My Colorado Adventure

Day 1 – The Long Drive

We started off early at 7.00am and begin our trip to Colorado. Mom and dad stopped often to let me out and I must say I was very impressed with the Colorado rest stops as they had wonderful fenced dog runs where I could run and romp and stretch those muscles. The Nebraska ones were nice too, but I had to stay on my lead at those. Mom wasn’t sure how my stomach would take such a long trip so instead of having breakfast; she gave me some of my favorite cookies every hour. I didn’t get car sick at all (I never have - which of course I told mom) but she was being careful. I also had my harness on the whole way. It is very comfortable as it has real lamb’s wool on the inside. We stopped for lunch and mom gave me a little of her grilled chicken which I thoroughly enjoyed and wished I could have more of. After eight hours of driving we finally arrived in Boulder which is a real ‘university’ town mom called it. I am not sure what that is, I just know there were lots of people and it was very busy. We went to the hotel and I was on my very best behavior as it was my first time staying at a hotel. I sat very still and quietly as dad checked in and the clerk said what a wonderfully behaved dog I was. We then went to our room and dog oh dog that king sized bed was wonderful. There were super soft pillows for my head and a feather duvet and the air conditioning was on. Mom took me for a long walk and then we came back and she made me a big dinner. I wanted to gobble it down but the mom made me eat it slowly. We were all tired and even though there was a nice cool floor in the bathroom, my usual snoozing place, that big bed was just too nice so I slept there with mom and dad all night.

Day 2 – Up and Up We Go

We slept in a little later then normal and the mom took me for a walk while the dad went and got breakfast and when we got back, the mom made me mine too. After my big dinner I wasn’t very hungry though. Mom and dad said they were very proud of me as even though there were some strange noises in the hotel and lots of new people, I didn’t bark even once. We packed our bag and off we went again. There was some big bike race going on so I got to watch lots of people on the two wheeled things as we travelled along. We stopped to pay for our entry into the Rocky Mountain Park and the nice ranger person gave us lots of information about the park. Mom was a bit shocked to read that doggies were only allowed in the picnic and parking areas and not allowed to go on any of the trails. I was woofagasted !!!!! No walks in the park!! The dad stopped where ever we could and we got some great pictures and I did get to sniff a little. Mom says the road we were on is the highest anywhere in the USA. After going through the park which took three hours we finally arrived at Grand Lake where the cabin mom and dad were renting was located. But first we decided to check out the town of Grand Lake. It was wonderful and very dog friendly. Many of the stores had doggies as official greeters waiting to say hello as you went in. The lake front was just dogtastic too and there was lots of grass and it was doggie friendly too. We then drove half a mile to our cabin and was wonderful. It was surrounded by trees and there was 5 acres of land for me to explore. The first day the mom and dad kept me on my lead when we went out but that was okay as I wasn’t to sure about the strange noises I was hearing. I discovered this thing mom called a leather sofa and it was so comfortable and cool to lay on, that that is where I decided I was going to sleep.

Day 3 – Off We Go Exploring

Our first trip was to Granby a nearby town that was about fifteen minutes away. On the drive there we passed Shadow Mountain Lake and Granby Lake and it was amazing how different they looked. Shadow Mountain Lake has trees right down to the waters edge whereas the area around Granby was open and flat. It was also odd to see these large flat areas of land and there were a lot of large animals that mom called cows and also others called horses. We had a walk around Granby which didn’t take long as it is a very small town so then we decided to go and look around the Granby dam. I really liked this as we took a long walk and I got to bark at the ducks. Mom and dad seemed to enjoy watching this white thing out in the water – they called it a yacht. It didn’t look at all interesting to me, not when there was chipmunks close by to chase. We went and had lunch and then went to Grand Lake to do a bit of shopping and some more exploring. Mom and Dad were both very tired due to something called altitude so we went back to the cabin and mom and dad sat on the porch while I explored a bit. It was while I was doing that, that I came across some huge rocks and I had to bark at them to begin with because I didn’t know what they were. Mom came and put my paws on it, and then I knew it was okay to sniff around. In the evening mom and dad settled down to read and I was happy snoozing on my leather sofa.

Day 4 – Hiking at the Lake

Today mom, dad and I went to Monarch Lake and it was just the prettiest place. Mom just kept standing in one spot starring out over the lake ……I was getting a bit annoyed at that as today I was being a scent hound not a herding dog and I wanted to follow my nose because there was so many new and unusual smells. We followed the lake edge and mom kept stopping to take pictures of all the flowers – why I don’t know, they were just flowers!!!! We came across some other humans throwing some sort of line in the water….mom said they were fishing. We continued our walk and then saw a fox which had been sitting just above where the humans were. The park ranger later told the mom that that particular fox has a habit of waiting for people to catch fish and then will sneak in and steal it. Why would anything want to eat a fish!!!!!! There was also some more of those big dogs that mom calls horses. They were going on an overnight trail ride but you know they were really strange….they kept eating the grass……why would a big dog like that eat grass? We went back around the lake and there at the Ranger station was another fox which the ranger told us had decided to live near the station now. Mom said that the fox and me are related….I think mom got too much sun!!!! how could I be related to something that eats fish….. erk!!!!!! We headed back to the cabin and then settled down for another cozy night.

Day 5 – Heading Home

We were meant to stay another couple of days but Mom and Dad were both having trouble with this altitude thing they kept talking about were starting to feel quite bad, short of breath, headachy and tired to the point of exhaustion…….so we or I should say THEY decided to leave early. I wasn’t happy about leaving and I didn’t want to go…….it is the first time in my 13 months of living with mom and dad that I got stubborn and did not do as I was asked. I planted all four paws on the ground and refused to get in the car and when dad tried to get me I kept running out of his reach. Mom waited and watched and then eventually told me to sit/wait and dog gone…..I am so use to doing it, I did it….and the dad picked me up and put me in the car!!!! I pouted and sulked for a good hour but when we made out first rest stop, I couldn’t wait to check out the smells. And so our vacation came to an end….but I have lots to remember and to dream about and we are now planning our vacation for next year……but not in the mountains or at least not such high ones.

Here is a few of the photos mom took. You can watch this little slide show on this page or go to this one which has more comments on the photos and the pics are bigger