broken tail bone

     well I finally talked my pet human Whitty into taking me out again. it's been quite awhile since we went anywhere. last time we went Whitty drove us down to the south Holston dam. he had some family already there when we showed up. we had just arrived when they all decided to go to the weir below the dam. it wasn't far so we loaded back up and drove down there.
      whitty got out his skates and we made a couple trips back and forth on the path. that's where the broken tail bone happened. we were skating along when I saw a couple new buddies I wanted to meet. so I cut across the trail to greet them. well I stopped but Whitty was still going pretty fast and couldn't stop in time. that's when he got tied up in my leash and fell and wasn't able to catch himself and landed in a bad way. he said it broke his tail bone and tried to blame me. I told him I know what that feels like. like when he's up in the middle of the night and without turning on the light goes walking through the house and steps on my tail.
     I have to admit he was laid up for several months afterward. he was really hurting whenever he moved around. I wasn't able to talk him into going out for the rest of the summer. I tried many times but was unable to convince him to go. I tried using the old cold wet nose to the bare ribs. I tried the nudging him. I even tried the sit and stare with the occasional whimper thrown in for good measure. all that didn't work while he sat there in pain.
     well last Monday Whitty got out of work early and he must have gotten better because this time he wanted to go for a run. we went back to the (scene of the crime) weir and here we went. Whitty was even brave enough to put his skates back on. since the time change it's been getting dark early so we weren't able to stay for very long. although we did get in a few laps before it started getting dark.

catchup

 

 

1. well its been a while since I had whitty update my blog. so I figured it was time to catchup  on my postings. I let whitty get by without keeping up the blog because his mom got sick and he had to care for her.
   
2. we did have a few trips to the weir last year. once in April while the weather was cool, once in June as the weather warmed up, once in July and boy was it hot (so we made that a quick run), once in September as it started to cool off. I did see a few of my buddies down there. I didn't get to play much, cause we weren't staying too long. it was still good to see my buddies even though we were in a hurry.
   
    
3. this March I talked whitty into going geocaching. there was a group going for a hike down at the South Holston Dam. I met a few new buddies that brought there pet humans out for a hike. there was about four other dogs there for me to make friends with and play around. several people showed up (about 10 or 15 pet humans) for whitty to make friends with. whitty was able to pick up about 8 or 9 caches as we hiked along the trails.  we must have hiked around 7 or 8 miles all the way out to the spillway. plus a few side trails along the path. whitty told me he was glad I came along so I could help pull him up a few of the hills that were a little bit of a climb. good thing I got 4 paw traction. we both sure were plenty tired when we made it back to the car.
   
4. this little teepee someone put up was one of the sights we passed by along the trails we were on. the lake was down and we got to walk out to one of the islands. during the summer the lake is up and would have had to used a boat or swim to get to. on the way to the island we had to go down a steep hill and whitty wound up falling backward and slid halfway down on his backside. he was alright just slid and got dirt skid marks all over his back pockets. I didn't slide cause my 4 paw traction kept me from sliding. I thought whitty was going to pass me and get to the bottom first. he did get a few laughs out of the folks that went with us when whitty jumped right back up through his arms out and said TAAA-DAAA.......
   
5. well........ that's all I've got to catchup on for now. now if I can keep whitty on task and not get behind on posting our adventures.

christmas day run

1. we now have video up now. it took whitty a while to figure it out. i had to keep on him to get it on here. the video was easy to do but gettin it from there to here took some time. so the video is from back in the summer. whitty would have bundled up more. a lot colder temps now. next we need to get some sound track set to it. any suggestions?
2. so speeking on our christmas day run. me and my pet human whitty would like to wish everyone a merry christmas. we hope santa got around to everyone this year. how many got coal this year? we know at least one that needs coal, but that part comes up later in our story. happy holidays and our best wishes to all.
3. well it was christmas day and we did what everybody does. eat too much then try to sleep it off. i wanted more than that. so i kept putting (as whitty says) my "cold wet nose" up under his arm and nudging him in the ribs til i got what i wanted. to go for a run. it did take several attempts but i got him wrapped around my paw. i knew i would win eventually.

