Two bighorn sheep we nearly ran into

We were lucky enough to have several close encounters of the wild kind this trip.  Here’s a brief list of some of the wild things we saw:

Bighorn Sheep – And lots of them! And close up!  We saw several just off the road the first time through the park. The second time, they were IN the road and we had to stop and wait for them.  We tried to roll down the window so Keanon could take a picture of the one looking in his window, but it was a little too close for comfort and he didn’t get the shot off.

Another shot of the bighorn sheep

Angry Birds – Actually they were wild turkeys.  The cool thing was that there were 2 or 3 baby ones trailing along behind the mama.  Again right in front of us so we had to stop and let them go by.  They went into the bushes right by the turn onto Cedar Rd.

Mr. Fox – Again, crossing the road.

A Bobcat!
Actually that one was kind of funny. We were riding the bus back from our hike in the river. Since there were so many animals out, our bus driver was pointing out each time he saw something and we would all look, which was happening regularly as we went down the road. As we neared the grotto, I saw it first, over near the trail by the river and shouted out: “A bobcat!”. Of course everyone on the bus looked where I was pointing. Then everyone laughed as they realized it was indeed a bobcat, but not THAT kind of bobcat. Rather a distant cousin to the skip-loader taking a rest from its trail reconstruction duties. Haha made you look!

Stellar’s Jay

Stellar’s Jay

I saw this one on my walk over by the Oden’s property. Perhaps this is no big deal and maybe you all have seen these before. But I thought it looked so cool that I remembered to look it up and find out what it was after we got home.  It had an all blue body and a black crested head.

Mule Deer (with and without racks) – We saw lots of deer in the park, including several bucks. We were there later in the evening and the court of the patriarchs was pretty quiet so there seemed to be lots of animals about.

Lizards

Blue Bellied Lizard

Poor lizards. Kids and lizards make for lots of lizards running around without tails. I hope this blue belly was just pretending to be asleep so the kids would go away, but I haven’t seen many lizards sunning their undersides before…

And more… Butterflies, ROUSes, Ostriches, Mice, etc.

I am worn out after a hard day of cleaning up our construction mess!

We were all excited to get back to the treehouse and see how it had weathered the winter. Surprisingly, it was still standing. Only a little bit of warping on the plywood that held up the snow all winter.

The first thing we did was de-constructed. We ripped down the roof, walls, railings, and all the other temporary stuff we threw up last season to try and keep it somewhat safe and dry until we could come back to it. Then we tore off the thin makeshift floor so we could finish putting the rest of the support beams in. Next we put the floor back, this time with more solid 3/4″ plywood and nailed it in well.

Keanon posing by the updated treehouse

Then we raised a north wall, a south wall, and redid the whole west side railing to be more sturdy. It was starting to be a really solid frame we could build stuff onto. We added another tree bolt to support the roof, and shored up the climbing wall (partially). At that point we started to run out of time and crucial pieces of lumber again. We had enough to get most of a lean-to roof framed up and two interior walls before it was time to start cleaning up our mess until we could return again. Our next scheduled trip isn’t until October, so we are sad that we couldn’t get it to a more complete state this time. Maybe we can figure out a way to sneak down this summer and move it along a little bit.

We definitely had a fun time imagining and building it though. Kayson kept saying “Dad, thanks so much, this has been sooo fun!” — which of course makes it all worthwhile.

We came back the week after Memorial Day weekend and it was a much quieter place. Not to mention the weather was much (20-30 degrees!) warmer.  We brought our hammocks and this time Kayson, Keanon and I got to try sleeping out in them.  The 3 trees by the tetherball pole made a nice place for a hammocky triangle.  We all slept warm and had great views of the stars, although the bright moon hid some of them until later in the night.

Mr Bear is happy to see us.

Nellie and I made a trip to the cabin this week and opened it up for the season. Everything is ready to go. The Ponderosas are green and healthy and all the snow is gone. Our new road and driveway held up admirably through the winter and the new deck stands proud and sturdy. The oaks have yet to leaf out but everything else looks wonderful. Be sure to check the calendar above and schedule your family cabin dates now. Last year was the busiest cabin-year yet and 2012 should be even better. Also don’t miss the new climbing wall and fort back in the trees. As soon as Jim’s family gets up there, we will have our brand new professional-grade zip line too.

Open for Business in 2012

The 2012 edition of Rockin’ R Cabin is now available

Snow is already starting to cover the ground in November. Time to close her up!

We closed up the cabin for the winter this week. That doesn’t mean someone can’t sneak up for a final visit, but we did empty all the water bottles, move all the deck furniture inside, and plastic-wrap Mr. Bear.

Jim’s family got most of the new treehouse and climbing wall completed, but the rest will have to wait til Spring. They also perfected the zip line which will be a permanent addition next year.

Don’t forget to schedule your dates early. This was the busiest cabin-year yet!

The new climbing wall on the back of the new Treehouse should make for a fun adventure for the kids.

Hooray for the red, white and blue!

Posted by Ashley Hartley

we had an excellent time over the 4th at the cabin! A few highlights were:
– baseball in the courtyard with Rowan and Jackson smashing big home runs
– campfires with s’mores made from reeses peanut butter cups
– two rattlesnake withholds
– three “cabin breakfasts” featuring pork products, eggs and chili sauce
– a fourth of July celebration with flag ceremony,songs and solos, recitations and a courtyard parade, also a nighttime glowstick parade that turned into a wild chase game as the kids were pursued by the British (Ruskin and his parents Derrick and Barbara Hartley visiting from England yelling “the British are coming!”)
– swimming and canoeing at Clear Creek and seeing Jon Lee and family
– enjoying the relatively cool days which were a bit overcast and very pleasant
– seeing the big horned sheep in Zion and driving through the tunnels with windows open to let in tunnel bugs (bugs in tunnels that tickle young children)

I could go on and on. It was a wonderful four days! Hooray for the cabin!

The British are coming…the British are here!

Christian and I came down south and went rappelling in some great canyons near the cabin.  We stayed with our cousins at the Clear Creek Ranch, but while Christian & Travis were off having fun,  I went over to the cabin.

I checked out the new deck with its  new railing (Grandma Nellie commanded that there be rails after one of the grandkids fell off into the bushes), took some pictures for the website, and stole the cabin journal so I could add the newer entries to the website.

Our brave bear was still boldly standing guard over the place.

Our new “infinity deck” with a view forever!

The Snow load this past winter collapsed our deck and split every one of the 2×6 joists. So we had to tear out the old one and start from scratch. Fortunately Ben Rogers and Jon Lee stepped in with their tools (thanks Jefferson for your tools, trailer, and truck too) and their construction experience and expertise. Although it rained and the roads were rutted mud slogs, we still were able to complete the project in just one day. Luckily we were able to use the old Trex decking which saved tons on the cost. So now the deck is ready for our first cabin guests of the season.

Ben, Jon, and Roland Build the new Deck