Across the Pass and into the frying pan

Oh, gosh.  I can't believe it's been so long since I added a blog post.  Guess I got out of the habit.

Why a new post now?  Mostly because I'm in a hotel room without much else to do.  My last post was all about my spring schedule and how overwhelming it was.  In fact, it turned out to be very underwhelming.  I decided Alder wasn't ready for Utility.  Maple, while she can do the Open exercises, is not crazy about jumping on anything but grass.  Not too many outdoor shows near me, and most are at inconvenient or hot times.

The upshot was that, so far this year, I've shown Alder once in Grad Open, which he NQed but did far better than I expected, and once in Utility, which he also NQed, but also did better than expected. I can't believe it, but I think the boy may actually be capable of getting a UD.  I showed Maple once in Grad Novice, which she Qed in, partly because it was outdoors on grass, and once in Open, which she NQed by not even giving a single thought to attempting any jump on mats.  We are working on the issue.  I'm trying to get her to watch Susan Salo jump-training DVDs with me, but Maple usually tries to run off with the DVD holder to try to get me to take the hint that she'd rather be retrieving something.

On the hunt test side, Maple is a pass away from both a Started Retriever title in NAHRA and a Junior Hunter title in AKC.  The quest for the JH title is the reason for this trip.  Maple blew her chance to finish the JH at a convenient location to home by coming into heat the day after I had entered an eastern Washington show.  Faced with a year of putting no titles on any dogs, I took the plunge and entered a trial on the wet, west side of Washington.  For readers unfamiliar with Washington geography, the state is divided roughly in two by the Cascade Mountains.  West of the Cascade crest lies Seattle and what most people think of when they think of Washington: wet conifer forest and Microsoft.  East of the crest is drier forest and steppe vegetation.  (Most of the latter has been turned into farmland).

It's been a long time since I crossed Snoqualmie Pass and entered the land of humidity and high volume traffic.  OMG, the traffic on I-90 was insane, and I'm not even close to Seattle.  I'm in a hotel in North Bend.

Except for the I-90 portion of the drive, most of the trip from Pullman was pleasant.  I am the slowest traveler in the world.  Even when I'm not traveling with a dog, I like to stop every hour or so to stretch my legs.  With Maple along, I planned stops in places where she could take a swim.  We took a detour into the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge for a swim in one of the potholes lakes among the sagebrush and rocks and another detour to Lake Easton State Park for a stroll among conifer forests just east of the Pass.  Also a short side trip to the Gingko Petrified Forest interpretive center for a lunch in the shade.

I was sorry there was so much dust and smoke in the air that the Cascades were invisible for most of the drive in the haze.  By the time they were close enough to see, I was too overwhelmed with fear at being among hordes passenger vehicles weaving around the millions of semi-trucks lumbering up to the Pass to enjoy the view.  Cool to see avalanche chutes among the dense green forest, as long as I tried not to think of the freeway as an avalanche chute and me as loose debris

This particular hunt test has Junior for only one day, Sunday.  In a fit of insanity, I entered Senior on Saturday.   Not because we are especially ready for Senior, but on the rationale that, as long as I'm making the drive anyway...  Not the best strategy for entering a trial, but it will be good experience for me and Maple will likely get to retrieve a couple of ducks before we flame out on the blind.

And speaking of the little orange demon, she is asking for a walk, so off we go.