4. it did take time to convince whitty to go and was getting close to sun down. with what time we had we just went down by the river at the weir near our home. we got down there and started getting ready and whitty figured out he had the wrong shoes for his skates so we had to go all the way back home, get the right shoes, turn around, and head back for try # 2. ok now we got what we needed. we hope.
5. we get out whitty gets his skates on and away we go. first thing i need to do is have whitty let me check my p-mail. HAHA. after a bit of skating we walked down to the river for a drink. i think the water was warmer than the air but, it was still very cold. we made a couple more laps and i got to meet some other dogs along the way. but as we got done skating whitty wanted to walk the trail on the island a bit.

6. we started our walk and a dog i had met earlier came back around. it looked like a white shepard type of dog. and he wanted to start a fight. his pet humans didn't have the leash on him. he started nipping me on my back and pulling some fur. whitty tried stop him and he turned and nipped whitty right below the knee (lump of coal for him). no blood but whitty got some good tooth marks on his leg. being christmas day whitty just let it go, besides he should know not to get between two dogs. we'll stay away from him from now on. we did a short walk but the sun started to set so we loaded up and headed home.

last tuesday

1. it's been getting colder but we had a couple of days that warmed up a bit. so i convinced whitty into taking out for some exercise. so whitty took me to the south holston dam for some skating. we parked at the observation overlook, got our gear on, then skated up to the picnic area. we circled around and started back.

2. we passed a group of folks that was going hiking up one of the trails that run through the mountains around the lake. as we started back someone asked if we geocache, they had recognised me and whitty from one of the geocaching events we went to. after chatting whitty realized they were there after a cache we had looked for but came up empty.
3. whitty asked if we could join the group. some of them had a bit of a head start, so whitty took off his skates and up the trail we went. we met the group on their way back. after chatting for a while and a bit of a point in the right direction, we found our target. trees and hills can play havoc with the gps.
4. by the time we hiked back to the picnic area whitty was a bit overheated. it was cool enough for a jacket before the hike, but after hiking up and down the hills whitty was burning up. as it was getting late in the day so we headed back to the car. on the way home we stopped at the river so i could get a drink and for us to cool down a little.

cool weather

1.      boy we had one heck of change in the weather in the last couple of days. fall has arrived. leaves are starting to change. cool mornings. that means one thing time for some hiking. whitty says we need for snakes to den up, its still to warm later in the day and  find snakes out laying in the sun.
2.      it took a while but i talked whitty into taking me to the weir for a short run. whitty grabbed his skates and we took off. it was kind late when we got there but we had an hour or so before dark. that gave us enough time for a couple quick laps.
3.      seems few people were out that evening and no buddies for me to play with. must have been the cold brease late in the day. mabey if i had talked whitty into comming down sooner. i might have seen a few buddies i haven't seen in a while. well------- mabey next time.........

filming

1. well whitty finally talked his uncle into coming down to the weir and filming us. I had fun but it upset my rhythm that I'm used to. me and whitty had to set up the camera and tripod. then whitty would explain to his uncle what we were about to do. so he would know where to point the camera as we came by. then we would go and get into position, then run our path in front of the camera. then see if we got the shot and if we have a do over or not. if not reset at new location and run the next shot ....ect.....ect.....ect.....
2. we got some great shots and whitty is working on getting some clips put on our website. hope to have it up soon. stay tuned...

