Home

Well, we're home.  It took the day yesterday to drive back, unpack the leftover supplies plus everything we bought (sadly, that was not a small amount), do four loads of laundry, and clear emails.  I'm exhausted actually.  I couldn't even muster the energy for the dog's walk last night - in my defense, there were others besides myself and my daughter, who is also very tired, who could have done it, but the dogs survived and we'll pick up the routine today.  This is exactly why I gave myself a day before work - I still have to wash the car and fold all that laundry, but there's time to get back in the rhythm of home life before going back to the workaday life we escaped for a time.

We - or at least I (I suppose it's not fair to speak for others) - had a marvelous time.  Hocking Hills State Park lived up to what I'd read about it and then some.  A plethora of modest waterfalls and black hand sandstone outcroppings and gorges, it is a nature lover's delight.  And, for the most part, it is immensely dog friendly.  For the most part.  There were a couple of trails we couldn't hike into for fear of them being too treacherous for someone packing a toddler on her back, so they are also not designated as dog friendly, and there is one where dogs simply are not allowed because the ecosystem is so delicate - as a matter of fact, they've closed off parts of it because the humans couldn't behave themselves and be environmentally conscious  either.  But just about everywhere we went, we saw hikers with their dogs.  Big dogs (BIG dogs - we met a young man with a truly breathtaking great Dane the color of polished pewter in the lobby of the chalet office) and little dogs (we saw a woman wearing a Yorkshire terrier on a front carrier on one trail) and everything in between.  The only cabin we could see from ours was occupied by a couple with their pair of hunting dogs.  So I felt the pangs of regret that I didn't at least tow Sirius along for the ride - he would have loved the trails, he could have been taunted by the notch-tailed squirrel that lived at our cabin, and he could have had lots of other dogs to meet and greet.  But, there were those trails where he couldn't go of course, and there were times we went into town, where he would not have been welcome.  I barely think we were (while the staff at the chalets were beyond excellent, and the folks we met on the trail were great - including a woman who spent a good amount of time giving me some photography pointers - the actual local inhabitants of the small local town and surrounding farms could spot us as tourists immediately and were not quite so effusive: of course, I did sweep in with a lot of Black and Gold and that might have played into it).

People and dogs can enjoy the beauty of Ash Cave

But above all else, the car was indeed packed with all the stuff it takes to feed and clothe three people, including a toddler - so, booster chair, diapers, stroller, and toys along with everything else.

Sometimes you just gotta get a doggo fix

Of course, none of the dogs have any idea what they missed.  Other than us, that is.  They definitely missed us judging by their reaction when we got home.  To say all three greeted me with unbridled enthusiasm wouldn't be accurate, but only because Sirius powered the other two out of the way.  Geddy and Rooney had to wait their turn, and Sirius was not too eager to give way to let them have it.  If you ever wonder if your life has meaning - which I do ponder quite often - get a dog.  They will validate you, both as being loved and being needed.

They have us all back together for now, so they are contented.  I have the Collie Army by my side, and a lot of treasured memories of the week with my family.  But, I'll be going back sometime so Sirius can get his trail on.