Labor Day on Mt. Graham

We didn't let the fact that Bryce had to be at the football game Friday night to perform with the marching band deter us from going away for the weekend.  We were packed and ready to pull out at 7 am Saturday morning to spend the holiday weekend on Mt. Graham.  We turned the wheel over to Bryce not far after Globe (that's when he was awake enough to drive) and he drove the rest of the trip - all the way to the cabin.

Luna was in heaven.  Once we started up the mountain, and the air cooled down, we rolled down the windows and let Luna hang out the window (with a tight hold on her leash).  Look at those ears fly in the breeze!

Couldn't pass up this picture - it was too funny.  Not sure what was happening other than Adam making a funny face.

Before we left home, Adam loaded several geocaches into the GPS.  One was a Post Creek.  Since it was right on the road, we stopped on the way up to look for it.  After some searching - and finally having to decipher the clue, we found the cache.  Adam is holding it. 

Each time we drive up the mountain, we have two contests.  One is to guess what the temperature will be, and the second is to guess what time (down to the minute) we will arrive at the cabin.  It's hard to imagine, but it was only 66 degrees when we arrived at noon.  Most of the time the temperature was around 50 degrees cooler than it was at home.

Marden alerted us that there was a paper hornet's nest in the eaves.  We took some spray and Dan dispatched the trespassers - although it took the entire can.  We felt a little bit sorry to wipe out their nest, but not too bad when they kept buzzing us on the porch.

Finally - weather so nice you can play outside!  Adam and Bryce having a sword (stick) battle.

Luna couldn't figure out why it was so cold.  She was very happy to be bundled up.

Sometimes I wonder if these two are ever completely unplugged.  But since there is no electricity at the cabin - batteries do finally run out.

The ultimate relaxation activity - sitting on the porch, listening to the creek and enjoying the cool mountain air.  Yes, it was cold enough that we donned our jackets.

Lindsay washing the mountain dirt off her feet in the kitchen sink.

That evening the generator was having fits, so we finally turned it off (after it turned itself off every 5 minutes) and played some games by the light of the gas lamps.  It took me (Michelle) back to when I was a kid - before the cabin was wired for lights and we only had two gas lamps and a Coleman lantern.  It didn't seem dim then, but it sure does now.

On two Sundays a year (July 4th and Labor Day) the Pima Ward holds church out in the meadow at Columbine.  We joined a crowd of about 300+ in the beautiful mountain scenery to hold church.  It is always a nice experience to sit among God's creations to worship Him.

After our church services were over, we had some lunch and headed to The Rocks.  These rocks are not far from the cabin and just beg to be climbed.  It's one of Adam's favorite activities.  We often go there when we are on the mountain for an extended time, because it is one of the few places you can get a cell signal.  This time we just went for the climb.

It's a bit of a climb and a wonderful view.

That's Luna and me (Michelle) down at the bottom.

Then we drove out the Fox Farm Road and stopped at the little aspen grove where we carved our initials several years ago.  Sadly Morgan's tree fell down a few years ago, but the rest were there.

Further down the road we did some wild raspberry picking.

Lindsay was instrumental in picking most of the raspberries, with Adam, Boyd and Bryce helping too.

Don't they look yummy??  We took them back to the cabin and made a raspberry sauce to go with our brownies for our Sunday evening treat.

Monday morning our group made the hike to Webb Peak.  Here is Adam in charge of Luna.

Here are Lindsay, Boyd and Bryce on the trail.  Isn't Lindsay cute with her baby bump?  She is due in January in case you didn't know - and it's a girl!!

They reached the peak.  You can see Webb Tower in the background.

With Luna secured below, the rest of the group climbed the tower for some amazing vistas.

Can you tell who didn't help wash dishes this trip?? (Hint: look for the dirtiest fingernails - and I don't mean Luna's.)

The Webb Peak trail is so lovely.

A shot of the cabin before it was time to load up for the trip home.

Just as we were about to leave, Luna found a little rodent had made its home in the logs.  She nearly tunneled under the logs trying to catch it.

It was so fun to go to the mountain.  What a nice respite from the heat - it was only 59 degrees when we pulled away from the cabin at 4 pm.  We wished we could bring the cool temperatures and rain home with us.