The End

It is with great sadness that we report Daphne the Itchy Dog has gone on to the great dog park in the sky.  She died very suddenly today and didn't appear to be in any pain.  We want to thank Dr Janean Fidel at Washington State Vet Hospital for getting her this far - she was cancer-free for a year and half, which is far beyond anyone's expectations.

Matt and Anne Marie are on Facebook and invite you to "friend" them if you'd like to see more of our adventures in the future.  We will continue to post photos to our Picasa site as time and bandwidth allows.  Sorry we weren't better about updating this site in the last few months.

Happy New Year!

The New Year has brought a few changes to the Scott Family. First, I gave everyone a scare (again) when I started drooling and coughing. Fortunately, it turns out it's just a side effect of the radiation therapy last year - a piece of bone in my throat has died, and it's kind of sticking out, so it got infected and I had to take lots of antibiotics to clear the infection. But it cleared up, and other than coughing occasionally, I seem to be doing OK with it. There's not much they can do, so hopefully I'll just get used to it.

Dad's still working at O'Reilly's and doing well there. He's working a few less hours this winter, which is good, 'cause Mom is working more!

Mom now has a part time job with some friends from Church - she's now a legal secretary! She'll be working two days a week for right now, and may work different hours in the future. It started out as a emergency temp fill-in, but looks like it may be permanent. It's probably good - makes her be more organized at home, although it means I have to spend more time alone with Schultz!

We've uploaded some more photos - there's some from a hike we did this fall, the new undercabinet lights in the kitchen, foot prints from the cougar we treed last month, and some of Mom's skiing photos.

https://picasaweb.google.com/Daphne.ItchyDog/Fall2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCODEvsa33ea7lAE&feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/Daphne.ItchyDog/JanFeb2012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCITzmYLF5ITslgE&feat=directlink


Have a great New Year!

All Good!

Just got back from my latest checkup at WSU. They did blood work and took another chest x-ray, and everything looks great! Dr Fidel is extremely happy - she continues to call me the "Miracle Dog" and uses everything she's learned on her other patients. There is a strange side effect of the maintenance drug I'm on though - evidently, it's bleaching my fur out. Mom says it explains a lot of my behavior; I'm a bleached blond! Very funny Mom.

In other news, work continues on Dad's project '66 Mustang. It's in the painter's shop now - it's been taken down to bare metal, and they discovered one rear fender was pretty badly damaged at some point, so it had to be replaced. It should be repainted soon, and will be as bright and shiny as a new penny. Dad's also had the bumpers and some of the chrome powder coated black - it's going to look cool!

Dad continues to work at O'Reilly's Auto Parts, but he's not sure how much longer the job will go. They're building a brand-new Auto Zone right across the street, and it's hard to believe a little town like Hamilton can handle 4 auto parts stores. It won't break his heart to lose the job though - he's really tired of the incredibly stupid questions, and Mom wants to do more hiking and camping this next summer, so being laid off wouldn't be all bad. Hopefully it will wait until spring though.

Mom's been keeping busy too - she installed under-cabinet lighting in the kitchen with much swearing and some much-needed wiring help from Uncle Jerome. It really helps with the dark winter nights. She's also continuing to sing with multiple choirs at church and as a member of the Pastoral Council. She's also helping with the young adult Confirmation sessions, and will be "camping out" with the kids (in the Parish Center) for a couple of weekend retreats. For those who know Mom, don't worry - these kids are high school sophomores and juniors, which is about as young as she can tolerate, and she's part of a team of four, so she won't end up screaming at anyone. Mom's also looking forward to this year's ski season - it's another La Nina year, and she got a screaming good deal on a season's pass at the end of last year. Lost Trail opens a week from T-day! Yeah!!!

Schultz continues to be Schultz - and he's still here. I keep growling and barking at him, but he just won't leave. My life is just so hard.

We hope your Thanksgiving is a happy and blessed one!

Some more photos

We added a few more photos to the link below, including a movie of Mom sliding down the snow bank near Tongue Mountain - with me and Schultz chasing her - of course, I caught Mom, 'cause I'm fast!

We also added another folder of photos, here's the link:
https://picasaweb.google.com/Daphne.ItchyDog/September62011?authuser=0&feat=directlink
There are some more photos from Jewel Basin, and a bunch of "Hail Mary" shots Dad took out the window when we drove up Going to the Sun road in Glacier.

Enjoy!

Still Feeling Great!

