Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Christmas in July

The UPS driver called at 4:30 this afternoon to tell me he was on his way with my camera – I should meet him out on the highway at Frank's place in a half an hour. And right on cue, the skies darkened and it started to drizzle.

Smooch and I jumped in the truck and hoped we could get across all the arroyos before they started running. The sky was looking mighty ominous in the direction we were heading.


We were halfway to the highway and so far so good. Hang on tight, Smooch. Only four more arroyos to go!


Whew. We made it. Do you see him coming, Smooch?


Nope.

It was raining pretty good at Frank's place, and now we had to worry about getting back home...because staying overnight here wasn't particularly appealing.


Don't worry, Smooch. If we get stuck, we can take pictures with our new camera!

Let's start now. Here...I'll pose.




There he is! There's Big Brown!



Big Brown handed over the precious parcel and off we went. We took the Brazil Canyon route home, hoping we'd have less chance of getting stuck in the mud. This is where the road starts, right there between piers 7 and 8 under the railroad tracks. Most people don't believe this is actually a road, which is a good thing - keeps the trespassers out.

There was only one minor water crossing to navigate.



As we got closer to home, the rain tapered off.



And as ominous as the sky looked, it never rained over the 7MSN. The story of my life...



I took my precious parcel onto the porch to open it.
And there it was...my new camera. Sigh. 
Nikon has a sneaky way of making you read through the whole instruction manual before you get to use the camera - they send it with a battery that needs to be charged first for 2.25 hours. Guess I'd better get this posted and go start reading.

11 comments:

  1. So happy for you! You got your camera and rain. I love the pictures of the storm!!

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  2. Wait, that was a road? Wow! The things I didn't know. I am glad you didn't get stuck.

    The picture of Smooch w/the tongue was priceless!

    And I got goosebumps for you seeing the new camera box!! Can't wait to see how you like it.

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  3. What a fascinating window into life on the roads around 7MSN. I bet you don't go anywhere without your cell phone, eh? And I bet you are well versed at what to do if stranded, too.
    You are one tough rancher woman.

    I'm happy that your trip out into the wilds produced a wonderful little treat to bring home and play with. Congrats!

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  4. LOL I love how you took us on the journey with you, I'm glad you got home okay!

    I am looking at my Canon EOS 40D instruction manual right this minute, sitting on my computer desk...I've read bits of it but I just get really bored with it. I done the same thing with the camera I had before it, learnt everything with playing around for about a year, than read the manual and cleaned things up a bit. lol.

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  5. How fun - meeting UPS to get your camera with the threat of rain and impassable roads looming! I love that Smooch joined your adventure - so glad you didn't get trapped in town!

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  6. Hallelujah! Lovely new camera, rain near-by, and home safely. Maybe today will bring rain on the ranch so you will need reading material.

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  7. It's like there's an invisible umbrella over your ranch ... I'm way jealous of the camera, by the way!

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  8. Merry Christmas..

    Congrats on your new "baby"..that's what we call my new camera cause I jokes that with the lens and all that I felt like I was carrying around a diaper bag again... you can call yours baby too..

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  9. Nice roads to navigate in the rain. Glad you didn't get stuck in an arroyo.Smooch is adorable and very photogenic.I'll bet you're glad you didn't get stuck at Frank's overnight! We'll all be waiting to see how the new camera works and all the great new pictures we will get to see.

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  10. Boy, do you live out in the boonies!!

    I'm glad to see they numbered the pilings to the bridge. That way, they'll know if someone steals one.

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  11. And y'all thought I was kidding when I said I lived in the middle of nowhere.

    Twinville, you're absolutely right - I never leave home without my cell phone. Too bad I don't get a signal in those places where I'm most likely to get stranded.

    The real beauty of working from home is being able to pick and choose when I leave, which I usually don't if it's raining or muddy...unless of course Big Brown is waiting at the other end.

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