The Perfect Day... well, almost

Hi, my name is Tundra. Brian and Sara are my people - I am the Dog. While they are busy watching TV, I am sneaking over here at the computer and writing about my amazing adventure today. There were ducks, but only a few; water.... yeah, lots of water!; and chicken and salsa (two of my favorite foods! Yum!).

So, my day began with a not-so-fun adventure. I got stuck under the bed. It wouldn't have been so bad, except my MOMMY kept LAUGHING at me and DADDY wasn't helping either 'cuz he was laughing, too. Since I can't talk (er, my people think I can't talk, so I never do...), I wagged my tail so that it would thump on the floor and someone would hear and see that I was stuck under the bed. Sure enough, Mommy saw, but instead of helping me, she sat there and laughed!

Oh, well. My people took long enough, but they finally pulled me out. I was mad because they took so long. But then they fed me breakfast and everything was okay. I love my breakfast. It tastes like duck. Well, I don't really know what ducks taste like since I have never eaten a real one. But I think that's what they would taste like. I like ducks. I like to swim and chase ducks. And I got to swim and chase ducks today, too. That's why today was such a good day. (Well, except for the being stuck under the bed part.)

My people got their Camelbaks ready and loaded the car. Usually, this means something good is about to happen... like we are going to go somewhere FUN! But sometimes, I am still not sure if I'm allowed to go. Then they invited me in the car, and I KNEW it was going to be time for an adventure! I LOVE when I get to go in the car. Car rides are fun. I don't know why my mommy and daddy don't always take me in the car, but when they do, we always have a good time!!!!!!!

So we went to my favorite place EVER! Stanley Canyon!!! I once heard my daddy say it's on the "Care Horse Nacadimy" but I don't know what that means. Anyway, we drove in this big road that led to another road, and some man said hi to my daddy through the car window and my daddy showed the man some little card or something. I don't understand why those people on the road always like to say hi to whoever's driving... but anyway, we made it to the parking lot at my favorite place!

I love to swim. That's why I like this trail so much. There's water the WHOLE WAY! It's the BEST! We hiked and hiked and the leaves were a pretty yellow color on some of the trees. I walked alongside my daddy when we were almost to the top.


We made it to the top... where there's the big pond. I think it's called a "rezevore" or something. I don't know how to spell that. I'm a dog. I swam lots and lots and chased ducks around. I get sort of frustrated because I can't catch them! They are just too fast, and when I get close, they fly away. I wish I could just get one of them! Just one. I haven't decided what I would do with it if I ever caught one, but I would think of something. Maybe they have squeakers. Like my duck at home. I want to find out someday. They sure smell good.

I was very happily tired when we got home. I even got to have some extra treats when we got home because my people seem to know when I'm extra hungry and they give me something to snack on. But tonight, I got shredded chicken, AND chips and salsa! (Pico de Gallo is my favorite. My birthday is March 29 and I would love some for my birthday!)

I hope I don't have too many dreams tonight that make me run in my sleep. If I do, I might push myself under the bed again and then Mommy and Daddy would laugh extra hard if I got stuck again.

Bye!

San Francisco and Camping

Wow, so I am WAAYYY behind on keeping everyone updated here! Sorry for the delay, but here I will attempt to get everyone caught up on our goings-on. :)


So, in November (of 2009) Brian and I got to fly out to San Francisco and be a part of his best friend's (Kurt's) wedding. It was GORGEOUS there! We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge a few times, ate wonderful Sourdough bread, and relaxed on Pier 39. The wedding was simply beautiful, too! It was in a Catholic Church and the reception was at an unbelievably breathtaking winery. Brian got to be the Best Man, which he really enjoyed. (And he was very handsome in his uniform!! ;) ) I will attach a few pictures here, but there's no way to do it justice!

In December, I (Sara) had foot surgery... nothing too major, just a little bunionette that needed to be surgically broken and reshaped. In March, I had the plate and screws removed... and on the same day I went in for that minor surgery, Tundra had a knee replacement! She was a trooper, but I'm sure it was painful. She has recovered quickly and has been hiking a lot this summer with her new knee! No more limping, which makes me and Brian happy. Here is a picture of her right after her surgery with her ice-machine-ice-pack on her knee. This was her comfy recovery position... ice pack, a pillow between her knees, and her toy birdies.

