Saturday, February 21, 2009

Come Along With Us.....

Many of you know that my husband, my kidlets, and myself like to take "rides" up in the hills. We usually do it once a week, and we always have a lot of fun. The scenery is always gorgeous...well except for the clear cuts!!...and we often see a lot of animals...coyotes, bobcats, elk, deer, rabbits, etc...

And while we have never actually seen a bear, we find their tracks and their scat (poo!) all over the place. One time though, when my hubby was playing at a softball tournament in Wenatchee, we saw a big black bear who was just meandering along a ridge line; until he saw us, that is!!! Then he quickly shuffled/ambled away from our rig and over the hilltop. There are also several cougars, but I really don't care to see one of those...lol!!!! The other day, we found this skeleton lying on the side of an old, not well traveled logging road (above). Most of it was still intact, and I couldn't help but wonder why? I think it may have been a young or small coyote, but usually other birds and animals scavenge the body and spread the bones around. I can't remember what movie this phrase is off of, but "It is a puzzlement."

In regards to the picture above...when we first went up, the foothills in the background were bare. Then all of the sudden, a bunch of low clouds came in, and when they lifted, that is what we saw. It's like a bunch of fairies sprinkled powdered sugar on the hill/trees!!!

See this one?? (above) This is what they looked like before the snow fairies came...lol!!! You can just see the top of Mt. Rainier peaking out over the foothills too. The picture is kind of deceiving, but that is not Mt. Rainier's base that you see...it is a foothill that is sitting in front of it.
The moon was full that afternoon/evening, and I took a quick picture of it as the sun was setting.
I couldn't believe that I was able to get a shot of this deer. They usually see us, and then move away to a safer distance, but this doe stood her ground. Aren't deer pretty???
And last but not least, we have a large, well traveled game trail, compliments of one of the many elk herds in our area. I know it kind of looks like a big, muddy blob, but is actually a large trail that you can follow deep into the woods. When we are on horseback we will often follow them to see where they go.
Okay...I am done now!!! Hope it wasn't too boring as you came along on one of our "rides" with us!!! Have a great weekend everybody! :)

17 comments:

Gail said...

Awesome photos! I wish I could have gone along for the ride.

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour! You've got some awesome places to hike and ride. Just breathtaking!
And a little...ummm...adventurous, too! hehe
I had to enlage that skeleton photo just to be puzzled by it as well. Cool stuff, although a bit spooky, too.

Please take me on any virtual hikes and rides you decide to go on :)

~Lisa

BrownEyed Cowgirl said...

Very pretty scenery you have. Would love to see something green around here.;)

Thanks for the info on the Guardisil. I didn't realize the STD aspects. My brain only registered the cancer preventative aspect.
Sorry, I kinda had to giggle about the discussing STD's with my girl. I came of age at the height of the AIDS epademic. Safe Sex and abstainense became a HOT topic. I think that was the start of the changing dynamics that I see with a lot of teenage girls now. That's not to say the teen sex isn't still going on and all of the associated bad outcomes, but a lot of the kids have backed off of rushing into sexual relationships. Even the boys seem to be more aware of the ramifications.
Of course, there never will be a way to control the teenage hormones. It's always interesting to me to hear about how promiscuous the teenagers are today vs my mom's generation(she's 67), but when you start discussing it with people, you find out that there were a lot of people of that generation who "had" to get married. I don't know if things really are that different now than they were before, we just notice them more because most of the time, the kids do not get married, much less continue a relationship.

I really had a good laugh at a fairly snotty family from around here, they practically disowned their own daughter when she got pregnant in HS. They demanded the couple get married. Just a few short years later, their "baby" boy got his HS girlfriend pregnant and they were outraged when her parents demanded he marry her. Of course they ended up getting married too and to smooth public opinion, they welcomed their daughter and her new family back into the fold. Sheez...Small Town Drama, it never ceases to amaze and amuse-LOL.

C-ingspots said...

Pretty scenery. We too enjoy going on logging roads like that from time to time. We have a lot of them around here too and I hate to see the clear cuts as well. Just ugly. Thanks for clearing me up about you and your sis. I assumed Bo was your horse, but now I feel so much better having things cleared up. :) It really doesn't take much to confuse me...
Have a good weekend!

Krystina said...

Looks like you guys had a great time! And I must say I hope NOT to see any more snow until next winter! Today was so nice and warm and sunny I was able to strip all 26 blankets off the ponies at the barn and they ALL had a nice sun bath this afternoon. It was so nice. And tomorow.... comes the rain. I hope it holds off long enough for me to not have to do paddocks in the muck.....

Pony Girl said...

Oh thanks for taking us along on your ride! I am living vicariously via the trails right now.
Those remains (bones) are really trippy. I saw something like that on a trail ride once, mostly just a rib cage. The friend I was riding with and I were kind of tripped out by it. Couldn't tell if it was raccoon or a dog...or something.

Chelsi said...

I loved going for rides like that with my Pop's... I miss it! Love the fairy dusting on the mountain sides too when it makes such a distinct line like that.

The skull on that sleleton looks like a coyotes ( http://www.boneclones.com/images/bc-143e-lg.jpg ) But then it could just as easily be a dogs too :(

Andrea said...

that first finding is strange? I wonder if the other animals that normally would have eaten it knew it was sick?? Weird. I really wish we had fun trails like that here. SIgh........

allhorsestuff said...

Not quite back....I have to keep my mind off my pain right now so I choose pictures to post!
kacyinhim@comcast.net
if you wish to know more...
may open a private blog to be able to open up..I am too monitored right now and feeling very condemed.

I have been a stalker on most everyone's blogs...so keep em coming my dear!!
KK

Meg said...

What awesome pictures! I am so envious of your ride, what fun!

Have a fantabulous week!

Unknown said...

Nice pictures - looks so nice over there - we still got 2 feet of snow to melt (pout) before any excursions of that nature are possible.

You guys find some of the creepiest things on your rides!

I think deer around pretty too - as long as they are not in the process of trying to beat my car across the highway...

LuLo Designs/Blue Eyed Tango said...

Hello,
Thank you for sharing your sites! What beautiful country you have in your neck of the woods! Glad to see you enjoy it all and don't take it's beauty for granted.....I'm here stuck in the flat lands of America!

Grey Horse Matters said...

Hi Melanie,
when you get a chance stop by and pick up your award.

Train Wreck said...

Oh Thanks for the trail ride. What a lovely place to ride. How great you saw and captured a deer. Not boring at all! You are a great guide!

Meg said...

Psst...you have a little something on my blog...

Denise- LessIsMore17 said...

Looks like a fun adventure! The skeleton pic is facinating...Limo once brought a deer skull into the house...

Anonymous said...

I would really like to ride that trail with you. It looks like one that Okie and I would enjoy very much.