Tyler’s Tails

I am not trying to stick my nose in here. But I am aware that without Dad’s efforts on the FollowToto Internet thing, there will be no accounts of my antics, and also of Wally’s annoying (but, apparently, endearing) exploits.

So here is the rest of the story about Maryhill State Park on the very big river in Washington, the state where we live.

I have to be careful here. If I get too good at this Dad is just going to think I’ll do it, and then he will spend all day doing Solitaire.

Okay. Here is a picture where I am the main subject. There are some other things in the picture, but I am the one sitting up, like a Good Boy, on the green camping cot. I believe I am sitting up here because I have a special Dog sense that, on the next camping trip, Wally is going to cause beverages to be spilled on the cot, and it will likely never be the same. So I am sitting up.

Sooz, Tyler and Wally posing awkwardly in front of Toto.

Remember the awning that Dad knows how to put? He does know. But also remember Dad said there is wind? There is, or rather was. So the awning is not put. I don’t care. Do you? Sometimes Mom cares.

Do I have a carefree, windblown look? I think not. I think I look concerned. But I don’t remember what it was about, because, as I mentioned, Dad should have made this blog post days ago. I’m really more of an in-the-moment type. But I will try. Oh. Why did I include this picture? It was in case you forgot what I look like. Just so we can really connect. You know.

Many times during our stay at Maryhill, it began snowing, at least I thought it was at first. The white stuff was everywhere in the wind, but it did not make my paw pads hurt like the other white stuff, so I guess this is not snow. Mom and Dad said Cottonwood after consulting the internet thing on their phones.

These things plump up and white stuff comes out. Mom and Dad called it Cotton Stuff. Can you tell Dad got a new camera? Bizarre.

One day while at Maryhill Dad took us to see a stone hinge.

Stonehenge Memorial, Maryhill, Washington

This is a Stonehenge replica created by someone many decades ago. It is a salute to the memory of people who died in a war called the Great War. Wars are kind of stupid, I guess, unless they’re fought over food — that I could see. Especially hot dogs. Still, pretty stupid. Humanoids should figure out a better way to disagree.

If you look really close, in the middle, you can see me, on a leash. Oh and you can probably see Mom and Wally too. But wait till you see what it looked like when we arrived.

Motorcycle Club having fun at the Stonehenge Memorial, Maryhill, WA

That’s right — the stone hinge memorial was surrounded by a motorcycle club. They were having an Outing. They seemed to be having a good time. Dad said that maybe the builders of the original stone hinge wished they had big bikes like these people had. That made no sense to me.

The view from the memorial attracted Dad and his new camera the way hot dogs attract me. For all the work he put in, he said the pictures were Unimpressive. Too bad. Maybe it was all that howling wind. Do you like how I bring Dog words into my work? I do.

Well so finally Dad observed that we were camped in some sort of Transit Hub. Trains, cars, barges and tugs. Here, then, is a Barge Picture I chose from his campsite photos.

Tug pushes barge downstream on the Columbai

Remember I said about the Trains? Or maybe that was Dad. Anywhere there were also Barges and Tugs.

Dad drove us home after this picture. It was a good drive through the Columbia River Gorge, which frankly was prettier than where we camped. But everything is beautiful, everywhere, really. Except maybe Wally.

Sharing is caring!

Following is daring.

It is about time you heard from Team Toto again. But at the pace he’s been going lately, Dad isn’t going to get another post put together before Memorial Day. I am stepping in, filling the void, as it were, before Wally does. You don’t want to read whatever Wally might have to say — trust me.

Please do not think I hold Wally in anything less than the highest esteem. He is, after all, a living being, and as such deserves respect and courtesy. In my experience — more than eight years of it, I might add — this approach is best.

I have decided to share with you my opinion about a product. It is a thing Dad acquired at the Camping World store. When he brought it home, Dad told Mom that it was a thing called On Sale. Mom cocked her head — Mom and Dad really don’t know how to do this correctly — and spoke in a low growl (also not really correct). Something about when is there not a sale going on at that place. I lost the thread a little bit. It happens.

