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Within the confines of this blog, you will find bits and pieces of the life and times of myself, my family and friend dear and near., far and wide, few and far between. You will find bits and pieces of my world, tho small to some, but huge to me. You will find everything from 'soup to nuts',; recipes, hobbies,crafts, gardenings,loves of my life, GrandLoves-a-Plenty, and even my pets... Sooo, if you can handle family life, enjoy the tour of my 'Stuffings'.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Crazy Boys, GrandLoveGifting, Supper

Tho this picture was taken over 5 years ago, when my nephew came home from his 2nd tour at Iraq, these two fellas, my Andy and Cher's Nate, always manage to keep me in stitches and wondering just 'what' are they up to now.
This past weekend was no different. They had planned to ' take a hike ' to unknown territory, to find new hunting ground for this coming fall.
They each carried over 40 lb. packs on their backs, including their survival arms, a couple of 45's, just in case. The woods can offer supper in a pinch. One never ' plans ' on getting lost and having to spend a night or two in our cold country, this time of the year.

Their packs also carried extra socks, gloves, change of clothes and warmer boots, as they started out in cross-country ski shoes and wool socks. They also carry a GPS, extra felt packs, matches, a flint, a lighter, in case the matches get wet, survival blankets, cell phones and their snowshoes. To stay hydrated for their day hike, they had each a 2 liter bottle of water and trailmix with nuts, berries and yogurt chips.

As it turned out, they were only a 1/4 mile into their hike when they decided to ditch the skis and pick them up on the way back out.
That didn't happen.
They left at 10 a.m. and at 3 p.m., we get a call that they were sitting on the island they were looking for, having a snack and mapping their continued hike. They did not think it would have taken as long to get to their destination, mark it on the GPS, and get back before dark.

New plan. They said they would head south and west to the shooting range out east of us, and should be out of the woods about half an hour before dark. Could we pick them up and drive them back to the truck? They were excited to find the island and see all the deer sign, but also a lot of wolf sign, definitely a pack and not a straggler or two.

Another call about 4 p.m. this time from his cousin's phone as his battery was dead, telling me not to worry, but they changed direction again, having found a closer road to where the truck was parked. That was where we were to pick them up and drive them to where they parked, as their legs were jello from crawling through so much brush and blow-down. They said they felt like a rabbit on the run from a hungry fox, tired and wanting to stop.

It worked out fine. They were out of the woods a half hour before dark, calculating on the Geographic Positioning System, that they had walked and crawled over 5 miles. They were grateful they didn't have to walk that last mile.

Quite the adventure, well, except for one thing. The skis they poked into the snow were still in the woods, waiting for their back-track return, to pick them up.

Nate had to head back home, so Andy said that he would get them out of the woods the next day. Being they were both exhausted, and that it was such a remote area where, no one, in their right mind, would tread this time of the year, the ski 'pick-up ' waited until the next day.

Since Andy borrowed a pair of snowshoes from Nate, he picked up mine at the cabin, taking our truck this time. Probably not a good idea, since it was just about out of gas and he was headed the other direction from town. It was only about 6 miles down the road from where he would park and walk in to get the skis, so it should not be an issue.

As the picture goes, young, energetic man in his late 20's, but still aching and tired from the ' hike ' the day before, Dad's truck, new tires, " Why not." He decides to drive into the gravel pit road, never plowed all winter, I might add, so he wouldn't have to walk quite so far to get those danged skis. You get the picture. Stuck. Stuck bad. He calls his brother for help who ' also ' thinks he can just drive in, pull out their Dad's truck and he would never have to find out about it.
Yes, you got it. Stuck. Now there are two 4-wheel drive trucks, stuck in the middle of no where, no way for a wrecker to reach them, so they are forced to make a decision. Call their uncle. Ok...

Uncle Eric decides to stop and get chains, come-alongs, rope, anything that might assist a couple of foolish boys out of the woods. Stac says, " Take a left, then the first right and just drive back here." Eric says, "Now, boys, WHY would I do that when the both of you already are stuck?"
They must have thought he wasn't going to show up so they called yet, another couple of guys. One of them has a bigger truck with bigger, wide tires, so they figured that would work.

