Thursday, June 13
“C’mon, guys! Come get in your suits. Let’s walk the creek all the way up to the campground.”
Bridget and Spike have been running around naked since we’ve been camped along Ivie Creek in central Utah. That’s another thing I love about camping away from campgrounds. I don’t have to keep the crew on-leash. They can come and go as they please.
Ol’ Spike takes several soaks in the creek every day!
If we’re going to walk up to Maple Grove Campground, I need them in their harnesses. I’ll bring the leashes along for when we get there.
“Bridget! Calm down! You’ll be worn out before we start!” She hops and squeals with excitement. Spike waits patiently, his little nub of a tail wagging. Finally we’re ready to go.
We take the paved road toward the campground until we come to a path that goes to the creek and a footbridge.
Spike takes the path to the left to go down to the water. Butterflies flutter around him.
Bridget and I don’t mind waiting while he enjoys himself. He’s our sweet mud-puppy.
All along the creek the mysterious screeching sound assails us from the trees. Of course, I don’t see the source.
I take a lot of photos as we walk. Every day I notice changes. The yellow columbine are fading. Buttercups are in their glory. The buds of pink, wild roses are starting to bloom. Neon blue dragonflies have arrived and flit here and there. More moss has crept over the rocks in the creek.
We walk the path that follows the creek all the way to the campground.
The path comes out by the restroom building. A father and his two blond-headed young sons are there. Their pick-up is parked nearby.
“Hi!” I call out as I approach.
“Hi,” he responds. “Adorable dogs.”
“Oh, thanks. Do you happen to know what makes that annoying screeching sound in the trees?” Whatever it is obliges with another couple of screeches.
“I don’t know. I’m usually here in the fall. This is my first time hearing them. It bothers my boy, too. Chipmunks? Squirrels maybe?”
“Hmm, could be. You leaving now?”
“Yeah, we’re the only ones here. The campground’s empty. My mother used to bring me here when I was a kid, so I thought I’d bring my boys here. A family tradition.”
“That’s nice,” I note, smiling. We commence talking about camping. He’s from Grantsville, Utah (southern shore of Great Salt Lake), and he usually camps in the Uinta Mountains of northern Utah.
“We camp along the road from Kamas to Evanston — Route 150. Beautiful along there. Lots of places to camp.”
On the way back to camp, Spike almost has a catastrophe.
As usual, he stops for soaks along the way. Bridget and I walk on and I look back. “Spike, are you coming with us?” I yell back, which is dumb because Spike can’t hear me. He eventually catches up with us.
Well, after one of his soaks, he figures . . . Hmm . . . Why get out of the water? I’ll just walk in this creek to catch up. It isn’t long before Spike finds himself being pulled by the current. He starts to lose his footing.
Later I cropped the photo below and enlarged it. You can see Spike’s getting nervous.
Right when I expect to see him swept downstream like a leaf, zooming over waterfalls past Bridget and me, he makes it to the shore and scrambles up the bank. Whew!
When we get back to camp, the three of us are on the wrong side of the creek from the BLT. Spike doesn’t hesitate to splash across and run up the slope to home.
I take off my shoes and throw them across onto the lawn on the other side. I put my socks in my pocket and start to wade. Bridget steps in and seems to enjoy a brief wade also.
The water is very cold, but it feels good after a long walk.
Bridget deserves her own, full-size, water photo. She’s such a good girl.
I unlock the BLT and Bridget hops inside. Her paws are a little dirty, but not bad. I tell her to stay off the bed and she obeys.
I start to think about what to fix for lunch. Hmm . . . Running short on protein items . . . Had eggs yesterday . . . Don’t want to load up on cholesterol . . . Well, it’s either a hot dog or cheese and crackers . . .
“Gee, Bridge. Where’d Spike run off to?”
He usually comes in after a walk to take his nap. I hope he isn’t out rolling in the dirt somewhere while he’s still wet.
I go outside and look around. No sign of him. I go back inside and there he is.
“SPIKE! OH NO, LOOK AT YOU! YOU’RE A MESS!”
rvsue
Oh Spike! It was SOOOOO worth it…right? 🙂
He does live life to the fullest . . .
What a lovely day……………….
Spike soaking with the butterfly hovering is neat. Bridget loving it too.
I roared when I got to the last picture. Jules from the other side of the living room says …What?? Is it a close up of Bridget again? Nope it’s Spike…he’s a pig pen and he is INSIDE the BLT. He snuck back in when Sue went out to look for him.
