Tree Hunting

Every year I pack the gear (ropes, saw and tarps) into the rig and head into the hi country looking for a Christmas tree. When Ivana and I were first dating she accompanied me into the 8000 foot level of Mirror Lake pass where we looked for sub alpine fir and got the rig stuck once we stopped. We sunk 2 feet down into the snow. I figured we get it out once the snow melted (sometime around the end of May) but we managed to dig, push and pull and get it out with the help of a group of snowmobilers.

She went with me once or twice more and then kids. Well once L was old enough (10 months old or so) I started dragging him out on our annual tree hunt. Around 4 years ago I found a really nice stash of White Fir at the 7000 foot level of a local pass. There are some beautiful trees back in there. As the years have gone on and as I have shown the cache of trees to a couple of friends, who it seems have shown it to a couple of friends...... well the draw is getting picked over and we are having to go further and further back up the draw to find the good trees.



This year we were over a half mile back up the draw. I may have to find a new tree stash come summer. We dragged John G and his boy Gabby up the mountain with us and cut a few trees. One for John one for us and one for a friend's family. Dragging two trees through scrub and brush with an almost 4 year old on your shoulders is WORK. I am going to have to work on his hiking. He will walk a bit but when he decides it is time for a ride he is pretty adamant about not walking.



Somehow I left the house without the camera, and so the photos from up the mountain were shot on my cell phone. The kids have fun, but sometimes aren't as careful as they need to be about not getting wet. It seems like every year they start to get cold (and whiney) just about as we get back to the car.... so it works out ok. Next year mom and J are coming for sure. (You hear that Ivana.... you are coming!)



We tied the trees to the top of John's old blazer and drove home. As always the trees are a little too tall and needed a little trimming. Gabby & L were super excited!



I cut the tree a bit shorter and jammed it in the tree stand. Then the kids attacked! They both were involved in dressing out the tree with lights and ornaments. Sometimes they actually were taking stuff off faster than putting it on, but hey that is what happens when you dress a tree with a 1 year old.





They have been pretty good about staying out of the tree.... well ok. The tree turned out nice, maybe not quite as full as last years, but still pretty. We were at Wally World last year after Christmas and they had a super sale on lights. Like $0.60 a box so we bough ten or twelve. We dressed the tree out in colored lights this year instead of white. Ivana says she liked the the white better ;)



I played around with the exposure time on the camera and got some decent tree pics. Ivana took a million pictures of the house all decorated for Christmas which you can see on her various social media sites.



Merry Christmas!

Getting caught up.

This post series will span a couple 3-4 months of activities.

Somehow a lot of our activities resolve around fishing ;) !

In early September little L and I went with Jon S and his crew up on Big Elk Creek looking for Kokanee. Last year we caught a passel of nice fish, this year though we saw a few, we didn't catch any. They weren't there in anywhere near the numbers of last year. According to what I heard they ran earlier this year.



Though we didn't catch any fish we had a lot of fun. We hiked (well I hike and L rides on my shoulders) played with flowers, poked at rocks, looked at trees and performed other activities that a 3.5 year old likes to do when meandering through the woods.



The following week L started school. He is now going to pre-school. He likes to ham it up for the camera.





A couple of weeks later he and I headed up Palisades creek late in the fall with a big storm approaching. We caught a number of fish on hopper patterns, and he landed the most of them, before the big storm moved in and knocked half of the leaves in the canyon into the creek. This seemed to turn the fishing off a bit.



As the weather got colder in early October, L, grandpa, TaterTot, and I headed up to a secret stretch of river where we usually find some 5 lb trout in abundance. We saw a few fish but couldn't convince any of them to rise.







In mid November we got our first big storm, not our first snow which always seems to come in late September or early October, but our first real depth (some of which is still in the yard).



I took J and L out to sled and ski. J played for a bit then fell down and got cold. I am not sure if he has decided that he likes snow or not.





L dug the skis he got for Christmas last year and insisted that I strap them on him. He trekked around the neighborhood for a bit. He is better on them and I am tempted to get him some down hill gear, but will most likely wait another year.