Monday in the West

An invitation was received from friends who own Moleski Camp, a hunting lodge. We were excited to accept! It was very kind of them to entertain us overnight. 

The trophy room was awesome! We unloaded our belongings and headed out on a hike. It was a long hike, involving 2 hours up the mountain, lunch at the top and 2 hours down the mountain. YIKES!

Crossing the fence was the first challenge.

We listened attentively to our instructions to yell, "Rock" if we dislodged a rock that fell downhill, to avoid sitting on cactus, to fall uphill if we fell, and to hydrate sufficiently. So, off we went. Up, and I do mean UP the mountain. Through oak, rocks and cactus. We made four or five rest stops along the way. 

At the top, this is the view of their ranch! Pretty impressive, huh? We ate our lunch and rested for a bit. 

We worked on rebuilding the cairn. 

The kids each left a coin made in his/her birth year.

The view from here is an incredible 360 degrees.

What a find! On the way down, Grant found this elk antler. Yes, it is his to keep.

Another view en route down.

By the time we arrived back at the lodge, my feet and legs were screaming! But, the kids were still going strong. With the exception of one who sat on a cactus. OUCH! There was some time spent pulling out cactus, but then all was well. Who???

The trampoline was busy all evening.

The boys went to hunt for arrow heads and within 30 seconds, Brock found one.

Inside the lodge, there was a great deal of wild life to observe:

Dinner was elk burgers at the main house. YUM!

Bella's two story treehouse was a hit!

The big boys discovered something unique.... 

some type of music machine. 

With permission, they became great DJs from the 60s!

The horse corral.

Returning from petting the horses.

Preparing the fire for s'mores.

Evening activities....

Helping Bella with a bridge building project.

A friendly game of Uno.

Checker game.

Snuggles with PawPaw.

Off to bed in the bunk room.

What an incredible opportunity! 

Many thanks to our friends, Jerry, Michelle and Isobell Moleski! 

We had an awesome 24 hours as guests at your hunting lodge.