On our way out of Lake City, we passed “Viker’s Nude Ranch.” Phil’s comment was, “My, this place has certainly gone downhill since old Perk died!” Perk Vickers was the patriarch whose family homesteaded this ranch in the 1800’s. He died this past summer at nearly 100 years old and his dude ranch seems to have taken on a new identity. 

We stopped for a short while at North Clear Creek Falls and posed for photos with our goats because waterfall pictures are even better with goats in them.

Pac-Man recently started getting less nervous about heights. The less nervous he is, the more nervous I am! That’s a loooong drop there, buddy!

Phil was nervous about this photo shoot. A young man died last month when he leaned over the falls for a picture and tumbled to his death. Naturally I told Phil this news right before I asked if he would pose on the edge of the cliff with his goats. 

On the third day of our trip, the sun came out and the weather warmed up (a little). Phil and I decided to pack a lunch (and some warm clothing) and take a day hike up the Alpine Gulch trail. Cuzco was in his element. He LOVES to pack! Cuzco usually lags any time he’s walking with us sans gear, but when he’s wearing a saddle he marches right on my heels. The hackles stay down and the growling and bad temper evaporate. He’s all business and he’s ready to tackle anything.

I’m hoping some of Cuzco’s good manners can rub off on Pac-Man. As a packing prospect, Pac-Man is mostly living up to his 3/4 Nubian reputation for being loud and lazy. He’s inclined to turn back and take himself home if he thinks an obstacle is too difficult, and he complains regularly and loudly. But he’s come a long way. Just this past spring, a log such as this one would have proved impassible for Pac-Man. But we crossed lots of water on this hike, and Pac-Man walked over every log without coaxing or coercion.

Cuzco fell off a log and went bobbing down the river once when he was about six months old. He’s never trusted them since and prefers to wade. He’s quite a good creek navigator.

It’s crossings like this one that confirm Cuzco’s worse suspicions about log bridges. I almost slipped off this one myself! Pac-Man crossed admirably in my footsteps. I’m getting pretty proud of this guy!

Meanwhile, Cuzco doesn’t care if the water is up to his neck–he’s not walking on that dangerous ice-covered spit of wood!

“You guys comin’?” I think Pac-Man is finally getting the hang of this hiking thing!

I found a glass paw-print on a golden tile. I wonder if a crystal cat walked here?

The next day was also cold, so we stayed in and around town. We visited one lady who recently retired from working at the local Post Office and is now filling her days with painting animals for her “Painted Petting Zoo.” I was surprised by the sheer number of them! Cuzco made friends with a Kudu while Pac-Man and Phil hung out with a gorilla. Pac-Man was unimpressed by the armadillo.

On the last day my parents came with us for a long drive to Arrowhead Inn and a short hike on the Big Blue trail. The goats rode in the pickup bed and I’m not sure how much they enjoyed the ride since the road was pretty dodgy in places. But Cuzco is too old to run behind the truck anymore and Pac-Man is too lazy, so they had to stay in the back.The Inn at Arrowhead had some of the biggest aspen trees I have ever seen. Cuzco and I were both impressed!

Phil found an indecent carving on one of the trees–*gasp*!!! (Don’t worry–we hid the goats’ eyes as they walked past.)

This was a good year to stick closer to home and even get back to my roots. Cuzco is getting too old to make a two-day journey all the way to Utah, so in the interest of giving the old fella an easy time, Phil and I decided to have our “goat vacation” in my old hometown of Lake City, CO this year. My parents still own a house there so we were able to stay for free–an added bonus!

We started out the trip with a detour to Colorado Gators near Alamosa. There are lots of gators, and Phil made friends with one of the smaller specimens whose name escapes me.

I made even better friends with a corn snake named Kali. She loved my hat and tried to get up under it. Unfortunately, she took the scenic route through my braid. Snake scales being what they are, once she started there was no going back. Several people had to intervene to feed her slowly through my hair–not easy seeing as she was fatter in the middle and my hair was braided fairly tight. But in the end we got her out with no damage to the snake or to my pigtail.

After the Gator Ranch we made our way to Lake City, where we were greeted by a late September blizzard over Slumgullion Pass. It was beautiful, but I was in shorts. I stopped somewhere near Creede to blanket Cuzco. He’s not as resistant to cold as he used to be.

The golden aspens were a beautiful contrast to the fresh white snow.

