Jungleland

I haven't written a new post in several months. Freddy and I have been dodging fires in Oregon and California and after saying hello to family over thanksgiving will be heading east to spend some time in New Mexico.

That state is like a giant playground, from the mountains to the deserts. It has it all.

And Freddy loves to play.

He also, apparently likes to eat rocks.

This was the result.

$1156.04

Yeah.

The rock was the size of a golf ball, and by the amount of polishing the vet thinks he was carrying it for over a year. It finally blocked his intestine, hence the emergency surgery at the end of July.

He recovered slowly for the next two weeks. Gently playing in the dunes at Florence, Oregon.

After two weeks I took his stitches out. It was fun and he didn't mind.

That's not as gross as it looks. I placed the stitches on a paper plate that previously held...wait for it...tacos. Imagine that.

He continued to recuperate, started playing fetch again.

He met a new buddy named Rocket. They wrestled, took turns humping each other, and wrestled some more.

Dogs are strange folks.

We continued south on the Oregon coast and stopped at one of my favorite BLM campgrounds. Edson Creek is 6 miles east of Port Orford on Sixes River road.

We camped here last year and Freddy remembered the way to the creek behind our site.

Freddy is pretty much back to normal and happily chasing balls.

He actually got a little rowdy, yelling "In your face, Greg"

So I gave him a 10 minute puppy timeout.

After avoiding fires for a while, we hit heavy smoke at Brookings, near the California border. There was darkness on the edge of town.

This was not a sunset. This was at 10:30 in the morning.

Farther south, the giant redwoods were a welcome respite.

I love my wide angle lens.

But California was too hot so after Freddy had a brief affair with two chihuahuas we headed back to Oregon.

We found a wonderful campground called Keno Camp, just a few miles west of Klamath Falls in Oregon.

Our site was huge.

It is used as a group site if necessary, but this campground doesn't take reservations so the host told me to take it. She loved Freddy and said he would like this site.

He did.

The river was right behind us.

A quick walk down the hill finds a dock and boat ramp.

If you look real close my trailer is in the middle of that photo.

This place was so nice that I called my good friend Melanie to come join me. $8 per night with a heated bathroom and showers. I ended up staying here 10 days.

We left the day the campground closed, enjoying a fire every night. Freddy was a happy camper.

From there we headed south, eventually landing in SoCal at Brother Mike"s house where I am writing this post two days after Thanksgiving.

We have an exciting adventure planned for 2018 in New Mexico.

Stay tuned.

One last quote to wrap this mess up, from John Muir.

"As long as I live, I'll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I'll interpret the rocks, learn the language of the flood, storm, and avalanche. I'll aquaint myself with glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can"

That is my goal. Freddy is fine with it.

Regards,

Greg and the wonderpup Freddy.