Sepia Saturday: The Water Girl

Good Morning, Fans!

Welcome to my first Sepia Saturday. Woo hoo!  Small Boss likes to photo edit, so this is right up her alley! :) 

A special thank you to Bosses' friend for shooting this picture.  I guess when I pull Small Boss down a rock hill and break her nice camera lens, it's hard for her to take cool pictures like this.  Who knew?  Bosses' friend is a great photographer, anyhow, and I love it when she shares pictures with me!  So thank you, M! 

Here I am!  Check out that water- I love it soooo much!

Missed it by thaaaaat much.  Oh well, I love when the water hits my face, anyways!  It felt so nice!

Do you like getting in the water, too?  We're running out of time in MN, it's chilly!  Have a wonderful Saturday, and have fun out there!

I'm off to my football tailgate, chow!

- See more at: http://www.ruckustheeskie.com/p/blog-hops.html#sthash.kcBuw0h2.dpuf

My FIRST Adventure Dog Blog Hop Post! #AdventureDogChat

Good Morning, Fans!

I just HAVE to tell you about my outdoorsy adventure this past weekend.  I had SOOO much fun.  Life is always an adventure!

We left for our campsite on Friday afternoon after the Bosses came back from work.  All they said was "ready to GO?" and BAM! I was ready to go.  I love the word "GO".  Makes my floppy ears get so perky.

The three amigos, at it again!

Willie and I sitting by the water spigot.  Naturally. :)

So, we got in the car, and as much as I love the phrase "CAR RIDE", I really don't enjoy the whole process of the car ride itself.  It makes me all...drooly.  It also makes the Bosses so...whiny.  I digress.

Sitting pretty for T-R-E-A-T-S!

We got there, and it was a HUGE campsite.  One of the campsite Bosses reserved the group campsite, which was for 55 people!  Well, between furry friends and Bosses, we only had about 12.  But, more room to sprawl out!  And play, of course!

The other two dogs with us napped most of the time.

We got to have dinner and a bonfire on Friday night with Bosses and pups.  Lots of food, lots of fire, and lots of hands to pet me.  Yay.  However, once we packed up our s'mores materials and headed to the tent, a huge thunderstorm rolled in and lasted from 11:00pm until about 3:30am.  I was pretty scared- but Small Boss hugged and petted me most of the time, telling me I was a "good girl" for laying down and staying calm.  Whew, I did it!

I'm SMOTHERED in mud. I love it!

On Saturday morning, we had breakfast, some water, Bosses ate some of their food, and we went out for a day of adventure in the state park.  They called this place "Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park", which is located in Southeastern Minnesota, near the Minnesota/Iowa border.  There was a HUGE cave at the park, but they didn't let dogs in, so we didn't go.  Instead, we went on an afternoon hike out to a scenic overlook.  Little did we know what was in store for us- it was primarily a horse trail.  Most of you do not know that my Big Boss is deathly allergic to horses.  Do not fret- I barked the horses away.  No, they didn't just trot past me- I definitely drove them away with my barking.  Or at least just keep telling me that.

Jax and I LOVE licking Big Boss's hands- so tasty!

I love to hike, and Bosses say that I do all the work since I love to pull the entire way.  I sure pulled!  I even pulled Small Boss down a rock hill, which resulted in her falling on her tush and breaking her camera lens.  She should be less clumsy, really!  All I wanted to do was stick my paws in the creek 15 feet ahead!  Geesh, Bosses.

I walked across this bridge.  And got in the water, duh!

I love jumping in the river!  Or just water in general.

I did so many fun things on Saturday that I HAD to take a nap.  I may be an energetic, adolescent puppy, but there is nothing more refreshing than a nap.  We had more dinner, but thank goodness we ate early- another dark cloud moved in, more severe than the previous night.  We had to run to a more established shelter in the park and wait it out for a few hours.  Bosses said they had no idea how bad it was going to get, since they didn't have cell phone or radio signal in the forest.  Thank goodness the weather let up.  We also met some kind neighborly folk who also seeked refuge in the shelter.  They liked to pet me, so I was pretty happy.

Sunday, we mainly rested.  Bosses didn't sleep much this weekend due to all the storms, and I was pretty tired from playing and worrying about storms as well, so we slept a lot.  We woke up, and took our time building a fire, making breakfast, and all the fun things that happen in the morning hours when camping.  The puppy friends and I managed to get lots of running out by chasing fetched balls and using the perimeter of the field as a "race track".  It was fun!  And boy, can a Golden/Whippet/etc. mix and a Sheltie puppy run WAY faster than me.......yikes.  After we packed up our sopping wet tent and things, we hopped in the car to head home.  Whew!  What a weekend!