I got my three months cancer-free checkup a couple of weeks ago, and the Doc says I look great! Well, of course I look great - I always do - but my cancer is gone, and there hasn't been any re-occurrence anywhere else yet. Dr Fidel at WSU calls me "the miracle dog" and now the radiation protocol they tried out on me is being used all the time - I'm a real trailblazer! I still have to take a lot of drugs, and get tests and stuff, but no more chemo or surgery.

I'm just as strong as ever, and I proved it - we went up to the Flathead Valley and did some hiking in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. First we did a 7.5 mi hike into Jewel Basin - it was really pretty and we only saw one other hiker after we left the trailhead, which is pretty amazing since the trailhead parking lot was full - we think they all went South when we went North. They still had snow for me to roll on, and lots of ground squirrels to chase - Schultz went totally crazy trying to get to all the whistles! We also did a shorter hike to Dickey Lake, but it was much harder - the first 2 miles we bashed through really thick brush, and the last 0.4 mi to the lake was practically vertical - but I led the way, a trailblazer in more than one sense!

Mom left us again for a few things - first, she went to Grandma's house to help re-do the decks and do more cleaning - and then she went on another trail maintenance trip. This one was with the Selway-Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation, and was in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. She said it was really beautiful and fun, but a lot of hard work. Unfortunately, her camera battery died, so she only got a couple of pictures.

Mom and Dad have also been busy around the house. Dad's been working really hard on the Mustang - he got the old engine out, re-did all the brakes lines and wiring, and now he's putting the new engine and transmission together. A friend from work is coming over next week to help him put the engine and tranny in the car. Mom's been working on her rock walls for the garden again, and ended up having to dig one side about 4 ft deep to get a rotted tree trunk out. Now she has to get some good foundation filler before she can finish the walls. She's also been splitting the wood Dad got delivered. The guy Dad bought the wood from is supposed to bring another cord and his splitter, but that hasn't happened yet, and Mom decided it would make a good workout. She's gotten about 2/3 of the way through 2 cords so far.

Here are some pictures of Mom's trip to the Frank Church Wilderness, Dad cutting down the tree, and our trip to the Bob Marshall Wilderness - enjoy!
https://picasaweb.google.com/Daphne.ItchyDog/BobMarshallTripAug2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKCC5py_7q-2nQE&feat=directlink

All fixed up!

Sorry it's been a while since I last updated you - Mom has been too busy to sit down and type for me - again.

So, the last time we went to WSU they did another CAT scan. The tonsil tumor is completly gone, and the lymph node had shrunk significantly, so they went ahead and did surgery that afternoon to take it out. It took them a little longer than they thought it would, but they were able to get all of it out, and set it off for biopsy. It was still cancerous, so that means I have to stay on a maintenance drug and go back to WSU every 3 months or so, but I don't have to have any more chemo or radiation - yeah! Unfortunately, the surgery site got infected with MRSA, so I had to get it drained, be on really expensive antibiotics for 2 weeks, and Mom and Dad had to flush the site every day for about three weeks - that wasn't any fun at all. But it's all over now, and I feel really good. The only weird thing is that the fur over the surgery/radiation site is growing back in curly instead of straight!

Anyway, a few other things have been going on...not that they're important next to me. Mom's been gone a lot - she's been going to Tacoma a lot to help get her Mom's old house ready to put on the market. It's kind of sad to give it up, but none of the family can live there. She's also been skiing quite a bit, although my cancer slowed that down. Dad went up one day too with some of their friends from church.

Dad and Mom also finally found a way to make the garage a better place to work - they poured concrete patch in all the really big holes, and then put Garage Tek flooring down over all of it. Dad says it's a lot nicer to work on now. Dad and Mom also planted some trees to help diversify the forest (some blue spruce and austrian pine) and they tried to plant a couple of apple trees, but they both died in about a week. It's either too high a PH here or the knapweed killed them.

Mom also painted the West and East walls in the house. THey are now a nice forest green rather than "old gold". Took Mom about 5 tries to find the right color, and they had to rent scaffolding to do the big wall - even that was a little tricky because she had to put a step stool on the top of the scaffold to get to the very tippy top - it was a little tricky!

We've managed to go hiking only a couple of times - the weather has been really snowy/rainy and wet (it snowed Easter morning!) and Dad's been working a lot! Mom's also been on some hiking adventures without us - boo - she went for a day trip with some friends, and just got back from a 4 day backpacking trip with the Wilderness Institute in the Gallatin Mountains. She was part of a "Citizen Scientist" trip to monitor weeds and wilderness character in the Hyalite Porcupine Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study area. They looked for (and found lots of) noxious weeds, documented the state of the trail system and area, and they saw a moose and a black bear. Mom said she had a great time with a great group of folks.

