Having six state high points to my name, I have started thinking about the other 44. When I took a look at Oregon’s high point, Mount Hood (11,249 ft.), it made me take a step back. The steep terrain, glaciers and big piles of rocks make the idea of climbing the thing rather intimidating. Plus, it’s an active volcano.
For now, I’ll be content with admiring the mountain from a distance.
I mentioned earlier that I have developed lots of camping skills such as helping to set up tents. Another one I’ve been working on is food shopping. Dad and I usually go every 3-4 days to stock up while we’re on the road. I know how to push a cart and haul groceries and water. My favorite though is to help select apples for lunch (thanks to the Apple Goddess).
In the picture I’m ready to roll at the Community Food Co-op in Bozeman, Montana.
We had a nice adventure out on the prairies of northeastern Colorado. It’s out in the middle of nowhere, but there’s a place called the Pawnee Buttes which is really cool. Actually, it’s very hot, so it was a good idea to start our hike early. We got back to the car at 9:00 AM. In this kind of environment Dad makes me walk very close to him. He’s concerned about rattlesnakes, and he’s probably right that I wouldn’t know how to react if we encountered one. We saw some wildlife, but nothing too dangerous.
Later, as we traveled north through the backroads and into Nebraska, we saw tons of wind turbines capturing the power of the breeze. They’re very big when you see them up close. Dad says that our current president doesn’t like windmills, even though folks out here who likely voted for him are putting them up on their land. I’m not really sure why he feels that way, but I think they’re awesome. They have an elegant design, plus they provide energy for our lives.