Pretty fall Sumac in our campsite.

Willie will do anything for Bosses' treats!

Pretty trees we saw on our hike.  Yay for fall!

Bosses woke me up and told me I was home.  I sauntered into the house, found my favorite carpet spot in the hallway and plopped down for the night.  It's tough being a puppy!  But I love the adventure so much, the multi-day nap to recover is sooo worth it.

Woof-da!  Giving a big smile at the top!

Boss saw this on our hike.  So pretty.

I'm so glad that I have had the opportunity to do my first blog hop today- with the Adventure Dog Blog hosts, DOGthusiast and Tiffany's Diamond Dogs!  So, thank you all!  I hope you loved hearing about my weekend outdoor adventure, and trust me, this isn't the last outdoor adventure you'll hear about from me!

The overlook into the river valley is just gorgeous.

This post is part of the Adventure Dog blog hop, hosted by DOGthusiast and Tiffany's Diamond Dogs every Tuesday.

Freedom Friday: Camping Edition

Sayonara, Blogging World!

I am going on vacation for the weekend to Southern Minnesota for my first ever fall camping trip!  Oh boy.  This is going to be so much fun!  So, I've left my "roost" to the squirrel kitties: Thor and Allie.  Not sure if I trust these two to do my job.  They're either sleeping or causing trouble.  They're a cute duo, though.

My siblings Thor (on left) and Allie (on right)

Allie puts up with me...aren't we cute together?

While I'm gone, I plan to:

• Sleep in a tent. Bosses let me try sleeping in their backpacking tent.  Once.  They let me sleep in the car after that (as long as the weather permits safe car-sleeping).  There was a thunderstorm in the middle of the night during our first camping trip this summer, and I tried to jump out of the tent...through the mosquito netting.  I may or may not have put a small hole in the tent.  Big Boss wasn't too thrilled, but he fixed it.  Whew.  So...they're borrowing a 4-person tent from GrandBoss, hoping that I will want to comply with the tent this weekend.  Thank goodness they always make the car extra comfy for me just in case!
• Sit next to the bonfire and NOT singe my tail fur! Minnesota has not been known to be very warm in the fall months, but this weekend seems like it will be rather temperate.  Highs in the low 70's, lows for overnights around 55-60, but also involves a lot of rain/thunderstorms.  I guess I can't complain...that's one way to immerse myself with water!  It's just like a huge sprinkler, right?  I LOVE sprinklers.  Anywho, I have proved myself able to be around a firepit at my past few bonfires, and Bosses trust me.  I like to stay warm that way, and plus, all the Bosses are there, and therefore, all the petting hands are there as well.  I will definitely stay there for that.
• Try to find some water to fully immerse myself into.  From the name of the state park we are going to, it doesn't sound like there is much water.  Like...you know....sometimes they pick campsites with "Cascade Falls" or "Lighthouse" or "Gooseberry Falls" or "Moose Lake".....ALL HAVE TO DO WITH WATER.  What are these bosses thinking?!  A Mystery Cave?! A Forestville?!  Where's the water, Bosses?  I really need to know.
• Eat some good camping grub. Bosses like to pack me lots of "camping snacks", just to make sure I'm a good puppy.  Like, when I don't bark at the people walking past our campsite, I get something yummy!  It's a good deal!  I like acting good when I get tasty treats!
• Play with my fur friends! My buddies Willie and Jax will be there.  Willie is a Golden/mix (maybe a Whippet mix?), and Jax is a Sheltie.  We're all around a year old give or take a few months, so we're pretty ridiculous together.  Bosses always say they like when we play together because after we do that, we all sleep together.  They're still waiting for when we all snuggle in a pile together- why would we do that when they have their cameras out and waiting?  What's the fun in that?  I also hear that 2 more Shelties will be there- Brock and Kane.  I always like new buddies, so I hope they like me, too!
• Get ridiculous amounts of attention from as many Bosses as possible.  With 8 other bosses around, that means there will be 16 hands available for petting!  JACKPOT.  I will win them over.  And they will submit to my adorable powers and pet me.  It's not a request...it's a demand.

Going on a stroll at Canal Park in Duluth, MN.

What are you looking forward to this weekend? I'd love to hear all your adventures!  Although, depending on cell phone service, I might have to give you a can with a very, very, long string attached so you can tell me that way.  Right?

Playing in the river up in Northern Minnesota.

Chow!

(Sidenote: Congratulations to my doggy cousin, Mitch, on being selected to be the Dog of the Day today on dogoftheday.com!  I knew you could do it!)