Sunday, November 25, 2012
Don't forget the gun
Tori and her friend Michaela asked Rod if they could go hunting on Wednesday since they were out of school. So Tuesday night Rod and Tori walked back for him to show her where the deer stand was located. Then he got all his hunting clothes ready for her. Michaela spent the night and they set the alarm for about 5:00. I woke up to find them both getting all camo'd up. Of course I wanted a picture of them and made them pose on the porch. Then as I am going back to bed, they tell me bye and start to leave. That is when I had to say "do you even have the gun"...... giggling girls came back, picked up the gun, and headed out the door. I went back to bed and told Rod I don't think the deer have too much to worry about today!
Pig Heater
Last night it was COLD outside. When we get in the mid 20's I really start worrying about the animals. The goats were all in their fence and huddled together in their house, the horses are fine at this temp, the chickens are all together in the coop and were fine, and the outside dogs were in the garage. This only leaves the pigs. The pigs don't like the cold. A few months ago they moved in under the front porch.
This morning I got up early and was worrying about the pigs. Our dryer vent is located under the porch where they have made their bed. So when I woke up this morning I went into the laundry room and turned on the dryer to get them some heat. When Rod woke up, he asked me "what is that noise"... the dryer sounds funny when it is running empty... my response "the pig heater".
This morning I got up early and was worrying about the pigs. Our dryer vent is located under the porch where they have made their bed. So when I woke up this morning I went into the laundry room and turned on the dryer to get them some heat. When Rod woke up, he asked me "what is that noise"... the dryer sounds funny when it is running empty... my response "the pig heater".
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| Molly and Dolly all snug and warm under the porch |
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Pumpkin Carving
Halloween is right around the corner. Our annual Halloween party is this Saturday and we are worried about the rain in the forecast. Tonight Rod and Tina went ahead and carved some pumpkins. We have not carved the 94 pound pumpkin from the garden and are not sure if we are going to try to. But we will be using it as a decoration at the party.
Rod's pumpkin had a little bit of Bear in it - with the tongue hanging out!
Tina did a Wolf with the moon behind it.
Rod's pumpkin had a little bit of Bear in it - with the tongue hanging out!
Tina did a Wolf with the moon behind it.
Monday, October 22, 2012
TV in their Room
So what happens when you don't let your kids have TV's in their rooms? They spend more time in the "family" area of the house, they whine about not having a TV in their room, you get to see more of what they watch, you get to spend more time with them because they are not locked away in their room.... and the list can go on and on. For several reasons we decided a long time ago to not let the kids have TV's in their rooms. Generally our lives are so full, we don't even watch much TV compared to the average American.
I don't think Tori cares one way or the other... but Tina would like to have a TV in her room. So recently she has decided to make a bed in the floor of the Rec Room so she can watch TV in the evenings. So this is now how she sleeps.... her on one side and Bear on the other :-) (She would have killed me if I posted a picture of her, so this just shows where Bear sleeps)
I don't think Tori cares one way or the other... but Tina would like to have a TV in her room. So recently she has decided to make a bed in the floor of the Rec Room so she can watch TV in the evenings. So this is now how she sleeps.... her on one side and Bear on the other :-) (She would have killed me if I posted a picture of her, so this just shows where Bear sleeps)
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Senior Pictures
Good thing I am not current on my blog postings or you would keep hearing the sob story that Tori is growing up WAY TOO QUICK! I'm sure there will be many more posts about the momentous event of high school graduation this year. I am just not ready, where did the time go? I remember being her age and I couldn't wait to get out of high school. Why does time go so slow then but when you are on on the other side of that event it speeds up so much?
We went to Montgomery Bell Park to take some senior pictures. The day was great and we got some good pictures!
We went to Montgomery Bell Park to take some senior pictures. The day was great and we got some good pictures!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Chicken Feast
So the garage is now built. We had to dig out and level the spot that it was going in. Our soil is not very good quality and has a lot of red clay in it. We spent one day this week raking the rocks out of the dirt that is on the side of the building facing the house. Tonight Rod has spent a couple of hours bringing up our personal fertilizer stock from the horse area to this spot in the yard.
After his second scoop I looked out the window and the picture below is what I saw! The chickens were having a smorgasbord feast!
Of course I have a stupid dog that also went out there and feasted and then Bear came into the house and wiped his yucky mouth on my bed!
After his second scoop I looked out the window and the picture below is what I saw! The chickens were having a smorgasbord feast!
