Montana - Day 2 (& Day 3)

Our first full day down here had great weather so we had to take advantage with a hike - especially as the next few days looked like they would rain.

These first two pics are taken out the car window on the way to our trail head.  We are seriously hanging out in a gorgeous place.

The trail we had originally decided on had 2 horse trailers parked at the base so we decided to go back to do another one we had passed that had no one in the parking area.  It was a great choice as the dogs were able to run free the whole time.

They started off soooo excited and were running back and forth all over the place.  I think they were happy to not be spending 10 hours in the car again.  The vegetation was interesting the entire trip. I have no idea what kind of plants these were below but they were a very cool pinky peach colour.

Unknown to us before we'd started, a forest fire must have been through in the previous year or two.  After the first couple of km, the pretty evergreens gave way to dead and burned trees.

The shrubs that had grown though were beautiful in their fall colours.

And so were the trees in their own unique way.

Hiking to the top of the ridge proved to be very frustrating.  We kept thinking that the next peak that we could see was the top, only to find another one behind it that we couldn't see until we got there.  Finally after thinking this for the 4th time, we were right.  :)  It was quite the 360 view at the top.

Then it was back down through the forest the same way we'd come.  We all got home tired and happy. Coulee actually got fed "Dinner in Bed" as she didn't even get up when I got their meals ready.  LOL.

Day 3 was spent just puttering around. The weather hadn't sounded promising although it turns out we could have gone for another hike. :(  We went in to town to try and get more information on hiking trails etc, but the hiking store was closed due to a big sale they are having today. We walked the dogs along the river and Marlin looked for some decent fishing places - he's pretty excited to give it a try.  The number of boats and fishermen on the river is crazy!  And there must be at least 4 fishing stores in town and it isn't that big of a city. We have a few more days of foul weather ahead so we might make another trip in to town and maybe go down to the hot springs nearby.

Montana Day 1

Marlin and I are away on "Summer Vacation".  I couldn't be happier. We decided to rent a little cabin in southern Montana

Today was a travel day so really all we did was drive. We did stop briefly in the Lewis and Clark National Forest for a short hike though.  There were two little waterfalls on the route that were nothing amazing, but it was nice to get out and stretch our legs.  The dogs enjoyed the freedom of running loose for a bit too.

Despite everyone's efforts we didn't see any wildlife.  ;)

We are now hanging out in a little cabin that is literally just steps from the river and are  excited to spend some time hiking, fishing and relaxing.  Hopefully the weather is OK. It is supposed to rain (or snow!!!)  a couple of days this week but I'm hoping that will be the worst of it.

Practice

I'm photographing an older dog tonight.  I'm not normally nervous before photo sessions but for this one, I know the dog isn't going to be running around making my job easy.  I know I'm going to have to pose him in front of things and get "pretty pictures".  I really don't set up shots very often so I felt I should go check out the area see what the light is like at this time of year and practice.

I'm so glad I practiced.  My first 50 or so shots were so bad they were very comical. I'm not exaggerating.  They were horrible. It took me a while to get in the groove of things.  :)

But between me and Coulee, we figured it out eventually.  I really couldn't ask for a better model.  She just sat or laid down wherever I asked her to, perked her ears and looked at me (or rather the toy in my hand).

Her only downfall is getting her to stand on command.  As soon as I said "stay", she'd sit or lay down as she knew she was going to be there a while.  If I told her to "go around" which is basically to back up more and wait for the toy to be thrown, I could get her to stand still but her final location wasn't always that predictable, but it worked out for the most part.

I'm starting to feel I should attempt this more often.  Maybe on holidays (next week!!!) I'll try it a bit more.  :)

Waterton Weekend

We  had plans to go hiking in Waterton this weekend with my Dad and his wife Shelley... what we hadn't really planned on doing was camping overnight but at the last minute we decided to go for it.  It was our first trip of the season if you can believe it!  We got there pretty late on Friday (it was already dark) and thankfully Dad and Shelley had gotten us a site as the campground was full. We couldn't believe that is was full this late in the season, but it was such a gorgeous weekend, I'm not sure why we were surprised.

We spent Saturday hiking up to, and around, Bertha Lake. Dad and Shelley had never done the hike before and Marlin had only done it once, so it was a good choice. We hit the trail fairly early and didn't see many people on the way up. The way down was another story.  I had to actually carry Lacey across the bridge at the falls as I wasn't sure how she was going to navigate the small space jammed with people.  I was literally weaving in and out of them trying to get across.

