh, and then there were rocks coming down all around me.  I could hear her behind me, coming down quick.  Somehow she managed to put the breaks on before she hit me.  She was laughing.  I was seeing my life flash before my eyes.  Had she hit me, I would have shot off the cliff face like a rocket.

It would not have been pretty.

As she slowed herself, we made our way down.  Both of us on our rears at this point.  We had to go down about twenty feet before the dog immediately picked up on the correct trail.

She was off, tail wagging and a lot more certain of our direction.  After getting our feet back under us, I took this moment to inform my Part-Timer that I would be following the dog from now on.

We were in a pretty steep part of our hike.  I do not mind sharing the fact that I was quite winded at this point.  Once we reached a level spot, I stopped to check my heart rate on my phone.

I have an app for that.

It was 133.

That can't be right.

I checked it again.  It was 129.

Must be right.

My girl checked her's - 97.

Really?

This is when I may have cussed every cigar I have ever smoked with the Man in Charge.  Yes, I know.  Shocking to some of you, but it's true.

(Note the rock slide in the upper left of this photo)

(Note the rock slide in the upper middle of this photo.)

That rock slide was a thing of the past.  We had a bit further before we actually reached the top.  I got off the trail a little to get this shot for you.  To give a little perspective, it was 4:13 pm when I took the photo below.  We had started this hike around lunch time.

We made it!

As exciting as this had been...nothing compared to what happened next!