Anyway, here is the probably the best way for you to view the thing Dad brought home — a picture showing how I use it.

Tyler the Cairn Terrier, lying on a nice RV mat.

If you can stop looking at me for a moment, you will see that I am lying on something. This is the thing Dad got and brought home and called it On Sale. This caused Mom to smirk. You might want to take note of how good I look in this picture. It is something I am used to hearing. Also, someone should point out to Dad that there is an additional product placement exploitation opportunity in this picture.

I am not going to leave you hanging, wondering what is this thing. It is an Aeroweave Breathable Outdoor Mat – Santa Fe. The Santa Fe part refers, I believe, to a color, or really a combination of colors. It is also a city in New Mexico, which is not very much like our home in Gig Harbor. You see? I have been listening.

Now, about this mat. It is big. It might be many times the size of my bed (the one in the dining room, the one I rarely use, because I prefer the recliner). The colors are muted. I know this because Mom said Look At Those Muted Colors.

You might or might not know that Cairn terriers are colorblind. Not figuratively — we see the nuances in life — but literally. Literally, we see things in shades of gray. They are all beautiful, in each moment, always. The shades, I mean.

This Outdoor Mat – Santa Fe is woven. Some idea of what this means is looming somewhere above my head, but it hasn’t arrived yet, and I’m not sure about it. There are no threads. There are thick strings which have the same scent as used plastic water bottles. I have known this scent since I was six months old and Mom and Dad took me to a beach place called Tofino. One of them dropped an empty, used water bottle onto the carpet, and I found it to be a wonderful chewing toy. It made a satisfying crackle sound. You would have liked the sound, too.

Here is what I can say about the Mat. First, Dad needs to understand where to park Toto, so that the mat will not be partially on the parking pad and partially on the dirt or the grass. When there is this kind of split, there is a tripping hazard. It doesn’t bother me, but I have seen both humanoids and, of course, every time, Wally, trip over this thing.

But that is not the Mat’s fault. That is something for Dad to work on. I believe he will take this constructive criticism philosophically — he might think of it as an opportunity to make the better, kinder choice and earn his way to a higher life form next time. Probably not all the way up to Cairn terrier, but some degree of progress, perhaps.

The Mat does seem to collect some of the stuff from my paws, and possibly humanoid shoes, before it gets walked onto Toto’s theoretically (but rarely) pristine floor.

Also, I’m okay with how the Mat improves the feeling of lying down on Earth. There is less abrasion to irritate my sensitive tummy, and possibly less dirt. I am an Earth dog (Dad says, incredulous), but I prefer something between myself and Earth. Things should be soft, and a little cushioned. That is just how I feel. It might make me an imperfect choice for reviewing a Mat, but, I will remind you, no one else is taking the trouble to post anything here. I am just trying to help.

One other thing to note is that a windy condition will cause the corners, or even a whole side, of the Mat to raise up off Earth and behave unpredictably. Carefully spaced grommets, however, allow Dad to fasten the edges and corners to Earth, and this defeats the wind’s efforts. Ha ha. Dad can be clever.

I remember on our last trip, Dad used these grommets, by hammering stakes into their centers and down into Earth. People who had nothing much else to do called this a Tripping Hazard. I’m not sure about this; I don’t know about that. I have never tripped on anything in my life.

On the whole, I would say that the Aeroweave Breathable Outdoor Mat – Santa Fe is a fine piece of design and workmanship. It looks like it will last a long time. Mom and Dad find it easy to shake out, although Dad has muttered several times that Mom is difficult to locate when it is time for this shaking. When Dad shakes it out on his own, then, the next time we go camping, Mom wonders why it doesn’t look cleaner. I think that humanoids sometimes find life puzzling.

I get it.

I am going to try and find Dad now. I believe it may be time for Snack.

Sharing is caring!

Following is daring.

Once again I will try to fill in for Dad.

It just lies there.