Oct 272009
 

Boy, I can’t believe it has been almost three years since I have written. Much has happened during this time as I guess you would expect. I don’t know exactly why I suddenly stopped blogging. Too many other interests or perhaps my brain just froze. I have continued to make entries into my private journal and will be reviewing it and posting some catch up articles as time permits.

One big change in my lifestyle came with the purchase of a boat in the summer of 2008. It was my first experience at boating and I have fallen in love with it. Boating and thinking about boating has consumed a lot of my time. We purchased a 22 foot Chaparral Cuddy Cabin. It is a great little boat and we are able to sleep aboard her for a night or two at a time.

Chaparral on the Wilamette

The cabin is great for our baby, Duke. He climbs inside and just crashes most of the time when we are on the water. We were amazed at how much he loves the boat. He doesn’t like to get into the water much though and after he fell in once when we were at Lake Merwin in Washington I quickly got him a life vest.

Duke in his Cuddy

Well that’s it for now. Just want to say “I’m Back”.

Sep 202006
 

Rocky and I just got back last Saturday from five great and relaxing days camping on the Metolius river. After I got back from Las Vegas we loaded up the RV and headed out to Candle Creek camp grounds. We actually didn’t stay in the camp grounds but at a site just outside the actual camping area. This is a little camp site I had seen on previous trips up there and it is much nicer than the ones in the camp grounds.Metolius Camp Site Rocky & Duke

Metolious River

It is more private, larger and has better access to the river and most important it is free. The little access road to get into it is a bit tricky to navigate with my 5th wheel but I managed to get in without any mishaps. I took my new Honda generator and put it to the test. It worked flawlessly and is so much quieter than my other cheep one. The fuel economy was amazing. I think we must have run it about 75 percent of the time we were there and only used about seven gallons of fuel.
Metolius River at our camp site

We took Duke of course and we were not there five minutes and he was totally covered with dirt. After about an hour his white fir was so grungy he just looked dull and he didn’t really seem that dirty anymore. His fir is so short and tight that you can just brush off any real thick dirt before he gets into the RV. Duke is turning out to be a very good traveling dog. He rides in the front of the truck and is fairly well behaved. I think he likes traveling.

We didn’t do to much other than lounge around and do some hiking around during the day. Rocky did drive into Sisters one afternoon and I took about a three hour drive around the area on the forest service roads. One afternoon I took Duke for a walk and we tried to cross over Candle Creek on a log. Duke slipped off the log and got stuck so I had to step into the creek to get him off. When I did he knocked me totally into the creek and I got soaked. All I could do was lay there and laugh. It was a bit cold but fortunately we were only about a quarter mile from camp and the sun was out.

Candle Creek CG

Well it was great fun and I am ready to go again. I am hoping to take the RV over to Central Oregon with some coworkers near the end of October when they go elk hunting. I don’t hunt but it will be a good excuse to go camping again. It should be interesting as they tell me the temperature often dips near zero degrees at night.

Aug 082006
 

Please meet the newest member of our family, Duke. Duke is a Harlequin Great Dane and is just seven months old. He stands about 32 inches at the shoulder and may grow a couple more inches.
Duke's first time at the River

We had decided not to get another dog for a while after Sampson and had talked about getting a Golden Lab pup when we finally did however things seem to have a funny way of changing. When we went camping in LaPine we met Duke for the first time. His parents, a guy I have worked with for a long time and his wife, got Duke as a pup but found that he was just too much of a dog for their home and lifestyles. They live in the city in a residential area and their back yard is not that big. While Great Danes are house dogs and very gentle they do require a lot of exercise and attention. If they don’t get it they can become very bored and restless which can lead to all kinds of behavioral problems.

We both fell in love with Duke while we were camping. I walked and played with him as much as anyone. The other day my co-worker asked me if we wanted to take Duke. I asked my partner and he was very excited so here we are now just one big happy family. Well, except for Morgan the cat. The jury is still out for him but he is warming up to duke.

Actually Duke has adjusted very well to the change. I had expected him to have some problems getting use to his new home but it is like he had been here since a puppy. I think he likes all the attention and especially having five acres where he can run free.

Well, more about Duke and his antics later. I am sure if you are a regular reader you will become bored with my constant writings about him.