Every spring we get the urge to head northeast to the Mojave National Preserve. We decide to take Tanner Squid and Lily Belle, our house sitter taking care of Fiona and Chucky. Our first trip with Lily Belle!
Nothing better than that first afternoon! The peace and quiet goes on forever at our secret spot. So nice to be away from all the other campers. Time to toast the trip!
As you can see Lily Belle has commandeered the most comfortable seat in the Mother Ship. She's a princess ya know...
Unfortunately LB either chewed a whole in her pad or she may have stepped on a piece of glass. Entirely possible in Amboy, but she had been licking and chewing her front paws from the allergies. (She was on meds to curtail the allergies.) I kept it wrapped with the tape & gauze from the first aid kit and learned a valuable lesson...when camping with dogs make sure you have Vet Wrap! She was a trooper.
After the very first trip outdoors Tanner Squid comes in with this paw:
Ouch... We don't know if something bit him or what, being the wound was on the top of the paw. Needless to say a trip to the vet was inevitable as soon as we got home. Neither injury was life or death thank goodness. TS is still fighting this. Hopefully it heals up soon.
View from our patio...
Lots of nothing as far as the eye can see! Perfect:-)
The dogs take over the patio. They can be tied out or in the pen complete with comfy crates. We have a big mat down so we aren't on the dirt.
Lily Belle's outdoor accommodations:
The bed came in each night:-)
Around the campsite:
Burro Bush and Littleleaf Ratany
Engelmann's Hedgehog & Burro Bush.
Cotton-top Cactus & Burro Bush. Burro Bush, Burro Bush, Burro Bush everywhere. My allergies were acting up!
Camping kite. A tradition with Mike.
We found out Tanner Squid HATES kites! Non-stop barking till the kite was reeled back in. What a goof!
A lovely sunset to end the first day.
Good morning Mojave! The road we walk down so the dogs can relieve themselves. Wild Horse Mesa to the left.
We had a picnic lunch here 2 days in a row. This is Mid-Hills Campground.
She enjoyed being Queen of the Picnic Table.
This area was hit by the Hackberry Fire back in 2005. What a shame. Took out all of the old Pinyon Pines and CA Juniper. What used to be forest, is now very bare. You can see the hump of Cima Dome in the distance.
The Preserve has one of the densest Joshua Tree forests around.
Wildflowers galore!
End of an adventurous day for all of us. Lily Belle enjoying lap time and an evening fire.
Do I really need to stay up here? If she was in her spot, we could make sure she wasn't chewing on her paw:-/
The Squid relaxing inside the Mother Ship.
And the end to another great trip to the Mojave National Preserve. Kinda glad not many folks make it to the preserve unlike Joshua Tree National Park. Can't wait till the next trip!
