Food Guy Guest Spot 3- Old friends & a run

Saturday started off with breakfast with some old friends from back in the Gorge. I think it's been at least 3 years since I've seen Chris and Leslie. They were headed over to Bozeman from Missoula to ski at Big Sky today, so they stopped by and picked me up for some breakfast. It was great to see them, catch up, and get the inside scoop on living in Montana.

After Chris and Les took off, I went on a real estate tour with some local agents and checked out the housing scene. Things look pretty good here. When that was finished, I strolled around downtown for a couple of hours to get a better feel for the place. Gotta say, I love it here. Next, took off for a run at Peete's Hill. It's a sweet park where lots of kids were sledding and fellow weirdos were out running- most with their dogs. On my way I passed this dog, who told me to tell Yellow Dog, "This is how we roll in Montana!"
The run was pretty sweet. The views of the mountains were not so clear because it's been snowing since last night, but it was still a sight to see.
I ran for just about an hour. I didn't really pack enough clothes to go for a long run here. I really needed an outer shell and something to cover my face when the wind is going strong. Not that I'm fast enough to make it windy. I stopped here and there to take some photos, check the view, and pet a dog here and there. Yellow Dog would love it out here!

I need to catch up on some work email, then I 'm going to head back downtown to check out the Christmas stroll. Did I mention that I like it here?

Food Guy Travel Guest Spot 2

It's been a fantastic trip to Bozeman so far. The weather here isn't quite what I expected. The temperatures are much, much colder than I thought I'd see this early in the winter. The good residents of Bozeman have assured me that it's been a little colder than normal. The good news is that -4 doesn't really feel as bad as it sounds. You know how people are always talking about dry heat? Well, I experienced that this summer, and it's true. It's kind of shocking that it also applies to the cold. Dry cold isn't nearly as bad as the type of cold we have in the Southeast. I went for a run this morning even though the temperature was 7. I know what you're thinking: What kind of idiot goes running when it's 7?! Well, those of you who know me know the answer to that question. It wasn't bad at all though. It was cold, but not bone-chilling cold. I took some pictures on my run. I had to stop by the bench with the statue of Walt Whitman that sits outside of the English department here at Montana State. Couldn't resist the urge to play literary tourist (yes, I'm nerd).

The views here are surreal. The mountains in the background look like something out of Hang 'em High or The Outlaw Josey Wales.

I kept waiting for someone on a horse with a cigar stub hanging out of his mouth to show up and tell me that there are better ways to get around than running. But, it didn't happen. I even passed a few fellow addicts who were out getting their morning fix.

It's amazing how many people were out at 7:30 in the morning running through the snow in 7 degree weather. It appears, I think, that Bozeman is my kind of place. I haven't even gotten to paddle any of the creeks or find any of the good trails to run or ride, and I'm already convinced that you could spend a lifetime here without doing all the things you could do without driving more than 2 hours. What a concept!

I finished up the formal part of the job interview process for the trip today. I'm pretty happy with how things went. It was a mad scramble to put together my teaching demonstration and research presentation, but I think that both of them went well. The faculty in the English department here are a really interesting group. Everyone is very nice, incredibly smart, and easy to talk to. Most have outdoor interests and are generally happy, fun people. I had dinner tonight with a prof who's been teaching here since 1966. Yes, 1966. This guy had a student several years ago who was the grandson of a former student of his. I was amazed at how well read he was. We talked about books the entire time and I was in awe of his ability to discuss any book. Amazing really.

I'm excited to see some of my friends from back in the Gorge tomorrow. Chris and Leslie moved out to Missoula a couple of years ago, and they are coming over to Bozeman to ski tomorrow. I am doing a real-estate tour and then hanging out with a couple of profs in the evening, so no skiing for me. But, it'll be great to catch up with Chris and Leslie in the am, then go for a run in the afternoon. I think it's going to be snowing. I'll try to take some pics to put up here. It feels strange to be on a trip without Yellow Dog, and I miss home and my friends. Hopefully, I'll be able convince people to move out here if I get this job. I know YD will love it out here. I sure do. The town is really cool, and this job- well, I couldn't have dreamed up a more perfect job.

Food Guy Travel Guest Spot 1

The Yellow One asked me to write a couple of guest spots while I'm on my trip to Bozeman this week. He's happily chillin' in the ATL while I'm off trying to find a job so I can buy him lots of dog bones and dog food.

Right now I'm sitting the airport in Salt Lake because Delta once again failed to get me to a connecting city on time.