Anniversary Present
Pumpkin!
Our garden has done very well this year! I'm sure it has something to
do with the abundance of fertilizer that we have available to us.
Almost everything in the garden was started by Rod from seeds. We have
tomatoes, green beans, eggplants, squash, zucchini, green peppers, banana
peppers, jalapeno peppers, cantaloupe, okra, cheyenne pepper, lettuce,
corn, and I am sure other stuff that I can't remember while I am sitting
here typing. All of it has thrived, but the pumpkins have been the
prize winners. This year the two best pumpkins weighed in at 94 pounds
and 56.6 pounds!
Can any of you who are over 35 see the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in the profile of the 2nd pumpkin?
My personal Vet
School has started back. Hard to believe but Tina is in the 8th grade and Tori is now a Senior!
Day 2 of Tori's senior year started off like any other school day. She got up, got ready, they left the house, fed the horses, dropped Tina off at school for her first day, and then she went to school herself.
And I did my normal morning routine. I sat down at my laptop by about 6:30 starting work, took my morning break at about 7:45 and fed all the animals. When I went to feed the goats, one of the young 3 month old babies did come eat. So I went to check on him and he was burning up. First thing I did was call the vet that sees farm animals. No luck - he was off on Tuesdays. Next I text my friend Denise, who owns her own vet practice. No luck - she was off Tuesday as well. She asks me what the problem is and I tell her I have a goat with a high fever. So now the obvious question - how high is it? After spending 15 minutes looking for some Vaseline... I got Dad to hold the goat and I got to hold the thermometer... His fever was 105.3. Next was weight - 34 pounds. So I sent all that to Denise. She said she would text Tori the dose. (Not sure if I had mentioned on the blog before, but Tori works for Denise). So my next question to her is can this wait until this afternoon. Which she promptly told me "goats are delicate and that is pretty high of a fever and the sooner the better"...
So you all know what my dilemma is now? I have to call the school at 8:40.... and tell them.... to let my daughter out so she can get some medicine for the goat. I decide best not to tell them up front, I simply call and say she needs to leave for an hour and to ask her to call me when she gets in the truck. So Tori calls and say "what is up!". I tell her that I need her to go to the clinic, get the medicine that Denise has texted her about, and I will meet her there. At this point I am trying to limit the amount of time on her 2nd day of school that she is missing. So I get to the clinic and Tori says "Where is the goat". Well.. I didn't bring the goat. I figured it was pills and I would just take it home and give it to him. Not so fast - it is an injection. So Tori laughs at me and starts drawing up the medicine.
At this point I am trying to be helpful. So while Tori is drawing up the medicine, they have a cat that is boarded. I go in there and give the cat fresh water and I was going to be nice and scoop the litter box. Anyone reading by now has to know what is coming next. Sure enough the cat gets out. Tori comes in there and gets the cat, laughs at me more, and says come on lets go to the house.
Luckily catching this goat is super easy because he loves to be picked up and held up to the trees to get leaves. So I caught him and Tori gave him the shot. So then the only thing left... writing a note to the school to explain why she was gone (she was only gone 45 minutes). In the end everyone got a big laugh about it and her friends think I am crazy!
Later that evening I started thinking about Tori and my friend Denise. How wonderful is it that she is so well trusted by her employer and how grateful I am to have a friend like Denise! BTW - the goat is doing great!
Day 2 of Tori's senior year started off like any other school day. She got up, got ready, they left the house, fed the horses, dropped Tina off at school for her first day, and then she went to school herself.
And I did my normal morning routine. I sat down at my laptop by about 6:30 starting work, took my morning break at about 7:45 and fed all the animals. When I went to feed the goats, one of the young 3 month old babies did come eat. So I went to check on him and he was burning up. First thing I did was call the vet that sees farm animals. No luck - he was off on Tuesdays. Next I text my friend Denise, who owns her own vet practice. No luck - she was off Tuesday as well. She asks me what the problem is and I tell her I have a goat with a high fever. So now the obvious question - how high is it? After spending 15 minutes looking for some Vaseline... I got Dad to hold the goat and I got to hold the thermometer... His fever was 105.3. Next was weight - 34 pounds. So I sent all that to Denise. She said she would text Tori the dose. (Not sure if I had mentioned on the blog before, but Tori works for Denise). So my next question to her is can this wait until this afternoon. Which she promptly told me "goats are delicate and that is pretty high of a fever and the sooner the better"...