And one other piece of news - Mom and Dad are not on the Fire Dept anymore. Mom had a disagreement with the new Chief, and Dad never liked it, so they resigned. Mom's still not very happy about it, but the rest of us are thrilled! No more loud beeeps and strange voices in the middle of the night from the stupid pager!

There will be pictures uploaded shortly of all of these activities! Hope you're having a great summer!

Really Happy!

So, just got back from WSU Vet Hospital where I got another dose of chemotherapy and they took a CAT scan - yuck, I hate cats! (You know I had to say it!) Anyway, there is still a small mass where the lymph node mass was, but it's much, much, much smaller - they can't feel it when they probe at my neck - and it may not be anything but scar tissue.

I've got at least one more round of chemo to do, maybe two, and they've added another drug to inhibit future tumor growth. The docs are very happy with my progress! I might even be getting my voice back - it's coming in a little louder, which doesn't make anyone but me happy, but my happiness is what counts here anyway!

Doing Great!

I just had my three-week checkup, and the doctors at WSU are very happy - they didn't take any scans, but just looking at me and probing around, they say the tumors are essentially gone. They did give me more chemotherapy, and I have to go back in another three weeks for scans and another dose of chemo, but everything's going really well. Dr Fidel (the oncologist) is actually going to talk about me at a conference she's going to because they used this new faster radiation protocol - I'm the first American dog to do this - and she's really happy with the results and the lack of side effects.

Lack of side effects - but I lost my voice! And Dr Fidel says it's probably permanent! I think Mom is pretty happy about this horrible turn of events though - I kept warning her of all the people walking within my eyesight when we drove to and from WSU, but all that comes out is kind of a choked-sounding gasp, like I've got a really sore throat - but she kept telling me to be quiet anyway. She thinks it's funny! I don't think it's funny at all - how am I supposed to scare off all the bad things if I can't bark? I guess it's a good thing Schultz has a loud bark, but he's just not a good enough substitute for me!!!

I'm baaaack!

I'm back and feeling great!!! The treatments did the job, and we're back home! I'm happy to be home even if Schultz is still here - it's great to go on off-leash walks again and chase deer and turkeys and bark at the neighbors! We do have to go back for a checkup in three weeks, and I'll be getting some sort of continuing treatment on a regular basis, but I'm doing really well now. Here's a picture just to prove it!

I'm back to full voice!

I'm almost done with my treatments - yeah! Yesterday was supposed to be my last radiation treatments, but the machine broke, so I'm back in today for the last two. The docs say my tumors have shrunk dramatically, and I'm able to eat and bark and whine just like I used to! I don't think Mom appreciates my voice being back, but she's pretty happy about the rest of it.

We went on a nice long walk yesterday since I couldn't get treated, and we went to the Moscow dog park, but there wasn't anyone else there, which was kind of a bummer, but it was good to be off the leash and sniffing around. Mom has been feeding me like crazy, so I'm almost back to my normal weight too - I like all the treats! Schultz is going to be so jealous!

I have to have some more treatments in about three weeks, but we might be able to do that in Missoula instead of coming all the way to MSU, which would be great - I miss Dad!

Anyway, I feel great and I'm headed home tomorrow - yeah!

No Fun At All!!!

Boy, this isn't fun at all - I can't believe Mom is doing this to me! And I feel horrible too - this just sucks. So, you remember from my last post that I had this weird esophagus disease? Well, it isn't that at all.

See, I started getting worse, and coughing more, and having more pain, so we went back to the Internal Med vet and he did some ultrasounds on my throat - turns out, I have cancer. He thought it was thyroid cancer, and recommended I get surgery in Spokane or Washington State University. So, Mom made an appointment for me in Spokane, but I got sicker well before the appointment, so our regular vet stuck a bunch of needles and fluids in me, and Mom drove me to WSU late last Thursday night. Good thing she did, 'cause it turns out I was having a bad drug interaction problem, and on top of that, I don't have thyroid cancer, I have tonisillar cancer which has spread to one of my lymph nodes. The big tumor on my tonsil was the reason for my coughing and pain.

Since it's spread, surgery really isn't an option, so I'm getting radiation and chemotherapy. Which means Mom and I stay in a hotel at night, and she drops me off at the WSU vet hospital every morning, where they put me under and give me radiation treatment twice a day - or that's what they tell Mom anyway - I just fall asleep a lot there. Even though the doctors and techs are all really nice, I don't like it there and I just want to go home. But Mom says we have to stay here at least another week - yuck! My tummy is all upset all the time, and I just want to lay down on my bed next to Dad at home and sleep, but no, I'm stuck here with Mom. Mom is OK, but I really want Dad!

