 The Deadwood Visitor Center (pictured here in the summer) |
I had to go to this building to buy the tree tags. I am just kicking my self, because the cute, little, old lady who sold me the tags was just a spittin' image of my Grandma Mimi, and I didn't get a picture of her.
Oh, I thought about it, but I thought it would seem funny if I asked, "Excuse me, cute, little, old lady who merely sold me a tree tag, would you mind if I took a picture of you?" Anyway, I'm kicking myself. I even called Sis Tarry to tell her about it. She thought I should have gone back to get the picture. Oh well. . .
 While I was getting the tree tag, the Senator and Patrick went to the top floor of "Deadwood Dick's" to visit with the Ambassador, who was staying in the penthouse suite. I was not sure who those women were, in the windows, and I was not asking. . . I just wanted to go cut down the trees. |
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| So we headed down the trail, well it was really a road. It was a bumpy, narrow, slippery ROAD. |
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| We looked high. |
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| We looked low. |
Finally, we found a spot to park the pickup and took a hike into the woods to find the perfect tree, well, trees. We stepped out of the pickup, found a nice trail and started hiking. Keep in mind this was the day after the 400 hour snowshoeing expedition, so I was ready for anything!
Of course, the handy girl was leading the way. I was on a mission to find the perfect tree, well, trees. I had gone about 50 yards up the trail when I looked down and saw THIS:
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| For those of you in-the-know, you KNOW this is the footprint of none other than a MOUNTAIN LION. |
YES, This mountain lion:
(I'm sorry I can't show you the picture, but trust me it's a mountain lion!)
(I'm sorry I can't show you the picture, but trust me it's a mountain lion!)
If you don't believe me, below is another picture I snapped. Oh, I know these are not perfect pictures, but I would say they were pretty good for somebody who was shakin' in her boots!
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| Kind of scary, huh? No, not my photography skills, silly. . . |
The Senator and Patrick acted as if it was a daily occurrence, to see mountain lion tracks while out cutting down the family Christmas tree, well, trees. So, staying true to form, we continued on the trail. While I realized the tracks were not "fresh," just the thought it had been in the area, was cause for alarm on my part.
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| Oh no, not my boys. No worries here. They were hot on the trail for a tree, well, trees. |
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| Before I knew it, Patrick was hauling a tree out of the forest. Hey, what happened to the handy girl being in charge here? |
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| O.K. I gave up. We had our tree, well, trees. Besides, I wasn't thrilled about being in the forest with "you-know-who" lurking just around the next corner. |
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| We packed up the pickup and wound our way out of the forest. |
Did you notice I included no pictures of the "packing up the pickup" part? Well, the handy girl tried to take charge, and it didn't really work. Oh well. . .
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| "That was exciting. I'm ready for a nap." |
It's dark outside right now, so tomorrow I will take a picture of the tree, well, trees, on the front porch of the cottage.
You're just gonna love it!
I can hardly wait.
You're just gonna love it!
I can hardly wait.
from the range, peace,
kathleen
the handy girl
