more mountains

The next morning we woke up, found some breakfast, did a bit of souvenir shopping (yak horn anyone?) and loaded the van.  Matt said he had parked it "right inside the city wall".  I just wasn't expecting this....

Friday morning we headed farther north, and farther into the mountains.  We left town at about 9500 ft, drove up to some higher grasslands at the 11,500 ish levels, and then started our descent.  Our next two nights would be spent at about 8000 ft and it made a big difference in temps!  No snow and we shed our outermost layers.

We lived with a family who operate a homestay - as in, we stayed in their home.  The grandma cooked breakfast and dinner.  That's Luke, just inside the front door.

The gate behind Lydia is the entrance to their courtyard (appropriately adorned with a few chickens, one somewhat ornery rooster, a black and white kitten, stacks of kindling and vegetable garden).

According to Isaac these cliffs are the "best part of their house" and also "the reason he wants to move there".  Left out the gate, past the firewood pile and up the cliffs.  Boy happiness.  All five kids spent hours working on these cliffs.  I was never entirely sure what they were working on, or working towards, but the pull was irresistible.

Our first afternoon we explored the mountain behind their house.  Grazing yaks, goats, sheep and horses added excitement to our upward trek and the sun baked hillsides were gorgeous.  We also had enough time to scour the area for walking sticks and Isaac picked up a bone (that our hosts identified as goat, though I'm not sure how).

Top of the hill.  Views of three snowcapped peaks (west, south, east).  And both of us in WFU gear.

Lots of great space to roam and explore.

"Home" for dinner and by then it was ooooooo chilly.  The main room of the house is heated by wood stove, the rest of the house is not.  Shared beds (big sis + little bro) plus piles and piles of blankets kept us warm.

The next morning the boys were back in the courtyard, waiting for breakfast and ready for more mountains.

We hired three horses and let the kids do a little riding on the way up.

Time for a family picture.

Everyone really enjoyed these horses.  Our 'guides' were three older villagers, and we could only communicate decently with one of them (these people are from a vastly different language group, and I understand exactly 0% of their language, nor did I ever even hear a sound that seemed familiar, even though I intently listened to two of them talk for a good chunk of time, hoping to just pick up on one little syllable worth of meaning).

We hiked back down and John Paul was proud as a peacock to carry his Daddy's pack.  And he carried it long and far.  He's a stout little guy, and more of a plodder than his mountain goat like older brother, but no one can deny that it's a strong 5 (almost 6!) year old who carries a pack that size down the mountain.

Also, the trail was pretty perfect.

Dinner for hungry and dirty (in all the best ways) house guests was served.

Last farewell picture of Lydia with our host grandma in the courtyard of their home. 

Sunday morning we started the long drive home (except hallelujah! we made it home in just over 7 hours, instead of the 8 we were anticipating).  The trick:  don't stop the van!  ha!  But seriously, we pulled off to the road side a few brief times, took care of our business and kept on rolling.

Our road trip hours were mostly filled with audio books.  The much enjoyed favorite was a Henry Huggins (Beverly Cleary) audio collection that I downloaded before we left home.  4 (5?) titles and we flew through chapter after chapter.  Though I'll be ready to upgrade our audio maturity level a notch or two, for now I'm grateful for this ... that we found great listening material that appeals to all in our little brood (it's not every book that can engage a 4 year old and a 10 year old).  Also, I might be a bit embarrassed to admit how many times Matt and I found ourselves chuckling at Henry, and his infamous neighbors Ramona and Beezus, and the general clamor on Klickitat Street.  [The kids were surprised to learn that Matt and I had both read some of these books as children.]

On the drive home we all talked about going back.  But we also passed a few new places we'd like to explore.  Hmmmm....