Go To Sleep Until Summer Comes Again

Yesterday morning we stopped briefly at the Hay Bale Field only five minutes from the house, so that Kory could run and play for a few ecstatic minutes before we drove to Arco..

The day was still cold and crisp, but the cold was manageable in that way that it has not been for well over a week.

From Christmas Day until New Years Day Kory was relegated primarily to short runs in the back yard, while LC and I bundled up and shivered against the wind and freezing temperatures.

Although snow freezes between her toes occasionally and she limps until the frozen stuff works its way out of her foot, the cold does not seem to bother our Florida dog what-so-ever.

She rolls in snow and she is happy.  She buries her face full on into the snow and she is happy.

She sinks into hills of drifting snow and sometimes her feet skid out from beneath her as she tries to run at full sprint in the snow, and through it all she is happy.

The Florida dog is like the Norwegian momma.  She loves winter..............

With boundless energy under control after running and jumping on long abandoned and forgotten hay bales (that are now simply objects of fun for an energetic dog) we headed back to the house, picked up the Tahoe and headed for Arco.

We were to meet a couple for coffee.  I needed to wander downtown alone.  LC needed to see someone about a welding project.  We had sold a couple of small things to local residents.

The couple we met for coffee are the same couple that we got the Nomad Camper from late this past spring..

They are an older couple with few means and they are raising their three grandchildren.

The couple seem to have a good number of family members who have seen the inside of a jail cell and/or prison cell.

I don't know the details and have no interest in learning the details.

What I DO know is that when we traded our very big camper to them (which they desperately needed so that they could take their three grandsons camping and fishing) for their smaller one, they were very aware that financially it was not an even trade.

We told them we did not care about that - we needed a smaller camper and they needed a bigger camper - and that was good enough for us.

They would have no part of that idea.  

The couple did not have money to put towards a trade (even though we told them that we did not need money as part of the deal), but even as I wandered around the property with the woman while she proudly showed me her handful of farm animals, LC and the guy disappeared into a dark and dusty shed.

45 minutes later they reappeared, and we were now the proud owners of not only a smaller camper but also a small handgun, a couple of fishing poles, some old horse harnesses, an old camp stove, and even a Geiger counter was part of the deal.

Since that time we have gotten to know this couple a little.

They are simple people with a challenging history and seemingly good hearts, and that's good enough for us.

And so we had coffee the other day, while we talked about payments this couple would make so that they could purchase our little row boat (that we no longer need since we found our fishing boat) for their boys..............

These pictures speak for themselves.

They were taken during a quiet and fast drive to Arco, and it is at this time of year that this part of the country is its most beautiful and alive.

The rest of the year the hills near Howe and Arco (and the mountains further into the valley beyond Arco) seemingly blend with the terrain.

But those same hills and mountains dominate the landscape throughout the winter.

They demand your attention, and silently compel you to look deep into them.

At this time of year the world in and just beyond the desert is beautiful.............

The picture above was taken on the outskirts of Arco.

The picture below is of the Twin Buttes, taken as we were heading home...........

I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.................Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass