Fourth of July Memory

Bill's really good with dates and happenings from the past.

Somehow he stores information about significant events we've shared, where we shared them, the year they happened and maybe even the specific date.

I'm sure yesterday's Fourth of July will go into his memory bank for ten years from now. He'll remind me some day that it was the 2010 Fourth of July when we went up Trail 483 aka the Wiley Knob trail in Grouse Creek.

He'll remember that the dogs came along, cowering next to him nearly the whole way, while he walked the six miles.

He'll know it was six miles because he brought his GPS along.

He'll also relate that I was the cavalry while he was the foot soldier cuz I rode Lily. He'll also admit that I rode her further than he walked---approximately 6.5 miles, give or take a few hundred feet.

Yesterday's Wiley Knob trail ride/hike fulfilled one of my 2010 bucket list items.

So far, not too many things have been checked off the list. Too many buckets of water have continued to fall from the sky to allow much success on the list.

Even yesterday big black clouds threatened to rain us out, but we headed down the trail anyway.  Fortunately, the rain held off, and the afternoon was cold but divine.

I was in my element and in a state of total bliss every step of the way on the trail through the woods.

We carried radios so we could keep track of each other's progress.  Bill and the dogs were seldom far behind, which is good for scaredy me who's on constant alert for some wild animal to come crashing out of the woods. 

None did.  Well, there were the squirrels.  They were having a great time chasing each other down logs along the trail on the way down. 

We did meet three riders coming back also and enjoyed a great conversation while our horses enjoyed a rest.

At that point, Lily had an itch on her belly needing to be scratched, so she sidled up to a young spruce tree, leaned into it and swayed back and forth, deriving relief from its needles. It was kinda fun cuz her slow motion felt a little like sitting in a rocking chair.

At the end of the trail, while loading Lily up in the trailer, Mark and Billie Jean Plaster came riding in from another trail they'd taken earlier in the day.  So, we enjoyed a nice visit with them too, and, of course, I took some pictures.

Bill probably won't need to remind me of the facts, cuz I'm guessing I won't forget July 4, 2010, the cold day when we went to Wiley Knob.

Enjoy the photos.  

Also, if you want to see a set of really exquisite photography, go to the following link
http://apps.gagalabs.com/flickr/interestingby?id=40908936@N03&theme=white to see my sister Barbara's collection.  I think you'll like what you see. Great stuff!