A mud roll, fishing and roasting marshmallows.

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June 25
This morning it was another beautiful day! We wanted to take the dogs down a hiking trail that goes along the lake. It’s basically a dirt road next to the lake bounded by a pasture full of angus cattle on the other side. Last time we were here is was a great place to take the dogs and go off leash because it is rare to find other people on the path. We had meant to bring the the e-collars just to ensure we’d have some way to control the dogs. We certainly weren’t going back for them so we decided we’d hope the dogs would stay with us. There is no shade along the path and by 10:30 this morning it was really hot going down the path. Red immediately ran ahead and then would turn and come flying back at breakneck speed. Dottie was making sure she had some cover to keep tigger from bouncing. Dottie looked more like a tracking dog as she had her nose to the ground like she was on the scent of something. The dogs did great at keeping track of us and staying pretty close. Before long about 3/4 mile in we rounded a corner and saw several large mud puddles in our path, left from rain two days before. Their was plenty of room to get by but Dottie decided it was spa day and time for a mud bath. At first her feet, then her belly and before long she was on one side then the other. We couldn’t help but laugh as she laid there looking more like a pig then a dog rolling in the grey clay mud. Red watched but didn’t partake at first just a paw or two and a taste of the water. It was clear Dottie had cooled off and was ready to go again as she followed us on another quarter mile before we turned around to come back. Dottie once again dashed into the mud to cool herself but this time Red decided he was hot and tired too so he joined her by laying down. You may recall we don’t have water at the campsite so I was concerned how we were going to get them clean. David thought a dip in the lake but we both were too concerned about fish hooks etc and the cold temperatures of the water. I was afraid we’d need to go in too to save them or wash them. So as we walked home we saw a water faucet and decided this would be perfect. Oh but that water was cold and nearly froze me as I tried to wash Dottie from head to toe. She was struggling for her life as I held her by her harness. Red who is afraid of water hoses was going to be a challenge but he too was cleaned up. Red went from a tongue dragging dog to bouncing in the time it took to clean him he was refreshed. Dottie who wasn’t too hot due to her mud bath was now frozen and shivering badly and clearly mad at me. She refused to walk with me and stuck by David’s side. I brought her home and dried her off with a towel and discovered her pink harness had faded and died her hair pink and the towel was pink too when I dried her off. I couldn’t help but laugh. She was still clearly annoyed with me so I wrapped her in a blanket and held her close until she quit shivering. We got Red dried off too and he took a long nap.

Late afternoon found David digging out the fishing gear and before long we were drowning worms in the lake. I must say I threw more night-crawlers in the lake during my casting then ever made it on the hook long enough to drown or entice a fish. The wind was blowing so that using wet flies would have been impossible. I finally gave up and went into the trailer and cooked some burgers for dinner. I fed the dogs too. David continued to fish but he didn’t get even a bite. He finally gave up and started a fire and before long I had the jumbo marshmallows out. Our previous dogs always enjoyed roasted marshmallows so I shared mine with a Red and Dottie and they really enjoyed them too. Those jumbo marshmallows are so big I only roasted and shared three and by then I was sticky and full! It was great fun. We took the dogs for a final walk around the campground it was really dark but we enjoyed the peaceful campground as I think we were the only ones still up. We got back to the trailer and went right to bed. I though maybe tomorrow I could catch that big fish I’d seen jump earlier, or throw more worms away as an option.

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Photos

is it a pig or a dog?
Dottie has figured out how to get cool on a hot Nebraska day!

Roasting jumbo marshmallows.
Red and Dottie get their first taste of roasted marshmallow and they love them!