It’s that time of year again! Tundra turned 10 on Saturday, so we took him on his yearly trip to the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. It’s about an hour and 15 minutes away from us, so it’s a bit of a drive, but he loves it!
He even got to meet a nice lady who pet him and told him Happy Birthday.
If you’re local to the area and want to go hiking, you can find information on the Kickapoo Valley Reserve here. Most of the trails require a day pass, but the two closest to the Visitor Center don’t.
We put a red bandana on him to make him stand out more, and we hiked the shortest trail, one that starts at the Visitor Center and wraps around a pond. There were horse tracks, but no sign of the horses, so it was pretty relaxed. Tundra LOVES horses. Horses don’t love him back.
The trees were changing, and it was gorgeous out, lovely sunny, fall day. Here are a few pictures!
This is when we first entered the woods on the trail, and I think it was the best picture I took during the hike.
Then, a cute photo of Tundra trying to hurry us along so he could stiff more things! He was SO excited!
And lastly a photo of the pond. It was kind of scummy, and I couldn’t get the best composition because my shadow kept falling into frame. But it’s still pretty!
We hiked for about an hour, which is pretty good considering I had to keep stopping to catch my breath. I’m out of shape (and disabled!), but breathing has been hard lately. In the evenings here, when the sun is low, you can see a haze over everything.
So even though it was slow going, and I had to stop a lot, I think we did okay. The wooden ‘stairs’ they put in to go down onto the trail are the hardest for me. Otherwise, the hike is mostly level. My left knee kept locking, so it was awkward going down. Later that evening all my joints were displeased with me, but such is life.
We’re really glad we adopted Tundra – it was one of the best decisions in our life. He’s sweet and charming and such a silly boy, and we love him. Yesterday was his day! He even got doggy ice cream because he was such a good boy. He even stood patiently while we checked him for ticks and removed the ones we found.
Do you have pets? What special things do you do with them for their birthdays? Inquiring minds want to know!