So you all know what my dilemma is now? I have to call the school at 8:40.... and tell them.... to let my daughter out so she can get some medicine for the goat. I decide best not to tell them up front, I simply call and say she needs to leave for an hour and to ask her to call me when she gets in the truck. So Tori calls and say "what is up!". I tell her that I need her to go to the clinic, get the medicine that Denise has texted her about, and I will meet her there. At this point I am trying to limit the amount of time on her 2nd day of school that she is missing. So I get to the clinic and Tori says "Where is the goat". Well.. I didn't bring the goat. I figured it was pills and I would just take it home and give it to him. Not so fast - it is an injection. So Tori laughs at me and starts drawing up the medicine.
At this point I am trying to be helpful. So while Tori is drawing up the medicine, they have a cat that is boarded. I go in there and give the cat fresh water and I was going to be nice and scoop the litter box. Anyone reading by now has to know what is coming next. Sure enough the cat gets out. Tori comes in there and gets the cat, laughs at me more, and says come on lets go to the house.
Luckily catching this goat is super easy because he loves to be picked up and held up to the trees to get leaves. So I caught him and Tori gave him the shot. So then the only thing left... writing a note to the school to explain why she was gone (she was only gone 45 minutes). In the end everyone got a big laugh about it and her friends think I am crazy!
Later that evening I started thinking about Tori and my friend Denise. How wonderful is it that she is so well trusted by her employer and how grateful I am to have a friend like Denise! BTW - the goat is doing great!
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Teenagers!
I think I will cry. As of August 7th I officially have TWO teenagers! Tina's is officially a teenager! She wanted a simple party with - breakfast food (country ham, homemade biscuits, baked potato, and watermelon) a goat cake that looks like our white goat Billy, and to do tie-dye t-shirts.
She told me not to worry about buying a cake because homemade are the best and Tori could do it for her. So that is exactly what we did. Tori worked on the cake and I worked on the other cooking. For her simple party we had about 40 people here eating country ham!
Everyone had a good time and the shirts for everyone all turned out great.
She told me not to worry about buying a cake because homemade are the best and Tori could do it for her. So that is exactly what we did. Tori worked on the cake and I worked on the other cooking. For her simple party we had about 40 people here eating country ham!
Everyone had a good time and the shirts for everyone all turned out great.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Relocating the Container
So now that we have a garage and have moved all the stuff out of the container, it was time to do some cleanup. After looking at the yard and where the container was sitting (if you remember it was a big deal to get it delivered and set where it was - http://tntacres.blogspot.com/2009/10/container-delivery.html and was actually my 2nd blog post on this blog!)
It was never where we really wanted it. So Rod decided to see if the backhoe could move it (Him and his big toys). Dad came over to help and Mom and I watched :-) In the end it was fairly easy and we now have it right where we want it! It is officially the "feed storage container" now.
It was never where we really wanted it. So Rod decided to see if the backhoe could move it (Him and his big toys). Dad came over to help and Mom and I watched :-) In the end it was fairly easy and we now have it right where we want it! It is officially the "feed storage container" now.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Table Saw
Oh another Garage post - I almost forgot about this until I was looking through the pictures again. I was just so excited to get the motorcycles out of the house that I forgot that we FINALLY got the table saw off the PORCH.... This thing has been on the porch since before we moved into the house! Charles was nice enough to come help Rod move it off the porch and into its new home.
Monday, July 2, 2012
GARAGE!
We FINALLY have a GARAGE!!!! This means the motorcycles are GONE from the house!
If you knew us when we had the old house, you know that there was a point in time when Rod had a 2 car garage with workshop and a 2 car garage in the basement. That is a lot of square footage for his junk. When building the house we just couldn't swing the cost of the garage. Last year we were going to build it and the day that we were given the quote... as soon as the guy left.... that is when Rod started working on replacing the culvert in the driveway. We all know how that turned out (if you don't, read the culvert blog posts and you can see the damage). So obviously last year our money saved for the garage went elsewhere - mostly down stream.
One year later we have saved up enough again and they are building the garage. We bought a metal style building with a concrete floor. It is 30X40 with two garage bays and one people door for the workshop area. The installation was from the Mennonites. It was really amazing watching them work. The used minimal machinery and did all the really hard, heavy lifting with manpower alone. It was crazy watching them put the roof on without any harnesses and climbing all up the trusses.
