rayner shine...

we went camping again this weekend - i guess we've been bitten by the bug. we live in such a beautiful state! there are millions of places i want to explore. this time we went southwest to the wet mountain valley in the san isabel national forest. our plan was to camp at one of the campgrounds around lake isabel, but supposedly someone took the last one just 10 minutes before we showed up. we're glad they did! we kept driving and found a wonderful place off the beaten path. the only thing i would've changed was the weather. it rained from about 7:30pm friday night til about 5 am saturday morning. the wet mountain valley lived up to its name. it was certainly NOT ideal, but we survived!

saturday morning. absolutely beautiful. you probably can't tell that pretty much everything in the tent is wet, or at least damp. but i'm sure you can see the moon in the perfectly blue sky. pat did an amazing job setting up camp friday night BEFORE the rain set in, thank goodness! i wish you could hear the creek, just to the left of our campsite.

this little happy girl LOVES camping. she was such a delight.


there was a trail head right at our campground, so we went for a little "hike." we didn't make it very far, but it was just right. apache was in HEAVEN.


the weather was so strange most of the day saturday. one minute it would be totally sunny and hot, the next minute, completely cloudy and cold. it kept us on our toes.


little nature-lover. makes me incredibly happy.


we took a drive that afternoon and got a good look at the sangre de cristo mountain range. words can't describe how majestic it is. and look at the clouds! i took several pictures of the weather surrounding us. these 4 pictures were taken within minutes of each other, in different directions.

on the way "home" we stopped at Bishop's Castle. this is jim bishop, the builder. he started building this castle in 1969 and has built it all by hand. you'd have to see it to believe it.

p and laurel got a closer look. i kept my feet on the ground.

she may kill me later for the potty pictures. i just can't help it. could you????

supper that night. english muffin pizzas and s'mores. and NO RAIN! hallelujah. we're hoping to get in one more camping trip this season. stay tuned...