Again, it wasn't us!!!

This is "dog food" poop--raw-fed dogs don't make stuff that looks like this... :)

Somebody else's poop

Thinking about the national parks again, we have a question: anyone else's human ever pick up some other dog's poop? That is, some unknown dog's poop that's just lying there?! Well, our human did! He just couldn't stand not doing it. We were walking at Kintla Lake campground, and there, to the side of the road by a bunch of rocks, was a huge pile of poop. It was definitely dog poop, mind you, and from some big dog at that. The decision whether or not to pick it up was twofold. First, on the macro level, some inconsiderate dog person did not clean up after their pooch and, as a result, endangered national park privileges for the rest of us. Therefore, to clean it up served the greater good. We approve--although uncomfortably so. Second, on a more personal level, what if someone at the campground saw it and thought it was from us?! Dégoutant! The human couldn't let that happen either, so, again, a nod in favor of the poop removal. The final thought perhaps should be: is our human so consistent and diligent in picking up OUR poop ALL THE TIME? Hm...
More Polebridge dogs... We know the poop wasn't from these guys. But what a life, huh?

Wild for the North Fork

The human was insatiable--so much so, that he went back for more--TWICE! As if oatmeal raisin, peanut butter, and a ridiculously large, sweet cinnamon roll weren't enough, the second time he had to try the sugar cookies and something called a butterhorn (like a cinnamon roll but with LOTS of butter--tasted like if Cinnabon made ensaymada). The third time, he went back for the oatmeal raisin and peanut butter (what? no chocolate chip? is he nuts???), plus he tried their foccacia: one with blue cheese, spinach, and garlic. Smelled good to us! Looked good all over his face, too. Ha ha! To be fair, we spent so much time on the upper North Fork, we did pass the Polebridge Merc all those times. And, really, if you're there, why not just stop in for some goodies, right? (And--we couldn't believe it--we did pass the merc one last time, but the human kept going!)

Anyway, yes, we enjoyed the west side of the upper North Fork much more than Glacier National Park on the east. Our first night camping, in fact, we enjoyed the whole Tuchuck Campground all to ourselves. (It really did spoil us because our Glacier experience followed...) The human got what he wanted: he chose the northernmost, most remote campground he could find on the map. Getting to Tuchuck (campground, trails, and mountain), we turned onto Trail Creek Rd. from North Fork Rd. just six miles south of the Canadian border. On the way, we passed an array of cabins and homes that made us want to live up there: spectacular views of Glacier (without the people), not to mention the river and all the creeks. We were told that, indeed, everyone up there is off the power grid. Some folks use solar, most rely on diesel. All have CBs, many have some medical knowledge, but there is a helivac, in case of emergency (though it takes 20-30 minutes to get up there). Yikes. But it's outrageously beautiful and totally away from it all. And the deer! They populated our campground--but we weren't allowed to chase! They clearly did not understand the situation: they just stood there watching, trying to determine what manner of beast we might be. Ha, we woulda shown them if we had the chance... :)

The trailhead for Review Mountain was right at the campground. (What happened to the Tuchuck trailhead is what we want to know?) The boys were very thankful to sit this one out. Narra took her human straight up the mountain! They gained over 1000ft in elevation in about a mile. The trail was pretty spectacular, though. Blooming wildflowers everywhere, in all sorts of colors (though bear scat everywhere, too--the human was armed with his bear spray!). The terrain changed quite a bit also, from a bed of pine needles and moss to rocky slate and gnarled roots. The human is not much for heights, so when the trail ran along a precipice, he got a little nervous. And, of course, his nervousness translated into constant calls for Narra to be careful. Sheesh. She was much more sure-footed! After the serious ascent and a little switchback, they reached a rocky outcropping that opened up to an outstanding view of the valley and snow-peaked mountains in the distance. Well worth the workout. Even better yet, not another human in sight!

National Parks Suck

Primarily because most don't allow dogs on the trails. Phooey. Secondly, because they're over-crowded and only offer a canned experience of the outdoors--unless, of course, you're in the backcountry, but we wouldn't know because dogs aren't allowed on the trails.

