Back to the Forest

It’s been a bit of a stressful week honestly.  It took several calls and several trips back to the pharmacist to get the drugs we need for Africa.  It really burns me that such things are treated this way.  These are strong drugs that need to be prescribed and if we don’t get enough the threat for malaria is something I don’t even want to think about.  These drugs need to be taken even after we get back to protect us from possible exposure while in Ghana.  It never bothered me as much when it was just me but when my children’s lives are at stake I find it maddening that the medical personnel don’t seem the least bit concerned.  Our doctor seemed to be simply reading the labels because they don’t usually deal with that.  Even our overseas department seems woefully unfamiliar with this stuff.  I’m thankful for my past experience with this stuff because it’s helped me check dosages and amounts of pills on things…God be with us.  Now we head out on Saturday for five days.  These are the last pictures from our last trip which is just in time for our next one that should have pictures of Yellowstone…that is still one of the most beautiful places on the planet…a must see at least once in your life and we live fairly close to it!

Our last day or two at our last cabin adventure were spent walking near where we were and there was plenty to see!  The glory of the rolling plains has never ceased to captivate me and the sound of woodpeckers pecking trees and the screech of Red Tail Hawks could be heard everywhere There were many roads which I would say are strictly fair weather but that doesn’t matter if there’s no rain and you intend to walk Wildflowers are a particularly classic photographic subject I know but I just can’t resist This year the blue bells were having a particularly good year I noticed I had to laugh at the irony of government need to label roads…really…just now you noticed these roads are rough There’s no such thing as a common flower to me.  A windswept brown eyed Susan is a treat to me no matter how common it’s said to be Climbing the top of some of these hills made me think of bears I have to admit…nobody wants to come over a hill and run into trouble like that but with things this beautiful it’s hard not to go ahead and risk it Purple, blue, white and yellow seemed to be the dominating colors but I still didn’t ever get enough of any of these colors What I like about this countryside in particular is that it has it all:  mountains, plains, forests all in a wonderful panoramaHere you can find farms right next to federal land and both have a beauty all their own There’s nothing in all the world like seeing and hearing the wind play across the tall grass..trust me on that

Waves

Our last walk took us to a remote area where few had gone before No vehicles were allowed and it was free of any other people that we could see and I admit that I did think of bears again.  Mom and dad saw one not far away when they had been driving earlier in the trip.  These thoughts went to the background as I began to enjoy the surroundings.  Soon the forest became thicker and it became quite quiet aside from the buzzing of busy bees and the flutter of butterfly wings The rest of the family were up ahead with mom and dad and I began to realize that of us all I’m the only with a weapon and a sense of unease began to grow in meas we began to near a rather striking peak I began to see some signs that bothered me greatly There were many stones…not one or two but ten or more overturned…if you know bear country you know this is a sign of a bear looking for grubs and other insects.  I then saw some not too old scat on the path ahead and I knew it was time to for us to get out of there.  Dad being his usual self went ahead some but I brought mom, Love and the kids back down the trail with me.  The tension started to thicken and then I heard a sound that I never wanted to hear in the wild on a remote trail…listen to the last sound on this page…the black bear cub call http://soundbible.com/tags-black-bear.html.  I knew immediately what it was and drew my .45.  It was a very thick forested area so we only knew the general direction of this bear or bears.  We walked quickly…not panicking or running and fortunately made it back to where we had parked.  Tension eased and I found myself appreciating the irony of this butterfly on the sign near the trailhead I know that I know…God kept us safe as He always had.  we didn’t have tragedy for bear or person and that my friends is a good ending!  My last shot is of the moon rising over the hill near our cabin on the last night.  It was a wonderful sense of peace we all left with and I look forward to the same from our next adventure.  I can’t wait to share it all!