Such characters! Thanks for the laugh!
Spike is a pig pen. There are areas of the ground where the dirt is like black talcum powder. It sticks to everything. Spike used to be a dingy brown. Now he’s dingy grey. What a mess. Gotta’ love him.
hahahahahaa! Good old Spike, living life to the fullest! Squeezing every bit of enjoyment out of life that he can! The butterflies dancing around his head are almost magical! Good to see that ya’ll are still enjoying Ivie Creek, did you make it up to the Springhead?????
No, we didn’t go up to the spring. We roamed around the campground for a while and then turned for home. It’s a good walk, up and back. Not to make a fuss here, but I saw a dead rattlesnake in the road, so I’m sticking to well-traveled paths.
Oh Spikey, what an adorable muddy mess. Especially loved the pic of Spike & the butterflies 😉
Keep on keeping on, Sue. We love ya!
There were several more butterflies around him but they flew out of frame. Thanks for sending some love, Patti.
Great pics along the stream. That’s Kamas to Evanston (Wyoming), not Evansville. When it gets hotter – July, August – you might want to try that. Too cold now. Lots of boondocking sites along or near the highway.
Ooh, you’re right! Maybe having my computer crash in the middle of writing a blog entry and having to go through restore threw me off a bit. Not that I’m making excuses . . . 🙂
I went back and fixed it to Evanston. Yes, I imagine it’s cold up there now. That road goes up high. I would like to go there, avoiding the crowded areas like Mirror Lake.
I was wondering about the dirt he must bring in every time he wades in the brooks. Well its a small space and he is a lover boy, so cleaning up probably isn’t too bad. I also think about your patio rug. It must get dirty on the back side. How do you manage the dirt from that?
I didn’t put the patio rug down at this camp because there are big rocks sticking up, too big to remove, and so it would be all bunched up.
When I lift up the rug after it’s been down for a while, the dirt shakes off it. I never seem to have access to a hose to wash it, yet it stays clean. The only thing I have to do is wipe up spills, because then dirt will stick where the spill is.
I have to wash the floor about every other day. It’s a quick wipe-down on my hands and knees. If I can keep the crew from jumping up on the bed, the dirt falls off them to the floor and I simply sweep it out. I sweep the floor several times a day since we’ve been near this creek!
We humans should be more like Spike… take naps when we want to, soak in the water when we’re hot, roll in the dirt and have someone else worry about it. The good life.
. . . and may butterflies hover over each and every one of us.
Thanks for the enjoyable creek tour. I bet it disappears in late summer. I sent a kiss via my bookmarked RVSue Amazon link. Attaboy Spike and sweet Bridget.
the creek continues … comes from a spring … when I was there in October it was a bit lower than that, but not much
Yeah, that creek doesn’t look like it’s going to dry up. Man, a lot of water passes by our campsite, 24 hours a day. Amazing, really.
Hey, Mick! Glad you enjoyed another walk along the creek.
Hmm…. I wonder what you mean by a “kiss via my bookmarked RVSue Amazon link.” Very interesting.
I’d say only some of this fun was clean.
Aha . . . Somebody related the story back to the title . . . Hi Gaelyn! 🙂
Hi Sue and Crew, I was wondering ever since I learned about those fisher cat creatures. From the information I’ve read so far. It seems they can be very vicious. especially to smaller animals like the crew. Maybe you should carry a fire arm when you and the crew go on the hikes. Never know what kind of wild animal you may run into. , bob cat, mountain lion, bear, fisher cat, etc. BTW. the screeching you hear from the tree. Did it sound similar to that fisher cat sound? that was on the audio in the last post. Stay safe and have a good time cheers… Dominick..
Not knowing anything about fisher cats (american martens) I did some reading. From what I read and from the pictures that you have provided I have my doubts that you are hearing a fisher cat. They are also a large enough animal that you would have seen one by now I think.
Although fishers are competent tree climbers, they spend most of their time on the forest floor. They prefer continuous forest to other habitats. Fishers have been found in extensive conifer forests typical of the boreal forest but are also common in mixed hardwood and conifer forests. Fishers prefer areas with continuous overhead cover with greater than 80% coverage and will avoid areas with less than 50% coverage. Fishers are more likely to be found in old-growth forests.
Hi Ed… Definitely way less than 80% coverage and even less than 50% coverage.
I’m beginning to think maybe the guy at the campground is right. Maybe it is a chipmunk or squirrel that makes that awful screech as a mating call. But then I think I’d SEE a chipmunk or a squirrel.
