https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1MjRp0ys5I&feature=youtube_gdata_player
We are on a short get-away - four nights at Riverside Cedar which will refresh us and give us a break from the madness of getting ready for our trip. Trip seems like such a mundane word for our adventure. It isn't a quest, but is more than a trip. Maybe journey is the right word? Or how about odyssey?
This morning we picked up the truck from having the camera monitor installed. After a bit of re-wiring in the trailer (our bad) we now have a picture of what is behind us! It is awesome!!! We fired it up for its first real test this afternoon - the drive here showed that our route is fairly untraveled. There were only a few times when we had vehicles behind us during the whole 45 minute trip. We are going to appreciate having this extra view as we traverse the nation.
This little getaway is a bit of a trial for our trip in a few different ways. Firstly, I've taken off the island cart - I'm trying to simplify setup/teardown - am I going to go crazy without it? You may remember that we normally feed the dogs a raw food diet. To be indelicate, this diet give the dogs firm, small stools. I don't want to mess around with raw food for the trip (and can't bring enough along anyway), so they'll be getting... gasp... kibble. They started 2 nights ago on this new diet, and will continue for the weekend. First observation... (put down your fork!)... their stools are not so small, and not so firm. Oh well. It isn't the worst either and for that we are grateful. Enough of that! If you've ever been on the end of three leashes you'll understand the importance of these sorts of tests!
A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.
John Steinbeck
All part of being a responsible dog owner I guess. I was very lucky with our dogs. The first Lab took it in her head the place to "go" was at the far edge of the forest. No one ever goes there, and we think it was her instinct to go away from her "den" When wegot the second dog, she folloed the lab and learned the same habit. Years later she taught the new lab. We never had to deal with poop in the yard. How good is that! add to that, the first lab didn't like to poop away from home. I would take her on a long walk and she would come home and make a bee line for her place.
ReplyDeleteShe was the