Sarah Wynde's Blog, page 32
May 16, 2019
The Small Madam
Yesterday, I took Zelda and Riley for a walk down to the railroad tracks. While we were there, we met a chocolate Lab from the nearby wood-working shop. Zelda was busy sniffing some interesting plant and when this Lab came toward her, she ignored it. The Lab behaved like a typical dog, sniffing her thoroughly, head-to-butt, but Zelda offered no return sniffs, no acknowledgment. When she finally turned away from the plant she was sniffing, she actually walked underneath the Lab, still not showing any sign of noticing it was there. I wanted to believe it was a ghost dog, but I think it’s just more evidence of my girl’s age.
Last night, I was talking to S about Z’s unwillingness to eat — a topic that is probably thoroughly boring to people in my life, because it comes up every day — and S said, “Do you think she might not be processing that she’s hungry? The same way she doesn’t really process sound anymore?” Maybe? But I also think she’s still aware enough to know that the food that comes off my plate or out of my bowl is more likely to be interesting than anything I set on the floor for her, so I’m going to consider that the good news. Meanwhile, I buy every new (healthy) dog food that comes my way, because she’s often willing to try something new. Once, anyway. Rarely twice, alas.
I do wish I could see inside her mind, though. She has good days and bad days, these days, and on the good days, she’s fine: bouncy and happy and playful and inquisitive, the way she’s always been. On the bad days, she’s… foggy. On a foggy day, she is utterly untrustworthy. She can and will wander into the street; she will get lost in the backyard; she gets very distressed if she can’t find me (and sometimes doesn’t realize when I’m right next to her); she doesn’t show any sign that she can hear me call; and she doesn’t eat. She sleeps more than she used to, too — which is saying something, given how much dogs sleep. On the spectrum of terms for age, I feel like she’s moved past “senior” and is slowly sliding from “old” to “elderly”. She’s only 14, and Jack Russell terriers can live to be much older than that, but… well, the good days still outnumber the bad.
Her nicknames are changing, too. S calls her “Small Madam” and I frequently call her “Princess” now, both said affectionately. But in part, I think those names have come about because she really requires a different level of care than she used to. She was never really a princess dog, but now she is. And care is maybe the wrong word — attention? It’s not that I care more than I used to, but… well, a couple times recently I’ve regretfully declined fun possible adventures, saying, “Sorry, I don’t think I can make that work.” The reality is, I can’t make anything work if takes me away from my dog for more than a few hours, because she needs me. Every day, she needs me. And I am all too aware that we are running out of days. If I have my way, none of the ones she has left will be spent whimpering, wondering where her person has gone.
Meanwhile, though, she is sleeping on my feet and we’re going to the beach this afternoon and I am so, so grateful that she’s still with me. It’s been a year since she was diagnosed with canine dementia and our year has included far more happiness and far more fun than I could possibly have predicted back then. It’s a potent reminder that fearing the future just gets in the way of appreciating the day I’m in.
May 13, 2019
My last week in Arcata
I thought that it was going to be really hard to leave Arcata this week: I’m so going to miss Suzanne and the dogs; the yoga studio down the street, the incredible gluten-free bread; the nearby beach (which we haven’t gone to nearly enough); the friendly neighbors; even Gina, the cat that yells at me all the time. (She yells at everyone all the time, I don’t think it’s personal.)
The weather, however, is being very obliging about encouraging me to go. It is cold and gray, in the 40s and 50s, with rain predicted for all the later days of the week. I’ll be sorry to say good-bye, but I can’t say that I’m going to mind finding myself some sunshine somewhere.
I do have really mixed feelings, though. There are all sorts of things that I’m looking forward to doing in the next couple of months: visiting friends and family, including a mini-reunion with some college friends; seeing the Best Brother Ever’s new puppy; eating blueberries straight from the bushes… but I am completely unenthusiastic about the driving part. I’m obviously not done traveling, because I live in a van and it’s not really an option to not travel, but the process of getting to the places I want to go does not fill me with joy. I’m going to have to work on that somehow.
But one day at a time, right? Today’s job is to write some words; work on getting a part ordered to fix the damage to the van; maybe schedule an oil change for later in the week. And spend as much time as possible admiring S’s garden, which is really just fantastically beautiful right now. More so on a sunny day, but the rhododendron outside the van’s window is stunning even in the gray.
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May 12, 2019
Random photos
I was going to write a post about my frustration with my camera, because all the pictures I posted in the last several blog posts were taken on my iPhone. Then I realized that it wasn’t that I only took good photos with my phone; it was that I’d screwed up and only looked at the photos imported from my phone, instead of looking at my photos by date.
Sigh.