So that brings me back to tree frog with a loud voice. LOL
No, it didn’t sound like a fisher cat. I figure it has to be something small because as much as I look I never see it move and, in fact, I never see it at all. Not even a glimpse or a silhouette.
I know you are concerned about us hiking around here. We stay on well-traveled paths that are surrounded by wide-open fields of sagebrush and rabbitbrush. It’s not the kind of environment that’s likely to have bears or mountain lions. I haven’t shown the open plain because it’s landscape that’s hard to photograph and its kind of, well, plain.
We’ll be okay. And, yes, we’re having a good time!
I live in an area where there are, among other creatures, coyotes and bear. I remember a guy from a more populated area asking my then husband if he carries a gun when he goes hiking in case of seeing a bear. We both laughed and he replied that he’s more worried about the other people in the woods than any of the animals. I agree, especially if the other person is carrying a firearm! An animal will not normally attack a human or dogs without provocation or unless their babies are nearby. As long as you make noise while walking, it is very rare to be attacked. A lot of hikers in remote areas wear bells on their shoes for that reason.
This area may seem remote to people, but from an animal’s point of view, this area has too many people in it.
Animals have so much room to roam — mountains with trees and fields of sage, brush, and grass — with plenty of game (rodents, rabbits, turkeys). They don’t even need to come to this creek for water. The crew and I took a long hike and I could hear another creek. Looking on a map, there are several creeks coming down off this range.
LOL… looks like the Crew was waiting at the table for lunch while you were wandering around outside looking for Spike!
Nice photos and nice camp!
Thanks, Kay. Funny you mention it because they soon were barking for kibble (Spike started it) so they had an early supper.
Spike really WAS a mess, wasn’t he. He sure looks contented.
Oh, Spikey is one happy, little boy. And the messier he is, the more he likes it. He comes in like that and then looks shocked when I won’t let him jump up on the bed.
You’re having some pretty nice days, aren’t you!
Could the sound you hear be a raven? they have so many different calls. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Raven/sounds
I didn’t expect the calls of ravens to be so close! It’s a very similar sound but not quite the same. Plus I’ve never known a raven to sit still for long. This noise was coming from trees up and down the creek. I think I would’ve seen at least one. Interesting site, Alison. I learned more about ravens!
Too bad you can’t record the sound and post it somehow in case someone can identify it. I am so curious on what it could possibly be!!
It looks like I’ve set up a mystery that we’re not going to solve. Sorry about that. Imagine how it is to hear the dang thing and not be able to see what it is!
What an awesome website with bird calls. I have bookmarked it for future reference. See Sue, your readers are learning “stuff” from your other readers!
What happy dogs with a very understanding mother! Spike is just like all little boys, covered in dirt!
Spike is the first male dog I’ve had for a long period of time. (I fostered dogs but they only stayed a few weeks.) I have to laugh at Spike’s very male behaviors. I’d outline them here but I think my male readers might take offense.
Once again you have taken a few words, painted a picture (or two) in my mind and made me laugh. You can say sooooo much by saying so little. Way to go Sue, you can keep your family rated blog and let those of us who are a little more twisted can fill in the blanks.
Imagination . . . better than anything I could write!
hmmm. Maybe a flicker? Don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner. They’re around my house and they can have a godawful screech. Hard to see too.
I’ve lived with flickers around. I’m not saying I’ve heard every call they make . . . I dunno!
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is an awesome bird site. The gold standard.
Do you have Eagles in those parts? Eagles have a very high-pitched chirpy, screech and if they are nesting in the trees and see animals below, they do get nervous and make those sounds. You would probably see them soaring around though. Could even be a hawk.
An eagle would be hard to miss only 15-20 feet above my head and I doubt there are 8-10 eagles nesting in the trees along the creek bank. Like you said . . . I’d see an eagle or a hawk.
Spikey, they’re pickin’ on you again but just ignore them…remember”selective hearing” always works for humans, usually husbands very well..or not. Little Miss Priss, who won’t get in the water much, doesn’t know what she’s missing and your human won’t get in AT ALL. They are difficult to train at times…..the K9Kids in Homolovi State Park, Winslow, AZ
You’re at Homolovi? I almost went that way. I hope Geri blogs about it very soon with lots of photos. I’m always interested to learn new routes and camps across Arizona. Have fun on your trip.
Tell the K9Kids that this human loves to get in the water, even when it’s freezing!
Oh what fun! I am off to Bali for my big birthday bash tomorrow…………….so will try to keep up with you and your travels over the next two weeks, provided we have phone service……………keep safe and happy……..love to the crew and you Sue!!