To say Rod is excited is an understatement! I am so glad he finally has some space of his own again. What a nice anniversary present since the day the finished we celebrated 18 years of marriage
If you knew us when we had the old house, you know that there was a point in time when Rod had a 2 car garage with workshop and a 2 car garage in the basement. That is a lot of square footage for his junk. When building the house we just couldn't swing the cost of the garage. Last year we were going to build it and the day that we were given the quote... as soon as the guy left.... that is when Rod started working on replacing the culvert in the driveway. We all know how that turned out (if you don't, read the culvert blog posts and you can see the damage). So obviously last year our money saved for the garage went elsewhere - mostly down stream.
One year later we have saved up enough again and they are building the garage. We bought a metal style building with a concrete floor. It is 30X40 with two garage bays and one people door for the workshop area. The installation was from the Mennonites. It was really amazing watching them work. The used minimal machinery and did all the really hard, heavy lifting with manpower alone. It was crazy watching them put the roof on without any harnesses and climbing all up the trusses.
To say Rod is excited is an understatement! I am so glad he finally has some space of his own again. What a nice anniversary present since the day the finished we celebrated 18 years of marriage
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
COPD
Everyone has heard of the term COPD before - Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. I didn't know this, but apparently, Willow has been sneaking behind the barn and smoking cigarettes!
All joking aside, it is also a common disease in horses and we officially have a horse that was diagnosed with it last week. She will be on some maintenance anti-inflammatory drugs. For the short term she is also on some injectable steroids (I have learned how to give a horse a shot now) and some pain medicine. The trip to the vet was traumatic because she had an accident while the vet was checking her out and cut her leg bad.
So now we are a week from the diagnosis and have all this medicine to get down her throat. She DOES NOT want to take it. Do you know how hard it is to give a horse medicine if she doesn't want it... let me just tell you, it is much harder than a child, dog, or cat! After many failed tries with the medicine, we finally are being successful mixing it with apple sauce and squirting it down her throat.
The cuts that occurred at the vet have now gotten infected and she needs hydro therapy like the baby goat did. We also need to keep the flies off of her... so you know what that means... moving her into the house.
... gotcha .... we did not move her into the house! (I bet at least one person that read that believed we would have done that). But we did have to setup a temporary fence up at the house so it was easy to hose her wound down twice a day doing the therapy. The prognosis is that during the worst months - spring and summer - she will need the maintenance drug. As long as it is all under control, she is still ridable.
My new view from the deck:
All joking aside, it is also a common disease in horses and we officially have a horse that was diagnosed with it last week. She will be on some maintenance anti-inflammatory drugs. For the short term she is also on some injectable steroids (I have learned how to give a horse a shot now) and some pain medicine. The trip to the vet was traumatic because she had an accident while the vet was checking her out and cut her leg bad.
So now we are a week from the diagnosis and have all this medicine to get down her throat. She DOES NOT want to take it. Do you know how hard it is to give a horse medicine if she doesn't want it... let me just tell you, it is much harder than a child, dog, or cat! After many failed tries with the medicine, we finally are being successful mixing it with apple sauce and squirting it down her throat.
The cuts that occurred at the vet have now gotten infected and she needs hydro therapy like the baby goat did. We also need to keep the flies off of her... so you know what that means... moving her into the house.
... gotcha .... we did not move her into the house! (I bet at least one person that read that believed we would have done that). But we did have to setup a temporary fence up at the house so it was easy to hose her wound down twice a day doing the therapy. The prognosis is that during the worst months - spring and summer - she will need the maintenance drug. As long as it is all under control, she is still ridable.
My new view from the deck:
Trampoline Tent
Tina's new favorite thing is to "camp" on the trampoline. This keeps her off the ground and away from the bugs.
Last Friday Tina slept in the tent with her friend Haley. Saturday Tori was going to be gone for the night and Tina was home alone with us. So the three of us sat down and watched Ghostbusters on Nextflix. At this point it is 11:00 at night and Tina asks Rod if he will camp with her. So 10 minutes later, with his pillows in tow, I had the bed to myself and Rod and Tina were camping. The picture below was taken in the following morning. I wish I had every memory like this documented for the kids!
(Even though they were on the trampoline... they did still have power (see the orange cord) and an air mattress) :-)
Last Friday Tina slept in the tent with her friend Haley. Saturday Tori was going to be gone for the night and Tina was home alone with us. So the three of us sat down and watched Ghostbusters on Nextflix. At this point it is 11:00 at night and Tina asks Rod if he will camp with her. So 10 minutes later, with his pillows in tow, I had the bed to myself and Rod and Tina were camping. The picture below was taken in the following morning. I wish I had every memory like this documented for the kids!