Against his better judgment, the human took us to Glacier. He even bought a 7-day pass and made us camp there. Ugh. Our first day was wet, wet, wet. On-and-off rain relegated us to tour by van. Unfortunately, we couldn't see much because the mountains were shrouded by clouds (and because we'd gotten dog snot all over our windows). As it happens, Going-to-the-Sun Road wasn't open all the way anyhow, so we went as far as we could and saw what was there. Mostly, what was there was a whole bunch of people running around in raincoats trying to take pictures with big cameras. We hope they got some nice mist shots... We were reminded of South Park for some reason, imagining hordes of little cartoon people shuffling around as a single unit, making that shuffling sound that cartoon people do.

Thankfully, we had great weather when camping day came. We trekked on up to Kintla Lake off the Inside North Fork Road (also closed part way, btw). The lake itself was beautiful. Though not only are dogs not allowed on the trails, we are also forbidden from frolicking in the waters. Hmph! The campground was a little tight: we were surprised that during the middle of the week in mid/late June, people were already adventuring out there. Then again, the ranger did tell us that people all seem to think they can avoid each other by going to the most remote areas. Not! Quarters were a bit cramped. Initially, an empty site buffered us from father-and-son dueling banjoes from WV (they were admiring a bag full of pelts by campfire), but late in the evening a father, son, and daughter invaded. Even though they said we were "good looking," we felt overrun. To top it all off, the next morning, the human had the nerve to leave us in the van to go hiking on his own! Ha, we knew it wouldn't be as fun, and we were right.

When we finally got to leave the park, we made a side trip to Bowman Lake, admittedly a very popular spot, so we don't know what the human expected. We traveled up the narrow, rocky road to the lake only to have a three parking lots greet us at the top! And they were nearly full. Talk about feeling defeated... We checked out the campground, though, and it was much nicer than the one we stayed at at Kintla Lake--and emptier. Anyway, the real problem was that on the way to Bowman, our side mirror got whacked a bit too many times and got knocked off. The human was all bent out of shape about it, so the crowd of people there didn't help his mood. He cursed and mumbled, turned around and ran us out of the park. As soon as we crossed the bridge to the national forest side, he breathed a sigh of relief and let us out to run around. We were very relieved, too.Okay, maybe they don't suck that bad...

Goodbye to all this

We've enjoyed the lap of luxury for a while. The human indulged Buko's desires for the comforts of home (and a bit of healing time for a minor abrasion) and rented a condo for the week. That week's done now, so the boys are going to have to "rough it" again.

We hope the weather gets better. Sunday was a huge bust: nothing but rain and cold. Our last day in the condo was literally a day in the condo. Hey, at least the golf on tv wasn't that bad (even though Tiger didn't pull it out in the end).

We'll all especially miss the beautiful soccer fields nearby where we'd run around and play every day. The fields were also a nice place for Narra to train. She's been preparing for her upcoming obedience trial in Missoula.

We'll spend a few more days up here in the Flathead, then head down there and the Bitterroot.

A Fine Specimen

A man approached us yesterday morning because he had seen Jacks from a distance. He said when he saw him he was like "WOW!" In fact, he was so wowed by the big-headed one that he wanted to know if Jacks is used for breeding. Stifling a chuckle, the human responded that no, ol' big head is not the siring type. Despite his studliness, Jacks is in fact incapable of being a stud. Sorry, ladies.

It wasn't us

Contrary to popular belief, we do not hate long-eared, hoppin' critters. In fact, if we're going to eat them at all, we like them properly prepared beforehand. Imagine our surprise when Narra emerged from the underbrush along the North Fork with this in her mouth. Ewww. Luckily, we did not encounter the actual perpetrator. Guess that little white foot wasn't so lucky for this guy/gal. We hightailed it outta there.

