Hello, Matt stepping in on this post on Jackson’s blog. I have been busy for the last few months with a pretty big personal project. After Jackson’s last post on August 31 I didn’t check back on the blog for quite a while. It appears from the traffic history the page went down sometime in November and when Jackson wanted to do a post I found I couldn’t access the page. That was in December so when I finally started trying to find out what happened I couldn’t restore from the backups as the system only goes back 30 days. After some excellent customer service where I host my site I was able to troubleshoot the problems and get the page running.
Jackson is working on a new blog entry so we should have some news from him soon. We both hope everyone had joyful holidays and have had a great start to the new year.
Woof, I have been one busy dog! We have been back for a while, but I never did a wrap up of our trip. After we left St Paul we were super busy. We went to visit my friend Nate in a town with a funny name like Wetcorney or Corneywetter or something like that in Wisconsin. Our friends, Nate and his humans Bob ad Paulette used to live in North Carolina but moved to that Croneey place. We had a great time visiting with them.
Our next part of stop wasn’t really a stop, we met up with another of Matt’s friends and we drove and hiked all over this place called Up somewhere in Michigan the only problem I could not figure where up was! I got to see some new places though. I liked the Great Lakes, they are big as oceans, woof! The waves are a lot nicer there, not as scary as the big ones at the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. We went to waterfalls too there is a lot of water in Michigan (and mosquitoes too!).
This is me at Pictured Rocks rocking it in a boat, woof!I am swimming in a Great Lake and woof, was it great!
Next we went to Ohio to see my friend Lisa, I had not seen her for a long time and was sad to learn my friends Pugly and Lucky had gone over the Rainbow Bridge I miss them. I was so glad to see Lisa and meet her new furry owners. All of us had fun at her place.
Woof, Matt has so many cousins I cannot keep up with them all and I wonder how he does. When we left my friend Lisa’s house we visited another of Matt’s cousins in West Virginia. I saw some big birds when we were there, Matt said they were turkeys. I have never seen such large birds like that before. The next couple of days we did a lot of driving, Matt went to the place where he was born where he went to a bunch of places and took pictures.
I am glad we came back to Marlene’s place in Welcome Valley. It’s always nice there even though Hobo, her cat does not like me much. We stayed there for a week sleeping and resting and relaxing, woof it was nice not driving, well riding in the truck for a change. After Welcome Valley we left for the Smokey Mountains in the rain. I was looking for Smokey the Bear the two days we spent there but I did not see him
Our campsite at the Great Smoky Mountains.
Then we stopped at Matt’s friend in Asheville. I get to meet Ziva while we were there. She is the boss of Rodney and Valerie, her humans and Matt’s friends. After we left Ziva’s house we were back on the Blue Ridge Parkway and camped at a place called Crabtree Falls. I wanted to ask Matt why the trees are crabby but I was afraid he would laugh at me. We hiked down to the falls while we were there and enjoyed our last hike of our long trip.
Spending the night at my friend Lucy’s place where her human works at Betsey’s at Wilson Creek in Mortimer was next. We stayed for two lazy days so we would not be too tired by the time we got home.
After we got home I still needed to rest and Matt had to do a lot of catching up, after all we had been gone for five months. Now we are both editing our photographs and videos plus writing about our trip so expect to see more soon, woof!
We are off to Tennessee this weekend to see the eclipse (it’s my birthday present from Matt!)
Woof, hello everyone we have been busy the last couple of weeks and what adventures we have had. We are now well east in Minnesota visiting friends in Saint Paul.
We headed east after we drove to the end of the US until we could not drive any further and then we walked until we could not walk any further. When we reached the very point of Cape Flattering, oops, I mean Flattery, I got so close to the edge it made Matt nervous. He said the cliffs there were undercut so you could fall from the edge breaking off. We were pretty high above the ocean. I stood there and thought about how far we have come. Living in the truck can be cold and cramped but it has been fun so far. We started driving east after our walk and have seen a lot more but it will still be a while before we get home.
This is Cape Flattery and as far as we could go west!
Before our walk out to the very edge of the US we were in a rainforest. It was a green, green forest. Green enough where I can see the difference. It was wet all over and mossy. It smelled wonderful. I liked when Matt drove up into the clouds and then up above them to see snow and tall mountains. On a hike by a big river we saw big deer. Matt said they were Elk and not really deer. One of them barked at us and Matt said we needed to leave right then. It was real loud, and I think they followed us a little way.
I also wanted to mention after walking to the edge of the continent we went back to my friend Sophie’s house. I got excited when I recognized the smell of her place until I remembered Matt said no one would be there. I really wanted to see Sophie again and also Liz and everyone else but Sophie is my special friend. We left the next day and Matt drove the truck onto a big boat called a ferry, I like riding on those. I have ridden on one before, but this one was bigger and I got to walk around on this one instead of staying in the truck.