Meanwhile, Dad is filled in on what's happening and I'm peeling him off the ceiling. He calmed down enough to decide to go with Eric, saying, "Well, let's go rescue the little sh...!" Needless to say, he was a little on the irate side. Thanks to my brother, he calmed him down enough that we didn't have to worry about another heart attack. Seriously!

The friends had Stacy's truck out by time they got there, and Dad's Big Blue Dodge, came out shortly after. As soon as they got back, I checked to see that all the guys were in tact while Bill checked on his beloved truck...

And the family wonders why I turn my head the other way.

I stayed home and finished another girly thing for GrandLove Megan. I think she will like this cute little Trinket Bag and Fingerless Gloves.
I also moved the flower on Ryele's bag, to utilize the button as a closure with a loop. It works great.
Now, I have to go and check the Pork Hocks...I can smell they are going to go just fine with a little Pork Gravy, Fresh Chunky Apple Sauce, and Brussel Sprouts with Almonds. Sounds good enough to me.
For dessert, another slice of this delicious Apple, Black Cherry Crisp with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream....Yum, Yum!
Thanks for stopping by and
BlessYourHearts

15 comments:

jack69 said...

Now sweet heart, you know I love you. Loved the treking story, the island and return. I even loved the idea of rescuing the unlearned or ill-advised. Glad no one had a heart attack A great story. I loved the crocheting or knitting whatever, your talents are endless, AND THEN, AND THEN you have to show That apple black Cherry crisp, then you have the nerve to add Ice cream to it.

I'm starving and I ain't forgiving you!

But down inside I still love you, great entry. (but the sweet addition was mean)

Dar said...

Now, how did that large print get in there?

~mel said...

Oh Momma Darla ~ you worry too much over those boys. Boys and their toys ~ you know they had fun getting stuck and unstuck ... it's what they do. Happy it all turned out okay ~ and someday you'll over hear Andy and Nate telling their boys about the day they hiked 20 miles in the snow to an island surrounded by a pack of 20 hungry wolves and burying the truck in a snowdrift 20 feet deep. Stories like this will only grow bigger over time.

Osage Bluff Quilter said...

I am worn out and hungry now!
Glad the boys are all okay and Dad's truck is home in one piece.

TexWisGirl said...

Read Mel's comment and had to laugh. SO true!!! Glad everyone (and everyone's truck) are okay!!!

Jean said...

Glad every thing turned out okay, lol. Enjoyed reading. You sure have made my mouth water with all that good eating. Oh and that desert sound so Gooood.

imac said...

Big boys and there trucks eh,lol.
neat knitted work.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

What a story..... Life is never boring at your house, is it???? I can just hear your hubby now--fussing about those 'kids' and what did they do to his precious truck!!!!!

My oldest was in his 30's I think when he took off by himself to hike in Alaska.... I was proud of him --but worried about him the entire time. He did GREAT though... (They will always be 'kids' though!!! ha)

Your dinner sounds yummy... We are having homemade Chili tonight... Smells SO good...

Have a great evening.
Hugs,
Betsy
P.S. The new little trinket bag and gloves are beautiful!!!

Cicero Sings said...

Oh but that crisp looks good ... and supper too. I don't know WHAT I'm going to eat tonight! Reading about all that hiking and crawling through the woods and fussing over stuck trucks and worried about irate pops ... has worked up an appetite.

Michelle said...

Whew! What a story and that crisp looks so good....

Arkansas Patti said...

What a fun story. Now that it is over that is. When a 4 wheel drive gets stuck, it is really stuck.
Nice rescue.
You had the best idea. That crisp looks wonderful.

Cher' Shots said...

Mel's right - Boys and their toys, and how the stories will GROW with time! The older they get the more they leak out their stories from when they were 'growing up.' Some of those stories makes me wonder how they even survived! Yikes!
'love & hugs from afar'

Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski said...

I'm with Cher on this one ... when one of my boys accidentally spills the beans on one of their growing up adventures my first reaction is to wonder/marvel at their survival. Second I say a prayer of thanks that the legion of guardian angels watched over them. Apparently you keep busy with crafty stuff and baking. Oh the crisp looks positively sinful.

Cindy

Skeeter said...

You had me laughing with this story. Sounds like something my brothers would have done at that age. Bless their hearts...

Iowa Gardening Woman said...

Wow, those purses and fingerless gloves are very well done! And that meal looks yummy!

Thank your nephew for serving in Iraq for our country.