Visiting National Parks With Dogs

A few days ago me, Kerrigan, Ben and his Mom took a trip to Death Valley National Park.  Visiting National Parks with the dogs is not something I love to do but it is certainly something that can be done.  I am not talking about all of the areas that are managed by the National Parks Service, just the Parks.  National Recreation Areas, National Monuments and other areas all have different policies and some are more dog friendly than the parks.  For a lot of good reasons National Parks tend to have a very restrictive dog policy.  For the most part pets are limited to paved areas and campsites.  They are not allowed down trails or in buildings and must always be on a 6 foot or shorter fixed leash.  Honestly I think this is a great policy.  The National Parks are great for observing wildlife and a natural habitat- dogs are not a part of that.  Also many parks have a lot of wildlife that can be dangerous to dogs.  While eating lunch at Death Valley there we had a coyote walk about 50 feet away from our picnic area.  Kerri was not upset but if she was off leash it could have been a very different story!

Due to all the rules we tend to stick to BLM land, National Forests or other outdoor areas but occasionally we are out and about and stop by a park with the dogs.  They really are the most beautiful places in the United States and sometimes we can't pass by the opportunity to check them out with the dogs.  Last week was one of those days and I think me and Kerrigan made the best of the trip.  We did have to sit on a bench while everyone else enjoyed the Visitor Center, then sit on a bench while everyone else went on a hike but we got to see a beautiful sunset while waiting there so it was totally worth it.  Kerrigan also got to do some other fun things like...

• Give Ben kisses at the lowest point in the western hemisphere!  Do you see that little white sign way up on the mountain?  That is SEA LEVEL!  We were standing at about 280 feet below sea level.

• Take Artists Drive.  A beautiful scenic drive full of volcanic rocks that make the mountainside look like it was painted.

• Visit the Devils Golf Course.  According to the Park Service it is an immense area of rock salt eroded by wind and rain into jagged spires. So incredibly serrated that “only the devil could play golf on such rough links.” 

• And finally do a lot of sitting around near No Dogs Beyond This Point signs waiting for the family to come back.  Luckily this often involved treats so that's ok.

Hiking in the Desert

We took a little hike out in the desert (a Joshua Tree forest to be specific).  Sometimes on easy hikes or picnics we just take Copley.  He loves his people more than anything and although he lives happily in a multi-dog home I still like to take him out with just us from time to time.  Plus Kerri gets to do all the technical hiking on her own because Copley can't handle it so it is only fair.  It is BLM land so there is no leash law, and it is the middle of winter and actually was quite chilly so all the snakes are curled up for the winter so he got to explore quite a bit.  Although mostly when we weren't walking he laid in the sun.

Hydrating

Leashed while on the "road"

Looking like a lion

Peeking around the Joshua Tree

Copley and Ben Footprints

Exploring

Did I mention how happy I am living in a place where THIS is the middle of winter???

Family (and Friends) Trip to Red Rock

The whole family and a few friends took a trip out to Red Rock for a hike the other day.  I have some great pictures, and we had a great time, but first I wanted to say a few things about hiking in places where there are a lot of other off leash dogs.

Now this particular trail was not actually in Red Rock national recreation area.  It was on BLM land, where there is no leash law, although this particular hike is a lot busier than any other BLM land area that I ever frequent.  I always keep Kerri on a leash because of hawks but I let Copley make his own way and the same is true for the other dogs we were with.  Most people on the trail had off leash dogs, but if we saw people coming we would call our dogs to us and leash them till we all passed each other.  Here is where it gets tricky for Copley.  He is a friendly dog but has gotten less and less tolerant of other dogs getting in his face as he gets older.  Nothing bad, but he just avoids situations where high energy dogs are in his face now, but if he is forced he may growl.  If everything is loose and off leash he smells a butt first and all is fine, but in these situations without fail the other owner is holding their dog back on the end of a tight leash with their dog flailing their front feet at Copley, so I just avoid greeting people's dogs with Copley and we move on.  Not because he is going to start a dog fight but because he doesn't like it.  Not all dogs love all situations and not all dogs need to be forced into situations they don't like.