On my last trip, I got to spend a night in Houston while I was trying to get to Salt Lake. It's only fitting that I spend some extra time here in SLC this time. It's no worries, though. SLC has free wifi and I have lots of work to do anyway. I'll catch my new flight to Bozeman at 8:30 and be there in time to grab some sleep before my interview with the good folks at Montana State begins in the morning. Hopefully, I'll have some good news to report and get to go on a little adventure before I catch my flight home Sunday morning. I'll let y'all know what's happening here in the wild west.

Home Again

I'm pretty happy to be back home and sleeping in my dog-bed again. I had a great time hanging out at the Lake with Food Guy's parents, but I was a pretty happy Yellow Dog when he picked me up yesterday. He looked pretty tired from being at the Conference in Philly, but he told me it was a great trip. He got to catch up with lots of folks and talked to people about jobs. He said that the interview with the people from Montana State went well, and hopefully we'll find out soon if he's going to be heading up to Bozeman for an on-campus interview. He also met with some professors from New Paltz, and he said that place sounds pretty sweet. As if that's not enough, he got to have dinner with people from his old stompin' grounds in Western NC and that went pretty well too. He found out today that he's on the short list for the job there. All pretty amazing options! Sounds like a good week to me. Things are looking good from him being able to buy me lots of dog bones next year.

The only exciting new I have from my trip is the little swim I went for. I was playing on the dock- jumping back and forth from the dock to the boat, and I missed the dock. It was SO scary. Y'all know I don't like to swim at all. I'm a dog not a fish! Anyway, I couldn't get out of the water. They had to pick me up and pull me out. I don't think I'll be doing that again. I'm all recovered now though, and I did get a bath out of the deal. I really like baths in case you didn't know that.

Well, that's about it from here. Food Guy is about to get back to work, so I'd better run. Stay tuned for more adventures. Food Guy and I are heading up to the mountains on Wednesday to hang out for a few days. Should be sweet!

YD takes a Lake vacation

Greetings from the Lake, y'all. Food Guy had to go to a conference this week, so I'm staying with my Grandparents. Should be pretty sweet. A couple of Food Guy's friends from school (Eric and Klaus) showed up at our house yesterday morning so we loaded up the mobile dog house and got rolling north. I slept for a couple of hours and then woke up to the strangest smell. We were at the Waffle House! I knew I was probably going to see my Grandparents sometime soon, which means one thing: sweet, sweet dog bones. Well, it also means laying on the couch and watching some TV too. I'm pretty sure that the Food Guy's dad has a never-ending supply of dog bones. Gotta love that. Kind of makes up for the fact that I couldn't go to Philly with Food Guy and his friends. Can you believe the downtown Marriott in Philly doesn't allow dogs?! Silly! Personally, I think everyone should boycott that place.

Anyway, I'll be chillin at the Lake all week while Food Guy is up on Philly working. Oh, and in case you weren't sure- Thanksgiving is coming up. What a great time to pick up an extra large bone for a Yellow Dog to play with if he happens to show up at your house.

It's been a while, but I'm a busy Yellow dog

I know it's been a while since I had a chance to get my paws on the keyboard, but I've been a pretty busy Yellow Dog this last month. The Food Guy and I have had lots of big adventures lately. I'll do my best to fill y'all in while the Food Guy takes a break from all the work he's been doing between our adventures. As you can see from the pics, we've been up to our old tricks of traveling every chance we get. Food Guy has been pretty busy during the week working on his dissertation and getting job applications out. The biggest news we have on that front is that Food Guy has an interview with Montana State coming up at the end of the month. He's pretty excited because this is pretty much his dream job. It's in the English department in what looks like a pretty amazing place to live-Bozeman Montana. I think a Yellow Dog could have a pretty good time in a place like that. I hear it snows a lot, and y'all know I really dig the snow- hee hee pun intended. I know, I know, bad joke. But , hey it was too easy. We also found out today that one of papers the Food Guy wrote got accepted for publication. Now, that won't buy me any dog bones, but it does go a long way to getting him a job, which means money to buy dog bones and go on trips. I like that.

In other news, we went to the ATL a few weeks ago, so Food Guy and Reeve could do the annual suffer-fest that is the Mystery Mountain Marathon. Check out the elevation profile on this bad boy:

I'm glad I got to stay at Reeve and Rinne's to hang out with Java and the rest of the doggie crew that day. That's not a run for a Yellow Dog. The boys turned in a good time and we're quite pleased with themselves when they got home.

