Sunday, October 16, 2011

Return to Aspenville

Seems I just can't get enough of those hundreds of whimsical, swaying, artistic, mesmerizing Aspen up the Rapid Lightning Creek Road.
They keep luring me back. 
My sisters, three dogs and I returned to the spot where Bill and I spent several hours Friday.
And, yes, we did stop off for goodies at the Pack River General Store along the way.  
This time I held strong and stayed away from those "pigs/dogs in a blanket" also coined by staff member Laura as "cows in a comforter."  
She says they aren't pork, so they must be beef and since they're beef, we need to think of them in bovine terms.
Regardless of what ya call 'em, they're delightful.
We settled for chocolate and caffeine yesterday and then took off up the road.
Bill had suggested that we try taking the horses up there, but we decided against that plan.  
It was a good idea because a few ridges in the last mile or so before a potential parking area would have wreaked havoc on a horse trailer and its contents.
So, we went as hikers and dressed for hunters.
Turns out we did not really need our bright colors to stay alive, but they were sure nice for photographs.  
We had the place pretty much to ourselves, meeting only one other human during our four hours up there.
And, he was a photographer named Terry who retired from his portrait studio in Leavenworth and moved to Rapid Lightning Road this spring. 
Terry was out doing exactly what we were doing, with his camera and his canine buddy.
We also learned that he knew my cousin Doug Miller, who had a studio in Ephrata for years.  I didn't even get a chance to tell the man that Doug's photo after the 1980 Mt. St. Helens eruption had appeared on the cover of National Geographic.
The words came out of his mouth before I could spit 'em out.
We enjoyed swapping photo stories with Terry who bowed in reverence to Barbara once he knew she was a yearbook adviser who has to see that all those senior photos come in on time.
During our leisurely hike, we must have stopped more than a dozen times to snap photos and to set up photos.  
Setting up photos with dogs is about as easy as herding cats, but Barbara managed a nice group photo of us with her remote cord.   If I can steal it from Facebook, I'll include it in today's batch.
Bill had gone fishing up the Moyie, and I tried to call him to let him know he'd be proud that I took my sisters to the spot where he has found an old Humbird Railroad bed.  There's still a rail, some decaying support logs and several spikes.
Barbara and Laurie snapped a few photos there, including the lovely mini waterfall in that particular fork of Bodenstein Creek.
It was a wondrous, magnificent, fun and relaxing afternoon.  
Nobody shot us, but we did a lot of own form of shooting.  And our composite photo supply of striking autumn beauty has grown considerably.
And, the best part is that the "real show" up there in Aspenville is yet to come.
Guess I'll have to go again. 
Enjoy the photos.  Happy Sunday.






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