A day with Gracie

   About a month ago Gracie and her sister Tori came to visit me at our place. They got to ride my mules Sunshine and Siera.

Since then Gracie has been asking to come back. Her birthday was October 1st and one of her birthday wishes was a visit with me. I was pretty honored.

She asked to go hiking which is one of my favorite things to do. So I packed a picnic lunch of PB&J, dehydrated apple chips, and some chocolate chip cookies. 

On the drive to Duck Egg County Park she asked over and over. How much further? When do we get there? As a Grandmother, I can smile and just give an answer. There is an advantage to being my age and one of them is more patience than I had as a mom.

This was my typical view for many parts of our hike:

We stopped and had a picnic lunch on a footbridge that goes over the stream. Charlie kept and eye out in case any good stuff fell on the bridge. 

We had to hike up a very steep hillside with switchbacks in the trail. The elevation from valley floor to the bluff is 702 feet. The bluff we were hiking to is in the top of the photo pictured below.

As we started up the steep switchback Gracie kept asking 'How far to the top?' Sort of like ... are we there yet? I asked if she was tired and she said her legs were so we rested often.

A bit of 'drama' is always enjoyed...

Kids are so great and it gives me a lot of joy to be around them. 

We did eventually make it to the look out. I looks down on the valley we'd just trekked through.

When I got back to the house Gracie visited with Rich and told him about the hike. We then visited with the mules for a bit before it was time to take her back to her mom.

The mules recognized her and came right to her.

She wants to be immersed in horses and equine. I can recall wanting the same thing at that age. 

I mean, what little girl doesn't want that?

I grew up and had my dream. I surely hope she can do it also.

When I got ready to head back to town to drop her off she ran inside the house and wrapped her arms around Rich and gave him a huge hug. His and her smiles made my day. I am blessed to have made friends with her mom and family. They bring joy into our world.