Life off the power grid

Ah, so that's how life is off the power grid! Not bad. We took a great drive up the North Fork of the Flathead River to the small town (if you can call it that) of Polebridge. The human has been obsessed with this place since hearing about it a couple years ago. Town life seems to center around the Polebridge Mercantile, perhaps most famous for its bakery. While the baked goods seemed delicious (the human quickly consumed cookies--peanut butter and oatmeal raisin--and a huge cinnamon roll with walnuts), we were more impressed by the canine residents. They have a great scam going: tourists can't resist feeding them! (And there are a lot of tourists as Polebridge hosts an entrance to Glacier National Park.) Buko was almost convinced that life without electricity and running water could be alright. Nah.

Please buy this for us

Our starving artist does pretty well providing for us, but there are some things that are beyond his means. Unfortunately, said things are necessary for the life we deserve. Anyone out there have half a million plus to buy this cabin for us? It comes with three German Shepherds!

Publicly Private (and vice versa)

We finally got out onto a real trail for a real hike today (the Dearborn Trail leading to the Scapegoat Wilderness). Despite the threatening skies, the human was determined for us to get out there. The boys got to "wear" their snazzy skijoring leads (tethered to the human's backpack), and the girl got to run free. She was pretty awesome actually: those stupid r--bits just sat in the middle of the road daring her to chase them. But she was told "leave it" and she did. :) The trail made about as much sense as the varmints. The road, you see, runs parallel to the trail--but the road is private, and the trail is public. As the signs will tell you, please keep to the trail and keep off private property, ie, the road (which is about three feet away from the trail). Again, Narra did pretty well to follow the rules--though they didn't make much sense to her either. Regardless, after we crossed the Dearborn River, we were good to go. The boys kept the pace, slow as it might have been. They managed just under six miles but were pretty pooped (and this was with minimal elevation gain). Hopefully, we'll be able to do better next time--which will be north!

Crazies

Don't think it's a coincidence that our human has special affection for an island mountain range called "the Crazies.' Unfortunately for him, though, his anticipated lunacy was thwarted by kayakers. His yearlong plan to park us in Halfmoon Campground and hike up to Blue Lake were confounded by the Headwaters Paddling Association folks who, ironically, were (apparently) looking to foster some good will. (Check this out.) Not only were the parking spurs all taken, but the crowd made enjoying the Crazies difficult at best. So, we fled the asylum. We did, at least, spend a night along Big Timber Creek, in what might be considered a dispersed campsite. We were joined by a few folks who were probably also hoping for a weekend at Halfmoon. Alas. "But, mousie, thou art no thy lane..."

Jacks and Narra still enjoyed camp. :)

PS
Just to tattle: we ran into kayakers on the trail, and they had their boats on their backs. Buko and Jacks were totally cool and said "hi" to the guys--Narra, on the other hand, FREAKED. She ran off into the woods and wouldn't come when called. That made the human freak. He collected himself and kept calling; she eventually came, but what was she thinking?! Ha, so much for reliable.

Western Projections

Now we never said we understood art, but the human's behavior has been a little odd--even if he does call it making "art." He says he's working on a series called Western Projections that literally involves projected images. In this picture, he projected a video directly onto our cabin. If you look carefully, you can see the back of the human's head as he approaches a house (that he used to live in). Hm, a "house" projected onto a "house"... Huh?

Good Art

The aforementioned artist Tracey Emin is known to us only because of our human, of course. She happens to show at a gallery that he respects quite a bit, Lehmann Maupin. We don't know if that means she makes good art or not, but we do know she made an excellent piece called Reincarnation (2005) that featured a... German Shepherd Dog! We consider that the mark of good art. :) (The subtext of the piece might be a little disconcerting, but we'll leave that to the humans...)

[To see the video of Reincarnation, go to the gallery's site, follow the "artists" link, and see "video of selected work" on Tracey Emin's page.]

4mile

Is Montana only half the hip hop circle of Detroit? So just call us Emin--not just for our boy Marshall but also for artist Tracey Emin--okay, not funny. :) Our second forest service accommodation is called Fourmile Cabin which sits at the Fourmile trailhead. The cabin overlooks the spectacular Boulder River; even on a rainy afternoon, the river looks awesome. Luckily for us, our rainy afternoon (and night) gave us a surprise in the morning: snow! We got to run around and play in it, but by mid-afternoon all the snow had melted and given way to a beautiful sunny day. Tough life, huh?

