We went hiking today at Woolly Hollow State Park. It was our dogs' first hiking adventure. It was also a good time to pull out an activity that my sister had told me about: REI's Passport to Adventure. You can pick up a journal at your local REI or print off a copy online. (More about this activity at the end of this post.)
We took off on the 3 1/2 mile Huckleberry Trail. And how perfect that we had just ordered Trail Mix Caramel Corn from Vegan Essentials.
Caramel popcorn, raisins, dried cranberries, chocolate chips, pretzels, and walnuts. It went fast.
Our pups may have "poo" in their names and wear pink dresses, but they went full force on the trail. Sissy had to have several rides, though.
Dash is back there, throwing rocks into the lake...well, we were too far from the lake at this spot, but he gave it his best shot. Tornado is lounging with some carrots.
The boys climbed the hill to inspect a possible fox hole/animal den.
Taken right after Dash accidentally stepped into the water...he immediately looked horrified when he stepped into the water, and he cried for half a second, then burst into laughter.
What we did find out on this trip is our pups can indeed swim. Dash was SO concerned about them. He's always that way about his dogs and animals, in general. (He gets so mad at me when I let them outside alone at night. As he should be.) He never wants them to get hurt. Even when we're saying, "They're fine! It's fine!" he is still looking back at them, checking on them, etc. He was so worried the dogs would fall into the water...and they did. The mossy rocks were so slippery, they slid right in. They were shocked but immediately swam to safety. They were swamp dogs covered in leaves by the time we got back to the car...Ryan and Dash are giving them a bath upstairs right now.
Dash and the dogs weren't the only ones who fell in the water. When we were climbing down a hill with mossy, wet rocks and running water, Sissy started sliding down on her bottom. I was holding her hand...I went down, too, trying to save her. My poor camera even got a little wet. It was like a comedy act. It all seemed a little slow motion, and it was right after this that the dogs plunged in, too.
The kids were so well-behaved and had a super fun time, as always when there are rocks and wide-open spaces involved. However, we were about 3 hours past time for Sissy's nap, and at the very end of the trail, she started to tank. She was griping at me here to leave her alone. I think she even used the words, "Go away!"
She was getting so mad at me for taking her picture she chose to walk away. But I did get her cute, little, wet rear-end.
When we finished our walk, we sat down at a table to work on our Adventure Journals. There are activities (madlibs, mazes, word searches, etc.) in the journal, along with pages for the kids to document their outdoor excursions. There might be prizes involved after you complete the activities if you can visit the store (looks like you used to be able to fill out form online for prize but maybe not anymore). Regardless, the journal itself is fun and worthwhile.
The page on the left is one of Dash's. It is the "What did you see today?" page. He drew pictures of walking the puppies, the fox hole, a rock, the puppies swimming, and...a zebra. Not sure how he came up with that one. On the left Tornado filled out the date, where we went, what we did, and circled the appropriate weather. On what he saw today, he wrote, "I saw moss. I saw broken trees." He wrote that he heard a car and water. On Sissy's page, I asked her what she did today, and I transcribed, "Going hiking...and going to Hobby Lobby (we did not go to Hobby Lobby today...focus, Sis)...and I fell in the water, and you fell in the water."
We took off on the 3 1/2 mile Huckleberry Trail. And how perfect that we had just ordered Trail Mix Caramel Corn from Vegan Essentials.
Caramel popcorn, raisins, dried cranberries, chocolate chips, pretzels, and walnuts. It went fast.
Our pups may have "poo" in their names and wear pink dresses, but they went full force on the trail. Sissy had to have several rides, though.
Dash is back there, throwing rocks into the lake...well, we were too far from the lake at this spot, but he gave it his best shot. Tornado is lounging with some carrots.
The boys climbed the hill to inspect a possible fox hole/animal den.
Taken right after Dash accidentally stepped into the water...he immediately looked horrified when he stepped into the water, and he cried for half a second, then burst into laughter.
What we did find out on this trip is our pups can indeed swim. Dash was SO concerned about them. He's always that way about his dogs and animals, in general. (He gets so mad at me when I let them outside alone at night. As he should be.) He never wants them to get hurt. Even when we're saying, "They're fine! It's fine!" he is still looking back at them, checking on them, etc. He was so worried the dogs would fall into the water...and they did. The mossy rocks were so slippery, they slid right in. They were shocked but immediately swam to safety. They were swamp dogs covered in leaves by the time we got back to the car...Ryan and Dash are giving them a bath upstairs right now.
Dash and the dogs weren't the only ones who fell in the water. When we were climbing down a hill with mossy, wet rocks and running water, Sissy started sliding down on her bottom. I was holding her hand...I went down, too, trying to save her. My poor camera even got a little wet. It was like a comedy act. It all seemed a little slow motion, and it was right after this that the dogs plunged in, too.
The kids were so well-behaved and had a super fun time, as always when there are rocks and wide-open spaces involved. However, we were about 3 hours past time for Sissy's nap, and at the very end of the trail, she started to tank. She was griping at me here to leave her alone. I think she even used the words, "Go away!" 
She was getting so mad at me for taking her picture she chose to walk away. But I did get her cute, little, wet rear-end.
When we finished our walk, we sat down at a table to work on our Adventure Journals. There are activities (madlibs, mazes, word searches, etc.) in the journal, along with pages for the kids to document their outdoor excursions. There might be prizes involved after you complete the activities if you can visit the store (looks like you used to be able to fill out form online for prize but maybe not anymore). Regardless, the journal itself is fun and worthwhile.
The page on the left is one of Dash's. It is the "What did you see today?" page. He drew pictures of walking the puppies, the fox hole, a rock, the puppies swimming, and...a zebra. Not sure how he came up with that one. On the left Tornado filled out the date, where we went, what we did, and circled the appropriate weather. On what he saw today, he wrote, "I saw moss. I saw broken trees." He wrote that he heard a car and water. On Sissy's page, I asked her what she did today, and I transcribed, "Going hiking...and going to Hobby Lobby (we did not go to Hobby Lobby today...focus, Sis)...and I fell in the water, and you fell in the water."Two kids and two dogs were asleep before we got to the main highway...