So far on our trip east we have enjoyed visiting several parks. We have seen more tall mountains and snow. In North Cascades National Park where we spent two days hiking and enjoying the sights and smells. Glacier National Park was fun too. It was another park that was not all open. We camped on both sides but had a long drive to get from one side to the other. We really started going further each day after making quick stops by other places. One place was called Littlebighorn – woof! I just cannot figure out that name, next we saw Mount Rushmore that place had four big heads of men carved out of the tops of the mountains. Matt told me they were big in more than one way after I told him what I observed. Our next stop was called Badlands, I was wondering why they were called bad, did they do something wrong? I did not want to listen to a long explanation this time so I did not ask Matt about it, woof!
This is St Mary Lake in Glacier National Park I had to get a permit to hike in this park.Me and Matt at Badna!
Well after St Paul we will be going to a state called Wiscoccon tomorrow and visit my good friend Nate and his humans and after that to a place called the Upper Peninsula.
Woof, woof, what fun we had on our last two days of our trip! We drove for a long time. It was so hot my human said we were going to head for the mountains in a state I have been in some, Virginia. We drove from a place call Binghamton, I wonder if they have ham there and what kind ham is Bing? Woof, maybe Bing is the name of the man that has the ham and there is a ton of it? Woof, I think I may be onto something. Well we drove all the way from Bings place to a place in Virginia called Shiny Doe National Park. I like going to national parks even though at most of those I am only allowed in certain places.
Our campsite, ruff, I like campfires!
Ruff, one bad thing along the way was we got stuck on the big road that has so many cars and big trucks zooming by, but they were not zooming at all for a long, long time that afternoon. All we could see were stopped cars ahead and behind us. On the other side there was not any cars, the road was empty. Woof, I have not ever seen anything like it. Cars with flashing lights and sirens passed by us on the part of the road you are not supposed to drive on. Finally we started moving again, but we got to our campsite later than we wanted. Instead of afternoon, we got there in the evening but before the sun went down.
Woof, watching the sunset at Shiny Doe!
Woof, I can almost see why the park is called Shiny Doe because we saw plenty of does all around our campground and all over the place. There were big deer and baby deer eating all that good tasting green grass there. I just wonder when they are shiny? They did not look very shiny to me! We were camped at a place called Big Meadows and they were big. Not as big at that Gray Sun Park in Virginia, but it was big, woof! We got there in time to take some sunset photos, well Matt did. I am having some problems with my harness my human is going to have to work on so I only took videos on this trip. Though Matt does have some tricks where he pulls out a frame of the video to make a photograph, ruff!
Our hike at the Big Meadow.
On our last day we went to a place called Dismal Falls. Woof, I do not know why it was dismal, it was fun and I got to swim and swim and swim! I was fun and I think it should be called Fun Falls because there is a big swimming pool right below it!
Well we are back home now so my human needs to work on my videos, look for them soon, woof! He says we have some plans for our next trip, but I am not telling yet. I really enjoyed this trip and look forward to sharing photos and videos of it, woof, woof!
Matt here again to explain a couple of the place names:
– Shiny Doe Park is Shenandoah National Park
– Grey Sun Park is Grayson Highlands State Park
and of course the Scooty is a reference to Nova Scotia
Woof! We made it back to the USA after our trip to that big country above us. We had fun in that Scooty place, we drove all over and I got to hike and swim at many different places. We saw places I could not swim, where the water was not clear at all. The water was red just like the earth is at home, that was strange. My human said that was because this thing called tide came in and out so fast it stirred things up. We saw one place where the rivers ran backwards sometimes, woof that was really strange. Now we are in places that look more like our mountains. The water is clear, but right now there is not much water in the streams. Matt said it is because there has not been much rain.
We drove a lot when we left Canada (that is what my human called the place where Scooty is.) We drove through that Maine place because it was so busy and hot. Then we came to a state called New Hamster. It was much busier with humans, cars, and dogs than the Nova Scooty place was. When we got to the New Hamster Matt was getting a little discouraged but he said we were going to make the best of it so we stopped and he took pictures even when it was crowded. Then we started looking for a campground to spend the night and it looked like we were going to be out of luck, ruff. Then at one of the campgrounds we stopped and a nice human told Matt there was a place with plenty of places to camp. We drove through some busy towns along the way, but the all of a sudden it was like everyone left. Well not everyone, but it was more like normal when we go camping, woof! We found a nice place with big tall trees surrounded by big tall mountains. There were trails and clear streams and just a few humans and dogs, just enough to make it nice. One thing that I am puzzled about is where are all the hamsters? Is not this place called New Hamster? Are they new? I saw plenty of chipmunks, maybe they are mistaken and calling them hamsters, woof!