Our next adventure was the most amazing day of trail running and hiking in the Cohuttas. The views there are amazing. I had so much fun running up and down the trail. It was awesome. I think that's my new favorite place. Check out these views:

There was even Rhyme on the trees up at the top of the mountain off the tearbritches trail. It was quite possibly one of the most beautiful places Food Guy and I have ever been.

Reeve and the Food Guy had planned on running a 50K, but that got canked because Reeve and Rinne's baby showed up a little early on the early side. That was a pretty wild story. I'll spare you the details, but Rinne woke Food Guy up at 3:30 am to drive them to the hospital a couple of Saturday nights ago. Crazy little baby Pearse wanted to get out in the world. So, I looked at them like they were crazy for getting up at the hour and went back to sleep. A few days later little Pearse showed up and Food Guy's an Uncle. Rinne was cool enough to tell Reeve and Food Guy to go to the race the next weekend for a bit even though she and Pearse had just come home from the hospital the night before the race. Everyone was so happy that she was healthy and home that Reeve and Food Guy happily cut their run short to get Reeve back home.

We also made a trip up to Tallulah and Panther Creek this week. This place is always a good spot to go for a walk in the woods. There are lots of open spaces where I can sprint around like a crazy dog. Check me out doing my best crazy wolf impression.

Well, I'm kind of tired now. Thinking about all of our adventures has worn me out a little bit. Plus, Food Guy just came back over the computer and he wants to do some more work. Somebody should tell that guy to go to sleep. I tried to tell him, but he keeps saying something about having to get his dissertation written, so we can go back out West for some more adventures this summer. Y'all keep your fingers crossed for us on the job front.

YD goes to Chattaboogie

The Food Guy and I had an especially good weekend this weekend. Two of Food Guy's best friends got married in Chattanooga on Saturday, so we loaded up the mobile doghouse and hit the road on friday morning. Man, what a weekend we had!

We rolled into town Friday afternoon to help set things up for the rehearsal and then the Food Guy took me to the house where we were all staying. It was really hot outside, and Food Guy made me stay outside. Now, y'all know I like to do my lounging in comfortable places, so I was a little confused when I had to stay outside. But Food Guy said no dogs were supposed to be in the house. Lucky for me everyone else staying in the house said I just HAD to come inside. So, Food Guy agreed to let me go inside, and boy, it was great! There were like 10 people staying in the house and some of my new friends had little kids. You know I like playing with kids. Mostly because they are always so happy to see me, but also 'cause they tend to drop people food on the ground. And, Food Guy NEVER lets me eat any people food. It was awesome! Plus, there was someone to pet me ALL the time, which is good. I mean, what else are people for?

The weekend got even better saturday morning. We went over to Sunset to go for a trail run. It was raining like you wouldn't believe, but that just made it more fun. After the run, Food Guy and the Sams ran around putting up balloons so people could find their way to the wedding (I took a nap). Then, the real fun began. Well, at least that's what I heard. I slept at the house while all the people went to the wedding. From the photos, it looks like they had a really good time. Check out Sam with the Bridesmaids:

Things couldn't have worked out better for the wedding. The rain went away and the sunset was amazing.

Food Guy says the wedding was perfect and everyone had lots of fun. After the reception, Sam S. took Sam and Rebecca away in this super-sweet bike taxi:

Then, Food Guy and everyone went back to the house to continue the party. Matt and Greg played music while people took turns giving me lots and lots of attention. The Food Guy says I'm one spoiled dog, but really I just think that's how it should be. Don't ya think?

We finished up the weekend with a fun climbing adventure at Leda. I love going on climbing trips. I get to go for walk in the woods and hang out with all the people. The whole gang was there. Rebecca's parents even came, and her pops is no slouch on the sharp end of a climbing rope. Her mom even scales the rock like spiderwoman. Cool stuff! I mostly just hung out and watched Sam, Sam, Rebecca, and Steph climb way up wall like it was nothing. I don't know how they do it. I like to just stay on the ground and watch. Food Guy struggled up one of the climbs and seemed pretty pleased that he made it.

All in all, it was one of the best weekends we've had in a while, which is saying something because Food Guy and I lead a pretty charmed life. Good friends, good adventures are all a Yellow Dog and his Food Guy can ask for. Everything else is just gravy (or the stuff that goes on top of my food to keep me from shedding too much). Food Guy's friend Steven says that our life is one big scam because we're always going off on adventures. Food Guy and I have to agree. But, hey, why not? Life's too short not to go everywhere you can.

Well, y'all have a good week. Food Guy's gonna be working non-stop this week writing that silly dissertation of his. So, you know there's no chance I'll get my paws on the keyboard for a while. But, stay tuned- you can always bet that they'll be a new adventure coming up for us soon.

