Damn Cold -- Grrr

Got sick Saturday evening on the way back from my fabulous hike. Had a huge fever all day Sunday and started with ibuprofen then. Bad sore throat and stuffy ears and achey left ear. Saw the doctor on Wednesday. He says it's just a virus take Advil cold and sinus.

Went through the anti-meth rigamarole and left with, as it turned out, not enough Advil cold and sinus.

It's now Friday morning and I'm feeling worse, not better. This can't be. My right ear is now stuffy and so achey that I had to take 800 milligrams of ibuprofen to sleep. My eyes are gummy and bright pink.

It still may be a virus, but I'll be reporting these new symptoms to the doctor anyway.

It's time to be better now. Life is too short to spend it sick!

Beale Falls Hike and Cold

On Saturday got up relatively early and went to the Spenceville Wildlife Area to hike to Beale Falls. The trail maps are pretty bad, but I managed to make it to the falls. I started off on the Spenceville road (so far on the map) and soon went off to the right on a foot path that went along Dry Creek. This path will be very, very bad (and perhaps impassable) after rain and if the creek rises. When dry, it cuts off about a mile of distance. The creek is scenic and there are plenty of deep pools and sandy beaches to lounge and take in some water. I suppose this would be a fish hangout too. The picture in this paragraph shows the middle section of the falls. You have to scramble down a steep hill on onto a lava upthrust to get the shot.

Commando enjoyed himself running around like a loon and trying to catch squirrels and birds. Hey, bud, it ain't gonna happen!

This picture shows the deep pool at the bottom of the upper falls. I managed to capture a fence post in my shot of the upper falls.

We met only a few hikers and they were forgiving of Commando being off leash. I stopped him from heading to a family (which I couldn't see) by saying NO in my sternest voice. They were all stopped, no doubt thinking that I was being stern because he was dangerous. I apologized, and we chatted about the trail while the kids gathered around petting Commando on whatever bits they could reach.

In the spring it will be a more splendid hike, assuming it rains enough to prompt the wild flowers to bloom. Although, there may be more people. I'll definitely have to come back with Donna, Brianna, and Kayla for a bike ride. It's a little short for us at only 5 miles, but perfect for the kids.

On the drive back I started feeling sick and by the time I got home I had a nasty cold. Bummer for Sunday.

Trip to Snow and Hunting Area

On Saturday Donna came up with Brianna and Kayla. We went with her family and the dog to the Lake Valley Reservoir. There was less snow than when I was up last weekend but the roads were even icier! We sledded around and then hiked to the lake shore. It was beautiful, partly iced over, with the moutains rising above it. There was sun and we enjoyed a nice picnic. The bathroom even had some toilet paper left from the fall!

On Sunday Commando and I drove up to Farwest Camp reservoir and then on to the Spenceville Wildlife Area. Commando and I explored a field that had harbored cows. There were some hut like structures with an old engine block and perhaps a rusted washing machine. There was also a rusting, probably no longer running backhoe. Someone had dug a big hole into the rock (at least a story deep and then put up a barbed wire fence). Interesting.

Hunting was still going on and I could hear shots off in the distance. I was wearing red but I forgot Commando's yellow vest. Fine!

Yuba Gap Walk

I had tried to hike near the Emigrant Gap exit off 80 but my car was just not up to the moderate amount of snow on the road. I drove to the Yuba Gap exit and went to the forest service road that follows one side of the Lake Valley reservoir. Commando and I hiked along enjoying the winter weather and the views of the partly iced over lake.

Van Vleck Snowshoe

Drove up the Icehouse road and snowshoed a little way down to the Van Vleck bunkhouse. It was about 25 degrees F which is cold for sunny CA. I could have used my ear muffs, but they are hidden somewhere.

I made Commando wear his yellow slicker and I put a lap blanket under it. The blanket didn't last long, but he wore the slicker the whole way. I also made him wear some dog boots to protect his feet from the snow. He didn't like those either. He did the silly "high walking" step and then settled down with them. They were slippery and didn't give him a good grip.

The two on the right side kept coming off, so eventually I left them off. Then, I noticed a little blood in his paw print and put them back on. We'd been out for about an hour or so, so headed back. About halfway back, Commando kept lying down waiting for me. Hmm, unusual. I checked the boots and they looked okay. Finally I took all of them off again and he galloped around like the pup he is all the way back to the car. I'm not quite ready to give up on them so Commando is going to be forced to wear them at least once more.

