Steamboat One



Mark and Sean setting out

The running here is about what I expected, except for my own dogs. The course is very straight forward, and the fine wool ewes started the day moving off the dogs beautifully and working well. They tired mid-day, some ran off, some stomped a little, but all in all they worked consistently well. I only saw a few sets put back and no bad draws to speak of.

Spectator Hill

I woke up to frost this morning, that is after I ran the heater for 20 minutes. I left the "dog window" open last night, but won't let the warm evenings fool me again. It got cold overnight. Once the sun gained "Sleeping Giant" mountain, it warmed up and temps hit the 80's this afternoon with almost no wind at all. Surprisingly, the heat didn't effect the running, but Dexter was pretty disappointed that I hadn't faced his window into the sun when I parked the RV. I forgot all his clothes at home and it took him a while to warm up.

Mr. Peabody's coal train

I had dinner last night at a place called Bistro CV with friends who summer in Steamboat. We passed around what the restaurant calls "small plates" of duck prosciutto, lamb tar tare, oysters, and some kind of spectacular mushroom in a warm vinaigrette sauce. I just managed to leave room for my other small plate of a BBQ flavored chicken pot pie ensconced in a corn bread covering that made me linger it was so good. Leave it to Larry and Joella to know just where to eat. Thankfully their excellent taste trumped my desire for a cowboy bar with sawdust on the floor, country music and a steak. With the food, the wine and uncommonly good company, I had a blast.

Mountain Boyz

I had funny entries at this trial. I am running Mirk Saturday and Sunday, Buff today, and Star tomorrow. That was the only way I could get all 3 dogs in, and I vacillated between running 2 dogs twice and the way that I did it. This trial counts for next year's finals in Klamath, OR, and Mirk needs all the help he can get. Buff is on this trip to trial, but Star needs to prep for the nursery finals. I don't know if it's right, but neither Mirk nor Buff accomplished much today. Mirk never put a foot wrong from the lift on, but skewered himself once again on the outrun. I'm just glad there's only 20 points to lose there, and I'm sure he lost them all, running completely out of contact by the distant set-out for some stupid reason.

Buff was DQ's before he even got started. On a left-had outrun there is a steep, grass-covered bank that leads up to the highway, and he took to it almost immediately after I sent him, A horn blast from the judge's truck put an end to the scoring, but refusing to stop or recall, Buff brought his sheep smartly down the field anyway. That debacle put an end to Buff's summer trialing, and he's just along for the ride from here on out.

Pah-tay

Hostess, Marianne, had this great idea for a photo shoot with all the hands, and all their dogs. Some came 4 and 5 in hand. I chickened out and just brought Price and Dexter, but it turned out OK, and the photog was snapped. Afterward we adjourned to mid-hand's camp for appetizers and BYOB. It was very kewl to visit with folks I haven't seen, in some cases, for years. Gerald Bunney hasn't aged a bit. Marianna and Nancy Schreeder are such fun, Terry Warner is always good company, and I refer to Mike and Terry Warner as the Mike and Terry show. The Texas contingent is here in part, and I love Emil Luedecke, in case you're wondering, but newcomers Gary and Stephanie Payne, and Chuck and Vicky Riley are right up there with one of my all time favorites, Ron Burkey. He's really funny btw. Laura Hanely added cheese to my crackers for the hand's pah-tay, and I had a nice visit with she and Mike today at the trial. It's OK, Mike. Dexter will recover from the minor bike incident.

OK, so tomorrow is another day, and I'm running my first string. Mirk and Star run late, and I don't expect the ewes to improve through tomorrow's running, but both can hang, so it's OK. Anyway, I gave up taking this stuff too seriously a long time ago, and it's hard to go wrong surrounded by beauty in a place like this.