A COLD & WINDY DAY

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 15/08

It wasn't only cold this morning but it was windy too. We had a few patters of rain now & again in the night so there were large patches of heavy cloud overhead when we stepped out. Max's ankle is slowly healing & he was out limping around for about 10 minutes this morning before he wanted back in. We all felt bad having to leave him behind on our walk to-day but it's best for his ankle. He was pretty sad watching out the window as we headed out into the desert.Our objective was a large rocky outcropping near the rig. I always like to climb something near by to get a perspective of where we are. It was an easy climb except for the last 10 feet but I was no sooner up there & Checkers was right behind me. She has to be part mountain goat. Kelly made it up next & all of a sudden the the little Motormouse popped up over the ridge too. Don't know how they do it sometimes, but they do. We could see the rig far below & knew Max was probably on the couch sadly watching us out the window. Usually he would have been the first one to the top. Took a bunch of photos of the surrounding terrain before we started our descent. OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy As I've said before, going down is always the hardest part & so it was to be for the little Motormouse. Checkers was fine but Kelly had to help the little mouse over the rough spot near the top. After that she was fine & her & Checkers bounced the rest of the way down the hill like a couple of ping pong balls. As we neared the rig we could hear Max crying. He was so upset that he couldn't come with us. Maybe in a few days, we'll see. The clouds became heavier & the temperature really seemed to drop so the Bayfield Bunch spent most of the day inside with the heater going. A few windy spatters of rain here & there but at least the weatherman is calling for sunny warm temperatures to-morrow. The clouds lifted a bit in the late afternoon so I grabbed my camera & took myself for a walk. Had spotted what looked like a coyote's den so wanted to have a little closer look at that plus there was another big rock I wanted to climb up on. Splashes of sunshine slowly swept across the desert floor in the distance making for some nice photo opportunities. Climbed a small hill & then scrambled up the large rock. OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy The footing was a little precarious at the summit but I was able to kind of wedge myself between a couple of rocks & take some photos. Was also able to build a small Inukshuk while there as well. It was so peaceful there & I could see for many miles in all directions, especially the south where the Ajo Mountain range lay about 40 miles away. The big mining slag heap near the town of Ajo was visible as was the mountain whale maybe 60 or 70 miles away. The small fascinating mountain behind us looks like a fairytale castle & you will see it popping up in a lot of my photos. This land is sooooo beautiful & to sit high atop a rock & watch the sun filtering through breaks in the clouds & playing on the mountains & desert floor below is pure magic. These are memories that will last forever & as one of my very own favorite sayings goes...."The only thing better than right now, will someday be the memories of right now." As the heavy clouds began to give way to the late afternoon sun I came across some tiny flowers on the desert floor. I have no idea what they were but I took pictures of them anyway. It was after 5 o'clock by the time I reached the rig & Kelly was just putting some burgs on the barby. Nice way to wrap up a day. The setting sun cast a yellow hue over the mountains & valleys so I was able to take a few more photos before calling it a day. I know I should edit the photos down to about 10 a day or less but I'm not too good at picking out the best ones. To me they are all best memories:)))