Bully for us!

Rough riders we're not. The National Forest Service's Spanish Creek Cabin is about as rough as Buko is willing to go--and he didn't like it that much. No electricity, no running water? Even a bully stick wasn't enough to convince the old man this would be fun. At least he had a bed (although we never figured he and Narra would both fit into a twin bed with the human--everyone kept warm!). We did have a wood stove to keep us toasty, and we needed it because it rained most of our time there. We arrived early enough our first day to enjoy the only good weather we had. Our next cabin will have electricity, so maybe Buko--and the weather--will be more agreeable.

It's the journey, not the destination

But the journey is made up of so many great destinations! :) We got a late start on our trip to Montana, but the human managed an inhuman 13-hour drive to get us to Wisconsin on the first night. It was too late to find a campground, but Motel 6 is acceptable in a pinch (in fact, our night there cost less than a tank of gas!).

Since we made up so much time, we did take some time to play in our "home" state. So many state parks, so little time. We opted for Mill Bluff (in Camp Douglas) because it was right on I-90 and didn't take us too much out of our way. Not a particularly exciting park, but we enjoyed getting out and running around for a while. And the human got our annual Wisconsin state parks pass--that means promises of more in the future!

Our real fun started night 2 at the Lake Vermillion state recreation area in South Dakota. We arrived just in time to enjoy a cool evening and beautiful sunset. We played in the lake, ran trails, and howled at the full moon (in spirit, at least). The campground itself was rather manicured for our taste, but it was great for a night (and morning) of play and leisure. From there, we spent a rainy night in Buffalo, WY at the Big Horn Motel--great place, sweet greeting by a German Short-haired Pointer, and a nice woman who agreed to take in a guy with three shepherds when no one else would. The rain let up a bit in the morning so we got to play again. The human does have moments of brilliance: he opted to get off the interstate and take the scenic route, US 16 West, which would've dropped us right in Yellowstone Ntional Park. We didn't go that far, but we did get to see awesome stuff along the way. And play, of course. :)

We did make it to Bozeman on time (although we were a little late to the agility trial on Saturday morning). At the trial, Narra was on fire (again), and, although she didn't qualify, she had some great runs this weekend. The very first run was a heartbreaker: Narra ran like th wind, right up until she and the human blew over the last jump! Too bad. She made lots of fans, though, and we appreciated the collective sigh of disappointment when that last bar went down. Glad to know she's looking good again--though we always knew she did. We made new friends, too: Tucker the corgi, Scooter and Lily Roo the Norwich Terriers, and baby boy Kody who is like Buko. :)

Tomorrow we leave civilization for the Spanish Peaks, then mid-week to Paradise Valley, followed by the Crazy Mountains. Sounds good, doesn't it? :) We love Montana! (Ahem... Buko's not so sure--he requires more convincing. He definitely prefers the couch/bed to the trail. Narra hopes to convince him otherwise.)

We go together

You can't tell, but this picture is the three of us in our van. We're about to spend a lot of time in it because... OH, YEAH--say it with us--WE'RE GOING TO MONTANA!!! Finally. Only Narra has been before, so the boys are looking forward to the Last Best Place. And the human, too. (Dumbass finally finished his grading at 3am, so we can get the flock outta here.)

Also, we'd like to thank Wally and Ethel for letting their humans come out to play a few Saturdays ago. In fact, Mr. J took these great pictures of us. And Wally's mawma walked Jacks down to the lake so we all could play. And special thanks to Wally, too, who will take care of our chicken backs while we're frolickin' in the Rockies. (Yeah, Wally, we know they'll be "taken care of" alright. :) )

Red Rocket

Okay, we haven't posted in a while, and this thought might not be a worthwhile one, but what the hell are these humans doing??? What's up with that "package"-ing? And they want us male dogs to keep it under control? Not to mention that schlappschwanz here is playing "Hungry Like the Wolf"... Give us a break. At least we don't try to couch our natural, physical responses in similes and juvenile innuendo (except for titles of our posts!). Gentlemen, it is what it is--and, ladies, we hope you don't mind.