Anyway, even though I don't feel very good, the cancer is shrinking quickly and we should be done with this part by the end of next week. I know we'll all be happy to get back to normal!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I keep trying to get Mom to type in the blog for me, but she's always doing something else or Schultz thinks he's going to get food and he gets in my way – I have such a tough life! I wish I had opposable thumbs.

Anyway, it's been a pretty quiet fall. Mom and Dad say the colors were really nice this year – no early cold snap – and we've gotten quite a bit of snow already, although we haven't gone cross country skiing yet. Mom went downhill skiing (for the first time in 2 years) with a friend from Church last week – 9” of fresh powder – at Lost Trail Powder Mountain. It's a nice little hill, has great snow and is very reasonably priced.

Dad left me with Mom and Blockhead to visit his Dad in Missouri earlier this month. He saw his Dad's new house, met his brother's kid and played bingo – nope, I can't see Dad playing bingo either!

The fire department has been pretty quiet, although there was one 24 hour period with four car wrecks. None were particularly difficult, just a lot of directing traffic, which is actually a pretty dangerous thing to do – everyone's on their cell phone instead of paying attention to where they are going. Dad and Mom have both had to move pretty quickly to avoid being run over – which is not the easiest thing to do in the clown boots that are part of a firefighter's gear.

Mom also got herself elected to be a fire department training officer – she's a glutton for punishment – and Dad has elected himself to write up an initial training plan for new firefighters – I guess they're both gluttons for punishment! But they both have a lot of experience with training and training plans, so they're the right folks for the job.

Mom is still singing with several choirs at Church – the Christmas Vigil Mass was a rousing success – and has been asked to join the Pastoral Council. Just before we moved here, her parish had just finished building a big parish center, so they're looking for some folks to help refocus parish planning to more “normal” ministries rather than capital campaigns. Mom's background in strategic planning should come in handy.

We also added another member to our family – a new pony! No, not a real pony thank goodness, a 1965 Mustang coupe. I guess when Dad started working at O'Reilly's Auto Parts, he started remembering how much fun it was to have a classic car, 'cause all the other guys working there have project cars. So, a relative of one of his coworkers was selling their low-mileage, no-rust, two-owner '65 Mustang, so Dad HAD to take a look. Well, he liked what he saw, so now it's in our garage up on blocks. Dad's already replaced the front suspension, converted the brakes to disc brakes, and has an engine in a crate ready to put in. He's also remembering how much he hates working on cars! Especially since our garage isn't heated, so working out there this time of year isn't the most fun thing to do, for Dad anyway – I have plenty of fur to keep me warm, and Dad put a dog bed out there just for me.

While Dad's been working on the car, Mom has been attempting to implement some of the techniques you see on those 30 minute home improvement shows – without a lot of success, I'm afraid. She tried to sponge paint the loft wall so it would have a nice forest green look, and it turned out more like a swimming pool! Unfortunately, it's just paint, so she's going to try again – more things to make me sneeze, and more chances for Schultz to track paint around the house!

Speaking of sneezing, Dad and Mom were getting worried because I started coughing a lot – kind of a gagging cough. So we went to the vet (I hate going to the vet, even if she is a really nice lady) and they took an x-ray and put me on more drugs. The drugs didn't work, so up to the Internal Medicine vet in Missoula we went. Right after he came in, he stuck his hand way down my throat – I really don't like him! But, it turns out I'm pretty much OK – I just have this weird thing that only happens to larger-framed dogs – the nerves in my esophagus have gone dead, so when I'm lying down, there's nothing to tell my swallowing reflex to work to clear the saliva that normally occurs. Then, when I get up, all that saliva goes down my windpipe instead, causing me to hack and cough – it really makes it difficult to run outside fast and protect the house! Fortunately, the doc said it's just a nuisance kind of thing, not anything horribly serious – and that I'm just going to drool and cough a lot now. Like there wasn't enough drool around this house already with Blockhead around!

So, that's all the news for now – we hope you have a Very Happy New Year!

Glacier Grumbles

Well, Mom and Dad did it AGAIN! They took us to a cool place with lots of dogs, and I thought we were going to just play like last time, but no, they LEFT US THERE! For days and days - I thought they were never coming back - and they were having fun hiking! Stupid National Parks don't let dogs on the trails, so when Mom decided to re-live her youth they had to leave us in a kennel. Did I mention it sucked? Especially since I had to room with Blockhead!

So, they went hiking in Glacier National Park for four days. The pictures are are here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Daphne.ItchyDog/Glacier2010?feat=directlink

They don't all have captions yet, but that should happen shortly.


