Wordle

Yes, we have joined the Wordle craze. Actually, we have been playing for a couple of years. It is part of our routine. Barb will say "Okay, it is your turn to pick the Wordle word" I would look around and come up with a 5 letter word of something right in front of me. Like today, my word would have been "Frost" on this frosty November morn. 

Some people use the same word every time when they play Wordle. Believe it or not, researchers at MIT actually did a study on the best starting word. I won't tell you what it is here, but it is googleable. What is the worst starting word? "Xylyl" of course. I mean, who didn't know that? 

We can almost always guess the word in the allotted six guesses, most times in the 3rd or 4th guess. One a week or so, Barb will get it in the second guess. 

One time, I think it was two years ago now, Barb asked me for my Wordle word. We were somewhere on the road, Florida, I think. It was foggy and dewy, so I picked "moist" Barb plugged it is and one by one, all the tiles turned green! That is the one and only time we have gotten the word on the first try. What are the odds of that you ask? Not as high as one would think. 1 out of 2,315, as there are only 2,315 five letter words that Wordle uses.

But on to other things:

We conquered another peak on our quest for 100 this week. We continue to be amazed at the beauty right outside our backdoor. The Poets Table hike is right in Custer State Park and at 6,606', it is the 38th highest peak in the hills. This was probably our most challenging peak thus far. Not because of the terrain of the hike itself but because the Poets Table is just hard to find. 

The history behind this hike is quite interesting as well. In the 1960's a man by the name of John Raeck arrived in the hills and took a job with the park. He fell in love with the park and stayed, nicknaming himself The Vagabond Poet. He even built himself a table and chair in a remote part of the park where he would write his poetry. This site is now known as The Poet's Table. 

You will not find signs leading you to the table. Nor will you find many people willing to tell you exactly where it is. What you will find is vague and cryptic descriptions of "about" where it is. So, with these vague directions, Barb and I set off to find it. 

We got off to a bad start right away when we headed off in the wrong direction from the truck. The instructions said to follow the main trail to Little Devil's Tower for 900' and look for a faint trail off to your left.  Along the way we passed two elderly couples (elderly = anyone older than us). We exchanged pleasantries and each went our separate ways.  Try as we might, we could not find this faint trail.

Then we ran into another couple who looked as confused as we were. They too were looking for The Poet's Table. Together, we determined we were nowhere near the area we were looking for. Starting anew, we found the faint trail and headed up the ravine. Between the 4 of us, we hunted and pecked up each trail we came across until Barb found this ladder. Having seen this ladder in pictures to the table she knew she was on the right track. Barb, Darcy and I climbed the ladder. Darcy's husband stayed below. 

Once up the next level, we split up looking to catch the trail again. Barb left, me right, and Darcy down the middle. I followed a trail up to the top of some rocks. Nothing. But I did see Darcy below me and those two elderly couples across a ravine. Barb was nowhere to be seen.  I walked back down to Darcy, and we headed up to where we saw those other hikers. Upon meeting them, they noticed that I was with a different woman and asked how that happened. I told them I lost my wife but found this woman on the trail. One of the guys said "That is the western way" and kept on going down the trail. 

A few minutes later, Darcy and I ran across 4 women who asked if I was looking for a brunette woman. They said she is just up the trail around the corner. Upon coming around the corner, we found Barb, sitting at The Poet's Table!

We followed Barb's route on the way back down, less of a trail, but a more direct route. We got back to the ladder, made it safely to the lower level and met up with Darcy's husband (I never did learn his name) and parted ways. What a random but great adventure! This one definitely ranks in our top 10!

After that, we went to Dan and Bonnie's for an impromptu happy hour. Bonnie went to their fridge and pulled out a plastic bag of.... mini's! Fireball, 99's, Rumchata's and a Butterscotch Scotch! Sitting there in their garage telling tales and laughing, Dan sees his bunny friends outside and goes out to feed one. From his hand!

 

Later that day, we had a special delivery in the form of Sophie, the French Bulldog! She is going to be spending the next 12 days with us while her parents are in Paris. Our house has been Chaos Headquarters ever since. One might think having two Frenchies is twice as fun as having one. But you would be wrong, it is 4 times the fun! These two play and play and play! Not only that, just watching their personalities. They are very jealous creatures. If one has a toy, the other wants it and wait for just the right moment to dart in and steal it. Then the chaos would begin again as they would run through the house. Heaven forbid one of us pay more attention to one than the other!

Although they are both Frenchies, they both have short noses and pointy ears, they are both very different in looks and personalities. Sophie is mottled and she is a snorter. She snorts when she does everything! These two features make me think we have a little piglet running through our house!

Speaking of walking, the other nickname I have for Sophie is Shuffleupagus, as she shuffles her feet whenever she walks. Case in point....

And Harry, just for you, I have included these precious videos and pictures to waste one minute and 25seconds of your life! The first segment demonstrates Sophie's shuffleness, followed by a play session on the bed. This is one of dozens that take place throughout the day and then more shuffleness. As you can see in the video, Dakota pretty much ignores them. That is, until it sounds like things are getting a little too out of hand, then she will get up, stand over them and make them stop. 

Now, prepare for doggie video and picture overload!

Then all of a sudden, they will stop, walk to their respective beds and plop down for a nap. 

We sent Alana and Ryan various pictures each day. We have more, but these are the two we have sent them so far. 

For those of you wondering, the harness in the next picture is specially designed for dogs to hang in so no harm or trauma came to Sophie in this photo.

Just hanging out today

Barb has been busy making plans for our winter adventure. We leave in less than a month. It sounds like we will be staying at quite a few Harvest Hosts on our way down. One area we are having a hard time with is Savannah where we will be staying for 10-14 days. The campgrounds in that area want almost $1,000 a week. Might not seem like a lot for some, but for these two cheapskates, it is way too much.

 Friday was a big day as we got visitors in the form of DeAnne and Farmer Bob! They stopped by for the night on their way to Denver for Thanksgiving.  They brought with them their daughter's dog, Berkley who they were returning home to her. So, for the night, we had 4 dogs in our bedroom!

And.... they brought me a new (to me) toy to play with! They bought a new utility tractor to use around the farm to they sold me their old one! 

The passing of the keys!

As much as I love the Ford Jubilee, it is just not as functional as the Deere and it is time to part ways. So, if you know anyone in the market for a Jubilee in great condition, send them my way!