Dog Camp!

Rest of Friday!

Yippee!!  We made it to Dog Camp!  It was a looooong drive to Lake Wenatchee State Park where Maian Meadows Dog Camp is held at the Camp Fire Camp of Camp Zanika.  I LOVE going to Dog Camp!  This camp, directed by Rebecca and her dog Finn McCool (and now side kick Conall) is a camp for dogs and their people and “just for fun”!  Dogs come from all over and Pacific North West to play with their people, other dogs, play games, fetch, swim, hike eat camp food… just have a great time.  www.maianmeadows.com

You should check it out and maybe join us some time!

Anyway, Mama and I have been attending camp for years with our pals Ginny and Cross Tie, every June and September.  It is most fun a dog can have!

So I was very excited to get here.  First thing I had to do was jump in the lake for a good swim and game of fetch.  After greeting Rebecca and other old friends, off we went for a hike to the Hidden Lake.  I got to run and chase squirrels and jump in the lake.  Wow!  Three different lakes today!  This morning I was in Lake Coeur d’Alene then this afternoon Lake Wenatchee and Hidden Lake!  I am a swimming kind of dog!

After a brief rest while Mama unpacked and got our bunk area set up, we met up with the rest of the campers for dinner.  

The bell is rung to call us all to meals!

The camp cook made some great meals!

The humans get to eat in the dining hall, it sure smells good, but us pups have to stay outside.  What’s with that?  Anyway, Mama always brings me a treat to go with my dinner.

We had a nice fire after dinner, some more visits, I got lots of petting and massages while Mama roasted marshmallows, then off to bed for some needed rest.  Well, Mama needed it, not me…. Well, maybe a little rest…

Your (not so) sleepy and tired puppy pal, Karoo

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Woke up early for a hike with the group up to Hidden Lake again!  WooHoo!   What a fun hike, chase squirrels, swim in the lake.  The log “bridge” across the creek got destroyed over the winter, so the humans would not cross through the water to get to the best swim/fetch area.  So we played in the not so good area before heading back for breakfast.  Had to stay outside again.  Sheesh.

Ginny dressing Cross Tie!

Then: GAMES!!  There are lots of fun games with our humans and we get prizes and treats!  We played doggy “baseball” and “lick the peanut butter” and “pooper scooper” and “dress up” and other silly games.  It is a lot of fun!  

Hal and Lokie with Rascal.

Katie and Pixel in the "pooper scooper" game!

You go, Hal!

Karoo lays quietly while Mama scoops up "poop" balls!

Then we played lots of fetch in the lake.  I love to fetch sticks in the lake.  The water is cold and Mama makes me stop when I am shivering so hard I can hardly stand.  But then we go hiking to warm me up so I can play in the lake some more! 

 After lunch, more games, another hike, dinner and the evening show!  Mama always does a slide show and the humans have limerick and song contest and we all get a gift from Rebecca.  Including lots of little treats.  Yummy!

Back to bed for Mama needs some rest again.  Silly humans.

Your puppy pal, Karoo!

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Up early to hike again!  More food, more games, more fetching in the lake! 

Then the long drive home.

What a fuuuuun week!  

Ginny and Tie in the cotton ball race.

Rebecca and Conall racing Stacy and Karoo.

Ginny and Cross Tie

Ginger just learned to "dock dive"!  She is doing great!!

Lokie says "You can still donate to the wonderful animal organizations!"

Our total walking only came to about 70 miles, not quite our goal, but we have proven that “we may be seniors, but we are not old yet”… but maybe not quite as young as we were!  That’s ok.  We are still going strong and enjoying life and helping two wonderful organizations with your nice donations.  Super thanks to all of you!  And remember: you can still donate!

That’s all for now!

Your puppy pal, Karoo

PS from Stacy:  This is a sight never seen before... Karoo asleep in the car!!  It only lasted about 10 minutes, quite amazing...

This is the highrise where LeeAnn and Bob's house lives.  We are up on the 6th floor.

Friday, June 12, 2015

Mama and I got up early today to hike Mineral Ridge again!  

The weather has cooled off a lot.  And then wind was really blowing up on the ridge.  We walked on the trail spurs that we had skipped last time. 