So, for those who don't know, Mom worked for two summers at Many Glacier Hotel in 1982/83. She was a maid the first year, and a singing waitress the second - this was back in the days when the employees also provided the entertainment - there were "Hootenany" Monday nights, a musical theater production each summer, multiple other evening entertainments, and the wait staff in the dining room sang 4-part harmony songs twice a night. There's a nice display in the Many Glacier Hotel lobby about those years, but Mom isn't in any of the pictures. BTW, for those who have a hard time believing Mom was a maid or waitress, she freely admits she was BAD at both of those, and was not invited back for a third summer, due to her "poor attitude" - big suprise, huh?


They spent the first night at the Belton Hotel which is just outside of the park in West Glacier. This hotel was orginally a dorm for the railroad workers building tourist facilities in the park. It has an awesome restaurant! They also drove up towards Logan Pass that afternoon/evening since the weather was so nice and Dad had never been in Glacier before. This turned out to be a very good idea, because the weather quickly deteriorated and was downright lousy the next day. Unfortuately, they had to hike the next day because Mom, trying to fulfill her childhood dreams, had booked the next night in Granite Park Chalet, which you have to hike to - there is no other way to get there, so they hiked in a cloud (and rain) all day. They did get to see a bighorn sheep up very close, and there weren't very many day hikers on the trails since the weather was so bad. They also got to do something else Mom hasn't done since her Glacier Park days - hitchhike! The park shuttle shuts down after Labor Day, so they had to leave the truck at "the Loop" lot, and hitchhike up to Logan Pass. Fortunately, a VERY nice couple from Lake Tapps picked them up (in the rain!) and got them up to Logan Pass in style! Thanks again folks!


So, even though they were hiking THE iconic Glacier trail, they couldn't really see anything - fortunately Dad was a good sport about the whole thing. It helps that the trail, although it's 7 miles long, is pretty easy hiking. He wasn't so thrilled with the "Chalet" - even though Mom had warned him it was basically just a hiker's shelter - he was still expecting cute girls with hot cocoa and a mint on his pillow, which needless to say, didn't happen. The other historic, hike-in chalet is like that, with full service meals etc...but Granite Park doesn't have a certified water system (although they did lots of testing this summer, and that's probably going to change) so they can't offer full service. What they do have is bunkbeds (you can bring a sleeping bag or order linens), a full kitchen for guest use (you bring your own food or pre-order it and it will be waiting for you), a pretty extensive list of basics for purchase (water, cocoa, candy, etc), a wood stove in the main dining room area and lots of boiled water for use in the kitchen. While the main dining area is warm and cozy, it did get a little confining - if the weather had been better, we would have spent most of the time outdoors. The bunkbeds are in individual rooms (unheated!), but the walls are pretty thin - you can definitely hear your neighbor's conversations - and they give out ear plugs before bed time! Mom slept pretty good in her cozy sleeping bag, but Dad said he was cold in the rented linens.

The next morning had better weather, but it was still pretty socked in - they did get to see a black bear in the distance, and lots of mule deer by the Chalet - and they got "attacked" by an aggresive grouse on the trail out. Evidently people have been feeding the grouse, because it was very forward, pecking at everything and climbing all over the packs. See the pictures at the link above.

So, Mom and Dad hiked out, then checked into a cabin at the Glacier Outdoor Center - they're very nice cabins and quiet - then bummed around West Glacier a while, and drove to Whitefish for dinner. The next day they went back to Logan Pass and hike the first part of the Highline Trail again, so Dad could actually see it. He was pretty impressed with the scenery - said it matches or beats Colorado - and Mom was really happy he got to see the real beauty of the place.

Then they drove to Many Glacier Hotel - it was REALLY windy there, so they didn't do much outside - but they fulfilled more of Mom's childhood dreams by eating dinner in the hotel dining room (the food is still kind of marginal) and explored the hotel. The employees don't put on entertainment anymore, and the basement area where they had the musicals and dances has been cut up into banquet rooms, so that was kind of disapointing, but it was still fun to see. They also drove over to the Swiftwater area (the other side of the lake) to see the motel and camping areas, then drove back to West Glacier. Dad took lots of "Hail Mary" photos out the window of the truck, and got some nice ones!

On their final full day, they drove up and over the pass again, and hiked 4 miles up the Piegan Pass trail on the east side of the park. They were planning on going back to Many Glacier to ride horses or hike, but the wind was going to be howling there again, so they decided to stay closer to the Pass area. But it was good decision - it was a beautiful day, and a beautiful hike - next time they plan to go to the top!

