Icy Mountain Weekend

We left Friday morning for a weekend trip to our mountain cabin.  This was the first time we have been since we adopted our dog, Kasey.  I have been taking her on short car trips to make sure she was okay in the car.  She was very quiet and calm in the car, but when we stopped just before climbing into the higher hills, we noticed she had been a little carsick. Not too bad.

We met my blogging friend Tonya and her husband in North Wilkesboro, NC,  to pick up a quilt.  She has a quilt top in beautiful colors of white, blue-green and yellow-green, and patchwork in turtle shapes.  I am very humbled that Tonya liked my quilting enough to hire a long-distance quilter.  But it is pretty convenient that we travel to her part of the state fairly frequently.  And I have a new definition of long-arm.  A friend of hers on Facebook asked if "long-arm" was the opposite of "short-hand!" Love it!

Anyway, on to the mountains.  There was fresh snow on the ground, and a bitter cold wind.  We went on up the mountains to the top.  Kasey loved it!  She was in heaven, sniffing and exploring.  She looked so pretty with the bright sun shining on her golden hair.

Charlie got a new camera with a great zoom.  He was able to take pictures of the snow on the higher mountains in the distance.

He tried to show me how to zoom his camera, but when I took off my gloves it felt like frostbite.  That's a lesson for a warmer day!  Kasey makes a good hand warmer.

There were lots of great photo ops with the snow, ice, and pretty views.  Charlie saw a river otter right above the dam at the creek.  Couldn't get a picture of it, but it walked right across the ice.

The pond looked pretty with a fresh coat of snow above the ice.  I love seeing the shadows of the trees on the pond.

I love this knobby, gnarly tree below the pond.

Our driveway was still snowy, but Sweet Sue the Subaru had no trouble at all.

When it was time to go home, Kasey sat in the sun right by the car.  She seemed to be saying, "Please don't forget to take me with you."

What a difference from Maggy, our last dog.  Maggy loved the mountains, but hated cars, and would hide whenever we started packing up.  If we forgot to tie her up, we would have to drive around looking for her when it was time to go home.  Not this little one!

The drive home was beautiful.  The skies were blue and the sun was shining on the metal barn roof at the state research farm. 

 I love this view of the ridge lines of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

There are some very steep rocky cliffs on Highway 18, and they were decked out in cascades of icicles today.

We pass through many beautiful rural areas.  These horses were sunning themselves very close to the road.  Do you think they can feel reflected heat from the pavement?

It was a beautiful weekend!  Can't wait to go back!