Posted by Karen | Posted in dog care, dog temperment, dog training | Posted on 23-08-2010
We took Rio on his first camping trip. It was August 12. There was going to be an alignment of the planets and a huge meteor shower that night, so we loaded our grandkids, Skyler, Haley, Griffin, and Saxon, into the truck, put Rio on the floorboard under Saxon’s feet, and headed off for the Mojave desert.
It really is amazing how well Rio travels. He just lies down on the floor of the car and doesn’t move until we stop. He stays very calm and collected the whole way. I don’t think I have ever seen a dog that rides in a car so calmly.
We found a site at a roadside campground, just 10 miles northeast of California City, where we were far enough away from the city lights to be able to see an immense amount of stars. In fact, I don’t think I have ever seen the Milky Way so clearly. We ended up being the only ones that camped there that night.
We set up the tent (with some difficulty as it is our son’s tent and we had never put it up before) and then let the kids and Rio explore the desert landscape around the campground. They had a blast, and Rio really dug running around without his leash on. He didn’t run off, but stayed fairly close to the kids as they hiked the trails looking for “wild life” and rocks. They came back with their pockets and hands full of rocks, and Rio came back with a good stick to chew on.
That night we loaded the bed of the truck with all of our mattresses, sleeping bags and pillows and all crawled in to lie down and watch the beautiful display in the sky. Rio started out on the ground, lying down by the truck, but eventually hopped up in the back of the truck with the rest of us.
We saw the most incredible lightshow we’ve ever seen! Comets shot across the sky…short ones, long ones that went half way across the expanse, white ones, red ones, blue ones…it was awesome! We watched for about two hours as we “oooooooed” and “ahhhhhhed” and gave God many rounds of applause.
All of us, including Rio, had a night we won’t forget for the rest of our lives. It will be a special memory, and hopefully the beginning of many more trips with our very special canine friend.
The next post, A Dog’s Love, has a video you won’t want to miss!