Peninsula Dog Fanciers' Club is Supporting Kitsap County Sheriff's Office K9 Department

Please join me in supporting Peninsula Dog Fanciers' Club's effort to raise funds to support a new K9 Officer in Kitsap County. Peninsula Dog Fanciers' Club is leveraging the AKC Reunite Adopt a K9 Cop program to maximize funds to support the purchase of a new K9 Officer and equipment, training, and maintenance for the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office.

Please see the following links for more information:

https://www.pdfc.org/akc-k9-grant-go-fund-me

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-peninsula-dog-fanciers-support-k9-officer

https://www.akcreunite.org/k9

Additional opportunities to show support:

Peninsula Dog Fanciers' Club Performance Weekend

Come out to the Kitsap County Fairgrounds Saturday and Sunday, September 28 - 29 for our brand new Performance Weekend. The Club will have a raffle and accept donations for the K9 grant. You will also have the opportunity to see dogs compete in Scent Work, Obedience, and Rally. We will also conduct Farm Dog Certifications and evaluations for Canine Good Citizen and Trick Dog.

In for a Pint at DownPour Brewing in Kingston

Join us on Friday, October 11th from 5pm to 8pm. Each pint sold during the event will generate a $1 donation. Don't forget your Devastated Driver! (Most people would call that a Designated Driver, but I think we all know how that person feels hauling around a bunch of inebriated hooligans!) In all seriousness though... please be safe.

Down the Coast: Jessie M. Honeyman State Park, OR and Humboldt Redwoods State Park, CA

When offered a bed, a real dog chooses the dirt... Jessie M. Honeyman State Park, OR

I was pretty excited about this trip. I was going to meet up with Mike in the LA area, but I also wanted to go to the Woofstock dog show in Vallejo, CA because Litha only needed 3 more points to earn her AKC championship. I was able to leave early enough to stay a couple nights at each state park on my way to Woofstock. Finally, a chance for campfires, marshmallows, and dinner grilled on an open fire! I could not have asked for any better weather and I think I got some really great photos along the way.

As you can see in the photos below, Litha was having a terrible time!

Jessie M. Honeyman is a great little park, nicely wooded, friendly and helpful hosts, good programs, and nice facilities. Camping spots were fairly private and comfortable. Surprisingly, this was the first trip that I actually cooked a complete meal instead of making sandwiches or other easy stuff. I used the Instant Pot to make something called "Crack Chicken". It was basically shredded chicken with ranch, bacon, and cheese. It was definitely tasty, but healthy... not so much. We didn't spend much time exploring the park this time. I really felt like I wanted to spend our time in the campsite next to the fire. I've missed that. It had been years since we had gone camping.

Humboldt Redwoods is not what I'm used to. The campground has little to no understory vegetation, so there is zero privacy. California parks have not been upgraded with electrical or water hookups and they have a very tight policy on running generators. My dry camping skills are not great yet and I struggled with my power management. I was concerned the entire time that I wasn't going to make it through the night on my battery given that the entire camping area is in full shade, preventing any contribution by my solar system. This park is not on my list to revisit.

An interesting thing happened with another camper while I was there. I'm pretty sure that finding it entertaining makes me a jerk... A man was camping a few sites away from us and he clearly did not know what he was getting himself into, nor had a concept of camping etiquette. Our site was next to the path to the bathroom building. Instead of staying on the path and skirting around our site, he walked right through my site. No kidding. Like, he walked between the exercise pen I set up for the dog and my campfire. Dude basically walked right through my living room. Multiple times! On his way back to his campsite, as he walked through mine for the second time, he asked me if I had camped there before. I said I hadn't and he went back to his campsite. The next thing I know, there's a roaring fire in his campsite, and I thought he was figuring things out, kind of impressed at how fast he got his fire started. At least until I saw him trying to beat a fire out of his comforter. As in bedspread, not sleeping bag... I'm not sure how it even happened, because the fire rings were knee high and solid cast iron. I saw him put the fire out and thought about whether or not to go over and sort him out, but I selfishly decided I didn't have the energy since he wasn't in any real danger. Temps weren't going to get below 50 that night. He'd be uncomfortable, but not at any real risk. He must have thought camping in state parks meant cabins. I bet he won't make that mistake twice...

My First Stay with a Harvest Host and One Night at Farewell Bend State Park in Oregon

Rowley's Red Barn, Santaquin, UT

After leaving Lightner Creek Campground and heading north, I finally had my first stay at a Harvest Host, harvesthosts.com. If you haven't yet heard of this membership program yet, definitely check out their website, as I think you'll be intrigued. Essentially, once an RVer signs up for an annual membership, they are invited to stay at Host properties (often wineries, farms, museums, golf courses, etc.), without paying a camping fee. Guests are required to be in a self-contained unit and are generally expected to call ahead a day before they arrive and make a purchase at the business in exchange for overnight parking. The above photo is of Rowley's Red Barn in Santaquin, UT just south of Salt Lake City. It is a country store that has everything one would hope for. Homemade fudge and ice cream, farm produce, old fashioned candies, canned salsas and sauces, local cheeses, and pies. Everything looked so good that I spent way more than a night of camping, but I got some great stuff for dinner and to take home. Seemed like a win to me, all the way around. One other class b van showed up after I did (mine is the one closest to the store). It's right off the freeway, so I couldn't call it quiet, but there was no traffic on the street after the store closed. I found it an all-around excellent experience. In the morning I walked the dog, cleaned up, made some coffee, and hit the road.

Farewell Bend State Park, Oregon

My next stop on the drive home was Farewell Bend State Park. I hit some of the worst weather just outside of Boise, ID and was very glad to get to the park. There was a brutal hail storm that had everyone doing about 35mph on the freeway. It was really hard to keep the van between the lines in the wind. By the time I got to the park, I was exhausted. It is a nice park in the middle of exactly nowhere. It was Memorial Day weekend madhouse and everyone was having a great time. Tons of kids, tons of other dogs, and Litha got to meet her first ground squirrels. She was over the top overstimulated by all the activity and friendly people, kids, and wildlife. Definitely an opportunity for some practice... All of the fun being had for the holiday weekend and the smell of campfires and grills really made me wish I had reserved for two nights so it would be worth it to at least have a fire. I decided that going forward, I would try to plan enough time whenever I could so that I would actually have a night or two of camping along the way so I could at least have a campfire without having to pack out so early to get to my next destination.

Squirrel! I could not get her to look at me no matter what I did...