But I am not going to go back and change my previously posted photos, because that would be confusing. So here are some random photos that if I’d seen earlier, I might have posted.
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May 11, 2019
Bend, Oregon
If I had the money to live anywhere and was completely unconstrained by thoughts of friends and family, Bend would have moved to the top of my list this week. It’s a fantastic small city. Good thrift stores, good parks, reasonable roads, and excellent restaurants. Also, very, very dog-friendly.
We spent a fun afternoon there, doing all of the above: lunch at Parilla Grill, a fun walk in Drake Park with the dogs, visits to a couple of thrift stores. Then we checked in to the La Quinta Inn for a night of luxury. Woo-hoo! Clean showers, comfy beds, and electricity. And internet, too!
I know I’ve been posting as if I was writing the entire trip, but in actual fact, most of our campsites didn’t have electricity or internet. By that point on Sunday afternoon, my computer had been out of charge for three days or so, and I hadn’t written a word for two of them. I told S that it felt like I was going through withdrawal.
So I was happy to write for a while and then we used our delightful internet access to find a restaurant for dinner. We wound up at 10 Barrel Brewing — with all three dogs! While we were browsing restaurants, I pointed out that they had a patio, and S promptly called them and asked if they allowed dogs on their patio. The woman on the phone answered, “Yes, of course.”
“Yes, of course,” even applied to three dogs. Yep, we took all of them out to dinner with us. Everyone else on the patio brought their dogs, too. It was great, and completely solidified my already growing love for Bend. The dog at the table next to ours was a puppy that looked so much like Zelda as a puppy — white body, black ears, patch over an eye, except about twice as big. I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of him. But here’s a picture of Zelda under our table.
[image error]Zelda, wondering when she gets a bite of my elk burger.
To complete our restaurant pleasure, on Monday morning we ate at McKay Cottage Kitchen one more time. And this time I took a picture. 
May 10, 2019
Sorry, Serenity (& Crystal Crane Hot Springs Campground)
Succor Creek was a beautiful place to wake up. I took a walk with Zelda on Saturday morning, down this road, and the scenery on all sides was incredibly beautiful. Even the herds of small children roaming the hills couldn’t make the campground feel crowded. But we had miles to go and prepaid reservations at our next campground, so we packed up and headed out.
Ironically — or, as my son might remind me, in just a not-very-funny coincidence — after all my worries about driving on the dirt roads, I managed to crunch poor Serenity after we got back on the road. At a gas station, alas. And I managed to break the kind of streak that everyone should wish for: thirty-five years of never having to call an insurance company because of something I’d done. Dang.
[image error]Poor Serenity. I promised her I would get her fixed, though!
But it was what it was. The van was still drivable and no one was hurt so after spending some time chatting with my truly delightful Progressive customer service person (sympathetic! helpful! organized!), we got back on the road.
Fortunately, our destination was exactly the kind of place you want to end up at when you’re feeling stressed and frustrated with yourself: Crystal Crane Hot Springs Campground. The campground itself was not beautiful: dry grass, rocky gravel sites, no trees or separation between sites, port-a-potty type toilets right across from our own site…
[image error]Our campsite at Crystal Crane Hot Springs
[image error]Even the dogs said, “This ground is too hard.” All of them wanted outside beds. It was cute to see them all piled up together, though. The bed that Z is on is her bed, but there was much mild doggie competition to be the one who got that bed over the course of the week.
But do you see that hint of water behind Serenity in the above picture? The hot springs was basically a pond, and the water was amazing. S and I swam once in the afternoon, then as soon as it started to get dark we went back again.
Drifting in the hot water in the cool night air while the stars came out was… spectacular. It was a moment where I was intensely glad to be where I was, to be alive, to be experiencing life. Bats swooped overhead, which doesn’t sound like it should be cool, but really was, and planes left contrails in the sky until it got so dark that you couldn’t see them. It was surreally beautiful.
[image error]Steam rising off the spring.
Unlike Succor Creek, though, which felt like a place where it would have been nice to stay forever, I was definitely ready to move on Sunday morning. The springs were great, but the campground was hot and dry and sort of bleak and there’s only so much soaking in hot water one can do. Plus, we were headed back to Bend and both S and I were looking forward to all the fun we were going to have there. Well, the fun and the good things to eat!
May 8, 2019
Succor Creek State Natural Area
As we drove away from Celebration Park on Friday morning, S said to me, “I don’t know about you, but that was the best parking lot I ever camped in.” I laughed, as expected, because it was also the first parking lot S had ever camped in.