A birthday bash in Bali! I want to do that! LOL I hope you have a wonderful time, Glenda. Thanks for sending some love our way.
this may be another camp that spike hates to leave, he’s having such a great time. they’re both so precious! by the way, the new email notification works great!
You got an email! What great news!
Western Chorus Frogs calling
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x171BHpft_I
We always called them peepers. It’s not spring for me until I hear the peepers. I love that sound.
I do, too.
We call them peeps. When I first got here I thought they were crickets..they are really loud! When something gets close they all go silent.
Fisher cats are here also…..scary….they eat snowshoe hares and porcupines. They are known to eat cats also. They will tear a human up!
I didn’t know fisher cats are in upstate NY. I grew up there and never heard of them.
Neither did we…hell I’ve never ever heard of them. But I’m a country bumpkin transplant!
They trap them up here. Apparently they are all over this state. Syracuse.com loads slow so be patient.
http://blog.syracuse.com/outdoors/2009/11/fishers_the_newest_predator_in.html
I can’t look at it this evening. I’m trying to put together a blog post and every photo takes about 10 minutes to load. I’ll look at it when my computer is working better tomorrow.
I also got an email notification. It’s WORKING.
Glad you and the crew are enjoying the stream although I’m sure you’re getting a bit tired of cleaning the floor. Enjoy the cool. I think it’s about 100 outside right now here at home.
Thanks for letting me know you got the email. I remember thinking of you and others sweltering in the heat when I was taking a pic of the stream.
Thanks for the walk. I DID get an email notification. So you must have found the key. I sure like the little area you guys are in. Spike is a loveable little dirtbag.
IMPOSSIBILITIES IN THE WORLD
1) You can’t count your hair.
2) You can’t wash your eyes with soap.
3) You can’t breathe when your tongue is out.
Put your tongue back in your mouth silly person.
Ten (10) things I know about you.
1) You are reading this.
2) You are human.
3) You can’t say the letter “P” without separating your lips.
4) You just attempted to do it.
6) You are laughing at yourself.
7) You have a smile on your face and you skipped No 5.
8) You just checked to see if there is a No. 5.
9) You laugh at this because you are a fun loving person & everyone does it too.
10) You are probably going to send this to see who else falls for it.
You have received this e-mail because I didn’t want to be alone in “the idiot” category.
“Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.”
Hi Jim…
I like the last line best of all . . .
What a lovely walk you and the crew took – thanks for inviting us along! The water looks verrryyy inviting, especially since the heat index this afternoon here was 101 (and yes, I had to work out in it for about an hour). I noticed that Miss Bridget is in a few more pictures today, and the ones of Spike are hilarious. I’m glad you have them along, to keep you company and keep us entertained.
I don’t know what I’d do without my crew, Cari. I’ve always lived with at least one dog. I love being a solo vagabond, but I also enjoy the company of my crew. Bridget and Spike are just what I need. They give me someone to talk to and they don’t talk back. 🙂
In the halls of Cryptozoology there are creatures called Chupacabras that look like nothing ever created on this planet. Some say they come from another demension. Perhaps you are hearing their call but cannot see them because they are just out of sight in another demension. Or maybe you are hearing a Big Foot. Their adult sound is enough to make your hair stand on end. Some say they have the ability to catch what you are thinking and therefore can tell if you are a good person or not. Maybe you have the privledge of trying to be talked to by a Big Foot. Native Americans call them the Gentle People of the Forest. They will not hurt you if you have a good heart.
Hi Joe . . . Well, if that’s the sound, then Big Foot is holding a family reunion around here.
Of course it could be just a woodpecker screech. But if I was you I’d keep a close eye on the dogs. Chupacabras means Goat Sucker and small animals have been found with their blood completely drained from their bodies. A pistol may be in order here as these creatures can be killed when in our 3rd demension. I have seen artists impressions of what they look like…big red eyes, spines on their back, backwards kind of legs that allows them to jump quick and glide or maybe even fly a short ways. There have been attacks on people too, but it is rare.
That’s all I need. A Goat Sucker sitting on a limb above my head.
DesertHawk… All of a sudden my replies aren’t going under the person’s comment… Oh well… I enjoyed the audio of the frogs. That’s not what’s screeching around here. Thanks for sharing.
Dang I didnt get an email notification
Course I never have before because I never signed up for it
HA HA
Ron
Dear Ron,
Pfffftt! 🙂