Chicken Coop Roof Party!

Remember the days, when you would flutter up, on the top of your wired coop roof? Remember how fun that was? Let the chickens and Marty show off their fun roof party. There was lots of clucking and bug appetizers. Who doesn't like a roof party?!

BEARIZONA

Today, the kids and I got to spend the day with my friend Jennifer and her kids. She has an annual pass for Bearizona; and the last time I went there, was when it first opened, over a year ago. We didn't have to pay a cent, and she used her vehicle (because we can all fit in there), to get around the park. A lot has been done, and they are still working on it, and preparing to bring in the grizzly bears! That will be awesome! For those of you that don't know, it is a drive through animal park, in Williams. They have all sorts of animals...from American bison; American Burros; white bison; big horned sheep; the Artic wolves and Alaskan Tundra wolves (those were so cool to see); black bears of course; and more...You can drive around the park with your windows down EXCEPT in the bear and wolves areas. It makes sense. These bears and wolves come right up to the vehicles. Curiosity. The kids all had a blast, and it is nice they all got to play and be together...last few times before school gets started! After the Bearizona, we took the kids to McDonald's and Jennifer and I had some really awesome Thai food! Oh man! The best! I then had a hair appointment, and Jennifer took the kids to her place, (super sweet of her); then I headed over for an hour of drinking coffee and visiting. It was a great summer day, spending it with my friend, and enjoying what Williams has to offer. Good times.

A Local Camping Trip...Ahh, Nice.

Because we are random, and spur of the moment (sometimes); we decided to get out this weekend, and go camping out in our local forests. We ended up going about 30 miles out of Flagstaff, off of Woody Mountain Road (the Coconino National Forest). Lots and lots of forest roads to chose from. We found a spot, and stayed for Friday and Saturday night. We got home today. Absolutely beautiful! We had a view of a meadow, and had some pine trees near as well. Jeff took us on crazy dirt roads, that brought us to amazing look out points, and vistas. He knows where to go! We had monsoon storms, that added more to the already dramatic scenery. This is the time of year that everything greens up and looks healthy. All the fire restrictions have been lifted, so we were able to have a campfire. This was also the first time taking our new unit out for a "dry camping" run; and it passed the test with flying colors! We did bring our generator so we could use our smaller Keurig coffee maker (luxury, I know). It's a great trailer, and we all appreciate it; which is why we took it out this weekend, even after we just got back from our week long vacation, LAST weekend! The perks of having great forests to escape to, it's easy to pack up and go! So as you can tell, we had a great weekend, and home again.

Some Times...You Just Change Your Mind!

So, after some serious discussions with my Law-Dog; we both agreed that I will NOT be working at our local Parks store. The general idea of it sounded convenient, and it happened so fast with the owners hiring me. But, we feel this part time job is taking away our family time on the weekends. Yes, we thought of the weekends, when I said "yes" to the job; but the reality really hit today, and it is best for us that I decline the job (since I would be starting this Saturday). So this means...tomorrow I get to be a jerk and a flake, to the owners; and let them know I can't take the job after all. They will be pissed I am sure; but life goes on. However, I will probably try to dodge them for a while, because they will just be annoyed when they see me coming in for my mail. Geeze. I feel pretty good about this, though...so I KNOW all of you will be agreeing with our decision as well!

Now to other things...My chickens had more of their pictures taken, so I wanted to share them (of course). I also took a cute picture of Samantha loving up Curly. Ahhhhhhh, how cute. Another thing...something amazing happened this late afternoon...I was sitting on one of the chairs, just outside the coop area, and the usual Georgette and Lucy jumped up on my lap to rest. Well then MARTY (as in Mr. Attitude) also jumped up on my lap, and settled down! As in, he rested his legs, and looked mighty comfortable on my lap! I haven't held him or really touched him since he was a baby female chick! Amazing. Then after a few minutes, Marty and Lucy hopped off (while Georgette is still laying on my lap); and then CARAMEL and BETTY jumped on my lap! Crazy! Those two only hang out around me, but get shy and dash away, when I try to pet them. They wanted love too! My chickens are awesome! Pippa, Hazel, and Latte were scratching in the dirt behind me...so that's why they did not "hop" on my lap as well. Cute.

