A whole city of rocks...

We lucked into a sunshiny day in January and had a captivating audio book to listen to (Okay for Now by Schmidt) so we took off to find some rock cause you know, we love rock. 

I was grateful that the girlie was willing to take the hit and "walk" the dog.    :)

We went to the City of Rocks (Castle Rocks) and were joined by Scott and April. It was like food for my soul.

This was the entrance to a "pre-historic human shelter." Places like this stick with me, leaving me hugely grateful each night for a soft bed, warm blankets, and a roof over my head.

The back side of the shelter enticed the twigs to do some bouldering/scrambling.

Figuring out the best way to the top...

 

...where they could hurl ice sheets off the boulder.

Scottie and the Mr. swapped Bishopric stories.

My favorite story, however, was Scottie's interpretation of pictographs he shared in a Idaho lava tube a few years back with a pictograph expert. If you get a chance to ask him about it, do. It's a hoot! 

A park ranger found these pictographs just a few years ago at the City of Rocks (Castle Rocks).

Loved taking a ramble out yonder with these people!   :)

"Every boy (child) should have two things: a dog, and a mother willing to let him have one." -anonymous

We've had the two best dogs in all of history.    :)

"There is only one smartest dog in the world, and every boy has it."      -anonymous

Plaid was a handsome, gentle boy who was balm to our aching hearts when we were wanting children.

 "A house is not a home until it has a dog."     -Durrell

Then there was Kipper. He didn't bark, he bayed. I'd never heard such a sound, except maybe on hound dog movies like "Where the Red Fern Grows." I loved it!



"No symphony orchestra ever played music like a two-year-old girl laughing with a puppy."      -Williams

After Kipper left us to chase cats in that big field in the sky (here) we decided to begin searching for another dog to call our own.

"Every boy (child) who has a dog should also have a mother, so the dog can be fed regularly."     -anonymous

After a few weeks we came across this boy at a rescue shelter. He was just 9 months old which was way more puppy than we were looking for but there was something about those beautiful brown eyes...

"I shall call him Squishy, and he shall be mine, and he shall be my Squishy."     -Dory

He came home with us on a foster to adopt arrangement and was a total keeper! Now we need to decide on a name...oh and get a dozen more tennis balls. He's totally wonkers for tennis balls! 

Kipper the dog...

When the twigs were just little sprouts, their pleas for a new family member were finally entertained. We searched the dog pound and rescue shelters till we found just the right guy, then we brought him home and named him "Kipper" after the cartoon "Kipper the Dog."

Kipper the Dog Theme Song

He was a crazy guy for the first couple years and could hardly contain himself if we pet him, he just had to shake it all off the second we were done. He grew to tolerate us and our affectionate ways, then he grew to love us.
And oh, how we loved him!

He also loved cats, chasing cats! He didn't know what to do with them once he got close so he'd just stand there and wait for them to start running again so he could chase them again. haha

He was always up for some garbage...

...and a friend...

...and a ramble out yonder.

...and a ride back to the car when slickrock made his feet hurt.

Our buddy, Kipper, got terribly sick last week and on Saturday morning left us to go chase cats in that big field in the sky.

Do you think dogs go to heaven?

They must 'cause it wouldn't be heaven without them.

We love you Kipper!!!

Ramble out yonder...

A friend posted a note (thanks Deena!) on facebook about a pretty little hike she and her family loved and it was close by so one night when the twigs were working an overnighter at Camp Kiesel, the Mr. and I took the dog and headed out to partake.   :)

It's the Green Pond hike by Snowbasin. Our friend was so right - it's beautiful!! The first chance we got we took the twigs and went again.

No dog this time as the "pretty little hike" is also a totally popular single track bike trail and the dog was completely put off that he should have to, at any instant and in many instances, bail off the trail into the bushes to avoid getting bike tracks up his back!

Another hike another day for him. That's okay because as much as he loves hikes and all the fascinating smells they bestow for his pleasure, he loves sun puddles just as much.

Our girlie loved the hike too! In fact she says it's her favorite hike ever in Utah! We've done a lot of hiking in Utah so that's saying something. One thing it says is that as much as the Mr. and I love slickrock, she, like her oldest bro, prefers green trees and water. It's all good!    :)

 

We enjoyed the beautiful fall colors...

...and skipped stones...

but mostly enjoyed being together.

The interesting fellow, Edward Abbey, wrote..."While you can. While it's still here...get out there...ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space."

Come stop by and let's go for a "ramble out yonder."    :)