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Tag Archives: roadtrip with dogs

Basalt and Junipers

From the lands with few trees and granite and then sandstone, we drove to the land of basalt and junipers. Lots of junipers. So many that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is cutting down or pruning many of the junipers. I don’t know why – maybe to ease fire danger or provide more rangeland for cattle. I really like the junipers. They seem to grow right out of solid basalt with little dirt. There were some cottonwoods and willows along the river.

We camped south of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southern Oregon. It’s a very pleasant campsite with a river on one side and a spring-fed creek on the other. We were next to the creek. The dogs loved it. They could cool off any time they wanted. We toured the refuge and some areas around it and also walked and walked, right from the campsite. It was a very relaxing place.

Dogs on Granite

I was concerned that the rough rock and granite sand would be hard on the dogs’ feet but none of them had any trouble with it. And none of them had any run-ins with cactus needles! Willow and Juniper were fairly unseparable. Except when Willow found a ball and was not going to share it with anyone. She had great fun with it that evening and insisted on taking it in the car. We made one attempt at getting a four dog snapshot but it was not to be. Sky is the only that understands the concept of sitting for the camera. Willow will hold for a couple seconds but that’s it.

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