a bit late

1. well whitty's behind on our postings again, but i can't put all the blame on him this time. i've had him redesigning our blog. we got some new design options so we had to sort and try new elements, some worked some not so good. lots of back and forth. we hope you like the changes. as we go other changes may take place from time to time. sorry for the long absence of postings.
2. whitty has missed two updates to my blog. first we tried to get whitty to Danascus for a meet greet and ride on the creeper trail. we were not aware the whole town had a yard sale that day. aside from whitty being 10 min behind schedual, the traffic was backed up and almost no parking put us near the spot about 20-30 min late. then whitty forgot his printout and we missed the group get together.
3. we weren't going for the ride anyway but missed the event. whitty said it was to far for me to run. i might try to talk whitty into getting me a trailer for a bike so i can ride. just don't tell whitty........ WHOOOOPS!!!!      so we grabbed whitty's skates and looked for some local caches in town. we found a few that day. we had to go just outside the city limits for a earthcache. the creeper trail is just the on the other side of the road from it's location. and a short distance where the App. trail crosses through. lots of hikers were comming into town for supplys. every once in a while i let whitty stop and then i'd let whitty talk with them for a minute while i took a breather.
4. i got too see other dogs out walking their pet humans that day. i made some new freinds and i had lots of fun playing with them. we enjoyed going to Damascus, even though the town was a little crowded.  we skated through town a few times before calling it a day and heading home.
5. a few weeks later whitty came home from work on a thursday. i was telling him that i hadn't been out in a whlile, hadn't seen my buddies in a long time, and i needed to check my p-mail. (tryin to make him feel sorry for me). well it worked and whitty took me to the weir. we pulled in the parking lot and whitty got his stuff ready to skate. not long after we got started it began to drizzle. me and whitty agreed we would run a couple of quick laps before the rain got too bad. as we made our was across the bridge we saw audi-mae and her two pet humans coming out of the trail onto the bridge. me & audi-mae wanted to play but we were all in a hurry to beat the weather.
6. we made it a short trip. although whitty wanted to stop and talkwith folks we passed by. once in a while i let whitty stop and visit. he did meet a guy down there that just so happened to be vice principal at whittys high school while he was there. after a couple laps and getting a little damp we packed it in for the day.
7. tomorrow i'll try to have whitty post about our trip this past saturday. this posting got us up to date except this past weekend.

first run of 2011

1. I finally talked whitty into taking me for a run down at the weir. i think it was on 4-15-11. whitty had got home from work that friday at a bout 4:00. the weather was nice so me and whitty jumped in the car and drove down to the river. it was sunny and warm and we thought that maxx might get to see some of his buddies he haven't seen since last year. when we arrived the parking lot was pretty close to empty. just a few people were out today and we seen no buddies for maxx to play with.
2. we made the best of it we could. whitty got out his skates and we made a few laps across the bridge to the far side of the island and back. after a couple laps me and whitty took a break and walked down to the river. maxx got a drink while whitty took a short break. a lap or two later we were through exercising and loaded back up and headed home.
3. sorry, but it's taken me this long to get whitty to update my blog. then i got him started and we had some storms come through the area. a bunch twisters hit near and around bristol ,tn. we were fine but it knocked out the computers in our house.  i've bee nipping at his heels ever since to get him to post on  my blog. i'll give him a little break 'cause he's been workin overtime and weekends. but i can't let him get too far behind. whitty's only one post late but if i don't keep on him he'll get farther behind.
4. Whitty told me that he has a geocaching event coming up in damascus called caching on the creeper. me and whitty went last year for a meet and greet. a bunch of the people at the event will take off to ride on the creeper. me and maxx hope to go to the event but, we're not going on the ride we plan on staying around town after the meet & greet. the ride is 17 miles from white top back into damascus. whitty said we could hike that far but with whitty riding a bike it's too far for me to run. we will let you know how our day goes.

veterans day 2010

1. fall sure has come and gone quick this year. it went from being in the 90's a few weeks ago to trying to snow this past weekend. there was two or three weeks that i would go out and lay on the porch to enjoy the cooler weather while i soak up some rays. the time just changed back and really getting dark earlier. it makes it hard to get out when it starts getting dark around 5:30 or 6:00.