The next day they drove back and picked us up - finally free! - and we all got home safely. Mom and Dad say they're going back next year, which sucks for us, 'cause we'll be back in the kennel. Stupid National Parks and their stupid rules!

Well, we've done other stuff since then, but Mom wants to get this part posted, so I'll write further updates shortly. Have a great fall!

Catch Up Time Again!

So, it's been a busy summer! The patio and walkway from the house to the garage is almost done - just need to add the gutters and fence it off so Blockhead and I can hang out there during the heat of the day. Ok, so we'll be inside where it's even cooler - but Mom will enjoy it! We've added some new pictures so you can see the progress:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Daphne.ItchyDog/HousePatioAddOn?feat=directlink

We've also done some hiking. Mom did a LOT of hiking, but without us - boo! Here's the last hiking trip we all took:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Daphne.ItchyDog/Summer2010Hiking?feat=directlink
It's on the Watchtower Pass trail - since the spring was so wet and cool, the wildflowers were still blooming in July. It was a great day - not too hot, lots of water to drink from the creek and hamburgers after the hike!

Then Mom went backpacking with the Selway-Bitterroot Foundation on an eight-day trail maintenance trip - and she didn't take us! They started from Indian Creek Campground on the Idaho side of the Bitterroot Mountains - the Forest Service packed their big backpacks up the first day on mules, which was good, because the trail was really steep! Unfortunately, Charlie and the mules didn't get to go the whole way, and the group had to pack all of their gear and the trail maintenace gear (2 big crosscut saws, small saws, and pulaskis) for the rest of the trip.

The biggest problem on the trip was finding water - while they had a map with campsites and springs on it, actually finding the springs was sometimes really difficult, and involved some serious bushwacking. Finally, with the lack of water and the afternoon thunderstorms, they decided to make 'a run for the border' to the Montana side, and try to work back a bit on the trail. Day 5 of the trip was a tough one - a six-plus mile hike at 7000-8500 foot elevation - and the thunder and lightning started just before they reached the pass. They literally sprinted (as much as you can with a heavy backpack) down the pass until they reached some healthy stands of trees. Then there was just enough time to put up tents and get something to eat, and the deluge started - it stormed most of the night.

Fortunately, the next day was nicer, although they couldn't go back to the Idaho side to work on the trail due to the thunderstorm threat - but Mom and Rachel, the crew leader, did go back to the top of the pass and work their way down, while the other three crew members, Cassie, Stephen and Ben worked their way down. Fortunately for them, some Backcountry Horsemen had cleared a good bit of the trail already. Mom and Rachel also went down the trail from their camp to find an old log cabin, which had been destroyed by a falling tree. It was pretty neat to see.

So, Mom came back a day early - yeah! She was pretty tired, and said she had muscles in new places from all the sawing, but also said it was a beautiful trip and she had a good time. The pictures are here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Daphne.ItchyDog/SelwayBitterrootFoundationTrailMaintenanceJuly2010?feat=directlink
The picture locations on the map are extremely approximate! If anyone wants the actual GPS locations of our camps and springs, they're here (in UTM format):
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Aq5idZX2fIPidGhUbjdlM0hVdWZCSnVYNFZlWnBweEE&hl=en&authkey=CIOhnukC

Dad and Mom have also been up on their first Forest Service fire. They helped on the Victor Fire water tender with the Dominic Point fire, and were really, really bored. Fortunately, the weather was very cooperative, and basically put most of the fire out - so there wasn't much need for water. It was a good experience, but I don't think they'll be volunteering to do any more of it anytime soon!

Well, there's a little summer left, and I hope we get to do some more hiking - when we do, I'll post more pictures. Have a great summer!

Finally Summer!

We've finally gotten to summer here in the Bitterroots - with a bang! It's been cool and rainy, and then, wham, Monday we had 93 degrees! It's been kind of busy too - all kind of projects.

Dad is working at O'Reilly's quite a bit - he's filling in for folks on vacation - so he's been gone up to 4 days a week, which leaves me stuck at home with Blockhead! He still likes his job for the most part, but gets annoyed at people who thinks he can read their mind, or magically know what part they need without a make and model.

Mom decided she was tired of getting rained and snowed on between the garage and the house, so she decided we were going to build a covered walkway. Dad said "Whatever you want, Dear!" Then, she decided as long as we were going with a walkway, why not build a covered patio back there too? So, since this would take forever (and probably several more trips to the hospital) if they did it on their own, they hired a friend's company (Turner Remodeling, co-workers at the fire dept) to do the job, and Mom and Dad help out with muscle and non-skilled labor. This keeps the project from turning into an unfilmed version of "Renovation Realities."