Another Adventure

Hey everybody. The Food Guy just picked me up from another great stay with my ATL peeps, Jen, Zozo, & Sug. He decided he needed a break from all his work, so he took a trip out to Utah to do a little climbing and hiking. I was a little bummed when he told me he was flying out there, which meant I couldn't go. But, when he told me I was going to stay with my ATL crew, I was pretty psyched.

Anyway, we just got home and Food Guy's cleaning all his gear, so I figured I give y'all a little update before he gets back to work. He's been grading papers all day on the plane, so I don't think he'll mind me getting my paws on the keyboard for a few minutes.

The trip sounds like it was pretty sweet. After a short hike up to a place called Ruth Lake, Food Guy and his friend found a sweet spot to camp. There was some stuff on the ground that you might call snow, but out West they say it's just some sleet. I don't know it looked pretty cold. Food Guy had to dust off his survival skills and get a little fire started using some Bear Gryls skills.

Then, he pieced together a little groundcloth out of the plastic bags he brought with them. Notice the whole in one of them?

That's 'cause he had to wear a trash bag for a rain coat. He figured he didn't need one since he was going Utah, so he left it in the truck. Not smart. It rained, then there was sleet, then some hail. Pretty crazy. But all in all, the weather was nice. Mostly sunny, cool, and not humid at all. Sounds like paradise to me. After a fun night in the Uintas, there was long trek back to the trailhead. Not really a direct route. I heard there was a little getting lost and some hitchhiking involved, but hey, not all who wander are lost, right? Food Guy got to go climbing in Big Cottonwood Canyon on Sunday. Sounds pretty sweet to me. I hear they don't allow dogs in that canyon because it's the watershed for Salt Lake City, but I'm sure if I was there we would have gone somewhere else.

Check out the view from the campsite. Not too shabby, eh? I think I would have really liked it out there. Hopefully, I'll get to go out there this summer. With a little luck Food Guy will land this job in Bozeman, Montana that he's applying for. Then, I'll get to go on all kinds of new adventures out West.

A run in Graham county and a whole lotta work

Greetings, y'all. It's been a busy month since the Food Guy got back from his trip. He's been working more than a food guy should work. Really, he has. I know. I know. Can you really call reading books, drinking coffee, writing, and talking to people about their classrooms work? Maybe. Maybe not . Food Guy seems to enjoy it, so we're not complaining. We did sneak out of Athens last weekend to head up to NC for a fun weekend of running and paddling. We drove up there and met Reeve and Rin at Silvermine on Friday night. Reeve, Food Guy, and me took our buddy Brian for a run on the Flint Ridge trail Saturday morning. It was awesome. I love that trail. Brian hasn't done any running in a long time, but he did really well. We're hoping to suck him into the stupid activity that is trail running. He'd be a great addition to our group of people who like stupid hobbies. Then, Reeve and Food Guy went paddling while I took a nap. See, I really am a smart dog.

Then (insert scary music here) Sam and Sam arrived from Chattaboogie. If you don't know Sam Squared, well, you're really missing out. The Sams are two of the most ridiculous athletes around. They're straight sick in the head. I think that's why Food Guy and Reeve like hanging out with them so much. Sunday morning we loaded up in the truck and headed to Graham county for a run along Snowbird Creek. It was really nice out. Not too hot (I do wear a yellow fur coat, so that's important) and not too cold. Not too cold is good too since we had to cross the creek like 50 times. Ok, maybe not 50. But I'm not a swimmer. I like to DRINK water. Not swim in it. The run started off pretty mellow. Sam S. got a little car sick riding in the bed of the truck with me and Java, so he didn't push the pace until about 4 minutes in. Then, he took off like a shot. The rest of us just did our best to keep the Sams in our sights as we went up the trail. As always, the run was harder than advertised. It was a Reeve activity, so that's always how it goes.

We had a lot of fun on the run, and then we went back to Silvermine to have some good dinner. I slept while Food Guy, Reeve, and the Sams cooked up their next big (read: stupid) adventure. Those guys have issues. I heard them talking about things like riding bikes from Bryson City to Chattanooga and then running back or some stupid thing like that. You know we do have more civilized ways to travel. Java and I have that all figured out. See:

Overall it was good weekend. The only downside was that my Dawgs got their butts kicked by Oklahoma State. Lame!

