Zero Day

I was hoping to sleep well last night, but unfortunately a bad thunderstorm came through and blew that idea out the window--literally! Lots of wind and lightning, and rain coming down like someone was pouring it out of a bottomless bucket. That and the fact that the Trail is really crowded and it's supposed to go down into the 20s tonight led me to decide to stay put another night and work on fine-tuning my plan for the next section of the hike past Standing Bear Farm. Or maybe I just want to try again to get to Mellow Mushroom for dinner...hmm, I'll never tell. 😋

I also wanted to examine Forest carefully to make sure that he's 100% healthy and comfortable and do a little grooming. The trail has been so rocky lately that I especially wanted to check his paws. I think they look very good for 200 miles! A special thank you to Sara Godfrey, of Body Therapy, Inc., for the paw wax that she sent me for Forest. It's working so well!

We walked around town tonight to practice Forest's regular skills. I make sure to do that whenever I'm in a town so that he doesn't start to ignore his main training; that's critical for a service dog. Back in the hotel, it's playtime. He is definitely enjoying having some time off the leash to play with his favorite bone. I stuffed a little all natural peanut butter inside for a special treat tonight. I can't help but spoil him a little now and then; he works so hard and has my back 24x7.

It's supposed to be mostly sunny and 63 degrees tomorrow. Sounds like the perfect day to get moving again!