Camping Adventures

We took our little buggers on their first camping excursion a few weeks ago and it was certainly an interesting experience. We decided on the Russian Gulch in Mendocino, CA. I could hardly wait (not for the camping, but for the scenery) since I had never been to the north coast. I was a little nervous for the four hour drive, but the dogs did fabulous. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least!

We made a handful of stops for the benefit of the dogs and that seemed to do the trick. They slept most of the way! The drive was also nice because Nick took me to a cool hamburger place in Colusa (where a group of kids referred to Doug as Underdog) and I finally got to see Clear Lake. Here is a little photo-journey of our trip:

Lucky number 17 marks the spot of our sweet little campsite.

This was the main part of our campsite. Our living quarters if you will...

To the right of our main area was a bunch of redwoods that helped to separate our camp site and give it a little privacy. We found that it was a great place to pitch our tent and the dogs seemed to like it too.

Our awkward fire pit. This sucker was way too tall to actually enjoy!

Our "backyard."

Our beautiful camping boys.

The ocean was just a hop, skip, and a jump away from our camp site.

My cute little family.

Moose felt the need to roll around in the dirt at the camp site after Nick put his ear drops in.

The boys are tired! Don't let this picture fool you though. Although they were the perfect camping dogs in every other sense of the word, they didn't do so well at night. In the tent they would bark whenever they heard a sound. Nick and I didn't get much sleep and by morning we knew that we could not stay another night as planned. It's great that the dogs are so protective, but not so great when you are trying to catch some zzzzs and when you are camping in a canyon where sound echos like you would not believe.

The next day we took a little hike to Pt. Cabrillo Lighthouse. Beautiful scenery and a good way to get the dogs tired for the ride home.

The dogs were very photogenic this weekend... and so was Nick.

I would love to be the artist who does signs like this. It reminds me of the "No Dogs Pooping" sign at the gas station in Tahoe.

The boys were even more tired on the way home. All of that walking, smelling, and exploring did the trick. They sure know how to make themselves comfortable.

So, that is it. Our first camping trip of the season. We have such great dogs and they definitely provide us with a lot of entertainment. We realized they love the beach so perhaps we can take them to Pismo one day. Maybe you'll see Doug on TV surfing in the Pacific. You never know. It could happen...
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