Strange Morning

I was sleeping quite soundly at about 6:20 am a few days ago when all of a sudden my dog, Olive, started barking wildly outside our window. I yelled at her to stop, but she kept barking frantically. Del looked out the window and said, "We've got a policeman in our back yard." My first thought was, "Crap! I haven't weeded my flowerbeds in the backyard! How embarrassing!" My second, more coherent thought was, "Oh no! We've had a creepy Peeping Tom or burglar and the police are after him!" Fortunately, I was wrong, but the truth was slightly more bizarre.

I wasn't about to go outside with messy hair, no makeup, morning breath, AND weedy flowerbeds, so I sent Del to investigate! When he came back inside after talking to the policeman, he said that there was a moose spotted running down the freeway. My yard backs up to the freeway, and apparently the moose hopped over the fence and into a backyard a few houses away and then ran through all of the yards along my street! It crashed through the bushes that separate mine and a neighbor's yards and then ran down several other streets! I wish I had seen it! Apparently, Olive did, and she didn't like it one bit! The only pictures we got of our strange visitor are these, which show a footprint next to the pear tree we just planted and a bare spot in the bushes. Darn!

Fortunately for us, our high-tech security system got a picture of the miscreant as it trotted by!What a strange way to start a day! We're thinking of posting a sign in our backyard to warn Peeping Toms and burglars of the potential hazards of sneaking around our yard. Moose can be quite dangerous, you know.

A Really High Adventure!

 

 This summer for High Adventure, Devin and Chris were lucky enough to go to the Sawtooth Mountains on a three day backpacking trip.  They hiked 7 miles to Alice Lake, and from all accounts it was a grueling but amazing hike.

Jon, Brandon, Clark, Brodie, Kash, Chris, and Devin

 There were three leaders, Adam Heder, Jon Byington, and Dave VanOrden and nine boys, Devin, Chris, Brandon and Patrick Riley, Dean and Kash Clinton, Collin Jorgenson, Brodie, and Clark Wilkinson.

Clark, Dean, Collin

They hiked to the campsite the first day and then further up the mountain the next day.  Chris, Devin, and Jon Byington were the only ones who made it clear up to the top of Snowy Peak because it got kind of treacherous.  Jon told me later that when he saw Chris scampering up to the top like a goat, his stomach jumped into his throat.  He said he and Devin were carefully choosing their steps on the way up, but Chris just went straight up the steep part of the mountain.  I was not happy to hear about this, but I'm proud that they made it to the top!  Hurray for my two mountain goats!

They had a great time, and Devin took some beautiful pictures of a some really breathtaking views.