We saw a few people walking around with their cameras in the hands and one guy hauling his up with his tripod attached and full extended.  I guess he truly wanted to be ready at a moment's notice.  It was the second time I wore my Cotton Carrier on a hike and I was pretty happy with it, although I haven't tried it with a big heavy lens yet.  By the end of the hike it was feeling a bit uncomfortable, but so was everything else.  :)

Today I spent hanging out at the trailer while Marlin golfed.  It was super peaceful.  I napped and read and just hung out with the pups. At one point I thought I might wander around and take pictures but that seemed like too much effort so these are all from the hike.

The One and Only

There is no doubt about it.  Boone is one of a kind.  He's staying with us for 2 weeks and he fits in amazingly well. He COMPLETELY ignores the cats.  So much so, that Jack doesn't even flinch when he is in the same room as him.  Boone likes his "safety" area (which happens to be the bathroom attached to our bedroom) and we let him hang out there as much as he wants. The first few days that was pretty much the entire time, but now he is mainly out and about with us.

These are just a few of my favourite photos from this past week.  He is super fun to photograph and he rarely sits still.  Today happens to be his 10th Birthday - hence the balloons in the photo above.  :)

Left to my Own Devices

Marlin's been working out of town a lot since the flooding a few months back so I've been left home alone to work and look after the pups... and to shop online.  :)

Not too long ago I became obsessed with dog activity tracking devices.  I blame Pack and the newsletter I write for them. The newsletter makes me browse the internet to find cool stuff for dogs and it seems to result in me buying stuff.  :)

Anyway, a few weeks back I mentioned activity tracking devices in the newsletter.  There are quite a few out there and they all look pretty cool. Some have GPS so if your dog accidentally gets out of the yard, you can track them and find them again (this only works in the states at the moment - something to do with cell phone carriers).  These also tend to have monthly fees that I didn't like.  Then there are ones that only track their activities but not their location - like FitBark and Whistle.

I figured a device like this would be great at tracking my dogs' activities as they age.  I think some times changes are so gradual you don't really see them but these devices would help you see things in black and white.  I also thought they would be good at tracking how much is too much, and how much is too little, when Coulee's feet aren't doing so well.

And well... I like gadgets.  Gadgets are fun.  So I decided to back FitBark on Kickstarter.  It was my first Kickstarter "investment".  To be honest, if I had discovered Whistle before I had done the Kickstarter, I probably would have gotten that one - I like stuff to arrive NOW, not later, although I'm trying to be patient. :)

As I browsed the internet looking at reviews of these different gadgets it was impossible not to stumble across similar gadgets for people and I managed to talk myself into one of those as well.  (Too much time home alone is never a good thing!).  I've signed up for an exercise program starting in September and I decided it would be cool to see what my activity levels were like before, during and after the program.

Earlier this week I received my FitBit Flex.  At first I was just going to track my activities but then I decided I wanted to see how easy it was to track what I was eating too.  So far, I've done a good job of not eating more calories than I've burned but I'm eating too much to reach my "weight loss goal" that it helped me set.  It has definitely helped me decide to pass up desert or an evening drink that I don't need though. :)  It is also making it extra clear (I already knew this) that if I could stop drinking Chai Tea Lattes, I'd have lots of extra calories to "spend" somewhere else.

The activity information above is from yesterday.  It is a pretty typical work day, minus a dog walk. (Coulee's limping at the moment but we are going to see a rehab vet today to hopefully get that all straightened out). I worked a split shift and was off between 10 and 1... which is obvious by the lack of movement during those times.  :)

It also tracks my sleep but it pretty much told me what I already knew - I wake up a few times each night.  It's funny to see the consistency.  Something happens at 1 a.m. each night to wake me up. I don't remember Coulee barking at the train this past week, but maybe she has been.

I will try not to become an exercised obsessed, food tracking fiend - at least online. ;) I'm excited and scared for the exercise program to start in September.  Because of my work shift (and the lack of showers at the facility) I had to sign up for the 5 a.m. class.  UGH.  There were so many class options but that was the only one that worked for me other than the 7 p.m. one. By the end of the day, the last thing I want to do is exercise so a morning class was better.  I just wish it didn't have to be quite so early!