This week, Food Guy and I have mostly been chillin here in Athens. He's been teaching, doing research, and getting job application stuff ready to send out. I really hope he gets a job somewhere cool. I want to go live somewhere fun, and I'll get more dog bones if he has a job. We've been doing some good runs everyday here in Athens, and I've been catching up on my sleep. We spent most of this weekend here in Athens. Food Guy had to catch up on some work, and he went to watch the Dawgs beat South Carolina yesterday. Not a bad weekend at all.

Well, that's about it for now. We should have some more big adventures soon.

Food Guy Goes West

So the Food Guy came rolling back into town to pick me up late, late saturday night. He had some pretty good stories to tell about his trip out to Utah. He and his buddy Brian took off from Charlotte a couple of weeks ago and drove straight through to Colorado. I'll let him tell the story 'cause he and I just got back from a long run and I'm tired. So, take it away Food Guy.

Yup, Brian and I jumped in his giant Dodge and started heading west. We were too amped up to sleep at first, so we both stayed awake. That turned out to be a bad idea. By the time we got to Kansas we were pretty shot. So we went ahead and slept in a rest area for two hours. When we woke up we noticed this crazy marker- just in case we didn't know where we were we had this sign to let us know we were in the heartland- or armpit depending on who you ask- of America.
We sucked it up and got back on the road because we knew there were better things down the highway. We rolled into Colorado in time for lunch with one of Brian's buddies who just happened to be flying into Denver. We spent the night chillin in Colorado and then set off for Utah. Man, what a beautiful place.

We put on the Green River at a place called Sand Wash and prepared to spend the next week floating along, hiking, and just generally being glad to be in the Wilderness. There were some really cool rock formations along the way. Check this one out:

The river was pretty chill. Only a few real rapids, but it was lots and lots of fun. I spent a couple of days cruisin' along in Brian's kayak and a couple of days hangin' out in the raft paddling through what the locals call "the upstream W" or as we called it "that damn" wind. I met some cool folks from Salt Lake, and they assured me the wind wasn't as bad as it could be. Whatever, it sucked to be paddling a raft through it. But, I did get to row one of the big boats one day. We tied the kayak and the paddle raft to one of the big boats and took turns rowing away. It was a lot of fun.

All in all, it was one of the most amazing trips I've ever been on. I brought a copy of Walden and Edward Abby's book Down the River. How funny is it that the first essay in that book was "Down the River with Henry David Thoreau"? Crazy, huh? I thought so. Especially since Abby wrote that essay while he was floating down the Green back in the day. It was great to contemplate the wonders of the western wilderness with Abby and HDT echoing in my mind. Mostly, I just enjoyed hanging out with great friends- new and old- and being away from work, my crackberry, and my computer. I never thought I'd consider living out West, but now I'm giving it serious thought. I love the southeast, but there's something compelling about the big mountains and vast spaces out there. I guess the job market will determine where I end up. Who knows? I sure don't. All I know is I'll be heading back out west next time I'm ready for an adventure. Only next time I'll be prepared for the hell that is driving though Kansas and I'll be bringing YD with me. He'd love it out there.

Filling the Post-Tour Void

Now that the Tour is over it's tough to know what to do all morning around here. Don't get me wrong, me and the Food Guy watched Sportscenter a couple of times this morning. But, it's always a sad couple of days when the Tour ends. So, me and the Food Guy spent most of the day getting packed for his trip to Utah. I helped the Food Guy figure out what he needed to bring, and I also supervised him as he got all of my stuff together. I made sure he packed me plenty of food and extra dog bones. Then, we settled in to watch some TV:

It was a pretty nice, relaxing day on the couch. Since the Food Guy decided that we should try to officially enjoy summer instead of working today, he went to the video store and rented us season two of the show Arrested Development. It's such a great show- even though there aren't any dogs on it. At least not yet. Maybe they got smart and introduce a dog character in season three. Who knows? I guess we'll have to rent the next season to find out. Either way, I'm not too worried about it. Anytime I can convince the Food Guy to take a little break from working and hang out on the couch, I'm happy. We had a pretty nice day of watching the Bluth family blunder around on the picture box. We also took a bunch of good walks on the trails behind our house. All in all, I have to say I like summer a lot.

Chillin with Sage

The Food Guy and I went back over to Sage's house so he and Sage's Food Guy (Bob) could do some more work on the porch today. The got some good work done and Sage and I mostly just chilled out and played tug of war with a cool rope toy that Sage has. It was lots of fun. I'm so tired from playing that I need a nap though. I figured I'd post that pic I promised y'all before I went took another nap. The Food Guy and I have to rest up to watch the last stage of the Tour tonight. Check out Sage-- he could be my dogcousin:

Manual Labor Anyone?

