It’s Sunday morning and the crew and I drive the Armistead Road loop around Clark Canyon Reservoir.
It’s surprising what you can see by driving eight miles per hour. I stop often to take photos. A red-tailed hawk perches on a rail fence, then flies off as we pass by. A gaggle of Canada geese graze in a green field, along with heron. I see horses, mule deer, and prairie dogs. A herd of eight or so pronghorns race from my right in a 180-degree arc around us. Man, those things can run!
I stop at the south end of the lake to let Bridget and Spike explore. It’s apparent the lakeshore has receded a great distance. A huge, noisy mass of water fowl takes advantage of the organisms and plants in the shallow water.
Michael the geologist comes over to my campsite around one o’clock.
He invites me over for dinner at 6:30 this evening. This will be enjoyable as he’s an interesting guy. I’ll bring one of the wire pens so I can keep Bridget and Spike from begging at the table. Some people bring wine to dinner. I bring a dog pen!
The photos I took this morning are too numerous to embed in this entry’s text, so I’m putting them in a slideshow. I think the subtle colors of this area at this time of year make lovely pictures. I hope you enjoy them![slideshow]
rvsue
Canine Corner: “How to Tell a Real Water Dog” by Spike
“A bunch of so-called water dogs are here. Retrievers, labs, and whatnot. Hey, what’s the story with the stick? I don’t get it. They wag their big tails all happy and proud because they got a stupid stick out of the water. Boneheads, all of them. A real water dog goes into the water all by himself whenever he feels like it.
I tell you this. If rvsue EVER throws a stick in the water, expecting me to go fetch it, I’m leaving.
And that’s all I’ve got to say about that.”
Sue, is it cool there? Seems like all the lakes we have seen in Colorado are so far down it is astonishing.
Can’t wait to hear what you will have for dinner. How nice of him to invite you.
It is cool here, considering it’s mid-August. As I write this the weather do-hickey on this page reads 77 degrees which is close. That’s probably in the shade.
It is nice of Michael to have me over for dinner. I’m looking forward to it.
Hi Sue, for some reason your slideshow pictures are only little 1/4 inch squares on my screen. How do I enlarge the slideshow?
Sincerely, a computer illiterate! Ha ha.
Pam,
i don’t really know. Try reloading the page and wait a while. Or rightclick and select “Show Picture.” Maybe someone else will have a better idea. I’m sorry you’re having trouble with it.
Nevermind, I got it to work. Gotta love Spike!
Great! I was hoping to hear from you . . .
You make me laugh!
Does Spikey walk thru puddles or around them? Funny about the stick…I can see him…staring and saying “you want ME to get it…YOU threw it..you go get it! I’m soaking!”
Just wondering……Do you have to put some type of wax/sealant on your BLT? Our RV had a rubber roof that needed UV protection goop every 6 months and the fiberglass sides oxidized if one didn’t apply RV polish. I like the rounded top of the Casita with NO rubber roof.
Enjoy dinner…..and the company.
Spike walks through puddles, of course. He’s a water dog!
I haven’t waxed or sealed the BLT. I bought the product and I’m keeping it in the PTV. I guess it doesn’t work if you don’t put it ON. The fiberglass will yellow over time if I don’t take care of it.
I let our RV go a bit too long………OMG trying to get the fiberglass polished and oxidation out was really a chore. Seriously it took me 2 days…wax on wax off…arm was sore not to mention a nasty sunburn. That ONLY happened once…after that I waxed it every 6 months and it only took me a couple of hours to maintain it.
So when you get back to your winter spot….take a couple of hours to do it. Trust me!
Good advice! I can’t believe I’ve let it go so long.
We are really enjoying your addition of Spike & Bridget’s posts. :o)
Thanks for letting me know!
Spikey is such a riot! Thanks for adding the Canine Corner!!! Looks like you had a great trip today complete with pronghorn antelope! Fun! We are eating Mexican tonight! We discovered a great little restaurant here in Page called Fiesata Mexicana! YUM! Dedinately one of our top 5 in the travels we have taken! Give Michael a “Howdy” from crew of The MotherShip!
You guys always seem to sniff out the best restaurants. Your post today about your visit to the North Rim and the Native American Festival is super! http://www.phunnyfarm.blogspot.com/
Gorgeous pictures Sue as usual. Took a much longer time than usual for the slide show to load for me and the antelope pictures were small but the others were full screen. Just FYI. No problems once they loaded. Looks like a place I’d love to be.
Hi, Sherry, I don’t know why the slideshow feature is not loading well. The antelope pics are small because of the way I cropped to bring them into better view. Oh well, glad you enjoyed them.
Jack (and Lizzie would have) said, careful what you say about us waterdogs, Spike. 😉 We like it with or without sticks, clean or dirty! Sue, I like the canine corner. Don’t know if you’ve ever been to our blog, but Jack wrote about our trip west. He would love Spike. He’d probably give him a ride on his back out into the deep water! What a site, huh?? Glad Spikey and “The Bridge” (too funny) are enjoying such great lives.
hobopals . . . Would you put a link to your blog here? I don’t know if you’ll see this.
Sue, I think any photo problems are on the receiver’s end. Sometimes a slow connect will result in thumbnails or nothing at all, but it’s not anything you’re doing.
Are the skeeters bad up there? Last time I was there, they nearly ate me alive. Wondering if the lower water levels are making them scarcer.
Hi, Chinle!
No, I haven’t been bitten once by a mosquito
.
