We needed time away, and, after much searching we found someplace to camp that allowed dogs. Plus the area is scenic, a location we'd neither of us been to before and the weather was supposed to beautiful.

We thought it might help with the car sickness if Dori had a little walk in her park before we actually hit the road. She was calm and slept all the way, in her kennel behind my seat.

Maggie was right at home and anxious to go adventuring as soon as we got in the truck.

Here's a few shots from around the campground.

There were very calm dogs in the next cabin. They were very helpful to get Dori out of her place of fear.

OK, not permanently, but every step is a step closer.

The cabin was cute. Here's a bit of it.

This 'deluxe' cabin is about the size of my daughter's studio apartment. Well, maybe her apartment is a little bigger. But not much. Cozy and rustic most definitely.

It's amazing how easy it is to get a picture of the whole pack if the camera has a self-timer. We just sat it on the picnic table and here you go!

Today we walked around the actual locks, that have become obsolete due to the dam down the river. The weather was beautiful, the area was very scenic and the dogs loved it.

Me and the girls, taken by Dad.

Sails on the water upriver.

The bridge over what used to be the locks and the museum. Beautiful mountains make for a beautiful day.

To Mr. Man

April 2010

Dear Step-Grandson, This is your other Grandma. I thought I would write you a little note and send it with the package for your sister's birthday. I hope that is OK with you.

I am looking forward to meeting you this summer. It will be hard for everybody to travel so far to be there, but I hope that once we are together all the effort will be forgotten and we will have a lot of fun. Your Grandpa loves to go camping and being in the wild. We are bringing our dogs, do you think you will bring yours? Maggie was Grandpa's girl before I met him and he tells me she is a trail dog. I know she is very good at figuring everything out with her nose and she will have many things to smell when we go camping. Dori, the new dog, will get to learn something new about being in the outdoors at the same time I'm learning all about you. I hope we both learn a lot.

I like to hear that you like to read. I wonder what kind of books you are reading. I hope they are interesting and fun. I like to read a lot too. I love to go to the library and get any book to read without having to worry about money. As long as you have it back in time so that someone else can read it! We get a lot of movies from the library, too. Right now, we have 'Where the Wild Things Are' to watch. Grandpa and I didn't get to see it when it was at the theater, have you seen it yet? I hope it's good.

I think about you and your sister a lot. I like kids. I have a daughter, but she's not a kid anymore. Sometimes I miss when she was little and we played together. I look at all the pictures your mom has sent me of you and I think about what you must be like. You have a nice smile, but I think sometimes you have a hard time smiling and I hope that you are happy on the inside so that you will learn to smile more. I like your nose, I think I see freckles on it! I have freckles too. You have a forehead that probably has messages on it. I bet people can see on your forehead when you are thinking very hard or something is confusing. Your ears don't stick out like mine did when I was small, that's good. You have nice cheeks that someday the girls will kiss, but for now they are smooth so that when dust or tears fall on them, they wipe away quick and clean. When I look at your eyes, I think they look very smart, like you can see what things are and you can see when people are telling you the truth or trying to trick you.

I know that you are a big boy, next October you'll be 10 years old. That is a big deal, huh? The number '10' is two numbers, not one anymore. How cool will that be? That will be half full-sized! I remember when I was 10, I thought I was half a grown-up. What do you think being 10 will be like?

Well, Grandpa wants to get this packaged wrapped and off to the Post Office. If you have time, you can write me back. I would like that, but if you don't think you have anything to say, that's OK too. When we see each other this summer and get to know each other, we will find a lot to talk about. ~grandma