What a whirlwind I have been caught up in! After extending our stay with friends in Seymour, TX last week by one day, (because of the rain and cold temperatures) we drove north to Black Mesa State Park near Kenton & Boise City, Oklahoma.
It was a nice little park, filled with many trails, lots of history, a variety of wildlife (including deer, turkey, and doves), and absolutely no cell service for miles and miles. LOL. It was a surprise to us since there were a few cell towers nearby... apparently, we had the wrong provider. None the less, we enjoyed our stay there.
As we explored the area, we found a great view overlooking the lake.
And a small area of fossilized dinosaur tracks...
We did a short trek on a few trails... and both Dave and I held our breath as we watched Shelby walk right up to the edge of the cliff at the far right (pictured below) and peered over.
We saw several sheepherder shelters, as well as areas in the rock shelves where the Native American women would have ground corn or other seeds. (We learned at Palo Duro that they ground mesquite seeds to use just as they did corn.)
We opted out of the 8.4-mile trail to the "high point" of OK, which would have taken us to the top of Black Mesa... and enjoyed an afternoon of letting Shelby take a dip in a small swimming pond which she followed up with a nap.
During our travels I worked on a few quilted hearts... and left a few sprinkled here and there. :)
I completed two blocks for our Camping Journal quilt... a Mountain block with a road approaching them and a tall pine tree...
I have all of the blocks for our Camping Journal quilt selected... for Palo Duro I'll be using the Grand Canyon pattern, the Hiking Boot and a Shoo Fly block. Ohmygoodness, the flies were pesty! I was thankful that they were not biting. That would have been just horrible.
Blocks for Black Mesa will be a Dinosaur Track and a Turkey Tail. Well, technically, the pattern was designed as a stained-glass window, but I will use just 1/2 of it in shades of browns to create turkey tail feathers.
Upon our return home, Shelby refused to accept the fact that our journey was done. As we emptied the camper and drained the water lines, she watched from her spot in front of the door. The only way we got her out when we were done was to take her on a walk, followed by a popsicle. LOL.
In March, when we had the news that the tumor on Shelby's right shoulder was cancer, we vowed to give her a summer filled with camping... and that we did. She enjoyed and each and every one of our trips - eight in total for a count of 30 nights. At this point, she is still doing great. She has slowed down a little but is still able to get in and out of the truck, camper and jeep without issue. And only requires a few aspirin at the end of an overly vigorous day. We feel confident that we will have one more Christmas with her but feel uncertain of another camping season. I'd say we achieved our goal!
And with the way that Autumn lingers in our area, we can potentially get in one more trip this month! But for now, we really need to get back to work.
Speaking of work... I have a new T-shirt quilt on the design wall! This one is for the daughter of my HS bestie. Throughout her years of high school, and college, she was a part of the flag teams.
I have a few more items to add in and some tweaking in the placements, but I should have a top ready for sandwiching by the week's end.
That's all I have to show for now... Let's take a look at this week's randomly selected feature.
Nancy at Grace & Peace Quilting showed us her blocks from October's Rainbow Scrap Challenge... "I have 60 blocks, enough for two throw-size quilts. I'm doing 6 x 6 postage stamp blocks using 2 1/2" squares from leftover bits as I'm cutting out quilts!"
She shares a picture of each one. It is a fun little I-spy adventure to examine each one in search of fabric that you have in your own stash. :)
Ok, time for the party to begin!
What have you been doing while I was off playing?
Leave a comment and link up for your projects.
Cherish each and every day, for you do not know when it will be your last.
Keep Piecing,
Melva
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I always enjoy seeing where you travel and camp, Melva. Black Mesa is such a beautiful state park.We went there in May but it was raining and cold. It is so wonderful that Shelby enjoyed the vacation as well; she is well loved. Your quilted hearts are gorgeous and I am sure you sprinkled happiness along the way with these beauties. Enjoy your day.
ReplyDeleteI just added Black Mesa to our wishlist. Never made it that far when we lived in Oklahoma. Boise City is way out there in the Panhandle! Glad you enjoyed your trip, and I'm so happy Shelby had fun too. How old is she?
ReplyDeleteWe've been working on putting up some plexiglass in our patio, and there are days I'm surprised we're still together - LOL! Yesterday I just stayed in the kitchen baking and was close by and available to "help" (holding things), and it worked out much better. ;)
State parks are treasures across the country. I went to Black Mesa's website--a place I hadn't known about. The camping journal "pages" are coming along nicely.
ReplyDeleteThanks for featuring my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks!!! They're being turned into flimsies now. Interesting, fun trip you had!!!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a wonderful camping trip. It's nice you are giving Shelby a lot of camping adventures. I hope the weather holds so you can fit another one in this year.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fun and interesting trip! I see my alma mater in the t-shirt quilt pieces - CSU!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful trip Melva. I can just imagine the fun people are having finding your little hearts.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely trip! Shelby is a lucky girl. I have been thinking a lot about our Percy, who we lost last year. It is a blessing when they are doing well enough to share their joy with you a bit longer. We had a splendid time in Ireland, which now was almost a month ago.
ReplyDeleteThey put one of the quilted hearts in our goodie bag at the retreat. I need to find a place to leave it, and make some more.
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful countryside. Shelby looks so happy! Love the blocks you're making to remember the trip. Thanks for sharing on my weekly show and tell, Wednesday Wait Loss.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.inquiringquilter.com/questions/2023/11/08/wednesday-wait-loss-353
Sounds like you had a lovely trip and Shelby looks very happy. I'm looking forward to seeing your Camping Journal quilt. Be sure and make a block just for Shelby to go in it. Thanks for linking with Monday Musings.
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