(Even though they were on the trampoline... they did still have power (see the orange cord) and an air mattress) :-)
Monday, May 28, 2012
Memorial Day Weekend
This weekend marks the 2 year mark of living in our new house. Wonder how long I can continue to call it "new"? Guess I need to drop the "new" when I refer to the house.The holiday weekend started off on Saturday morning with Rod and Tori going to for a ride to Lovelace Cafe and then continuing down Natchez Trace Parkway. Rod is still amazed with how well Tori is doing on her motorcycle.
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| Granny with her hat |
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| Tori, Tina and Rod |
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| The entire hat gang! |
Saturday afternoon Tori and Tina headed to Destin, FL with Laine.
Sunday wasn't too eventful - Rod brewing beer in the morning, and us going to dinner in the evening.
Monday - Granny, Aunt Sandra, Aunt Carol, Uncle John, Mom and Dad all came over to grill out. Luckily Granny brought her dog, Scooter, to provide entertainment for us. He is a dachshund and at one point Bear was laying in the kitchen and Scooter came over to sniff his butt. Then Rod says "look Bear is taller than Scooter laying down with Scooter standing up". It was a big day for Scooter - meeting chickens, pigs and goats.
Monday evening had Rod working in the "motorcycle repair shop" that is in my rec room! I did INSIST that he push it outside before he tried to start the triumph. He was excited that it did turn over and start... but... it is leaking around the head. So right now he is down there pushing it back inside so that he can work on that.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Four
Four - This is a nice even number. It is the number of people in my family, the number of dogs that we have, the number of baby goats that we have, the number of tires I have to buy for my suburban. When I was a kid I thought it cool that 2 + 2 = 4 and then 2 X 2 = 4 also. (OK, I was a math nerd). It is the number of letters in both Tori and Tina's names. It is the number of exterior doors in our house, the number of chairs in at my kitchen table. I could go on and on about the number four.
Now to the reason for this post... it is also the number of MOTORCYCLES that I have in my rec room right now! The garage is scheduled to be built at the end of June and to say I am anxious is an understatement. Rod insists on storing his and Tori's motorcycles in the house until we have a garage and now he is in the process of rebuilding two more motorcycles down there.
And here are the pictures to prove it:
See the mechanical room door is open because that is where his tools are. Tori's is on the left, Rod's is next, then the old triumph that Dad gave Rod 18 years ago when we got married, and the far right is one that he bought the frame recently.
I guess I should disclose that when we got married... he was rebuilding a Harley in his kitchen... so I guess I should be happy that these are not sitting in my kitchen!
Now to the reason for this post... it is also the number of MOTORCYCLES that I have in my rec room right now! The garage is scheduled to be built at the end of June and to say I am anxious is an understatement. Rod insists on storing his and Tori's motorcycles in the house until we have a garage and now he is in the process of rebuilding two more motorcycles down there.
And here are the pictures to prove it:
See the mechanical room door is open because that is where his tools are. Tori's is on the left, Rod's is next, then the old triumph that Dad gave Rod 18 years ago when we got married, and the far right is one that he bought the frame recently.
I guess I should disclose that when we got married... he was rebuilding a Harley in his kitchen... so I guess I should be happy that these are not sitting in my kitchen!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
SMS Awards
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Mother's Day Tea
Christy, my sister-in-law, decided this year she was going to have something just for Mothers on Mother's Day Weekend. So on the Saturday before Mother's Day, she had a tea. Everyone in attendance was a mother. For me personally, there were 3 generations. With everyone from my Mom, my mother-in-law, Aunt Sandra, Granny, etc in attendance, it was great!
The entire group:
The entire group:
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Coaltrain update
I called Tina this morning and she said "Mom you should be here this week". I wish I was there to help them, but I am so proud of all they are doing. This morning Tori and Tina got up at 4:30 in the morning to do hydro therapy on Coaltrain. After that they had to put his medicine on, let the momma outside for a little bit, bring her back inside (against her will). Then it was onto the other daily chores: feeding the pigs, 25 baby chicks, 50 adult chicks, 9 other goats, 4 dogs, and 2 horses. All before school on a day where Tina even has exams. Wow Rod and I have some amazing kids :-)
Here is a picture from last night of Tori and Tina doing hydro therapy. This has to happen twice a day. I am not posting the picture of the wound because it looks REAL bad!
