Angelina and I took Maddie, Kirby, Kenzie, Kiefer, Piper and Sienna (her first on-leash walk since she had her CL surgery) for what we thought would be a normal, if a little more lengthy, walk on the dikes yesterday. We assumed (you know what people say about assuming) that starting on the other side of the bridge (where many people start their walks) would add a few kilometres to our normal 60-90 minute stroll.
Try 19 kilometres. We ended up inadvertently walking the Blue Heron Rotary Loop. Plus an added 4 or 5 kilometres making our way back to the truck from the end of the trail.
Poor Madison is 13, and she walked every centimetre like a trooper. I'm sure she felt like we were trying to lose her on the trail (you have to know Maddie, we call her Eeyore for a reason).
Kiefer kept trying to nap. Every time there was a slowing in the pace he figured it was time for a siesta.
Kenzie, of course, thought it was all a big adventure, until it got dark, then darker, then really dark. The later it got, the closer she stayed to us.
Piper ended up on leash because I kept seeing, or I thought I kept seeing yellow eyes in the grass. After Carol's horror stories about coyotes stealing little dogs off the trails (a la "A Dingo got my baby") I was paranoid.
Sienna was a champ, she just wanted to run with MacKenzie. Kirby was Kirby.
I had bought a pair of awesome new sandals just before we left for the dikes, and they were so comfy that I decided to wear them, even though they had not been broken in. After the blisters broke, the blood started pouring, and the skin sluiced away, I really came to regret that decision. Angelina eventually traded shoes with me so that we could make it back to the truck.
So, better than four hours after we started, we completed our little hike. I had left my cell phone in the truck, so Chris was beside herself with worry, and had headed out to search for us, having no idea where we were walking.
It's really, really dark on the dikes at 9:15 on a cloudy night......
oh, and our scouting uniforms were green (just like little soldiers, i loved my green baret (sp?), i wanted to go to vietnam with my green baret (sp?) and soldier with honor and save the world...i wasn't allowed because i was a stupid girl so i became a wanna-be hippy then a rescuer instead. this life of mine is all the fault of the 1960/1970's american government's male macho policy makers who thought women were soft and hysterical when faced with adversity....hah! i bet kissinger wouldn't last a day at SAINTS!