My 3rd Trip was in 2009 and it was a LONG one! We drove all the way to Montana!!!
Packing The Jeep
My people bought a cargo rack and carrier for the Jeep for this trip so they'd be able to haul all my stuff!!! We always pack whichever of my vehicles we are taking the night before the trip and I always help. My next door neighbor Sunny came over and we helped clean dog hair out of the Jeep!
Headed to Washington
We made a stop at Rooster Rock State Park just outside of Portland so I could run around in the off-leash area and my people could eat lunch. It's in the very start of the Columbia Gorge Scenic Area and I really wanted to go down to the Columbia River and go play but they said I couldn't. I had a good time running around the off-leash area though. We spent the night at a chain motel in Washington. I HATED it and my people weren't that fond of it either. There were some nice places to go for a walk and attack the automatic sprinklers though.
Washington to Idaho
We checked out and headed for the dog park just outside of Spokane. It's a pretty nice dog park with trails and trees and some plastic play pools.
We drove into Idaho and got off the interstate to go stay at a tent and breakfast in the Sandpoint area. I loved this place. There were trails everywhere and I was able to be off-leash to go explore. It did get kind of scary that night though because I could see animals moving around and I could smell animals I couldn't see too! The only bad thing was the mosquitoes. They almost flew off with me there were so many! Our tent had a queen size bed and some furniture and sides that could be rolled up and down, it was also completely screened to keep out the bugs. We had a camp kitchen in the building next door. There was a rustic shower and a bathroom behind the shower. The whole place is something called "off-the-grid" and the tents have no power. The people who own the place have power in their house and they make their own power! We people liked the mountain view! There were only 3 tents on the whole place (52 acres) so it was very private!
1st Time Ever in Montana
We had a very good breakfast and then headed for Montana! We stopped at the Ross Creek Giant Cedars Scenic Area where we all got to walk around some huge trees! We liked it a lot better than the Redwoods in California. My people really liked the drive because they said it was pretty. And they said the road we were on to get to the cedars was something called a "scenic byway."
After we left, we went to our cabin. It was on a fly fishing outfitter's property and they only had 3 cabins on the whole place! The cabin was huge! We had a covered front porch, a bedroom, a full kitchen, a big dining table, a big living room with a CD player, an upstairs with 2 beds and a desk, and a huge covered back deck with a grill!!! I got to grill!!!!
We had a huge back yard that ended at a stream and a huge front yard! We saw an cow elk walking up the stream 1 night and I saw deer in the front yard 1 morning. I was playing ball and the deer popped up out of the tall grass. My people were very proud of me because I didn't try to go up to the deer or chase them when they bounced off. Instead I went back to my people on my own. My people aren't the brightest though. Every dog knows deer are toy stealers! They would've stolen my ball!!! My people really like the view at the back of the cabin!
There was a creek at just a few hundred feet from where our front yard ended and I got to play in it several times a day! We also explored the outfitter's property 1 evening! The mosquitoes were really bad so we all liked being in the creek! My people brought a bunch of water toys for me and found out the only water toy I'll retrieve is my Chuck-It dummy! All the other toys had to be put on a floating leash.
While we were there we drove something called the Yaak Valley Scenic Drive where we stopped to look at Yaak Falls and we also went to the Kootenai Falls.
Off to Missoula
We spent the morning playing ball and playing in the creek then drove to Missoula. This day was pretty much just driving but my people said the drive was a pretty one. We spent the night at a bed and breakfast. I got to go to a dog park that is on an island and has places for dogs to swim in the Clark Fork River!!! I had a lot of fun and we all liked where we stayed. The lady was really nice and she said I should come back and stay again soon!
A Major Problem
We ate a yummy breakfast and drove to Butte to get a pork chop sandwich. I'd never had a pork chop sandwich before and it was drooling good!
After lunch we headed out for the Bozeman area but while we were driving on the interstate, one of our tires came apart. It was pretty scary! Pieces of the tire were hitting the window by my head. My man got the tire changed and we did an illegal u-turn to head back the way we came. Luckily we were pretty close to the exit we needed to take get to the town where my man's family lives. My people say it usually takes about 30 minutes to get there but it took longer because the plastic piece over the back tire was flapping in the wind!
We went to the house where my man's nephew and his family live and spent some time there with them and then drove a couple of block's to my man's mom's house. She was living somewhere else so we stayed there. It had a nice fenced in back yard to play in and a screened-in porch where we could be outside but escape the mosquitoes!
Mountain Fun
We fixed the plastic piece enough that it was secure and drove to Butte to get a new tire. The people at Les Schwab were really nice and I got to hang out in the waiting room and drink water out of a cup.
I had a really good time in Montana! I got to go up in the mountains and smell all kinds of new smells, swim in a real high mountain lake that was very cold, and play in snow in the summer!!!!! My people learned to really trust me too. We drove to a place called Ringing Rocks. My people thought it was cool but I thought it was boring. It's a big pile of boulders that ring like bells when hit with a hammer. If a rock is removed, it doesn't ring.
Montana to Idaho
My people went to breakfast with his nephew and family and then we drove almost to the Washington state line and stayed at the same chain motel we stayed at our 1st night. It was a long, boring drive and it was the worst place we stayed during the whole trip! The room was really noisy and it smelled like chlorine from the pool and I was ready to leave as soon as we got there!
Idaho to Hood River
We made another stop at the dog park outside of Spokane so I could have some off-leash time then drove to a town in the Columbia River Gorge that is only about 90 minutes from our house but my people wanted a good night's sleep before coming home. We stayed at a little motel. It was an OK place but at least it was quiet and the air conditioner worked.
Home
We left the motel around 10:00 a.m. and drove home! It was a fun trip but I was really glad to get home and play with Jonny and sleep on my own beds. My people said I get to go back next year!!!