 It was beautiful!  And I was feeling soooooo good!  I was grabbing sticks to give to Mama to play fetch.  I had not been doing that for a few days.  Mama was sure happy to see my antics!

We decided we needed to check out the Wilson Trail as well!

The trail was very narrow, but the views were awesome!

When we got back to the house, LeeAnn joined us and we all walked around Tubbs Hill.  I got to play fetch in the lake.  Last time in Lake Coeur d’Alene for this trip!  Mama and LeeAnn stayed on shore.  Don’t know why they don’t want to swim with me!

Can see the highway far below.

Can see the stick that needs to be thrown....

When we returned to the house, LeeAnn made us grilled cheese sandwiches.  She makes THE BEST grilled cheese!  Yep, this puppy dog gets some as well!

We got all of our gear packed up.  We have to leave today to go to Dog Camp!  Oh boy!!  Very sad to leave LeeAnn and Bob.  They are the BEST!  They hope to come visit us at the Beach!   Yippee!

There will not be internet access at camp, so I will have to sign off for now.  Meeting friends at camp to do more hiking and playing fetch and swimming and playing fetch and hiking and…

Oh, totals for walking… first day 20 (miserable) miles, second day ten miles, third day seven miles, fourth day 13 miles, today (so far) eight miles ( expect 4 more at camp this afternoon).  

We won’t make the 100 miles in a week… but in spite of hot weather, asphalt and a few other issues, Mama and I did ok!  And we are helping two of our favorite organizations in the process:  World Vets and Old Dog Haven.

Until next time,

Your puppy pal, Karoo!

Thursday, June 11, 2015

We were up early again this morning!  Mama is feeling great, her feet are doing better, and we decided to go back to Farragut State Park and do the loop the opposite direction!  The weather has certainly cooled off a little bit which we are both very happy about!

Early morning hike in the woods!

View across the meadow.  We saw a few white tail deer.  Didn't get to chase them...

After resupplying the backpack and water bottles the pretty drive to the park, we started our hike about 5:15.   It was gorgeous weather!  Mama recognized many of the landmarks and we did not make many wrong turns. 

These silly creatures were noisy.  They needed to be chased.  Didn't get to do it.  Darn.

One area had nice little cabins to rent.  They have a nice view of the lake!

Lots of great views.

But the best views are those with ME in them!!

 Mama’s feet must be doing really well, she was moving right along!!  It stayed cool for most of our hike.  Got to play in the water several times.  My favorite part of our walks! 

I just love playing in the water!

LeeAnn was hoping to join us as we returned.  But we were moving so fast, we were about finished by the time LeeAnn would make it out.  We will hike with her another time!

Come on, Mama!  We are almost there!

Yummmmmmmm

When we finished, Mama went into the visitor center and came out with some ice cream!!  We shared an ice cream bar and a strawberry fruit bar!  This pup sure enjoyed the treats!

We drove around more areas of the park just to see some of the other sites.  This is a great place to hike and camp.  If you are ever in this area, need to check it out!

LeeAnn and Mama were busy this afternoon making dog biscuits!!  Peanut butter, oats, banana, pumpkin, parsley… 

Bob is a great guy.  He loves sharing treats with me!

 I am the taste tester and I give Karoo Approval!

Bob got worried about me because I seem too tired.  Mama is worried that I am not eating or drinking much… which is typical when I am on trips.  LeeAnn got some chicken broth and diluted it and I drank some of that!  Yummy!  I ate a small meal, then some snacks.  Hate to admit that we are all getting a little older, in fact, one day older every day! 

LeeAnn cooked a Hungarian dish called Papricas for dinner.  Mama said it was fabulous!  LeeAnn is a wonderful cook and hostess! 

After dinner Mama and I walked down to the Library to go for a walk with Cathy King!  She is the founder and CEO for World Vets!  She happened to be in town, got the email Mama sent (about the walk) so Cathy contacted her for a visit!  She is here with her two dogs visiting family.  We had a wonderful walk and visit.  After all these years of Mama going on WV trips they finally got to meet.  Cathy is hoping to make a road trip out to the coast for a visit.  That would be super!

Well off to bed.  We are going to get up early to do some short walks before we leave.

Your puppy pal, Karoo