8-28-06
Start: Woodenshoe Rd., UT
Destination: CR 256, UT
Elevation: 6717 ft.
Miles: 21.9
Weather: Warmer the lower we got, but not too bad - sunny, no clouds.
We mixed our breakfast this morning. We're trying to get creative because oatmeal almost every day for 6-1/2 months just got old. We had water, powdered milk, oats, granola, dried fruit, peanut M&M's, and brown sugar all mixed together. It really was pretty good. Filling, too!
Then we had one of our funniest conversations. Mom was outside the tent, frantically digging a hole to do her morning business, surrounded by old cowpies, and says, "I don't know why we have to dig a stupid cathole in a cow pasture full of cowpies." I said in response, "Well, how would you like it if a cow came to your house, used your toilet and didn't flush?" It was great, because it came out just like an everyday conversation. And when we realized what we both just said, we burst out laughing.
As we were hiking, an awesome lady from Quest pulled up in her truck and gave us water. We were almost to our next drop location, so we just filled up there. We should be good now until Ba-ha G'pa and Gopher come out to get us tomorrow.
We've been seeing a lot of signs of history in this area, and that's been very cool and very interesting. It makes our imaginations run wild with how it must have been living here so many years ago. I hope there was more water and cooler temps! We've seen a lot of petroglyphs and a few fragments of Indian pottery in the places where rain washed down from the hills. The petroglyphs are the coolest - they tell a story if you look long enough. You might not know exactly what they mean, but you can almost create your own story with them. It's really fun.
We didn't see hardly any wildlife today. We saw the biggest jackrabbit we've ever seen - it was bigger than my mom's Schitsu (is that spelled right?). And mom is almost positive that she saw a mountain lion - !! It ran across the road in front of us, and she saw it's back half, hind quarters, and tail. We were a little freaked after that. We both kept turning around to be sure nothing was following us. Oh, and we also saw cows. Big surprise, eh?
Then we took our break under a big juniper tree. As we were getting up to go, I put my hat on, which has a huge brim, and as I stood up, I whacked my head into the sharp end of a broken off branch (it's okay, you can laugh - we did). It hurt so bad my eyes were watering - I'd admit to you that I was crying, but I was laughing so hard, and so was mom, that we almost wet our pants! I got a good bump, and even a little scratch. I don't think there's any permanent damage, although I could use an excuse sometimes! :)
It was a long, hard day. But we're getting rescued and refueled tomorrow by the Ogema Clan. We're excited to eat a lot and get a shower. Mom made chicken pasta mixed with red beans and brown sugar for dinner tonight. Yeah, I know, another very weird concoction invented by who else, but Gumdrop! It was actually really tasty! So now the food is hung (and stuck) in a dead tree about 30 feet from our tent. I don't think anything lives out here but rabbits, gnats, crickets and bats, but you can never be too sure. I hope I can get that food down tomorrow morning!
With a pretty sunset, a chorus of crickets, and a pleasant temperature, I think we just might sleep well tonight!
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