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.