No Fires Allowed

But that didn't stop us from having a great camping trip!!

A Sad Goodbye

I want to take a break in the never ending vacation posting (almost finished) to sorrowfully announce that one of my best furiends moved far, far away. :( Gracie and her family left about a week ago and me and Mom and Dad miss them lots. They are one doggone cool family! We all got to hang out and I got to play with Gracie before they left and even though they are not too far away it feels like it. But Mom and Dad promised me we will get to go visit them at their new home some day. Gracie's human sister's told Mom that I could come too and they told her all about their new house. They informed Mom that their new house was really cool and it had a fenced yard so we dogs could play. :)


The Girls!

Mom made cupcakes with their pictures on them for the farewell party and boy did Avery enjoy the frosting!

One of my final moments with my pal...we were telling each other goodbye after a fun time of running and romping in the yard. Hope to see you soon Gracie and family! We miss you!!

Vacation: Day 3 - Salt Lake City, UT

Here we are in Salt lake City (SLC). My Dad had to work at this thing called Outdoor Retailer where a bunch of outdoor gear companies come together to show their new products for the coming season so Mom, Etsuko, and I went to meet my Mom's cousin who just happened to be in SLC all the way from West Virginia. She and some friends were on a road trip. So, I got to meet her and beg for some food and when we went to Starbucks I even got my own glass of ice water. :) Then, we went downtown to visit Dad at his work place. Let me tell you, the streets of SLC were toasty so Mom and I ran in between shady spots so I wouldn't burn my princess paws. :)

And here are the Salt Flats again. We saw them on our way into SLC. They actually do high speed car testing and stuff here. It goes on for miles and miles. It was formed when Lake Bonneville evaporated leaving behind deposits of salt. It' s a pretty neat geological feature. If you ever get the chance to visit you have to check it out.

Vacation: Day 2 - Painted Hills

Gees, Mom is VERY slow with the photos lately so who knows how long it will take us to get through this vacation but finally we are on day 2. Before I tell you about it though I just want to say thanks for the well wishes and I am feeling much better! Ok, so on Day 2 we drove from Bend, OR to Caldwell, ID and on the way we stopped at the Painted Hills which are in Oregon. They were gorgeous and I even walked up on some of the red rocks! They weren't even that hot....Mom and Dad checked it out first before they let my paws touch it. :)

Dad ran up with me and then we ran back down!

A little ways down the road we stopped off for a quick drink at the Loose Tooth Saloon! It was a pretty nice watering hole. ;) We also visited the Livery and the Lil' Lernin' Scool while we were there. BOL!

And then, I met this horrible, terrible, no good creature!!! That's right, all I wanted to do was say hello to the baby as I had never met one of these things called cats before but this kitty had a different idea. It let me get really close and then it struck with precision and speed! It happened so fast that I was left wondering how it happened but indeed I came away with a scratch on the nose. Although I must say it was so tiny that it was barely visible....most likely due to my lightning reflexes in getting away from this monster! ;) Ok, next it is off to the Salt Flats and Salt Lake City, UT!!

Vacation: Day 1 - Bend, Oregon

Well, finally I am getting around to telling you about our vacation. It will take a few posts so bear with me. :) This is from the first day when we went to Bend, OR. We stopped for a quick lunch in this little town in the middle of nowhere and then continued on.

Finally, we arrived in Bend and I was SO excited to go to the cool dog park there!! Here I am saying, "woo hoo, where are the dogs, I wanna play!!!" And then...

"What!!! @**@* 88@@!! You've got to be kidding me! There are NO dogs here!" We even stayed and played for about 25 minutes or so and no dogs ever showed up...maybe it was too hot for them....sheesh, wimps! ;)

So then my fate was sealed....it was posing in front of the Juniper for me.

It smelled so good...wonder how it tastes?

Then Etsuko tried to get me to taste the water but I was a little suspicious. Ya know, being strange water and all.

I declined and told her to try it first. BOL!

Then, Dad and Uncle Joel biked up this steep hill and then down and then around town some more. We followed them in the car up the hill and we pretended it was the Tour De France and we stuck water bottles and stuff out the window for them. BOL! They didn't take them though. Oh well, they were empty anyway. ;)

The next morning we had breakfast at our FAVORITE breakfast spot ever!!! McKay's Cottage not only has amazing food and superb service but they also bring each dog their very own bowl of ice water and a big biscuit. We went here last year for the 1st time as some of you may recall and so we were pumped to go back again! Mom suggests trying the Mascarpone Stuffed Croissant French Toast with Strawberries! YUM-O!

And before we left town we went back up to Pilot Butte to take in the view and snap a few pics! Next up we will be headed to Idaho for the night and then it is off to Salt lake City so stay tuned!

More To Come

Hi, sorry we have been such slackers in the blogging department but we have been SO busy plus right now I am feeling a bit sick. Mom thinks I ate something I shouldn't have over the weekend....needless to say, Dad bought a shampooer and spent most of yesterday afternoon cleaning carpets. :( Ooops, sorry pawrents but I couldn't get out??? And thanks for cleaning Dad. Dad will be coming home every couple of hours to check on me today though so hopefully things get better. Also, they are making me eat oatmeal and not my good food or treats. :(

As for our vacation pictures....we traveled for 7 days and went to many places that I will tell you about later. For now, if you guessed the pictures were from the Salt Flats in Utah you were right!!! We got to walk and drive on a sea of salt....it was very strange and neat. It was dry yet moist and very salty tasting. The other picture below is from the Painted Hills in Oregon and the one attached to this post is on top of Pilot Butte in Bend, OR. We LOVE the city of Bend as it is very dog friendly and fun! Ok, hope you all are doing well and we will try to catch up soon!