Tattoo Me!

Oh, yeah, start me up... The human's Narra tattoo is four weeks old today--and presumably fully healed. It looks and feels healed, anyway. The first drawing (which we posted) didn't quite meet our expectations, so the human called upon his own skills to create what we wanted. Afterall, we are talking about FOREVER (this is the closest our human may ever come to anything like a real commitment... haha).

So we are all very pleased with the new body adornment, courtesy tattoo artist Steve T at Olde City Tattoo in Philadelphia. Thank you, Steve! And we'll be back for more--the entire pack has still to be inscribed for posterity! Not to mention brothers Tsamba and Buddy who can't believe they're missing out on all the fun. :)

BTW, here's the drawing our human did. It conveys more of the comic book hero idea, but the cross-hatching just doesn't really translate into the tattoo vernacular. We're glad to have a tat that looks like a tat! Besides, Narra's pretty heroic regardless.

Edge of the World

If we had the actual opportunity to experience art, maybe we'd write about it more. Generally, we find food and outdoor adventures more fun, but, every once in a while, the human sees art that he tells us about. So, last night, he attended this performance event at the Asian Arts Initiative in Philly. (We approve, btw; we're so bored with static objects--unless we can eviscerate them--give us something that does something!)

Artist/poet/spoken word "icon" Regie Cabico opened the event, sharing experiences as a queer Filipino from southern Maryland (yikes!). His "Filipino mother" sure sounded familiar (literally), kinda like home, except for the Streisand karaoke part... And are we glad we don't know anyone named Don because we'd never be able to look at him the same way again (that's a reference to something called a "one night stand"--apparently an experience not within our purview). The human vaguely recalls a story with a dog, too--how can he not remember that?

The main event was The Edge of the World, a series of "speed plays" conceived and directed by NYC Neo-Futurist Omar Telan (another Pinoy bro). Omar and the troupe (including buddy Gary) were trotting out the performance for the first time, in preparation for the first ever National Asian American Theater Festival to be held at La Mama in NYC in June. (We'll miss it because we'll be in Montana!) We like the idea of non-illusory theater; why do humans burden themselves with so much affectation and delusion? The direct representation of life makes more sense to us, that's how we live it anyway. Besides, with our sense of smell, we can pretty much "see" through most human illusions. We could probably be good artists, if we wanted to. :)

Our human, on the other hand, is not so good at sniffing out illusion/delusion/masquerade. Sometimes, he does need art to show him the way. While the performances may not have lit a path, they were a fun reminder to look more carefully. Amid streamers, blowing bubbles, and the "perfect match" game, split ends and doodled hands revealed stories for all of us. At least for humans. We did learn a lot about them, we suppose. Curtain.

We are loved

Is it wrong to equate food with love? How about money and love? Either way, we are definitely loved. Tonight was supposed to be ground beef for dinner, but the human was distressed at the empty meat freezer at the grocery store. Rather than resort to something out of our freezer at home, he opted to spend $5/lb (sale price!) for fresh ground buffalo. (BTW, at 1lb for each of us, that's 3lbs total!) We love him, too. :) What a nice precursor to our upcoming summer sojourn--Montana, here we come! We leave exactly seven weeks from today...

Wabbit du jour

Even though the human has declared a moratorium on our catching our own dinner, he does provide. Apparently, you can purchase wabbits weddy to eat! Our buddy Wally warned us about the canned kind, but someone named Aunt Jeni has prepared a raw variety--organic, too. Just our style!

If you're wondering why the food looks green, it's the veggies mixed in. Here's the full ingredient list:

muscle and heart meat; liver; finely ground, real, raw bones; pureed squash, leafy greens (collard and kale), celery, apples; whole eggs (including shells); ground organic flax seeds; raw, unpasteurized organic honey; unfiltered, unpasteurized organic apple cider vinegar; powdered organic alfalfa; powdered organic kelp; fresh garlic; fresh parsley; and Grapefruit Seed Extract.

