October 18, 2008-

No one ever told me how much I would get to sleep here in out new condo!! The new bed is so comfortable, I just cannot bring myself to get up. Of course the walks through the hotel gardens are so exciting -so many new scents every day. Carol and I start our walk about 7:00 am right after we wave bye-bye to Barney as he drives off to work (he is finishing up the handrails on that beautiful, cliff-edge home up the mountain). I have developed my own walking routine and I don't like it when Carol wants to change it up-so she rare does!!
We spend more time these days on the sunny trails during the noon walk because it feels so good to sit on the big rocks and hold our face up to the warmth. The flowers in those gardens are still real pretty and the pink roses seem to bloom constantly!! I like to watch the ducks swim with their tails in the air-I can't figure out why they do that though!!!
The wind and weather has been so calm that we have been taking long walks at night when they return from dinner -seems there are so many wonderful places to eat in Hood River that they go out often, especially to Nora's-where Carol always gets to order food that Nathan prepares. -last night he gave them cherry and almond cookies he had just baked-but did I get one? of course not!! (but Carol is baking fresh biscuits for me today!! ) They took pictures on our walk last night, but the ones of the lighted boat parade on the river just would not turn out. It was awesome watching the little colored lights float along on the water-kind of spooky!!
Today starts the annual Harvest Festival on the riverfront!! Yea!! lots of walking and associating with the other Gorge dogs-as a new Gorge dog, I get many curious looks and sniffs as I seem to be cleaner and better groomed than some (maybe when I learn to swim in the river and take more walks in the rain/mud I won't stand out!) There will be fresh apples, pears, pumpkins and berries (they have huckleberries here) and many tents filled with arts and crafts. At 7 the festival shuts down till Saturday morning but the polka dancing and micro-brew beer drinking begins!! Good fun for them-I have to stay in my crate in the car-that is where all Gorge dogs go during festivities!! Hope they don't park near a barker!-last time a rat-looking dog in a Range Rover screamed at every thing that walked by!! Carol says she is going to get Barney dancing on the polka floor-maybe after a pale ale, he will volunteer to go!-yeah, right !!!
They will probably go to church Sunday morning (they skipped out last week to go for a autumn drive with Nathan and Jenny) and if it is still nice out we will drive up to Mt. Hoodafterwards. We drove Nathan up a Washington mountain last Sunday and he rode his mountain bike all the way down. We met him at the end of the trail and boy!! was he going fast!! Carol and I started walking up the trail to get a better look-and all of a sudden she saw him and we barely got out of his way!!! She didn't get to take a photo, so she made him go up the trail a ways and re-enact his return! but he didn't mind-he really loves to ride. ( I would to if I was a human boy!!-don't know about that helmet though and all those pads on your legs-the gloves were nice though).
Well, it is almost time for the noon walk and it is another nice, sunny day-the river is still calm, no white caps yet. We can actually see the rain and clouds from Portland come down the gorge, but they always stop and tumble over each other before they get here-leaving half the river sunny and the other half all rainy looking-weird!!
So, Carol has her new red hoodie on (hunting season is still going on, so ya gotta stand out in the woods!!) and she coming at me with that harness-I AM SO MUCH A GROWNUP DOG NOW-wish she would realize that!!
Later, friends-
love ya gobs
Jackson, Gorge Dog