So here is my predicament.  Copley would be 100% fine off leash where he could circle around back and sniff the other dog, or at least where he could take on the situation or not.  It is the smush together of dogs on the end of tight leashes in a small space that makes him uncomfortable and he will occasionally growl, but typically I just pick him up.  That works for me most of the time as long as the other dogs we are meeting are not totally out of their owners control.  I COULD just keep on going and call Copley to me without leashing him and we would have much more positive experiences.  The problem with that is I think it is kinda rude.  I thought that etiquette in an off leash area was that you leash everybody when passing, and although many people don't do that I feel like I need to be the good example and do it myself.  Maybe I should throw etiquitte to the wind and just do what I want- or perhaps only hike on remote BLM land where I will never run into another human or canine.  

While that is pondered take a look at some more picture from our fun hike!

 Kerrigan climbs "Mt. Osprey"

 On the Trail

There are burrows in this picture if you look really close.  Try clicking on it- it's like where's waldo wilderness style.

Have a great week everybody!

Beautiful Nevada

 Valley Of Fire State Park (You can click on the pictures to see them full size)

A lot of people like to talk about how miserable this state is.  Particularly after the horribly hot summer we just had (are still having?  It was 94 today).  I must admit I often wish there were are few more trees around or at least an ocean BUT Nevada does have it's great qualities.  I was looking through old pictures and have stumbled across a few that really capture how great The Silver State is.  Here they are!

A STREAM at Red Rock National Conservation Area

A beautiful campsite on BLM land near Searchlight, NV

Another BLM campsite at Wee Thump Joshua Tree Forest.  The largest old growth Joshua Tree forest in the world.

Valley of Fire State Park

More Valley of Fire

A final shot at Valley of Fire

Wildflowers on BLM Land near Zzyzx

Not my best picture but a great one of a favorite trail on BLM Land outside of Red Rock National Conservation Area

Moapa

A trail between Lake Mead National Recreation Area and Valley of Fire State Park

 Same trail as above

Ben and Copley forging an icy river (yep, it does get cold enough here to make ice!) at Red Rock

Taking Risks in the Outdoors

Recently I saw a picture on facebook of a dog in a Ruffwear climbing harness doing some serious mountain climbing.  Ropes and all.  My first thought seeing this picture was how cool!  In fact it still is.  Based on the reactions of the comment section of that picture it was in fact not the reaction of others.  People called it animal abuse, cruel and dangerous.  After some googling I learned the dog's name is Whisper and you can check out more info and some really cool pictures on her owner Dean S. Potter's instagram here.

I get a little defensive about this because I am someone who regularly is criticized for the activities I choose to do with my dog.  Maybe it is because I have a small dog, but we are often stopped on trails and told how cruel it is to take a chihuahua out into the wilderness.  People thought that backpacking is too much for her too.

In fact some people in the toy dog community think it is too dangerous to ever let a dog on the ground outside because they could be taken by a bird of prey or attacked by a bigger dog.  I have met multiple people IN PERSON whose little dogs never leave their house.  They potty inside, they live inside and that is it.  Do I judge the shit out of those people?  Yes.  Do I think many of their dogs are simply miserable and neurotic for being stuck inside all the time?  For sure.  In the end though I am perfectly ok with these people owning dogs.  Caring, loving and doing the best you can is what matters when it comes to owning a dog.  Those little ones that never see the outdoors are probably happier than many dogs that are chained up, ignored or otherwise actually abused.

Then there are the people on the other end of the spectrum.  The people like the owner of that mountain climber.  Their dogs go everywhere with them, get to sniff and hike and see the outdoors.  They have the sun on their back and their people at their side.  The main argument people seemed to have against this climbing dog was that she didn't get to choose to take the risk.  It is ok for people to do risky activity but not dogs, because they have no choice in the matter.  Well a few thing there-

• We made dogs.  Dogs exist because we bred them.  Huskies want to pull because we bred them to want it, chihuahuas want to cuddle because we bred them to serve as hot water bottles for us.  Collies want to herd because we needed them to move our food animals and pointers want to point because we wanted help spotting game birds.  They don't just wake up one morning thinking "geeze I really want to dedicate my life to the human race."  They.  Just.  Do.  We took their choice out of the equation when we domesticated them.  
• Dog's do not exist autonomously to people.  Except for the very rare occasion of a feral dog or a street dog they are totally reliant on people in every way.  They don't make any decisions about their healthcare, food, or even about their friends.  Even when dogs are given choice (and I do think that is imporntant) we are deciding that this is something we are going to let them choose about!  If my dogs had a choice in the matter one would eat all day then die of bloat and the other one would collect every person she ever met and glob them into one pack that never separated and all slept together in a cave with her eating nothing but pork.  If you believe that domestic animals should not exist (I'm looking at you PETA) then ok.  Valid argument, I can handle that even though I don't agree with you.  If you are however a person that ever takes your dog for a car ride then how can you say anything about choice?  Does your dog know how many roadway deaths there were in your state this year?  Do they weigh the pros and cons of a harness vs a crate vs just being free in the car then decide the method that they think is the safest?  I don't think so.