Sounds delicious, doesn't it? It was!

Our Padma

A little bird has told us that all is not well in the Rushdie household. Padma Lakshmi, aka Mrs. Salman Rushdie, may have lost patience with her husband, postcolonial guru and self-orbiting intellectual. Even though Mr. Rushdie authored our human's favorite novel, Midnight's Children, our human is not beyond coveting the man's wife. We'll give him that: the Top Chef host, cookbook author, and super model is HOT HOT HOT. We apologize for the juvenile behavior--at times, it just cannot be contained. Silly humans.

And stay tuned... the human got inked! Yup, Narra is now art, body art to be exact. Picture forthcoming.

Where is our art?

Under the cover of pelting sleet, someone absconded with our monument, aka, "rabbit on a fence." Narra had been poking around the area where rabbit hung, but the human--standing in the doorway (he has been very sick this week)--didn't know why (yet again). She must have been the first to notice that something was amiss. Can our existential question be resolved so simply, so brutally? Is that the answer?

Super Hero Narra

We could call this "midlife crisis, stage 1:" the human has decided to get a tattoo (tattooS even). We might consider this a questionable decision if not for the fact that we are--of course--the subject of the aforementioned tattoos. :) In fact, a right bicep (the lightning bolt will be an arm band) will soon be adorned with "Super Hero Narra," a` la comic book art.

The design is still in progress but will soon be unleashed. We think the world needs a new super hero (still working on those super powers, though).

Elmer Fudd's Revenge

It was a wild night: shrouded moon, deer stampeding through the woods, and a piercing scream from the underbrush. Have you ever heard a rabbit scream? Depending on your proclivities, it can be quite exhilarating. Buko, especially, loves the chase. But all of us on this night connected with our lupine selves. Escape foiled, mortality inevitable. Poor wabbit.

The human didn't really know what had happened (as is so often the case). Since we emerged from the underbrush with empty, blood-free jowls, he assumed the critter got away. The light of morning revealed the tragedy. Not only that, rigor mortis had cemented the carcass in place. Add below-freezing temperatures, the rabbit still hangs, a small monument to what we once were.

Another NC attraction!

We'd like to congratulate our friends Amy and Jason on the birth of their new baby Sharon Rae! Welcome, Baby Rae!!! We know the baby will have the best of everything, including our new friend Savannah the GSD to watch over her.

We can't wait to visit! Asheville--and beer--here we come!!!

Ever Advancing

What a great weekend for us! Not only was the weather in Winston-Salem, North Carolina relatively warm--not to mention sunny--Buko and Narra did great at the Obedience/Rally trial! In fact, we've been focused on agility for so long that we forgot what it was like to do well! :) Buko qualified both days in Rally, as did Narra. In addition, Narra qualified in Open B for the first time with a pretty awesome performance. To commemorate their success, Buko and Narra now have new titles: Rally Advanced (RA)!

Of course, no trip would be complete without some exploring. Between turns in the ring, we headed north to check out Pilot Mountain State Park and also Hanging Rock State Park. Again, weather was incredibly good, so we could hardly go wrong. Pilot Mountain involved a little climbing, so the boys guarded the van while Narra and her human checked out the summit. Hanging Rock, on the other hand, was just right for everyone--we all enjoyed the lake and trails. Also, our trial site bordered historic Bethabara, so we walked the Wagon Road Trail (is that redundant?). Correction, our bad: it's Wagon Trail road (no less redundant).

We should mention, btw, that there were dogs EVERYWHERE! The state parks were teeming with them. Mostly little ones, though: a jack russell, a fluffy one (like a shih-tzu?), a cute terrier mix (who was being carried); some bigger ones also: border collie, cattle dog mix, boxers, american bulldogs, and plenty of labs, of course ... We were, however, the only shepherds we saw. :) We could go on and on (like Narra did, showing off her heeling and other moves when she had an audience). So, yeah, North Carolina's got it going on. No wonder our human likes it there. Good times.

Here's Buko posing like a (Moravian?) pilgrim...