Pooped Puppy

Tara got her first "camping" experience this weekend. So, it wasn't really camping, but we went to the Rolling Huts in middle northern Washington this weekend. The huts are a series of structures designed by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen (who Ryan works for). Because of a land use issue not allowing permanent structures to be built in the land, they were put on wheels. They don't actually move anywhere, but theoretically they could.

We drove up there Saturday morning. There were 8 people going, so I had 4 in my car, and Tara got to hang out in half of the trunk. It's a good thing I've got my wagon now! She did really well back there. The route that we took went through a mountain pass that had just been opened the night before, so there were huge mounds of freshly cleared snow on the sides if the road. It was a really beautiful drive. It took about 4 hours to get out there to the middle of nowhere. Tara was thrilled to get out and run around the huge field where the huts were. When the other car got there, we played a little Frisbee and Tara decided to play monkey in the middle. I've never seen her run so fast! You go girl! I think that's what made her so sore the next day. We wanted to do some hiking before it got dark, so we headed out to find a trail head that had been recommended to us. It was supposed to be halfway between where we were and the next town. Apparently we missed it and ended up in the town. It was a cute little touristy town done up to look like an old western town. We figured we would find the trail on the way back, but missed it again and just ended up going to a river bank and walking around for a while. Every view in this area is unbelievable.

Back at the huts that night, we grilled out and hung out on the back deck for the rest of the night. It was an amazingly clear night, and being out in the middle of nowhere, the stars were soooo bright!

Sunday morning we met with one if the people who works for the huts who was going to give us a little tour of the owners' vacation home which is also on that site and designed by OSKA. The inside is pretty small and cozy. The highlight of 

this project, besides the breathtaking location, is the movable panels on the outside of the house. When the owners are gone or want to close up for a while, there is a mechanical system that closes panels on the exterior to make it a solid box. while we were there, the panels were open, and there were massive windows to frame all of the amazing views in the mountains. After the tour we walked around the area and Tara decided it would be fun to go on a swim in the strongly currented river at which time Ryan got to run in after her, getting lots of clothes wet, and save her. She's not the smartest puppy ever.

When we got back to the huts, we decided to go for a little hike in the woods close to the camp. I don't think Tara was very good at this either. She wasn't amused by the lack of a path most of the time. She did however enjoy swimming in a much calmer part of the river. We took a break and played fetch with Tara into the river. It was mostly snow melt, so the river was freezing! Finally Tara realized that and I had to rub her down to warm her up, after which we headed back to camp. The ride home a little later was, one again, breathtaking. We stopped a few times to snap a few good shots of the landscapes.

To see many many more pictures, go here.