2nd Day with Commando

He was great during T-giving dinner. We kept him on the leash and tied him to a table near the dining room (it's all open) and he was calm and relaxed and lied down and napped during dinner. He enjoyed a few bits of turkey and some gravy and even about 2 pieces of bread from the stuffing in his dinner.

Walked him in the morning around the neighborhood and then Andy and I headed up to Echo Summit to snowshoe. Commando sacked out on the back seat of the car. Unfortunately, when we got the the twisty mountain roads, he got car sick and hurled his breakfast. We drove slower after that and stopped a few times to give him a rest. He seemed a little uncomfortable a few times, but otherwise okay.

He really enjoyed the hike and the snow. He pranced around and sniffed every scent he could get near his nose. At one point, he even rolled little snow balls with his nose and then licked them up. He likes to toss stuff in the air when playing and he enjoyed the snow. He definitely frightened the little mousies and other " Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beasties" by sticking his nose in a variety of downed tree holes and snuffling deeply.

Great day, lots of fun and it's good to know that Commando will be a good companion on the hikes.

1st Morning with Commando

I kept him in my room for the night and it was a bit of a chore, but we worked it out. At first, he sacked out on the carpet on a towel I put down for him and I dropped off to sleep thinking all was going to be good.

After about 45 minutes, he woke up and wanted to play. He tossed his toys around and paced around my room, occasionally putting his forepaws up on the bed. I tried letting him go outside, which he loved as long as I was with him. Then he started LEAPING onto my bed and I would have to drag him off saying, "NO." This went on for a while. I could keep him off the bed only by staying up and saying, "No" everytime he would jump up.

I wasn't getting much sleep this way. Finally he settled back down on the carpet and tried to drop off. Within about 15 minutes he had leaped up on the bed and snuggled right down. I thought, he's quiet, I can sleep, so I just him be. I got most of a good night's sleep this way and so did Commando.

When morning came, we went in the backyard and I tried to encourage him to "do his business" but to no avail. I left him out there (checking on him) and went inside to make coffee. Then I got dressed and we went out for a little walk. He enjoyed the walk, didn't do any marking or any "business." We got back and I left him in the back yard for a while (checking on him).

I was doing some cleaning and tidying and after a while I let him back in. He followed me around, very curious and playful. I checked in the backyard and---success---he did his business!

Now I'm relaxing and he's lying under the feet of my recliner relaxing himself.

So far so good.

I can hear the helicopters overhead for the "Run to Feed the Hungry."

New Dog -- Commando

I finally bit the bullet and got a dog from the SPCA. His name is Commando as you might have noticed from the title. He's a shepherd mix, about 1 year and a few month's old.

Plus: He's trainable, sensitive to verbal correction, curious, and interested in being a companion. We went for a walk and he seemed to enjoy it although he needs leash training. We saw some deer and he stood up on his hind feet (like a human) perhaps to get their scent. He's definitely a sceny hound, sniffing everything thoroughly.

Minus: He's very, very active. He's been on several walks today and he's been exploring the house and rarely sitting or lying down. I assume that eventually he'll calm down. He also may not be house trained. He's already had some accidents in the house. I hope it's just nerves and that he's in an unfamiliar place. Alternatively, I hope he learns quickly.

So far so good.

New Gate in Progress

When I replaced most of my fence a few years ago I also put in a new gate to my backyard. It was a cheap, pre-fab, stapled together gate and although it has served its purpose well, it is time to replace it. The stapled boards have fallen off and the replacement screws now tear out of the worn cross pieces. The hinge is bent and buckled.

This picture is me preparing to load the raw materials into my Jetta after a shopping trip at Home Depot. You'll see other pictures later as I put the gate together.

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New Fone Phinally

I'd been checking my cell phone company fairly often for new phones and they just started selling the Samsung Blackjack. It seems to have all of the features I need (although it looks like I might want a bigger screen) so I ordered it. Will update this when the phone arrives.

Update: Well, the phone arrived last night. It's very small, I almost feel like I might lose it. It's not hooked up to my service yet and I'll be calling today on my old phone. It's got a nice feel and I like the keyboard layout very much. I'm not so sure that I like that it doesn't have a touch screen. I wasn't sure if I would miss it, but touch screen is an easier interface. I added some dog mobiles to the calendar. So far so good.

