Ah, the good old family tradition of going tree hunting. That’s what we like to call it here in the northwest. After purchasing forest permits, we loaded up and drove to the nearby mountains to hunt down our tree. We found this fun creation. Not sure about the purpose, but it was great for photos. And possibly, with additional brush and a campfire, it might be quite cozy!
Poor people. They just have to put up with my attempts at taking pictures! As the almost shortest member with arms just as short, selfies are often quite comical.
Dogs (3, but never in the same picture), adults, and grands had a great time. A heavy blanket of snow added Christmas cheer and plenty of opportunities for the dogs to race, roll, and rumble. Snow gear was welcome in the often up-to-my-knees snow.
The Bachmeiers and Aucutts, plus Bear and new canine member Timber, crowd into the tree shelter. I mean, look at that! The dogs are facing forward and almost everyone is looking AT the camera. It’s a Christmas miracle.
The Quantrells also get a gold star (even grinning Ginger) for faces forward, eyes on the camera. Two Christmas miracles in one day!
The senior Quantrells took their turn in the tree shelter with all the grands. All eyes on the camera! Whoohoo! In the category of who is taller than Nana, the answer is nearly 50%.
My partner in life, love, and crime. We wish you all “Happy Christmas!”
Last week my honey took me rock hunting. I have a thing about rocks. We thought we would explore a dirt road up in the mountains, one that required the 4×4. Packed a picnic lunch and off we went. According to what we “thought” our daughter had said (a regular off-roader), the road ended up in Cowiche.
It was a hot but gorgeous day. So very dry everywhere (except where the wildland firefighters had just finished putting out a fire-we met them on their way back down the one-lane dirt road!). The desert needs some rain!
We stopped off for our picnic lunch in the shade of huge pine trees. We “thought” we were well on our way to the other end of this road. Hahahahahaha The joke was on us!
The dirt road, complete with rocks, potholes, and 4×4 climbing options, kept going up. We’d hit the top of a hill, think we were as high as we were going, have beautiful views across the top of the hill, dip down for 100 feet, then head straight back up. When we saw Mt. Rainier off in the distance, we knew our expectations were not correct.
So. Maybe the road ended up out in Tampico, way out west from where we live. But there was no sign of any going down. Just up, up, west, up, up, up. We resigned ourselves to get home really late.
Regardless of the long distance, heat, and dust, we had exceptional views. For a hot day in July, I was amazed at how many wildflowers were still in bloom.
And good thing for us, there were two cell towers! Way out in the middle of nothing. I finally decided to just call the daughter. “Where are we going to come out? Where are we?”
And after some thinking, she finally figured it out-just as we pulled off to look out over a valley with what we suspected was Rimrock lake, AND Mt. Rainier, she said, “Oh, that’s probably Jump Off Joe. There should be an old building you can go in.”
I looked right, and there it was, a bit further up the road on a different rock spur. Wow! Jump Off Joe (named for obviously sad reasons) is an old fire lookout tower. Pretty creaky if you go inside, and I was walking careful! But the views are fantastic!
Also. We did not hike it. We thought we were driving a through road. Nope. We had to turn around and drive back down, between 12-13 miles from Highway 12. The hike is only 10 miles RT, but also. You have to work it to finish that hike! The only other people we saw were the firefighters, dirt bikers, and a group of 8 women driving their 8 Subarus on adventure (the guest book signature said that). We figured it out as they flew past us kicking up clouds of fine dust.
Look at that view, both the handsome guy and Mt. Rainier. Just beyond the lookout is a very steep drop-off. Definitely keep track of small children in this area.
Rimrock Lake and Mt. Rainier. No wonder the mountain kept getting so close! This is not Cowiche OR Tampico.
It took us about an hour and a half to drive back down the road, using first and second gear. But we stopped at the Tieton River so I could stand in the cool water. Ahhhh.
Next time we go rock hunting, I will talk with Chelsie first. Just to make sure.
Can you tell I am ready for flowers, green, and hiking in the mountains? This will come, after the snow melts, the fog dissipates, the mud dries, and the earth springs forth with life.
Even in the mountains of Central Washington, with no evidence of water, dry dusty soil, and an abundance of rocks and weeds, beauty is on display. Towering pines, blooming wildflowers, and clouds of butterflies floating and feasting on the myriad of blossoms wrap viewers in a blanket of peace. The sightings make the steep bumpy road worth enduring.
Thanks for joining me on a Christmas Haiku journey as I celebrate with words, thoughts, and photos that take me deep into my family’s Christmas traditions. Read more Christmas Haiku here.
May this Season of Light brighten your life and fill your heart with the peace of beauty.
Nature abounding in the woods and along mountain tops strips away the stresses of the modern world, the work world, the life-filled with garbage. In the woods, I find home. I imagine places I could build shelter or a cozy cabin and projects for harvested pinecones and rocks. I dreamily discover that perfect rock chair so I can just simply sit and listen to the burble of a small stream or the wind whipping through canyons and treetops.
I relax. The fragrances of wilderness, fir trees, clean dirt, evergreens, mountain breezes. They cleanse noise-city-dirty air-vehicle polluted senses and engage my entire sensory system.
My imagination runs wild at times, inspired by pencil-thin bouncing hooves of deer and bunny-tail rumps disappearing under shrubs. What was that noise? Is a bear nibbling berries on the other side of this patch? Will mosquitoes or wasps or ticks invade my body? Is a hungry cougar lounging over the trail, ready to pounce? Should I perhaps be thinking about how I would survive if I became lost? Is the birdsong loud and joyous or absent and ominous?
I am at home. I feel free to dream and imagine and just be. I drink deeply of the mountain air, listen intently to the sounds of God’s creation at its most pure.
It’s been too long without my woodsy home. To the mountains, to the woods, I must return.
Love, Laughter, and Life 