The Food Guy and I have had a pretty nice week just chillin' out here in Athens. Food Guy got some good work done, and I got lots of couch time in. We've spent lots and lots of time watching The Tour on TV in the mornings. That was followed by some good walks on our trails before the Food Guy headed out for his ride each day. We've spent the last couple of days at the Food Guy's Major Professor's (Bob) house working on a porch. Well, the Food Guy and Bob worked while I hung out on the porch with the Bob's dog Sage. Sage is a cool old dog. He's a pretty good lookin' fella. I'll have to get the Food Guy to get a picture of us to post sometime. He looks like me only smaller and he has a white blaze on his doghead. Sage is really chill. He mostly sleeps but he plays with me a little bit and lets me play with all of his toys while he sleeps.

It's been a pretty fun time. I like watching the Food Guy work. He cracks me up. He smashes his thumb once in a while just to make me laugh. I think it's good for him to do a little manual labor sometimes. I think it helps him to remember why he likes writing and sitting around drinking coffee so much. Plus, I think it's good for the Food Guy and Bob to work on stuff outside of school. They seem to have a lot of fun talking about baseball instead of school stuff. You can't really get to know someone if all you ever talk about is academic stuff. We do have to let it slide that Bob is a Phillies fan, though.

Well, I'm tired out from playing with my new buddy Sage and watching the Food Guy work, so I'm going back to sleep. Besides, we have to get up early to watch the last stage of the Tour get started before we head over to Bob's to finish up the porch. Y'all have a good one.

Home again

Hi, everybody! I'm back. The Food Guy did an OK job with the blog while he was out West, but now I'm back. He's pretty tired from having so much fun out there. I was pretty happy to see the Food Guy when he picked me up last night. It was a little late though. He didn't get to Jen's until like midnight. I mean, I was all ready to settle in for a good night's sleep when he got there. I was pretty tired from having so much fun last week. The Food Guy and I rolled into Athens at 2:30 in the morning. I slept the whole way home, and I jumped right in bed when we got home.

Last week was a lot of fun though. I got to hang out with Jen, Zozo, and Sug. They're so much fun! I got to go for a couple of runs by the river at Sope Creek. I spent lots and lots of time playing in the yard, and I even found some new, fun ways to pass the time outside. I learned how to dig. Me and Zozo and Sug had lots of fun digging in the yard. We got caught the first time, but then Zozo taught me how to clean my paws off so I'd look innocent. She's such a smart doggie. She tries to hide how smart she is. She acts like she's just a lazy fuzzy bear, but she's really as smart as Sug-- and you know Sug can read books. That's pretty smart. I had so much fun with my ATL peeps that I almost forgot the Food Guy was gone. Jen let me sit on her lap as much as I wanted to, and she didn't get mad at me when I thought the sprinkler was a dog toy. I even made a new friend, Bella. She's a sweet doggie. She's drinks water like I do, which means that she drinks a lot of water and tries to get as much on the floor as she can. She also likes to play with lots of toys at once. We played and played and played and played. I think we made Sug tired from how much we ran around.

I really do like going on adventures, but I think the Food Guy and I are both pretty happy to have a little bit of time to chill here in Athens. I think we're gonna stay close to home for a little while. It is July, which means we need to be able to watch the Tour every day! But I'm sure we'll go on a big adventure pretty soon. I'll keep y'all posted!

Last Day in Tahoe

Hey everybody, Yellow Dog told me to go ahead and write one more post since I'm still out West and he's too far away from the keyboard to get his paws on it. Today was the last day of the writing retreat in Tahoe. Angela and I got our work done in the morning so we decided to skip out before our presentation with some folks from Clemson to go parasailing. I've always wanted to try it, and I wasn't disappointed at all!

The view was amazing!

It was probably the windiest day of the whole trip, so it made a lot of sense to get out and do something that would be fun in the wind, right? Right. Much better than working ALL day long. We snuck out a few minutes before lunch feeling a lot like high-schoolers sneaking out of school to go drink some beer before the football game. Not that I would know anything about doing something like that. But, I've heard stories.

We got down into town quickly and hooked up with a boat to take us out. We got right up in the sky and enjoyed the beautiful day

The guides were great. It was pretty funny listening to the "trip talk" instead of giving it. I had to laugh at the jokes about only losing a couple of people a season. I've told a few of them myself to the poor souls that sat in my rafts to go down the Ocoee.

I was most impressed with how well these guys got the chute ready for us. They were right on top of the customer service skills. They would have made great ERA guides back in the gorge.

