Time to start thinking about winter so we headed up north to get things ready for the Winter season coming up.
We had some weeds to clear out and I was happy to see some purple morning glories still hanging around our old fence. They will be gone soon but the apple trees in town everywhere were full. Our neighbors offered us some but we forgot to send the kids out to pick some for us to bring back home to the city.
There were sunflowers out everywhere as well. This always makes me think of Fall when we drive into town, those sunflowers everywhere on the sides of roads. I did a beautiful Fall basket centerpiece back in the city with faux sunflowers, I will have to share that DIY with you all later. Sunflowers are some of my favorite flowers.
Christmas was the theme on this trip, even though Fall was in the air. It was officially the first day of Fall when we decided to drive up that night under that bright moon, which looked so pretty on all the Forrest trees. I had Christmas ornaments all ready to make and post on later.
That night when we drove in, we went to drop off a birthday gift for our friends down the street at DeadBroke Inn. They had guest with them that night who were celebrating a wedding anniversary. We all sat around the campfire they had going and talked about everything from the selection of movies now to what was going on in town.
In the distance the Elk were making their mating calls all around us and the noises were setting off the cattle in town, at least that’s what I believe was setting them off. But to be silly I said “ Wow, what is going on with the cows tonight, there is either a cougar out there somewhere in the dark or Bigfoot” and I got the chills when I looked out in the moonlight towards the darkness where the cows were.
When we were all inside our beds later that night trying to sleep through all the elk in town making all their mating noses my husband said he heard a whole heard of hooves clicking down the street towards the center of town and asked if I heard it which I didn’t. I probably would have poked my head out the front door to take a peek, carefully of course. Elk can kill you if they decide to attack. A woman up north in another town was attacked by one this summer in her own front yard. Thank God she was able to get away, it was a mamma elk worried about her baby.
I love seeing the elk in the wild but Alpacas are so much friendlier and they are everywhere up north too. I tried making some with a pattern from a craft book and here are my finished products. Remember, up north we stick to the simple things like cooking, reading and making things by hand when up at our little red house.
There is no cable TV, internet or phones up in that house. It’s a great place to get away from technology and take a break from the city. If you are one of my followers you have read this before about our visits up north. I wish everyone took some time off from cell phones and technology and spent time doing the simple things every now and then, it would help get people to spend time with one another and become closer.
The next morning we went across the street to see the changes going on at the old Hoghland store museum. What a treat having this old building across the street from us, it’s a beautiful view of the old west times.
Our neighbors and friends have been very busy fixing up the cabins around the store.
It used to be really empty back in the day, here is an old photo of the area. Our Little Red House was built in the 1940’s so it isn’t in this photo but the land where it would be built is. Such cute little boys being pulled around in their little red wagons.
The old cowboys, ranchers and townsfolk used to sit around up on that old wooden porch at the store waiting for the mail.
Now that old wooden porch is all cleaned up and empty but it still feels like nothing has changed. A nice place to sit with a cup of cocoa or coffee watching the day go by.
That morning while I was hanging out on that old porch I heard horses coming up the street.
It was a beautiful early morning to be greeted by people out taking a stroll down the road using horses instead of vehicles. It was so quiet and peaceful.
Inside the store I strolled around looking at old products from long ago.
Our friends had some really pretty Valentines on display which made me think about those old magazines my uncle used to collect and all those beautiful detailed post cards and valentines they had back then.
There was also a really cute display at the store of comical postcards. I know my uncle would have liked these too.
Went out back to see the art studio they were getting ready to build. Can’t wait to see the finished room. I know it will look amazing, maybe I will try my hand at painting with our friends up there. Looks like one of my “Nailed it” posts might be coming up in the future. That for sure will get some laughs at my attempts at painting.
Karla is the artist up there with her paintings displayed all around her home.I know she will produce a lot of really pretty paintings when her art studio is finished.
This was a very short trip, so after we visited our friends for a bit we invited them over to our place for some of my husband’s pulled pork sandwiches with his special sauce.
Then we packed up to head back to the city after lunch. On the way out we saw some deer again.
Also there were red wildflowers out everywhere in the woods that looked so beautiful. These photos do not do it justice, the sun was in a hard place so the photos aren’t the best.
Hope you all enjoyed this trip back to Our Little Red House with us. Stay safe, healthy and happy out there in the world and thank you for stopping by for a visit.
The rest of the photos below are from the trip.
Wow, what a great trip! so many interesting things to see and well captured.
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Thank you, I still need to do that awards post. I am going to try to get to that this weekend, we are headed out the door right now for the Arizona State Fair. I will have to share some photos of that with you all later. Thank you again for the nomination and I love how creative you are too.
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Take your time, hon, I myself sat for 2 days to write my award post 🙂 Can’t wait to see your photos! Happy weekend!
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This is so beautiful and YUMMY! I miss pulled pork! Great post as always! 😉
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Thank you. Yeah, pulled pork is one of my favorite meals. It’s always a special treat when my husband makes it and it travels well.
