When is a vacation not a vacation? When you take your computer with you and check in at work and keep up with blogging. I learned that on my last vacation. Since then, I’ve written an article for Yahoo HotJobs on the importance of unplugging on vacation, so this time I’m going to practice what I preached: The computer is staying home on our three-day getaway to a gorgeous area near Lake Tahoe. I’ve got a few articles scheduled to run during my absence, so you’ll barely know I’m gone. (It will be Dog Blog Lite.)

It’s easy to leave the laptop behind this time, because we’re heading out of urban civilization, to Shinneyboo Creek Cabin Resort, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. We’ll stay in a tent-cabin, which is sort of like a tent on steroids. It’s big, roomy, already set up, and even has beds/cots (we bring the sleeping bags and bedding). Here’s a photo of the last one we stayed in at Shinneyboo.

Shinneyboo always receives the coveted Golden Bone Award from my book, The Dog Lover’s Companion to California. It’s set on about 150 acres of pristine woods and meadows, and backs up against thousands of acres of US Forest Service land, on the banks of the crystal-clear lower fork of the Yuba River. Shinneyboo has several lovely cottages, but we like the tent cabins, where we can at least appear to be roughing it. Dogs are allowed on the property leash-free, but we keep them pretty close, because there are other critters around the Sierra. Dogs adore Shinneyboo. They get to swim, run, and explore all day. It leaves them pretty tired. When we visit, Jake tends to fall asleep whenever he’s not moving, and he uses very odd things as pillows, as you can see below.

Here’s Jake and his best pal, Moses, on the banks of the Yuba river. Of all the acreage here, they choose to repose close together.

Yes, it’s a dog’s life at Shinneyboo. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. See you when we’ve plugged back in!