Packing

I was doing a little packing today at lunch and Lucy wanted to make sure that we didn't leave her behind in Logan.  We'll just need to make sure that this box is labeled "Salt Lake" and not "DI" ;)

Red Castle Lake Trip

Last week we went on a backpacking trip up to Red Castle Lake in the Uintas.  Besides a few adrenaline-producing encounters with moose, we had a great time!  Here are several pictures of the dogs and all the beautiful scenery:

Two happy campers on the trail.

While the trail was very scenic,  a good portion of it was surrounded by
numerous dead trees (previous forest fire?).  However, once we got to the lake area,
all the trees were healthy and beautiful.

Additionally, the trail was extremely rocky, but there were also tons of
mud holes, streams, and small rivers that the dogs were more than happy to "cross"
(by cross, I'm mean splashing and wading through).

Our first glimpse of Red Castle in the distance.

Taking a break at the top of the switchbacks.

My photos don't do justice to the most beautiful waterfall I've ever seen.
(And I've seen some big ones, like Niagara...)

Red Castle Lake

The weather ended being perfect for hiking: it was overcast but not too chilly.
We also got rained on a little at night, but our tent kept us nice and dry.

There were, however, a zillion mosquitoes.
But thanks to deet (I <3 deet), we didn't get a single bite!

Camping at the base of Red Castle.

Funny/Not So Funny Side Story: It was early the morning we left and because of the three hour car ride, I was wearing flip flops and had just grabbed my shoes to throw in the car.  Look really closely at both of these "pairs" and you may notice something odd...basically I hiked in a mismatched pair-but boy was I grateful that I had at least grabbed a left and right shoe!

Cheri swimming to her heart's content.

Please, please, please throw the stick in the water!!

Lucy dipping her paws in the lake.

Again, my photo skills do little justice to these cool rocks all along the path.
They have this lime-green moss mixed with other kinds of fungus that make
the rocks look like they were covered in camo.  

On our way home :)

Flying Lucy

Shaun and I filmed this yesterday during lunch (please ignore our messy messy apartment! We are starting to pack...).  Lucy gets quite a bit of air!  And yes, poor Cheri is being "tortured" in the background :)

Lucy the Pillow

Can you tell which one is the cuddly one of the two?

I just can't believe Lucy put up with this, although you can see she's not actually all that relaxed ;)

Wagging

Lucy, for the most part, is a pretty happy little girl.  She wags her tail a lot and often has a little 'smile' on her face.  Another thing about Lucy is that she loves to drink water.  We always joke that she's like a sponge that just never reaches full saturation.  Anyhow, a little while ago, Shaun discovered that if he pet Lucy while she was drinking, her tail went from swaying to a full on wag, but she'd keep drinking.

This morning, we tried to get a quick video of this, but it didn't turn out the best (dogs just never cooperate like you want them to when there's a camera around!).  However, we'll work on getting a better clip in the future.  Meanwhile-enjoy :)

Fourth of July Fun

Yesterday for the Fourth we took the dogs on the Jardine Juniper trail up Logan Canyon.  It's a longer hike, so we wanted to make sure we started early enough (7am) to beat a good portion of the heat. This trail has some beautiful views and winds its way back into a canyon and over a handful of ridges. Despite the length of the trail, the incline is gradual the whole way, which made it pretty easy going.  Nevertheless, we were cautious with Lucy, wanting to make sure she didn't overexert herself.  However, Lucy did just great!  After we got home, she got a bath and nap and was bouncing around again that evening. 

On the trail we saw:

• Several squirrels/chipmunks
• 7 horses and riders (Cheri wanted to play with the horses...)
• A hawk
• A TON of butterflies
• A pair of bikers (apparently the trail is super popular with bikers and horseback riders)
• A few pairs of other hikers (going up when we were coming down-we were glad we started early because it was going to be a toasty hike for them!)
• And a cow moose!

At the trail head nice and early.
Despite my awesome facial expression, I am happy to be there ;)

Taking a little break about 3/4 of the way there.  
From their vantage point, the dogs could see an entire valley of just trees.

At our destination and ready to take a rest.   Most of the hike was shady,
except the last 10-15 minutes, which brought us over a ridge and into the sunny side.  

We were grateful for the 40 foot tall Juniper to give us some shade!

In the background, you can see part of the beautiful views.

They say this tree is over 1500 years old and is on the list of  the world's oldest trees.