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Reading your post almost teleported me there…nice !
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Awww…thank you. I want everyone to feel like they are there visiting us when we make crafts, hike a desert or visit our place up north. I love telling a story with my photos to make you all feel included. There are some lonely people out there and they shouldn’t feel that way, there are millions of us on this planet waiting to share a part of ourselves.
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Oh my, another thing we have in common…..Sunflowers….nothing more beautiful in their simplicity !! BTW…I love your door !! And the wide planks on the wall of the room of your friend …..awesome ! As usual you just made me want to jump in my truck and go explore your beautiful state 🙂 Well….you never know….maybe one day 😉
Hope your health is improving and you’ll be your “old self” soon !!
Take care and keep on enjoying life !!
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Thank you, that door is beautiful and it belongs to our neighbors across the street, the ones with the old country store. They are so funny together, they are always building things. I have kind of of a thing for doors and wooden things. If you ever do head on over here we should meet up somewhere on an Arizona hike or something, we know all the hidden Arizona back roads. My husband and I have been doing road trips since we were very tiny with our own fathers and they took us on some cool adventures that we now share with our kids. Felling better everyday, thank you. Have a great weekend. can’t wait to check out your photos from this week. I am headed out the door now to visit my aunt out in Mesa, it’s been a couple months since I last saw her.
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I love your alpaca creations. They are so cute! I was in a part of PA recently where there’s elk for the second time and still haven’t seen any yet. Beautiful photos!😊🌼
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Those elk are great at hiding. They are great at only coming out when they know it’s safe. They eat our blackberries in our back yard all the time.
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we had a summer home for 7 years ( trailer in a park) and I loved getting away from it all, but we did take our phones and we had tv but only for movies no cable ( the young boys unfortunately used it for video games as well) we had a little “town” store it didn’t have many old things but had that farm feel which I loved. those ornaments are adorable the llamas and penguin! felted? I really need to try that. hubz and I had our anniversary this weekend and we are having pulled pork tomorrow lol , my secret sauce is club house sweet pulled chicken spice pack, a can of tomatoe soup and some brown sugar, toss in with pork loin in a crock pot, both my oldest had to have the recipe for cooking on their own. we live in the city, our summer home was 20 mins away only because we needed to be able to get back to town for various reasons here and there, we heard some wild life but never saw any, everyone was always rescuing feral kittens though. a few times when we stayed at great wolf lodge we had a ground floor room and the deer were across the way, so close to our balcony it was as if we could step out and touch them, we just sat silently and admired them, I love wild life, I LOVE animals period..except snakes and bugs they are the devil himself!
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Oh, it is so much fun just getting away and taking mini breaks now and then. We have an old TV up there that my aunt gave us. You know the kind that weigh a ton, but hey, those TV’s last forever. not like these new flat screens that weigh nothing. There is an old VCR hooked up to it and we have tons of VHS tapes from the 80’s. We have family movie nights watching old movies I used to watch when I was a kid and we eat popcorn with M&M’s. My kids have cell phones, got them when they turned 18 but my husband and I got rid of our cell phone ten years ago. I usually don’t share that with people because when they hear you don’t have a cell phone for some reason they hate you, not everyone but there have been a lot of sneers and judgment on that. Wow, there is a lot I have seen and learn in these ten years without a cell phone. I don’t judge but man how we have been over something as small as a cell phone. My husband even lost a friend of 20 years because he couldn’t be reached one day on a cell phone. The friend emailed him called him a F—– A—— and to get a phone. It was really sad, all over a phone. This same friend would go out to lunch with my husband and would spend most of the time on his phone checking messages. Anyway that is in the past, but I am always afraid to tell people I don’t have a cell phone. I agree with you on the snakes and bugs, they are evil little critters but some are so pretty to look at, from a distance of course. I am a big lover of all animals too.
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I enjoy my phone mostly for seaching…info and then 99% pintetest and craft ideas, it also works aa my brain and sets off alarma reminding me to do pretty much everything. I started a few months ago putting pen to paper and keeping my to do lists in a journal. Hubz and I never get fancy phones all our kids have them so we use it as communication. How awful and petty and stupid to judge anyone for no cell, if you can make it work all the power to you..we all survived without them and can survive now without them, I cant give up the convience more then the need to stay connected 24 7 with people.
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They are great especially for emergencies, for now we are doing okay but eventually when the kids move away and are adults living on their own, we will need them. I love how you can speak to someone and see them, so like that cartoon I used to watch as a kid…the Jetsons.
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Lol yup the jetsons monitor tv was skype or face time we now have! I rarley use it…odd time with our son.
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We had a vcr it broke 😦 we still have an “old” tv too lol its the only way to hook up a atari video game system..you remeber those?
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Yes, that is so funny. I loved that old gaming system. One year I git one for Christmas and everyone in the family played that thing.
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We found one a few yeara ago thrifting and collected all our fave games from childhood. The kids laugh at us when we play but i love it
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They were fun. I remember the whole family getting involved when I was a kid.
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