Camping with dogZ

After wedding, we spent one night up along XXX river, camping with the dogs. Of course this was not the typical bone dry weather one normally see up around Winthrop in the summer, but rather a sprinkly weekend - leading to wet and dirty dogs.
All that said, it all worked just fine. The guys kept their guard up and protected the camp from those pesky tree hopping animals (squirrels) that were trying to attack us all the time. If they just could leave the yellowjackets alone though...

Got to use an old Coleman lantern I picked up at a thrift store during our "scavanger hunt". With a little bit of cleaning and a new wick, it even ran with the fuel that was left in it. A beacon in the dark night! Strange though since during camping in Scandinavia, you rarely ever need any (additional) light - all thanks to the very bright summer nights (even in late August).

Inside the tent, most of the complaints actually came from the wife who either was too cold (initially) or (later) too hot. Add to that the claim that the matress did not provide enough comfort. But the headlamp worked great!

I woke up a few times listening to the rain and searching after wet puddles inside. But, there were none. Even this crappy, poorly designed, poorly manufactured tent managed to keep us dry. I am so much looking forward to buying a true "Scandinavian designed" tent where the rainfly is an integral part of the tent, and not just a piece of nylon cloth one tosses over to keep the rain out.

After packing up, but before getting back into the the car for a slwo drive towards Seattle, we had to take Herbie up to a campground and rinse him off. He was so dirty he simply was not allowed in the car. For a small dog, he can collect an amazing amount of sand in his fur (sorry, hair), and it always manage to end up in the wrong spots. But, we found a little stretch of pavement where he could dry off walking back to the car. All good!

Back home, they slept and slept, and slept. Don't think I've seen such a bunch of tired dogs in a long time. and this even after (in their eyes) a rather boring drive home. But I got to check out the power plant along Highway 20 and also the "cities" of Newhalem and Diablo. They are so tidy, looking almost like old officers' quarters from an army installation somewhere, but I guess that the power companies in the early 20th century where run much like the armies of those days.