"LOLA"

Well, our 10 days of experiencing life as a 3 dog family are over!! Lola, an 8 month old Border collie mix, is our neighbors dog and they asked us to care for her and her 2 kitty "siblings" (Amy cared for them in their home) while they followed the California Cycling race from San Francisco to San Diego, their hometown. Here are a few "fun facts" about Lola:
* She is "cute as a button" which saved her from many a harsh punishment!
* She liked to tinkle on our floor before we got the hang of her "bio-rhythms"
* She liked to chew, as in a lamp cord (Dan fixed) & her leash (I fixed).
* She liked Bella! Bella needs a bath to rid her of all the Lola slobber!
* She liked to RUN! Our itsy bitsy back yard needs some fixin'!
* She came with the instruction to use one of those lovely plastic collars to prevent licking of her recent surgical incision. Well, we put in on incorrectly and she got it off & chewed it, which cost us $18.
* She is very smart; she knows sit, down, back up, high 5, "in your crate" - this was the best one!!, etc.
* She got us even more attention on our walks than we normally get - one women commented favorably on our "posse".

Dan & I did a modified "jumping high 5" when we successfully transferred all her paraphernalia back to her own home - if you can picture that - maybe you don't want to! Anyway, we are FREE, FREE, FREE AT LAST!

Smith Rock Hike

The weather had been nice so we decided it was time for another visit to Smith Rock last Tuesday. Smith Rock is a state park and a mecca for rock climbers. Now with respect to rock climbing, not us! However, there are some nice hiking trails so off we went. We decided to


take the "Misery Ridge" trail rather than one of the trails that meanders along the river. When we were on the trail, which is quite steep and has a number of switchbacks, Nancy got a case of the "heebie jeebies"; notice that she is staying away from the downside edge of the trail. Once the idea of height and steepness gets in the head, it is hard to shake. But she hung in there and we got to the top where there are a lot of large rocks and nice views.

As we explored the area on top, Isabella and I found an opening under a couple of huge rocks. I


would like you to think that we had to crawl up through the hole to get on top, but alas, that would not be true. At least it looks like we might fall into the river if we fell through the hole.

Here is a video of Nancy and the dogs with some nice views of the mountains in the



background. For some reason, the audio part malfunctioned.

The tower of rock in the photo is called Monkey Face. It is one of the rock faces that rock


climbers like to go up (they are nuts!). While there weren't any climbers on Monkey Face, we saw a handful of climbing parties scaling the walls at some other parts of the park that we walked by on the way out. The temperature was in the 50's by the time we left so it was a great day to enjoy being outside.