We found an off-road area with absolutely no cactus or spiny things of any kind. In fact, we took a walk barefoot--I'm used to it, Lou definitely isn't, so I considered that a breakthrough of some kind. Of course, the two Mike's Hard Lemonades he drank probably didn't hurt either.
Anyway, since the two pups were wandering around with us and exploring a little on their own, we figured they'd probably taken care of any physical requirements. Wrong. Pennie was fine. On the way back, good old Charlie wandered around in the car for a bit, slept in the back, then climbed into the front and onto Lou's lap, something he usually doesn't do, so we probably should have considered that an omen of some kind. Since that little pup is so compact and heavy, after a while Lou asked me if I'd take him on my lap again so he could get enough feeling back in his legs to drive. So I did. Mistake. We should have realized all that wandering and wide-awakeness just isn't Charlie's normal activity in the car: he's usually sound asleep the whole time. Pretty soon my legs started feeling a little warmer than usual, then a whole lot damper than usual, then dripping! The little monster had pee'd all over me! What could I do? Not a thing except sit there with my pants soaking wet, with about 50 more miles to go, and just laugh. Charlie? Well, he snuggled down in the nice little warm wet place and went right to sleep.See that narrow dirt road in the middle of the picture, right below the cliffs? It goes all the way back through some tall rock walls on one side and mud walls on the other. Four-wheel drive is the best, though because there are some really deep sandy and rocky areas.
Here's the spot we found. We explored barefoot way back between the rock walls - went quite a ways back with some nice beach-sand type trails. It was a wonderful spot for a picnic dinner and some star-gazing as well. Very warm night with some breezes.
Lou was nice enough to pose--and didn't even make one of his normal faces.
