The folks were supposed to go to Starved Rock State Park on Saturday, but Mama hasn't been feeling well. She has endometriosis and it flared up a few weeks ago. We think it peaked this weekend because she was very cranky. They decided to stay closer to home and just do the Route 66 thing on Saturday.
Sunday, Dad decided that we should all go all on adventure.
Bunny had invited us to go on a boat ride but certain cranky people said that I couldn't handle it. Cranky Mama said that I whine too much when I see other dogs. Dad thought I might jump ship or Mama might throw me overboard. Just kidding....I think.
We loaded into the Jeep and off we went. We stopped at McDonalds for a chicken sandwich and fries. Fun!
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| I'm a happy boy! |
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Dad took us to Matthiessen State Park. Oh, boy! We get to hike! Unfortunately, we had to go down steps. There were lots of steps. Scout does not do steps. She goes down, but doesn't come back up. She immediately wanted to turn around when she reached the bottom of the steps. I think she worried the entire time about the steps. They were pretty steep.
We walked a little while and then we saw more steps. People told us it wasn't worth going down into the canyon because the waterfall wasn't "working". We decided to go on the path, but it turns out it wasn't really a trail. We should have gone down the steps because that is where we needed to go. We walked and walked and walked.
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| Pretty view. |
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| Me and Dad - I walk fast! |
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| Scout wanting to go home. |
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| Scout saying she is not stepping over a tree. |
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| Scout getting halfway over and refusing to go the rest of the way. |
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| Scout slowly moving along wishing she was on a boat with Bunny instead of hiking with us. |
Mama kept saying that she thought we were going the wrong way. Dad finally agreed when we reached a sign that said we had to stop because it was a hunting area. We turned around and Scout was very happy. She was able to climb over all but one tree on the way back. We finally reached the area with more steps and we decided to go down them. Dad said he would carry Scout if he had to. There ended up being way too many steps for us, so Dad went on alone.
This is what Dad saw:
This is what Scout did. Several people thought she needed help. One lady gave her water. People asked how old she was and when Mama said "six", they laughed.
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| "Hiking is not for me." |
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| I was on alert, of course. |
When Dad came back, we had to do the steps. Scout started out great and then stopped. Mama had to boost her up one step at a time, but Scout kept pushing her butt into Mama and Mama thought she might fall backwards. They finally made it up that set of steps. Then we had to do another one. Dad tried to get Scout to do the steps and she refused. He carried her. I think Scout was embarrassed because she did the next flight by herself. Mama was so happy! We walked and walked and walked until we came to the steps that lead to the parking lot. Scout looked very worried. She refused to do anything. Dad carried her. People were laughing. Mama saw there was a path next to the steps. It was steep, but we decided we needed to do it instead of Dad carrying "big-boned" Scout. Finally, we made it to the parking lot. We were all huffing and puffing.
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| I was so tired that I laid down. This is rare for me when I am outside. |
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| Thank goodness, we are near the Jeep! |
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| Resting in the Jeep |
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| It was a fun day! |
I had the best time! I would love to do that every day. We walk around the 24 acre lake three times a day, but I could do it all day and never get tired, I think. I love to walk. It's hard to believe that last year at this time I was in a cast.
Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Still Upset With His Sister For Peeing On His Face
