A visit from Pops

Dad and his friend John are currently undertaking a 3 week tour of the west, and stopped by Ruby Valley for 4 days in the middle of it.  We were SO happy to have them come!  Charley was so happy to spend some time with her Pops!


They spent their first 2 days fishing - we managed to spend a bit of time watching, although they were unsuccessful at their attempts.


Monday night we ran down to the hatchery to catch some of the action.

Tuesday we returned to the hatchery for round 2 - this time we came prepared to stay a while!

We took a break mid-day, and went in the hatchery to check out that operation.  Charley's seen this before, and for that matter Dad had too...  

That evening Rod took them to a super-secret fishing hole on the south end of the refuge behind lock and key...

Yeay, finally, a fish!  We played while they fished, until she'd had enough and we headed back for our nighttime routine.


Wednesday we went down to Fort Ruby for the dig.  Last year I wrote an article about it.  A few of the volunteers had returned for more.  It was neat for Dad and John to get to see it and speak with the archaeologists about it.

Thursday we went for a hike at Indian Creek.  Spooked some Chukar and mule deer.  Was a beautiful day.

Poor Haley can't take the heat anymore.  She found a cool spot to rest in and wait for us!

What a view!

Charley and Pops soaking up the last of their time together.

"Look at my sack of taters"

I LOVE this game!

 Our last night we headed up to watch the local cowboys calf ropin.

Look at this little guy!

 Last time Charley was terrified of the horses...  still not so sure, but we've made a little progress.

She even touched it!  My camera was too slow though.

Robert's Ruby Lake Visit

Rod's dad came to visit us over Labor Day weekend. Fortunately, it coincided with Rod's RDO day, so Rod had a four day weekend, and we make the most of it!

Rod got off work early on Friday and we drove into Elko to pick him up at the airport. We took the dogs along, and got a cheap hotel room, had mexican (what else?), took advantage of a free art reception at the Northeastern Nevada Museum, then caught a movie.

The next day we got up and headed to Lamoille Canyon - one of the most beautiful places we've been here in NV. We definitely wanted to show Robert! It was a GORGEOUS day for a hike!

I was pretty proud of myself - hiking at over 9,000 feet at 8 months pregnant! I was definitely feeling it though - as was Rod's dad, not being used to the elevation. I definitely had a tougher time of it than last time we hiked it with Ambre, Brad and kids near the 4th of July - of course, that was two months ago! Needless to say, we didn't make it nearly as far this time. We did see the Clark's Nutcrackers again, however, which is always a treat, but struck out a second time on large ungulates (no mountain goats or bighorn sheep).

We were going to have lunch at the Pine Lodge Dinner House, but it was closed, so we fell back on one of our faves - Ruby Mountain Pizza Company. Then we headed over Harrison Pass, which Robert was astounded by, to Ruby Lake.

We spent the next three days lounging around the house and sightseeing on the refuge. He couldn't get over the scenery or the wildlife! I think during his visit he saw mule deer, pronghorn, porcupine, coyotes, waterfowl, wading/marsh birds, raptors, Great Basin rattlesnakes - although we did strike out on the Golden Eagles.

On one of our outings I took this photo of the refuge, which I absolutely love:

And we also had a big dust storm one evening, not a rare occurrence across the marsh:

We drove the auto loop twice, went snaking every night, toured the old Fort Ruby, and saw where the old Pony Express trail crosses Ruby Valley Road. We watched a couple of movies, lots of CNN, and just enjoyed each other's company, before I drove him back to the airport on Wednesday. It was a great visit!