Day 1,310
Nico didn’t have much excitement over the weekend, so I promised him I would take him for a run today. I headed to a trail near our house that we frequently visit with him because few people know about it. It is a great spot to let him run off-leash without worrying about encountering other dogs that may not appreciate his high-energy greetings. The pull off was plowed and slopes away from the road. I pulled in as close to the road as possible, knowing it might be difficult to get out. I have a 4x4 Toyota Tacoma that has proven its ability to get through deep snow for the past ten years. Well, this snow was extra sticky and slippery, and my tires are near the end of their usable life for heavy snow driving, and I haven’t weighed down my truck bed yet. When I pull into an area I know I may have trouble getting out of; I attempt to get out right away so I’m not dealing with a stuck vehicle at the end of a hike. Well, as soon as I tried to pull back on the road, the rear end of my truck started sliding sideways. Every time I tried to get myself out, my truck inched closer to a large dropoff at the end of the parking area. With a little shoveling and very gentle maneuvering, we got back onto the pavement. Nico was sitting in the truck for the whole thing and found it confusing.
We moved on to another similar trail a little farther away, on a quiet road I could park on with one set of tires still on the pavement. Nico ran like an absolute maniac for an hour as we walked through a winter wonderland. It was obvious he needed to burn off some excess energy. I promised him a run and wouldn’t give up just because we got the truck temporarily stuck!
Many thanks to my Patreon supporters for making this photo series possible. Nico and I spend more than an hour each day working on this project; without Patreon, we wouldn’t be able to keep this going.