Well, this has been a great trip. I didn't sleep a whole lot while I was out here. I didn't want to miss a second of all the good stuff there was to do here out in Tahoe. I could get used to this weather. It was 45 or so in the mornings and never really got above 75 in the afternoon. I wish I had my bike out here. The riding would have been amazing. But, I would not have gotten any work done at all, which would have been bad since the folks at the National Writing Project were kind enough to fly us out here to work. I met some great people and I'm really looking forward to the conference in Philly this November.

I'm off to bed now. Can't wait to see the Yellow One tomorrow night. I'm sure he'll have some good stories about his week in the ATL.

Food Guy Guest Spot

Yellow Dog and I are switching things up a bit at the moment. YD decided to turn the keyboard over to his Food Guy for a couple of days since he couldn't make the trip out west with me. He said he trusted me to write an entry or two since he was staying home in GA this week. I dropped him off at Jen's on Wednesday morning to hang out with Zozo and Sug while I headed out to Tahoe for a writing conference. I have to admit that I think it was much harder on me than it was on him. I love that yellow buddy and leaving him for a week, well let's just say I felt like I was leaving my right arm at home. But, I know he's having a big time hanging with his ATL crew. Jen sent me this picture of him this morning. Looks like somebody has been having a good time with his buddies

I caught a flight out of ATL Wednesday morning. I've flown lots of times. I've even flown on quite a few planes made by the lowest bidder and flown by guys who were flying cargo planes instead of jets for a reason. That reason being that they didn't do as well in flight school as some other people. And, the flight from ATL to Phoenix was terrifying! One of the worst landings ever. That includes a crash landing in a Ch46 in the Cali desert a some years ago. Ughh. I was not looking forward to taking off again for the second leg of the trip. But, you gotta do what you gotta do. We made it to Tahoe Wednesday afternoon and it was worth it. This place is beautiful!

The views here are so different from back home.

I had to work for a while when I got in last night, but still managed to get up early enough to go for a great run on the Tahoe Rim Trail this morning before the first writing session.

It was a sweet run! The altitude change was a little more than I thought it would be, so I was sucking wind like you wouldn't believe for most of the run.

Hopefully it'll be a little easier tomorrow morning. If nothing else I'll feel like a champion the first few days back in Athens.

After the evening session, a bunch of folks and I headed down the trail for a hike. Oddly enough we managed to find our way to town to enjoy a beer by the river before we headed back up the trail. All in all, not a bad day of "work" using the term loosely.

Summer School

It's been a quiet couple of weeks for me because the Food Guy's been teaching bunch of classes in summer school. Last week he was gone all day everyday teaching a class. He's also teaching a class on-line, so he'd come home every night and have to sit in front of the computer grading. He did take me for a decent walk after dinner every night (and a walk in the am, and he came home at lunch), but that's really about it. I'm SO neglected. It's been a couple of weeks since we had a good adventure, so I don't have any good pics to post right now. I know, that's pretty lame, but the Food Guy promised me that we'll go on a cool trip soon.

In other news, the Food Guy defended his prospectus last week. Remember, the thing he was writing while we were at the workshop in the mountains? Well, he finally finished it and had the big meeting with his dissertation committee. They approved his study, and now he's just waiting for the University's Human Subjects Review Board to read it and make sure he's not going to use a cattle prod in his study or anything. It's all pretty silly if you ask me. Why on earth do you have to go through all that just to interview some people? But, I'm not gonna complain because that means the Food Guy has to take some time off while he waits for approval. I'm all for anything that gets him to work a little less for a few days. I think we're going to go home to NC for a couple of days. You know what that means? You guessed it! Lots of extra dog bones from the Food Guy's dad. Plus, I'll get to run around in the yard. We might even go to the mountains for a day or two to go for a hike. Sweeeet!!!

I also get to go stay in the ATL with Jen, Zozo, and Sug soon. Food Guy is going to Tahoe for a conference, and I don't fly on airplanes. So, I'm staying here. It'll be so much fun hanging with my peeps for a few days!

Well, Food Guy just woke up from his nap, so I gotta go. I'm gonna get him to take me for a walk before he goes out to ride that silly bike of his. He's always riding that thing. He did take me for a good run this morning before it got too hot, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

Talk to y'all later. Oh, if you see any doggies out there, give them dog bones! And water, you can't ever drink enough water!