Here is a picture from last night of Tori and Tina doing hydro therapy. This has to happen twice a day. I am not posting the picture of the wound because it looks REAL bad!
Monday, May 7, 2012
Always while I am out of town - Coaltrain
I'm out of town for work. As ALWAYS this means something is going to happen at my house. I could recount things that have went on through the years, but no sense in rehashing things I have said before :-)
I flew to Orlando last night for work. First thing this morning is a text from Tori saying "go look at my facebook". So I go look at her facebook, only to see a picture of Tina holding a baby goat that is bandaged up and Tori's caption that read:
Yep just another morning. I came upstairs and Tina hollers, " Would you put peroxide on this?" I expect to see her with some scratch, but when she turned around, I saw that she had a baby goat with a chunk of skin about the size of a baseball missing. So I did what any teenager would have done. I cleaned, medicated, and bandaged the laceration :)
They are not sure what happened. Tina went over to feed everyone and found him that way. I am so proud of my girls for knowing how to keep their cool and take care of what needed to be done!
Sunday, May 6, 2012
4 New Additions (Coaltrain, Mason, Alpha and Omega)
During the tour of homes we met John, another person that has goats. After some talking, we agreed to let him borrow our "stud" goat, Billy. We got Billy as a baby and he has lived a great life and has sowed his seed many a time. On our farm he has fathered: Banelli, Esme, Bonnie, and Lily. Then for John, he fathered 8 additional goats. This past February, we decided that we have finally increased our heard to what we wanted and I took care of the problem. However, before that happened, we had 3 additional pregnant goats. Marie had a baby about 6 weeks ago named Italy. Unfortunately, Italy life was very short and she was killed at only 1 week old.
This left us with only 8 total goats: Billy, Toby, Marie, Banelli, Bonnie, Lily, Maple and Josie (Esme has also lost her life at the hands of a predator). Then in a matter of 12 hours... we increased our herd by 50% - 4 babies born. We now have Mason and Coaltrain (twins from Banelli) and Alpha and Omega (twins from Josie). I missed all them from being born by less than 30 minutes. I was checking on them, went back to the house for something, came back and they were wet and laying on the ground.
I have to admit that next to human babies, baby goats are probably the second sweetest babies I have ever seen (even better than puppies or kittens)!
This left us with only 8 total goats: Billy, Toby, Marie, Banelli, Bonnie, Lily, Maple and Josie (Esme has also lost her life at the hands of a predator). Then in a matter of 12 hours... we increased our herd by 50% - 4 babies born. We now have Mason and Coaltrain (twins from Banelli) and Alpha and Omega (twins from Josie). I missed all them from being born by less than 30 minutes. I was checking on them, went back to the house for something, came back and they were wet and laying on the ground.
I have to admit that next to human babies, baby goats are probably the second sweetest babies I have ever seen (even better than puppies or kittens)!
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| Coaltrain playing in the pipe - he is only 2 days old here. |
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| Omega getting some lunch |
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| Alpha |
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| Mason |
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Stone Door
The things we do for love.
I love Rod, I promise I do....
And that is why I agreed to do a huge hike!
The story starts off that he wanted to do a hike to a place called Raven's Point. I finally agreed that I was willing. As I started doing a little research, I started to get worried. There were experienced hikers that were blogging that it was the most challenging hike they had ever done. Certainly I was getting nervous, but figured I could tough anything out.
Saturday morning finally comes. Rod, Bear and I pack up. We had already spent a couple of week looking like fools. We have been walking our driveway each night.. with our pack on. I'm sure our neighbors were looking at us like we were crazy hiking done the driveway with backpacks. Saturday morning the packs weighed approximately 15 pounds for Bear; 25 pounds for me and 35 pounds for Rod. This included all our water (which Rod and I disagreed over how much to take and I won out and it was a VERY good thing) all our food, tent, blankets, change of clothes, and air mattress (not big ones, more like a kindergarten mat thickness).
We stopped to get one last good meal at IHOP and then headed to Mont Eagle. When we got to the ranger station to check in for the campsite we were told that Raven Point campsite was already full. She then proceeded to tell us that 90% of all their rescues were from the bottom of that trail! Obviously the nervousness that I had was for good reason. She also told us that just a few week ago they had to rescue a dog because he hurt his leg on the shifting rocks. Unfortunately this particular hike was the ONLY one that Rod and I had researched. We didn't have a backup plan, but the ranger did. She directed us to another ranger station where we could check in for a different campsite. When we got to that station we had two options. One had 3 groups of boy scouts and 15 other campsites all full and the other was only 7 campsites and no groups. So we chose the other - a place call Saw Mill campsite. This would be a 5 miles in, and then the same 5 miles back out.