2. there was a veterans day parade down on state street and whitty had the weekend off. i was able to talk him into taking me to it. it was sunny when we arrived but the temps stayed in the thirties. the shops lining state street didn't give the sun much of a chance to get down to street level.

3.  we met up with some of whitty's family and some friends. this is sandy and hannah, i like hannah she comes over to our house and we play together. they didn't stay long they had to leave early. me and whitty stayed and watched the end of the parade. i liked the marching bands, but some people went by us on big motorcycles with loud pipes. they would rev the motors and the way the sound echoed off the buildings it hurt my ears and i got a little nervous. after they went on down the street i relaxed and enjoyed the rest of it.

4. after the parade had finished i led whitty over to the war memorial. many veterans had gathered there for a short ceremony. we hung around for a little while. whitty took some pictures. finally the cold started to get to us and decided to head back to the car.

long hot summer

1. whew----- it's been one hot summer we have had this year. we had double our usual number of days over 90 degrees. neither me or whitty enjoy getting out side when it gets that hot. plus whitty was out in the garden a lot this year. so all in all we didn't get out as much as we like, but we did get out a few times this summer. i let whitty slide a little on posting on my blog. i had to give him that look to get him to update. so here's a summery.
2. i talked whitty into taking me down to the weir twice this year. whitty took his skates both times. once while we when we someone had set up a portable hot dog stand. there were a lot of people around that day. someone might have brought it for a party or just showed up to sell a few hot dogs. who knows?????? it got a little crowded esp. when we tried to cross the bridge. so we made a couple laps across the island and back. then i took whitty down to the rivers edge. i waded along the river bank while whitty stepped from one stone to another.
3. we went back to the any festival again this year. its held in a field across from the Bristol motor speedway. a stage had been set up in one area and had bands playing all weekend. a bunch of whitty's friends had a campsite set up down the hill next to a creek lined with trees. it offered a bit of shade for us. it was in the mid 90s that day and was still muggy after the sun set.
4. a few dogs came out and i talked whitty into taking me over to play with them. i made a couple new friends. little did i know they were with someone that had set up a booth for spay and neuter. they gave me a bandanna to wear. when whitty told me what that was i took my bandanna tucked my tail and told whitty i was ready to go. i didn't want no part of that!!!!!
5. then on sept. 4th whitty wanted to go to damascus, va. it seems they were having a geocaching event whitty wanted to attend. sort of a meet and greet and afterward some hiked the appalachian trail and some took a shuttle to whitetop and biked back a few had top get back to what they were doing that day. whitty mingled with some of the people that had showed up for the event. i met some dogs that were into geocaching, they carried some dog tags called travel bugs that could logged on the computer.
6. later on the event broke up.so me and whitty went back to his car and grabbed his skates. whitty skated while i pulled him through town. some tree roots had craked the sidewalk in places,so whitty had to watch he not trip on them. it was a really nice day so we took our time. we stopped at a yard sale and whitty chatted with people while i talked to a couple of huskies in their yard through a fence. as we made our way back to the car someone stopped us to ask us how we got started skating the way we do. her dogs might be able to talk her into trying it.
7. the 1st or 2nd weekend this month whitty took me over to his uncle's house. i got to see bobby and tracy again. we played for a few minutes till whitty's uncle got ready to go. whitty's uncle lives near steel creek park. me, whitty, and his uncle all loaded up and drove over to the park. bobby and tracy was going to go with us, but we usually take pretty long walks. they talked themselves out of going, 'cause their short legs can't go that far.
8. we started up a short hill to a spot where there is small cave. we had all been on all the trails there, but this was a short one that led to an upper parking lot. usually we turn before we get to it and go up to the longer hiking trails. we didn't even know it was there till whitty saw a geocache for that spot. leaving from there the three of us made our way back down to the lake.
9. at the bottom of the hill me, whitty, and his uncle stayed on the trail that winds around the lake. it's a nice level walk till you get to the dam. where the trail drops down a short distance about 50 feet down to the bottom of the dam to a creek that flows over to rooster front park. although we decided not to go that quite that far. the three of us might have walked about a mile and half out before turning around and heading out. all in all it was about a 4 mile hike. give or take a little.
10. that pretty sums up our summer. hopefully with cooler weather we can have more chances to get out for more adventures. i'll have to stay on whitty's case and make sure he post our trips as we have them and not go so long between post. i went easy on him this summer because it was so hot and he was putting in some overtime where he works. still i got to keep an eye on him make sure he does it.

