We were lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving up on Sunshine Coast with new friends this year. There were a couple knitters in the group who helped me finish my first little project: a snood/neck-warmer for Whiskey. I just ordered some knitting needles so I can learn over the winter.

Whiskey modelling my incomplete project

We had a great time outdoors and Whiskey made a new friend: Sam, the Australian Shepherd. The two spent the weekend chasing each other and guarding the cabin. There were a couple of hikes we fit in before it got too rainy. Afterwards, we set to work creating Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings.

heading over on the ferry

sunset at Kent beach

with Sam the Australian Shepherd

ripping up the beach with fun

more new friends

someone is getting real heavy!

Sunshine Coast has beautiful trails

lots of bridges here

off leash for the weekend

we saw a bunch of bears fishing salmon (dogs were in the car)

someone thinks she’s a person

The rains started the last day and poor Whiskey gets so cold that I’m going to have to get her (or knit her) a nice winter jacket soon.

Whiskey is shivering after a wet walk

This week I’m off work, and I’m really looking forward to relaxing at home with the pets.  Since we don’t own a car, we decided to rent from a car share a couple times this week to get out of the city.

Today we tried out Jug Island in Coquitlam.  It’s a short little hike with minimal incline and a great way to start the day.  The highlight of the hike is a little beach that faces the Indian Arm and Jug Island.  We caught (and released) some tiny crabs, talked to kayakers and just chilled.  As a joke, Thierry tossed a stick in quite far into the water and Whiskey actually retrieved it!  She swam out further than she’s ever been before, although it was a bit of a panicky swim back.  We were so proud!

working on our agility (yes they made it to the top!)

our hiking group

Whiskey fetches and swims!

catching small crabs

we are going higher and higher with this little girl

On the way back we popped into a wild game butcher for pet and human meats (kangaroo, bison, venison, elk, ostrich, wild boar).  I think we’re stocked for awhile now!  At the moment I’m trying out various foods for Whiskey so we’ll let you know how our experimentation goes.  We’ve got tons of kibble and even raw samples from Petapalooza.

a bison heart is enormous!

Continuing on our day, after we dropped the meat home, we took Whiskey off to the vet for her last set of shots (Rabies and Lepto).  She was amazing and even got a little handkerchief.  As long as she’s eating a snack, she doesn’t even feel the needles. So as far as Whiskey understands, the vet means lots of attention, pets, and snacks!  I wonder if she’ll wise up eventually.  The cat is under no such illusions.

Whiskey has no idea she’s getting a shot

After the vet, we drove to the off-leash dog area of Spanish banks where we met the cutest German Shepherd puppy.  Whiskey was pretty tired but perked up for some glorious playtime, digging and sniffing.  Then it was back home for a dinner of turkey hearts and gizzards, and we all fell asleep really early (except for Moo who then demanded attention).

Spanish Banks has a beautiful view

Whiskey with Nala, the German Shepherd

These two played rough and cute!

Boy oh boy!  At first I wasn’t so sure about camping but I knew that if it worked out, Whiskey would be the happiest little Vizsla.  We had a couple hurdles to overcome but leapt over each and everyone of them:

So we were supposed to start our trip at noon, but our driver was having her car fixed and it seemed like they took extra long with something.  Finally, we ended up leaving the city at 5:30 during rush hour, a bit behind schedule.  I was worried about Whiskey’s car sickness but she seemed fine after two walks, ginger gravol (the all natural one), and only a small lunch.  We made a stop in Whistler where she was happily running up and down the lift area, then headed off to the camp site at Fountain Lake.

Once past Pemberton, there was a steady climb on the highway and that was where we started having car troubles.  The car was losing traction, smelling bad, and smoking underneath the body.  Over the next couple hours it got worse and worse.  Finally, we were almost at the camp site, past the last town, Lillooet.  At this point we were barely making it up inclines, and this was where the car just gave up.  It was midnight when we lost all traction and the car rolled back down the incline with absolutely no power.  After contemplating walking the rest of the way to the site, we realized we weren’t sure how close we were to the campsite (no cell reception), we had a puppy with us, and there were bears here.  We were able to roll (and push) the car back to the Xaxli’p Native community so we weren’t in complete wilderness, then set up tent by the side of the road and went to sleep.

Five minutes later we were woken up by a concerned resident who was walking home.  He insisted we camp on his property for safety reasons (camping by the side of the road wasn’t very safe) and also for protection against bears.  Apparently a woman had been attacked not too long ago!  The whole time, Whiskey had been quiet and took everything in-stride but this property had two large dogs and she wasn’t quite comfortable with these outside our tent.  While we were sleeping, any noise outside would evict a growl from her, which we had never heard her do.  She was on constant alert the whole night guarding us!

The next morning we found another helpful Native man that was kind enough to take us and our gear to the campsite where we finally hooked up with the rest of our group.  After that, we had a wonderful trip.  Within the first hour, we saw a mother bear and her 3 cubs pass really close (we kept Whiskey on a leash) and took a dip in the lake.  When the bears weren’t close-by we let her go off leash and wander around, chewing on sticks, stalking ants, frogs and dragonflies, meeting horses, and (trying to) beg food from our friends.  She had two other doggy friends on the campgrounds and they had loads of fun running around.

a family of bears

We had no problems sleeping together in the tent.  It was a bit chilly at night and Whiskey would snuggle inside our sleeping bags, making her way down to the bottom section and sleep at our toes.  I have no idea how she managed to breathe but she seemed quite happy and warm there.  She also experienced her first thunderstorm (napped through it), developed an obsession for steak (medium rare please), and managed to jump high enough to catch half a raw chicken from an unsuspecting victim.  Other activities included cleaning up some unguarded plates and rearranging firewood, shoes and socks to her liking.  Fun times!  We even got her swimming a little, fetching sticks from the water, and floating on rafts.

retrieving sticks in shallow water

All things considered, I can’t wait to go camping again with her.  It’s amazing to see her so happy off leash, running, swimming, fetching, discovering, and just being a happy puppy.  Of course, as soon as we came home to unpack, we turned our heads, and there she was peeing on her bowser bed.

whiskey had no problem with a tent as a home

Fountain Lake

sometimes she’d go in, then remember she didn’t like water

I hate getting wet!  Mommy, why??

our friendly camp family

whiskey has great balance on floaties

snuggles and naps in the tent

Meeting horses