Good Times

Water

Snow

What more could a doggie ask for...

Bwones?

Alpendoggie

Numbers done and on the odd chance the weatherman weren't lying, we decided to drive up to the mountain. So with two apples a handful of chewies and some rolls of film we set out in the late morning.

Half way there was the same route we took to Silver Lake but instead of turning left at Maple Falls we continued along the Nooksack riverbed between immense ridges covered with pines.  It was chilly and damp.

As soon as we got to the periphery of the national forest the road began to climb, curvy but surprisingly easy.  Traffic was almost non-existent.  I think that during the entire trip we passed maybe 50 cars all told, which meant that for all intents and purposes we had the alpine immensities to ourselves.  Tuesdays are good.

(Rosco) got mad at me saying that i was driving too fast and missing good scenes to shoot.  I promised to drive more slowly on the return but told him i wanted to get to the top and scope out the route while it was still sunny.

Nearing the top, Nicki was getting cabin crazy.  I saw a place to pull over next to a gentle sloping field/trail of snow.  Nicki bounded out like a crazy wolf and started bouncing and bounding through the snow with canine abandon, as i fished around in the back only to realize that ... no... i did not have my snow-shoes in the car as i had for some reason thought.  Grrrrr. 

"G'wan, Nicki. G'wan."  But Nicki is a dog and would have none of it.  Either WE go or we don't.  So we got back in the car and drove further on to the top.

There we had the fortune to run across some snow-shoers and their two huskies.  Sniff, sniff.  Chit, chat.  They said that there was a semi-packed trail a little further on that would be walkable.

I don't know if we ever found it, but i did finds something like a trail or pathway of sorts where my shoes didn't sink more than two or three inches.  And so WE got to do something of a trek.

  

It is almost impossible to get decent pictures of a snow-crazed dog but after a myriad of useless shoots i did manage to get a picture of Hero Doggie on the crest between alpine horizons.

Triumph achieved we returned down to the flats where i did an errand and Nicki got in a bit of racing for the ball with other dogs at the park.  

Home at last, we rested with a tea and a bone, listening to a string quartet, while waiting for "The Germans" -- a musician and his wife -- to arrive from over the border.  From the way Nicki apparently tunes in to music, I am beginning to think the he might also be a true Rennaisance doggie.  

Chowtime

Zion 87

Zion is one of the most beautiful places in the United States, in my opinion.  It is to the Grand Canyon what a delicate gothic chapel is to the massive St. Peters.  

I don't know what it is like today, but when Carlson and I backpacked there in 1987, there were no amenities at all once one ascended from the camp ground and park curio shoppe.  We had to tote (and conserve) our own water. Those were also pre-cell phone days. But being young such absences were of no concern.  

The result was that for two days there was nothing to do but enjoy our own company and the vast expanse of a silent nature that seemed primordially welcoming.  

That... and the little squirrel feasting on his pit. :)

.

Grass - Lots of Grass

By noon i had cinched my Miranda argument, which the court will no doubt reject with a tap and a dance.  But i found enough solid precedent in my favour that i was able to drop a note stating that in the 19th century, at least, our courts had put more than false teeth into the guarantees of our civil rights.

That done we headed out toward the coast for a short walk in the (wonder-to-behold) sun. I've been here so long now that i think of 61 degrees as hot.  (Kinda funny for anyone who has lived in California).

It goes without saying that Nicki was as happy as he could be as I walked and he ran all the way to the coast and back.

And when we had enough of sun, there as always a shady forest to romp in, which Nicki really likes not only on account of the moist smells but also because he likes to jump over fallen trees.

Silver Lake

By noon, i had had enough of my stupid Miranda issue and, since the weatherman had lied again, i decided to get an oil change and drive out into the country (which begins about 1 mile from here).

With dog and gear in tow i drove east into the Cascade foothills to Maple Falls where i turned north and headed to Silver Lake. 

The drive was about 40 minutes or more, given stops here and there and Nicki was in au suffrance mode. But once we got to the lake, life was worth it again, and he ran around free and crazy along shores edge and through the forest.

The park is lovely and combines elements of a manicured urban park with canoeing lodges, campsites, walking trails and a huge fire-gazebo on hillock next to the lake. No one was there and as Nicki scampered about I felt the soft, newly-matted forest floor sponging beneath my feet. I am convinced i heard the trees and moss bemoaning the fact that in a few months they would be besieged by a horde of humans with all their noise and toys trampling the ferns and turning the ground into hard dust. But for now, all was fresh with the silent stirrings of early Spring.

 

From there -- me being curious -- we headed further north on a curving road through a narrow valley of forests growth, cleared fields and five to 20 acre horse farms. It is a curious thing about this entire area that where one stretch of road is bordered by very wealthy mountain lodge estates, the very next stretch, just after the curve, will be littered with the Total Detritus of Double-Wide trash. It's beyond comprehension.

Mountain Ridges Bordering Chilliwack, B.C

When the solitary winding road made an abrupt U-turn in a southerly direction, i figured we had reached the border. Sure enough, I began to spot the mounted infra red spy cameras which Homeland Security uses to protect us from illegal Canadians and other terrorists. 

The Cup of Reconciliation

The Latest Improvements in Washington Trail Management

There was enough water on the ground for Nicki to do plenty of puddling on his romp, so that when we returned to the Jeep i figured i should wipe off his belly and paws.  As is too often the case, i was focusing on the task at-paw without sufficient awareness of my circumstances.  In other words, i was rushing. 

As dogs usually do, Nicki pulled that-away, which caused me to jerk this-away as a result of which the Pentax  (which i had hastily jammed into my shoulder pouch without bothering to close the zipper) fell to the ground with a dull clunking sound. 

In an instant fury i bellowed a series of theological invectives which horrified all Calvinists within earshot.  Worse yet, I shove-kicked Nicki on the underside with the top of my foot.

I did not hurt him and it was nothing harder than the tussling we do at play.  But if, as Justice Holmes said, a dog knows the difference between being tripped over and kicked, he also knows the difference between play and anger.  Nicki gave me a look that combined fear with a stare of trust betrayed.

I did what i should have done at first, which was take off the damn shoulder pack and put it in the car rather than trying to towel a moving dog and hold his leash with a bag of gear dangling from my neck.  I finished wiping Nicki off and he jumped into the car.

But he made a point of sitting in the back with a very hurt and hang-doggie air.  I couldn't stand it.  So I pulled over to the side of the road, had him come up to the passenger seat, gave him chew-chips and made touchy feely apologetic noises.  A neutral calm was restored.

We got home a little while later.  I put my gear on the table, took off my jacket, took off Nicki's leash and gave him some of the real fish chew chips i keep in the freezer.  More sorry-noises.  There is no question, Nicki got the point.

I then filled a cup of water and went to sit down in the living room.  As i rested back, with my hand and cup on the arm rest, Nicki came over to the cup and put his nose to it indicating he wanted to drink.

Now Nicki has a full bowl of water in the usual place and two toilet bowls for his refreshment; but it was very obvious he wanted to drink from this cup, the cup i would be drinking from.

Our eyes met.  "Okay, Nicki, just a minute." I took a sip and then held it out for him to slurp.  We were reconciled. 

.^.