long time. no skate

1. this weekend was the first nice day that me and whitty could get out in quite a while. we've had a rough winter this year. cold, wet, and most weekends it was snowing or raining. me and whitty went down to the weir on saturday. lots of people out enjoying the nice weather. we had to be careful crossing the bridge as many folks were on it that we had to pass.
2. i got to see my buddy tucker and we got to play together. several other dogs talked their humans into taking them out for a walk. there was a cute little sheltie at the weir i hadn't seen since last year. i wanted to play with her but she's a bit shy and skiddish.

sled dogs

1. this weekend there was a sled dog race in damascus. saturday me and whitty went over to join in the fun. we got to see alot of huskies most were pulling the sleds. but some dogs just brought their pet humans just to watch. just like me and whitty were doing.

2. it was a reenactment of the 1925 alaskan serum run. this was the forth year they staged this event. it was only the second time me and whitty have gone to it. last time it was really cold but this year it had warmed up. some of the sled dogs had trouble with the warm weather. there bred for alot colder weather.

let it snow

1. well we had the first good snow we've had in about 10 or 12 years. we probly got about 8 or 9 inches of snow friday night. it shut down most everything up the east coast. whitty was enjoying it but i had never seen the snow like this. it was a real hoot to play in. i was having a ball running and jumping in the snow.

2. saturday the snow let up and was down to a light snow. most of the roads were clear so i talked whitty into going for a hike with me down at the weir. we had a great time looking at the scenery. many of the trees were bent over with the weight of the snow.

3. there was a little bit more snow saturday while we were out but it didn't amount to much. it was strangly quiet as we walked along the path. all we could here was our footsteps and the river flowing by. every now and then the stork would fly over and let out a cry that broke the silence.

first snow of the year

1. we had our first snow of the year saturday. we got an inch or two but most of it was gone by that afternoon. there was a little snow left today when me and whitty went for a walk. it was really cold today. the temps were only up into the mid 30's.

2. we stopped by the weir today. whitty did some skating then a short walk around the island. there was quite a bit of wind before the snow fell. it left the path littered with sticks and twigs. whitty had to watch out so not to trip over them while on his skates. later we went to the top of the dam but it had the gate locked.

3. not many folks were out today. most were fishing in the river. i was able to make a couple new friends while at the weir. there were only two other dogs out while we were there. i love summer when i get to meet more dogs but i like winter because whitty takes me to other locations. instead of just going to weir all the time.
4. whitty wants to take me back to bays mtn. next weekend. i hope we get to go but the wind storm we had knocked down a tree there and it damaged a fence that held some wolves. bays mtn. is closed till they get them back in there habitat. whitty wants to go to a geo-caching event at the park to be held next saturday. we'll have to wait and see what happens. if we get to go i'll have more stuff for whitty to post on this site for me.

gettin cold

1. cold weather has really set in lately. almost all the leaves have fallen off the trees.  just about the only green left is on pine trees and the grass. there was a good breaze blowing that made it feel even cooler. all the canadian geese have flown south. there are some small black and white ducks that just show up in the winter months. they are called buffleheads that dive below the water looking for food.
2. when me and whitty got to the weir we started out skating. after several passes along the concrete path whitty took off his skates and took me all the way around the island. as we made our way around the path we saw about five or six deer cross the path. this time whitty was lucky enough to have his camera with him. he got one good picture of a deer but most were in the under brush. we could see them but due to the shadows and the brush most of the pics were dark or blurry. a couple of them were young that was born earlier in the year. we were able to get within a few yards of them but the light wasn't good for photos.