That pretty much sums up what I feel about that subject.  Then I saw another picture of the same dog, Whisper, BASE jumping.  You can see a picture of her and read about her owners rationale on that here- http://deanspotter.com/2014/05/23/when-dogs-fly-philosophy-history-and-safety/

Seeing that made me have a lot of complicated feelings.  BASE jumping is not an activity that I have a lot of respect for.  I personally have never met a BASE jumper that I felt was an emotionally stable person (they may be out there but not that I've met).  It is a dangerous sport- so dangerous that people tend to say it is not "if" you die but "when."  There are very few activities that I would put the foot down and stop my husband from doing but that is for sure one of them.  To me it is right up there with  those preachers that handle venomous snakes.  I don't care what BASE jumpers say- people who are BASE jumping are doing it knowing that no matter how careful they are they might die.  You can read this study where they find the fatality rate of BASE jumping is approximately one in sixty participants.  That is part of the rush, if they didn't have at least a tiny death wish they would be skydiving or climbing or white water rafting or any other of hundreds of outdoor adrenaline junkie sports that are not as death wish-ey.  Those may be my feelings but I am for sure not going to stop anyone from doing it as long as they are an adult and their insurance pays for the search and rescue.

I can just hear people reading this thinking I am some sort of couch sitting outdoor hating person who "just doesn't understand."  I guess I can't really prove to the internet that is not true except to say that I just made a holster for my bear spray and I travel in circles where the pros/cons of BASE jumping is something that actually gets discussed.

But we still have the idea of that DOG jumping.  It bothers me a lot.  I would not do it.  Why can't he just leave her with a friend at the bottom of the mountain?  Hire a dog walker?  His rationale of either with me or locked in a car he gives in his article is nonsensical to me.  You could arrange for an activity for her while you base jump for sure.  HOWEVER- after thinking on it- I say good for her owner Dean.  That dog loves them and loves the outdoors and as he said in his article she would rather be out base jumping with them than stuck at home.  In the event that she goes splat on the wall of a canyon with her owner it would be unfortunate.  Thing is that dog has a better life than so many others out there and she would go down with her best friend doing something that she obviously loves to do (even if it is just because her owner loves it).  Above all else I believe in personal choice, leaving risk assessment up to individuals and enjoying life- not living in a padded room.  I can not very well in one breath defend taking a chihuahua camping in rattlesnake territory because "what kind of life would she have locked inside away from all danger" then tell another person that they can't base jump.

I just had to get out my opinions on this one.  Please share yours- I really want to know what people think about this!

St. Thomas

The abandoned town in Lake Mead National Recreation Area.  Not the US Virgin Island.  It is a pretty cool place, the government kicked everyone out so they could flood it when Lake Mead was made.  In the late 90's when Lake Mead's water level began to drop this area of the lake dried up and now you can visit what is left of the ghost town there.  Honestly ghost towns are not really my thing, but it was a nice walk and a friend took a bunch of pictures that turned out great so I will share them with you all.  Unlike other ghost towns it is covered with clam shells from when it was underwater.

Also it appeared to smell REALLY GOOD there.  Kerri was constantly trying to dig little holes and sniff the ground.

This engine block was obviously used to anchor a buoy when there was  water covering the place.

Kerri was doing tricks for pirate booty for a friend that came with us.  Usually she is not crazy about cheese puffs, but that day she was going crazy for them.

Kerri sniffing the air.  Lots to sniff at this place I noticed.

A shot of a little river at the end of the hike.

More sniffing.

That's all I've got for St. Thomas.  But I also wanted to remind you all to follow us on instagram @doginthedesert  If anyone knows of other cool people to follow please let me know!  I LOVE instagram and would love to follow others.  So leave a comment with your instagram and a few of your favorite other people to follow!  I am not just following dog owners either, I would love more outdoors stuff, feminist, people braking down gender stereotypes, cooks using local veggies, artists or really anything at all interesting.

Camping Weekend!

Last weekend we went camping at the beautiful Valley of Fire State Park!  It was us people, Copley, Kerrigan and another couple.  In fact they are Nova's favorite people, you have met them before.  Nova stayed home because she is not quite able to camp yet (perhaps an understatement).