So one last trip to a restroom with running water and toilets at the ranger station and then we were off. The first major land mark was a place called Stone Door. This was only 1 mile into the hike and was an easy flat hike. We took off the packs and went out to take pictures. You can see we were not even sweating hardly at this point.
Bear was not real sure about all these steps down. About 1/2 way down he decided to stop on a ledge and rest!
After we left Stone Door and continued down into the gulf, we spent the next mile going down close to 1000 feet. This is the point that I thought both to myself and I am fairly confident I voiced out loud "tomorrow is going to suck coming back up this when I am tired!".
After the "down the mountain" part, we are about 2 1/2 miles into this hike when we come to a swinging bridge! We did not know that there were going to be these on the trail and we thought "oh no". We worried that Bear might decide he doesn't like swinging bridges and refuse to cross. Nope, not my big boy. He walked right across like a champ. We even stopped to take pictures and he was so comfortable that he laid down to wait for us!
We hiked for several hours, taking out time. Stopping when we felt like it, eating lunch on the trail, taking in the sites. We didn't see anyone else until just before the campground, it was another couple with their dog Rambo. (who was a chihuahua of all things).
Once at the campsite we were pleased to see that the sites were large. We didn't have any chairs or anyplace to sit. First Rod and Bear walked to the only water source on the entire trail to fill up a couple of the water bottles for Bear. Bear almost got hurt walking over the rocks. A rock slid and his foot was hunt and he was crying. Rod was able to get it unstuck and it seemed to be fine. We dodged a bullet on that one, because at this point we are 5 miles from the closest road and carrying Bear out would have been almost impossible!
After that we pitched out tent, ate dinner, started a fire (to keep the bugs away) and played some cards. It was very relaxing. Since we didn't have chairs and we were tired... it was off to bed when the sun went down.
No camping trip is complete without at least one bathroom story! This camping trip is no exception. Bear was made to sleep outside of the tent. He started whining in the middle of the night. I thought it was probably getting close to 4:00 a.m. and I looked for my watch. I was shocked - it was ONLY midnight. UGH we still had 5+ hours before daylight. First Rod went out of the tent and walked Bear. He marked his 1,000th tree for the day. More whining. Then Rod and I talked about if he is scared of the noises and dark (he is an inside baby, remember). So we finally broke down and brought him into the tent. 30 minutes of him pacing, panting, and whining. So Rod put him back outside (he was tethered to Rod's pack). As soon as he put him back outside we hear him dragging the pack into the woods a little way and then a noise that I don't think I could describe right now if I wanted to. Lets just say.... he had been holding it for a while... apparently Bear does not like to go to the bathroom while on a leash.... 2 minutes later... he was snoring and Rod and I could finally go to sleep!
Day 2: Morning starts with breakfast. We had bacon, biscuits, bagels and eggs. The bacon and biscuits were precooked and we just heated them up. Rod cooked his eggs on a little stove called a pocket rocket. It was all good and we were ready to go. On Saturday we had drank a little over 1/2 our water. This meant that our packs were lighter by many pounds. That was a very good thing! We took back off down the trail. Just like on Saturday, we didn't rush. We stopped and rested when we wanted to, ate lunch, and explored.
So the trip was 10 miles and as reluctant as I was... in the end... I enjoyed my time alone with my husband - with no phone, no TV, not even a radio. The only electronic we took was a GPS. I was tired, had a few aches and pains, but I had a huge feeling of accomplishment at the end. Without passing anyone on the trail for 9 miles of the 10, we had lots of quiet alone time to talk. It was certainly a special bonding time!
I love Rod, I promise I do....
And that is why I agreed to do a huge hike!
The story starts off that he wanted to do a hike to a place called Raven's Point. I finally agreed that I was willing. As I started doing a little research, I started to get worried. There were experienced hikers that were blogging that it was the most challenging hike they had ever done. Certainly I was getting nervous, but figured I could tough anything out.
