Another day at "The Dumps

I wasn't really sure what was going on when the Food Guy woke me up at 7 am this morning, but once he started rummaging around in his climbing pack I knew something fun was about to happen. After I finished eating my breakfast, the Food Guy and I loaded up the mobile dog house and drove up to Blowing Rock to meet Greg, his kids, and Alabama (my doggie friend) so we could get in a little climbing at "The Dumps."

I think the Food Guy really likes that place. He seems to always have a silly grin on his face while we are there.

That Alabama is one goofy dog. We have a lot of fun playing around. Check her out:

The weather was great this morning. It was nice and cool and I was loving the deep, rich smell of the earth up in Blowing Rock when I was digging around for an even cooler spot to nap while the people were climbing.

We got there before anyone else showed up, which was great because there are not a lot of easy climbs around here. Greg and the Food Guy wanted to get Greg's kids on the rope, so we needed to beat the crowd and get to the easier routes. Once we got there, the Food Guy jumped on the sharp end of the rope and got to get a little more lead practice in.

After he got the route set up for top-roping, Greg's kids all did a fantastic job of scampering up the rock while Alabama and I goofed around. The Food Guy and Greg took turns belaying the kids while they climbed.

I think all the people had lots and lots of fun. I know I was loving being outside all morning. We spent a few hours at the easy routes, and then the Food Guy and Greg walked over to another route called "Son of White Trash" to give it a go. But, it wasn't to be. There was another group there, so we'll have to go back next week.

After we finished climbing, the Food Guy and I started making the trek down the mountain to Hickory. I'm out of dog food, and nobody sells my brand of food up here. I know. Ridiculous right?! But, the Food Guy was willing to drive down to Hickory to find a place that has it. Luckily, we found a store about halfway there where the Food Guy could pick up a giant bag of my favorite food. I think we'll have to go hit up the Boone Fork trail for a run later since we saved all that driving time.

Well, y'all have a great rest of the weekend. Hope you got into something fun. We sure did.

Back in Boone

The Food Guy made it back from Denver last weekend, and we managed to make our way back up to Boone. It's been a pretty quiet week around here for me. The Food Guy finally got all moved into his office on campus, so he's been spending some time working. When we lived in Athens, he worked from home all the time, but he's decided that he should probably work in his office now that he actually has a job that will pay him--eventually. Oh, and I should mention that the Food Guy scored us a brand new MacBook Pro this week. His boss twisted some arms and got ASU to kick out with a new computer for him. I really like the new computer. The keyboard is a little bigger than our old one, so it's a lot easier for my paws to hit all of the keys.

It hasn't been all work and no play for us though. We managed to get a few laps in on our favorite running trail- the Boone Fork Trail, and the Food Guy went to a couple of yoga classes. We also got some climbing in this week. The Food Guy and Greg decided to play hooky from work on Thursday to spend the day climbing at a place called "The Dumps." It's a pretty cool spot. It's one of the very few bolted "sport climbing" areas in NC. Since Greg and the Food Guy both lack all the gear needed to climb most of the "trad" routes here in NC, they have to stick to bolted routes or routes they can top rope right now. Plus, the Food Guy hasn't really done much trad climbing, so it'll be a while before he learns how to do it safely anyway. The Dumps is a pretty cool area. It's really close to the road, so I have to stay on the leash while we are there.

I don't mind that too much. I mostly just lay around and nap while the people climb anyway. I just like being outside and adventuring with people. We're laying low this weekend. The Food Guy's a little worn out on traveling at the moment, so we decided to just chill here this weekend. I'm sure we'll head out for a short hike this afternoon and we'll probably head up the boulders in Blowing Rock tomorrow. Then, it'll be back to work. The Food Guy needs to get his classes planned for the fall. He'd better do a good job because we really need the dog food money that he makes by teaching. He also needs to get his act in gear and write a couple of papers. Somehow, I doubt next week will be all work though. I'm sure we'll manage a good adventure or three. I'll be sure to keep y'all posted on the life of an adventurous Yellow Dog.