One evening some biting flies came around but the breeze blew them away, I guess. There are flying insects that look like mosquitoes on steroids. A lot bigger than regular mosquitoes which is scary until you realize they may sound and look like mosquitoes, but they don’t bite. There are more of them on the other side of the lake. I find them on the shelter in the morning and then they thin out as the morning goes by. They don’t bother at all.
I’ve seen lots of those but no idea what they’re called. Lots in Colorado in wet places. Glad the moskies are gone, man, they were out to kill when I was there last. I litearlly had to hide in my tent.
No idea if you’re coming south through Salt Lake or not, but if you do, Antelope Island is a good place to visit. And DO NOT come through SLC in rush hour or at night (constant construction, very narrow lanes, can’t see) – best time is late morn or mid afternoon. If you come through Moab, consider yourself as having a place to stay and get out of the heat and even park the Casita for a few days. The crowds are thinning out at the NPs beacuse school is starting, and the heat is now moderating a bit.
I appreciate the invitation, Chinle, and the advice about SLC. I’ll try to avoid that town.
Heehee…loved the Spike entry today!! Yea, them big ole slobbery things don’t have nothing on a Spikey dog!! Heh!
I tried to play fetch with Spike once and he looked at me like I’m an idiot.
Just so you know, Sue, the slide show problem is not on your end. It went perfectly for me. May be the difference in viewers’ browsers. I find that even print shows up differently dependent upon the browser used.
Love the pictures, as always, but really love Spike’s idea on the stick thing. He is such a smart dog. There is nothing worse than throwing a stick or ball a few times for someone’s dog and then they NEVER quit!!!!! Love you, Spike and Bridget and of course. Love you Susan!
I don’t like the stick-throwing game either. Love you, too, Pauline!
Sue, your photos were especially nice this time. I really enjoyed them. And what a gorgeous area!
I didn’t think your blog could get any better, but the addition of the Canine Corner is a special treat!
So glad to see that you are continuing to enjoy your fulltime lifestyle. I was afraid it might get old to you. So glad to see that you are still (apparently) loving the adventure.
tinycamper . . I’ve met some ladies on the road who are ready to sit in one place. I suppose my day will come. I don’t see that happening any time soon. There’s so much to see and experience and I’m still “loving the adventure.”
I’m pleased with the photos I took today. Thanks for the compliment on them.
Sue, only 5 days until your first anniversary of the day you picked up the BLT and your first campground. Have you thought about doing anything special? I love to go back and reread some of your first posts and see how many adventures you have had! Wonderful life. I too love the canine corner. Stay happy!
Hi Patricia!
I’ll probably write about my first year, a reflective piece. As for doing anything special, heck, every day is special! Thanks for the nice comment.
Sue and Crew! I love reading your blog! I look for it daily…..Sue you and I would be the best of friends..LOL I love the fact that you bring a dog pen to dinner! I had my 17 year old Chihuahua in a paddle boat yesterday. He was fantastic, he is so blind he didn’t even know we were on the water! I can see Spike jumping in the river~It’s called the Williamson River, in Chiloquin, Oregon. It’s about 20 minutes to Crater Lake. Don’t forget we are waiting for you to come visit! Julie in Klamath Falls, OR.
Hi Julie, I plan on going to Oregon next summer. I’ll try to stay on your best side until then . . . LOL. Thanks for the invitation.
Bless your 17 yr. old chihuahua . . . Sounds like you two have fun together.
Okay, I’m being rude here. Bill and I host at Collier. We will be there next month as Interpretive hosts. Maybe we will meet you Julie. There are so many places to kayak there. Julie and Samantha, doxie & beagle, love to kayak and float.
Jack and I had a wonderful six months wondering around. Sure wish blogs were in vogue years ago as Rich and I had many, many happy years in an RV and we saw wonderful places that I’d love to share with you.
That was me, rvsue, asking you to put a link here. WordPress is playing with my name! It’s rvsueandcrew!
Oh, too funny! I wasn’t sure of the “etiquette”. Sure, here it is. The Beginning.
http://tinyurl.com/9khq5ry
Thanks, Sue. I sure wish Jack and I had run into you. I didn’t boondock as much as you, but I would now if I went, again, because I have a generator and would have hot water–shower!!!! I’m a sissy. All that preparation and I can’t walk, now. 🙁
I’m so sorry you can’t walk.
Jack is a honey. What a face! He’s a natural blogger.
To Spike: DON’T do the stick thing, once started, never stopped. There are much easier ways to keep your human entertained..
To Sue: Don’t start the stick thing, it will wear your arm out….listen to Spike!!!!!
From: the Hound Herd…we don’t DO sticks..
Good advice all around. Yes, I’ll listen to Spike. Spike rules.
Hope you had an interesting dinner with Michael. I’m sure Spike is right about the stick thing, but my last dog could never get enough. Maybe that’s why my shoulder is messed up.
Not funny, but I couldn’t help but laugh.
Those big mosquito looking insects could be crane flies -also known as skeeter eaters. They are harmless.
But they don’t eat skeeters, mostly nectar or not at all. Short life span.
That was nice for Michael to invite you to dinner, hope it was fun.
I’m loving the Canine Corner addition to your blog, Sue. It’s always interesting to see things from another perspective LOL
Samantha and Julie totally agree with Spike. It is so hot here we go down to have a soak every afternoon after we get the campground chores done! We then return to the campsite where we relax in the screen room. We do love watching Charlie chase his stick. Pretty exciting, just can’t figure out why he is chasing it though. Two more week until our return to Collier State Park.