Waggers Conquer Paradise Royale

We just spent 4 days in Humboldt County at Paradise Royale/Tolkan Campground. It really felt like we were out there in the middle of no where but, we were nestled in a beautiful forrest and with an ocean about 4 miles away. Paradise Royale is a really cool mountain bike park. There's a 14 mile cross country loop, a terrain park (jumps & stunts), and a pump track.

After talking with a few people they told us the cross country loop would take about two and half hours. I was a bit concerned about the distance for the waggers, but they go for 2 hour hikes every day, so we decided to take them on the ride. It was really perfect conditions; cool temperatures, lotsa shade, and several creek crossings. It was a fun singletrack trail, but 75% of the time we were going up hill. Remo is really good at conserving his energy, he would just trot or walk behind us on the uphill...not Turbie, she's full speed ahead. I only saw her start to slow down the last couple miles. We did the mountain bike loop on our first and last day there. Great riding and hiking in this area. The dogs loved it!

The campground was perfect because it had access to the trailheads. There were 9 campsites and they had so much space & privacy. I'm looking forward to going back there in March.

Unfortunately our photos didn't turn out that great. Hopefully, I'll get better ones on the next trip.

p.s. we just got our new license plates "rdwggrs"

Happy New Year

I'm a little slow with my New Years posting. We went back up to Dodge Ridge for a few days over New Years. It's amazing how much snow they got in one week. It seemed like 2 more feet, since our trip over Christmas.

We had a great time snow shoeing with the dogs. I think about 2 hours is their limit in the snow/cold. Even with the jackets on, they get chilled if you stop, so you always need to keep moving. We spent some time blazing our own trail and it made hiking a bit more difficult. The dogs didn't wander to far from the trail, because the powder was deep. They tried it a few times and decided it was better to stay on the trail (that's a first).

We're looking forward to some more trips to the snow.

Happy New Year!

Dodge Ridge

We just got back from Dodge Ridge. We stayed at our family cabin in Twain Harte, but there really wasn't much snow at that elevation. DR is about 30 minutes away and it was a winter wonderland. Plenty of trails for nordic skiing or snowshoeing. The dogs love playing in the snow and so do we. I just got the dogs these sleek jackets from Ruff wear for the snow. Don't they look like snow dogs!

Merry Christmas

Mountain Theater - Mt. Tamalpais

Happy Holidays - Brian, Cindy, Turbie, & Remo

Old Chatham Ranch

We drove up to Mendocino county for an olive picking party at a friends ranch. We decided to take the rv up the night before and stay at their ranch. Driving up the twisty narrow driveway seemed a bit technical, but Brian maneuvered the rv without any problems. We parked in a field that was close to their house. It was dark by the time we got up there, but we woke up to a spectacular view.

In the morning, we walked with the dogs along the dirt roads that meandered around the hills through the vineyards. The dogs went absolutely crazy. They ran through the fields checking out the new surroundings. Later on that morning, about 80 people and 24 dogs showed up for the olive picking. I was glad to see our dogs weren't the only ones eating olives. I was wondering what the outcome would be later on from all of the olive grubbing. It was a fantastic day, but by 4pm the dogs were tired and ready to go home.

p.s. the outcome of the olive eating - Remo got sick in the middle of the night and Turbie had pitty poops!

Laurel Trail - Tam Valley

It amazes me, that we still discover new trails out our back door. This one is a gem and we can make a 2 or 4 hour loop out of it. The trail is about a 10 minute leash walk from our house and then we hit Laurel trail. Eventually this connects to a network of familiar trails in the headlands and you have the option of several loops. My favorite is taking Laurel to Miwok and then back home on Rhubarb trail. The dogs love the single track and the wide open space. There are a lot of critters out there and good things to sniff. For some reason they aren't keen about trotting along on a fire road.

Santa Barbara - Jalama Beach

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We just got back from our trip to Santa Barbara. Well, we only spent one day in SB and the rest of the time we were at the Jalama Beach Campground. This campground is about 1 hour from SB, and it's a 14 miles drive off of highway 1...what a gem. This is a surfers paradise and it's also a dog friendly beach with ocean view campsites. We did a couple rides from our campsite, but it was just an out & back to highway 1. We spent one day in Santa Barbara and we did a great ride on east mountain drive to take in the views of SB. We also took the dogs to Arroyo Burro/Hendry Beach on our day in SB...very cool they have doggie washing stations at this beach.

There's so much more to see, we'll definitely be planning another trip later this month.