Our first day in Lake City was a cold one, but we braved a short hike anyhow. We didn’t plan to be out long and the goats were both coughing and sneezing after the chilly night in the trailer, so we took it easy and went without packs.

Cuzco gazes down at Lake City’s Ball Flats area. I wonder if he remembers living here?

Phil wants a driveway paved with gold. I told him we should line the driveway with aspens and it will be gold every fall.

A few days before we left for our annual “goat vacation,” I got a box of step-in posts to add as extra supports for my electric goat fence. The net was sagging between posts and I can’t have sagging fences now that the bucks are noticing the does and vice versa!

I laid the box in front of the porch without giving it much thought and several hours later my tidy box containing the neat bundle of poles looked like a tornado had hit it!

I don’t remotely believe Nubbin did this all by herself, although I’m pretty sure she probably enjoyed it the most. Naughty goats! But this is why I love them… they cannot possibly entertain me enough!

I always loved it when Cuzco would accompany my friends and I on horseback rides back in Lake City. He was an amazing trail companion and always kept up with the horses even when we would gallop. Cuzco is too old to follow horses any more, but Finn is at the perfect age to learn, and since he’s a buckling just coming into rut, all the more reason for me to take him out in a way that I can enjoy his company from a safe distance.

Finn was not the least bit afraid of the horses, and my friend Jordan’s horse is gentle with goats–a good way to start him out! Finn stayed faithfully by my stirrup for almost the entire ride. He was quite nervous at first because he couldn’t figure out where I was. I would call his name and he would look in every direction except up. He kept up a steady racket for the entire first half of the ride until he finally figured out that I hadn’t disappeared–I was just up on the horse. 

Yesterday we took The Three Stooges for a hike. 

Finn has been hiking lots this summer and showed the other two how it’s done. 

Sputnik’s favorite part was the cookies. 

The first water crossing was an adventure. Snickers fell down on the log. 

But he made a spectacular recovery and managed to cross without getting so much as a damp toe. 

Sputnik, being somewhat more coordinated than Snickers, and having the advantage of watching the other two go first, fared better.   

What a view! 

Phil was getting tired of his “Rambo with Explosion” avatar, so he thought he’d get a new one with him holding a goat in front of a fire instead. I burned a big slash pile and Phil posed with Finn. The photos didn’t come out very good, but we had fun trying to make Finn look at the camera instead of the inferno. I also had fun watching Phil try to hold this big, strapping goat. Phil won’t be able to do this much longer!

We also are getting the point where we don’t want to pick Finn up even if we can. He’s growing up and the hormones are kicking in. He’s been bathing his face and legs in buck cologne lately and he’s getting too gross to play with. The poor little guy is so friendly and sweet and he doesn’t understand why no one wants to hug him any more. Phil and I can’t wait till this breeding season is over so he can do his job and be done with buck-hood. I want to be able to cuddle him again!

Today was a banner day. Today was the day Pac-Man, the goat who is afraid of heights, discovered that he can be a brave goat after all. Today he climbed, not just one, but BOTH ramps all the way to the tippy-top of the goat tower! 

I joined him for his moment of triumph. 

The girls bow in deference to their new king (although I doubt they’ll allow him to enjoy his reign for long). 

Yep, I was right. Looks like Lilly has already assumed the throne and is surveying her minions from on high. 

Now Petunia has the top deck and with her ears outstretched, it appears she is going to use it for a launch pad. “Cleared for takeoff!”

A perfect shot… if only I hadn’t cut off Lilly’s head.

We took Jezebel and Delilah out hiking with us for the first time yesterday. They were a little skittish, but they stuck close and they weren’t noisy so all in all it was a good time.

The girls are filling out nicely and Jezebel is at least an inch taller than Delilah now. There’s a nice padding of flesh over their ribs, and their hooves are  growing in much stronger than they were when I got them. It’s amazing what free choice food, a hoof trim, and running on rocks can do in a short time! 

Water was the biggest problem on this hike. I had to do some serious hand-holding to get them to cross this little stream.  

Delilah got stuck in the middle for a while. 

Looking across this log bridge, you’d think they were teetering on the edge of a 10,000-foot precipice with nothing but a frayed rope stretched over it. 

I crossed ahead of them to show them how it’s done. Jezebel was the brave one. My picture of Delilah crossing showed nothing but a blurry tail as she got part-way across and then took to the air. 

Phil has really been bonding with these girls. They love him and it shows. 

Looks like the tree sprouted a goat! A goat with wattles no less!