9:30am lunch?

Greetings from the trail.  I am at a beary popular trail head in Oregon.  It's 8am and there are already cars in the parking lot.  It's Monday, I know the post is on a Thursday (humans.....).   Down to business I am hoping to see some wild rhododendrons and a good view of Mt. Hood.  

The rhododendron tree is looking green but no flowers.  I wonder if I am too late?

Ah, there we go.  This rhodie is blooming.  The wild ones are only pink.

I wanted to take a break and guess who showed up on the same rock as me?  Sequoia jumped right up and wanted to get in the picture. 

Back on the trail.  I have a choice.  I  can go to Tom, Dick and Harry mountain or to Mirror Lake.  Let's check out the lake first.

You can kind of see a reflection of Mt. Hood in the lake. The mosquitoes are out so I must keep moving.

See that hill out there?  It's Tom, Dick and Harry mountain and it's my final destination.

A few wildflowers are out today.  Indian Paintbrush and Bear Grass.

Mt. Jefferson looks good.  The air needs to clear up and Mt. Jeff needs more snow for a better picture.  

I am now near the top of Tom, Dick and Harry mountain.  Mt. Hood in the background looks nice and there's more Indian Paintbrush and Bear Grass.  This is not a great spot for lunch.  Perhaps a rock. 

This spot looks good.  Of course, it's 9:30am.  Is that too early for lunch?  Yes, but I am hungry so I am eating. 

Sequoia is not one to be shown up.  He decided to pose for this picture and I must admit he looks good.

Recipe #1. Cake

 Hello Blog Pals!
Welcome to my recipe contest entry #1.  This entry is from my close friend, Little Bear.  Little Bear might be a cousin of Sandy's, Jerry and Ben but we're not 100% sure.  Little Bear loves coffee, anything Starbucks related, and is a guest judge at the International Chocolate Competition.  He shared a recipe for a chocolate cake with a cup of coffee in it, a box of pudding, and special cake flour.

I like Little Bear's thinking, start with dessert (hmm, maybe he is related to Jerry?)

Step 1, preheat oven. 

Step 2, grease the pan. 

Time to get supplies.  Oh my, Godiva pudding.  This should be good. 

 Premium applesauce and cake flour.  I wonder if the applesauce is going in the cake? 

Tools of the trade:  Cooking spray, baking soda, baking powder.

 A strong cup of coffee goes in this recipe. 

Greek yogurt? Huh, what is Little Bear up to? 

Ready to go into the oven. Now I just have to wait. 

Isn't it funny how a fresh cake from the oven can bring all of your friends out for a visit. Big Bear, Drunk Fox, Lightning, Reindeer, Kermit the Frog, and Wolfy all make it out for the final product.  Little Bear informed the gang this is a low fat/lower calorie cake.  Hmm, who would have guessed?

Little Fox, construction supervisor.

I was happily hanging out with Sequoia today and then my roommates pulled up in the car.  Hmm, I wonder what they have gotten themselves into?

Uh oh.  They got back from Home Depot, looks like a home improvement project.  I better get my supervision hat on (if I had one that is).

Looks like an odd assortment of tools.  Ant killer, a hammer, tape measure, saw, a soda the size of Alaska, and a tool box.   

The wood is in good shape and I am intrigued as to what they are making.

I always tell my humans to measure twice, cut once.  Let's see if they listen.  Apparently, they did.  This looks like a table, but I have to admit it's not very stable.  According to my roommates it's supposed to be a garden tool storage caddy.  

Well, as you can see by this mess there is still work to do.  This little fox is signing off for the day.  It's lunch time. 
PS- Happy Early Father's Day everyone.

Little Fox, amateur archeologist

Hello Blog Pals,
Welcome to another episode of Little Fox, amateur archeologist.  Today, I a exploring an old community called Jawbone Flats.  It was a logging operation in the 1930s and logged a few logs in it's day.  The operation stalled when two trucks full of logs fell off the road into a canyon. I wonder if this is where the accident happened?

This looks like an old mine.  I wish I knew, I would have brought a flashlight.  I asked my roommates if I could use the flashlight on their cell phone and they both said "no".  Phooey.

As I wandered around the trail I saw reminders of the old logging operations. 

These gears came off the USS Oregon, which was scrapped for Iron.  I few things got left over for the loggers to use.

This is an old looking railroad track. 

As the hike continued I knew I was supposed to be on the lookout for an Opal pool.  

Nope, but the wild rhodies are blooming.

Long trail ahead.

Aha, this must be it!  Let me make a note in my archeology notebook. 

Well, this is intersting.  I came across an old ghost town.  Looks like a mining town.  

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Aha, the name of this old town is Jawbone Flats.  Jawbone Flats was a company mining town for about 140 years.  Mining everything from zinc to gold.  In 1992 mining ceased and it quickly became a ghost town. 

More mining equipment, I wonder which level makes this train run? 

An old stove, I wonder what kind of food was cooked on it.  Probably biscuits and bread.

Some sort of oven built into the ground.  Part of the mining I guess.

I might need a tetanus shot after this trip.

Hmm, I wonder when this truck was last in use?

Well, an interesting chapter for me, Little Fox, amateur archeologist.  Jawbone Flats is now a nature retreat.  A few cabins are available and in the $300 range to rent for a night.  A tad too much for this little fox.

This looks like a good place to update my archeology journal.  I wonder if the museum is interested in having me explore more of the area?