All in a Day: From Barnyard to Mountaintop

We were walking from the pickup which Bill had parked in the middle of the road at a switchback. 

Our destination:  the next switchback near the top of the mountain, where we might get even a better view of the extensive lowlands below.

As we moved upward, I was thinking that we might be the only crazy old codgers out at almost dark taking our chances on a very "iffy" mountain road. 

In fact, it took 4-wheel drive to move through some mud bogs where 'twas obvious snow had just recently melted up there on Trapper Peak. 

The 4-wheel drive session came after Bill's wood chopping session to remove a downed tree on the road. 

When he was done, had put his axe away and had climbed back in the truck, Bill said the road would now be fit for all the Cadillacs coming up the mountain.  

For a time, after the wood chopping stop, I was wondering if our white work truck was gonna get stuck or if the road would get worse and it would get dark and we may not find a place to turn around.

Thankfully, we did, and since the pickup was pointed downward, we took those few minutes to walk upward.

We weren't too worried about blocking the road from other traffic at 8:15 on a Thursday night. 

The view was okay last night but nothing like what we would usually expect on a nice day at the end of May.

Smoke-filled air dulled the expected magnificence of our high altitude perch where we looked down over a wide expanse of mountain ridges.

I couldn't help but think of summer evenings back in 1967 when we watched from our front yard on North Boyer as the Trapper Peak fire put up dramatic flames seemingly straight across from us in the Cabinet Mountains. 

Trapper Peak was one of the more dramatic fires of many which burned thousands of acres of forest land that year.

Last night, Bill pointed out the growth where the area had been replanted so long ago. 

It seemed strange to look down over the lowlands and see all that smoke this early in the season.  

I've heard numerous folks wish out loud, over the past few weeks, that we don't have yet another smoky summer this year.  

If we did, it would be three in a row. 

Alberta's forest fires gave us a taste and a view of what we really do not want to see. 

Still, smoke does its thing in softening normally stunning scenes, and sometimes, it even creates a beauty all its own. 

We went to the mountains as an escape because down below mosquitoes were hungrier than usual as I tried to do my evening watering. 

It's unusual in May to have to water a couple of times a day, but that's the case. 

Garden stuff is coming on, so we had enjoyed both a fresh garden salad, baked asparagus and that "to die for" chicken casserole from Miller's Country Store.

The evening drive topped off a busy day, tending to gardens and flowers (and keeping up on each day's new blooms) and other general chores. 

The two old codgers made it back down the mountain through the mud and the narrow winding roads with the satisfaction that we had survived and enjoyed another spontaneous and beautiful adventure. 

Happy Friday.