This year we rented a cabin in Greer.  We were up there a little over two weeks.

A shot of the front of the cabin. We brought the Jeep for off-roading and the car to fit more people and supplies:

A shot of the back. One night we went out back and watched the Perseid Meteor shower:

We were a few miles from downtown Greer:

There are cabins, a few restaurants, and the Little Colorado river runs through it:

They have some great pies and cobbler here - we ordered some and took them back to the cabin to eat:

We spent a lot of time fishing in the many lakes in the area:

We didn't usually have any problems finding a place to fish...

...as there usually weren't more than a handful of other anglers:

Lots of shoreline to fish from:

We even tried fishing in the stream:

Most of the time we sat and watched the waterfowl...

...because the fish really weren't biting:

Jane managed to catch a decent sized fish, but we didn't get a picture of it:

We did get a picture of one of the many large crayfish that we caught:

The only picture of a fish is the one Tom caught. Sorry, not really a big one, but it did manage to get hooked:

Another thing we did was explore the area in the Jeep. This trip was after it rained the night before:

We saw some wildlife along the way - they also saw us:

It was a bit muddy along the way:

The landscape was pretty green. You can see one of the many cinder cones in the background:

The trail was pretty faint in some areas:

Another cinder cone and some flowers:

The end of this trail. It took some time to get all of the mud out of the suspension in the car wash:

Speaking of flowers, there were a lot in bloom:

They were near the lakes:

On trails we hiked:

Near where we stopped the Jeep:

In the woods:

Near the woods:

On the hills:

And all over:

More:

More:

More:

More:

We made a couple of trips up to the top of Greens Peak:

Heading up the hill looking back:

Up near the top:

They left some tress up top:

Mainly lots of equipment up here. I bet we could have cooked some food if we brought some with us:

There's even a lookout tower here. It was closed when we were there:

You could get a good signal on your phone up top:

Another view from the top:

Another view from the top:

You can see Sunrise Ski Park on the mountain in the background:

Back at the cabin later in the evening someone heard some noise outside and we looked and saw a small family of raccoons on the rear porch. They searched around for 10 minutes or so then left:

We also went hiking. This short trail was near downtown Greer:

You may be able to make out Tom as he's heading to the top of this hill:

Have to stop for another picture:

This tree has some kind of parasitic form of mistletoe:

Out driving around in the Jeep we found the remains of this old sawmill:

Not really a lot left of it:

There's a tree inside the remains of the building:

Checking out the ruins:

Some more ruins:

More ruins:

Found an old tire that was manufactured by the Unites States Rubber Company:

Driving around some more we found Little Giant spring. One branch is located under this door:

The other branch is under this door:

We also got out an looked for benchmarks:

Some of them were in the woods:

Some were on top of boulders:

Some were under the lookout tower near Big Lake:

As we were driving to a benchmark we saw a group of wild turkeys cross the road and Jane got a picture of one as they disappeared in the forest:

We also found a benchmark near the ruins of Thompson's Ranch:

Speaking of Thompson's Ranch, we hiked Thompson Trail one day. Here's the start of it:

A small waterfall along the way:

They built these fish barriers to keep the non-native fish out:

This is the second one:

A small field of flowers along the way:

Scenery along the way:

More scenery along the way:

More scenery along the way:

Another larger field of flowers:

There's always water near the trail:

A nice rock garden along the trail:

A small waterfall:

I wonder if those berries are edible:

Some boulders near the water:

We turned around here at Deadman Crossing:

On the way back we took the upper route which was the grade for the old Apache Railroad:

A view from the grade. You may be able to just make out the trail we hiked in (left of the stream):

Another shot from the grade:

The hike was a lot easier up on the grade and you get a different perspective on the scenery:

Speaking of hiking, during the hikes, and searching for benchmarks we ran across a wide variety of mushrooms:

They came in groups...

...and more groups...

...and more groups...

...and alone:

Orange...

...yellow...

...and red:

Big...

...and little:

Normal looking...

...inside out?...

...odd...

...and alien:

Start of another hike and some Geocaching near our cabin in Hall Creek gorge:

Heading down where it isn't too steep yet:

Crossing over the beaver pond:

Heading further in, the geocache was up there:

Heading further in:

Crossing back across the creek:

Climbing up the other side and looking back at the log we crossed over:

Nearing the top:

Good thing we came up before this point:

We were running out of time and turned around here:

Here's a lake we found while driving around in the Jeep:

There was a number of guys fly fishing in individual float tubes that you may be able to see in the distance:

One day we went to Sunrise Ski Park to ride the lift:

Heading up:

A side trail on the way up:

Enjoying the ride:

Gotta take some pictures:

Heading up:

This tree was a place to throw various "things" on:

You can just make out the top up ahead:

Some bikers coming down:

We got off the chair and had to take some pictures:

Looking back down toward the parking lot:

Another shot from the top. You can see one of the trails near the bottom of the picture:

Another shot from the top, with another view of a trail:

A number of mountain bikers take the lift up and ride down the trails:

We had a small bite to eat while enjoying the view:

It was a little chilly today, but no snow:

Heading back down:

The mountain bikers typically didn't bother with putting down the bar:

Riding the trail near the bottom:

Almost at the bottom. We actually stayed on the lift and went back around again:

A final shot at the cabin with everyone but Jane in the picture:

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Last modified: April 12, 2011 11:56:17 PM