Tuesday, June 09, 2015

Good Morning!  I felt so good this morning, after a good night’s sleep (and after startling everybody awake at 11pm with some barking….) and a little stroll outside.  I was ready to go.  Not so much, Mama… she wants to add something…

So did you know: you can blister the bottom of your heel?  The entire bottom of your heel?  Both heels…at the same time?  I am here to let you know that you can blister the entire bottom of both heels at the same time… and it really hurts.  Don’t know how it happens, no other blisters on the Achilles on the back of the heel, just some on my toes.  Anyway, I could hardly walk last night, and this morning I figured out why.  So I drained some the blisters, bandaged my feet and off we went!  Now back to Karoo!

Yay!  I am off the leash!

Last night Bob recommended that we hike at Farragut State Park.  Lots of loop trails that go along the edge of Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced “pon der aye”…figure that one out…).  We could walk as little or as much as we chose.  Good choice, so Mama packed up some snacks, lots of water and into the car we went.  Farragut State Park has lots of trails, camping, cabins, disc golf, amphitheater, model airplane flying field, an equestrian area and buggy trails!  We were only hiking today, but may need to come back to see more of the park!

We were hiking by 6am.   The rules are that dogs are to be kept on leash, but I really wanted to sniff and move at a brisk pace… so Mama finally broke the rules and let me go!  WooHoo!!  (Don’t tell anybody!)  It was about two hours before we came across someone else on the trails and I returned to Mama immediately and was perfectly behaved.  

The top number indicates the trail junction.
 The lower numbers and arrows indicate the direction to other trail junctions.

Mama was getting confused by the maps and trail markers… but finally figured it out. 

The map shows trail junctions... but sometimes the numbers don't match the posts... gets a little confusing.  But overall it works very well.

Mama's most common view of me.  Much better without the leash!

Tee Hee, I had to "peek" from Peek Hole Rock!

Mama was moving slower and more short strided than usual…only about two miles per hour rather than the usual three miles per hour… and we stopped so she could take lots of photos…so it was a pretty easy stroll.  

Cooling off in the stream!

We got to hike on dirt and pine needles in the woods, often beside a little stream.  Much better than the asphalt!  Lots of pretty sites (says Mama) and great smells (says Me!).  I love to jump in the water to drink and play.  I look very cute as well!

We also stopped often to let me play fetch in the lake!  One of my favorite pastimes!

As the morning progressed, the temperature steadily rose.  It was about 60 degrees when we started… but was definitely getting a lot hotter.  We finally reached the end of the trail and started back.  Again, the map wasn’t totally clear, but we finally found the correct trail.  This was a higher trail, parallel to the park road, so a little traffic.  We were in the woods on decent trails, but by then the sun was over head and it was really hot.  I would trot ahead of Mama to stand in the shade and wait for her.  My puppy toes were getting hot!

When we got back to the car, Mama opened the windows to let out some of the heat and turned the air conditioner on super high, whew!  I didn’t care that it was hot, I was just glad to be back in my car!

Are we almost back to the car?

We had a super nice nice drive back and LeeAnn and Bob had lunch for us.  I don’t eat well when I am on trips… and I skipped lunch.  I ate snacks on the trail.  Mama had a nice tostada and shared tortilla chips with me!  Yum!

Lots of visiting, some rest, Mama needed a nap… so I thought I would take one as well!  Gotta keep her company!  They had grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner and LeeAnn shared cheese with me!  More yummy!  I finally ate all of my lunch for dinner.  I am a good dog!

Mama finally looked at her feet, apparently humans can also blister the balls of their feet.  Silly humans.  She is really hobbling now.  Bob offered her a wheel chair.  Hate to say, but I think that will be difficult on the trails… just sayin’.

Anyway, looks like we may not be doing much more hiking… at least not long distances.  Between the heat and Mama’s feet, we are not going to make the 100 miles.  Makes her very sad and disappointed.  But she has to take care of her feet… they have to carry her for the rest of her life!  Maybe we can just go play in the lake… that is this puppy’s choice!

We spent the evening watching a movie about glider airplanes, well actually the humans watched it.  I was busy pushing for more petting and loving.  Why humans would want to spend time up in the air rather than sniffing all the great smells on the ground is a mystery to me! 

Well, time for bed. 

Your puppy pal, Karoo