Hiking at the Ranch

[cmayer31]

I just downloaded some pictures from a couple of weeks ago and thought I would share. Frankie and I headed out to Daley Ranch, one of our favorite hiking spots, to do some geocaching and play with the new tripod.

She's not scared of dangerous trails:
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l81/cmayer31/Geocaching/Yawn.jpg

However, I do obey the rules around here because I don't want the Ranch to close any more of their land to the public, so we had to rethink our route; apparently looking at maps are boring.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l81/cmayer31/Geocaching/BoredontheTrail.jpg

Once we figured it out we were off. She absolutely loves being out on a trail more than anything else, including food, and it just shows:
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l81/cmayer31/Geocaching/Portrait.jpg

However, when I look close at her posture and eyes it saddens me to think how the years have flown by and those are starting to show too:
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l81/cmayer31/Geocaching/Grey.jpg

But regardless of years she still has a mission to find as many caches as possible:
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l81/cmayer31/Geocaching/cahce2.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l81/cmayer31/Geocaching/cache.jpg

And conquer every boulder, the reason she loves being on the trail so much, she lives to play on the rocks:
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l81/cmayer31/Geocaching/boulder.jpg

And why not? We have plenty more where that came from:
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l81/cmayer31/Geocaching/PlentyMore.jpg

I'm sure we'll post more pictures as we continue on our quest. :)

[shais_mom]

wow
have we missed you and your puppers!!
great pics Craig!!
more SOON! :D
a big smoooch to Frankie who is aging GRACEFULLY!

[dukedogsmom]

I absolutely love this one!
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l81/cmayer31/Geocaching/Portrait.jpg
What a beautiful girl. And I got a lump in my throat when you were talking about her getting older. I felt the same way about my RB Duke. And just what are those caches? Looks like you had a neat hike.

[RobiLee]

It's so great to see you posting. I'm very happy to see Frankie. She is so pretty. I like the pic where she is bored with looking at maps...lol. Love where she is on the boulder and really really like that last pic of all of the boulders beyond. Very cool shot.

Good to hear from you! Post more often please. :)

[cmayer31]

Wow, thank you very much for the kind responses. I'll have to get some pictures of Riley if the rain ever stops and post those too.

The caches are like electronic hide and seek. People will plant caches of all sizes from micro-film containers to large ammo boxes and post their coordinates, or a series of coordinates to find them. You plug those into a GPS and off you go trying to find the hidden loot. When you find them there are normally paper logs to sign and a bunch of small goodies where you can take something and then leave something else. That way there's always new things in the caches. There are caches all over the world :eek: . Here's a link to the main site: Geocaching . com (http://www.geocaching.com/)

Thanks again!

[RobiLee]

Can't wait to see pics of Riley.

I had never heard of Geocaching until Amy (wolf_Q) came to visit and told me about it. Sounds fun!

So when will your next Cache Hunt be?

Give the puppers hugs from me!

[pitc9]

I've heard of Geocaching before but I've never done it.
How FUN!!

Frankie sure is lovin' every second out their on the trail!
She's beautiful!

[Bengalz]

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l81/cmayer31/Geocaching/Portrait.jpg


I agree with Val - Frankie is a stunning girl :) This photo is a wonderful moment.

And what a great hiking buddy - it must be so much fun to spend this kind of time with her enjoying the wilds and each other's company :D

Great pictures Craig - I hope we see many more :)

[Taz_Zoee]

It's great to hear from you again. I can't even pick a favorite picture of Frankie. I love ALL of them. She is so beautiful.
I look forward to seeing pictures of Riley soon too. :)

[Ginger's Mom]

Great pictures of Frankie. She sure does seem to be an outdoor type of girl, although I suspect she is happy wherever she is if you are with her. A friend showed me some caches along some trails in our area, I had never heard of it before that, either.
I am looking foward to seeing the gorgeous Riley soon.

[Alysser]

It's nice to see pretty Frankie again. She's stunning, and I hope to see more pictures from your adventures very soon, and of course some of Riley!

[Freedom]

I saw that bit about how she loves to climb on the rocks and I thought, "bet he never has to clip HER nails!" He hee, guess you know what I attempted to do earlier today.

What a lovely girl, she really does seem to come to life outdoors.

I didn't know what cashes were either; we learn SO much from each other on here!

Where is this beautiful scenery? It is a lovely area for hiking, wow, you are so fortunate to have this nearby.

[cmayer31]

...
Where is this beautiful scenery? It is a lovely area for hiking, wow, you are so fortunate to have this nearby.

That picture is looking North across inland San Diego. All of our hills and mountains are very rocky underneath and that entire area has some neat rock formations.

Thank you everyone for the nice comments. :)

[wolf_Q]

Great photos! Did you take these with your SLR? I love this one of Frankie...its definitely my new favorite of her. :)
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l81/cmayer31/Geocaching/Portrait.jpg
That scenic shot is really pretty, I love the big boulders everywhere.

[chocolatepuppy]

Frankie is indeed a beauty! It looks like she enjoys your hikes. :)

[cmayer31]

Great photos! Did you take these with your SLR?

Yep, I actually hauled that beast of a camera around. I was playing with a tripod that I got for Christmas, first time :o , so I had the full kit with me. I played with a few different lenses, but ended up leaving the 80-200mm on most of the time. I keep my S3 in the pack too just for the ease of point and shoot. I really like my SLR for short hikes, but on some of these climbs I notice the weight; I guess I should get Frankie a pack and let her haul the water around.
;) :D

[wolf_Q]

I think getting Frankie her own backpack is a good idea. ;) Well, at least I'm mean and make Nebo carry his own water...and Keva will too once I buy her a backpack. At least on hikes where there's not a water source nearby. I haven't tried hiking with my SLR yet, I'm sure I'll end up taking my S3 too, and both lenses, so I imagine I'm going to have a sore back after every hike now. Stupid picture taking obsession. :o