3. not many people out today mostly people fishing. a few dogs talked their pet humans into bringing them to the weir for a walk. i got to play with a dog or three as we made our way around the island. i was hoping more dogs had showed up but as the weather gets colder fewer of them come out and stay inside.

bays mtn.

1. whitty took me on another one of his adventures yesterday. we went to bays mountain in kingsport for some geocaching. we had a great time hiking around the lake. there are almost 40 miles of trails for hiking or bike riding. they have a nice nature center with a planeterium inside. several animal habitats are located in the park. i wasn't allowed to visit them so me and whitty kept to the trails.

2. right below the dam is a waterfall that runs down the side of the dam and under the road. on the other side of the road there is another waterfall with a wooden bridge beolw it. the stream continues down through the valley and over rocks and boulders. whitty could take a thousand pictures or more if we kept folowing the stream but i didn't want to pull him up the hill that far. i talked him out of going too far.
3. as we hiked around the lake we saw where beavers had chewed on several stumps and felled many trees in the area. although we didn't see any beavers it was obvious they were there. they say there are lots of wildlife in the area but other than squirrels we didn't see any. not including the ones in the habitats. it includes deer, otters, wolves, raccoons, bobcats, and several birds.
4. it was feeding day for the wolves. they brought in a deer that had been hit along the interstate. whitty didn't stay for that he says he's seen it before on nature shows. many people crowded around the enclosure to watch.
5. i hope whitty brings me back soon on some more hikes. we were only on a couple of trails. there are many more trails to explore. whitty says we might go back next month.

time change

1. me and whitty sure don't like the time going back. it gets dark way too early. we need to get started alot sooner if we want to get our run in. it's almost dark by 6:00 now. the temperture really drops as the sun starts to set. it was a nice day yesterday so me and whitty went down to the weir. by about 5:30 you could tell a big drop in temperture.
2. there were quite a few folks out trying to enjoy the last few warm weather. i got to play with some of the dogs that brought their pet humans out to enjoy the nice day. a buch of people were fishing. about 6 or 8 were wading in the river fly fishing. 4 or 5 were fishing off the bridge that we passed by as we were skating back and forth.
3. whitty says that i stop at every tree we pass. he wants to keep going and not stop so much. i don't say anything when he's on the computer and checks his e-mail. it's kind of the same thing. i told him that i'm just stopping to check my p-mail. he laughed when i told him that. he thinks it's funny but at least i don't get junk p-mail. hahaha!!!!

bunch o buds

1. it wasn't very crowded yesterday when me and whitty arrived at the weir. although people did start to show up later while whitty was skating with me running ahead of him. there were only one of two dogs out when we showed up but by the time we left there were fifteen or twenty dogs out. audi-may came by and we got to play together. she's always happy to see me and whitty.

2. we saw a couple of people that rescued snousers. they were walking three of them. two they were trying to get adopted. they wanted to socialize them to make them a little better with people and other dogs. one kept barking at me but it didn't bother me. we got to see a sheltie too that came by the weir. she was a bit shy. whitty said he had a couple shelties before i came to live with him. there hyper little dogs. it comes from being sheep dogs. they can run all day.

3. we stayed till almost dark. it's starting to get dark alot earlier now. were going to have to start coming down sooner in the day so we have time to workout. the leaves are in full color now but they are falling quick. we've had a few days of warm weather so me and whitty wanted to enjoy them while they last. as we left we stopped by the canoe launch just as the sun was going down. it's not far from oceola island. there's a path from the island down stream to it.

ups and downs

1. it's warmed back up in the last few days. so i talked whitty into taking me for a run thursday. whitty grabbed his skates and off we went. we stopped at the weir for our run. people that wanted to fish had the same idea. the bridge over the river was crowded. we had to take our time crossing it so as not run anyone over.