The campsite was great, between two big rocks, complete with it's own mini cave to hang out in.

The weather was much better than I thought it would be!  I had under layers and coats packed for us and the dogs but even with a reported low of 41F, we never needed more than sweaters.  In fact for all our hiking during the day it was pretty warm!

At the campsite that night we encountered a little mouse that was NOT afraid of people.  It really upset Copley to have a mouse that kept runnig at him, and even after attempting to scare it with a rock, kicking sand, making noise and eventually letting Copley go after him, he still came back looking for food.  Just one of many reasons why we typically camp on BLM land in the wilderness where there are no people around and not regular enough campers to make rodents see us as food sources!  I must admit running water and flushing toilets at this camp site were a nice change of pace though.

My only complaint is we didn't see any bighorn sheep, Valley of Fire is usually full of them.  It was still a fun trip though.  Have a great weekend everybody!

Wordless Wednesday

Went out hiking before work the other day.  Took this picture.  Couldn't be happier that I live where I do.

Wordless Wednesday- Valley of Fire

Copley showing off in Valley of Fire State Park.

"Watch out for that pack of dangerous pit bulls"

 Super Kerrigan

 The rugged mountain chihuahua
Ambassador for her breed and advocate for others

Our friend Mosby and his human counterparts asked if we wanted to take a little hike the other day.  I am always up for a hike so I said yes.  Well did anyone else realize it is Sunday, and a holiday weekend?  We sure didn't.  When you work a non traditional schedule days are really irrelevant and holidays just mean time and a half so I had no idea that Red Rock would be PACKED.  Normally we hike in a less touristy area too but we wanted to check out this hike because of the view.  Turned out so did about 200 other people.  There were so many dogs and hikers I felt like I was at a convention not a wilderness area.  

So we get out of the car and immediately there is a guy with two pointers running around off leash.  Keep in mind this is a place with signs all over saying dogs must be on a 6 foot leash, not to mention we are in a parking lot filled with people, some elderly, some children and dogs of all sizes.  As this asshole's dogs are literally jumping on an 80 year old woman who is forced to sit down on a rock before she falls over I hear him say "yeah- they don't listen at all for like the first half hour they are out like this, but I don't have anything to worry about because they are hunting dogs so they always come back."  I have to admit he was not the only person with his dogs off leash, people seem to think leash laws are just suggestions to be ignored- but he is by far the least responsible dog owner on the trail that day.  The dogs were ultra hyper and out of control.  One ran over to us and Kerri hit the floor in the most submissive stance possible- her typical reaction when she is worried a dog might eat her.  The other dog ran straight into Copley's face, looked him dead in the eyes, and then took off.  So polite. *sarcasm*

We let him take off and started up the trail a safe distance behind him.  Not a moment later a group of 6 or 7 people with 5 or so pit bull type dogs and boxer mixes came up the trail.  The dogs were all polite, walking right with their people on loose leashes.  One dog was off leash (and I am not crazy about that) but it was right next to it's person and didn't stray at all from their side.  We smiled at these people, complimented their beautiful dogs and let them pass us without incident.

Now for the fun part.  Three people warned us we should turn around and not hike any further because of dangerous dogs up the trail.  One woman with a chihuahua told me it was too dangerous to have small dogs up there because of these horrible irresponsible owners at the end of the trail.  Who were they warning me about?  Not the a-hole with the out of control pointers, but the "pack of dangerous pit bulls."  One lady even told me the problem was not that there was just one, but that they get into that "pack mentality" and you "never know what might happen."  I tried to talk to these people and they politely smiled and nodded.  The one thing about people who are so concerned for a fellow chihuahua owner that they feel the need to stop a stranger on a trail to warn them about the dangerous pit bulls is that they are floored- absolutely can't believe it speechless- when the lady with the chihuahua is defending the pit bulls to them.  For some crazy reason people presume that because I am the owner of a chihuahua that I also find pits disgusting- and when that is not the case it shocks their worldview in an incredibly satisfying way.

To end on a lighter note here is a collection of other discussions I had on the trail.  Mostly with people who think things about chihuahuas that are just as crazy as the things they think about pits.  As you will see today I had some real gems of conversations with others on the trail.