Saturday morning finally comes. Rod, Bear and I pack up. We had already spent a couple of week looking like fools. We have been walking our driveway each night.. with our pack on. I'm sure our neighbors were looking at us like we were crazy hiking done the driveway with backpacks. Saturday morning the packs weighed approximately 15 pounds for Bear; 25 pounds for me and 35 pounds for Rod. This included all our water (which Rod and I disagreed over how much to take and I won out and it was a VERY good thing) all our food, tent, blankets, change of clothes, and air mattress (not big ones, more like a kindergarten mat thickness).
We stopped to get one last good meal at IHOP and then headed to Mont Eagle. When we got to the ranger station to check in for the campsite we were told that Raven Point campsite was already full. She then proceeded to tell us that 90% of all their rescues were from the bottom of that trail! Obviously the nervousness that I had was for good reason. She also told us that just a few week ago they had to rescue a dog because he hurt his leg on the shifting rocks. Unfortunately this particular hike was the ONLY one that Rod and I had researched. We didn't have a backup plan, but the ranger did. She directed us to another ranger station where we could check in for a different campsite. When we got to that station we had two options. One had 3 groups of boy scouts and 15 other campsites all full and the other was only 7 campsites and no groups. So we chose the other - a place call Saw Mill campsite. This would be a 5 miles in, and then the same 5 miles back out.
So one last trip to a restroom with running water and toilets at the ranger station and then we were off. The first major land mark was a place called Stone Door. This was only 1 mile into the hike and was an easy flat hike. We took off the packs and went out to take pictures. You can see we were not even sweating hardly at this point.
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| This is Rod in the middle - Bear is on the right of him. You can see the picture below where he was standing |
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| Bear on the ledge 1/2 way down the steps at Stone Door |
After the "down the mountain" part, we are about 2 1/2 miles into this hike when we come to a swinging bridge! We did not know that there were going to be these on the trail and we thought "oh no". We worried that Bear might decide he doesn't like swinging bridges and refuse to cross. Nope, not my big boy. He walked right across like a champ. We even stopped to take pictures and he was so comfortable that he laid down to wait for us!
We hiked for several hours, taking out time. Stopping when we felt like it, eating lunch on the trail, taking in the sites. We didn't see anyone else until just before the campground, it was another couple with their dog Rambo. (who was a chihuahua of all things).
Once at the campsite we were pleased to see that the sites were large. We didn't have any chairs or anyplace to sit. First Rod and Bear walked to the only water source on the entire trail to fill up a couple of the water bottles for Bear. Bear almost got hurt walking over the rocks. A rock slid and his foot was hunt and he was crying. Rod was able to get it unstuck and it seemed to be fine. We dodged a bullet on that one, because at this point we are 5 miles from the closest road and carrying Bear out would have been almost impossible!
After that we pitched out tent, ate dinner, started a fire (to keep the bugs away) and played some cards. It was very relaxing. Since we didn't have chairs and we were tired... it was off to bed when the sun went down.
No camping trip is complete without at least one bathroom story! This camping trip is no exception. Bear was made to sleep outside of the tent. He started whining in the middle of the night. I thought it was probably getting close to 4:00 a.m. and I looked for my watch. I was shocked - it was ONLY midnight. UGH we still had 5+ hours before daylight. First Rod went out of the tent and walked Bear. He marked his 1,000th tree for the day. More whining. Then Rod and I talked about if he is scared of the noises and dark (he is an inside baby, remember). So we finally broke down and brought him into the tent. 30 minutes of him pacing, panting, and whining. So Rod put him back outside (he was tethered to Rod's pack). As soon as he put him back outside we hear him dragging the pack into the woods a little way and then a noise that I don't think I could describe right now if I wanted to. Lets just say.... he had been holding it for a while... apparently Bear does not like to go to the bathroom while on a leash.... 2 minutes later... he was snoring and Rod and I could finally go to sleep!
Day 2: Morning starts with breakfast. We had bacon, biscuits, bagels and eggs. The bacon and biscuits were precooked and we just heated them up. Rod cooked his eggs on a little stove called a pocket rocket. It was all good and we were ready to go. On Saturday we had drank a little over 1/2 our water. This meant that our packs were lighter by many pounds. That was a very good thing! We took back off down the trail. Just like on Saturday, we didn't rush. We stopped and rested when we wanted to, ate lunch, and explored.
The terrain for this hike was certainly different from any that I have been on. It was not a park setting. There were boulders we had to cross, ledges on a hillside without any kind of guard rail, and then some easy spots as well. After about 4 hours we were back at stone door again.
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| Brandy and Bear at base of Stone Door |
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| Bear at the cool tree photo op! |
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| Rod and Bear - I love this picture |
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