Autumn at Mount Rainier, especially in the alpine and subalpine zones, does not last long. In fact, some argue whether it exists at all. Camp Muir had beach-like weather last Thursday; by the next night there was 70 mph gusts slinging fresh snow into climber's tents. Summer conditions to winter conditions in less than 24 hours. 
Though the skiing hasn't become great, the climbing conditions have held out! The lower freezing levels have solidified the sketchier crevasse crossings and the feshly plastered snow has kept loose rock in place.
We were not thrilled with these... they were movin' about in the wind, but the treats were pawesome! Besides... the rain had stopped and Ma and Pa took us to some places in our neighborhood where we'd never been - cool! New smells and peemail to read. 
Unbelievable sight considering the major storm system that is gonna be here for a while. Don't know if we'll be able to see that amazing lunar event that's supposed to happen on the 21st, but we're hopin'! 
Here's a collage of some of the places Ma and Pa made us pose heheh! That flash is blindin' so we closed our peepers in some of these, like the smart pups we are!
This is a cool place, just up the street from our house. Oskar's mom should dig this - snowman!
Alien eyes in the last of the leaves!
And this is where we go every year to the Halloween party! It takes a lot of treats to lure us away from here! 
And this is our doggie nanny, Birgitta, our two-doors-up neighbor, who should be called Ms. Clause! Her house is totally Christmased up to the max! She gave us some goodies... well... she always does! Stay tuned for Part II of Cookies... and we want to thank everybody for the incredible cards we've received from you and thank Jazzi for her amazing Pressie exchange - what a job!
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| first rainy night in Hollister |
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| Into the Sierras |
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| The out skirts of Bakersfield |
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| A great day where I got sun, rain and snow |
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| Sunrise in Death Valley |
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| Some times you need extra stakes on those particularly windy nights |
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| Some thing every cyclist loves to see |
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| Breakfast |
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| I wonder if they got there one at a time or all at once in a big bra flock |
Its been 7 days of cycling I'm at about 850 miles. The weather has been all in all good so far.
The Campground is empty!
Gary finishes up an electric post repair
I want to apologize for not having been very good about posting comments on your blogs. It's been a full and sometimes difficult week. I'll be going around the blogs tomorrow to say hey to my buds! Mom just not only posted her first video, but it's the first one she's ever taken, so she's come a long way. This is for Mason's wiggle walk gig - I was as motivated as I could get for my first movie.
I have received some awards and belatedly thank those of you who bestowed these lovely gifts upon me. To Chase ( http://chasethepuggle.blogspot.com/) for this super nice stamp that means "Proven. This blog has sweetness." I would like to pass this on to the Rocky Creek Scotties, Mango, Mason Dixie and Tucker and Daisy and Leo.
This is not difficult to answer. I have received so much information and support that has helped
I'd like to pass this on to Chase, Eduardo, the OP Pack, The Bumpass Hounds, Nibbles... Treats and the Army of Four.
I send every pup a ton of licks and love,
xo Sammie
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| Paddling out through the fog. |
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| The fog-shrouded skyline behind us. |
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| The four-mile crib came into view about half a mile from shore. |
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| Alec pulls his boat through the water, demonstrating that we are all between swims. |
Ocracoke Island (circled on the map below) is at the southern end of the Outer Banks. The only way to get there from Hatteras Island is to take the free, state-run ferry. So, we were up early to make the 35-mile (56 km) drive from the campground to the ferry terminal in Hatteras Village.
The early morning temps were downright chilly, but the forecast was for a warm day with plenty of sunshine … and that’s what we got — a perfect day to explore another part of the OBX. In fact, by the time we were aboard the 7:30a ferry, Mui was already in short-sleeves and shorts; it took me another hour to get that comfortable with the temps.
Unlike the ferry that came in from Ocracoke packed with vehicles, there are only four
making the trip in reverse. Too early for most, I guess!
The 40-minute ferry ride was uneventful. We had calm seas all the way to Ocracoke; a considerable ‘gull-following’ in our wake to make things interesting; and sandbars dotted with terns and gulls to add to our bird viewing pleasure en route.
Scenes from the Hatteras-Ocracoke Ferry.
After we disembarked the ferry at the Ocracoke landing, we headed south towards Ocracoke Village, stopping at points of interest along the way. The first such stop was at the Ocracoke Pony Pasture. As in other places along the Outer Banks, this island also has Banker ponies that legends say came ashore from Spanish shipwrecks. An alternative theory is that the ponies, which have distinctive physical characteristics, were brought here by 16th century English explorers.
At one time, the horses roamed wild, sustaining themselves on beach and marsh grasses, roots of sea oats, and rain and surface water. They also served the locals, and were even used by the US Lifesaving Service and the Coast Guard to patrol the beach. In the late 1950s, the Ocracoke Boy Scouts looked after the herd for a while.
The ponies were permanently penned in 1959 by the National Park Service (NPS). Two reasons are given for why this was done. One, the increase in horse-vehicle collisions after Route 12 was paved. And two, the damage the herds were causing to dune vegetation, which, in turn, was contributing to beach erosion. Today, the number of horses has dwindled from a high of 300 to the 17 that are in the care of the NPS. Why such a big change? Natural causes, I was told.
There’s another fence and a moat that adds to the distance between visitors and horses.
When we arrived, there was just one pony in the front pasture where the horses in the NPS herd are rotated for visitors to see. This horse was busy feeding on hay; it paid little attention to us. Soon, one of the rangers came out with a colt born earlier in the year. This one was on a leash for its morning constitutional, so that was a little disappointing to see. But it was a beauty nonetheless. Then a few more came out, but they mostly kept their distance.
This colt was born earlier this year.
One pony, however, was quite rambunctious and put on a good show. In some ways, it reminded me of a teenager letting off steam by acting out a bit. It galloped around the pasture, kicking and bucking to work off its pent up energy. It even managed to get another pony to follow suit, although the latter quickly tired of the game.
Temper tantrum or just working off excess energy?
We spent about an hour with the ponies, watching them from the platform set up for visitors and strolling the fenceline to see if we could find a closer vantage point. In the end, the platform gave us the best view of the horses.
From the pony pens, we continued into Ocracoke Village, but I’ll leave that part of our day to another post.
