Getting Better!

Zephyr is doing great today!  His energy is up, he was playful this morning and when I checked on him at lunch.  He's had two days of good meals.  This is so funny I have to share it.  After his dinner he went out to go potty, his first poop in two and a half days.  When he was done he was so happy the next thing I know he's running right at me!  I grabbed him because he was heading for the stairs, he ended up darting up them anyway.  When we got on the deck we played a little.  Then I put him back on leash and let Astro out.  They had a romping mouthing session that almost got out of control.  At one point Zephyr bounced over Astro.  :-)  I calmed it down after that.  Then Astro decided it was time to zoom around the yard.  Zephyr was so ready to go!  I had to hold him back as he barked it up watching Astro zoom around for a few minutes.  Then I took him down the stairs to the yard and he proceeded to drag me around wanting to go run and play.  I didn't let this go on too long, I didn't want him to over do it, which he always has tendency to do anyway.  When we headed back up the stairs he went so fast I dropped the leash because I couldn't keep up.  Woo Hoo!  Now he is sound asleep again hopefully doing lots of healing.

Here's the guy right after coming home on Wednesday.  He lost about 8 pounds and he's supposed to stay warm, so I've been obsessively putting blankets on him and making him wear his coats (double wrapped in the morning and night).  In fact he looks very similar to this picture right now.  :-)

This is a little later on Wednesday.  Too tired to stand up, but not too tired to get in a little play time with brother.

Can you tell comfort is important in this house?  This was Thursday.  See his battle wounds on his arms?  His belly is shaved too.  At first I thought about having Astro stay with my parents for a few days when Zephyr came home.  I thought maybe he would be too rowdy and cause trouble while Zephyr was in his crate when I was gone.  I'm so glad I didn't.  They were so happy to see each other!!  Astro has been great.  Today was the first time in over five days he's ran around outside and he hasn't even been able to go for a walk.  Poor guy.  Normally two days pushes him over the edge.  I think he knows Zephyr is sick, I swear he's even been a little more protective of the house and yard.  I know it has really helped Zephyr to have Astro with him.

Zephyr Is Home

I brought Zephyr home on Wednesday.  His progress continued and on Tuesday he could walk and support his weight, his vision improved, and he could eat and drink on his own.  On Weds. he was even better and he came home.  The drive from Phoenix was easy, he just slept the whole time.  When we got home I went in the house to put Astro outside and came back out to find Zephyr in the front seat.  :-)  I think he was happier to see Astro than me, he wanted to play with him and I let them do some mouthing.  He was still wobbly and had some of the neurological symptoms.  I had to lift him up the stairs to the door.  Luckily I got a Help-Em-Up harness, it has really helped.  His walking steadily improved and he's able to carefully do the stairs now.  He still gets a little off balance and the tile is slippery for him.  I am with him when ever he's walking though and he hardly needs help from the harness now.  I've put rugs all over the tile and have an xpen to keep him on the area rug in the living room.  He isn't turning toward the right as much, but he does still tend to bump into things.  It's like his depth perception is off, he has a hard time judging how close things are maybe.  It's been a week since he's had any seizures, which is great, he is still taking phenobarbital though.  He has been really tired and sleeping a lot, he doesn't like to be up for more than 30 minutes or so, but when he has been awake he has good energy and even wants to play and chase ravens.  He has been very hungry, he lost about 8 pounds.  I've been trying to let him eat a lot while keeping the diet bland because he has been having soft stools.  He's taking lots of medicines, three antibiotics, etc., so that is probably contributing to his soft stools.  So, overall he has made really good progress, and I am so happy to have him home.

Now, after all of the great progress, today has been hard for Zephyr.  Last Friday he started the chemotherapy drug Lomustine, CCNU.  This was because it looks like it's an autoimmune response that caused the encephalitis and the CCNU will suppress the immune system and reduce the inflammation.  About a week later, now, is when the effect of the CCNU is at it's peak and his white blood cell count is lowest.  They monitor how low the white blood cell count drops and I took him for blood work yesterday.  Yesterday I noticed that his energy level wasn't as high and today he has a fever (103 -104), no energy, won't eat, and has a small cough.  This morning I called the neurologist to let her know what was going on and then the vet who did the blood draw yesterday called to say his level was very low, WBC is 0.9 (usually 5) and neutrophils? 72 (usually 2,000) .  When it's so low infection will just develop even if they aren't exposed to anything, although it might not be an infection that's causing the fever.  After the two Dr.s talked I took him in for a change in antibiotics and to add another one.  I have fluids to give him subcutaneously to help him get past the fever, etc., and because one of the new antibiotics can damage the kidney if he doesn't drink enough water.  We also wanted to make sure he had energy so I made a food puree to squirt on his tongue and I was able to give him almost three cups.  The neurologist talked to the oncologist to confirm all this.  They say that with this type of treatment it will often pass after about 24 hours.  If it doesn't get better he might have to go in to the hospital for IV antibiotic and fluids.  I'm hoping that with everything I'm doing at home that will not happen.  

