Another Season has Ended

Tags

camping, dogs, hiking, rescue dogs, summer holiday

Hello Friends!

Another camping season has come to an end…sniff sniff.  Our seasonal site closed Sept 16th and I had booked a couple more weekend jaunts at other campgrounds BUT Ma Nature wasn’t playing along so I cancelled. It’s no fun spending a camping weekend being cold AND wet, and given that it’s a canvas pop up camper with no heat source except for what the dogs and I create from our own bodies… +2 degrees Celsius and raining is not worth trying to get in one more weekend. I think we’d rather curl up on the couch at home (warm & dry) and watch a movie on the W Network!

It’s always sad to say good bye to another season. It’s goes too fast! One minute it’s the beginning of July and we’re complaining about how stifling hot it is and the next minute we’re 3 weeks till the end and leaves are falling! When you start off on May long weekend it feels like you have so much time….and once mid August hits it feels like it’s over in a blink. Done. Pack up.

We had a great season, plenty of hot Summer days, lots of hiking and beach exploring and lots of resting. This season was all about rest for me. Since losing my Mum in December, this year has been very difficult for me. Getting away to the camper for the weekends was the rest I needed. Camping is always an escape for me, a time to unplug, be in nature, and chill the eff out…but this season I needed it even more. When the season started in May I was suffering from insomnia quite bad. During the week I was sleeping maybe 2 hours a night, but once I got to the camper and had the quiet and fresh air I was sleeping most of the night and I felt no guilt whatsoever to lay down and have a nap with the dogs after a hike. So not only was it my escape, it was a place to sleep.

Wheaton is such a camper dog.  This was his fourth season of camping and hiking. He loves it. The things he’s taken to so easily, given his puppy mill background, still amazes me. We are trusting each other more with the off leash time. *His recall is actually better than Daisy’s…it could be because he is way more food motivated than she is*.  He loves exploring and following his nose into all sorts of stinky things…like fish carcasses on the beach, dead frogs in the grass, goose poop…sniff it, eat it, roll in it…it’s all the same. He’s just such a funny little character.

And, did I mention handsome. He’s such a handsome boy. He’s only been our little fella for (almost) 4 years (anniversary of our adoption day coming in November) but it feels like he’s always been here. He’s just my funny little dude. I think Daisy even loves him now!! She snuggles in tight to him on the 2 1/2 hour car ride, and he loves it!!

I’m so blessed to be their human. I have more stories…but I’ll save it for the next blog entry.

Till next time…

With love & kindness,

Jenn, Daisy & Wheaton

 

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Making the Most

Tags

camping, dog exercise, dog play, dogs, fit lifestyle, fur babies, getting healthy, happiness, happy dogs, Hecla, hiking, summer holiday, trust

Look at this guy….he’s pretty pumped about getting going.

Let’s go Momma…..

 

I said….Let’s GO!

On Thursdays after work we’re pretty anxious to GTFO (get the f**k out) of town. Our Hecla time is ending soon. I have done my best to make the most of this camping season….having a seasonal site has been awesome. We have one more weekend left and so far the weather network is saying rain rain rain…I hope that changes by the time Wednesday night rolls around.

It’s perfect. Every weekend that we’re there, weather permitting, I get us up and we take a nice long hike/walk, this past weekend was gorgeous…and we started every morning with an hour  & 1/2 to 2 hour long hike walk. It may be the same few hiking trails and the same shoreline but it never gets old. Always new smells for the fur littles to investigate, and new rocks for me to hunt for along the shore. It makes us all happy!

I know the dogs love these little ventures. They run, they dig, they chew sticks, they chase each other….you know…dog stuff! Stuff they need to do but don’t get from a regular walk around the block or even through the park. I mean look at this little face…..

He loves the play, the freedom. He’s having so much fun. I swear he’s smiling!

I love when he’s just able to be a dog. No issues. No scars. No past.

Just a dog having all the fun! It makes my heart happy! ❤️

But We Were Having So Much Fun….

Tags

adding a second dog to your family, adopting a rescue dog, camping, camping with dogs, dog rescue, dogs, summer holiday

We have had a great Summer. 5 camping trips, averaging 5 days of camping per trip. I would like to get one more before Hecla/Gull Harbour closes the campgrounds on October 12th but I just can’t take more time from work and our last trip this past weekend was the best ever, so, I’m kinda worried I would jinx that camping mojo high that we finished on! Let’s just say that EVERY weekend, no matter what the weather forecast said on the Environment Canada website…it rained…except this last trip! Not only did we have the best site in the whole campground (even the camp office people said this) but 5 days and not a single drop of rain! The wind picked up Sunday night and it was a bit concerning the way the trees were swaying but, no storms, no rain, no thunder & lightning…the day I was packing up the sky was grey & it was chilly and halfway home it rained a bit….but this was the first time I packed up dry gear!! The bonus, for me, is that because kids have all gone back to school and families are finished with “summer holiday” stuff…the campground was empty! I love solitude. For me camping is quiet time, not crazy-screaming-loud-music time! The fact that we were the only campers in the whole bay, and maybe 1 of a dozen occupied sites left in the campground in general, didn’t bother me at all!

The dogs had a great time!  We had access to the lake right off the back of our campsite so we climbed down and walked/explored the deserted stony shore for a few hours.  We stopped and sat down to sun ourselves for a bit and watch the waves rolling in around us.

We had sunny days at the dog beach too, where I read a few books and the dogs napped .

We had warm toasty fires to enjoy and unlike the rest of the season, this time of year is pretty much bug free so we could sit outside and enjoy the fire.

We slept in and had many lazy morning snuggles in the tent, wrapped up in the cozy sleeping bag.

All in all, there’s nothing I love more than my dogs…and no past time I enjoy more than camping. The fact that I get to enjoy the activity I love most, with the company I love most, is a gift!

Wheaton may never have camped before and the experience may have been new and odd but he took to it without a problem. I thought he’d pee in the tent. I thought he’d freak out and scratch at the tent if I had to leave them to go get something. I thought he’d be spooked by noises (since we are only in a nylon shell)! But he did none of that. He watched Daisy and followed her lead and we had a very successful and wonderful season!! Can’t wait till next year!!

We will come back!!