Unfortunately, as normally happens with these kinds of projects, things have gotten added, changed and found, which is increasing the cost and time of the project - Dad now refers to it as "The Eighth Wonder of the World" - and means that we're stuck behind our temporary fence longer. Of course, that means we have new people to bark at everyday, so that's not so bad!

Mom and Dad started the project by removing the vinyl siding on the house, which isn't hard or physically tasking, except when you have to yank on things when you're standing on a ladder 20 ft in the air. Then the contractors took off some of the house wrap to find a the right place to tie the addition into, and route some wiring (one of those add-ons!) and dug out the patio area and framed it. The first unpleasant surprise was the amount of clay in the soil - they had to dig out quite a bunch and replace it with gravel to have a good patio base. Then there was the second unpleasant surprise...

You may recall from a post over a year ago that Mom and Dad had a Heat Recovery Ventilator installed in the house to improve theair quality and prevent mold build up. Unfortunately, when they tore the house wrap off the lower part of the house (which was conventionally framed, not foam panels like the rest of the house) there it was - mold all over the OSB. So, that all got torn out, and new foam insulation was sprayed in. And that's not cheap! But it will be a much better solution in the long run.

The concrete pour went well, as did the new OSB. Mom sanded all the new beams and pillars for the patio, and then Mom and Dad stained them. There are still a few to go, but the biggest ones are done. We're now at a waiting point - Mom and Dad told the contractors that our project could be done inbetween the other projects they have from the start - so we should see beams and posts going up sometime next week or so. You can see all the pictures so far here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Daphne.ItchyDog/HousePatioAddOn?feat=directlink

In other news, Mom went to a class on how to cut people out of cars with Fire Captain Scott. Modern cars are really safe and strong - but because of that, when you get into a really bad wreck, it's harder for the Fire Dept to get you out - the reinforcing materials in today's cars are very strong - so the tools referred to as the "Jaws of Life" aren't strong enough sometimes. Fortunately, this class specifically focuses on how to cope with the new car designs. There are a couple of pictures here - the last three in the album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Daphne.ItchyDog/VictorVolunteerFireDepartment?feat=directlink

Mom also volunteered on National Trails Day, June 5th, with the Selway-Bitterroot Foundation to do some trail maintenance. She helped install new turnpike (timber framed walkways across boggy spots) on the Rock Creek Trail at Lake Como with a bunch of 20-somethings. She's going to take an 8-day backpacking trip with them in early July to clear a trail from Indian Creek campground on the Idaho side of the Selway-Bitterroot National Forest all the way over to Watchtower Campground on the Montana side. She'll be sure to post lots of pictures when she gets back. Here's a couple of pics of the Rock Creek Trail Maintenance - Mom's hiding behind a tree branch, second from left, in the group photo below.

And while Fire Season has been very mellow so far this year, with the warm weather, the problems have started - Mom and Dad fought two "wildland" fires yesterday! One was a controlled burn from April that restarted yesterday afternoon - in 9o+ degree heat - and the other restarted at 0130 in the morning - they didn't get home until 0400!

Hope your summer is a happy and safe one!

Burnin' down the house 2

Dad and Mom went to another intentional structure burn a couple of weekends ago - this one was organized by Corvallis Fire - they're the only ones in the valley with yellow trucks. We all make fun of them of course. Anyway, this burn was well organized and the building construction was interesting - the entire building is made up of mill end 2x4s stacked on top of each other like bricks!

Evidently, back in the day when there were a lot of mills around here, the mill workers could bring home all of the mill ends they wanted, and they just stacked them up to build houses! The mill ends looked like they were 1 to 4 ft long on average, and stacked on the outside of a frame. Anyway, it takes a while to get it burning, but once it starts, it really goes fast and hot. See the photos here (starting at photo #6 in this album): http://picasaweb.google.com/Daphne.ItchyDog/VictorVolunteerFireDepartment?feat=directlink

In other news, Dad is employed again, which makes him happy and me sad - more time alone with Blockhead! Dad is working 2 to 4 days a week as a counter person and parts delivery guy for O'Reilly's autoparts store in Hamilton. He mostly likes working there, but does find some things rather annoying - like people expecting him to magically know what make, model and year of vehicle they have, where the part they asked for and purchased goes in the vehicle, and how to diagnose a vehicle's problems from the sound over a cell phone! But he likes helping little old ladies install windshield wipers.