2. that blast of cold weather we had earlier this week has really brought out the fall colors. that is unless the wind blows all the leaves off the trees. you can tell fall is here the way the temps go up and down. one day the highs are in the fiftys and a few days later their in the high seventys. we'll try to enjoy all the nice weather we can. it won't be long till cold weather sets in and stays. soon the only green will be the pines and all the other leaves will be brown.

3. we'll be going for our hikes soon. we're waiting for the snakes to den up. on warm days thay'll be out sunning themselves on the trails. we just need to wait so we don't run across them while we're out hiking. some of the places we go it would take an hour or more to get back out. don't want to get bit that far back in the woods.

rainy and cold

1. it's been raining for several days. well friday it finally stopped so while we had a chance me and whitty went for a walk around oceola island. it was too wet from all the rain to skate so we just went for a walk. it's really starting to turn cold. the temp friday only got into the fortys. all the leaves are going to fall before they all turn if it don't quit raining so much.

2. whitty took his camera with him as we hiked around the island. we seen a few squirles along the way. out in the river was a crane or heron. we don't know the difference. we didn't see any deer this time although whitty was hoping to see them. it seems we only see them when we don't have the camera with us. i think they can tell somehow.

3. while we were crosing the bridge there was a lady fishing out in the river. she happened to slip and fall in the river. we started to go help her but she was able to get up by herself. she just went back to fishing. we know the water is freezing even in the middle of summer. whitty says it would take him three days to warm up if he did that.

fall cometh

1. whitty took me back to the weir for a run. this is the first time we been back down here since whitty fell on the sidewalk. he did get sore for a couple of days. mostly his shoulder took the brunt of the soreness. he said it wouldn't stop him.
2. fall is really starting to set in around here. acorns were falling all around us as we skated. the path was covered in places with acorns. the leaves are starting to turn and in a week or two it'll really be in full color. there were alot squirels around today picking up the nuts to store for winter. the paths were covered in spots where the nuts had fallen. most of them on the walkway were crushed as people walked around.
3. whitty wants to go through the mountains. he might take me on the appalachian trail. whitty and his uncle been wanting to go from where it crosses to damascus. it's a long walk but mostly downhill. we'll probly wait till the snakes start to den up. we don't want to mess with any snakes. most aren't poisonous but we rather not take the risk if we can avoid it.
4. it's been pretty cool out of the morning but warms up into the seventys during the day. it hasn't frosted yet but it wont be long now. we're thinking about going for a hike at steele creek park later this week. we'll be going around the lake and mabey we'll go on some of the trails while there. they have a few miles of trails up on the hills surrounding the lake. we wont go on all of them but were planning on a few short trails to loosen us up for the longer hikes as it gets cooler.

geo-cache

1. whitty took me to the top of south holston dam today. he was on one of his scavenger hunts called geo-caching. there was a couple over the dam he hadn't gone looking for yet. he thought i would enjoy going with him.
2. first we did some skating . we started at the observation deck up around the picnic area down and across the dam and back to the car. we just made one trip around today. while we were skating a police officer saw us and said that what we were doing was the trick. whitty catted with him as we were making our rounds. we passed him several times as while we were there. whitty commented that they should train the police dogs to do what we do. he said thier patroles would take half the time.
3. then we walked up to the pinic area. that's where the caches were located. the first one was just a few feet into the tree line. it was hidden in a good spot that wasn't too hard to find but covered by leaves. that made it hard to spot but we had good clues to find it.
4. the second cache was up a trail on top of a hill. whitty wished he had his hiking sticks with him. i have four paw drive so i wound up pulling him up the hill. whitty really liked me helping him go up hill but didn't care that much for it on the way back down. he has to use his brakes twice as much. it took about twenty minutes to get to the top of the hill where the cache was hidden. it only took ten to make it back down.
5. both of us were pretty wore out when we got back from the scavenger hunt. we made our way back to the car. then we stopped by the river on the way home so i could get a drink from the river. we stayed for a while and walked over the bridge to the othe side of the island and back before heading home.