I didn't hesitate to call this morning though because I didn't want to risk anything.  I have to say our neurologist, Dr. Kim Knowles at the Veterinary Neurology Center, is great.  She's stayed late, come in on weekends, looked up things about greyhounds, gave me her personal number, talked with the oncologist, etc.  I try to stay calm and not worry too much, which is a challenge.  He was doing so well, I hope and think he will continue to recover.

Update

First, I really want to thank everyone for all of the wonderful comments!!  It has really helped me stay positive and to not feel so alone.  It was so nice to read them all.  And, I've told Zephyr that so many people and pups are thinking of him and hoping for his recovery. 

Zephyr has made progress in the past two days.  On Friday he had about 5 seizures, was totally out, and I thought I was going to loose him.  On Saturday he was barely aware, could hardly wake up, and couldn't see.  Sunday was some improvement in all areas.  Today he was able to push himself into a stand, but he needs support and guidance to stay up and walk.  He is very disoriented and his coordination is poor.  His vision is still poor, but he can see and track objects and he can definitely tell when I come and go.  I took Astro with me to see him on Saturday and Sunday because she said that would help him stay stimulated and motivate him.  I definitely think it helped.  They have been using a Help-em-Up harness that goes around his chest and rear and has handles to help him walk.  I got one today for when he comes home.  He is able to eat on his own now while he's laying down and propped up.  I brought in some beef and kibble puree that I made, some cooked ground beef, boiled chicken breast, and kibble for him to have plus what they have.  His appetite is great, apparently the phenobarbital and steroids make them very hungry.  Unfortunately, this afternoon he had some blood in his stool which the Dr. said is from the steroids.  So, he has to stop the steroids for a day or so.  That's unfortunate because the steroids help with the inflammation.  He is very frustrated with the situation.  They told me that often the animals get upset because they are confused, etc., because the brain has been injured and they can't do what they want.  Also, Zephyr has separation anxiety and is very vocal when he is not happy about things, and he's just a vocal guy anyway.  So, he's being very vocal about his dislike of the entire situation and I'm sure it's driving them nuts sometimes.  It kills me though because when I leave he gets upset.  The Vet Techs there are great.  Someone is there 24 hours.  I know they sit with them when they can.  So far he's been the only dog staying overnight.  His kennel area is large, plenty of room for him and a few people, and they have put nice big pads on the whole floor with blankets and pillows.  If he continues to progress he might come home on Wednesday.  Whenever he comes home he will still have lots of healing and recovering to do.  I need to adjust things in the house to make sure it's safe for him to walk around.  Probably build a ramp over stairs off the back deck.  The Dr. said it could be 3 weeks of recovery if things go well.  Mainly his brain needs to recover and heal.  Luckily he is a young strong boy.  I am just trying to stay positive and focused, but being ready for anything to happen.  I am exhausted.  We don't know what might have caused this.  From the MRI, blood work, etc., the Dr. said it's likely some kind of auto immune response.  I'll try to keep updating.

Thanks again for all your support.  This week I've been reminded again of the second best thing about having a dog, all of the great friends you make.

Not Good

I've found out that Zephyr has encephalitis (swelling in the brain).  On Thursday I took him to the veterinary neurology center in Phoenix because of symptoms he was showing.  It looks like it is not caused by an infection based on MRI, blood work, etc.  But she wasn't able to get spinal fluid because of concern about the amount of inflammation, that would confirm an infection.  He was given steroids to reduce inflammation. He did really well the first night, but started having seizures about 5 or 6 Friday morning.  He had many seizures yesterday.  Something had to be done so he started on chemotherapy yesterday about 5:30 p.m.  That reduces the inflammation, but it is a risk if he does have some kind of infection.  Today the only seizure was about 4 a.m. unless he's had one since I left about 4:30 p.m.  Today he could barely wake up and he can't stand.  He can take some water and chicken puree when it's squirted on his tongue.  And once he got really upset and was barking, howling/crying out, and kicking his front legs.  I was holding him then.  The Dr. said that's likely from his brain trying to "reboot" and his confusion, maybe from coming out of the sedation and seizure medicine, etc.  I don't know how this will turn out.  Sorry I can't give more information now, but I just wanted to let you all know.  Needless to say I am extremely scared.  This is a huge shock.  If you would keep Zephyr in your thoughts and prayers I would really appreciate it.

