The Palisades Hike

So today we hiked in the Palisades Park. Let me eggsplain how this park werks. It is about 13 miles long and only 1/2 mile wide and it runs along the Hudson River in the north part of Noo Joisey.  There be the Hudson River on one side (with Noo York City and Yonkers across the waters but we not going there) and big big cliffs wot go 500 feet up high on the udder side.  We be taking the shore trail out wot goes along the river and the Long Path trail back wot goes up high atop the cliffs.

If'n we turned around we could see the George Washington bridge wot goes ofur to Noo York City.

I biggify if fur you:

So back the way we woz going along the cliffs...

There used to be more cliffs but back in the olden days the peeples woz blowing the cliffs up with dy-no-mite like this:

They used the rawks wot falled down to make streets and buildings ofur in Noo York City. But some peeples gotted rilly mad about the destrukshuns of the cliffs and they got the rest of the land pawtected so there be cliffs fur us to see on our hike today.

So one sekshun along the river do be called Giant Stairs. You knows how I feel about stairs and this did not sound good but I gibbed it my bestest shot.  It do be all these boulders wot we had to climb ofur wot had fallened down off the cliffs a gabillion eons ago when there woz rawk slides from atop the cliffs. They do has warning signs that it not be easy.  Gulp.

OK, here goes...

It taked us furefur to get across the Giant Stairs wot turned out to akshually be more like 1/2 mile but it seemed like a gabillion miles.  I is supposing the reason fur that be coz this do be happening a lot:

But we finally did it. Yay. Then we went through this gate (um, I wonner wot purpose that served) into Noo York state!

And then we comed to the pritty Peanut Leap Cascade:

Then we had to climb more stairs to get up high atop the cliff. But these woz a piece of doggie cookie after hasing survived the Giant Stairs.  Check out this move with 3 paws in the air!

Going up....

And at the top, bootiful views of the river from up high.

You can see teeny tiny the trail we woz on earlier down by the river:

Then we comed to a castle!

 Can I be a princess and go up in the castle?

Allow me to demonstrate how one ascends one's castle.

See, you has to whimper pawthetically for drama - furry impawtant. Then you look down at your mom like "Wot, is you skeered to come up or something?"

Akshually this castle be a monument for the Women's Federation wot helped pawtekt this park.

Oh, so I furgot to show you when we comed back into Noo Joisey there woz a fence and a gate, too, but also a nifty marker.

So there woz lots of litter down by the river wot woz stuff that washed up like tires, lawn chairs, whiskey bottles...  We did not pick any of that up, it just be too much.  But I put togedder a collage of some of the litter I did pick up wot woz from peeples hiking on the trails.  They not be real hikers coz real hikers would nefur be litter bugs.

 My load woz getting a little, um, wide, so when we comed by this overlook wot peeples can drive to wot had a recycling bin, I went ofur and unloaded:

And I leaves you with the following...

A little bit of winter wot I founded.

A little bit of spring wot I founded.

Oh, and Max's fambly picked him up today.  We told them Max could come stay with us any time so they sayed he would come and be our boarder again. Yay!

Shawnee's Bed and Breakfast

So I woz wonnering how long it would take fur anybuddy to notice there woz an eggstra dog in yesterday's Wordless Wednesday picture.  Yes, it woz snowing, sleeting, sliming, and we all wanted inside the door wot has been scratched at by all of us plus several hunnerd fosters ofur the years. I refuse to take all the blame. I gib the door one paw swipey to knock to let mom know I want in.  Dixie duss a full frontal body slam.  Sydney woofs.  It do be amazing that door has holded up all these years.  Now the artwerk on the inside, well, that do be all mine. I also gib one big paw swipey efurry time I want out and that do be like 25 times a day times 10 years... 

