Traveling on Puppy Time - Cottonwood Canyon

Our drive to Cottonwood Canyon near Wasco, OR was longer, but much smoother and uneventful. Raney spent part of the trip hanging close to Riley and much of it asleep in her crate. We made stops for potty breaks and a quick trip into Fred Meyer. We picked up nail clippers, a harness, and reel leash for Raney. Like most puppies, she takes off at a dead run and gets brought up short by the leash. With just a collar it felt like we were at risk of throttling her, the harness is much safer and more secure. Kudos to the little girl, it took her no time at all to learn to sit still while we put in on her. Now if we could just convince her the leash is not a chew toy. Lol. Working on it.

Hold my paw, big brother. Awwwwww.

Raney snuggling her heggie, a gift from her Gma Mai.

We arrived at Cottonwood in the early afternoon on Monday, 7/4, and set up the x-pen in the shade. Raney was getting much more comfortable with Riley, dancing in circles around him then strafing him and running away. He’s been pretty tolerant, but the looks he gives us are nothing short of pathetic. If we’re reading his expression right, he really wants to know what he did to deserve this. 😊

Getting set up at Cottonwood Canyon.

Is that not a "Why me?" look? Lol.

We’ve been walking Raney on her lead, but the concept of a straight line or going from point A to point B hasn’t quite clicked yet. We are limiting her interactions until she has all her shots, but there's still lots to explore. We let her greet some people walking by our campsite and she ran in circles around an older gentleman, tying him up completely with her long lead. Silly girl. 

Dressed for success in her new harness.

What is this? Nothing here, then tail up and on to the next adventure. 

Raney enjoys an early morning romp while Riley sleeps in.

Come on, Mom!

We did guess right about the peace and quiet here at Cottonwood. Not a single pop, bang or boom. It’s been heavenly. I think we’ve found our happy place for the 4^th of July. Cottonwood Canyon has a lot to offer and we had grand plans for hiking, biking, and fishing. Instead, we are operating on puppy time (and quite happy to do so). If you want to see more of Cottonwood Canyon, check out the blog post from our last visit: Go Around the Bend: Cottonwood Canyon.  It’s beautiful next to the John Day River, where Riley makes frequent pilgrimages to cool off in the water.

Lovely views of the John Day River and surrounding hills.

The river access sign boasts Steelhead, Bass and Salmon.
All we got was pupfish. Lol.

The temps were warm during the day and both the dogs melted into mastiff puddles. They loved laying on a wet towel and each of them has their own fan. Mornings and evenings were cooler and a whole different story. Prime time for Raney is between 8 and 9pm when she goes into feisty puppy mode. We had our first little kerfuffle over a toy. Riley has been a spoiled only for five years and the idea of sharing isn’t coming easy. He’s pretty good about most toys, but he has his favorites that we’re learning will be off limits, at least for now. Both of them really like playing with the cat teaser toys and he roared at Raney when she tried to join in. Lesson learned. He didn’t touch her, but the roar was scary enough. She screamed bloody murder and ran under the coach. She quickly came out for hugs and loves, but gave him side eye for a while. I thought it would take longer to rebuild her trust, but she’s already back to her game of tag the Riley and run, so it doesn’t look like she’ll hold a grudge. (Momma might though. Lol.)  

They get separate playtime with "high-value" toys now. 

Riley enjoys the sprinklers.

Raney has continued to sleep through the night (almost until 7am one morning – woohoo!) and after morning potty, play, and breakfast – it’s nap time. I have to admit the slower pace has been sweet - curled up with a book, listening to puppy snores and struggling not to join them. 

Bunk beds. Lol.

Mastiff snores - better than sleeping pills. 

We took Riley and Raney in her stroller on short walks along the river trail, stopping along the way to let them explore.

A break from the stroller, so everyone can explore.

Riley is getting lots of extra loves and Daddy time.
He needs reassured he's still our best boy.

 We had four nights at Cottonwood Canyon and the time went by quickly. Lots of firsts for all of us as we learn to juggle two puppers needs. I had to laugh, Rog had one rule - no dogs on the bed. This was in response to our earlier pack (2 mastiffs, a great dane mix, and 2 cats) sharing our queen-sized water bed. Can you blame him?  So imagine my surprise and Riley's reaction when he brought Raney back to the bed for a brief morning cuddle. Bad daddy! 😆 We are treasuring every moment, even if it means bending the rules. They just grow up way too fast. Puppies are all about the now – eat, sleep, potty and play. The world is new and that unbridled puppy joy is contagious. We are loving it. 

Bad Daddy, breaking all the rules. Lol.

We moved on Friday, 7/8, to a boondocking spot at the Horse Ridge Trailhead about 15 miles outside of Bend, OR. On the way we stopped in Madras, OR to check out Eagle Bakery. Our friends Bob and Carol have been frequenting the bakery for several years and rave about it. The treats they’ve shared made it a high priority stop. The bakery is run by a Mennonite family, and it did not disappoint! I was raised in Pennsylvania where the Amish and Mennonites are well known for their delicious baked goods. We had very limited freezer and fridge space, so I had to restrain myself, but I still managed to squeeze in a loaf of dill cheese bread, some blueberry lemon bread, snickerdoodles for daddy, and some marionberry cinnamon rolls for me (yes, I shared!). Did I mention the marionberry pie? No? Well, let’s not then. Lol.  To sweeten the deal, there is a free dump station just down the road and we noticed that we could easily walk from the bakery parking lot to Madras Brewing. We’ll be baaaack. 😊

Eagle Bakery in Madras, OR.
So worth the stop! Yummmmm.

Horse Ridge Trailhead is another of those gems we found on our travels and keep coming back to. It’s a large circular gravel parking area adjacent to the trailhead. The trail gets a few hikers and mountain bikers, but by early evening we had the whole place all to ourselves.

Lovely spot for a quiet overnight stop.

Hanging out together on the patio.

Love that face!

Riley got to go off leash and we discovered that hero-worship works for walkies! Lol. Our little “bee on a string” was quite content to follow Riley and we actually did a short walk on the trail.

Who knew hero worship was the key to success?

Everything gets a taste. Lol.

There was a lovely sunset, followed by an equally stunning sunrise. You can thank Raney for the sunrise picture, it wasn’t my intention to be up quite that early. Lol.

A beautiful sunset and...

... a stunning sunrise. 

On Saturday, 7/9, Raney was 10 weeks old and weighed in at 32 pounds. Our gorgeous little chunk muffin. We still won’t let her go down the RV steps yet, so we pick her up and carry her down. Thankful for all those deadlifts our trainer, Robyn, has incorporated into our workouts. Lol. We had a leisurely morning and then headed out for another Boondockers Welcome site near La Pine, OR where we’ll be for the next five days.