But then I considered the idea, thinking about all the parking lots I’ve stayed in, from the very first terrifying night in a West Virginia arts center, to Walmarts and Flying Js, a rest stop in Oregon, Cabela in Montana, a Cracker Barrel in Alabama, even the miserable night sitting outside the emergency vet longing for good news about Bartleby. And I had to agree, Celebration Park was the nicest parking lot I’ve camped in.
[image error]That ridge of rock in the background, the cliff, is where the golden eagles were nesting.
[image error]The picnic tables next to the parking lot.
[image error]Walking over the historic bridge.
But one night in a parking lot was plenty and then it was time to head back into Oregon. S had purchased a book on Oregon’s geology at the fossil beds and was excited to go thunder egg hunting. Thunder eggs, (basically rounded rocks with crystals inside), are the state rock of Oregon. She picked Succor Creek State Natural Area Campground as the place to go to find some. Sounded fine to me.
But I should have made her drive there.
Well, or maybe not. It might have made me incredibly nervous to have my home in someone else’s hands as we made our way down bumpy dirt roads for what felt like hours. Even more incredibly nervous than I was with my home in my own hands! The three hours that I drove on Friday morning were exhausting. At one point, we hit a deep spot in the road, filled with water, ridged on either side, with deep tracks from other vehicles, and if it hadn’t meant I’d have to drive ten miles back over the same roads, I might have just said no. Instead, we kept going.
It was totally worth it.
[image error]The view of the campground.
At the end of 15 miles of dirt road (predicted by Siri to take an hour of driving time), we reached an almost empty campground. We found a great spot, backing on a beautiful creek, and spent the afternoon there, enjoying the sunshine, warmth, and feeling of spring in the air, as the campground slowly filled up with people.
The slowly filling up with people part was a little surprising — this campground was remote! — but it was a beautiful Friday in spring, so it probably shouldn’t have been. I was glad we’d gotten there early, though, because we’d gotten a nice spot with enough room for S to comfortably set up her tent and we also had the fun of having the area to ourselves for a while.
We walked the dogs and then S climbed the hills and hunted for rocks. I started up the hill, but as I clambered over the rocks, I couldn’t help thinking that the rocks were a perfect place for rattlesnakes. And that if I was a rattlesnake on a sunny warm day in spring, with temperatures reaching the 80s, I would probably be out sunning myself on the rocks. And that as a human being, I could keep a careful eye out for snakes, but that the darling dog trailing along with me would probably not understand that a snake was dangerous. And that if I was bitten by a snake, approximately ninety minutes away from any medical care, I’d have a chance of surviving, but that a 16-pound dog would probably not last long enough to get to the emergency vet.
As a result, instead of searching the hills for interesting rocks, Z and I retreated to the comfort of the grassy creekside and I read a book. Honestly, it was really lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, so maybe I let anxiety win, but on the other hand, maybe I kept my dog safe and happy and didn’t miss anything much. It wasn’t like I’d be willing to load up Serenity with rocks, even if I found the coolest rocks ever.
[image error]Happy Zelda, sitting in the grass under the tree.
That night, we finally did something I’d been yearning to do ever since I got the idea: we built a fire and barbecued Easter peeps. They were as delicious as I’d imagined they would be — crispy carmelized sugar on the outside, melty marshmallow on the inside. If you ever try it, be aware that the sugar gets really, really hot — much hotter than the marshmallow. S got to discover the effectiveness of lavender essential oil for burns but her burn was still bad enough to blister. But I think she’d agree that it was worth it!
[image error]A barbecued Easter peep.
May 7, 2019
Birds of Celebration Park
I know that this is very much not the best quality picture I have ever taken, but if you can decipher the details, that brushy bit in the middle is an eagle’s nest. The fluff of white in the center top is an eaglet and the dark shade on top of it is a golden eagle. Yes, it may not be the best picture in the world, but it was amazing to be focusing the camera on it and thinking, “Is that really the nest? Is that white fluff the baby? Is that the eagle? OMG, look at that!”
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And there’s my magpie picture, actually taken by S. I love their tails, they’re such beautiful birds.
More details and probably photos later, but this was a brief moment with wi-fi access that I wanted to take advantage of! Back on the road now…
May 6, 2019
The Mid-Point
In a world where we had unlimited time, I think S and I both would have liked to push on to Craters of the Moon National Monument, which is one of Idaho’s highlights. For that matter, I would also have liked to go opal mining in Spencer, Idaho, and visit the incredibly cute Little Library in Coeur d’Alene. So much to do, so many, many miles to go.
But by Thursday morning, I was starting to get both really tired of driving and a little worried about the long, long drive back to Arcata. And unlimited time was a luxury we didn’t have. Instead of pushing on and adding more miles to the trip, we decided to take it easy and enjoy where we were by exploring the Snake River Birds of Prey conservation area.