Day 3 of the Desert Adventure

We made reservations at the fabulous Furnace Creek Inn for brunch so spent most of the day mooching around the Valley taking in a variety of the roadside attractions. We gazed at the Borax works from the parking lot and drove through the aptly named Mustard Canyo (formed of yellow mud). We strolled to Natural Bridge, although not all the way to the end of the canyon. We drove through Artist's Palette (colored rocks) and got out once to stroll around. We toured Zabriskie Point.

The brunch was outstanding! The highlight of the meal was the smoked salmon, lightly seared ahi tuna sashimi, and mounds of delicious caviar with all the fixin's. They also had blueberries and blackberries. I'm sorry to say I gorged. Well, there was one mishap. I started eating the blackberries and noticed that one had smashed. I scooped it up with my spoon and added another whole blackberry. Oops, bad taste, that was caviar, not smashed blackberry! They also had petit fours, a rare treat. The service was impeccable, although, the waiter did chuff Petra for not finishing her profiterole.

We then drove all the way to Wildrose Peak and the Charcoal Kilns. The kilns are very interesting. It was late in the day so we didn't hike very far up the trail and stayed mainly on the level bits.

Our last stop was the best and I wish we'd had more time there. We hiked up Mosaic Canyon for a bit but just ran out of daylight. I will definitely do this hike again.

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Day 2 of the Desert Adventure

We drove, biked (or coasted), and walked down through Titus canyon. It's quite interesting and about everything you can imagine being done with rock has been done. It's colored, folded, melted, torn, dissected, pressed, stacked, tortured, and riven.

We briefly visited Scotty's Castle and ate some taste flavored eating substances. Skip the snack bar unless you're starving.

We hiked all around Ubehebe crater. It was a great way to see it. Your perspective changes as you round the circle. We interrupted a raven enjoying the beauty and testing echo properties of the crater.

Lastly we drove to the racetrack. This is really a whole day trip and best made when everyone is fresh. The road is bad, but I've been on much, much worse. All of the roads we took were rated 4x4 only, but all could be driven with a regular passenger car. Of course, conditions change!

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Day 1 of the Desert Adventure

The first day was a long driving day. Started out by walking Moose in the morning at the ranch. Reached the superb train station in Wasco just as Petra's train pulled in. It's a new station in a poor Valley town. The bathrooms are particularly nice with motion sensors on everything.

Dr0ve over 155 to 395 to 190 and over Daylight pass to Beatty. We stopped for lunch at the above "Koffee Shop" in Lake Isabella.

I'm a bit disappointed in the El Portal as it looks like a dump and may cost the same as the Stagecoach and Motel 6. The woman who checked us in was very frazzled and said she had just woken up.

There's not much in Beatty so next time it might be prudent to bring food and a camp stove because I'm not sure we're within 50 miles of diners or even a grocery.

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Petsmart Stockton Blvd Mobile

This is Taylor, an 11 month old white german sheperd mix. He's quite charming and should be easily adopted from the shelter. He enjoys treats and is learning to sit and walk on the leash. He's pretty much mastered sit, and needs more leash work.

We also had Chevy, a 10 year old border collie who was well trained and quite clever. He knew sit, down, and roll over...he also knew that he would get a treat whether or not he performed the trick so he got sloppier and sloppier with the tricks as the day went on.

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Wasted kayak trip

If any time on the water can be considered wasted, this was. On a previous trip, I'd checked out the William B Pond access to the river. It looked like a nice, calm place to put in. It was calm, but it didn't connect to the river. I had to portage over the cobble rocks that infest the river banks and bushwhack through the willows and poison oak. Might I also add that a kayak is not the best thing to have on your shoulder while bushwhacking? It's not. It's long, it gets stuck on every branch within a mile, and it's heavy.

On the other hand, I got exercise and spent some time in lovely weather along the beautiful American River. I guess I can't complain too loudly.

Jaeda at the Home Show Mobile Adoption

This is Jaeda. A very cute dog with such a cute boo-boo face. My cell phone camera really doesn't do this shot justice! Jaeda is about 6 years old.

Remember to spay and neuter your pets, and feel free to look for adoptable dogs and cats at the Sacramento SPCA.

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Mobile at Cal Expo

This was the dog I was lucky enough to take. His name is Puppy, and he is 11 months old. Based on his cuteness, calm personality, and the attention he received from the attendees, he will be adopted very quickly.

I almost took him home myself!

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New Bike

Finally bit the bullet and bought a new bike. I bought a Trek mostly road bike. It's very light, especially compared to my e-Bike. I also bought different shifters and a different seat. The seat is somewhat comfortable, but I wouldn't mind a little more cush.

