Up in cowboy country with our Cowboy Sebastian

Sebastian raised the flag on our mountain cabin for the summer, where we’ll live until the snow starts falling in November.  

He was wearing his new birthday cowboy boots that we found for him in our favorite shop in Pine, a totally tacky and interesting store named Moose Mountain.  An odd name since our local herd of elk owns this town, and there are no moose around for hundreds of miles.  We think it should be called Elk Mountain.

He displayed such respect and pride for the flag that represents our glorious country….

Every evening Sebastian requested a cowboy movie, and Grandpa has an endless supply of all the best cowboy movies ever made….Sebastian’s wish came true!

Perfect place for our grandson to sleep in the cabin….up in the loft while watching a classic John Wayne movie with us.

The apple tree in our back forty was in full bloom, with the Mogollon Rim towering 2,000 feet above our cabin.

Note, that the apple tree branches start six feet above the ground.  Only the branches and apples that the elk can’t reach are able to survive.

It will be so hard to leave our sweet cabin when Sebastian has to return home, but we’ll be back in a week and have endless months to explore this mountain rim country….

Patches of snow can still be found in the Rim Country, and Sebastian just had to race to the top:

Since we left our horses down in the desert, we had to pack our bags on our back and use our own legs to go on a hike.  But it was well worth it to see the views from the top of the Rim.  

This is the part of the area that was ignited during the controlled burn of the 15,000+ acre  West Fire above our town of Pine last September.  We were happy to see that the firefighters were able to save many of the stately pine trees when they ignited the dried grass and scrub brush….and they protected our lovely town from the forest fire.

It is also the top of the rim where we hiked two years ago to with Sean, Emily, Soren, and Sebastian….

And hiked a year ago there with Ryan, Rachelle, Ida, Alden, and Wilder….

Then last summer Danny and I camped, hiked, and danced for five glorious days on the same spot….

And today we hiked to this favorite area of ours with our dear grandson, Sebastian….burn scars, but still spectacular!

We have so many loving days up here in Rim Country, and now we have another memory that we will always cherish.  

Thank you, dear Sebastian, for this wonderfully adventurous Cowboy Week that you gave to us.  We love you.