The area is huge and we touched only the tip of the iceberg by driving a couple hours to Celebration Park, a county park that felt like a good starting place to figure out where to go and what to look at in the conservation area. In fact, it was both a good starting place and a good ending place, because the park allowed camping in their parking lot, with a river view and even better, a view of a nest of golden eagles. The eagles weren’t visible when we got there (around noon), but were likely to appear in late afternoon. There were also petroglyphs, a historic bridge, and a boat ramp where the dogs could splash into the water.
And did I mention that I was tired of driving? After visiting the visitor center at the park, we drove gingerly down an incredibly bumpy dirt road to start our exploring, then said, “You know, that was a really nice parking lot.” Instead of continuing on, we went back to the parking lot and enjoyed a quiet afternoon.
There was a little wandering around the vicinity — S checked out the petroglyphs; and some sitting at the picnic tables watching birds and reading; and also some very pleasant quiet time hanging out inside Serenity. The day was windy and dry, but sunny, with temperatures that sort of hovered in the “no matter what you wear, you’re not going to be quite comfortable” range. I tried out all my different layers, searching for the one that would be not too hot, not too cold, and feeling much like Goldilocks unable to find the Little Bear’s jacket. But we did get to see the golden eagle swooping in around 4PM, which was very satisfying, and lots of other birds, too. My favorite was a magpie — they have such great tails. I’m definitely hoping for a chance to get a picture of one before we move on.
[image error]The view from the picnic table with the best view. We didn’t actually spend much time there, though, because it was so close to the water that it was very muddy. In my camping equation, a great view is not worth letting a white dog play in the mud.
May 5, 2019
Bruneau Dunes State Park
After our relaxed departure from Bully Creek, we headed into Idaho. Woo-hoo, Idaho! Not quite a new state for me — I’d driven through it once before on my way from Montana to Washington — but the first time I was planning to do more than wave as I went by.
Idaho — at least southern Idaho — is very dry. Even in spring, it was immediately clear that we were in a different climate. Part of that was nice — I appreciated the warmth of the sun — but my lips were chapped within what felt like seconds.
We were headed to Boise for our first stop, so we were also no longer on cute, winding mountain roads but on a major highway: flat, lots of trucks, traffic speeding along. And the billboards — for Panera, Taco Bell, etc. — made it pretty clear that we were entering Generic American City. No insult intended to Boise, of course, because every mid-size American city seems to have the same stores, but we spent a couple hours there and then decided to keep going.
It wasn’t just that the city felt generic. We knew we would have fun if we explored, looked for a good restaurant, found its unique spots… but being a tourist in a city when accompanied by three dogs is a challenge. It’s fun to have the dogs on a camping vacation, but less fun to leave them in the van when the sun is beating down on them. At any rate, we’d planned to spend some time in Boise, but by mutual agreement, we cut that time short and headed back to nature.
Our next stop was Bruneau Dunes State Park. As you may recall, I found an article about the 50 best state parks (Bruneau was Idaho’s) and decided to go to all of them. I have now changed my mind. I’m sure they’re all great parks, but “great park to visit” does not necessarily equal “great park to camp.” There are two campgrounds at Bruneau and one of them (Eagle Cove) is a parking lot: pull-through sites in parallel lines, no real space between sites. The other one (Broken Wheel) is better, more spacious and with a good view of the hills but compared to our Bully Creek county park… well, it’s always hard when you leave a really nice campground/site to go to an average campground.
There were some nice trails, though. I have to admit that I didn’t try them out — Z and I limited our walk to half way around the campground, because I was tired out from all the driving. But S and Riley took the walk to the observatory and approved. And we did visit the lake, which — well, was really buggy. But pretty!
[image error]The dunes by the lake.
It was also nice to be able to plug in to electricity, because it meant that I could use the InstantPot to make risotto. For dinner, we had chicken-apple sausage with carmelized onions; salad with mixed greens, blackberries, goat cheese and fig vinaigrette; and asparagus risotto. Just your average camping meal, right?
[image error]For Alice, who likes food pictures.
May 4, 2019
The Birds of Bully Creek
[image error]A woodpecker! It was very, very small.
[image error]I had so many good pictures of this guy that it pained me to pick just one.
The hour spent playing with my camera at Bully Creek Park might have been one of the best hours of the trip for me. I say “might” because we’re only halfway through, so who knows what good hours might supersede it? But it was awfully fun. These are my three favorite photos from a lovely morning of bird watching. I wish I could have posted them in their best quality, instead of shrinking them so they would upload, but the full resolution images just wouldn’t post.