Our New Hamster camp!
Then we set up our campsite and ate dinner. Then my human started a fire and put my pad next to it along with his chair. It was so nice and comfy. I just love camping; I listen to the voices of the other humans and dogs, woof, woof. Those sounds are almost mystical (I bet you did not think I knew that word or what it means.) Everything sounds muted and pleasant. Then the owls started hooting like they did at the house we used to live in. I like hearing them. One was hooting on one side of the campground, then another answering on the other side of the campground.
This was close to our campground. I did not swim here, but I did get to swim in a stream, woof!
Well we are off again and not sure where the road will lead us. We will find out when we get there, woof!
Matt here again to interpret some of Jackson’s place names:
Of course the Scooty place is Nova Scotia and New Hamster is New Hampshire!
Woof, woof, what a day we had at the cape park. I was so busy having fun I forgot to look for that cape thing. We got up early in the morning just as it got light and drove to the park from our campsite. The first thing we did was drive by a stand where a nice female human took some money from my human. She gave him a map and told him places I was not supposed to go. Luckily there were not many places I could not go, woof! We only drove a little further and took our first hike. We went up a big hill where we could see far, far away. I saw some rabbits on the trail and ran over to them to say hello, but they ran away, Matt would not let me go in the woods after them. I guess he was afraid I would get lost looking for them. I do not know why they all ran from me. All I wanted to do was say hello and ask them a few questions. The next place we went was at a real rocky beach where the waves come crashing in. Waves are strange; they come at you and then go back. It is almost like the water is alive and coming after you. I still have not quite figured them out. I do not get to see them very often, woof! The beach was one of the places I was not supposed to go so I sat in the truck and watched my human take photographs.
This is me at a beach where I am allowed, this is not in the National Park. Even the little waves here were after me!Hiking on one of the trails.
Then we took a hike to a waterfall. I decided to walk mostly in the stream and it was fun, the water was so clear and it even smelled good. When we got to the waterfall I got to swim in the pool right at the waterfall. It was deep, nice and cool. Matt said he walked eight miles, I bet I walked twice that, ruff! Humans are good walkers, but they are slow and a dog has got to do what he has to do, run! We had a great time hiking together and I loved being in the park greeting nature and other humans and dogs along the trail. I did record some videos, but Matt said we would wait until we get home to edit and post those.
Woof, having fun swimming!
Well we are headed back on the long trip home, but Matt says we will have fun and visit places on the way back so we will see you from the road, woof!
PS – Matt here this was the day we spent in Cape Breton Highlands National Park – it is a beautiful place and dogs are restricted only in two places; the beaches and the Skyline Trail. I did a small portion of the Skyline early in the morning while Jackson was in the car parked in a shady spot. The rest of the time we were hiking together.
Woof, woof! What a great time we have had so far. We have been in Canada four days now and have been to so many places. After camping near the place where the water runs backwards and has big whirlpools we finally made it to the Scooty place. My human calls it Nova Scotia, I think that sounds funny and guess what? We have been traveling by Funny Bay and it is funny! The water gets real high and real low. My human would not let me swim there because he said a thing called tide (is that not a detergent?) comes in and out so fast I would be taken away by it. I would not like to lose my human so I decided he was right so I just looked at the water. It was not clear most of the time. It was so red that even I could see the color! Woof! We were at Funny Bay for two days camping by the water, it was very pretty there. We went by a lighthouse at a place called burnt coat. I kept looking for that coat to see if it was burnt, ruff, but I did not see one!
Yum, yum, ice cream!
Then it started raining so we went to a big city, but it was so busy and crowded we left there and found a neat place close to a famous lighthouse named Peggy Cove. She must have been special to have a cove and a lighthouse named after her., ruff. Woof, woof, I did get an ice cream cone when we were driving there that day and it was good, they even put a doggy treat on top!
Me at Peggys!
It cleared off that night and we got up early the next morning so my human and I could take pictures. He said there would be a lot of people there and the best time would be very early in the morning. Besides, having been an art director for my human I know morning light makes good photographs. We spent a lot of time photographing the lighthouse, the village where the humans live there, and along the rocky coast. It was very pretty. After taking the photos we packed up and went to a place called Picktoo or something like that. I really liked the campsite we got in the park near the Picky place it is called Cariboo something, boo who? After we set up camp we went into town to see the boats and village. I liked it; there were friendly people and not at all busy like that big Halley city. Now we are at some place that has a cape, I have been busy looking for and when I find it, I will let you know.
Me at the Boo place!
