Shocker....Greg and I like to camp. I can't really remember when we started, but we occasionally camped in the Arb at Gustavus (never got caught), and several school breaks found us in tents all over the country. I used to camp in my family's front yard. I'd stay out there until my mom told me to act civilized and start sleeping in the house or my dad had to mow the lawn. Must be in the blood.
A little less than four years ago, we became homeowners, and almost immediately afterward, dog owners. Osky, a five-year old part border collie entered our home and hearts in 2003. We were unsure how having a dog would impact our numerous hiking and camping trips. It soon became obvious that Oscar liked hiking even more than we did. Camping....that was another story.
We planned our first camping trip with Oscar in mid-April. We usually go north for hiking/camping, but in mid-April, we headed south, where the snow was gone and the rivers were running. We chose Whitewater State Park for our destination, packed up Goldy with the big tent, and set off. Naturally, this being a Maass family trip, we didn't arrive at our destination until well after dark. Oscar was content to sit in the car while we set up the tent. But not nearly so content when it came to sleeping in it. He did not enjoy the tent, whined to get let out, and generally made a huge pest of himself. A long walk around the campground to sniff and pee on about 45 things placated him a bit, and we settled in for the night.
We awoke at an ungodly hour to Osky whining to go out. Greg told him to shut up (standard practice at home) and he did for awhile. Right around sunup, he was whining again, and again told to shut up. Which he did. The next thing I saw was Greg hurriedly pulling on his pants. He informed me that Oscar had figured out how to let himself out of the tent, and was doing god-knows-what outside; something that involved a lot of other dogs barking at him.
He was retrieved by Greg, and many of our fellow campers were apologized to, and all was well. We tethered Oscar securely to the picnic table and began to cook breakfast. Oscar got a small bowl of dog chow, which he quietly went to work burying in the hard dirt. We didn't notice until after breakfast, when it began to rain. Picking the swollen, soggy dog chow up was a chore that fell to me. The rain was getting worse, and some lightning and thunder (Osky's nemesis) were off in the distance. Our rain-soaked oatmeal had been a less-than-satisfying breakfast, and after waiting out the rain for awhile, we decided to take the road any hard-core outdoors people would take....the road into Winona where we could eat lunch at Green Mill.
Greg and I had a nice large lunch inside, while Osky waited out in the car. We took him the leftovers...one piece of pizza and several pizza crusts, which we planned to give him later. Back at the campsite, the rain was letting up a bit, and we changed into hiking boots and clothes. Oscar took that opportunity to bury his pizza crusts in the ashes in the fire pit.
And we were off on the trail. Osky loves to hike more than anything, so we were finally having a good time. He enjoyed splashing through the Whitewater River, and we were enjoying just being out on the trail after the long winter. That's when we had our first encounter with the "sniff-sniff-flop." Now easily recognizable to us almost immediately, the sniff-sniff-flop is Osky's patented response to SCAT! But at this time, we didn't know enough to pull him back soon enough, and he was soon wearing greasy, blackish poo all over his white fur. The thought of sharing the tent with him for a second night, already quite unappealing after the first, became downright disgusting. Luckily a bath in the Whitewater River left him looking and smelling like....a wet dog.... but not a feces-covered wet dog, at least. The rest of our trip was actually quite uneventful.
After that camping trip, we took Oscar to Tettegouche. We brought him his own blanket, which improved his behavior considerably. We now always tie the tent doors shut with boot laces, to prevent early morning escapes. The only incidents of note were when we woke up to Osky shaking woodticks all over the tent, and when some deer invaded the campsite. (Oscar, for some reason, has an incredible prey drive for deer). So we adapted, and now Oscar is our camping buddy. He is an especially good camper if we've hiked more than 10 miles that day.
But now we have a new dog, Spiro, so this season's early camping trips should be interesting....
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