It's a great hike. It slopes down relatively gradually (which means it's not a hard slog back up). The snow was hard and crisp. Even going off the road onto a meadow was good. There are great views of the Crystal Range too.

I'm going to have to think more about cross country skis. It would be nice to slide downhill instead of plod along. It's nice to not break bones too, so maybe I should keep plodding!

The Ravine

A guy with a golden lab suggested that we try the ravine, an abandoned quarry near the Granite Regional Park. Finally made it early enough to explore in the daylight. It's a great for dog walking. It's in a pit, so the dogs are naturally constrained, although they can run up the sides. It's got lots of willow type trees and plenty of trails. There's a big pond with water birds. The round trip on the most obvious trail is about 2.6 miles, so it's a good walk. There haven't been too many dogs there, although I've encountered them.

The picture is from the first trip, after the sun had set and looking over the pond. The colors are from Gimp.

Full Moon Dog Walk

Walked along the river last night with the full moon. The sky was mostly cloudy with some stars showing through. It was bright from the moon, and the lights of Sacramento shining onto the clouds. The temperature was perfect. Peaceful and quiet.

New Year's Day

Went out to the Rancho Seco county park and it was sort of a bummer from a dog walking standpoint. There's a small lake if you like to fish. There's some "exotic" animals (deer, emus, etc) but you can't hike down to them. There's no trail around the lake. There is a long trail that will be interesting in the spring, but no dogs are allowed on it. Looks like it crosses some private rangeland and they must not want to bother the cows.

Then drove up to the Fleming Meadow trailhead and poked around in the remaining hour of daylight. Got lots of good pine smell and it might be a fun trail with the bike as it's not too difficult.

Commando seemed to enjoy the driving around searching for Rancho Seco and smelling the air through the open sun roof.

King's Game Mobile

Took the very charming dog Jesse James to the mobile. He is a dalmation/pit bull mix and is very, very sweet. He was featured on the mid-game TV spot and did an outstanding job by looking at the camera, wagging his tail, and responding to the talent giving him a treat.

We took a dog that was black and white like Jesse, and people thought the two dogs were the same.

I took a video of Jesse's tail wagging because he kept it going like a metronome for almost the whole game! So far I can't seem to get it to play on anything other than my phone.

More Dramamine and Hiking

Drove up to Foresthill again and took the Deadwood road down to the Western States Trail. Walked downhill on the road to the Deadwood Cemetery and then to road's end.

It was creepy too! I'm all alone with just Commando. When we get to the restored cemetery (with just a memorial headstone, no apparent graves) I look at Commando and his hackles are up. Whooooo.

I also dropped my cellphone, which I didn't notice at first. I had to walk up and down the hill to the cemetery to see it.

Walked back up the WST, which paralleled the road, and found it a much nicer trek. Saw plenty of fresh and not so fresh deer tracks as well as some fresh animal scat but no actual animals. Possibly saw some bear scat too, but I'm not completely sure.

Great hike. Next time, I'm going to check out the Devil's Thumb.

Tiny Hike with Brother and Dog

Drove up to the Foresthill Divide as it's a relatively straight road for the mountains. Gave Commando some dramamine and he threw up anyway. Poor doggie.

We first hiked a bit at the Beacroft Trail but stopped when we got to the edge of the canyon leading down to the American River. Although there wasn't much snow, I just didn't fancy going down a steep, wet, snowy, and icy trail and then trying to climb back up.

We drove back down the road and stopped at some forest service road that goes partway into Secret Canyon and hiked around there. We could hear a waterfall but the road didn't go all the way down so we never saw the waterfall.

Could he be any cuter?

Lots of Commando Pics

In picture 1, Commando is napping in his dog basket. In picture 2, we've just finished a walk at Goethe Park near the American River. Commando is lying in the sun while we chat and look around.

Commando at the Granite Regional Dog Park

I've been sick with a cold and out of work but the dog still needs to be walked. I remembered going with Jodi and Bridget to a dog park nearby and thought this might be a good idea. I could sit and rest and Commando could run around like an idiot.

They have moved the park slightly from when I was last there, and the new location is fabulous! It's 2.5 acres with some decomposed granite paths, plenty of grass and even some trees that will eventually make it shady.

There were people (and their dogs) last night and this morning. Commando ran around with every dog that would run with him and was pretty relentless. Every other dog in the park came to me (and my delicious Trader Joe's treats) except Commando. He is so smart, he knows that he'd rather run around than have a treat!

