Our Latest RV Trip - Part I

First day, Mike and I stayed at camp because someone read dog’s weren’t allowed on the Sugar Pines Express Narrow Gauge Train. Dana gets there and guess what she sees? 

She felt terrible, tried to call but no cell phone service so we missed out.  Just so you know, they run two trains there, the other being a dinner/show train where dogs aren't allowed. So, I made an honest mistake! - D

Here is some of the scenery Archie and Mike missed - it was beautiful on the train.- D

  






The day was not a total loss, though, as I made a new friend. He was a small dog, a plus, but he was a puppy, so I didn't waste too much time on him. Mike seemed intrigued, though.

The next day, I knew I was going to be left behind - everyone was going on the tram through the Mariposa Grove in Yosemite and NO DOGS ALLOWED there for sure. Here are a couple of pics taken from the Mariposa Grove on the tram:

Day three, I was not going to be left behind today! The motor home door was open, no one was around, I dashed down those steps. (And you know - I don't dash often.) Everyone was surprised when they came outside and saw this:

Archie forgets he has back legs, so that's as far as he can get into the car without a boost. Actually, we had planned to take Archie that day. In Yosemite, dogs are allowed on most of the asphalt paths and that's what we had  planned to do. - D






 I'm so glad I got to go this time:

Tunnel View

Walking up to Bridalveil Fall

In the village, making friends.

Lower Yosemite Fall - how much farther do we have to walk?

Wish I could drink some of that!

Then it was on to Glacier Point - where Mark noticed I was getting HOT!

Mark to the rescue!

Ah - that feels so much better.

I made a new friend - a little visitor from Japan. He wanted to touch me, but he was afraid. Luckily, big, fuzzy translates to any language. My new friend didn't want me to leave; he cried and cried when I finally had to go.

On the 4th of July, I was too hot to go any place, but the next day, we went to Bass Lake - finally a place a dog could get his paws wet!

That's it for this section of our trip. Hope you enjoyed it!

Headed Home

Headedfor home after a 3-week RV trip. Dana will fill you in on our adventures next week but as for my synopsis,

                        FOUR PAWS UP!
Saw a lot of trees (you know how we dogs feel about trees), met a lot of new friends (4-legged and two), and experienced temperatures from over 100 (pant, pant) to snow on the ground (Yes!). Came across water that crashed, splashed in lakes and went to the beach where creatures barked but I couldn’t understand a word they said! (Mike said they weren’t dogs.) Even rode a train but that whistle and steam was loud!

But I think my yard is probably missing me and I would really like to take a nap on the tile in the bathroom so it’s OK that I’m heading home. Of course, Mike might change his mind before we get there…

As you can see by the pic, we made it. Details next week! - Dana

Hanging Around the RV - Part 1

Being furry - I don’t have to worry about clothes - like where to put them. Mike and Dana don’t have fur; they are always looking for clothes hanging places around the RV.

Sometimes their clothes get wet, they never seem to know when it might rain. When their clothes get dirty, they take them off to wash them. When my fur gets dirty, it’s still on me when it gets cleaned but I like water so that’s OK. I’ve heard Dana tell Mike, “Don’t put that one in these dryers - it’ll shrink.” I’m glad that doesn’t happen to me! I don't think I'd like shrinking fur.

Some campgrounds have rules about hanging clothes outside of the motor home; that means they have to find places inside the RV for their clothes to air dry. Other times, Dana has to look for places to hang clothes because, Mike says, she brings too many.

To dry clothes, sometimes, they pop the rod out of the shower, hang a couple of “S” hooks from cabinet handles and set the shower rod in the lower hook. (Dana says you can use a dowel instead.) If your clothes are really wet, leave them in the shower long enough to finish dripping or else the couch or dinette will get wet. When the windows are open, clothes dry even faster.

Of course, if you only have one or two things that need to air-dry, you can just hang it on the cabinet. Another place that works for a hanger is the shelf the TV sits on in our bedroom.

Now, if you’re lucky enough to have two slide outs, which we don’t, you can put a spring-loaded shower curtain rod between them. Then you can hang up quite a few things that won’t be too noticeable when people walk by your RV. Before buying a rod for this, be sure to measure the distance between the two slide-outs to get a rod that’s long enough to work.

This is Genie & Mark's 5th wheel and her idea, actually.

Dana’s nickname is the “Gadget Queen” - Uncle Rick calls her that. She is always finding interesting contraptions and some of them come in pretty handy, even Uncle Rick admitted that. Anyway, here's an umbrella type drying stand that folds in and contracts to a small size for storage. It can be used outside or inside on the dinette table.

When it comes to storing, Dana says the shower works great for a place to “hang” clothes, especially the long ones - until you need to take a shower, that is. I notice Mike and Dana do that a lot. I don’t know how they get so dirty - it seems to take a lot out of their playtime. Anyway, Dana puts the clothes in a garment bag to keep them safe from renegade drips.

If you don’t want to move your clothes around to take a shower, then you can use the TV shelf in the bedroom again, if you have one. Dana says it it comes in handy for extra hanging space. She uses garment bags there to keep the clothes together and protect them from stray golden retriever hairs, although I’m not sure why she cares about that, I think my hair is quite fetching.

Then there’s always the old stand-by, the over-the-door hook. Dana has one on the bathroom door. It can hold an outfit or two, but she usually hangs bags, her camera or a jacket she doesn't want to put away.

As for me, if I can't hold it in my mouth, then it's not worth taking!

Archie's Turn

Dana left her computer on so thought I’d try this.

Let me set one thing straight, I’m not really fat. Now these aren’t my best pics, but here you can see when I’m wet, I’m not that big - I’m just a really fuzzy fellow.

 I like the beach - interesting stuff there, lots of water and it’s almost always cool. If you had fur all over, that would be important to you, too.







I like kids. “Grand” kids think I’m their dog, too. Other kids walk by my front fence on their way to school. When they can’t see me, they yell, “Archie,” so we can walk together to the end of my yard. If kids are out for recess when I walk by the school on the corner, some of them yell “Archie! Archie!” Mike and Dana wonder how those kids know me since they are strangers to them. Sometimes, if the school kids don’t know my name, they just yell out, “Hey, I like your dog!” I like that. When we go in the RV, I always make kid friends. Sometimes, the real little ones are intimidated because I’m pretty big, but once they snuggle in my fur, I have a new friend.

Then there are “dog” kids - puppies. I’m not really fond of them because they don’t have dog manners and humans expect us older guys to teach them. That’s a pain. Specifically, I don’t like Kramer. He lives with some of my other favorite people, Aunt Lori, Uncle Rick and Alyssa. When he grows up he is going to be a guide dog for the blind. Not sure what that means but I do know he always wants to follow me around and do whatever I do - what a pain!

I like water - of course, I’m a golden retriever! Any water will do - ocean, lake, river, creek or a puddle in the backyard. I even like our lawn sprinklers. I don’t get in deep water because when my tail floats, it freaks me out! I can swim, but I like to be in control of my tail.

I like other golden retrievers. That brings me to my friends, Emily and Allie. They are golden retrievers, too. We go on walks together. When people see us they say, "There goes a lot of hair!"

I like to travel in the RV. When Mike and Dana put their clothes in the motor home, I know we’ll soon be heading out and I get excited. When my bed goes in, I relax because I know I’m going, too!

Better go, I hear someone coming…