Ghost Stories

I was up early again this morning and walked the loop.

On my way, I ran into the guys heading out to fish.

They are very committed! Cole is avid, Michael is learning a ton,

and Dan is re-finding his fishing self.

He took them down to old camp to show them all the good holes.

Cinnamon bread french toast for brunch.

(I have the hardest time spelling cinnamon!

And I even won the Jr. High spelling bee--so I'm always surprised at words that I can't spell.)

Courtney took the girls on a Ranger ride around the property, down to the river,

back up the steep river road (which is getting a bit sketchy), over to the fallen tree,

and back home.

After lunch we hiked to the Falls and found more wild raspberries at the side of the river

Michael went all the way under,

Then Dan convinced him to go back and do a five minute cold plunge with him.

Gorgeous mushrooms along the trail.

And our landscaping is so colorful.

We got to talk to Nick this evening and he is so happy!

He reported that he's loved every minute of the MTC,

loves his teachers and his district.

He also finally remembered to ask his teacher, Hermana Mask, if she's related to Clate Mask,

a friend of my dad's. Turns out, he's her grandpa. I love thinking of my dad just pulling strings to help his grandkids in their missionary efforts as much as he can.

Facetiming Elder Shaeffer

Cole and Michael headed back out to try fishing in Marty's pond and had a lot of success there too.

Ken and Cynthia joined us for dinner 

and we enjoyed getting to know them a lot better.

Fascinating life stories! 

Cynthia grew up all over the world, but spent a lot of time at her Grandpa's in Pagosa,

then moved her to raise her daughters and has been here ever since.

We've learned a lot about several of our neighbors--they've had such rich life experiences,

and we especially love hearing their stories about Pagosa.

Cynthia drove the school bus for many years (and taught at the high school).

Imagine putting chains on every school bus tire, then having to remove them 

every single day when you hit the pavement.

A couple of the school boys took over the job of putting chains on the tires and could have them on and off in just a few minutes.

We also learned about one of many ghost stories from this area.

And old man with a beard and his two lame mules.

He roamed these parts 100 years ago, but just a couple of years ago, long after he died,

appeared to a boy lost in the wilderness and gave him directions for how to get home.