A Frog That Fishes And Chickens That Explore

On this Monday day, this was Jeff's last day of vacation. Sadness.  We hung out at the house and Jeff did steam up his engine, for the most part of the early day. I decided to "repaint" and "restore" a frog that fishes, which belonged to Jeff's Mom. He said he always remembered his Mom having it sit outside; and it put a smile on his face. Well the years have taken it's toll on the poor frog...so I spiffed it up! Jeff was so happy to see it come back to life again. Once again, it puts that smile right back on his face; and we think of his Mom every time we look at it. The fishing frog now has a place down by our pond. The chickens have been exploring more places on the acres. They managed to finally go down the side of the hill; which backs up to their coop. They LOVED the lush area and the new rich soil (great for a dust bath). The ladies and sir are happy chickens...and have made themselves quite at home.

Home And Rain!

We made it home safely. We got home late this afternoon. It was sad to leave Durango, but feels good to be home. We had a fantastic week, and enjoyed every minute of our vacation. Our Ford truck did awesome pulling that new trailer of ours! Jeff did a great job too, driving with a longer unit behind us and all. It started raining this early evening, after we unloaded the trailer and got all settled in. It is so great! I took two pictures during the rain, but it's hard to actually see the rain fall. One of the pond, and the other is where we have our trailer parked on our lot. Good times. GOOD TIMES. Thank you Lord for getting us home safe and sound!

Law-Dog Made A "Hurricane Pass" At Me.

Continuation of the photos. The blog finally let me upload more! So here is where we are...more pictures of us up at Stony Pass. That was just one stunning area. I took a photo of one section of the crazy road we drove on. Fun fun! Now here is something crazy. It is very hard to see on the 5th picture...but way up high, on the front side of the mountain; is a miner's bunk house from the 1800s. This thing is out of control! They had to take an ore bucket on a tram, to make it up there; to build, live and keep supplies coming. I can't put my mind on it...the amazing fact that this bunk house is still up there, along with another building. The miner's had a working kitchen, and living quarters. Pretty awesome. We have been everywhere on this San Juan mountain range! From Pagosa Springs, to passes as high as 12,700 ft. (Hurricane Pass). Today we went up to Hurricane Pass, elevation 12,700 ft. Another crazy road. I tell you what...these miner's from years and years and years ago were flat out crazy! The amount of mine tunnels and towns scattered about the San Juan's, are INSANE. There was clearly a lot of risk taking to find that gold (and I saw a lot of grave sites to prove how many men lost their lives, in the pursuit of gold)! The last couple of pictures are of an old mine that is up by Hurricane pass. One of the better preserved mines, and we hiked up it, to take a closer look. This is the stuff I love. To think about the hardships those men had to endure. Wow. Before we headed back to our RV Resort in Durango; Jeff let me take some time to wander the Silverton's "Hillside Cemetery." I did that years ago, but wanted to do it again. It intrigues me so much. The stories these people had. What I also thought was interesting, was how they actually listed on the tombstones, with how the people died. You don't see that today. It made me so sad to see all the baby grave sites. I found one that had the remains of 3 month old twins. A boy and a girl. I definitely will get back up there and spend a couple of hours checking the whole cemetery out. It's history and people's stories, that are available for anyone of us, that want to take the time to invest in it. Tomorrow is our last day of vacation. We return home on Saturday. I do believe we head to Ouray tomorrow. That's a pretty great town too. Out of the many times we have returned to our San Juan's, I always discover new things, and return to the well known places and adventures. This is one great place, and I thank God for allowing us to escape, and take this vacation. In our new trailer, in a fantastic RV Resort, in our favorite mountain range and towns. It's been a blessing.


P.S. You will also see our trailer set up at our campsite, at the Durango Riverside RV Resort. It has been our home all week, and it is the best place! I also took a couple more photos of the inside of the trailer...and YES...that one picture with Kent, sitting on the ground, he is feeding chipmunks sunflower seeds. They were so calm around him. Sweet!!