Brian got a new job and is currently working at USAA. The job keeps him busy, but at least it's a somewhat solid job. In today's economy, job security is everything! Here is a picture of Brian on his first day at his new job.

We have had the privilege of doing lots of hiking and some camping this summer. We have hiked Pikes Peak (up the back way - through the Crags) and Stanley Canyon. I have done lots of trips on Section 16 and other local trails. Unfortunately, we usually only have the availability of doing one backpacking trip per summer (logistics of getting time off, etc.) so this year we thought we'd try backpacking up to a place that's situated between 2 fourteeners (Mt. Huron and Mt. Missouri, near Buena Vista).

It was our intent to pitch camp on the day we arrived and then hike up one peak the next day and the other peak the following day and then come home. With the best of intentions, we set out hiking up Mt. Huron after setting up camp the day prior. We got an early start and the weather was beautiful! Oh, and our campsite was absolutely perfect. It was level, soft, had a beautiful view and a nice big fire pit nearby. Anyway, we set out to hike up Mt. Huron. The route we were taking was a "back" way and so the trail wasn't well-used (or well-marked) but we were making good time up the face of the mountain nonetheless. Finally, after scrambling and bouldering and scrambling some more, we came to a high point on the ridge of the mountain. From there, we could see the peak of Mt. Huron - but there was a rocky, spiney, treacherous distance of ridge we would need to hike in order to get to the top. Since there were pretty steep drops on either side of the narrow "trail" - we decided it wasn't worth the risk and we came back down.

On the way down, though, I got a horrible leg cramp that would not release no matter what I did. I stretched, massaged, ate potassium-rich snacks I had brought along... nothing worked. All the way down, it felt like my hamstring was being wound up like a guitar string. Upon reaching camp, I went immediately for the multivitamin I had brought along, thinking that if I hydrated well and gave my body some extra nutrients, it would release the cramp. Turns out that a little chipmunk thought he'd like to try my vitamins first! He literally ate a hole through the bag they were in and opened the pill box off in the trees. It was kind of funny! I found a vitamin in the dirt and blew it off, then gulped it down. :)

So, as I'm hobbling around camp with my stupid leg cramp, Brian is preparing a snack for us that requires boiling water. Usually not a big deal for us... but we were both so exhausted from hiking that he somehow dribbled a little of the boiling water down his hiking boot and so his ankle got a nice burn on it! :( After seeing the skin that was beginning to bubble up on his ankle and me with my cramp that STILL wasn't letting go, we decided to pack it up and go home.

It was too bad it didn't work out. It was really a beautiful place with the lake nearby and the awesome scenery. We had perfect weather, and the deer around camp took our breath away. But it was time to leave, so we did. Maybe we will return someday! The four-wheeling road to get there was fun enough in and of itself to return someday and do it again!














































So, after having a not-so-pleasant camping experience there, we thought we owed it to ourselves to have at least one good camping trip this summer. We decided to go to Stanley Canyon and backpack in with the dog. Tundra had a blast, everything went perfectly, and we had a very pleasant trip. Whew! :)

Tundra even loved swimming all day long in the reservoir, chasing ducks! Haha! I thought she might end up getting bit by one of the protective mama-ducks (since Tundra was chasing her little ducklings all over the water). But, turns out the ducks could swim just fast enough to stay away from the ever-curious Tundra-dog. Here she is, tired from swimming - and ready to go to sleep in her spot which was semi-in our tent. She also got to chase lots of squirrels around camp which also wore her out!!

As we were packing to leave the following day, we had the WEIRDEST coincidence of running into a friend of ours! She happened to be there that day (from Larkspur) and had happened to hike up the trail early enough to meet us, and HAPPENED to be a the off-the-trail-remote-location we had picked to set up camp. Weird. But cool.


Tundra did the incline for the FIRST time EVER today (August 13)! I am so proud of her. She was hot and panting like crazy! With her new knee, I wasn't sure how she would do, but she did great. We took lots of rest breaks along the way (I didn't want her to overdo it) and I kept her hydrated all the way up. Even with stopping so much, her time was 1:02. Way to go Tundra! :) And, another funny coincidence: I ran into a good friend of mine on the way down Barr Trail! What were the chances of that?! And she had even parked her car *literally* right next to me. How funny! :)