We Are Stylish

Last week I was awarded the Stylish Blogger Award by This is Lauren (and Greyhounds!).  I've seen some of these blog awards but this is the first time my blog has received one, so I'm pretty excited.  Thanks to Lauren and Bernie!

To accept the award I have to give eight facts about myself and then pass the award on to eight other blogs.  So, here we go.

1.  My first dog was a Doberman, Bandit, that we had when I was a kid.  I did a lot of hiking/walking with him too.  I once told him "sick um" when some kids where bullying me (we were in my fenced yard and the kids on the other side), he scared them away.  :-)

2.  My first cats were Siamese, Tom and Molly.  Tom would sleep with me and sometimes I'd wake up with him laying across my neck.

3.  After having short hair for well over 10 years I'm letting it grow and it's a little past my shoulders now.

4.  Zephyr was the first dog I had as an adult and the first dog I've trained.  Poor boy!

5.  I've never been to Europe, but hope I get there one day.

6.  I've been to Australia three times, and hope I get to go back someday.

7.  I'd like to live somewhere else besides Arizona someday.

8.  I really like ice cream.

Here are the eight + 1 blogs that I'm giving the Stylish Blogger Award to.

1.  Graceful Greyhounds
2.  The 'splorin" Wolfies
3.  Aragon Greyhounds
4.  Jet's Furkid Palace
5.  Never Say Never Greyhounds
6.  A Dog's Journey
7.  Sweetheart's Story
8.  A Dog Blog
9.  Tales and Tails

Zephyr Has Been Sick

 Here's Astro comforting poor Zephyr when he was sick this weekend.

Get ready, this is a wordy long one.  When I got home from work on Friday Zephyr was sick.  He came to greet me but he was hunched over, looked upset, and didn't want Astro to bother him.  His eyes definitely didn't look right, a little cloudy and not as open, and he was a little shaky.  I let him outside and he went potty but it was obvious that something was wrong.  Since Astro was excited and kept wanting to play I decided to take Zephyr for a walk around the roads so I could see what was going on.  He was walking okay but mostly a lot more subdued than usual, only few times of picking up the pace.  When we got home he again didn't want Astro to bother him and really didn't want him around his face.  I took his temperature and it was a high, 102.5 to 103.

So, I called the vet's office.  They asked what was going on and I explained.  They asked if he was eating, I said he had in the morning.  It was late in the afternoon, almost 5, but I said I was going to bring him in.  Then while I was getting him ready I decided to see if he would take a chicken treat and he did.  So, now the second guessing begins.  I called the vet's office back and told them that he seemed to be eating and that I would just wait until the morning to bring him in.  I was having a hard time deciding since I knew it was the end of their day and I didn't really know if this was an emergency.  After watching him for a little bit more, I decide to call the vet's again.  My poor veterinarian and her staff, I'm pretty sure they think I'm a nut sometimes.  But, I also think they are used to me because I have been seeing the same veterinarian for almost 20 years and she has always had the same main office manager.  This is who I talked to the third time I called and she helped me feel a little more comfortable and also reminded me that I could always call their emergency number if things changed.

Okay, I am just going to admit it right here, I get really, really, really upset when there's something wrong with one of my animals.  It's probably fair to say that, although I do well when it comes to taking care of them when they are sick, etc., when I am left to sit and think about what's causing them to be sick and wonder about what's going to happen, I tend to over exaggerate and make myself really upset.  So, in the course of the evening I had considered the following as causes of Zephyr's illness.  First was antifreeze poisoning and kidney failure because maybe he licked some on the road when we went out for our walk Wednesday.  You would think that the fact that he ate his dinner Friday night would make me feel better, but that just made me consider this second option, his eyes and ears were hurting because he had a brain tumor.  Third was one of the cats scratched his eyes and that's why they were hurting and not right.  That one actually seemed to calm me down because it seemed the worst out of my three main choices.  Notice how I don't even consider that maybe he just got into something that has made him sick or that he might have a virus?  What a nut. 