This morning he had a really long exercise because he slipped his collar off and then waited until almost all of the other dogs went before deigning to come near me. I think his tongue was hanging out for an hour after we left.

Devil's Falls

Based on the great waterfalls page, I drove east to Colfax to Devil's Falls in the pouring rain. The excellent directions got me right there and it's a beautiful drive, even in the bad weather.

Commando and I hiked around from the falls to the bridge and down to the river. I had Commando off leash and he was reasonably obedient. I won't be able to trust him yet around other people, but he's definitely getting it.

He did learn an important lesson too that's kind of funny. He got carsick again (I'll have to take him to the vet for that) and so I stopped in the middle of the road to let him out to finish being sick and clean up. He scampered around happily and refused to come back to me in spite of the treats.

I was in the middle of the (isolated, dirt) road and could see a pull out about 100 feet ahead. I got in, left the driver's side door open, started up the car, and drove to the pull out. Wow! Commando had a complete attitude adjustment and decided that maybe coming when I called was in fact the best option. He got a treat and some ear scratching as a reward. I also put him in the front seat to see if that made his stomach any better.

He really is the perfect companion dog for me. He's smart though which means I have to be smarter with training. On several instances you can see him thinking, "Hmmm, do I want the treat she's offering, or is what I'm doing now more entertaining?"

I hope we can get him over this car sickness because he loves hiking and hiking involves getting in the car and driving. He seems to recover quickly and still loves hopping in the car for a ride so we'll see. Maybe the vet will have some insight.

He's curled up now sleeping in his new dog basket from Ikea. So cute.

Could There Be More Commando?

Let's see. He's now fairly reliably pooping outdoors but I can't trust him not to pee indoors so he's on a leash when we're inside.

We've had several great walks around the neighborhood and along the American River. Today we're going up to the snow (hope he doesn't get too sick), probably to Donner Summit. Or maybe we'll go to Carson Pass instead. Hmmm.

Last night he and Bridget played for a few hours while Jodi and I got Thai food for dinner.

Okay, right now he's playing on the bed, messing with the covers and if a quilt headed blob with occasional dog feet popping out isn't cute and funny I don't know what is!

I promise there will be a non-Commando post here soon.

Commando and the Dog Door

Last night Commando figured out how to come IN the dog door, and this morning he figured out how to go OUT the dog door. I'm still waiting to see if he can figure out WHEN he needs to go in or out because I still can't trust him not to use the living room carpet as his own personal bathroom. Last night he had another little accident. Oops.

Commando and Cesar Millan

That Cesar guy is really good. I've been walking Commando in the morning and in the evening. He's reasonably good on the leash, and I generally let him roam around freely. We do "wait" at curbs though and he's very good at that.

I was practicing heeling with him and he was sort of getting it but there was a lot of lunging and "NO"ing and correction. Then I did the tap with the back foot on his hind end and made the "Tcchh" noise and with 2 repetitions Commando was heeling beautifully and walking very calmly at my side. I swear I could have dropped the leash completely!

I now generally let him run around on the leash and then about 3 blocks from home he heels. I also have him heel when we encounter other dogs.

So far he's been delighted to meet other dogs and immediately does the play bow.

Good dog Commando!

We're still working on getting him to use the dog door.

Commando and Bridget Redux

We went on a longer bike ride today and I didn't want to take Commando. As I was walking him in the morning, Jodi brought Bridget by and we let them go off leash in my backyard. They seemed to enjoy chasing each other around the yard with lots of play bowing and tail wagging. We brought Commando over to Jodi's and let him hang out with Bridget in the back yard while we rode the bikes.

We rode from Sac State to Old Sac and then on up to the Cornerstone for breakfast. We then called Mom to come pick us up. The dogs did great together and Commando is now happily sacked out on the floor.

I also got some potty training in with him and was able to give him treats in the back yard for going there instead of in the living room.

Biking with the Dog

Went to Goethe Park with Commando to test out biking with him. Jodi had a great tip to speed up, and hold him out and to the side. It was a little dicey, but after a bit (maybe a 10th of a mile) he seemed to catch on and we got some good exercise.

I shoved the bike in the car and Commando and I then walked around a little. We followed a deer trail and startled a doe and a buck.

We also introduced Commando and Bridget. They got along just fine and played happily on the front lawn. I think they will do well together in the back yard too.

It's nice to know that we can hang out with our dogs and not have a big fight.