Clara's Blog

Hey, I've got news for you! Lots happening since I was practicing being brave.

First off, we hiked Dog Mountain. Can you guess why Scout and I like it? I was very patient, waiting to hike around at the top, but it was too windy and too cold! I did not like that and I did not like not hiking. Finally, after a post-summit napping session, I got to hike some of the trail back down. I am a very good hiker. I had Daddy lift me over the rocky parts.

Next, we went backpacking for the very first time. We drove in our new Subaru Outback to Herman Creek—we sold our Honda Accord. I like to use full car names. I also like to call the Honda Accord, "the stinky car." I was told that we got the Subaru Outback (also known as "the blue car") because two dogs would not fit in our Honda Accord ….

Anyways, back to backpacking. We went up the Herman Creek Trail to Casey Camp near Casey Creek. Mommy carried me (I wanted to hike myself), Daddy carried all of our stuff (he looked pretty funny!), and Scout even carried his kibble.

I said I had a great time, but maybe I did complain a little about, er, everything. Nothing was OK—I always wanted the other thing. I was so fussy and tired that I went into the tent at 6PM, and then I was wide awake at 8PM. After my rest, I was done sleeping, but staying up all night seemed to make everyone else crabby. Sheesh. Go with the flow, people.

I took like three naps the day we got back. Oh, we heard owls at night. I liked that. And water filtration is interesting.

Summer time is Mt Tabor time. Daddy did the bike race and I played on the playground. I also cheered. Aren't cheerleaders cool?

I've been running with Mommy. I like to run, though sometimes I get tired. I think my record is like a mile or so, which is a lot, don't you think? Afterwards, I am a very professional stretcher. Can you believe that Mommy doesn't let me run with Scout by myself? No, me either.

And the we went to Glenn's house. It's too bad we don't have more pictures, because he has a "spread" up on the hill above Washougal. Mommy and Daddy like the view of the Columbia River Gorge, and Glenn's orchard, and his new house. But did you know he has a kiddy pool? and that his kids have toys? We had watermelon after lunch. So cool.

You would think that Glenn's house would be enough excitement, but later that day we adopted a German Wirehaired Pointer.

Yes! You read that right: we have a new dog. Her name is Reika (RAY-ka), she is one-year old, and we got her from a shelter. She is full of beans, but eager to please. I think she is very interesting, and I give her commands to train her. Hopefully, her leg boo-boo will heal soon so that we can all go running.

Don't worry, we still have Scout (a.k.a Pooper, Scooter, Scouter McGouter). He is pretty funny. He is now the model obedience dog while Raika is around. He comes when he's called, doesn't steal food, and doesn't even freak out too much. We'll see how long that lasts!

Labels: backpacking, Dog Mountain, Glenn, Hiking, Reika, Scout