So, we make it through the night and I actually slept some, but Zephyr is not any better in the morning.  He went potty and I was able to get a stool sample.  Another good sign was he didn't really have diarrhea, pretty normal with a little soft.  And off to the vet's we go.  When we get there he has a 103.5 temperature.  She presses all over, on his head too, and he only has a little discomfort in his belly.  But, he is clearly not feeling well and is shaking some.  She gave him an injection of Baytril to get him started on antibiotics right away.  While we were waiting for the fecal results I walked him around outside.  He did well, but he did have a small amount of diarrhea.  After a little while my veterinarian came out and said that his stool had a lot of long chains of bacteria.  She didn't say exactly what kind, but that it wasn't the kind that comes from eating dead things.  So, this is the suspected cause of the fever and him not feeling well.  I asked about his head and she said he could have a headache, maybe from the fever.  This all makes sense, and is much better than all of my ideas.  So, I am much relieved and with more Baytril and something else that I can't pronounce for possible parasites, we head home.

To give Zephyr a chance to rest I decided to go back to town and take Astro because he was quite full of energy and ready to play.  When we got home in the afternoon Zephyr seemed to feel a little better, but he still had a temperature of about 102.5.  He did eat when we first came home from the vet's and I fed him again in the afternoon.  Things were going well until later that night.  Zephyr was sleeping next to me on the couch.  When he went to rollover on his back and turn his head upside down he yelped and went back to his side.  This got me all upset again.  I had also noticed that he was doing more of this snorting, not really sneezing, more like a snorting like something was in his nose.  When I pressed all around his head it didn't bother him, but then I noticed that it also hurt him when he tried to shake his head.  It occurred to me that his head might hurt because he had a fever.  I mean back in December I had a fever of only about 100 for a day and I felt horrible, achy all over, including ears, and a headache.  But, of course I also considered other things like the brain tumor and now also the possibility of him having something like a foxtail in nose.  He hadn't had any discharge from his eyes or nose though.  Later, a friend also mentioned Valley Fever, but he doesn't really seem to show those symptoms either.  Valley Fever is common in the more arid desert areas of AZ like Phoenix.  We don't go to those types of areas much, but of course he has visited.  Needless to say I managed to get myself all worked up again.  I ended up giving him a Rimadyl in hope that it might help with his pain.

So, off to bed we went and Zephyr slept with me most of the night.  I heard him doing the snorting once during the night.  Toward the morning he jumped off the bed and then later he jumped back up.  I noticed that he seemed to have good energy when he jumped.  When I got up he was sound asleep and I didn't want to bother him.  He's not really much of a morning dog anyway.  But after awhile I had to see how he was doing so I went and woke him up.  He walked down the hall and by the time he got to the back door he was wagging his tail.  My heart cheered up a little.  When I let him out I could tell he had more energy.  Then he saw a raven and chased it and the heavy weight lifted and I was so happy.  He was wagging his tail and shaking his head a little without much pain.  When he and Astro got back to the deck we had a little celebration play.  After going in I took his temperature and it was down to about 101 or less.  He ate some breakfast and then went back to sleep.  He was definitely feeling better and later when a friend stopped by he was happy to see her and bouncing around.

Astro and I went to agility practice during the day and when we got home Zephyr was doing well.  Last night, while he was on the couch, he rolled over on to his back with upside down head with no problems.  Today and tonight he is still doing a lot better.  I have noticed that his eyes and ears are still a bit sensitive and his temperature is about 101.5, he is also still doing the snorting thing sometimes.  His appetite is good.  I'm hoping the ears and head sensitivity and snorting will go away as he continues on the antibiotics.  But if it's still going on tomorrow night I'll be calling the vet's again on Wednesday.  Otherwise, he is feeling so much better, and therefore, so am I.  It was rough though.  This is the first time one of my dogs has been sick and had a fever.  I could just really tell how bad he was feeling and it made me feel horrible.  I can't imagine how those with human kids handle it when they get sick with things, especially for the first time.

