Riley and Raney at La Pine and Lemolo Lake

 One of my favorite Raney pictures for this week. Girlfriend is just a doll.

That face! 💖💖

I’d like to start with a brief shout out for Boondockers Welcome, which may be of interest to my RV’ing friends. We had hoped to stay at La Pine State Park, but it was totally booked. So, we were thrilled to find a BW host near La Pine and booked 5 nights with them. This is only our second BW spot and I am blown away! The host has several acres and allows up to three BW guests. When we arrived in the early afternoon on Saturday, 7/9, our host Judie met us at the gate and apologized for putting us in the back. But it was PERFECT! The Boondockers Welcome area is huge and completely fenced separately from the house. The kids got lots of off leash play time especially after the other guests left and for the last two days we had the whole area to ourselves. It was quiet and shady under the tall pine trees. Oh, and the hosts offered water and 30amp power too, which allowed us to run an air conditioner. A real boon as temps climbed into the mid 90’s. What a find, I can’t believe we waited so long to join Boondockers Welcome.

Our spot at the Boondockers Welcome property in La Pine, OR.

Sitting pretty. :)

Raney for the win!

We are still operating on puppy schedule and having a lot more down time than usual. Our workouts have slipped a bit (ok, a whole lot, maybe completely). Did I mention 90+ degrees, voracious mosquitoes, iffy internet connectivity, the soporific effect of puppy snores…or maybe, I’m just being lazy. Yep, probably that last one. 😊

Lazy or a good puppy parent? You decide. Lol.

 

Slowly inching closer to a cuddle.

We’ve had fun walking the La Pine property. Plenty of room for Riley to play and the little girl to explore. We have also introduced her to the joys of the hose, she is fascinated by Riley’s antics whenever it comes out. Lol.

Our little Dora the Explorer. Lol

Lots of open space for Riley to play.

Riley shows Sissy how it's done.

A more cautious approach, at least for now. Lol. 

Happy girl.

On Sunday, Rog took Riley to La Pine State Park so he could have some daddy-time and a chance to play in the Deschutes River without the annoying little sister tagging along. He was last here in July of 2018, let's just say he's a bit calmer now. Lol. 

Riley then and now - 1 year vs 5 years old.
A bit more dignified. Lol.

Then on Monday, we loaded everyone up for a car ride. Rog was interested in driving part of the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway. The drive was beautiful, but even with the air conditioning running full blast it was warm, so we stopped at a fishing access along the river for some play time. Riley went right in, while Raney more cautious.  This was her first time by the water and she was curious enough to dip in a toe, but decided that was far enough. 

Another first - Raney at the river. 

Riley is an old hand when it comes to cooling off in the water.

We also stopped at the resort on Crane Prairie Lake. What a gorgeous lake! There’s a huge National Forest campground there with over 140 sites. It’s definitely going on “the list” for a future visit. During our drive, Rog spotted smoke in the distance and we passed firefighters near Hwy 97 just south of La Pine. Thankfully, it looked like they had it well in hand when we passed. We went into Sunriver with the hopes of scoring some gourmet ice cream. Alas the line was very long and extremely slow, so we skipped it. On the way back to the rig, Rog saw a DQ and pulled in. Ice cream for dinner! Raney got her first taste and was immediately a fan. Yep, she fits into this family just fine. Lol.

Crane Prairie Lake. Stunning!! 

 

Firefighters contain a blaze near Hwy 97.

Ice cream...oh yes, more please??

On Thursday, 7/14, Rog got up early to do a little fishing (no love and no pics, lol) and hit the grocery store, then we reluctantly moved on from La Pine to a KOA at Lemolo Lake, OR. We hadn’t anticipated having water and electric at the Boondockers Welcome site, so we’d booked three nights at the KOA to get everything cleaned, charged, and the tanks filled or emptied as appropriate before spending 11 days dry camping at Diamond Lake. While the spaces at the KOA are tighter than we like, I have to say the lake is amazing.

Happy for the hook-ups. 

Mommy enjoying some Raney snuggles.

The kids switched bunks. Lol.

Get a mastiff, you'll never shower alone again. Ever. Lol.

Rog took Riley down to the lake around supper time and it was completely deserted. He came back to let us know and we loaded Raney in the stroller for the walk down. Just wow! The kids had a blast and the views of Mt. Thielsen were gorgeous! Raney was a little more confident this time, running back and forth along the edge in the shallows and giving Riley a stern talking to as he played with his ball farther out in the water. Too cute. They both wore themselves out, which was a win for mom and dad. So much, in fact, that we made it our evening routine all three days in the campground.

Gorgeous view of Mt. Thielsen across Lemolo Lake.

Both of the puppers loved the lake.

Raney makes a play for the ball, but Riley isn't sharing. Lol.

She's sticking to the shallows...for now.

Ducks on the water.

Somebody is watching the ducks.

So a funny stroller story. At first Raney wasn’t too fond of being confined to the stroller, but on our third foray down to the lake there was a family with dogs on the beach we’d been using. We found a different spot about 50 yards away. When they left, I figured I’d just push the stroller over and let Raney walk on lead. Instead she made a running leap trying to get into the stroller while I was pushing it! I paused, she scrambled in, and looked very pleased with herself. Why walk when you can ride, eh? 😊

Stroller Princess. Your carriage awaits. :)

Raney explores along the lake before the stroller ride back to the RV.

Little Miss Pudgy Pants was 11 weeks old on Saturday, 7/16, and weighed in at 37.4 lbs. We are still carrying her down the RV steps (going down steps is especially hard on developing puppy joints), so let’s consider that our workout. Lol. Although the heavier she gets, the more uncomfortable it is for both of us. So I think stairs will be in her near future. 

What a chonk. Love her!

Our next stop is an old favorite, Diamond Lake, OR. We’ll meet up with family and friends there for 11 days of camping, kayaking, biking and fishing fun.