Mom is keeping busy doing grant writing and strategic planning for the fire department. Both of these are challenging and keep her brain engaged without putting much of a strain on her free time, which is important to her! She's also working in her CSA garden on Friday mornings (see the link to Clearwater Farms) and continuing with her music ministry at Church. Mom also completed a First Responder's course for the Fire Dept this spring, and just has to take the Montana state test to get her license. First Responder is the lowest level of medical training/licensing you can get, but is perfect for her position in the fire dept - it would be very rare for her to be on her own with a patient for more than 5-10 minutes before the ambulance shows up, at least in the district. She's considering adding on a Wilderness First Responder's endorsement, which requires a little more ingenuity and self-sufficiency, but would be good when we're all hiking in the backcountry.

So far, fire season has been pretty quiet - it's been a rainy and cool spring, we had hail and snow yesterday - so we're all happy about that! We hope your spring is as beautiful as ours!

More hiking photos

Hi all - I've added some more photos to our Winter Hiking album. See the link below. We hiked up Bass Creek and Sweathouse Creek - only a couple of miles on both because the snow is still pretty deep up there. Mom and Dad are pretty happy about that - hopefully it will snow some more!

Happy Mom's day to all the Moms out there!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! And Happy Birthday to Handsome Shrek!

It's a White Easter here - we got two inches of snow yesterday morning and another trace this morning, but since it's going to be in the low 50s this afternoon, it's not going to be white for very long. Mom and Dad are happy though - more snow, less fires!

They've been to quite a few fires in the last couple of weeks - lots of folks not too smart about when to burn - one burned about 20 acres of pasture, but fortunately we stopped it before it got to any structures.

Mom is off to Church to sing, and then there's a brunch - I wish I could go to the brunch!

Hope your Easter is as blessed as our is - Alleluia, He is Risen!

Burnin' Down The Field...

(apologies to the Talking Heads)

Dad and Mom did a controlled burn with the Fire Dept for training on Sunday evening. You can see all the pictures at the same link as the last post. Although the pictures look pretty wild, there was no danger and everything went very well. Good training!

Well, sorry it's been a while since I updated my blog - Mom has been very frustrated with our slow connection at home, and I'm not allowed in the Fire Hall (dog discrimination!) - but there hasn't been a whole lot going on anyway.

It's been a very warm and wet winter. We only got to cross country ski three times, and the snow is all gone at our house already. Mom and Dad are NOT looking forward to fire season - it's been quiet so far (open burning started 1 Mar) - and they're hoping it stays that way. Dad is seen here doing his 'fire dance' to the gods of fire to keep them placated. I'm not sure it will work - Dad's dancing skills are, well, interesting.

Dad and Mom have been busy cutting up trees and gathering slash from around the yard - thus the big burn piles. There's still a lot to do, but they put a pretty good dent in it.

Our cross country skiing and winter hiking adventures are shown here: http://picasaweb.google.com/Daphne.ItchyDog/Winter2010?feat=directlink

Our last x-country ski trip was unfortunately very painful for Dad. Blockhead did it again - just as we were getting back to the trailhead and the truck, a big white dog came down to see us. Well, Schultz overreacted (again) and went for the submission hold on the back of that poor dog's neck. So Dad grabbed Schultz around the back end to get him to let go - there was a bit of a struggle - and he finally let go and the other dog ran back up the hill to its owner. Unfortunately, the owner skiied off before Dad and Mom could say more than "check your dog's neck" yelling "it's OK, don't worry about it" and that's when Dad found out he'd been bit. It was just the tiniest scratch, but you just can't take any chance with rabies - it's 100% fatal. We drove around looking for the lady and her dog, but no luck, so off to the emergency room we went. Poor Dad - his butt was pretty sore, because it took 4 shots of the immunloglobulin (sp?) and then a series of 5 rabies shots - he gets the very last shot this week. Fortunately, they're not in the stomach like they used to be!

So, last week we took a ride up to Dog Werks in Rock Creek - when we first got there, I was pretty worried about all those dogs being there, because one Blockhead is enough, we don't need more - but we just got to run around the yard with the dogs, which was fun! Well, it was fun for me - turns out Schultz is a big chicken, that's why he attacks other dogs - who would of guessed a big 110lb GSD would be a fraidy cat! So, Mom and this nice lady worked with Schultz to get him calmer around other dogs, and we're going to go into town for walks a lot more so Blockhead can confront his fears and realize not everyone is out to get him. Of course, that process is pretty painful on the ears - he constantly squeals at the top of his lungs when he get scared or doesn't get his way - he's just embarrasing to be around. I'm sure it will work eventually, but it's going to be humiliating for me! And of course, it's all about me!

Well, that's all the news for now - we'll keep you posted!