Woods Canyon Hike

Hi! Hi!  This is Zephyr!  And this is Astro!  We are so excited to tell you about a hike through Woods Canyon that Mom took us on way back in January on Presidents' Day.  Can you believe she didn't share this earlier?  We have hijacked her computer in the middle of the night to ensure that you all get to see this great place.  You are lucky anyways because, let's face it, everyone knows that the humans' senses are not as keen as the canines'.  So, even though she does her best, Mom leaves out some of the best things about our hikes.  Look at that nice soft reddish dirt!  We loved it because it smelled so good and different types of plants grew here that smelled really good.  This was one of our favorite hikes yet!

We just loved this hike in Woods Canyon!  It was the first time we had been there, even Mom.  Even though it was a holiday we only passed a couple people and that was at the beginning of the hike.  The day was warm and dry.  Only nice soft fresh smelling dirt under out feet, no cold icy snow.  The air was full of fresh new scents.  OMG, we were in heaven hunting around all day!  And, listen to this, there were cows on the trail!!  That's right, Live Loose COWS right on the trail right in front of us!!!!  Holy Cow!!!  (Hee, Hee, Hee, we are so funny)  Unfortunately, Mom had us on leash the whole hike so we was not able to go a-cow-coursin.  Yea, this is Zephyr here, I went a-cow-coursin once and it was pretty fun, but cows are slow so I had to run in circles around them.  Mom said I was trying to herd them, but that I didn't do a great job.  I said I heard them just fine, but they must not have heard me when I told them to run as fast as they can so we could race.

Look at all those bushes and trees.  You just know there are bunnies in there, and birds, and COWS!!  And, if they weren't there when we checked, they had been there, and we were on their trail the whole day.  It was fun because even though Mom wouldn't let us off leash she still let us roam and follow the scent tracks.  She said she'd never seen us hunting around so much and she really wants to try tracking with us now.  We say, Duh Mom, to be a good hound you have to use your nose too.

Let us tell you a little more about those Cows.  We had been on alert for a while because the the cow scent had reached our noses a long time before.  Mom had seen some cow pies and hoof prints so she knew cows had been in the area, she just didn't know how close they were to us.  We were strolling along the trail in an area that had lots of bushes and trees.  The ground was soft and a little damp in some areas.  Astro and I were out ahead of Mom on our Flexi's zig-zagging back and forth across the trail investigating everything.  All of a sudden as we came around a corner there they were, two COWS standing on the trail about 50 feet in front of us!!  At first we froze for a second or two.  Then I came to my senses and told Astro that we needed to let our prey drive loose.  We started bouncing and pulling and barking.  We kept looking at Mom and asking why in the world was she not letting us go?  She was not moved and did not let us go a-cow-coursin.  :-(  She did have to do some rearranging though.  The cows were not leaving the trail, they just looked at us.  So, Mom put one of us on each side of her and held our collars as we slowly walked toward the cows.  Mom had to lean back to help keep us controlled.  The cows were stubborn and just walked along the trail in front of us for a while and then they went off in to the trees.  We tried to follow them, but Mom wouldn't let us.  Big Bummer!  We continued on the trail and now we were on hyper-alert, checking every side track, every bush, and every tree.  And then, Holy Cow, there were more Cows on the trail!  Hee, Hee, Hee, Hee, Hee, it gives us the giggles as we think of them now!  OMG, it was so awesome!  The cows are so slow and we are so fast, if only we could have chased them!  Mom just told us in her Mom Voice, "This is exactly why you two are not allowed off leash in areas that we are not familiar with".  "Blah-Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah",  Whatever, so lame. 

Here I am showing Astro how to hunt using your eyes, ears, and nose.  As his big brother I feel that it's my job to make sure he learns how to be a proper hound.  If you click on the picture twice you'll be able to see that I was in perfect hunting position.  My body was still, my nose was taking in all the scents, my ears were perked to take in all the sounds, and most importantly my eyes were focused on the distant trees and bushes where I knew my prey was hiding.  There were birds everywhere here.  Quail on the ground, Dove on the ground and in trees, and lots of other little birds.  And, of course, COWS!  I was so excited I nearly went into a point!

Okay, let's take a break from the Cows.  You have to forgive Zephyr he gets really excited about those kinds of things.  Now, I, Astro, will demonstrate how all you hounds can get yourselves a lookin and smellin super fine for days to come after your hike.  This is especially helpful if there is a special someone you are trying to impress.  First, you need to dig up some nice soft fresh dirt.  Try digging in a few places to find the best dirt that is full of the most scent and is really sticky.  A note on proper digging position, your rear needs to be up high relative to your front to get the best leverage for digging and throwing dirt.  Also, try rolling and rubbing in the dirt to see how good it smells and how well it sticks to you.