down fall

1. we had a really nice day out today. i was able to talk whitty into taking me down to the weir for a run. whitty got his skates out and we made about six trips across the river and back. i got to play with a couple of dogs while witty chatted with their pet humans. not very many dogs out today for me to play with though.
2. we were doing pretty good untill whitty took a bit of a spill on the sidewalk. he fell as we made our way through a corner at the kiosk near the overlook. he landed on his chest and smacked his chin on the concrete. we were going too fast for him to stop. he laid on the walk for a couple of minutes and shook his head to clear the cobwebs. he took a pretty good shot to the chin and it addled him. he said that it did hurt a little bit. i bet he'll be sore tomorrow.
3. a lady whitty had been talking to a short time earlier saw him hit the ground. i think she was ready to call 911 and give them the 411. she was sitting in her car waiting on a friend that was hiking around the island. she offered to get help if whitty was hurt.whitty said that he hurt his pride more than anything. she had to use a cane to walk with but said that she could go get someone.
4. whitty said that he was ok but had a bit of a headache. he thanked her for offering to get help. whitty said no blood no foul. although he kept checking to see if he had skent the hide off his chin. the ribs on his right side took a beating when he fell. i don't think he broke anything but he might have some bruises later.

cool weather

1. it's really cooled off in the last week. the leaves should turn soon we hope. it was a really nice day out so me and whitty decided to get out and go to the weir. there were a few clouds out but mostly sunny. whitty got his skates out and we skated across to the other side of osceola island and back four or five times.
2. after we did that whitty took me for a walk around the island. this time we went all the way around. the full mile and half of the trail. it was a good workout we had today. the skating and the hike tired us both out. the trail is mostly level so it wasn't too bad of a walk.
3. i got to see some buddies i hadn't seen in a while and got to meet some new ones. whitty got to chat with a few people. one guy told us about geo caching. it's a game you play using a gps. where people hide items then others try to find them. sounds pretty cool. the guy said there were items all over osceola island. when we got back whitty went to the web site and found more than a dozen between our house and the south holston dam. one is within walking distance.
4. we'll let ya'll know how the geo caching turns out. whitty says there's a bunch at steel creek park. sounds like a good adventure is coming up as fall comes in.

dog walk

1. me and whitty heard that on sunday there was going to be a dog walk-run event at winged deer park in johnson city. at first it was going to be held on saturday but it was changed to sunday. we went down about noon on sunday. we only seen two or three people there when we arrived. none of them even heard about the dog run-walk. a few dogs showed up later with their pet humans afterwards.
2. whitty got his skates out and we made our way around the track three or for times. after a few trips whitty noticed a sign not allowing skating or bikes. so we made or way back to the car and whitty put his skates up and we walked around the track a couple of more times. i noticed a trail that went off into the woods and talked whitty into checking it out. we hiked a short way up the trail and circled around back to the parking lot.

3. the trail split and went differnt ways but we didn't go to far. we didn't have a map or know where or how far they went. we kept the hike short because we started out tired from skating and walking the track around the ball feilds. what we saw of the trails it seemed like they were really nice. we may go back and check them out and see where they lead to.

4. i did get to meet a couple of other dogs and play with them. but their pet humans hadn't heard about the dog walk either. whitty was expecting i would have a lot of new buddies to play with. i hoped that more had showed up. we had a lot of rain this week leading up to sunday. that may have kept some home thinking it still might rain. no rain but a lot of wind on sunday.

5. on the way out we stopped and saw some land marks and an old log house. whitty took a few pics i thought he should share with you. whitty wants to come back when the leaves start to change. should make for some nice  pics.