• One woman told me it was cruel to be hiking with a chihuahua, that I should be carrying her.  When I told her that Kerri hikes weekly and walks every day she just rolled her eyes and walked away.
• A man with a smaller dog came up to us while I was holding Kerri and said to her "why aren't you barking, is there something wrong with you?"  That guy was actually really nice.  I gave him my regular line about Kerri not being yappy "I don't allow any barking around my house because it would drive me nuts!"  We talked for a minute about how chihuahuas are actually very trainable and if you exercise them properly and train them they are not yappy.  I also talked about how even little dogs need exercise and regular walks.  He agreed and pointed to his little dogs- a terrier mix- telling me that those little legs just can go all day long!  I love when I can change a person's view of chis and make friends at the same time.
• A family with little kids came over and asked to pet Kerri (at least they asked, +1 for that).  The kids literally tried to pull her ears off.  Ok, maybe not literally but it was close.  In times like that I am really grateful for her temperament- that's why she is a therapy dog after all!
• A woman walking with her friend and their bigger dog told me her chihuahua had not been outside of her house in over 5 years.  I really have nothing more to say about that.
• My favorite was when a family came by and the mother was really struggling to keep up with her partner and two boys.  The boy said "look mom, that tiny dog isn't having any trouble, you should be able to keep up if she can!"  I looked at the Mom and said "don't feel bad, the dog has an advantage... four legs instead of two."  Mom laughed and thanked me for helping her outsmart her kid.

So lessions of the day- be responsable and keep your dog on a leash in areas where it is the law and remember tourists at Red Rock are extremely chatty these days.

Camping Again!

What do we like to do with our spare time around here?  Camping is certainly right up there on the list.  Well we only had one free day this weekend but we decided to spend it out in the wilderness.  I wanted to try out a new campsite that I had heard about but it proved impossible to find.  Or just the directions we had were bad but either way we were driving around lost and decided it would be best to just go back to Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness.  We were half way there anyway so it wasn't a big detour.  To make things even more dull for regular blog readers we went back to the exact same campsite as last time!  It was getting late and after being unable to locate the first place we had lost all creativity.

I know this is a dog blog not a cooking blog but who doesn't love a little food porn (FYI food porn is a term that I stole from my grandmother recently- it seems to refer to pictures of delicious foods).  I love to cook and am always at the farmers market picking out fresh local veggies and making new recipes with them.  I recently got a cookbook full of recipes for dutch ovens over the campfire but it was really disappointing.  Everything involved either a can of barbecue sauce or a packet of ranch dressing- not exactly fresh and delicious.  Well I found a recipe for pulled pork in one of my favorite catalogs from my favorite spice company Penzeys Spices.  Everyone should check them out if you are in need of good spices and spice mixes, they are amazing.  I took the dry rub and sauce recipe from them and combined it with cooking directions and some other stuff from the dutch oven cookbook.  It turned out really good.  I am also proud of my packing job with it.  I dry rubbed the pork the night before and put it in the fridge in a plastic bag.  Then I made the liquid marinade and put it in a jar and the morning before we left I cut up the onion.  I packed everything IN the dutch oven that I had chilled in the refrigerator and packed it with an ice pack.  When we were out camping all I had to do was dump the contents in the oven in the right order and voilla!  I didn't even have to touch any raw meat in the wilderness AND I saved space by packing it all in the oven.

Copley demonstrates in this picture that camping can and should be dirty!  Mostly when we are out on BLM land I let Copley run around off leash but as it got more towards the evening we could hear people at a campsite a ways away shooting.  Out of an abundance of caution I tied him up but not before he got some good rolling in the dirt time in.

Kerrigan decided to become a lumber jack.  I fully support her decision.

 Observe Ben setting up the tent.  The only reason I am not helping is because it is a new tent and he "wanted to see if one person could put it up without help."  It turns out one person can.

 

The dogs LOVED cuddling up by the fire but Kerri is not crazy about the smoke coming from it.  Observe in the picture above Kerri hiding from smoke behind Ben's feet.  Now observe the photo series below of her turning from a chihuahua into a parrot.  When the wind changed Kerri crawled on Ben's shoulder in an effort to escape the smoke, it was adorable.  Unfortunately for her after we got the picture we put her down on the ground to escape the smoke in other means because we don't want our dogs to think people are jungle gyms.

 

Look at that beautiful Joshua Tree sunset!  We had such a great time camping.  It was a small group again with just our family and another couple.  The dogs LOVE the outdoors and Kerri is absolutely obsessed with our friends who came with us (I think it is because her cuteness is irresistible and when she gives them big puppy eyes they pick her up).  If I had all the time in the world I would go camping every weekend, being out in the wilderness and getting fresh air is so refreshing.