We're All Connected

In this shot, Bill was talking to Annie yesterday on my iphone.

Bill's cell phone spent Wednesday night near this spot.

Annie was heading home from work early yesterday, due to a cold and runny eyes.

Even though we were out in the "wilds" of the Albertson Fish and Game wildlife management area, she caught up with us while she was walking from Fremont to Wallingford in North Seattle. 

Not a big deal, but usually we don't spend a lot of time talking on cell phones while out hiking.

Readers from yesterday, however, know that Bill lost his cell phone the day before after his boss called him. 

As predicted, the iphone found the lost phone.

Bill used his GPS to lead me and four Border Collies on mostly untrodden ground in the Western portion of the F & G property. 

We walked through timber and through brushy low-lying wetlands, mostly frozen from the cold temps of late.

Bill was trying to retrace his steps with his GPS.

We got into an area close to where he thought he may have dropped the phone, so I dialed his number.

Within seconds we could hear the high-pitched music coming from an area where we had just walked.

"Let's find it with no more help from the sound," I suggested.

Within a minute or so, Bill stood over his phone, which still works after a night out in frigid temps. 

So, we walked on to see some spots where folks usually can't walk most of the year. 

We came to a pond where the dogs had a great time racing across the ice.

Bill said the pond used to be a part of the Pack River.

Later we came across some downed barbed wire, sure to trip someone and almost grabbing hold of Todd as he raced along the path.

So, we gathered pieces of wood and made a temporary bridge over the wire.

Bill may take some wire cutters with him on his next visit to remove the hazard.

We walked and dogs ran through big open meadows, stood above the Pack River and went to the spot where Gold Creek bisects the property.

One loan log allows walkers to cross the creek without getting wet feet.

Dogs had a great time racing back and forth across the log and standing precariously on thin ice to grab a drink of water. 

As we were walking back to the parking lot, Bill's phone rang.

He spent about 15 minutes conducting business with one of his colleagues at Inland Forest Management, while I found a soft dry spot on a hillside, sat down, soaked up sun and watched dogs play in the tall grass.  

Later, we moved on and a few minutes later, Annie called.  So, we caught up with her life via the speaker phone.

I told later told Bill that if we'd keep losing things, we'd really get to know the countryside.

I was thinking back on a couple of years ago when I lost that belt buckle and we made several return trips to the Cowboy Trail from Gold Creek to Grouse Creek, only to have the buckle returned a month later by some bikers who picked it up about five minutes after I lost it.

These kinds of trips definitely prove that when something's lost, a lot can be gained.

We gained some good memories and fun images from yesterday's search, and we stayed connected.

 Happy Friday.