Parker Selleck

On Friday afternoon, Dan and I brought home the newest member of our family, Parker. He's a 16 pound Norwich Terrier and is about 1 and 1/2 years old.

Over the weekend, we've learned that he's full of energy and love. When he meets new people, he covers them in kisses, which is really cute. Unfortunately, he smells like pee because of the shelter. A bath is in order, as is a haircut, but we have to wait about a week because he was neutered the day before we brought him home.

The up sides of having a dog:
He's a great companion, keeps us busy and has lots of love. Dan and I have to work together as a team to train him and teach him some basic discipline.

The down sides of having a dog:
Unfortunately he gets excited easily. This has led to some issues with introducing the cats to him. My chest and arms are currently covered in claw marks from the cats getting away from him. So, we're finding out that this whole cat/dog thing is going to take a long time to overcome.

Hopefully with time, consistency, and love, this anxious small dog will turn out to be a well mannered household companion and he'll give the cats something to play with while we aren't home.

Hart's Cove & Aluminum Foil

Hart's Cove, the end of the trail

This past weekend, Dan, our friend Toby, and I decided to get some fresh air at the coast. After consulting the "Hiking Oregon" book, we decided to check out the Hart's Cove Trail in the Suislaw National Forest. It turned out to be a beautiful hike that takes you through the woods and down to the Pacific Ocean.

Portland has had a weird summer. With only a few glorious days of 90 plus weather, the standard has become a mid-70 temp with overcast skies. Basically, it's felt like a really long spring. Itching to get some sunshine, we thought maybe we could find some at the coast.

On the two hour drive to the trail head, we saw lots of clouds and even fog, and only a quick glimpse of a small patch of blue sky. My hopes of seeing some sun were sinking, fast.

Before the hike, we wanted to make sure we knew we had a place to camp. With no reservations, finding a campsite in a state park is impossible. We checked out Cape Lookout Campground. Full. On to the National Forest campgrounds. After driving for an hour, we came across a small 5-site campground off of OR-22. Best of all, there were picnic tables and fire rings, and it was free! Perfect.

We set up our tents and then headed out to the trail.

The nice thing about Hart's Cove is that it you descend the whole way, so it's not very strenuous hike out. However, the hike back to the car is all uphill. As the trail breaks through the trees, there's a huge meadow and ocean. The sun was shining and we were happy to sit down for some lunch and catch some sun. Finally, sunshine!!!

Toby & Dan tending to the fire as dinner cooks.

After we made it back to the campsite, dinner was next. On the menu was bbq chicken and corn on the cob, followed by banana boats for desert. The master chef (that's me!) didn't check the propane tank before leaving the house, and had to alter cooking methods when the tank was discovered to be empty.

Toby gnawing on his corm.

I wrapped the chicken up in foil, doused it with bbq sauce, and tossed the packets in the fire to cook. The corn was also wrapped and cooked over the open fire. An hour later, our faces were covered in bbq sauce and butter. The perfect weekend.

Toby & Amy making their way through JiffyPop