Birthday: December 29th 2006 Arrival Story: Wanting to find a companion for Smiley,I logged onto Petfinder and did a search for golden retrievers or golden mixes. I located Wesley at the Lehigh County Humane Society in Allentown,PA. Wesley will eventually become my primary hiking companion as Smiley has arthritus and it is gradually making it more difficult for him to do long hikes. Wesley may have a bit of husky in him as he has a curved tail and a bit of an independent mindset! Bio: I like camping,hiking,and rafting. I did a week of backpacking in Virginia with Dad in May 2008 and we traveled to Alaska in Aug/Sept 2008. I also enjoy rafting on the Delaware river. More videos are here youtube More Wesley photos are on webshots My photos on webshots Forums Motto: Tail on the trail The Groups I'm In: ☆ Huskies Beh@ving B@dly ☆, ♥ Sandy and Smiley's Wedding ♥, *~*JoyRiders*~*, ♥All Fur Fun♥, Camping Dogs, D/C MAGIC, Geocaching Geo Pups Unite!, Outdoor World, Pawsome Pages, Philly area Geodogs, The Birthday & Gotcha Club, The doggy paddlers The Last Forum I Posted In: Searching for a dog
Another update on our west trip last fall. We camped again at Mesquite Springs campground after our tour of Scotty`s Castle. The next day,my dad wanted to return to the salt flats for more hiking. We found this to be a most interesting place as once you got about a half mile from the road,there were no other people and the solitude was wonderful! In addition,we had only hiked for a few hours on our first time here and Dad wanted a longer hike. This time,we hiked out to a spot about 3 miles distant from the Badwater road---measured with my dad`s GPS. We could see some jeep roads in the distance as they climbed into the Panamint Range. The unbroken white expanse of the salt flats extended in all directions around us,totally devoid of features save for the pressure ridges in the salt. Dad was reminded of astronaut Edwin Aldrin`s words as he became the second man to step onto the moon "Magnificent Desolation". Dad popped up an umbrella that he had carried along and we rested under its shade while we had lunch. Resuming our hike across the barren flats,a tiny speck appeared on the horizon. We began to walk towards it curious as to what it was. It resolved itself as a dead goose. The poor creature must have succumbed to the brutal heat and tumbled out of the sky to a lonely grave on the salt flats.
We finished up after having hiked between 6 and 7 miles. Late in the day,we drove along the remote West Side road that parallels Badwater road on the other side of the salt flats. This road passes by the jeep roads that we saw earlier and unlike Badwater road,is not paved. It traverses more remote wilderness of Death Valley. It was late in the afternoon when we started along this road thus we planned on camping somewhere along it overnite. Dad kept his speed down so as not to suffer a flat tire or other vehicle damage on this remote road. We camped at a peaceful spot known as Shorty`s Well,named after an early Death Valley prospector. The next morning,we explored the ruins of an old borax works and found some giant rusted water tanks sitting incongrously in the desert. It was an interesting trip into the wilds of Death Valley. Some pix with descriptions follow.
In northern Death Valley,there is an extraordinary mansion known as Scotty`s Castle. The large residence was built in the 1920`s by Albert Johnson and resembles a midevial castle! Scotty was really Walter Scott who was somewhat of a con artist. He persuaded Albert Johnson that he had a gold mine in Death Valley---when in fact he didn`t---thus getting Mr Johnson interested in the area. The two actually became friends and Scotty wound up as the caretaker of the mansion. The name Scotty`s castle stuck although Scotty wasn`t the builder or even the owner. What is really interesting about this structure is how Albert Johnson took advantage of the desert environment in which the building is located. A nearby waterfall provided electricity and batteries in the basement stored it. In those days before air conditioning,the house was cooled by drapes hung over windows. Water was trickled in a very fine stream down the drapes and fans blew air across them creating a cool breeze! Dad took a tour of Scotty`s Castle after our explorations of Ubehebe Crater. Dogs were not allowed inside the castle but I was able to stay in the car parked in a shady spot with the windows down. Some pix of this amazing building follow.
Yesterday was a windy and cold winter day. Dad and I took a hike along the Raritan Canal towpath near Princeton,NJ. There was a light dusting of snow in spots due to a small storm the day before. It made for some nice winter scenery! We also hiked several miles of adjoining trails in the 6 mile run resevoir site. Dad packed a small tent along and he popped it up at mid day so that we could have our lunch in comfort. A small camp stove burned inside the tent as we had our lunch,so all was warm and cozy :) Late in the day,we witnessed a beautiful sunset and finished up with a hike back along the towpath by headlamp.
