It's a Pittie-full Life
  • Home
  • Travels with Tucker
  • Is it Tucker-Tough?
  • Precious Cargo
  • Renovating Rover
  • Tucker's Favorite Folks

Travels with Tucker

I'm not John Steinbeck and Tucker is certainly no Charley. But after our first year together travelling over 14,000 miles, criss-crossing America, hitting 17 states, I thought it was about time we started documenting our adventures.

Our Easter Weekend Services

3/27/2016

0 Comments

 
As I’ve mentioned before, Nature is my Church. I used to hike alone, a solitary pilgrimage through my sanctuary. When Tucker entered my life, he proved to be just as spiritual as I am when it comes to our place of worship. On those final miles to every parking lot, his cries and moans and general sing-song whines indicate he can’t wait for service to begin. Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s my kid and me on these ventures, but every now and again, I get to bring a guest. This Easter weekend seemed fitting that Tucker and I share our spiritual journeys with our equally spiritual friend Krystal, who drove up from Atlanta.

On Good Friday, as she made the vehicular voyage northward, Tucker and I had our private outing at Pink Beds Trail Loop in the Pisgah National Forest. We haven’t been hiking in some time, and it was evident that Tucker’s patience had grown quite thin. He barked the entire time I was in the ranger station getting maps as if I was leaving him out of some grand adventure and forgotten about him.

Once we reached our designated parking lot eight miles from the station, Tucker jumped out, eager to hit the trail.
Picture
I’m curious to know what the path will be like in summer, as now in the transition from winter into spring, it is a network of magical brambles. Each tree twisting and turning, each in their own original way.
Picture
And then there was this one: proving that sometimes simplicity can make you stand out in a crowd.
Picture
As we came to a T in the path on the edge of a stream, I accidentally stepped into an invisible butterfly garden. Their closed wings were white, so I didn’t see them until I took a step closer to the stream, and a flurry of purple-winged butterflies alighted around me in what I can only describe as a Disney Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah moment. No bluebirds, but lots of butterflies. I tried to capture the moment, but only caught Tucker’s reaction.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
It was a great first outing here, and nothing makes me happier than seeing my boy so joyful at the close of our afternoon.
Picture
And then equally exhausted.
Picture
But despite his exhaustion, Tucker is always ready to welcome guests—even to a place we’ve only called home for seven days. And having our guest come along with us for another Church service was even more pleasure. Tucker even made it into Krystal’s ongoing positive picture campaign of Krystalisms while I stepped out of the vehicle to get gas:
Picture
Dupont State Forest was the destination, a place where you need to return a number of times to hit every mile of the trails they offer. We began with Hooker Falls.
Picture
Not terribly impressive, but a waterfall nonetheless. The parking lot was crowded and people aplenty. This was the opposite of our hike the day before.

Tucker was more impressed with Triple Falls.
Picture
Although after two photos, his intent was clear: Can we cut it out with the photos please? There’s a lot more trail to cover.
Picture
By the time we hit High Falls, the third on our climb up the mountain, Tucker’s focus was on the crowd, not nature.
Picture
A dog friendly hike where responsible owners brought their dogs and kept them on leashes in the busy crowd was a welcome and surprising element to this adventure. Tucker was quite polite to others, although his excitement made him pull me more than usual. Given the slippery rock surfaces, I made him use the Gentle Leader which depresses him to no end, but it definitely ceases his pulling.
Picture
Once the Gentle Leader is off, he’s all smiles again.
Picture
On the covered bridge at the top of High Falls, we made a deal that he didn’t need the Gentle Leader as long as he didn’t pull. We shook on it, and he promised to do his best, but we both acknowledge that he gets over-excited sometimes.
Picture
Picture
Picture
At the end of the day, we returned to home base to nap on the couch, where Tucker once more proved to be the gentleman host, making our guest feel welcome to cuddle up on the couch and catch a few z’s with him.
Picture
All and all, a beautiful Easter weekend in the Blue Ridge Mountains. A service alone and a service with friends in this grand sanctuary gave us balance and perspective. With 47 more hikes in the book to check out, and even more online, Tucker and I have many more adventures awaiting us in the coming weekends.

We hope your long weekend was just as spiritual and satisfying whatever your beliefs are and however you chose to spend your time.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    May 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014

    Posts

    All
    2016.01.03 Home For The Holidays
    2016.01.04 A Hike On Another Planet
    2016.03.25 Equality Is For Everyone
    2016.03.27 Our Easter Weekend Services
    2016.04.15 Just Des(s)erts
    2016.05.29 Max Patch
    2016.05.29 Rising To The Peak
    2016.05.29 Spring Adventures
    2016.06.11 The Best Of The Unexpected
    2016.06.25 The Ghostly Tale Of Greybeard Trail
    2016.07.03 Escape...to Storyteller Rock
    2016.07.05 A Salute To Asheville From Chimney Rock
    2016.08.15 Up
    2016.10.01 Since You've Been Gone
    2016.12.09 How We Spent Our Summer Vacation
    2016.12.10 Let The Sun Shine In
    2016.12.11 Eyes To The Skies
    2016.12.11 Where The Rainy Day Takes You
    2016.12.18 Waiting For Whistler
    2016.12.31 Only In Canada
    2017.01.10 Christmas On The Coast
    2017.01.11 Christmas On The Coast
    2017.04.22 Out Of The Desert And Into The Land Of Enchantment
    2017.05.05 Someplace To Be; Not Somewhere To Go
    2017.05.20 New Canada
    2017.05.28 Rise To The Challenge
    2017.06.18 Exploring The 'Hood
    2017.06.24 Bishop's Lodge: Anything But Heavenly
    2017.07.01 Finding Your Church
    2017.07.08 Mother Nature's Springs
    2017.07.22 Beside Every Great Woman
    2017.10.15 Finding (Water)Fall(s)
    2017.10.28 This Is 40... Part I
    2017.10.29 This Is 40... Part II
    2017.11.18 Battle Amidst Beauty
    2017.11.25 To The Looking Glass
    2018.02.25 Where The Dog Takes You
    2018.03.31 After The Rains
    2018.04.14 Truly Home Again
    2018.06.02 Just A Walk On The Beach
    2018.07.21 Ready? On Set!
    2018.08.04 Return To The Redwoods
    2018.08.11 Return To The Redwoods
    2018.10.27 The Forty-First
    And Away
    Comes The (Water)Fall
    Maximum Wind Speed
    Nose To The Wind
    Part I
    Part II
    Santa Paws
    The Look Of Discrimination
    The South's Answer To The Southwest
    Tucker Wescott: Interior Designer
    Up

    RSS Feed

About    Contact   
c 2014 August Nights Press