Rode it to and from work today and it is much easier to peddle and get started and stopped. I'll also have to check and see if more people catch me as a test of speed.

So far so good.

Bike Trip on the Golden Gate Bridge

Donna and I met up with child in tow for a bike trip. We met at the scenic overlook area. I discovered that you can't get to the S.O.A. from southbound 101 so I would recommend parking on the other side in the triangular shaped parking area. That's accessible from both sides of the freeway.



We biked across on the Bay side of the bridge and then turned around after a brief exploration of the SF side. The views are fabulous, although it was overcast and cold.

We biked back on the ocean side of the bridge, and schlepped the bikes down some steps and up some steps back to the S.O.A. We stowed the bikes in my car and then went down to Sausalito to poke around. We ate lunch at a nondescript place next to the water while the child ran around exploring the rocks.

We then went back and sorted out the bikes and headed off in our separate directions. This was fun and we'll definitely do it again. I also saw a good (free!) launch site for the kayak and will look forward to a trip for that.

Mystery of the Yellow Flower

This was growing widely in the gravel near the American River in Goethe Park. It's definitely a spiny, prolific weed. I did a GIS for it, but couldn't find anything quite like it.

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Walk at Goethe Park

Took a stroll along the American River and saw some turkeys pecking away at the grass. Almost everytime I come here I see the turkeys. They don't look so hard to catch and I wonder how many people try to snag one late in November?

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Kitty-Puss Put to Sleep

When I got home from camping the cat ate his last meal after meowing for it like he always does. Later in the evening though, he was listless, didn't ask for second dinner, and ignored the food I put out for him.

He spent some time outside, and slept in the bedrooms. When I got up, he was outside walking down the sidewalk (who knows why, perhaps pain) and came inside when I called him. He wasn't asking for food at all. I knew it was time.

Gave him all of the pain medication, about 3 doses. It took him a while, but he finally got pretty dopey. We took him to SAMG around 8 am and he was sent to his final resting place about a half hour later. I should have brought a little piece of his fuzzy blanket as a soft place for him to rest but didn't. I thought about sacrificing the towel, or may pajama pants, but that just wasn't right.

He's being cremated, and they'll call me when his ashes are ready to pick up. I'll be able to scatter him around the backyard, and on the chimney, and even some on the roof...all of his favorite places.

I'm very sad and still crying. I know it's stupid to be upset about a free cat, but he was very special to me and we had a special bond.

Cat, I will miss you and will love you always.

ADP Conference

Director Kathy Jett says the data that providers enter into CalOMS and other systems is critical to help ADP tell a compelling story to get state and federal funding. We save between $1 and $4 for every dollar spent diverting users to treatment from jail. Courts, treatment, and law enforcement are now speaking with one voice on this issue and it helps legislators continue to fund these effective programs.

Deputy Director Michael Cunningham mentioned the "inalienable right to services" that clients have.

Dennis McCarty suggests (and challenges) that more drug dealers are using text messaging and the internet to sell drugs than are prevention and treatment providers to prevent and treat AOD users. With treatnent, timing is everything. When clients call, they shouldn't have to wait a month for help. He also provided some statistics that were interesting (see the CD). Successful treatment outcomes decrease with any delay in providing treatment.

These are my notes for my purposes and are not meant to reflect on ADP policies or practices.

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Castle Peak Too Hard For Me

My original plan was to drive to the end of the forest service road. I didn't do that because I thought, "Oh, I can walk the whole distance." Plus, I'm not sure my car would have made it.

Well, I can definitely make it to the top of Castle Pass, but when I started up the trail to the peak, I realized it was steep and rocky and I really needed to be much fresher than I was. The views are gorgeous and there was almost no one up there so I took a long time drinking water and eating some dried apricots.

I took the Pacific Crest Trail down instead of the road. It's a much nicer trail, although a bit longer. There are some forest service "roads" that connect the PCT to the road I'd come up. I got a little lost traversing them, but managed to make it back to car okay.

Note to self: don't forget the Advil!

Windy paddle

Drove to Hell Hole to paddle. The water level was down about 30 feet and there was wind as well as many people loading and unloading boats. That translates to too crowded for me.

I headed along to French Meadows which is usually prettier. Well, it was prettier although also down about 30 feet and much, much windier. I battled the waves (most with whitecaps) for a short trip and then called it a day.

I briefly visited Ox Box Reservoir but just couldn't get motivated to unload the kayak.