The Epistemological Ruminations of an Arts-Based Yellow Canine

OR: A Yellow Dog Goes to College:

What's up everybody? The Food Guy and I just got back from a really fun week in the mountains. Food Guy had to go to a writing workshop for a week, and he worked it out so that I could go too. One of the Food Guy's professors was running this workshop at Amicalola Falls in North Georgia. I think it just made good sense for me to be able to go. I spend so much time hanging out while Food Guy is reading all of his books and writing his papers that I think they really need to give me a PhD too when the Food Guy graduates. Now, maybe they will since I've been to college. What do y'all think? 

Amicalola is a really cool place. I think everyone should go there if they get the chance. There's a lot of really cool places to see there, and so much good stuff to smell.  Check out this really cool spot along the creek:

Now, y'all know that I'm a smart dog and all that, but I learned lots of new words this week. Greg, one of our friends who stayed with us in the cabin, is a pretty smart guy. He knows all kinds of big words. So, he helped me learn some new ones. We spent lots of time sitting around the cabin and I got some good tutoring.

 Greg told me that I was an Arts-based, Multi-genre dog who didn't just have thoughts. He said I had "epistemological ruminations." He suggested the title for this post, and I thought it was a pretty good one. I was thinking Yellow Dog Goes to College was pretty good, but Greg's title sounds much, much better. I mean, I do have some pretty deep thoughts. Most dogs do, really. We have lots and lots of time to sit around and think about stuff. And, lots of dogs are smart. My friend Sug is so smart. She can read anything you put in front of her. And my friend Zozo. I think she's the smartest. She's figured out how to sleep like 20 hours a day!

Anyway, it was a really fun week. The Food Guy got lots of writing done, and I helped him whenever I could. Mostly, I just sat next to him on the floor or sat on the couch next to people while they worked. It was a pretty sweet set up:  

We didn't just work though. We went for lots and lots of runs on the trails. Food Guy and I ran for a couple of hours everyday. Well, we took one day off because Food Guy just HAD to make sure he got enough work done. He can be such a geek that way. "Gotta get my work done, gotta get my work done," he says. Luckily, I told him he could call going for a run on the trail "work" if he was smart. See, all he has to do is think about what he's supposed to be writing while he's out running, and bingo: you're working! You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out. But overall, the schedule seemed pretty good to me. The people spent a lot of time drinking coffee and talking about the stuff they were writing. Then, they went to "class" every night where they helped each other with their writing projects. I mostly slept while all that was going on. I mean, a dog can only do so much thinking. I had to make sure I got plenty of sleep, so Food Guy and I could go exploring on the trails everyday. The trails at Amicalola Falls are pretty sweet. Check out some of the views we found along the way:

The trails were really good for running. Food Guy's ankle seems to have finally healed. It had been giving him some trouble for a while, so we weren't getting to run very much before we went. He was riding his bike more than running, which sucks for me because that means I have to stay home. I like watching Sportscenter and all that, but I like being out on the trail much, much more. So, I was pretty glad he was feeling better 'cause I would have hated to spend a whole week at this trail running paradise without getting some serious miles in. Even an arts-based, multi-genre yellow canine has to get his miles in. You know, you can't work ALL the time. Sometimes I just had to look at the Food Guy and say, "C'mon let's GO!"

We didn't just run and work though.  We spent some good time hanging out around the cabin. Greg brought his guitar and played us some songs everyday. Man, that guy can play the guitar. He even took the time to teach the Food Guy a few chords. 

I'm not sure how that's gonna work out. He might even get mad at me for telling y'all about the guitar thing. You know Reeve is gonna start calling him a dirty hippie if he starts playing guitar. But I think it wouldn't be too bad if the Food Guy learned to play a little music. We even had a campfire or two. We stayed up pretty late the last night hanging out and listening to Greg play guitar around the campfire. The Good Doctor (Christine) managed to secure the appropriate liquid refreshments we needed when she made a run to town on Thursday, so we celebrated finishing our work with a roaring campfire Friday night. 

Well, we're back in Athens now. We went home for the weekend and had a good time hanging out at the Lake. I got to play with Bosco, the Food Guy's brother's dog. We had big time running around in the yard by the lake. The Food Guy's dad snuck me lots of extra dog bones. I have him convinced that Food Guy never feeds me. Sshh, don't tell him that I get plenty to eat. I'm not really looking forward to next week. Food Guy will be teaching all day and then grading for the online classes at night. Not to mention he has to finish up getting his dissertation prospectus ready and all that kinds of jazz.  Ughh, I'm gonna really have to get on him about getting out of bed early, so we can go run on our trails behind our house. Not that I like getting up early. I don't. But, I'll make up for it sleeping all day while he's working. Zozo and Sug taught me that trick. Like I said, those are some smart doggies.