So anyways, back to the mystery dog. Lucy the CAT woz the furst one to notice an eggstra dog.  Lucy, wot a sniffer you has fur a kitteh!  Then Cupcake the shepherd did notice too.  So allow me to introduce Max, the beagle:

So we has not been fostering any mores and Max is not a foster, but he do be a boarder. He be staying at Shawnee's Bed and Breakfast while his fambly be skiing in Canada.  Max woz adopted by them a month ago and they love him lots and did not want to put him in a kennel or leave him home all alone with somebody coming to let him out a few times a day so he commed to stay with us.  (This be from when Max woz on Petfinder.com with his story.) He do be loving the attenshuns of us 3 gurls.

Note the boy used the grill fur his chickun and did not put the cover back on afore it snowed.  But he did share some chickun with us, NOM!  I did get way eggsited and almost had a chickun and boy finger sammich, BOL. I kinda furget my bite inhibishun when there be chickun fresh from the grill.

Anyways, you has to wonner if'n Lucy the Cat and Max not be sharing some speshul vibes coz it appears they do both like to lay in the sunbeams and we do akshually has some sunbeams today.

So Max do be hasing a great time here with us. When he furst commed into the howse he woz leaving pee-mail inside to let efurryone know he woz claiming all 3 of us gurls as his own. Hey dude, we belong to no man! Mom putted the kabash on that by screaming rilly lowd and telling him he woz going to get a belly band on if'n he did not take his pee-mail outside.  We duss has belly bands in all sizes from fostering and we know how to use them. He gotted the message lowd and clear and now he has pee-mail all ofur the yard saying "Paws off.  My gurls."  Boys!

Wordless Wednesday

Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, PA

So today we wented ofur to Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center wot is a state park in Pencilvania.

They do has this nice fancy bridge ofur the river rite when you get started:

That little howse on the udder side of the bridge do be the hooman litter boxes. We made a quick stop in there and I got to go in too.  The heats woz on and it woz warm and cozy in there. I did get a pikshure of the litter box door with my Shawnee Cam:

Unfortunately, we furgotted that the Shawnee Cam cannot get frozened and it woz frozened cold out this morning so rite after that pikshure the battery frozed up and no more Shawnee Cam pikshures.  Even when it got warmer the battery woz ded so the cold must zap the powahs out of that battery.

Oh, so afore we get too far into this hike, I maded anudder instrucshonal training video fur your viewing pleasure.  This do be called "The Recall" and it be a furry impawtant command fur hiking if'n you efur get off leash priviledges.  I prefer not to lissen to this command when I is in the middle of sniffing eggsiting pee-mails (and it always do be at the bestest, juiciest pawt when mom say "Shawnee, COME!" but if'n I want to has off leash priviledges I has to lissen. So this be how it be done:


OK so that do be one of mom's rules and if'n you think she has a lot of rules, check out how many this park has:

Holy Milkbone! OK, we is not reading that.  Moving on...

And I do so appawlogize fur the log jumping training video from the udder day. Due to a brain fart on my pawt, I completely furgotted that my vertically challenged furrends (I do hope that be pawlitically correct) cannot jump ofur the logs so allow me to make this modificashun:

I woz going to try to go unner to demonstrate but I would has gotted stucked.

The vertically challenged should use this method fur the dubbull jump combo also:

OK, enuff of that now, come along and let's get to hiking!

Hmmm. I wonner wot happened to the bridge.

I thought the two geeses back there woz my furrends but they sayed SQUAWK and flied away.

That there be Bushkill Creek on my rite.

Wishing it woz warm enuff fur a swim.

Mebbe soon coz I found some spring!

I do think this be some kinda historic house at Boulton Historic Site

Here do be the Henry Homestead and they had a dog back in the olden days!

This dog now be sitting on the Henrys' front porch wot is now a museum.

Holy Horses! There be 4 of them but they did not all fit in the pikshure coz they be so big.

Is I supposed to be skeered of this trail? Bring it on!

It just be a trail on a ridge at the top of a ravine with the Bushkill Creek way down below. Not skeery.

Now we is talking skeery. (You knows how I is skeered of steps.)

I made it and will live to see anudder day!

In closing I has one thing to say: "MOM, COME!"