Woof, that is all for now, I think Matt has something to say so here he is!
Matt here I think need to decode a few names here for everyone. Jackson has a hard enough time with our local place names, but when we headed north he just doesn’t quite understand them. Here are a few interpretations:
Woof, woof a lot has happened since my last entry. I have moved to a new place, I miss my old window, I saw a lot going on with the humans, but now out of my new window I see all kinds of birds, ones that buzz like bees, big ones that swoop down at the other birds and critters, and black ones that are loud. I see a lot of rabbits I go over to play with them, but they usually run off so I go back to play with my human. I have him trained pretty well. I still need to work on him some; he could do a little better. Our move took a long time because we downsized, well that is what Matt said. He said we had too much to take care of and keep up with. Now we are living with Frodo, Matt is renting a room from his human.
Me looking out my window at my old place.
My new window.
We have been busy, well my human has, I have been watching. Since we came back from our last big adventure he has been busy moving us to the new place, but that is over and now we are leaving today for another big adventure. I know we are going far away again. Matt said it would be different than our last trip. There will be a lot of trees and water this time! Woof, I like that, maybe I will get to go swimming this time, woof! We are going to a different country, oh this makes my head hurt sometimes, my human had to explain countries to me. On our last trip he had to explain what a state was because we went to so many. He said now I am going to be an international dog, whatever that is!
Woof, what I want to do on my next adventure, explore creeks!
Well this time we are going to a place call Canada, did I spell that right? That name seems pretty easy. The place in Canada he said we were going is call Nova Scootia I think, do you scoot there, I wonder? Woof, well we will find out, we are leaving this afternoon and I am packed and ready. Woof, I wonder if Matt will ever finish packing. Humans always take so long to pack. It just takes the patience of a dog just to watch…
For those that have just joined us on Jackson’s blog (he took over my blog here months ago) I am adding this note. We are back from a month-long road trip visiting the desert canyons in the American west. I enjoy traveling, but I always regret my best buddy can’t go on a lot of my adventures. This was one of two we have planned this year centered around Jackson joining in on the grand adventure. Jackson is going to be doing all of the blog posts. We will be posting our photographs on our Facebook pages (and a few here also!) – Matt
Woof, woof, I meant the title to be a pun, no it is not my last leg! We got back a week ago my human tells me, I have a hard time figuring out how long a week is and I just rely on my human keeping track of non-important stuff like that. I guess it is time for my account of the last part of our trip. Ruff, of course I will write more about what we did, but Matt told me to do a chronological account when I started this. Woof, I had to say stop right there and tell me what “chronolococal” was. That is a new word for me and I didn’t understand. He told me it meant to write the story in the order it happened, or that is what I understood from his explanation.
The view from our campsite in Nebraska at Ft. Kearney State Park.
Ruff, back to my story. In Nebraska we watched some birds he called Sandhill cranes, there were so many I could not even think about trying to count them. Later that morning my human met some friends. After seeing my friends Bob and Paulette Matt said we needed to go because the weather was going to get colder and we might as well start the trip home. We only drove four hours that day so we did not get far. I think Matt said we were in Springsomething Missouri. The next day we were supposed to get up early and leave because my human said we were going to drive for a long time. Well that did not happen, when that thing my human calls a phone (you know that thing you humans look at and talk to all the time) made and irritating sound when it was still dark, he turned it off. We left later then we were supposed to and then drove, and drove, and drove and kept on driving. I think we drove through three states. We went over big rivers and saw mountains again late that evening. Finally we drove up to a house made of logs where a cat lives and I got to meet my Facebook friend Aunt Marlene, my human said we were in southeastern Tennessee. She was real nice to me and gave me fried chicken (without bones) and other good treats. Hobo, the cat, was not too happy with me at first, but he got better before I left.
Aunt Marlene’s back yard.Aunt Marlene giving me some love.
After the long drive we stayed at Aunt Marlene’s place. It was in a quiet valley on a farm near a river called Ocoee. Once again I did not get to swim, ruff! It is a lot smaller than the other rivers, but my human said it was a dangerous one because it flowed so fast. After resting (and getting treats) for a day we got back in the truck after my human packed it back up. We made one more long drive, I got excited because it started smelling like places I knew and had been before. Then I started smelling places close to home and finally we got home in the afternoon so we had time to unpack. Well my human had time to unpack, I watched, woof!
Now that I have I finished my account of our trip I am still going to have more to say about what we did. I tried to let you know what we were doing as we did it. Maybe that is what that “choro” word means, ruff! I still have photographs and videos we have not looked at or edited, so I haven’t had the last word yet, ruff!
Matthew Irvin & Photo Dog Jackson – Photographers and writers
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