Once you find some super great dirt you really need to get down in it and rub it all over your body, but especially all over your muzzle, cheeks, neck, and forehead.  It's even better if the dirt is mud!!  Look closely at the picture above, click twice for an up close view.  Notice how my body is positioned to allow me to put lots of pressure on my face as I rub back and forth, back and forth, in this fresh mud that was next to the creek.  Also, notice that the dirt is not just on my face, I've rubbed it all down my neck and I've made sure to get it on my chest, front paws and arms, and back feet.  And, look very closely at my eyes, this is the best part!  While you are doing this rubbing, you will get the most fantastic feeling throughout your body that for a little while you forget everything, just like when you are chasing a bunny.

Here is the fabulous finished product!  Isn't it Great!?  Notice how I use the two layer method.  My first layer appears lighter but is really pressed all through my fur down to my skin.  The second layer is heavier and concentrated around my nose and chin.  Mmmm, so yummy.  I could smell it for days afterward.  Heaven!

Strong smells came from all kinds of places along the trail.  We take turns investigating the small areas that only one of us can fit in.  Hiking is so fun because we get to climb on all kinds of rocks.  Here I was checking out a good smell around some rocks and bushes.  Luckily, it was January and we didn't have to worry about Rattlesnakes.  We have never seen a Rattlesnake and Mom says we probably never will because she won't take us hiking in areas where they live in the summer.  Oh, Oh, Zephyr here, that's not true.  I did see a Rattlesnake once!!  It was a few years ago when Mom and I were hiking in the forest near our house.  We were going down the trail and all of a sudden we heard the rattle, "SSHHZZZ"!  I was out ahead of Mom about 10ft on my Flexi.  We look to the right and see this very angry snake at the bottom of a pine tree.  Fast as lightening, Mom pulls me to the left and I was like "No problem I don't want anything to do with that crazy thing!"  Mom said that was the first Rattlesnake she had seen here and she's lived here 20 years.  Luckily they are Timber Rattlesnakes up here and they are less aggressive and poisonous.  But, that one was really angry, and we never even got closer than about 3 or 4 feet.

The creek going through Woods Canyon is called Dry Beaver Creek.  It wasn't dry though, it had lots of water because of snow melting up higher.  There are cactus here and Astro got one spine in his nose that Mom had to help him get out.  Yea, I didn't like it, the spine was right on the tip of my nose and it wouldn't come off when I swiped it with my paw.  Well Astro, at least it wasn't like my cactus incident.

The water was really deep and rushing in the creek.  It was so loud sometimes that was all we could hear.  Mom likes to take lots of pictures of us.  She'll pose us and make us do stays and we usually don't mind.  Don't I have the cutest look on my face?  I was so happy to be out on this hike with Mom and Astro.

We got to play in the water too, climbing on the creek rocks is so fun.  The water was nice and cool and fresh.  During the summer this creek totally dries up.  That was hard to believe since in some places it was really deep and moving fast.  Mom wouldn't let us go in the water at some spots because it was so deep and fast and she didn't want us to go out too far and get pushed out by the water.  She worries about things like that.

Zephyr was really exploring around the water and I just decided to follow him because he always finds the best stuff.  This spot was nice because the creek bottom was soft and only had small rocks under the water so it was easier for us to walk around.  We found a couple good sticks, some stinky piles of leaves, and we climbed up and over lots of rocks.  It was also good for us to cool off in because we were gettin warm in the balmy temperatures of almost 60.

We went about 6 miles on our hike and we didn't even get to the end.  We think we are going to get to go back soon, maybe with our friends Friday and Linus.  That will be so fun!  When we got back to our car we got to have some special snacks before we drove home.  Yummy!  And then we slept all the way home.

When we are sleeping after a good hike it is the best.  We are so tired and happy that every muscle in our body relaxes.  Mom says she can even see it in our faces.  Also, we get to dream about the day and it's like we are still there having a grand day out hiking.

We hope you enjoyed our hiking story, it took us over a week to get it finished.  We almost got busted one night too.  Zephyr got up in the middle of the night once and Mom heard him while he was turning the computer on!  Yea, I had to quick jump in the big chair and look all innocent like "Oh, I just want to sleep out here for awhile, he, he".  But geesh, someone had to do it, Mom certainly wasn't getting it done.